Not wanting to acknowledge that there’d been any checking out going on, much less anything for the two men to see, Shanna again shrugged. “They weren’t here that long. They went to lunch.”
“Really?”
“It was no big deal,” Shanna assured her.
Bree regarded her with skepticism. “I wonder if Kevin would tell the same story.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“Because he’s more attuned to my family’s sneakiness,” she suggested. “I think I’ll give him a call or maybe stop by the house on my way home.”
Shanna debated saving him, then decided to throw him to the wolves. It was his family, after all. “Why don’t you do that?” she said cheerfully.
“Oh, boy,” Bree said, a grin spreading across her face. “It was awful, wasn’t it? I knew it!”
Shanna frowned. “How did you get awful from anything I said? I was so careful.”
“Exactly.” Bree beamed. “If everything had been as casual and innocent as you were pretending, you’d have offered details. You wouldn’t have sicced me on Kevin.”
“Great powers of deduction,” Shanna muttered, though
she didn’t necessarily mean it as a compliment. Actually it was fairly annoying.
“Okay, now that the cat’s out of the bag, fill me in,” Bree commanded. “What went on in here? Did you and Kevin put on a show for my dad and Thomas?”
Shanna regarded her with a scowl. “You’re the one in theater,” she retorted. “Kevin and I don’t put on shows.”
Bree’s gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “But something did happen. I can see it in your eyes. You’re not looking directly at me. And you’re being all evasive and weird.”
“Do you analyze everyone you meet?” Shanna inquired testily.
Bree nodded. “Occupational hazard. I like trying to figure out what makes people tick. It comes in handy when I’m creating characters.”
“Which reminds me,” Shanna said, eager for a diversion. “How’s the play coming? Are rehearsals going well?”
“Nice dodge,” Bree commended her. “But I’d rather talk about what went on here today.”
“Nothing,” Shanna insisted. Bree’s gaze never faltered. She simply stared until Shanna caved. “Okay, your dad and uncle caught Kevin and me kissing.”
Bree’s eyes immediately lit up. “Really?”
“And, I’m sure it will thrill you to know that whatever their past differences, they are now united in bugging Kevin and me about that.”
“Not surprised,” Bree said. “But it does make things tricky for the two of you, doesn’t it?”
“Tricky doesn’t begin to cover it,” Shanna said dolefully. “With those two watching us like hawks, it could very well be the last kiss we ever risk.”
Bree seized on her tone. “And you find that upsetting?”
“Yes,” Shanna said at once, then blushed. “Really, I mean who wants a bunch of people studying their relationship as if they were specimens under a microscope? If I were in Kevin’s situation, I certainly wouldn’t want that kind of pressure. I’m not overjoyed by it myself.”
“I’ll get them to back off,” Bree said at once. “I like you and I love my brother. I don’t want your relationship ruined by a couple of meddling old men.”
“And a few meddling sisters?” Shanna dared to ask. “Anything you can do to keep Jess and Abby out of this? Maybe not mention anything to Kevin yourself?”
“When I first walked in, you were all about me talking to Kevin.”
“Only because I did not want to discuss this with you,” Shanna told her. “I’m not entirely sure how I wound up blurting it all out, but since I have, maybe you could leave your brother alone. You already know everything there is to know.”
“I could leave Kevin alone,” Bree agreed. “And I could agree not to say anything to Abby or Jess…”
“But? I heard a distinct
but
in there.”
“But they will find out,” Bree said.
“Kevin doesn’t think Mick or Thomas will say anything about today because they’ll enjoy gloating about knowing something that no one else in the family knows.”
Bree laughed. “An interesting theory. I’m not sure I buy it. While my father loves knowing secrets, he can’t keep them, and he’s going to be terrified that Thomas will blab first, so he’ll figure he should get the jump on him.”
“It was a
kiss,
” Shanna said irritably. “Not some earthshaking revelation that could change the world. How old are they? Ten?”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Bree said, her expres
sion commiserating. “I’ll do whatever damage control I can, but don’t expect this to stay a secret for long.”
She stood up and gave Shanna a hug. “Whatever you do, remember this. You’re good for my brother. Don’t let the rest of us scare you off. If we’re putting too much pressure on you, tell us to butt out.”
