Page 20 of Renewal After Dark

McKenzie loved the way that smile softened his hard edges. “No, I’m sure it didn’t, but sometimes we have to do what’s best for us, even if it’s not best for others.”

“That’s so very true. Is that what you did when you came here?”

“Absolutely. I had to get away from well-meaning people who wanted to tell me how to live my life and raise my son. My mother and sisters were a huge help to me when he was first born, but after a while, I felt like I wasn’t making any of my own decisions. And listening to my mother tell me every day that I’d made a mess of my life wasn’t helping anything.”

“Yeah, that’s not something anyone needs to hear on the daily.”

“It chips away at you and makes you question everything, especially coming from someone whose whole life had been a mess of her own making. At least out here, for better or worse, whatever happens, it’s my choice. Well, except for the part about the house falling down.”

Duke’s laugh was a rich, joyful sound. “Sorry. It’s not funny.”

“It kind of is. I run away from my entire support system to end up homeless in a matter of days.”

“You’re not homeless.”

“Thanks to you!”

“If not me, someone else around here would’ve stepped up for you and Jax. That’s how it works on Gansett Island.”

“I like it here.”

“So do I.”

“The insurance adjuster is supposedly coming out this week, but what do I do about fixing the cabin?” she asked.

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Mac McCarthy about rebuilding. He’s got a construction company and a bunch of guys working for him, most of them his cousins, and they get shit done around here.”

“I hope he can fit me in.”

“He’ll do what he can for you. He’s a good dude. I’ll give him a call in the morning.”

“Oh wow. Thank you.”

“No problem. One of the things I love best about island life is how we all step up for each other. If someone needs something, people find a way to make it happen. When my friend Lisa was dying from cancer, her neighbors Seamus and Carolina O’Grady helped take care of her young sons and then took them in after she died.”

“That’s lovely and so sad.”

“It was all the things, but she got to die knowing her precious babies would be well loved and well cared for by good people who’d keep them here in the place that was their home. They wouldn’t have to change schools or leave their friends in addition to losing her.”

“How’re they doing now?”

“After a rough few months, they’re thriving. And, in an interesting development, their biological father showed up out here a while back, after having done time in prison, and is now part of their lives as well. He didn’t know Lisa had died, and by the time he found out, they’d already found a whole new life. We were thankful that Jace didn’t upset their new lives. Rather, he’s become a friend to all of them, and as Seamus and Caro say, it’s one more person who loves the boys.”

“What a story. It’s funny that I think of this place as vacations and sunsets and beach days and sailing and all the fun things. But real life happens here, too.”

“Lots of it. Especially when a hurricane comes along to remind us how vulnerable we are.”

“Yes, for sure.” McKenzie glanced at her phone and was shocked to realize an entire hour had passed while they chatted like old friends. “I, uh, should go check on Jax. It was nice to talk to you.”

“You, too.”

“Sleep well,” she added.

“I always do. Hope you will as well.”

“I’ll sleep well tonight in your comfortable apartment.”

“I’ll make that call for you in the morning.”

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