I was sure she meant from the hurricane, but really, the question could apply to not only that but whatever had taken place between the two of us last night. A near-death experience and an emotional awakening within a man who’d prided himself on not feeling anything at all was a recipe for a whole lot of what-the-fuckery. Things were going to get very messy. Especially if she was still in casual-fuck mode, the way we’d started. The only way any of this thing between us had ever been meant to be.
Taking a moment to appreciate her bare shoulder, courtesy of the oversized V-neck raglan she’d chosen to wear for the cleanup process, I gave her an answer that could also apply to both situations. “Is anyone ever really ready for something like that?” I for damn sure wasn’t, but I’d never backed down from a challenge before, so I was full steam ahead. On both counts.
“Good point,” she said, seeming to be in good spirits despite the inevitable work that lay ahead. “Time to face the music, then.”
Reaching for the doorknob, I stepped back as I swung the door open to let her pass through, because that was what a gentleman was always supposed to do for his lady. Whether she knew she was his lady or not. But once we stepped out into the hallway, we stopped in our tracks. It wasn’t the music we’d come face-to-face with. It was Casey and Mia, side by side in the exact same stance as Cassidy and me.
No good-mornings were uttered, not a sound was made, but I noticed the look Cassidy and Casey shared. Right before she reached out and took my hand, lacing her fingers through mine. It surprised me, though, thankfully, not enough to make me do something stupid. I did, however, grin like a motherfucker because, yeah, I’d won the girl and my position as the alpha male was set in stone.
And then Casey reached out and took Mia’s hand. Huh… two alpha males occupying the same space? Well, there was a new and interesting concept. Another interesting twist was the tender smile exchanged between Casey and Cassidy, followed by a quite intense stare-down from him to me that ended with a respectful nod. I heard him loud and clear: I’d better take damn good care of her. And I would.
It was funny how so much information could be exchanged without one word being said between four people. But it was quite clear that Casey was with Mia, Cassidy was with me, and Casey and Cassidy were genuinely happy and okay with that. All was where it was meant to be.
Casey and Mia were closest to the steps, so Mia was the first to head in that direction with Casey at her side. Cassidy and I followed, the four of us descending two-by-two, like animals off the ramp from Noah’s ark after the flood. It was a fitting visual considering the bit of epic-ness that Mother Nature had thrown at us during the night.
Filing into the kitchen where the parents were already moving about, also quiet, four sets of eyes turned toward the two newly emerging couples. And still, no word was said. Abby, Thomas, Duff, and Anna all took in the sight before them, with a particular interest in the hand-holding. Hmm, I made a note to do a lot more of that everywhere Cassidy and I went after this so that everyone would know she was my girl.
Abby’s face lit up with complete approval of the way things had worked out. For both Casey and me. I really didn’t notice what the other parents thought because Abby’s approval was all I needed. Well, Abby’s and Duff’s, of course. He gave it in his own way.
With a loud clap of his hands, Duff finally broke the silence. “Well, all right, then. Let’s go face the music,” he said, and it made me smile because it was obviously a phrase he’d used often enough for his only daughter to have picked it up as well. I was so going to love this family shit.
We cleared the path as Duff escorted his wheelchair-bound wife toward the front door. When everyone else had gone ahead, Cassidy looked at me and sighed, not altogether prepared to see what ruin might have been left of her hometown. I gave her hand a squeeze, and with that, we brought up the rear.
The morning sun was bright, in contrast to a house darkened by shuttered windows and no electricity, and the seabirds were calling just like they would have on any normal day. But standing shoulder to shoulder with two families stretched eight wide across the porch, each person in absolute shock from the scene before them, it was clear to see that this was anything but a normal day in Stonington, Maine.
The Whalen House’s position on the side of the hill, coupled with its very strong foundation, had been its saving grace. Others in town hadn’t been so fortunate. Looking out over Main Street, it was hard to tell where some properties began and others ended. The streets were littered with the normal debris you might expect to see – gobs of seaweed, tree limbs, shingles off roofs and siding, and just plain garbage – but what you didn’t expect to see were whole-ass trees that had been pulled up by their roots and smashed through houses, or homes crushed, their contents spilled out into the streets and bobbing around in the bay.
Mother Nature’s power was something to be respected. The way she picked and chose which families lost everything, which suffered only minor damage, and which remained untouched was a puzzler indeed. We still didn’t know how much actual destruction had been done to the Whalen House because we hadn’t stepped out to really survey the property, but no way could it have been as bad as most of the other homes.
Quite a few of the townspeople were already out and about, some of the elderly shaking their heads in disbelief while mothers hugged their children close, helping them over piles of who the fuck knew what it had once been. Instinct kicked in and I released Cassidy’s hand to go help, not shocked in the least that Casey was already on the move as well. But I pulled up short when I heard a sniffle to my right.
