While Hope talked with Mallory and Katie, Paul took a moment to chat with Big Mac McCarthy, who’d been his Boy Scout leader growing up and was now a fellow town councilman. Paul had always looked up to Mr. McCarthy, and respected him even more after serving on the council with him over the last couple of years.

“Heard you were off-island,” Paul said after he shook hands with Big Mac.

“I was. Took Linda to Boston for the weekend, but we both wanted to be back for the funeral. Terrible thing this is.” He glanced at the two boys, who were seated at a nearby table, eating mac ’n’ cheese and chicken tenders. Seamus and Carolina were seated on either side of them, watching over them.

“It’s awful.”

“Thank goodness for Seamus and Caro,” Big Mac said. “Those boys have no idea how lucky they are to have such amazing people stepping up for them.”

“They’ll figure it out in time.”

“Yes, they will.” Big Mac glanced at Paul. “Couldn’t help but notice you’re awfully cozy with that lovely nurse.”

Paul’s gaze landed on her as she talked with her friends. “She is lovely,” Paul said with a sigh. He’d woken up with high hopes for them that had been effectively dashed with one offhand comment.

“You sound troubled, son. Is everything all right?”

Paul looked up to find Mr. McCarthy’s wise blue eyes trained intently upon him. “Could I ask you something?”

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“You knew my dad.”

“Knew him well and thought the world of him. Everyone did.”

“That’s really nice to hear. I miss him.” His gaze found Hope once again. He was helplessly drawn to her despite all the many reasons why he shouldn’t be. “He had a real thing about Alex and me getting involved with the employees. When we were in high school and college, the place was always crawling with summer help, many of them women—”

“I think I know where you’re going with this, and I had a similar rule with my boys. Last thing I needed was messy entanglements during the busiest months of the year. Not to mention, I was always a little afraid of getting sued by a disgruntled employee who failed to land one of the McCarthy boys. Sounds sort of silly, but you can never be too careful.”

“Yeah, true.”

“That said, your dad and I were dealing with boys and young men who hadn’t figured themselves out yet. You’re a full-grown man now, Paul, and everything is different. You know how to handle yourself in any situation, and I have faith you’ll do the right thing no matter what. Your dad would certainly feel the same, especially in light of what you and Alex have done for your mom in recent years. He’d be very proud of both of you.”