Page 176 of Delivery After Dark
“I know my dad will love you, and I didn’t want to get his hopes up if you weren’t planning to stick around.”
“And now?”
“I can’t wait for my two favorite guys to meet each other.”
“I can’t wait to meet him, too. How would you feel if I asked for his permission to propose to you?”
Her heart simply couldn’t contain the emotional overload. “He’ll tell you it’s up to me, but he’ll appreciate the gesture.”
“Good to know. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
At first, she didn’t know what he meant, and then she got it. Only one of them had said the actual words. “I love you, Morgan.”
The way he looked at her… She’d waited all her life for someone to look at her like that and was thankful now that she’d waited for him.
He put his hand on her face as he gazed into her eyes. “Right when I’d lost the last of my family, there you were to give me a whole new one. If you put your faith in me, Sierra, you’ll never be sorry.”
“I already know that—and likewise. We’ll make a whole new family of our own, even if it’s just the two of us.”
“That’s all I’ll ever need, but maybe we can add a few little Morgans and Sierras to the mix at some point?”
“I’d consider that.”
Everything was different when he kissed her this time, sealing their deal in a passionate embrace that was so much more now that she knew for certain he loved her, and they were going to spend their lives together.
He made her truly happy, and she would spend the rest of her life doing the same for him.
Epilogue
On New Year’s Eve, right at midnight, Morgan proposed to Sierra, who said an enthusiastic yes as he slid his mother’s engagement ring onto her finger and promised to love her forever.
The following week, Erin Jackson gave birth to a son named Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson III, named for his father and his late uncle. His dad, Slim, was looking forward to taking him on his first flight and starting his pilot training.
In mid-January, Stephanie McCarthy gave birth to her and Grant’s son, Oren Charles McCarthy. His grandfather, Charlie, was positively smitten at first glance, as were Big Mac and Linda.
In late January, Jordan Stokes gave birth to a son whom she and Mason Johns named Wyatt. Two months after Wyatt’s birth, his parents were married on a windy day in March, a week before the finale of the wildly successful season of Jordan and Gigi: Live From Gansett Island, which had made Mason, and Gigi’s partner, Cooper, into instant stars.
On Valentine’s Day, Grace McCarthy gave birth to a son who she and her husband, Evan, named Maddox. His dad planned to start teaching him to play the guitar as soon as he could sit up.
In mid-February, Monique relocated to Gansett Island to live with Linc in his Coast Guard apartment as they pondered a wide variety of options for his next duty station. In the end, he put in a request to stay on Gansett Island. Monique had decided to open a dance studio at Tiffany’s, and they wanted to stay close to her niece, Hazel, who was born to Oliver and Dara Watkins in early March.
Later in March, Daisy Lawrence gave birth to Helen Marion, and her husband, David, immediately fell madly in love with his little girl—and her perfect name.
In April, Jenny Martinez and her husband, Alex, welcomed a second son. They named him Henry Hugh, because the name means “ruler of the estate.” Alex noted that someday Henry, George, Ethan, Scarlett and the new baby coming soon to Hope and Paul would rule the Martinez estate, so the name seemed fitting. Hugh was in honor of Jenny’s father.
In May, Sydney Harris and her husband, Luke, welcomed a son they named Elias. Their daughter, Lily, declared her baby brother the cutest boy in the world.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, Cooper James opened his bachelor-and-bachelorette booze cruise business with every weekend of the summer and fall sold out. His girlfriend, Gigi, was his first mate on most voyages.
In early June, Paul and Hope Martinez welcomed a second daughter, named Charlotte Marion Martinez.
On the summer solstice in June, Chelsea and Kevin McCarthy welcomed a second baby girl, named Faith.
That July, Julia Lawry and Deacon Taylor were “officially” married in a ceremony at the bluffs, followed by a reception at the new alpaca farm venue that opened for business that summer. Their daughter, Ella, was born a month later.
In August, Piper Bennett married Jack Downing on the porch at the Sand & Surf Hotel. Laura Lawry was her matron of honor. Per their request, Jack wore his uniform.
On Labor Day weekend, Jeff Lawry married Kelsey Gordon, also at the Sand & Surf, standing on two feet with no crutches in sight.
Later in September, Katie McCarthy gave birth to a son, who she and her husband, Shane, named Benjamin Francis, honoring Shane’s father with his middle name.
The following fall, John Lawry married Niall Fitzgerald in a ceremony at the Beachcomber, followed by a party that lasted until dawn.
Early the next year, construction began on a new wing of the Gansett Island School.
