Staying Grounded (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 1) Read online

  “What airline?” She gasped, obviously enjoying the feast as much as he was.

  “Not an airline. An airport. Flight school, really.”

  She moved, knocking his nose with the top of her head. “What are you talking about?”

  “Bill Durigo sold me Seacoast Air. I’ll be flying tourists in the summer and running the flight school year round. It doesn’t pay as well as my other job, but I’m hoping to hook up with a doc who can take me out to dinner here and there.”

  “You’re moving to Maine?”

  “Moved. Last week. Looks like we’ll be bumping into each other more often.” Graham pulled her body roughly into his.

  “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  “Why?”

  He brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her again, needing to taste the sweetness of Maggie. “Because I finally found what I was looking for. I haven’t been running away from anything, I was looking for something. I had no idea what or who, but then I met you. And then I fell ridiculously in love.”

  “Really? You’re really settling in Maine?” Maggie looped her hands around his neck and pulled him close.

  “I’m not settling. I’m home. To stay. For good. And don’t forget the love part. You can’t leave me hanging like that.”

  “I love you too, Graham.”

  “I’m not leaving you. Ever again.”

  “Well, if that’s the case,” Maggie said as she slid out from under his arms, “can I be your Maine booty call?” She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it at him.

  “Sweetheart, you’re my main and only booty call.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Graham

  Blake had a week off in early November and Doreen celebrated by having a pre-Thanksgiving meal at the Riley house. It was loud and chaotic and Graham loved every minute of it. Edward and Joan were invited, yet opted to stay home since they’d just returned from Argentina. He wasn’t sure if Maggie would prefer the quiet of her parents’ house, but she insisted on spending time with his family.

  Luke and Sage, happily married for a month now, sat cuddled in a La-Z-Boy, sipping their drinks before they went to Sage’s sister’s to celebrate. He envied his brother marrying into a family of siblings, but he wouldn’t trade Maggie for the world. They’d just have to start working on their own family. He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her closer on the couch.

  Graham had enjoyed sparring with Blake and Luke. Like the good ‘ol days. They teased each other and one-upped each other in everything from video games to movie trivia to women. Luke and Graham claimed they had the best woman, while Blake argued bachelorhood was the best—no offense to Maggie and Sage.

  Lucy arrived late with an excuse of staying up late the night before drafting her business plan, and Rachael stayed busy in the kitchen, while Doreen hovered over all the kids, making sure everyone had enough to eat and drink.

  The only one missing from the Riley reunion was Colton. Graham couldn’t help but worry about his long lost brother. Normally he’d check in every few months with a short, curt email letting his brothers know he was alive. Yet they’d received no details on what he’d been up to. No sentiments. No questions. Just, I’m alive and well. Say hi to Mom and the girls. Colton.

  They didn’t talk about him much, not wanting to dampen the holiday mood. “When was the last time your brother was home for the holidays?” Maggie asked.

  “Not since he was nineteen. More than ten years ago. He keeps re-enlisting.”

  “He could send us an email every now and then. Let us know he’s okay and thinking of us,” Rachael said as she set a tray of appetizers on the coffee table. Graham and Luke were usually the ones to receive the email and relayed the messages. He knew it hurt the women’s feelings not being part of the emails, but they weren’t missing much.

  “He loves you all very much. Colton will return to us when he’s ready,” Doreen said as she passed around napkins to everyone. “He’s serving his country and we are proud of him and all the people sacrificing their lives to keep us safe. When Colton feels his time is up, he’ll stop re-enlisting. And we’ll all welcome him with open arms and no questions.” And that’s how his mom was. Never one to pressure. If she had, Graham would never have returned to Maine. And met Maggie. And fallen in love. He kissed her cheek and toyed with her long hair.

  Maggie leaned into him and he counted his blessings. A year ago, hell, four months ago, he never would have imagined himself settled down, thinking about marriage. Maybe that’s why he started thinking about Colton more. The sense of family suddenly became more important when Maggie entered his life.

  Over the past few months she’d formed a friendship with Rachael and stopped seeing her as a patient, wanting to work on their friendship. Right now Rachael needed a friend more than a therapist and he loved Maggie even more for recognizing his sister’s needs.

  Sage and Luke left, as did Lucy after she filled them in on her ideas for her interior design business. She was a talented artist as well. Maggie had asked her to paint the famous Portland Head Light for her office.

  The old house phone that Doreen refused to get rid of rang. His mom answered with a happy Thanksgiving cheer and Graham watched as her smile froze, then disappeared. She covered her mouth, shook her head, and started to cry.

  “Oh my God.” She dropped the phone and Graham shot up off the couch to offer his support.

  “Mom?” He held her shaking body. “What is it?”

  “It’s your brother.”

  Graham’s knees buckled and Maggie rushed over to help him with his mom. She pulled out chairs for all of them to sit and ran to the fridge for a bottle of water. “Take a sip.”

  His mother didn’t move, didn’t look at the water. Her pale face remained emotionless, her gaze frozen.

  “What happened? What did he say?” Graham asked, desperate for details, the rock in his stomach heavy and painful.

