Resilience After Dark, page 1
Resilience After Dark
Gansett Island Series, Book 25
Marie Force
Resilience After Dark
Gansett Island Series, Book 25
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By: Marie Force
Published by HTJB, Inc.
Copyright 2022. HTJB, Inc.
Cover Design: Diane Luger
Print Layout by E-book Formatting Fairies
ISBN: 978-1952793769
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at marie@marieforce.com.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
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MARIE FORCE and GANSETT ISLAND are registered trademarks with the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
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The Gansett Island Series
Book 1: Maid for Love
(Maddie & Mac)
Book 2: Fool for Love
(Joe & Janey)
Book 3: Ready for Love
(Luke & Sydney)
Book 4: Falling for Love
(Grant & Stephanie)
Book 5: Hoping for Love
(Evan & Grace)
Book 6: Season for Love
(Owen & Laura)
Book 7: Longing for Love
(Blaine & Tiffany)
Book 8: Waiting for Love
(Adam & Abby)
Book 9: Time for Love
(David & Daisy)
Book 10: Meant for Love
(Jenny & Alex)
Book 10.5: Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)
Book 11: Gansett After Dark
(Owen & Laura)
Book 12: Kisses After Dark
(Shane & Katie)
Book 13: Love After Dark
(Paul & Hope)
Book 14: Celebration After Dark
(Big Mac & Linda)
Book 15: Desire After Dark
(Slim & Erin)
Book 16: Light After Dark
(Mallory & Quinn)
Book 17: Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)
Book 18: Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)
A Gansett Island Christmas Novella
Book 19: Mine After Dark
(Riley & Nikki)
Book 20: Yours After Dark
(Finn & Chloe)
Book 21: Trouble After Dark
(Deacon & Julia)
Book 22: Rescue After Dark
(Mason & Jordan)
Book 23: Blackout After Dark
(Full Cast)
Book 24: Temptation After Dark
(Gigi & Cooper)
Book 25: Resilience After Dark
(Jace & Cindy)
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Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-3
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 4-6
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 7-9
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 10-12
Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 13-16
Gansett Island Series Boxed Set, Books 17-20
View the McCarthy Family Tree here.
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View the list of Who’s Who on Gansett Island here.
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View a map of Gansett Island.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
About the Author
Chapter 1
Gansett Island residents counted down to Labor Day for weeks, during the frenetic last rush of tourists before the island shut down for the long winter. Jace Carson had loved being there during the season, had enjoyed his bartending job at the Beachcomber and was concerned about making enough money to survive the off-season.
His first order of business, after his daily AA meeting, would be to start looking for a place to live, since the Beachcomber housing was available only to summer employees. He was more than ready to get out of there, after enduring weeks of the crazy partying that went on with the summer employees, many of whom had already headed back to college. The only good thing about the housing was that it had been free.
He’d been counting down to today for another reason. A few weeks ago, he’d told Nina, the AA facilitator, that he’d have something to say by Labor Day. As she glanced his way now, he knew it was time for him to step up for the group the way they had for him since he first joined them in July.
Jace had gotten to know several of the regulars, including Dr. Quinn James and his new wife Mallory James, as well as the fire chief, Mason Johns, and Jeff Lawry, through the stories they’d told about their addiction struggles and how they’d overcome them to lead a sober life. He appreciated everyone in the group who’d talked through challenges and supported one another throughout the busy season.
Now it was his turn. Telling his story would never come easily to him, but he’d been in the program long enough now to know that sharing the tough stuff was critical to maintaining his recovery and supporting the others.
“I, ah, want to thank you all for welcoming me into your group this summer and for all the wisdom you’ve shared,” Jace said. “It’s made a difference for me as I became part of a new community.”
“We’ve enjoyed having you, Jace,” Nina said with the same warm smile she’d extended to him since his first meeting.
“Well, thank you again. I came here to Gansett because my boys live here. Some of you may know them, Jackson and Kyle. They’re being raised by Seamus and Carolina O’Grady.”
Mallory gasped.
“Don’t worry,” Jace said. “Seamus and Carolina know I’m here and have been generous about allowing me to spend time with the boys, although the boys don’t know I’m their biological father. Not yet anyway. We thought it best to hold that back for now, until they’re a little older and able to understand things that are too big for them after losing their mom so recently.”