Looking over my shoulder, I was frozen in place when I watched a tear stream down Anna Whalen’s face. That was my girl’s mother and she was heartbroken for her town. I was heartbroken for her. This was real shit. Not a negotiation gone south, not a major deal missed, but a real-life catastrophe.
Duff put his hand on Anna’s shoulder and gave it a loving pat. “It’s okay, darlin’. Everthing’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 18
Cassidy
Hurricane Ayla was a nasty bitch. She’d reached Category 4 before making landfall and had ripped through Stonington, shredding it to bits like confetti. So much destruction had been left in her wake; homes broken, lives turned upside down and inside out, and crippling financial ruin.
And she did it all without a care in the world for those who were left to pick up the pieces.
The townspeople of Stonington wouldn’t wallow in self-pity, though. They were resilient, tough, determined to get on with their lives and salvage what was left. Stonington would come back from this. We would all come back from this.
In the hours following Ayla’s departure, we’d gone through all five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Acceptance was where we all shined and showed the stuff we were made of. The cleanup process had already begun, and by some miracle the power was back on. Hope and strength were the foundation upon which this island had been built, and no storm was going to change that.
Lives had been spared. I’d yet to hear of a single one lost, and most of the injuries were to the pride of hardworking lobstermen. As competitive as each one of them could be, they pulled together for the sake of their community. I was proud to be counted among its people.
Despite all my moaning and groaning about coming back to Stonington, I realized I’d never really left. A tether attached at birth had bound me to it, and even though I’d stretched that tether as far as it would go – to the extreme opposite end of the country – it was still tied to Stonington.
I looked up from a pile of debris I’d been sorting and wiped the sweat off my forehead. It was hot out here, with loads of moisture still in the air and the sun beating down so hard I turned to give it my WTF brow, as if it and I had a casual relationship like that. The sky was painted an azure blue, with wispy white clouds streaking through the color like the world was nestled inside a marble. I snorted thinkin
g how very Dr. Seuss the idea was. Though Dr. Seuss’s stories all had happy endings and a moral to be learned.
There was a grunting sort of growl behind me, one that a giant gym junkie might make when lifting a barbell loaded down with three times his own weight. Shaw had been in that direction, as had Casey, so I turned to be sure those two weren’t back at each other’s throats. Imagine my surprise when I saw they were working together to raise what appeared to have once been the roof of the Harbor Master’s shed.
Shaw Matthews, a man who’d never cared about anyone other than himself, had pitched in to lend a helping hand. And my very dearest friend, the man who had sucker punched him the day before, was now watching his back. Yes, natural disasters were devastating, but they always seemed to bring people together in a way that might not have ever happened otherwise. I was proud of my boys.
To my right, Mia was struggling with dislodging a microwave from the mountain of mud surrounding it. Throwing all of her weight behind it, I saw the end result before she eventually lost her footing and fell flat on her derriere with mud splashing up all around her. But I wouldn’t delight in her predicament, nor would I sling even more mud in her face. If my boys could be big enough to bury the hatchet, so could I.
Propping my foot on the same microwave, I stretched out a hand in Mia’s direction. She looked up at me, puzzled at first, and then she smiled. I totally got what Casey saw in her. She really was pretty in an unassuming way, sweet like the girl next door, and just Casey’s type. Plus she was a romance author, so yeah, I was sure he could get down with that.
Mia took my offered hand, an unspoken truce passing between us as I hauled her to her feet.
“So… You and Casey, huh?” I asked.
The smile that radiated from her overshadowed the beams of sunlight streaking down from our marbled sky. Oh, yeah, she was smitten. She was also looking down at the ground as if she hadn’t wanted me to see it. And that just wasn’t right, so I lifted her chin to look her in the eyes.
“It’s okay. Honestly,” I assured her. “He really likes you.”
Mia turned, her whole body gravitating in his direction. “You think so?”
I laughed. “Oh, yeah. Trust me, no one knows him better than I do. He’s my best friend, and that’s never going to change, but I’m really happy for you two.”
That bright smile turned demure as she attempted to knock the mud from her pants. “Thanks. It means a lot coming from you.”
I decided to help her with the mud situation by wiping what she couldn’t see from her cheek. Her situation with Casey was still new, and I was sure she wouldn’t want him to see her that way. Chicks had to band together on these sorts of things, after all. Unless you were being catty, in which case you “accidentally” smeared even more. I wasn’t in a catty mood.
“A word of advice?” I offered.
“Oh, sure!” she said, eagerly.
“Don’t lead him on. Casey is Stonington. This is his home, and it’s all he knows,” I told her while moving to clear the mud from her hair. “I’m not sure how a long-distance relationship between the two of you would work, but if you just visit often and stay true to him, I promise he’ll remain loyal to you.”
Mia nodded. “I promise to be good to him, Cassidy. For as long as he’ll let me.”
Pointing a finger, I gave her a playful smile. “You’d better. Oh, and if he messes up, just give him the silent treatment. He can’t stand it. Works every time,” I said with a conspiratorial wink.