  “He was hit by a roadside bomb. They don’t know if he’ll make it.”

  “Oh, Doreen.” Maggie enveloped them in a group hug before disappearing to call his brothers and sister back home.

  They stayed up late, waiting for the phone to ring again. When Doreen had her strength back to relay the full message, they gathered around the living room, holding hands and somber.

  “He’s in a hospital in Germany.” Doreen hiccupped. “There isn’t anything we can do now but sit and wait. Someone will contact me in the morning after his surgery.” She squeezed Lucy and Rachael’s hands. “He may lose his leg. They won’t know until they operate. The other men…they didn’t make it. Colton was the only survivor in this attack.”

  Graham cursed terrorists. Cursed the anger and hatred of the world. Thankful for his family, he held Maggie tighter, appreciating the unconditional love she offered him, and the love Luke and Sage had found as well. He looked at Blake, the bachelor who traveled the country building obstacle courses people trained months for. He had no commitments, no stable home, no stable girlfriend. Graham worried how Blake would cope with almost losing his brother. Knowing him, he’d take off again to escape the severity of it all.

  Kind of like Graham before he’d met Maggie. It took a near catastrophe in his life to show him what was important. Maybe his brothers and sisters would find peace and love in someone else as well. It was all he could hope for. Could pray for.

  Graham looked around the room and realized what was important in life, settling his eyes on the mane of auburn hair, and green eyes filled with compassion and sorrow for a man she’d never met.

  And then he knew. He couldn’t live his life without her.

  ***

  Maggie

  “Dr. O’Fallon? A Maverick left a message for you.”

  Maggie stared at the pink slip in confusion.

  Cleared for takeoff. Meet me at 18:00. I’ll see you at…the landing strip.

  Even his messages made her girly parts quiver. She sav
ed her document and shut down her laptop. “Thanks, Tiffany. You can go. I know you have a long drive to Connecticut tonight.”

  “The month between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is a dieter’s worst nightmare. I’ll be ringing in the New Year ten pounds heavier. Well, not you. Being in love seems to be good…exercise.”

  Maggie laughed. “Enjoy your visit with your family.” She pulled on her long wool coat and wrapped her Burberry scarf around her neck. Following the instructions from Maverick’s message, Maggie pulled into the hangar next to Graham’s Jeep.

  “I’m here to see a pilot. He goes by the name Maverick. Said he’s got some moves that will rock my world.”

  “I know the guy.” Graham leaned against an old plane, a toolbox at his feet, a rag in his hand, and a smile that would melt the ice off the North Pole. “I hear he’s great in bed too.”

  Maggie shook her head and laughed. “Is everything about sex with you?”

  “Nope. Just with you.” He strode over to her and kissed her long and deep, reaching her core, making her think about roses and babies and forever. “Let’s go.” He pulled back before she was ready. She’d never get tired of his kisses. His touch. His smile.

  The weeks since the call from Germany had shaken the Riley family. Ironically, Doreen had turned to Rachael for comfort and Lucy had been spending more time at home. Graham spent every night with Maggie, and they made a point to have dinner with his mom and Rachael a few times a week. Needless to say, the holiday season had taken a different feel.

  They still hadn’t talked to Colton. He’d been in a coma for three weeks and when he came out of it, had refused to answer any calls. His doctor and military personal had taken care of the correspondence in the past week; Colton was not up to communicating much with anyone. The messages he had relayed were short and clipped. I’m fine.

  There was more to the story, but Colton wouldn’t open up to his family. Maggie saw the worry etched in Graham’s eyes every time his brother’s name was mentioned. She left the topic alone and only pushed when she sensed Graham wanted to talk about it.

  Tonight he seemed to have something else up his sleeve and the old Graham was back. He did his pre-flight check and inspected her belt once he climbed in the plane, running his hands across the strap, gently brushing against her breasts. He slid his fingers between the belt and her waist, letting his fingers creep lower where her body ached to be loved by him.

  Maggie leaned back, pushing her pelvis into his hand, and he quickly pulled away, skimming his hand over his controls, pilot face on yet a hint of his devastating grin enhanced by his dimple.

  “Jerk,” she muttered and he laughed.

  “Patience, love.”

  She sat back and enjoyed the exhilarating feel of takeoff, the ground becoming smaller and smaller as they assented. The sun had set and only the twinkling of lights from the houses and small cities could be seen. They never went for flights at night before, much preferring to sightsee, and something about being in the dark night sky relaxed her.

  “So why the covert op? Flying under the cover of blackness?”

  “Curious, Doc?”

  “Nope.”

  Graham laughed. “You’ll see.” They flew south at first, taking in the Christmas lights from the more densely populated cities in Massachusetts before turning the plane so they were headed north, the land to their left and the sea to their right. Soon the bright lights of Portland filled the cockpit and he began his descent.

  “You flew us to Portland? We could have driven here in the same amount of time.”

  “Where’s the adventure in that?”

  Once they taxied and parked the plane, he helped her down and to a waiting car. “A limo?”

  “Traffic can be a bitch and I’d rather keep my hands on you, not the wheel.”

  He opened the door and she slid into the back seat. “I don’t remember Maverick doing this in Top Gun.”

