Page 100 of Last Wish Wedding

Mac ran a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to make sure you’re taken care of.”

“We don’t need taking care of,” Kelsey replied, a hint of steel entering her voice. “We’ll manage just fine after you go.”

The quiet certainty in her tone—after you go, not if you go—stung more than he’d expected. “So that’s it? You’ve already decided I’m leaving?”

“Haven’t you? Mac, stop waffling. Choose to stay or choose to go,” she countered, meeting his gaze directly.

The moment hung between them. Before Mac could respond, Noah’s thundering footsteps on the stairs heralded his arrival.

“Mom! Mackie! Can we get a dog? There’s a perfect spot in the backyard for a doghouse, and I promise I’ll walk it every day.”

“Whoa, slow down,” Kelsey laughed, her demeanor transforming completely as she turned to her son. “We’ve barely moved in. Let’s get settled first before we add a dog to the mix.”

Noah’s face fell momentarily before brightening again. “But you didn’t say no!”

“I didn’t say yes either,” Kelsey pointed out. “Go wash up for dinner and set the table. Amy will be here with pizza soon.”

As Noah raced off, Mac found himself caught by this kind of ordinary exchange he’d watched other families have from a distance, but had never imagined he’d be part of one.

“He’s going to wear you down on the dog,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips despite everything.

“Probably,” Kelsey agreed, though her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll go help him set the table.”

As she moved to leave, Mac caught her hand. “Kelsey.”

When she turned back, her expression was carefully neutral again.

“I…” He broke off, struggling to find the right words. “This isn’t simple.”

“Do whatever you want, Mac. Noah and I will be fine either way.”

She left him standing alone in the study.

Chapter 28

The late afternoon sun filtered through the windows of Mac’s house, reflecting off the hardwood floors. Kelsey adjusted a vase of fresh-cut hydrangeas, their blue heads nodding slightly under her touch. Around her, the house hummed with voices, laughter occasionally rising above the general murmur. This was exactly the kind of wake Truman had requested. Not a funeral but a celebration.

“He would have loved this,” Ruth said, appearing at Kelsey’s elbow with two glasses of whiskey. She handed one to Kelsey. “Especially the whiskey. He always said cheap stuff was for funerals, good stuff for wakes.”

Kelsey accepted the glass, the amber liquid catching the light. “Mac made sure it was his favorite.”

“Of course he did.” Ruth’s eyes tracked across the room to where Mac stood, deep in conversation with the harbor master. “How is he holding up?”

“As well as can be expected.” The response was automatic and noncommittal—the kind of thing Kelsey had found herself saying repeatedly over the past few days when asked about Mac.

The truth was more complicated. Since their conversation in his study, a new distance had grown between them. It was as though the unspoken words between them had solidified into an impenetrable barrier.

“And you?” Ruth pressed, her shrewd eyes missing nothing.

Kelsey took a sip of whiskey and welcomed the burn. “I’m fine. Just focusing on getting Noah settled in.”

Ruth’s expression suggested she wasn’t entirely convinced, but before she could pursue the matter, they were interrupted by Mrs. Henderson, the librarian.

“There you are, dear,” she said, patting Kelsey’s arm. “What a lovely service. So dignified, yet casual, very Truman.”

“Thank you. Mac arranged most of it.”

“You two make such a wonderful team,” Mrs. Henderson continued, a gleam in her eye that Kelsey had come to recognize as the island’s insatiable curiosity about their relationship. “Though I must say, we were all surprised by how quickly you married. When did you first meet?”