“Butt out,” Shanna said, testing the effectiveness of the order.
Bree merely laughed.
Shanna stirred more sugar into her coffee as she watched Bree sail out the door. She reminded herself of all the times she’d envied families just like the O’Briens…big, noisy, meddling families. Now she was beginning to see that there was a dark side.
But, God help her, she still wanted to be a part of one. Maybe even this one.
Every time her cell phone rang, Megan jumped. She glanced at the caller ID, determined not to take any calls from Mick. There was nothing he could possibly say about his last-minute absence from Chesapeake Shores that she wanted to hear. It would just be more of the same old, same old.
But as twenty-four hours passed, then forty-eight, annoyance turned to anger. So tonight when the phone rang and she saw his number, she punched the button to turn on the phone.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
“Is that any way to greet the man who loves you?” Mick inquired.
“It’s not the way I would greet
that
man,” she said pointedly. “However, it’s exactly the tone
you
deserve.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” he told her solemnly. “But
you already know that, if you’ve listened to any of the dozen or so messages I’ve left.”
“I deleted every one of them,” she told him. “Never heard a one.”
“Then I’ll repeat the gist of them,” he said with exaggerated patience. “The trip came up very late at night. I had no choice but to fly out to Seattle first thing in the morning. I called you from the plane to explain. I sent Kevin to the airport to explain. I am very, very sorry. It won’t happen again.”
She actually bought that he was sorry, but none of the rest. “Of course it will, Mick. Taking off at the drop of a hat without a thought for anyone else is what you do. I wanted so badly to take you at your word when you said you’d changed, but it’s evident that you haven’t.”
“I asked you to meet me out there,” he reminded her. “Don’t I get any credit for that?”
“I don’t have the kind of flexibility that allows me to jet off across the country at the drop of a hat,” she countered.
“You would if you—”
She cut him off. “You really do not want to go there right now. I’m not quitting my job to come back to a man who’s not reliable.”
“I’m just saying it would be easier—”
Again, she cut him off. “Leave it alone, Mick. It’s not going to happen.”
“You’re a hard woman, Meggie.”
“I’ve had to learn to be,” she told him. “You gave me lessons.”
“Now that’s a fine thing to say,” he grumbled. “And since we’ve pretty much beat my sins to death, let’s move on to yours.”
“Mine?” she said incredulously. “What have I done?”
“You sent our son running straight to his uncle looking for work.”
Megan’s mood immediately brightened, despite Mick’s obvious displeasure. “Kevin saw Thomas?”
“He’s going to start working with him next week. He’s already transferring the title for that fishing boat over to Thomas’s organization, so they can outfit it for research.”
“That’s fabulous,” she said. “This is the perfect challenge for Kevin. I couldn’t be happier.”
“You’re thrilled for him or because you know how much it annoys me to have the two of them working together?”
She chuckled at his miffed tone. “That is an added bonus,” she admitted.
“Did you suggest this just to get even with me?” Mick asked.
“No. I suggested it because I’ve been worried about our son. He needed a new direction in his life and, frankly, I didn’t think fishing charters were the answer. Obviously, once Kevin really thought it through, he agreed with me. Come on, Mick,” she cajoled. “You know how perfect this will be for him. He and Thomas are like two peas in a pod when it comes to the way they care about the bay. You’ve been on the water with them, listened to all of Kevin’s questions. Your brother was so patient with him. I think he’s been counting on this for years, but out of respect for you, he never pushed Kevin. He’s waited until Kevin came to him on his own. Give him some credit for his sensitivity about that.”
“I suppose,” he conceded grudgingly.
“Have you seen him?”
“Who? Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“He was here the other day, gloating about taking my son from me.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, we both know better. Thomas would never deliberately interfere in your relationship with Kevin or gloat about it, if the two of you did have some kind of a rift.”
“Actually, Thomas and I did find one thing we have in common,” Mick admitted.
“Really?”
“We think the new bookseller has a thing for Kevin and vice versa. We’re in agreement that we need to do whatever we can to encourage it.”
The idea horrified Megan. “Mick O’Brien, you keep your nose out of our son’s business!”
“I’m just going to nudge a bit,” he said. “Same with Thomas.”
