The babies put them through their paces—crying, diaper changes, more crying, waking each other up and eventually, waking Holden, too, which was when things really got interesting, because he wanted his mommy and daddy, not his uncle Kevin.

Hours later, the three of them had finally exhausted themselves—and their caregivers—and were blessedly asleep at the same time.

“Holy. Shit.” Chelsea dropped to the sofa, put her feet up on the coffee table and her head back, closing her eyes.

Kevin sat next to her, whimpering like a little girl. “I’d forgotten what that was like.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life!”

“Owen and Laura could run a class for teenagers that would reduce teen pregnancy to zero.”

“That’s for sure.”

“Still want one of your own?”

“Absolutely not,” she said, laughing as she glanced over at him.

“Aw, come on. You’re not going to be that easily scared off, are you? It wouldn’t be like this for us.”

“And you know that how?”

“First of all, we’d be having one, not three, and second of all, you’re hardly ever going to see colic, ear infections and diaper rash in the same kid on the same day. This was what’s commonly known as a perfect storm.”

“True.” She looked at him, her expression uncertain. “You really think I could do this? That I’d be a good mother?”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’d be a wonderful mother.” He brushed at something on her face.

“What?”

“Um, I think you have baby poop on your face.”

She busted up laughing. “I do not!”

He took a whiff of his finger and groaned. “I’m afraid you do.”

“Get it off me!”

Laughing, Kevin got up to wash his hands and get a paper towel for her and stubbed his toe on one of Holden’s trucks. “Fuck,” he muttered.

“Language, Doctor McCarthy. If you’re going to be a daddy again, you gotta clean it up.”

“Christ, I just got to the point where I can swear again.” He sat next to her and washed the smudge of baby poop off her face. “You look kind of cute with poop on your face.”

“There is nothing cute about poop on my face.”

Nodding, he leaned in to kiss her. “Everything about you is cute.”

“So what time were we expecting Laura and Owen back? It’s after midnight.”

“Is it?” Kevin asked, surprised they were out so late. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Maybe you should call them.”

“I’ll send a text.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Laura asking if they were planning an all-nighter. The text was delivered but went unread. “Hmm.” He waited a few minutes without a reply and then called her.

“Oh my God!” Laura shrieked as she answered the phone. “Owen! Wake up! The alarm didn’t go off!”

Chuckling, Kevin held the phone so Chelsea could hear. “Where are you guys?”

“We checked into a room downstairs so we could sleep for a couple of hours.”

“Seriously?”

“Dead seriously. Be up in a minute.” She ended the call.

“They checked into their own hotel to get away from their kids?” Chelsea asked, incredulous as she laughed.

“Welcome to parenthood, sweetheart. Enjoy the ride.”

On Tuesday evening, Kevin and Chelsea arrived at his place after an early dinner before her shift to find his ex-wife sitting at his kitchen table with their sons. Even though he’d known she was coming, seeing Deb in this place that had nothing to do with her still came as a shock to him, and apparently to Chelsea, too.

She dropped his hand and took a step back.

Kevin refused to allow her to feel out of place in his home, so he put his arm around her to keep her by his side, but her posture was rigid and her discomfort obvious.

Deb stood and came over to kiss Kevin’s cheek.

He wished she hadn’t done that.

“You’re looking well, Kev.”

“You, too.” Deb had always been gorgeous, with shiny dark hair and brown eyes that looked at him now with longing. “Deb, this is Chelsea. Chelsea, Deb.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chelsea said, shaking her hand.

“You, too.”

“Mom wanted to see our place,” Riley said, a note of apology in his tone.

“Of course.” Kevin felt nothing as he looked at his ex-wife—not anger or regret or sorrow. Just nothing other than gratitude for their sons. “Don’t let us interrupt your visit,” he said, glancing at the boys, who watched them warily.

“Kevin… I was wondering if we might be able to talk.”

Fuming that she’d put him on the spot in front of their sons and Chelsea, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Deb. I’ve said everything I’ve got to say to you. You take care.” Ushering Chelsea out ahead of him, he left the room, hoping Riley and Finn would understand that he wasn’t being rude to their mother, but he’d moved on from their relationship and wasn’t interested in going backward.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Kevin said to Chelsea after he’d closed the door to his bedroom. “I didn’t know she’d be here, or I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“It’s okay. It was fine.” As she spoke, she crossed her arms, rubbing them as if she were chilled.

Kevin went to her, put his arms around her and felt a tremble go through her. “She’s no threat to you or us, babe. I hope you know that.”

“I do.”

“But?”

“You’re still married to her. That part scares me.”