“She was a lovely person,” Mallory said.
“Yes, she was, and she deserved way better than what she got from me.” Overwhelmed by memories of the only woman he’d ever loved, Jace took a moment to get his thoughts together. “I can’t remember when exactly it was that I started messing around with heroin and meth. I think it was probably middle school. My older brother ran with a crowd that was into everything we were told to avoid, and I thought I was so lucky that he would take me with him. Our parents encouraged it. They thought it was great that we were growing up as close brothers, but we were drug addicts and criminals.
“You couldn’t tell us that, though. In our minds, we were just having fun, doing what kids do. Except, over time, we needed much more than we could afford. That’s when we started stealing from our parents, grandparents, friends, strangers. We did whatever we had to do to support our habit.
“I met Lisa when I was eighteen and already a full-blown junkie. But she didn’t know that. I’d gotten very good at hiding it from everyone. Even our parents had no clue what we were really doing. We got married young, had the boys one right after the other, and my struggle intensified when I had three people depending on me.”
Jace’s heart beat so fast he worried it might burst. The anxiety was familiar to him, though, as it happened whenever he revisited things he’d much rather forget. “My brother got the big idea to rob a convenience store. He promised me it would be just once, and then we’d have what we needed to get by for a year. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined. ‘One big score,’ he said, ‘and then we’ll be golden.’ He was going to do it with or without me, so I decided to go with him to try to keep him out of trouble.”
Jace ran his hand through his hair repeatedly, until he realized he was doing it and stopped, folding his shaky hands between his knees. “The owner of the store figured us out before Jess had the chance to use the gun that I didn’t even know he had. The owner pulled one on us. Told us to get the fuck out of there before someone got hurt. But Jess… He was desperate for the money and the score. When I saw he had a gun, I was stunned, but I still tried to stop him. He tossed me asid
Jace took a shaky deep breath and released it slowly, clinging to his composure. “I’ll never forget the sound he made when the bullet hit him or how hard he landed on the floor. I think he probably died instantly, but I was so shocked that I stayed with him, screaming at him not to die, not to leave me. I was still there when the cops came. They called the coroner for him and took me to jail. I was convicted of armed robbery, sentenced to ten years and released on probation after six. By then, my wife and kids were long gone, and no one knew where they were. I heard from Lisa once—when I was served with divorce and custody papers. I worked hard on myself in prison. I attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings, took college classes, learned a trade. If you ever need a plumber, give me a call.”
A ripple of laughter went through the group.
“When I got out six months ago and finally found my family, it was too late. Lisa had died of lung cancer, and the boys were happily settled with people who truly love them. I lost everything to my addiction—the woman I loved, the sons I adored, my reputation. I’ll always be a convicted felon and have to live with the memories of the day my brother was killed right in front of me. I’m focused now on rebuilding my life. I wanted so badly to see my kids, but it was important to me not to disrupt their lives any more than I already had, even if they don’t remember the really bad stuff.”
The emotional wallop that came with recalling everything he’d lost was familiar by now. His throat tightened around a lump that brought tears to his eyes. “They’re such great little guys, so cute and funny and smart. Lisa did an amazing job with them. Seamus and Carolina have been so good to them, and I’m grateful that they have a nice, normal life. They deserve that. I hate that Lisa died before I could tell her… Before I could say how sorry I was for putting her through hell and forcing her to make a new life for herself and the boys without me. I hate that she suffered with her illness and that I wasn’t there to take care of her and our kids. I should’ve been there.”
He wiped tears from his face. “I’ll never forgive myself for what I put her through. And that she died without knowing how much I loved her…” Jace shook his head. “I’ll never forgive myself for that either.” After a pause, he said, “I’ve learned in the program that we can’t change the past. We can only focus on today and tomorrow and trying to do the best we can with the time we have left, to make amends to the people we hurt. I hope that wherever Lisa is now, she knows how sorry I am for what I did.