  “That’s because I’m smoother than Maverick.”

  “Are you taking me to a staged volleyball scene? Because it would be fun to watch a reenactment.”

  Graham growled, pinning her on her back. The limo started moving, as did Graham’s hands. He made love to her mouth and fisted her hips in his hands. “God, Maggie. I love you.”

  She’d felt cherished by him every single day, never once questioning their love.

  “I love you, too,” she said between kisses. She slid her hands into his back pockets and drew his body closer to hers, and then the limo stopped.

  Reluctantly Graham sat up and helped her to a sitting position. “We’re here.”

  “Where?”

  He replied with his iceberg-melting grin.

  They exited the limo and stood in front of The Lobster Tail, her favorite restaurant in the Old Port. After a romantic dinner and tons of shameless flirting, Graham surprised her by taking her hand and leading her to the town square instead of the limo. A large crowd gathered around the enormous Christmas tree that was brought in for the holiday.

  “Oh, it’s the Christmas Festival.”

  Maggie had never seen it live. Maybe didn’t quite compare to Rockefeller Center in New York, but this was perfect and they didn’t have to deal with the craziness of the big cities.

  A local band played music and kids danced. Graham pulled her into his arms and slow danced, even though the beat of the music called for fast moves. “Maggie,” he sighed and rested his forehead against hers. “I want to do this right and am afraid of messing it up. You deserve the best and I know I’m a far cry from it, but I promise to work hard as hell every day to be everything you need.”

  A lump formed in her throat and the world around her melted away. She couldn’t hear the music anymore and didn’t notice her numb toes. The love from Graham’s smile warmed her from the inside out.

  “I fall for your smile every single day. I want to be the one to put it on your face in the morning and the last one to see it at night. Grow old with me, Maggie O’Fallon.” He dropped to his knees, getting jostled by the crowd, who slowly moved away when they realized what was happening.

  “Oh, Graham.” She covered her mouth with her hands then lowered them to still her heart. He pulled out a small, black box and flipped it open. “Oh. God.”

  “Is that an Oh God like you say in bed or a—”

  “Yes! It’s a yes!” She held out her left had so he could slip the ring on her finger. Of course, just like Graham, it fit perfectly.

  The crowd she’d stopped noticing cheered around her as Graham stood and picked her up, twirling her around. When he lowered her to the ground and his mouth met her lips, the Christmas tree lit up in the background and more cheers erupted.

  “Can we go home now?” Graham said after they pulled their lips away from each other.

  “Bored?”

  Graham shook his head. “I want to see what this ring looks like on you when you’re naked.”

  Epilogue

  Maggie

  Maggie tossed another log into the fire and returned to the kitchen where Rachael, Sage, and Lucy sat. Papers, two iPads, and a binder filled with recipes lay scattered across the table.

  “I’m doing my best to bite my tongue but I can’t control the shakes I get looking at your organizational system. Or rather, lack of one.” Sage picked up a stack of papers separating the index cards from the scraps of papers decorated with spills from the kitchen. “I’m tempted to toss this all into the fire.”

  “No!” Rachael shot out of her chair and Maggie rushed over, gently draping her arm around her shoulders.

  “Sage is teasing.” She shot her soon-to-be sister-in-law the evil eye.

  “She can’t help being bitchy. It’s ingrained. You get used to it over time.” Lucy snatched the stack of recipes out of Sage’s hands.

  “I wouldn’t seriously burn anything, Rachael. I don’t know how you find anything in this mess.”

  “I have most of the recipes memorized, but I’d like to have them written
down to hand down to my children someday.”

  Maggie rested her hands on her belly. She and Graham talked about having children, they just didn’t know when. He wanted to start trying right away while Maggie insisted they get married first. They’d planned the wedding around her dad’s work schedule and he promised to be back in Maine in the summer. It gave her plenty of time to plan the wedding of her dreams and having a wedding planner in the family made it even more fun. And tiresome.

  She wanted simple and Sage insisted Graham should have a huge party since she and Luke went small scale. And since Maggie’s parents were loaded. They settled somewhere in between, having the ceremony and reception at her parent’s house. The view was priceless and it meant a lot to her parents to have it there.

  “We can hire a graphic designer to build a website for you and they can type the recipes into a page you can decide to make private or public. Or…” Sage shifted through the papers, placing them in separate piles. “You can put together a cookbook. Some people still want the hard copy but others prefer storing files online. We can make an ebook as well or—”

  “I appreciate your help, Sage, really, but I think we’re getting a little too carried away. I’m not looking to make any money here, just organize my recipes so they’re easier to find.”

  “Not make any money? Are you crazy?” Lucy finished her Cosmo and set down her glass a little too harshly. “Everything is about money. That’s one of the few things Sage and I actually agree on.”

  “If you can market your talent and make a career out of it, you’re one of the lucky ones. Most people don’t actually get to do what they love for a living.” Sage picked up her iPad and tapped away.

  Maggie had offered her house, her kitchen table, for Rachael’s project, not really knowing how to help in any other way. They all needed friends, the four of them. An odd group they were, but they were family. Two sisters and two marrying into the Rileys.