Mac tucked Maddie into bed in the guest room at his uncle’s house and sat with her in the dark until she’d cried herself to sleep. She hadn’t said a single word since they left the island, and Mac had respected her need for quiet even as he was dying inside.

Under no circumstances had he imagined this day ending here, at his uncle’s house in the city. The house had been stuffy and hot from being closed up all summer but had been made available to them within minutes of his Uncle Frank hearing the news from Mac’s father.

His parents had come running and had done their best to hide their own heartbreak as they helped Mac gather what they needed for a few days away while they stayed with Thomas and Hailey. Now that he was certain Maddie was asleep, for the moment anyway, he went downstairs to call home to check on them.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, honey. You got there all right?”

“Yeah. Maddie’s sleeping. How are the kids?”

“They’re both fine, but Thomas has a lot of questions.”

“Is he still awake?”

“Dad’s up with him. Let me check.” She was quiet as she went up the stairs, which told Mac that Hailey was already asleep. He pictured her in her crib, her bum in the air as she slept, thumb in her mouth. His eyes filled as he thought about her and Thomas. He’d once thought he’d never get around to having kids of his own, and now they and their mother were his whole world.

He wiped away tears that rolled unchecked down his face.

“Dada! Where you go?”

Thomas still called him the name he’d given him when Mac first came into his life. Someday he’d probably drop that second a, but Mac hoped it didn’t happen too soon. “Mama and I had something we had to do in Providence. But we’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Are you being a good boy for Grandma and Papa?”

“Papa is reading books, but he keeps falling asleep!” In the background, Mac heard his father making snoring noises and Thomas’s accompanying belly laugh.

“He’s silly,” Mac said even as he continued to wipe away tears.

“He’s so silly. Are you sad, Dada?”

Knowing his son could hear the anguish in his voice made Mac ache. “Maybe a little, but I’ll be all right. You need to get to sleep now, okay?”

“Can Papa read me one more story?”

“One more.” Right then he’d give his son anything he asked for. “And then it’s time for night-night.”

“Okay, Dada. Can I talk to Mama?”

“She’s asleep, buddy. She’ll call you tomorrow. I love you and so does Mama.”

“Love you, too.”

After some rustling in the background, the phone was returned to his mother. “How’s Maddie?” Linda asked.

“Quiet.”

“She will be for a while.”

Mac sat on the sofa, elbows on knees, head bent.

“But she’ll bounce back. In time.”

“You’re sure of that?” Maddie’s unusual silence had given him an uneasy feeling over the last few hours.

“I’m positive.” After a pause, Linda said, “I’ve been where she is.”

“What? You have?”

“About a year before you… I was twelve weeks along.”

“I… I had no idea.”

“That’s because we didn’t talk about it. Still hurts, all these years later. The initial shock passes, but you never forget.”

“I don’t want to forget,” Mac said, his voice breaking.

“You won’t, honey.”

“I don’t know what to do for her. She’s…”

“She’s traumatized and heartbroken, but she’ll be all right. She just needs a little time to get her head around it. As do you.”

“She feels like she caused it because she said so many times she didn’t want to be pregnant again yet.” His throat closed, and tears streamed down his face. “We didn’t plan this one. We said it was an accident.”

“Sweetheart, everyone says that when they end up pregnant with a baby they didn’t set out to have right then and there. Neither of you said anything that anyone else wouldn’t say in the same situation.”

“Still,” he said. “We feel guilty about having said that stuff.”

“You were joking and coping with the idea of three kids under the age of five, Mac. Was there any doubt that you would love this new baby as much as you do Thomas and Hailey? Not in my mind. And you’re both still young and healthy. There’s no reason at all you can’t have another baby when you feel ready to try again.”

“I can’t fathom that after going through this.”

“Good thing for you that I was able to move past it when it happened to me, huh?”

Mac chuckled despite the grim conversation. “True.”

“This isn’t the time for big decisions or sweeping statements you might come to regret later.”

“What do I do for her, Mom? I feel so helpless.”

“Just be there. That’s all you can do.”

“She doesn’t seem to want my comfort.”

“That might be the case tonight and maybe tomorrow night, but she’ll turn to you when she’s ready to. You’ll be the first one she wants.”

Mac drew in a shuddering deep breath. He hoped his mother was right. He couldn’t bear the thought of distance between him and Maddie.

