Moonshell Beach: A Shelter Bay Novel (27 page)

“I’m not sure people can be manipulated into a relationship if they don’t want it themselves.”

“You won’t get any argument from me about that.
And although Quinn didn’t want to admit it for a long time, I think he was ready from the moment he and Nora met. It just took a while for the family to wear him down.” The memory of that time had her smiling, even as it made her more homesick. “And it had to have been true love for me not to scare him off.”

“How could you have scared anyone off?”

It was, Mary thought, another compliment. “I was a petulant Goth teen drama queen given to tantrums and door slamming. Looking back, I’m amazed anyone put up with me.”

He glanced down at her. “I’m having trouble seeing you made up like a Goth girl.”

She laughed merrily, feeling more lighthearted than she had for ages. “Let’s just keep it that way.”

As they rounded the cliff, J.T. waved to Lucas Chaffee, Maddy’s new husband, who was throwing a stick into the surf for the dog Mary had been told he brought back from Afghanistan. Although the dog had lost a leg to an IED, it didn’t seem to slow her down in the least.

The sight of the former Navy SEAL brought home the fact that while she’d mostly been thinking about J.T.’s last difficult duty, she hadn’t given all that much thought to the years he’d spent in dangerous places where so many brave men and women had lost their lives.

If he’d been killed, which he well could have been, they’d have never met.

And whatever happened between them, wouldn’t that have been a loss?

Although he was taller, her legs were long, and he was easily able to adjust his stride to hers, which had
her thinking how well they fit together in so many ways.

Yet, as they ran along the packed sand, with the sea breeze clearing the last of the cobwebs from her sleep-deprived head, Mary wondered why, as they ran back past the place where just last night he’d shown her she could fly, she was feeling sorry for herself.

Because, she realized as they ran around the rock below the Shelter Bay lighthouse, she wanted more. As amazing as the sex had been, having shared her body with him, although she knew even just a week ago she’d have considered the notion foolish and overly romantic, Mary wanted to share her heart.

The problem was she didn’t believe J.T. was ready to accept it.

“You really don’t have to do this,” Kara said as Sax flipped the
CLOSED
sign over in the window of Bon Temps. “I’m perfectly capable of driving to Portland to pick up my mother and John myself.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute,” he said. “But I want us to do this together because Faith’s not only going to finally be my mother-in-law—she’s Trey’s grandmother and they’re going to be grandparents to that baby you’re carrying beneath what, may I point out, is a very sexy top.”

The blouse in question was a simple cream silk, much like Kara knew her mother would’ve chosen. It was sleeveless, with a lace-edged scoop neck that, just a month ago, would have been considered conservative. Looking down at herself now, with her breasts seeming to have swollen to the size of cantaloupes, she could see that it was a great deal less so.

“You just like it because it shows off my boobs.”

“
Mais
yeah.” There were times, especially when he was frustrated or aroused, that Sax reverted back to the Cajun French that was still used in his family
home. From the way his eyes were glittering with friendly lust, she knew this time it wasn’t the former.

“We may be all adults, but she’s still my mother,” she reminded him. “A mother who didn’t expect to have her daughter get pregnant twice outside of wedlock.”

He drew her closer and nuzzled her neck. “Have I ever mentioned that I get really turned on when you talk like that straitlaced honor student the teenage me used to get a woody fantasizing about?”

She slapped his arm and pulled away to give him her sternest look. Which was impossible to hold when faced with that bad-boy grin.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she said. “Mom and John are only going to be here a couple days. Surely you can behave yourself for that long.”

His expression was one of pure innocence. Kara didn’t believe it for a minute. Fortunately, although there’d been a time when her mother hadn’t hesitated to voice her disapproval of her friendship with Shelter Bay’s bad boy, this time around he’d won her over by proving that he was not only more responsible than most men; he loved both Kara and Trey.

Then, of course, there was that Douchett male charm, which seemed to appeal to every other woman in Shelter Bay.

But they could look and fantasize about him all they wanted. Because, Kara thought, as she lifted her lips to her soon-to-be husband’s, Sax Douchett was all hers.