“Has it occurred to you that your gentle nudging or whatever you want to call it will most likely backfire and keep those two as far apart as they can get? Shanna’s the first woman he’s shown any interest in, though she’s far from the first to try to catch his eye since he’s come home. Kevin needs to take this at his own pace.”
“Why?” he asked, sounding genuinely baffled.
“Because it’s a delicate situation. Kevin’s still grieving over Georgia or thinks he should be. In his position, he may view this as some kind of betrayal to her memory.”
“Then shouldn’t he know none of us see it that way? Won’t that reassure him that nothing’s wrong with moving on with his life?”
“It might,” she conceded. “Or it might not. Do you really want to risk nipping this relationship in the bud before it has a chance to bloom?”
“Sounds as if you’re determined to strip all the fun out of my life,” he said gloomily.
“Just trying to be realistic,” she said.
“Well, there’s one way to be sure I won’t meddle,” he told her. “Invite me to New York so you and I can work on our relationship, instead.”
She wanted to tell him not to come, that she was still too furious to see him, but the truth was most of the heat had gone out of her anger just listening to him take a real interest in their son. That alone demonstrated a new, improved Mick.
“When have you ever waited for an invitation?” she said at last.
“You saying if I show up on your doorstep, you won’t kick me out?” he asked, his tone cautious.
She grinned, relieved that he couldn’t see her expression. “I guess you’ll just have to try it and find out.”
In the meantime, she could work on her willpower.
A
fter getting caught kissing Shanna in the back room at her store, Kevin spent the next few days avoiding her and Main Street in general. He told himself it was because he wanted to spend every possible minute with Davy before starting his job with Thomas the following week. He made the argument so convincing, he almost believed it.
Today he’d met Abby, Trace and the twins on the beach for a family picnic. He also wanted to finalize the arrangements to have Abby’s nanny look out for Davy during the week. Though Gram had offered, a two-year-old was too much for her five days a week. Chipping in to pay the nanny made more sense, and Marian had agreed to care for Davy.
“He’s no problem at all,” she’d assured Kevin.
Now he had only to be sure that Trace and Abby were a hundred percent on board. Trace was the bigger concern, because he conducted his graphic design business from home and it would mean one more child underfoot. Though he claimed Carrie and Caitlyn were no bother, Kevin wondered if he’d be able to say the same about Davy.
As he and Trace put the hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, Kevin brought up the subject.
“Are you sure it won’t be an inconvenience having another kid in the house during the day?” he asked his soon-to-be brother-in-law. “I’ve heard those three when they get going. They can get pretty loud.”
“And most of the noise is generated by Carrie and Caitlyn,” Trace reminded him. “That’s why I soundproofed my design studio. It doesn’t keep out all the commotion, but it mutes it.”
“That takes care of the noise, then, but what about the interruptions?”
Trace shrugged. “I actually don’t mind having them run in and out. Marian keeps it to a minimum, but the twins are so bright and inquisitive, I enjoy having them around. And Davy loves drawing pictures with me. It’ll be fine.”
“Until he does one of his drawings on one of your megabuck graphic designs for a client,” Kevin suggested.
“A lot of what I do these days is done on computer, and they know not to come near that,” Trace said confidently. “It’s all good, Kevin. We’d tell you if it wasn’t.”
Kevin studied him, looking for any sign that he was only saying what was expected. He didn’t find it. Trace seemed genuinely content with his professional life and home situation. At least that part of it.
He wasn’t quite as resigned to Abby’s refusal to set a wedding date. He’d brought it up again this morning, making a joke out of it, but there’d been an unmistakable edge in his voice that Kevin found worrisome.
“How are things progressing between you and my sister?”
“Fine,” Trace said unconvincingly. Still, as his gaze sought her out at the edge of the water where she was watching the kids, his expression softened. There was no mistaking the love he felt for Abby. “I just wish we could get on to the next stage of our lives.”
Kevin was treading in water so deep he was afraid a single misstep could have him drowning, but he could sense the frustration Trace was feeling. “What would change, really?” he asked. “You’d have rings on your fingers, but you’re already living together. You’re already a family.”
“I want all of it,” Trace said, meeting his gaze for the first time. “I want the ceremony, the commitment, more kids.”
“Has Abby given you a reason for not setting the date?”
