evening with a woman who interested him.
That was fine, or so he told himself as he drove the bike from South Harbor to the McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina in North Harbor, dodging traffic of all sorts on the way—cars, trucks, mopeds, pedestrians, bicycles and even baby strollers filled the island roadways on summer weekends when the population swelled dramatically.
At the marina, he found a big crowd of family members surrounding his uncle “Big Mac” McCarthy, one of Shane’s favorite people in the world. His uncle was all about family and fun and laughter, and Shane loved being around him. In addition to Mac Junior, Big Mac’s other sons, Grant, Evan and Adam, were there, as were Shane’s Uncle Kevin and his sons, Riley and Finn, who’d come for the wedding. The group also included Big Mac’s son-in-law, Joe Cantrell, who was married to Shane’s cousin Janey, along with Luke Harris, who’d worked at the marina since he was fourteen, and Big Mac’s best friend, Ned Saunders.
“Shane!” Big Mac’s bellow welcomed him as he parked the bike and stowed his helmet. “Get over here.”
“I’m coming,” Shane said, amused as always by his larger-than-life uncle. “Where’s Dad?”
“On his way,” Kevin said.
“Oh good.” Frank would never miss a gathering of McCarthy men, especially when there was fishing, beer and good times to be had.
“Meet my friend Buster,” Big Mac said of the stocky man standing next to him. “That’s his boat over there.” Big Mac pointed to what had to be a fifty-foot powerboat with huge towers and serious fishing equipment built in. “When he heard my whole family was in town for a wedding, he offered to take us out for a few hours today.”
Shane noticed his cousin Grant eyeing the boat with trepidation and wondered if he or his brothers had been on a boat since the catastrophic sailboat accident they’d been in last spring. Killed in that accident had been the captain, Steve Jacobson. Shane’s dad, Frank, was now dating Steve’s mother, Betsy, who’d come to the island after the accident to find out more about what’d happened to her son.
Seeing his dad and Betsy together, both of them nursing deep hurts, had given Shane a glimmer of hope that it was possible to move on after a terrible loss. Granted, his loss couldn’t be compared to what his dad or Betsy had endured, but it had been every bit as catastrophic to him. That Courtney had chosen to leave him was almost worse than losing her to death. Or so he suspected. He couldn’t imagine anything more painful than his wife choosing to leave him when he was still completely in love with her, despite the mess she’d made of their lives.
“You okay, man?” his cousin Riley asked Shane. Younger than him by five and six years respectively, Riley and his brother, Finn, closely resembled their cousins Mac and Adam with their dark hair and McCarthy blue eyes.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Better than he’d been in a while, Shane realized all at once.
“Haven’t seen you in a long time, but I hope you know…”
Shane saved his cousin the trouble of finishing the sentence by squeezing Riley’s shoulder. “I know. Thanks.”
Frank arrived, full of apologies for holding them up, and Big Mac ushered everyone onto the boat that he’d already outfitted with coolers full of food and drinks. His uncle did spontaneous fun better than anyone Shane had ever known, and a day on the water with all his favorite guys made what was already shaping up to be a rather awesome weekend even better.
Shane caught the biggest fish of the day—an eighty-pound bluefin tuna that put up one hell of a fight. It took Shane and four of his cousins working together to land the beast. Victorious and euphoric, Shane accepted slaps on the back and congratulations from the others even as his arms shook with fatigue.
“That’s my boy,” Frank said proudly, embarrassing the hell out of Shane with his effusiveness.
“We’ll cook it
That was fine, or so he told himself as he drove the bike from South Harbor to the McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina in North Harbor, dodging traffic of all sorts on the way—cars, trucks, mopeds, pedestrians, bicycles and even baby strollers filled the island roadways on summer weekends when the population swelled dramatically.
At the marina, he found a big crowd of family members surrounding his uncle “Big Mac” McCarthy, one of Shane’s favorite people in the world. His uncle was all about family and fun and laughter, and Shane loved being around him. In addition to Mac Junior, Big Mac’s other sons, Grant, Evan and Adam, were there, as were Shane’s Uncle Kevin and his sons, Riley and Finn, who’d come for the wedding. The group also included Big Mac’s son-in-law, Joe Cantrell, who was married to Shane’s cousin Janey, along with Luke Harris, who’d worked at the marina since he was fourteen, and Big Mac’s best friend, Ned Saunders.
“Shane!” Big Mac’s bellow welcomed him as he parked the bike and stowed his helmet. “Get over here.”
“I’m coming,” Shane said, amused as always by his larger-than-life uncle. “Where’s Dad?”
“On his way,” Kevin said.
“Oh good.” Frank would never miss a gathering of McCarthy men, especially when there was fishing, beer and good times to be had.
“Meet my friend Buster,” Big Mac said of the stocky man standing next to him. “That’s his boat over there.” Big Mac pointed to what had to be a fifty-foot powerboat with huge towers and serious fishing equipment built in. “When he heard my whole family was in town for a wedding, he offered to take us out for a few hours today.”
Shane noticed his cousin Grant eyeing the boat with trepidation and wondered if he or his brothers had been on a boat since the catastrophic sailboat accident they’d been in last spring. Killed in that accident had been the captain, Steve Jacobson. Shane’s dad, Frank, was now dating Steve’s mother, Betsy, who’d come to the island after the accident to find out more about what’d happened to her son.
Seeing his dad and Betsy together, both of them nursing deep hurts, had given Shane a glimmer of hope that it was possible to move on after a terrible loss. Granted, his loss couldn’t be compared to what his dad or Betsy had endured, but it had been every bit as catastrophic to him. That Courtney had chosen to leave him was almost worse than losing her to death. Or so he suspected. He couldn’t imagine anything more painful than his wife choosing to leave him when he was still completely in love with her, despite the mess she’d made of their lives.
“You okay, man?” his cousin Riley asked Shane. Younger than him by five and six years respectively, Riley and his brother, Finn, closely resembled their cousins Mac and Adam with their dark hair and McCarthy blue eyes.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Better than he’d been in a while, Shane realized all at once.
“Haven’t seen you in a long time, but I hope you know…”
Shane saved his cousin the trouble of finishing the sentence by squeezing Riley’s shoulder. “I know. Thanks.”
Frank arrived, full of apologies for holding them up, and Big Mac ushered everyone onto the boat that he’d already outfitted with coolers full of food and drinks. His uncle did spontaneous fun better than anyone Shane had ever known, and a day on the water with all his favorite guys made what was already shaping up to be a rather awesome weekend even better.
Shane caught the biggest fish of the day—an eighty-pound bluefin tuna that put up one hell of a fight. It took Shane and four of his cousins working together to land the beast. Victorious and euphoric, Shane accepted slaps on the back and congratulations from the others even as his arms shook with fatigue.
“That’s my boy,” Frank said proudly, embarrassing the hell out of Shane with his effusiveness.
“We’ll cook it
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