Authors: Sherryl Woods
Luke was the first man ever to fight through that wall she’d built around herself, the one meant to keep everyone out. He’d done it with patience, persistence and kindness, teasing her unmercifully until she’d no longer been able to maintain the angry, rebellious facade that she’d worn like a defensive cloak for most of her life. To find out it had all meant nothing would be heartbreaking.
“I don’t think that’s the kind of man he is,” her grandfather said, his expression filled with compassion. “And if he says he’s busy, I’m sure that’s the truth. Men tend to get absorbed in their work to the exclusion of all else, especially when they’re at the beginning of something. I imagine he has quite a lot at stake, not just financially, but emotionally as well. Men feel a need to prove themselves, especially in a family like his with so many high achievers.”
Moira felt reassured by the explanation. She’d been telling herself much the same thing, but wasn’t sure if she was only deluding herself. In most cases, she would have written off a man who treated her in such a cavalier way, but her stubborn, captivated heart wasn’t yet ready to give up on Luke.
Her grandfather gave her a commiserating look. “I have a thought about how we can find out.”
“What?” she inquired suspiciously. “I’m not going to ring him up and demand to know where we stand. That would be too pitiful. Why would I want someone who doesn’t want me, anyway?”
“A strong and proper stance to take,” Dillon agreed. “Add in the distance between you, and it will guarantee that you never learn the truth of things.”
She heard something in his words that stirred the faintest hint of excitement. “What are you suggesting?”
“As you know, I’m leaving in two weeks to spend some time with Nell in Chesapeake Shores, to experience her world firsthand. I was thinking it’s a long trip for a man my age to take alone, especially when there’s a lovely young woman who might like to go along.”
Moira stared at him incredulously. “You want me to go with you to America?” Her mind raced ahead at the thought, imagining Luke’s welcome, the way he’d draw her into a warm embrace. It would be her fantasy come true!
“Unless you’ve other, more important plans,” her grandfather said, his eyes twinkling. “I know you’ve just started work at the pub. And, of course, you could stay and finally take those courses you never finished because you said school was a waste of your time. If you’d prefer that, I’d back you a hundred percent, of course.”
“I
was
wasting my time at school,” she said at once. The thought of abandoning her job at the pub was more worrisome, especially with the possibility of getting some additional real work as a photographer on the horizon. Still, how could she resist this chance to see Luke, to find out where they stood?
“I’ll go with you,” she said decisively.
“Then it’s settled,” he said, smiling at her.
“But it’s not because of Luke,” she declared quite firmly. “It’s the chance to travel with you.”
“Of course it is,” her grandfather agreed soberly.
But even Moira couldn’t miss the disbelieving sparkle in his eyes. Nor could she deny that yet again he understood her better than anyone else ever had.
Breaking the news to Peter was harder than Moira had expected it to be, especially when his first words to her were about the photographs she’d dropped off the day before.
“They’re amazing, Moira. You’ve a real gift for this. I’ve already taken them in to be framed. They should be back and ready to hang by next week. I imagine you’ll have people ringing you up to shoot their weddings and their babies in no time at all. In fact, I showed them to Tara O’Rourke just yesterday. Her daughter’s getting married in a month, and she’s eager to hire you for the wedding pictures. And I’ve word of a baby shower, too, if you’re interested.”
She stared at him in amazement, basking in the warm glow of finally accomplishing something of which she could be proud, something even her mum couldn’t deny was a success. “Are you serious?”
He laughed at her shock. “I’m already preparing myself to lose you as a waitress in here. You won’t have time for this.”
“But I’m an amateur,” she protested, still afraid that Peter had it all wrong. Tara O’Rourke was probably just looking to keep expenses low with a first-time photographer. The same was probably true for whoever was planning that baby shower.
“You may be an amateur now, but you have an ear for listening and figuring out who people are and getting them to relax enough so you can capture it on film,” Peter said confidently. “You’ll make a career of this, if it’s what you want.”
She thought about that. Was it what she wanted? She couldn’t deny being intrigued by the possibility. How long had she waited for some hint about what her niche in life was meant to be? But why now, of all times? She couldn’t give up this chance to go to America, to see Luke again. And it was only for a month’s time.
She explained her plans to Peter. “I’m sorry. All of this came up just yesterday. I had no idea my grandfather would want me along on this trip. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for someone like me, who’s never set foot outside of Ireland.”
“And, of course, Luke wouldn’t happen to be part of the draw, would he?” Peter asked slyly.