“Take an extra night or two to yourselves. Francine and I will take care of the kids. You come back when you feel ready to.”

“Thanks, Mom, for coming when I called you, and for everything else.”

“I’m always here for you, honey. We love you both. Let us know how you are tomorrow. When you can.”

“I will. Talk to you then. Love you, too.” After he put down his phone, he sat for a long time in his uncle’s living room, trying to get his own emotions under control so he could be there for Maddie if she needed him during the night.

As he scanned the array of family pictures Frank kept on a table, Mac thought about the many blessings he and Maddie had experienced in their lives so far as well as the challenges they’d endured. They’d gotten through it all—the good and the bad—by turning to each other, and Mac planned to be ready when she turned to him this time.

Using the hem of his shirt, he wiped his face and then went around checking the locks before he went upstairs to take a shower. A short time later, he got into bed with Maddie, moving carefully so he wouldn’t disturb her. Without waking, she snuggled up to him the way she often did at home, and he brought her into his embrace, comforted by the fact that she’d reached for him in her sleep.

Hopefully, she’d keep doing that in the days ahead.

---

With sleep proving elusive, Seamus O’Grady found himself staring at the darkness at two o’clock in the morning as he thought of the two little boys sleeping soundly in the spare bedroom. He’d encountered them often in the last few weeks, always together, always dirty and usually hungry. After providing them with snacks and drinks, he’d had a few less-than-charitable thoughts about a mother who let her little kids run wild when there were all sorts of hazards they could get into.

Now that he knew their mother might be quite ill, he was riddled with guilt. Instead of judging, he should’ve looked into their situation, and he should’ve done it a lot sooner. Rather, he’d become absorbed in his busy season at work and his new wife at home while those two kids suffered.

Back home in Ireland, such a thing would be unheard of in their village, where everyone paid far too much attention to their neighbors. Minding other people’s business was a way of life he’d abandoned after almost twenty years in the States.

He was ashamed of himself. It was that simple.

Carolina turned over and wrapped an arm around his waist.

As he tugged her close to him, her silky hair brushed against his face.

“Why’re you awake?” she asked in a low murmur.

“Just thinking.”

“What about?”

“Those boys and their mother.” He sighed. “I thought she was negligent, but she’s sick. I never bothered to check why they were running wild. I just made assumptions.”

“For what it’s worth, I made the same assumptions. More than once I’ve thought they were awfully young to be left to their own devices so often. Joe says I didn’t let him out of my sight until he was thirty.”

Leave it to his Caro to make him laugh when he felt like shit. “I believe him.”

“He’s not that far off,” she conceded.

“I want to help them, but I don’t know how.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Lisa, and we’ll ask what we can do.”

“Do you think she’ll let us help?”

“If she’s sick and alone with two kids, she may not have any choice but to accept whatever help is offered.”

“They’re cute little buggers. I’ll give them that.”

“They are indeed.” She kissed his cheek and then his lips when he turned toward her. “You feel better?”

“I always feel better when you’re talking sense into me.”

“Someone’s gotta do it.”

With a low growl, he said, “I’ve got much better uses for that fresh mouth of yours if you’re interested in using it for something other than giving me a hard time.”

Her hand drifted from his chest down to find him fully erect. “A hard time, you say?”

He gasped when she stroked him, making him even harder, if that was possible. “A very hard time.”

---

For the first time in her life, Katie Lawry woke the next morning to a man in her bed. And not just any man. No, this one was incredibly sexy and handsome and thoughtful and adorable in his sleep. Overnight, he’d sprouted whiskers on his jaw that only added to his sexiness.

Katie checked the bedside clock to make sure he wasn’t oversleeping. It was only seven, so he had time. He’d said he liked to be at work by nine.

As she watched him, she wondered what he’d do if she touched him. Would he wake up? Would he sleep through it? Would he want to have sex again? They’d done everything short of actual sex before falling asleep long after midnight. He’d said he was worried about her being sore if they did it a second time.

While she’d appreciated his concern, she’d wished he’d been a little less concerned.

Before he woke up, Katie decided to get up to use the bathroom and brush her teeth. She moved slowly so she wouldn’t disturb him. As she stood on her injured foot, two dull stabs of pain greeted her—one on the bottom of her foot and the other between her legs.