The flight from Japan was, surprisingly, on time. Since her mother and John had to go through first passport control, then customs, then take a shuttle to
the terminal, Sax, Kara, and Trey went to the lower level to baggage claim, where they’d agreed to meet.

When her mother first appeared, the two women burst into laughter.

“We’ve changed places!” Faith said as she hugged her daughter in a way she had seldom done while Kara had been growing up.

It was true. Kara’s blouse and dark slacks could have come from Dr. Faith Blanchard’s old closet. While the T-shirt and jeans her mother was wearing had always been Kara’s style.

“Doris and Dottie have been easing me out of my rut,” she admitted. “And you look beautiful.”

That was also true. The brisk, professional neurosurgeon who’d left Shelter Bay had always looked as if she’d walked off the pages of
Vogue
. Her suits were always classically fashionable, her makeup impeccable, and even in rainy Oregon, Kara couldn’t recall ever seeing a blond hair out of place on the short bob her mother had trimmed at Cut Loose every two weeks.

This woman’s silver hair was pulled back in a loose braid, her smiling face was bare, and her clothes looked well-worn and chosen for comfort. And utility, since there obviously weren’t dry cleaners to be found in medical-relief rescue centers.

“I feel good,” Faith said. Then smiled up at John and put her arm through his. “Really, really good.” It showed.

She turned toward Trey. “And look at you!” She swept him up into her arms and hugged him so hard she had him shooting a surprised look up at Kara. This was definitely not the grandmother who’d flinch whenever he’d play with his Hot Wheels on the wooden floors. “You’ve grown like a weed!”

When she finally released him so he could talk, he stuck out his chest with pride and said, “I’m gonna be a big brother.”

“I know. Isn’t it exciting! I know you’re going to be the best big brother ever.”

Her mother swept a look over Kara, pausing at her stomach. And immediately her smiling eyes misted. That was another thing. Kara couldn’t recall ever seeing her mother weep. Not even at Kara’s father’s funeral. Or afterward, when she’d returned immediately to work.

“May I touch?”

Since Faith Blanchard had
never
been a toucher, that heartfelt request had Kara’s own eyes misting up. “Of course.”

Faith touched a hand, almost reverently, against the front of the silk top. “Hello, little one,” she said softly, seeming totally unaware of the travelers bustling around them. “This is your grandma. Who already loves you so very, very much.”

She looked up at Sax. The mist had turned to actual tears. “Thank you,” she said. “For taking such good care of my daughter and grandson. And for…” She drew in a breath, obviously fighting for the calm she’d once worn like a second skin. “This glorious gift.”

“I didn’t do it alone,” Sax said. He waited until she’d done whatever bonding thing was going on, then gave her a hug. Which was something Kara knew he’d once never dared try to do.

“Well,” John said in a gruff voice that revealed that he wasn’t unmoved by the reunion, “let’s get our bags and go home. We have a wedding to attend.”

Unsurprisingly, given that Sax, Kara, Faith, and John were an important part of the Shelter Bay community, not a single person on the committee offered a word of complaint when Mary opted out of the film-character costume party to attend the wedding. She’d promised to award the trophies at the festival brunch before the sneak preview of
Selkie Bride
on tomorrow’s final day of the festival.

The scene itself could have come from a movie. The scent from Sofia De Luca’s gardens filled the late-afternoon air with perfume. On an emerald green lawn that smelled of fresh-cut grass, a string ensemble entertained the family and friends who’d gathered for the long-awaited double wedding.

J.T.’s parents and grandparents were in the front row, sitting next to Sofia. Next to them was Kelli, who kept sniffling into a tattered Kleenex. As if she’d been welcomed into the family, Mary had been given the seat beside her.

Gabriel St. James was seated on Mary’s other side, and next to him was former Navy SEAL Lucas Chaffee: Sax’s former teammate, and Maddy’s new
husband. On the other side of the aisle sat other former team members and close friends—Zach Tremayne, Quinn McKade, Shane Garrett, and Dallas O’Halloran—who had arrived with their wives from South Carolina and California to attend the ceremony.

The two grooms, Sax and John O’Roarke, stood side by side in the lacy white Victorian gazebo brightened by a fragrant profusion of scarlet climbing roses.