“He’ll be there, yes, if that’s all you’re asking.”
“And you’ll be leaving when exactly?”
“In a week. Back a month after that, so photographing the wedding’s not possible,” she said with genuine regret. Was she making a mistake turning down such an opportunity when there were no guarantees about what she’d find when she arrived in Chesapeake Shores?
She shook off her doubts. There was only this one chance to test the waters with Luke. If Peter was right, there would be more opportunities for photography.
“I’d have to know the date of the baby shower. I might be back for that,” she told him. The thought of having actual jobs lined up for her return was astonishing. What an amazing, exciting prospect!
Peter nodded. “I’ll check on that and confirm it if the date works. I imagine I’ll be needing a calendar to book all your jobs for your return,” he said. “I’ll be your official agent—how’s that?”
She grinned at his enthusiasm. “You’d do that?”
“I discovered you, didn’t I? I can’t let you lose business before you’ve even begun.”
“You won’t go crazy, though, right? Just a few jobs, till we know for sure if I’m any good at this. You could be biased, or half-blind, for all I know.”
Peter laughed. “I’m neither, Moira. Just a smart businessman, who likes to think he’s able to spot talent when he sees it. Go and have your adventure, then hurry back. Leave the rest to me.”
“Can I finish out this week?” she asked. “I’ll need some spending money for the trip.”
“Of course you can. In fact, I think Kevin’s in need of another pint and the couple in the corner are looking a bit bemused by the menu. You might stop and explain it to them.”
“Will do,” she said eagerly. She turned away with Kevin’s Guinness, then whirled back so quickly she almost spilled it. “Thank you, Peter.”
“For the work? It’s nothing.”
“For the inspiration,” she corrected, thinking of his faith in her photography. Encouragement had been rare in her life. She felt the glow of it all the way through. “I’m excited about going, but now I’m almost as excited by the prospect of coming home.”
Luke was exhausted by the end of the day. Between meetings with potential suppliers, hours in the kitchen with Gram, who’d turned out to be an exacting taskmaster, and pitching in on some of the actual construction work, he came home ready to fall directly into bed.
He forced himself to take a couple of minutes to switch on the computer, check his emails to see if there was one from Moira, then send a reply. One of these days, he vowed to take the time to sit down and call her. Judging from her increasingly terse responses, she was feeling left out and abandoned. He could hardly blame her, when the most he managed was a two-sentence capsule of his day. He knew her well enough to understand that in her mind that could easily be construed as a lack of interest. As Gram had hinted, Moira wasn’t the kind of woman to put up with neglect for long.
Tonight he managed to keep his eyes open long enough to add a line pleading with her for understanding. “I want to tell you about all of this one of these days, but right now I hardly have two minutes to myself all day long. Hopefully, this will be enough to let you know that I’m thinking about you. Be patient with me. Luke.”
He’d barely hit the send button and signed off when his cell phone rang. Without even looking at the caller ID, he knew it was Kristen. She’d grown even more impatient with him lately than Moira had. He debated letting the call go to voice mail, but knew it would only buy him one evening of peace. She’d call again tomorrow and the day after that. She might not be the love of his life, but she didn’t deserve to be ignored any more than Moira did.
“Hey, Kristen,” he said, injecting a note of forced cheer into his voice. “How are you?”
“Lonely,” she said at once. “What are you doing?”
“I just got home and I’m about to fall into bed,” he told her.
“Why not come to my place and fall into my bed?”
A few months ago, he would have eagerly taken her up on the offer. Right after he’d finished college and was at loose ends, their casual, no-strings understanding was exactly what he’d wanted in his life. Kristen had seemingly been content with it as well. He’d only grown dissatisfied after the trip to Ireland when their few days together after the family had left had felt awkward and vaguely unsatisfying, as if he were doing something wrong, rather than something mutually agreed to. That reaction had been magnified because he’d already sensed that he could have real feelings for someone else, for Moira.
Once Kristen had left Dublin and he’d stayed on, spending more and more time with Moira, he’d known that he’d have to end things with Kristen as soon as he returned to Chesapeake Shores. So far, though, he’d done nothing about the situation beyond avoiding her when he could. Yet another bit of cowardly behavior that wasn’t fair to anyone.
“Luke, have you fallen asleep with me on the line?” she asked, a mix of amusement and impatience in her voice.
“Just about, I’m afraid,” he said. “Not tonight, Kristen. I’m wiped out.”
“You’ve been wiped out a lot lately.”
