Overwhelmed by his kind words, Paul had to gather himself before he could speak. “Thank you. That means so much coming from you.”

“At the risk of being presumptuous, I hope you know you can come to me any time you need a little paternal advice or wisdom. I’m always here for you, Paul.”

“I hope your kids know how lucky they are to have you.”

“Of course they do,” Big Mac said with a guffaw. “I tell them every day.”

Paul laughed at the big smile that accompanied the hilarious comment.

Mrs. McCarthy joined them, winding her hands around her husband’s arm. “What’ve you said to poor Paul, my dear?”

Paul wiped the tears from his eyes. “He’s just being his usual charming self.”

“That’s right,” Big Mac said.

“You about ready to go?” Linda asked her husband. “I’m babysitting PJ this afternoon.”

“Oh, hey, I want to go, too.”

She smiled indulgently at her husband. “As long as you don’t rile him up at naptime.”

“Now when have you ever known me to rile up anyone at naptime?”

She glanced at Paul. “Do you believe this baloney?”

“Um, no comment?” Paul asked with a grin.

“He’s a born politician,” Big Mac said, winking at Paul. “Let’s go see our grandson. Paul, I’ll see you this weekend at the party.”

“Looking forward to it.”

After they left, Paul went looking for Hope and found her at a table with Katie Lawry, Shane McCarthy, Abby Callahan and Adam McCarthy. Paul shook hands with Shane and Adam.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

“Whenever you are.”

They said their good-byes, ending at the table where Seamus and Carolina sat with Lisa’s boys. Hope ran her hands over their heads fondly and leaned down to kiss their cheeks. “Ethan and I would love to have you for a sleepover sometime soon,” Hope said. “Any time you’d like to come.”

“Thank you,” Kyle said for both of them. “That would be fun.”

“I’ll call Carolina to set it up.” She squatted so she’d be at their eye level. “I can only imagine how sad you must be feeling today, but I hope you know you have a lot of friends on this island.”

“Everyone has been so nice,” Kyle said.

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” Hope asked, kissing them both again.

“Okay,” Jackson said.

As they left the hotel, Paul noticed she was contending with tears. “That was sweet of you.”

“They’re great kids. I got to know them well when I was helping out with their mom. Ethan likes them, too. I’m glad to pitch in any way I can.”