“She has a dozen of them,” Trace said, sounding resigned. “All nice, logical reasons that it’s hard to find fault with.”
“But you don’t believe they’re the real reason she’s dragging her feet,” Kevin concluded.
Trace shook his head. “She’s scared. I just don’t know why. She knows I love her. She knows I’m not anything like Wes. She knows she and the girls are everything I want. I bought a house for us. I thought that would be symbolic, prove to her that I was in it for the long haul.” He shrugged. “Maybe she’s the one who can’t commit to forever.”
“You know that’s not true,” Kevin said.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Trace said direly. “I thought she loved me once before, and she took off.”
Alarmed by the suggestion that Abby could bolt from the relationship she’d been destined for, Kevin feared if she kept dragging her feet, Trace would one day tire of the wait and give up. “I’ll talk to her,” he offered. “Maybe I can get to the bottom of this.”
Trace gave him a warning look. “Would you want her meddling in your love life?”
“Absolutely not,” Kevin said, thinking of the situation
with Shanna and how badly he wanted everyone to stay out of that.
“Then act accordingly. Stay out of it. Abby and I will figure it out eventually. Now leave me to these burgers and hot dogs. You’re distracting me. Go spend some time with your son.” He grinned. “You could take over from Abby with all the kids and send her up here, if you really wanted to do something helpful.”
Kevin chuckled. “I can definitely do that,” he said, heading for the shoreline, where Davy was helping Carrie and Caitlyn dig a moat around their sand castle under Abby’s supervision.
“It’s a good thing Mick’s not around to see this,” he commented, studying the lopsided structure and the crooked moat around it.
“Yeah, I think he’s doomed if he’s hoping the next generation will step up to take over his business,” Abby replied. “So far, these three aren’t showing much promise.”
Kevin slanted a look at her, trying to gauge her mood. “I’ll keep an eye on the kids if you want to go up and help Trace,” he offered.
Instead of seizing the offer, she frowned. “Did he say he needed my help?”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of need, but I think he wants you up there with him,” Kevin replied, studying her with a narrowed gaze. “What’s going on with you two, Sis? Is there a problem? I know all the rest of us have always counted on you for advice, but it works both ways. If there’s anything you want to talk about, I can listen at least.”
She hesitated, then admitted, “Trace has been pressing me to set a wedding date. He’s been mentioning it more and more frequently. I think he’s losing patience.”
Kevin ignored his very recent vow to stay out of their problems. After all, this opportunity had virtually fallen into his lap. He wasn’t going to let it pass. “Okay, why haven’t you set a date? And forget all the neat, logical excuses, because I won’t buy them.”
She met his gaze with a challenging look, then sighed. “You could always see right through me.”
“Your fiancé can see right through you, too. Trace isn’t buying your excuses, either.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said bleakly.
He searched her expression, but couldn’t read it. “You do love him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” she said fiercely. “More than I ever thought possible.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m scared of losing it all. I blew it once before, you know.”
“Well, one sure way to blow it again is to keep putting him off when it comes to setting a date for the wedding.” Kevin was struck by a sudden insight. “Are you sure you’re not testing him?”
She blinked at the suggestion. “Testing him how?”
“Okay, I only saw your marriage to Wes from a distance, but what I saw was a man who had little respect for your career, who always wanted you to be something you’re not. Wes expected you to drop everything to become a doting wife and mother.”
“True.”
“Are you waiting for Trace to suddenly start making demands that you be at home all the time, for him to question your career? Do you think it’ll start with a few complaints about how much time you’re spending in Baltimore, then escalate to demands that you give it all up?”
She didn’t answer at once, but her thoughtful expression suggested she was genuinely considering his explanation.
“You could be right,” she said eventually.
“Has Trace even once done anything to hint that he’s remotely the control freak that Wes was?”
“Absolutely not,” she admitted. “But I never saw that side of Wes till after we were married.”
“Therefore if you put off the wedding date, you’ll put off discovering if Trace is going to morph into another Wes,” Kevin guessed, spinning the theory to its logical conclusion.
Abby stared at him with a shocked expression. “He wouldn’t do that,” she said, leaping to Trace’s defense.
Kevin grinned. “I know that. Obviously, deep down, so do you. Get on with your life, Abby. I think a fall wedding would be beautiful, don’t you?”