“You know I’ve been totally consumed with turning this pub into a reality. It’s going to be a real crunch to pull it off on time. I’m not going to have a lot of free time for a while.”
“And then?” she asked pointedly.
He sighed. “And then we’ll see, I guess. Look, Kristen, we’ve never been exclusive. I can’t ask you to sit around and wait for my schedule to lighten up. That’s not fair to you.”
“Why do I get the feeling that this brush-off has less to do with your demanding schedule than it does with that woman you met in Ireland, the one everyone but you has mentioned. Moira, is it?”
He closed his eyes. He should have guessed someone in the family would have filled her in. Because of Kristen’s past history with Mack and her blatant attempt to win him back despite his marriage to Susie, none of the O’Briens approved of Luke’s relationship with her. They’d be all too eager to let her know he’d found someone else and dent what they considered to be her massively self-absorbed ego.
“It’s not really about Moira or anyone else,” he insisted, trying to cushion this with a half truth. “It’s about my priorities right now. Opening this pub is my first chance to prove myself. I have to stay focused and get this right. There’s no time for distractions.”
“I suppose I should be flattered that a few hours in my bed would be too great a distraction for you,” she commented wryly. “Okay, I get it, but I’ll keep in touch, Luke. Eventually, you’ll realize what you’re sacrificing and want me back.”
He realized that she had the confidence to believe every word she was saying. “Take care of yourself,” he said, rather than arguing with her.
“See you soon,” she replied, clearly undaunted.
Yes, he thought wearily, she probably would. Kristen was not the sort of woman to take rejection seriously, much less accept that it was irreversible. More’s the pity.
3
“H
ave I made a mistake in inviting Moira to come along?” Dillon asked Nell when he called to let her know about his change of plans.
Nell laughed. “Absolutely not. I think it’s delightfully devious. I think I’ll keep it to myself so Luke is caught completely by surprise.”
Dillon hesitated, then asked worriedly, “You don’t think he’s put her out of his head, do you? I don’t want her to get there and be humiliated.”
“I doubt that’s likely,” Nell reassured him, totally understanding his concern for his granddaughter’s feelings. “I brought up her name just the other day and, though he said he had no time for a serious relationship right now, my impression is that he’s still quite taken with her. He seems to regret the timing, but not his feelings for her. She made quite an impression from the moment he set eyes on her. We both saw that. I’m sure we can trust what we observed.”
“And that other woman—the one who visited him here in Dublin right after the rest of the family left?”
“Kristen Lewis,” she said, unable to keep the disdain out of her voice. That was one who’d cause nothing but trouble. Nell believed that her grandson was far smarter than that. “Let’s just say that Moira is far better suited for Luke than Kristen could ever be. There’s something undeniably special between them. Your granddaughter presents a challenge, just the kind Luke needs, whether he knows it or not. She won’t be easy.”
Dillon chuckled. “No, our Moira definitely won’t be easy. Her mother and I could give written testimonials to that.” He fell silent for a moment, then said, “You mentioned timing, Nell. Do you think the timing is right for this visit, for us to be pushing them together? Luke was a bit unsettled about his future when he was here. I know he has plans for a pub now, but is it only a pipe dream?”
“Oh, no, as I’ve told you in my letters, he’s perfectly serious about it,” Nell replied. “All of that wandering that he and Moira did—it had a purpose, after all. He’s even been coming over here every morning to learn how to cook some of the traditional Irish dishes.”
She laughed, thinking about how hard Luke had struggled to pay attention to careful measurements. He didn’t have the temperament or patience for it, but, God bless him, he was trying. “It’s taken more than one attempt,” she admitted, “but he mastered Irish stew yesterday.”
Dillon chuckled. “Does he have an aptitude for cooking?”
Nell sighed. “Let’s just say I expect to spend more than a few of my days over there supervising unless he breaks down and hires an experienced cook, which would be my recommendation.”
“Perhaps Moira can pitch in and help. I’ve discovered that she’s not bad in the kitchen when she takes the time to cook a meal.”
“That would definitely be a blessing,” Nell agreed. “Do you think she’d be willing?”
“I think she’ll do anything to spend time with Luke.” He hesitated. “Nell, I truly hope I’m not setting her up to have her heart broken.”
“That’s not up to either of us,” Nell responded decisively. “We’re just getting them to the playing field. They’ll decide how the game goes. Luke’s a good man, Dillon.”
“I know that. Even when the two of them were wandering about the countryside, I knew she was in safe hands.”