“I’ve tried to repair my relationships with my parents and sister, but they’re reluctant to let me back into their lives, which I certainly understand. They lost both their sons and brothers in one dreadful night. I don’t blame them for being cautious toward me. We talk on the phone occasionally, but they haven’t been willing to see me. Not yet anyway. I hope maybe someday they will. In the meantime, I plan to stick around here so I can at least be close to my kids and see them once in a while. My next challenge is to find a year-round place to live on the island, so if you hear of anything, let me know. Other than that, one day at a time, right?”
“Thank you for sharing your story, Jace,” Nina said. “You’re doing all the right things to tend to your sobriety and make amends. We all make mistakes we regret, often terrible, awful mistakes. I hope you’ll also find the grace to forgive yourself at some point.”
Jace didn’t see that happening any time soon, but he nodded in acknowledgment.
After the meeting, the regulars came up to hug him and thank him for sharing.
Mallory and Quinn invited him out for coffee, but he asked for a rain check.
After telling his story, he needed to move. If he sat still, the emotional storm might drag him so low, he wouldn’t resurface for days. He didn’t have that luxury. He needed to work.
Mallory handed him her card. “If you need to talk later, call me. Day or night.”
“Thank you,” Jace said, appreciative of her kindness.
He left the meeting and returned to his room at the Beachcomber to change into running clothes. Two laps around the island’s perimeter road was just over six miles, which he ran at a punishing pace. Exercise had been his salvation in prison, where he’d run on the treadmill and lifted weights every chance he got. The freedom to run outdoors… That was something he’d never again take for granted.
As always, the physical exertion helped to center him. He found it ironic that he’d never been in better shape in his life than he’d been in prison. It took having his whole life taken from him to figure out what mattered and to regain his health. He’d lost things he could never get back, though… His wife and sons, his only brother, his parents, sister, niece and nephew.
Nina had encouraged him to forgive himself, but some things… Some things were simply unforgivable.
* * *
Cindy Lawry was up early printing flyers to hang at the salon, the diner, the ferry landing and grocery store, all the places people on the island were most likely to see her appeal for a new roommate. Her sister Julia was officially moving out at the end of the month, not that she’d ever really lived in the tiny house they’d shared. She was madly in love with Deacon Taylor and was basically living with him at his place while still paying her half of the rent to Cindy.
It was foolish, Cindy had told her sister, to waste her money paying for a place she didn’t use, so she’d officially “kicked Julia out” as of October first. With the season ending and business at the Curl Up and Dye salon slowing, Cindy needed a roommate ASAP.
Before work, she hung as many flyers as she could, thanking the shop owners for letting her post them and asking them to talk up the year-round room for rent. They were hard to come by on the island, so she was confident it would go quickly. However, she wasn’t going to settle for just anyone. It had to be a good fit. After growing up in a house with an abusive father, Cindy was all about peace and tranquility in her adult life.
Cindy had been hired to cut hair at Chloe Dennis’s salon after Chloe was asked to spearhead the new spa at the McCarthys’ hotel in North Harbor. Chloe suffered from rheumatoid arthritis that impacted her hands, so she had said the job at the salon was Cindy’s for as long as she wanted it. With a thousand year-round residents on the island and no other haircut joint in town, Chloe had assured her she’d make enough to get through the winter after the tourists left.
She put the last flyer on the door to the salon and then flipped the sign from Closed to Open. Her first appointment of the day was a cut and color for Mallory James, the nurse practitioner who’d married Dr. Quinn James in August. They were the medical directors at the Marion Martinez Senior Care Facility.
Mallory came in bearing coffee and a corn muffin for Cindy.
“You’re too sweet. Thank you. I’ll enjoy that during my break.”
“Rebecca’s corn muffins are the best.” Mallory put her coffee on the counter and backtracked to take a photo of Cindy’s flyer on the door. “I have a friend who’s looking. Are you accepting men?”
“As long as they aren’t creepy, I’m fine.”
“He’s a good guy. I think he’d be a nice roommate.”
“Thanks for passing it along. I hope I can find someone soon. Julia has already moved out, but she’s hoping someone will move in right away and reimburse her for this month’s rent, which she insisted on paying so I wouldn’t be caught short. She wants to buy a car.”
“I’ll see him in the morning and will give him the info. Is it okay for him to text you to set up a time to see it?”