“Sax better unlock his knees,” Gabe murmured. “Or he’s going to fall flat on his face.”

He’d no sooner spoken than John leaned over and said something to Sax. Who immediately shifted his weight.

“Looks like thanks to his future father-in-law, the Saxman just lost his chance for YouTube fame,” Lucas said.

When the musicians segued into Handel’s Air, the three groomsmen, J.T., Cole, and John’s nephew Danny Sullivan, paired with bridesmaids Maddy, Charity, and Sedona, walked down the aisle, followed by Kara’s son, Trey, who was carrying the rings on a satin pillow.

Watching the way Sax looked down at the seven-year-old boy he’d adopted caused a lump in Mary’s throat. She knew all too well how painful it was to have a parent die.

When the quartet began playing Bach’s Arioso, a light but beautiful piece of music that Mary had chosen herself for the place in
Siren Song
when her selkie first emerged out of the water onto the beach, the assembled guests all rose and turned to view the brides.

Both were beautiful, as brides always are on their wedding day. Looking at Kara, Mary could totally see her stepping off a movie screen. Unsurprisingly, given her police training, Shelter Bay’s sheriff appeared cool and self-assured. The only sign of nerves was the splash of bright color on her cheekbones.

And her silver-haired mother, Faith, was so elegant in that dress and jacket Doris (who was seated behind the family, next to Dottie) had picked out, she could easily have been mistaken for Helen Mirren.

Watching the two grooms’ stunned expressions as the women approached was an indication that although they may have known them for many years, they were suddenly seeing them in an entirely new light. Their absolute love and devotion had Mary tearing up.

“Do you have another of those?” she asked Kelli.

“Of course.” She reached into a pink satin purse that matched her dress and handed Mary a handful of tissues. “I’ve always cried at weddings, so I make sure I come prepared.”

“Good idea.”

The wedding took Mary back thirteen years to a circle of stones overlooking the sea on the family farm in Castlelough, when Nora had married Quinn.

Mary had served as a bridesmaid, Kate as matron of honor.

Watching this ceremony took her back to that magical day, and caused a tug of homesickness in her heart.

As she reached Sax’s side, Kara smiled up at this man she’d known so many years. The man with whom she’d shared so much.

Standing next to her, Faith Blanchard also offered
a dazzling smile to the former sheriff’s deputy J.T. had told her had apparently loved her for many years, but had kept his feelings secret because her husband, now deceased, had been his best friend.

Like mother, like daughter, Mary thought.

Which again had her considering how alike J.T. and Quinn seemed to be. And how she and her sister had both found themselves attracted to men who were not easy to know. Nor would they be easy to love.

Not, Mary tried to assure herself, that she was in love with J.T.

There’s no point in trying to lie to yourself, darling.

The voice was so clear, at first Mary thought one of the twins seated behind her must have said something. When she glanced back over her shoulder, although Doris and Dottie both flashed watery smiles, neither appeared to have said a thing.

Which didn’t explain the silvery laughter Mary heard ringing in her head as she dragged her attention back to the ceremony.

The vows the couples exchanged were both simple and timeless.

To love. Honor. Cherish.

For richer or poorer.

In sickness and health.

Forsaking all others.

Till death do us part.

Mary heard more sniffles among the guests as, without taking his eyes from hers, Sax slipped the ring onto Kara’s finger. Kara, in turn, put a gleaming symbol of promise on his.

Then it was Faith and John’s turn.

A collective sigh of happiness could be heard rippling
in the salt-tinged air as lips touched, in their first kisses as husbands and wives.

As the two couples walked back down the white runner while the musicians played Handel’s perfectly named “Rejouissance,” Mary doubted there was a single dry eye in the place.

The reception, held in the farmhouse’s formal parlor, was as perfect as the wedding.

When the two couples danced their first dance to “At Last,” sung by Maureen Douchett, who not only had turned down a Hollywood offer but could’ve given the late Etta James a run for her money, Mary felt herself tearing up all over again.

Watching Maddy, Charity, Sedona, and Phoebe Tyler, who had worked so hard to create such magic in three short days, had Mary envying their closeness.