“I’m not going to be married to her for much longer, and there is nothing she could say or do that would make me want to go back to her. I hope you believe me.”

“I do…”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“This has been a slippery slope for me from the beginning. You know that.”

“I do, and I know why, and I respect that. I’m doing everything I can to move it forward as expeditiously as possible. I would’ve been divorced months ago if it were up to me.”

She slid her arms around him, and they stood there, wrapped up in each other for a long time, until he felt her trembling subside. “She’s very pretty.”

“Who is?” he asked, being intentionally obtuse.

Chelsea poked his ribs, startling a laugh from him. “You know exactly who I mean, and I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s pretty in light of the two very handsome sons she gave birth to.”

“They get their good looks from me.”

Chelsea laughed, and Kevin felt himself relax a little. “Everything will be okay. I don’t want you to worry about anything. I have no desire whatsoever to go back to where I was a year ago. Why would I want to do that when the present is so very, very sweet?”

She looked up at him. “I’ve put so much faith in you that sometimes it scares me when I think about the fact that you’re still married to her.”

“I’m not married to her in any way except legally, and that won’t be for much longer. Your faith in me will be well placed. There is literally no other woman in the world who could have me considering having another child at this point in my life or thinking about getting married again. I love you, Chelsea Rose. Only you.”

“I love you, too. So much. More than I thought I’d ever love anyone.”

Keeping his gaze fixed on hers, he lowered his lips to hers and moaned when her mouth opened and her tongue brushed against his. He lost himself in her sweetness as he pressed his instant arousal against her heated center.

Chelsea broke the kiss, whimpering. “We don’t have time. I have to go to work.”

He kissed her neck. “Call in sick.”

Laughing, she said, “I can’t. It’s too late to get someone to cover me.”

“It’s not fair for you to leave me in this condition.”

“I’ll take care of that after work.”

Kevin sighed and released her. “After we’re married, you won’t have to work anymore. Unless you want to.”

“I’ll still want to. I love my job, and I like having my own money.”

“Maybe you could work a little less.”

She patted his face. “We’ll see.”

Mindful that Deb might still be there, Kevin walked her out and kissed her goodbye at the front door. “I’ll come by later.”

“I’ll look forward to that.”

“Have a good night at the office, dear.”

Smiling, she kissed him and ducked out the door.

He waved her off, shut the door and turned to find Riley coming out of the kitchen. “Finn took Mom back to the hotel. I’m really sorry about that earlier. I wasn’t sure we should bring her here, but she wanted to see where we were living…”

“It’s fine, son. This is your home, too. You can bring anyone you want here. Did you have a nice time?”

“It was good to see her.” After a pause, he said, “She had questions. About you and Chelsea.”

“Is that right?” Kevin asked, annoyed that she’d pumped their sons for info about him. “What’d you tell her?”

“That you’re serious about her, and it would be a good idea for her to finalize the divorce and move on the way you have.”

“Did you? Wow, well, thanks for that.”

Riley shrugged. “It’s the truth, right?”

“Yeah, it is. In fact, can I let you in on a little secret?”

“Sure.”

“Hang on a second.” Kevin went into his room and retrieved the velvet jeweler’s box he’d stashed in the dresser a few days ago. He opened it to show Riley the engagement ring he’d bought for Chelsea at the island’s only jewelry store. The platinum band with the gleaming sapphire solitaire had seemed perfect for her.

“That’s really nice, Dad. She’ll love it.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. When are you going to ask her?”

“The same day the divorce is final.”

“Does this mean you’ve agreed to have a baby with her?”

“We’ve agreed to see what happens, up to and including adding to our family.”

“I’m happy for you both.”

“It means a lot to me that you and your brother approve.”

“We do. Will you stay on the island?”

“That’s the plan. I want to partner with Uncle Mac and Uncle Frank and you guys and your cousins on the new McCarthy’s Wayfarer.” With Dan Torrington’s help, they’d set up a corporation in which Kevin and his brothers would own half of McCarthy’s Wayfarer and their ten children would own the other half once the purchase was finalized. They had lots of plans and decisions to make, but Kevin looked forward to the challenge of the new endeavor. “Between that and my practice, I’ll have plenty to keep me busy. I like it here. Feels like home to me. And you and your brother are here, at least for now.”

“I’ve decided to stay for the time being, and Finn just added six months to his leave of absence with our company in Connecticut, so we’re both here for now.”

“That just makes it even better. A year ago, my life was in shambles and now…”

“People say Gansett Island has magical restorative powers,” Riley said.

“It’s certainly made a believer of me.”