Maybe he’d been on to something with his worries about her being sore. She hobbled to the bathroom, where she discovered just how sore she really was and was thankful for Shane’s foresight. She brushed her teeth and limped back to bed, wincing as she sat on the edge of the mattress.

“How bad is it?”

The rough morning scratch of his voice sent a tingle down her spine as she turned to face him. “Not too bad.”

“Are you lying to me, Katie Lawry?”

She pinched her fingers together. “Just a little.”

“Come here.”

Katie moved carefully to comply with his request, scooting across the mattress until she was pressed up against him.

He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

“Sorry you’re sore.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh no?”

She shook her head. “Best night of my life. Hands down.”

“Really. Well… That’s quite nice to hear.”

It was okay if he didn’t feel the same way. He’d been married after all, and by all accounts had been crazy in love with his wife. Of course he’d had better nights than the one he’d shared with her.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, startling her.

“How do you know?”

“Your eyebrows become a straight line when you’re overthinking something.” He traced his finger over them to make his point.

“They do?” No one had ever told her that before, but then again she’d never let anyone get close enough to notice such quirks.

“Uh-huh.”

“So what wisdom are you gaining from my eyebrows?”

“You’re thinking that I was married, so naturally this was just another night for me, but it wasn’t. It was really important—and special—for me, too. For many reasons, but primarily because I got to spend it with you.”

“And that was the most perfect thing you could’ve said.”

He smiled. “I thought you might like that.” After another kiss, he said, “I really do mean it. I’ve been stuck in a bad place for a long time now, and it’s so nice to feel good again. The time that we’ve spent together has made me feel very good, which is a huge improvement in a short time, so thanks for that.”

“Happy to be of assistance.”

Shane checked his watch. “I’ve got some time before I need to be anywhere. How about some breakfast on the porch?”

“That sounds delightful.”

As he helped her to shower while keeping her foot dry, she was astounded by how quickly she’d adjusted to being naked with him. What should’ve been awkward and embarrassing simply wasn’t. It was like an extension of the night before when he’d gone out of his way to ensure her comfort.

She became extremely uncomfortable—in a good way—when he filled his hands with liquid soap that he ran all over her body, making her tingle from head to toe.

“So sensitive,” he said softly, kissing her neck as he cupped her breasts.

Katie’s legs began to tremble as he worked his way down to her belly and below.

“Nice and easy,” he said as he let his fingers slip between her legs.

Katie gasped from the soreness as much as the exquisite knot of desire that overrode the pain.

“I can’t wait to taste you again,” he said. “Tonight, after dinner at your mom’s, I’m going to taste you again.”

“You can’t say that and mention my mother in the same sentence,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Why not?”

“Because!”

His low chuckle echoed off the walls of the shower stall.

When he withdrew his hand from between her legs, she nearly toppled over. His arm came around her waist to hold her steady.

“I want to wash you.”

“Hold on to me.” He rearranged them so he was in front of her, keeping her injured foot outside the shower.

She ran her hands over his bulging biceps. “That was very smooth.”

“We can’t get that foot wet for another couple of days. Wait till you see what we can do then.”

“I can’t wait.” She held out her hand. “Soap, please.”

He filled the palm of her hand with liquid soap that she took great pleasure in spreading all over his muscular body, working her way down slowly until he was nearly panting from waiting for her to get to the erection that hung hard and heavy between his legs.

“I need more soap to finish the job,” she said, giggling at the tortured grimace on his face.

He gave her a refill and then propped a hand on the wall.

Katie loved that he seemed to be bracing himself for her touch, so she decided to make it well worth it. She started again at his shoulders, smoothing her hands over his nipples and rippling abs before she grasped his erection and began to stroke him.

“Shit,” he whispered.

“Is this good?” she asked, fascinated by the velvety soft skin that covered his hard length.

“Harder.” A muscle in his cheek pulsed as he covered her hand with his own and showed her how he liked it.

“That doesn’t hurt?”

“Hurts in the best possible way. Don’t stop.”

Even when the shower in the old hotel began to go cold, Katie didn’t stop. Emboldened by his heavy breathing and the hand he curled around her neck, she used her free hand to cup his balls.

“God… Katie…”

She watched, fascinated, as he came hard. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her for a long time, until they both began to shiver under the increasingly cold water.

“Best cold shower ever,” he whispered against her ear, making her laugh.