“In that case, you can take the car, son.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Cooper grinned at his brother as he grabbed the keys off the counter.
“Good luck at the marina. They’re great people to get into business with.”
“Appreciate your help in arranging the meeting.”
“No problem.”
“Text me if anything changes here, okay?”
“Will do.”
Cooper squeezed Lizzie’s shoulder as he walked by her on the way out. He was worried about her and how this situation was affecting her.
Chapter 25
The drive to the marina took ten minutes. Cooper chose a parking space on the street before the more crowded marina parking lot, hoping the car would be safer there. He should’ve known it would only be a matter of time before Jared learned the details of what’d happened at the bluffs. It was a wonder he let him borrow the car again after hearing what he’d done. But his older brother had always been forgiving where Cooper was concerned, and he considered himself blessed to have Jared in his life.
He loved his other siblings, too, but was closest to Jared. Quinn had been away in the military from the time Cooper was very young, so he’d gotten to know him well only in the last few years since his brother retired, and his sisters had both been married for more than ten years. As the much younger brother to all of them, Cooper had struggled to connect with the others until he, too, was an adult, and they’d stopped treating him like a baby.
Cooper was a full-grown man and determined to succeed in business and in life. When he’d come to Gansett, he’d been focused only on the business side of that equation. But since he met Gigi, his plans had expanded to include her. If only he could convince her to include him in her plans. That was a challenge for later. For now, he had to keep his wits about him to pitch his business idea to Mr. McCarthy and the others.
He’d been working toward this moment for two years, and as he walked toward the open garage doors Mr. McCarthy had told him to look for, he took a deep breath to calm the fluttering nerves in his belly. He recognized Big Mac McCarthy right away from the wedding. He was sitting at a picnic table with a group of guys, laughing and talking over coffee and doughnuts. The smell of fried dough made Cooper’s mouth water.
“Hey, Coop,” Big Mac said, standing. “Good to see you again.”
Cooper shook his outstretched hand. “You, too.”
“I’d know you anywhere. You look like both your brothers.”
“Only much younger and far more handsome,” Cooper said, making them laugh.
Laughter, he’d learned, opened a lot of doors when dealing with other people.
“You might remember these characters from Quinn and Mallory’s wedding. This is my partner Luke Harris, my best friend Ned Saunders and my brother Frankie.”
“Good to see you all again,” Cooper said, shaking hands with each of the men.
“Good ta see ya, too,” Ned said.
“We’re waiting for Kara, but she should be here soon,” Big Mac said. “The poor gal is dealing with horrible morning sickness.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
“She’s usually better by nine, so she’ll be along soon. My son Mac is our other partner, and he’s sorry to miss meeting you. As you know, he’s still in Providence with his wife and newborn daughters.”
“How’re the babies doing?”
“Excellent. We’re hearing they might come home at the end of the week.”
“That’s very good news.”
“Speaking of babies,” Luke said, “has your brother heard anything from the mother of the baby staying with them?”
“The investigator Jared hired found her. We’re waiting to hear about next steps.” He’d keep the rest of the story private until Jared and Lizzie got an answer to their proposal.
“Let’s get you a coffee and some doughnuts before we get started.”
“I won’t say no to either.”
Ten minutes later, he was settled at the picnic table with a coffee and a new plate of freshly made sugar doughnuts.
“Holy crap, that’s good,” he said of his first bite of doughnut.
“Specialty of the house,” Big Mac said with a grin. “I swear they’re what bring in most of our repeat customers each season.”
“The atmosphere is pretty cool, too,” Cooper said.
“We like it,” Big Mac replied. “I read over the proposal you emailed last week, and I really like your idea a lot.”
“Oh, good. That’s nice to hear.”
“I have some concerns, though. Chiefly, the combination of boats and alcohol can be worrisome.”
“Yes, I agree, and that’s why we’d institute a three-drink limit for each customer by offering tickets that they can redeem. Once they’re out of tickets, they’re out of drinks.”
“What do you do about people who show up already loaded?” Luke asked.
“We’re going to breathalyze everyone, and we retain the right to deny passage to anyone who’s impaired.”
Luke nodded, seeming satisfied by that reply. “If we allow you to dock your boats here, we’d want to be released from any liability.”
“Understood,” Cooper said.
“I’m here,” a pretty redheaded woman said. “Sorry I’m late.”
A handsome dark-haired man followed her. Something about him was familiar to Cooper.
“I’m Kara Torrington,” she said. “This is my husband, Dan.”
Ah, right. The world-famous attorney was known for freeing unjustly incarcerated people. Cooper shook their hands. “It’s great to meet you both.”
“Have a seat, honey,” Dan said. “I’ll order your smoothie.”
“Thank you.” Kara sat on the end of the picnic bench. “Particularly rough morning. This kid had better be worth it.”
Big Mac laughed. “He or she will be. I promise.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that. What’d I miss?”
“We were talking to Cooper about liability, booze and boating.”
“Ah, yes, an often-lethal combination.”
“He has a good plan for addressing it using drink tickets to limit consumption on the boats.”
“I talked to my brothers about providing the boats, and they’re interested in helping you out.” She placed a business card on the table. “You can reach out to my brother Kieran, and he’ll work with you to get what you need.”
“This is awesome,” Cooper said. “Thanks, Kara.”
“No problem.” She turned ghostly white and then green before she bolted from the table, running for the ladies’ room.
“Something I said?” Cooper asked, grimacing.
“Happens like that just about every day,” Luke said. “She thinks it’s over, but it never is.”
Dan came out of the restaurant carrying a takeout cup and straw along with a bag. He stopped short when he noticed Kara was missing. “Again?” he asked.
Big Mac used his thumb to point to the ladies’ room.
“My poor baby mama,” Dan said, sighing. “She’s really suffering.” He seemed torn about whether he should go after her, but took the seat she’d abandoned and helped himself to a doughnut. “I have to eat when she’s not looking.”