She grinned and stood up, then bent down to kiss the top of his head. “I love you.”
“Back at you,” he said, grinning as she ran up the beach to join her hopefully soon-to-be husband.
Whatever she said to Trace had a startled expression spreading across his face. Then, grinning, he gave Kevin a thumbs-up.
Just then Davy crawled into his lap, his thumb poked securely in his mouth. “Daddy,” he murmured, leaning against Kevin’s chest.
“How’s my boy? You getting tired?”
But rather than falling asleep as Kevin half expected, Davy pointed in Abby’s direction. “Mommy?”
Not quite understanding, Kevin said, “That’s your Aunt Abby. She’s Caitlyn and Carrie’s mommy.”
“
My
mommy!” Davy said emphatically.
Kevin fought the unexpected sting of tears. “No, your mommy’s not here.”
Davy gave him a sad look. “Want Mommy.”
There was no way to explain to a child barely more than two years old that his mommy wouldn’t be back ever again. For months now, Kevin had been telling himself that Davy was surrounded by so many aunts, his great-grandmother and recently even his grandmother, that he’d hardly notice that he didn’t have a mother of his own. But he hadn’t counted on Davy wanting what Carrie and Caitlyn had with Abby.
All he could say was, “I know, son. I miss her, too.”
Lately, though, it was getting harder and harder to remember Georgia clearly or to recall why he’d fallen in love with her. With Georgia’s parents finally scheduled to come into town in a few days for their twice-delayed visit, he felt even guiltier. He blamed himself not only for his faltering memories of Georgia, but because he was starting to let Shanna into his heart, a place some might say should still be reserved for the woman he’d lost.
Abby walked into Shanna’s shop late on Monday afternoon. Her arrival immediately put Shanna on the defensive, preparing to fend off a million questions about Kevin. Instead, Abby merely asked if Bree happened to be there.
“She’s not in her shop, and Jenny thought she might have come over here,” Abby explained.
“I’m here,” Bree called out.
Shanna grinned. “She’s back there sitting on the floor looking at gardening and flower-arranging books,” she said, pointing the way. “She’s figured out which day my shipments of new books come in and she’s usually here about an hour later.”
Abby shook her head as she walked toward that aisle. “Does Shanna have a book on wedding arrangements?” she asked. “That’s what you need to be studying.”
Bree squealed, books hit the floor and then the sisters were in each other’s arms.
“You set a date!” Bree exclaimed. “Hallelujah! Trace finally got through to you.”
“Actually it was Kevin,” Abby said. She turned so she was addressing Shanna. “My brother actually has fairly astonishing insights for a man.”
Shanna blushed. “So I’ve gathered.”
“Well, this calls for a celebration,” Bree said. “Abby, you stay here. I’m going to run out and get champagne.”
“In the middle of the afternoon?” Abby said, though she sounded more pleased than shocked.
“Absolutely. Shanna, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Not as long as no one goes stumbling out of here,” she said. “But shouldn’t you go over to the inn and share this moment with Jess?”
“I’ll call her,” Abby said, immediately pulling out her cell phone and making good on the promise. When she hung up, she told Shanna, “You should be a part of this, too. Since you can’t leave the store, we’ll celebrate right here.”
Shanna felt a warm glow inside at Abby’s determination to include her. The glow only dimmed after they’d been left alone and Abby turned to her with a speculative gleam in her eyes.
“Now you and I will have a chance to talk,” she told Shanna meaningfully.
“About?”
“My brother.”
“Nothing to talk about,” Shanna insisted, only to have
Kevin himself walk in the door and pretty much shatter the illusion she’d been intent on creating. She frowned at him. “Isn’t today your first day at work with your uncle?”
He looked from her to Abby, apparently guessing at the source of her testy mood. “His workday starts before dawn. I’ve been to Annapolis and back and put in a full day.”
Abby’s eyes shone. “That’s wonderful. How was it?”
“I have a lot to learn,” Kevin said. “But I’m going to love it. Now tell me what you’re doing here?”
“I came by to tell Bree that Trace and I have set our wedding date,” she said. “Thanks to you.” She gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek.
Kevin beamed at the news, but then his gaze narrowed. “You came looking for Bree in Shanna’s shop? Why?”