Just then, Ma called down from the house, “Cass, go tell that husband of mine his dinner is ready. The rest of you come get your bellies full, too.”
“Okay, Ma! Where is he, anyway?” I asked, looking around and not seeing him.
“Where he always goes when he’s trying to get out of work,” she said.
“I’ve got him!” I knew she was exaggerating because that was her way. Besides, my da never shirked on responsibility. He disappeared to get away from her nagging, and it was always to the same place: the beach.
Before I even had a chance to say anything, Mia was quick on the draw. “You go ahead. I’ll get the guys together.” She was a take-charge type of gal, too. I liked that. Casey was in very capable hands, indeed.
“Don’t worry about the mud. Guys around here like a woman who isn’t afraid to get a little dirt on their hands,” I told her, and then I set off to drag my father back to the homestead with the lure of Ma’s cooking.
Shaw
A few weeks ago, no one would have ever believed their eyes if they’d seen me getting down in the dirt with a village full of fishermen. Hell, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. Still didn’t, but there I was… lending a helping hand to my fellow man. And better? I was doing it right next to the guy who’d been swinging at me just the day before. And I didn’t even want to get square with him for the whole attempted involuntary-manslaughter thing.
What I did want, however, was an ice-cold glass of sweet tea and my girl.
“All together now, boys,” Thomas barked his direction after I, along with four other young men, got into position to lift the roof of the Harbor Master’s shed.
At the count of three, we put all we had behind it, managing to elevate it enough so that Casey could run steel cables underneath, which would then be attached to a crane that would do the really heavy lifting. Damn thing weighed a thousand tons, and every muscle in my body was putting in 110 percent to make sure Casey got to do his thing safely. Unfortunately, Billy Jo Bob on the other end had himself a case of the slip-’n’-falls and lost his footing.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Thomas yelled, running in and trying to take the guy’s place before the aftermath of Hurricane Ayla claimed her first victim, his son. “Get him out of there!”
Casey was right in front of me, the rooftop bearing down on his legs and leaving him no room to move. Not an ounce of fear registered in his features, though I knew he had to have been saying his final prayers.
“Gimme a little more room!” I called back.
With another burst of energy, I shoved upward, using all my might to help as much as I could with my left arm while extending my right for Casey to grab hold of. His gloved palm clasped mine and he looked up at me, pupils dilated even as his brow furrowed in determination. A fierce sort of sound came out of me, somehow giving me strength I never knew I’d possessed, and I yanked the shit out of his arm.
The next thing I knew, a whole bunch of incidental shit was flying up around a rooftop that had come crashing back down to the ground. A swift glance to my right, and I found Casey lying safe and sound on the concrete next to me, those wild eyes turned toward the sky and his upper torso making with the breathe in, breathe out.
Thomas came around and gave his son a once-over. “You all right, son?” he asked. When Casey nodded, Thomas clapped me on the back with a “Good job” and granted us both permission to take a break before he stalked off and yelled at the boys to get back to work.
Casey and I looked at each other like the old man was off his rocker, and then we both started laughing. Once we’d gotten that out of our systems, I took a deep breath to get my heart rate back under control and then offered my palm to Casey yet again.
There was something in the way he looked up at me that made my chest swell with pride, an unspoken truce that accompanied a newfound trust. He took the damn thing, and I pulled him to his feet.
“Thanks, man,” Casey said, dusting himself off, an act that was probably a force of habit since it really didn’t make a difference.
“You did the same for me,” I reminded him.
Casey chuckled. It was the kind of chuckle that was every bit an admission that he’d been the reason I’d almost met my maker, but we’d let that go. “Guess we’re even now.”
“Yeah, guess so,” I said, fidgeting in the awkwardness between us, and knowing there was still a pink elephant doing the squeeze on us.
“Hey, about Cassidy,” I started.
Before I could go any further, Casey looked me square in the eye and asked, “Do you love her?”
He was methodical with the way he tugged at each finger of a glove to remove it. Damn, maybe we were going to go for round two. Okay.
“I… um…” I hedged, not because I was afraid of him but because I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to exchange that bit of information with anyone when I hadn’t even had the conversation with Cassidy about what was up with my feelings.
“Look, man, you don’t want to tell me? I respect that,” he said, tucking the first glove in his armpit and moving to the next. “But if you do, ya gotta fight for her. Don’t be an idiot like I was and let her get away from you. Ya know?”
I nodded, knowing it had to take some mad nerve to admit his folly.
“As for Cassidy and me,” he continued. “Don’t sweat it. Had nothing at all to do with you. Truth of the matter is that Cassidy was just too much of a woman for me.” He laughed in spite of himself, shaking his head. “Damn, she’s headstrong. Loves to argue. She was definitely the one wearing the pants in our relationship. I need a woman who’s a little more docile. One who’s willing to be the little lady while I treat her like a princess. Ya feel me?”