Nell laughed delightedly. “Oh, I can’t wait for you both to get here and to see how this plays out. For too many years, Mick’s gotten all the credit in the family for matchmaking. I want to prove that I’m just as clever at it.”
“And here I thought it was my arrival you’d be looking forward to,” Dillon chided.
“Now,
that,
my dear old friend,” she said, “goes without saying.”
“I’ll see you very soon, Nell. It’s only been a few months, and I already miss you even more than I did the first time you left me all those years ago. At our age we don’t have time to waste like this.”
She knew exactly what he was saying, especially since the little wake-up call she’d gotten when she’d seen her doctor. In fact, she was thinking more and more about how she wanted to spend whatever time she did have left on this earth, and it wasn’t alone.
Moira debated emailing Luke to tell him about her plans to come to Chesapeake Shores with her grandfather, but she hadn’t heard from him for three straight days. Even making allowances for how busy he was, she found that disconcerting. And annoying.
Perhaps this trip was a mistake, after all. She finally had a chance to start a real business of her own. From the moment Peter had hung her pictures, there had been even more inquiries from the customers. She’d managed one session with a baby that had gone extraordinarily well, and had spread the word about her talent even more.
With regret she’d had to turn down Tara O’Rourke’s wedding and the baby shower, because both were being held while she was to be away. After saying no, she waged an internal debate over the decision. If Luke couldn’t even send a bloody email—which he hadn’t for several days now—how much time would he have for her once she’d arrived?
Still stewing over Luke’s silence, she left the pub on her break and walked the few blocks to her grandfather’s tobacco shop.
“Don’t you look as if you just lost your best friend,” he said, studying her worriedly. “Shouldn’t you be getting excited about this trip we’re taking in a few days?”
“I’ve been reconsidering, to be honest,” she said.
“Now why on earth would you do that? The plans are all made.”
She explained about the photography gigs she was sacrificing.
“Is that the real reason, then?” her grandfather asked. “Or does it have something to do with Luke? Has he been neglecting you? It’s only a few weeks until his pub opens. It’s to be expected that he has a lot on his mind.”
“Of course you’d defend him,” she said irritably.
Her grandfather’s gaze narrowed. “And why would I do that when you’re my family and it’s your feelings that count?”
“Because he’s Nell’s precious grandson,” she said, though she knew better. As he’d said, his first loyalty would always be to her. She might not have known that over the years when he and her mother had been estranged, but he’d proved it time and again recently. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I know better.”
“I hope you do,” he chided. “I just don’t want to see you get in your own way by stirring up problems when there are none. Have you told Luke you’re coming to Chesapeake Shores?”
She shook her head. “I thought it might be best to surprise him.”
“I agree, and I say we need to stick with that plan, unless you’ve decided he no longer matters quite so much to you.”
The problem, of course, was that he mattered too much. “What if we get there and he has no interest in spending time with me?” she asked, then held up a hand. “And before you ask, that’s not the same as having no time to spend with me.”
“I believe I know the difference,” he said, his expression amused.
“Well, what do I do then? Leave?”
“And give the man the satisfaction of having run you off on your very first trip to America?” he asked incredulously. “That’s surely not the Moira I know.”
She laughed. “No, it’s surely not,” she said. “I’m letting myself be defeated before I even know whether there’s to be a fight.” She sobered and looked into her grandfather’s eyes. “Does love make all of us just a little crazy?”
“You wouldn’t be the first to lose sight of who you truly are,” he admitted. “But I’ll be right there to remind you. I doubt you’ll stay lost for long. Keep in mind the woman that Luke chose to spend all that time with during his stay in Ireland. She captured his fancy. I feel certain she’ll do so again.”
Moira wished she were as confident of that. She was already in her twenties, but she swore that sometimes she felt as if she were no more than an unsophisticated sixteen-year-old country girl. That had never been more true than when she’d gotten a glimpse of the older woman who’d flown over to Ireland to be with Luke for a few days right after the family had left.
Luke had readily explained who Kristen was, explained how they’d come to be together and dismissed any notion that she meant anything to him. Moira had accepted his explanation because it was what she’d wanted to believe. What if things had changed now that he was back on Kristen’s turf? That was something else she had to worry about as she counted down the days till her flight.
At this rate she was going to be a complete basket case before she landed on American soil.
Luke was up to his elbows in flour, and making a real mess of things in Gram’s kitchen when his brother walked in. Matthew, blast him, burst out laughing.
“Oh, how I wish I had a camera right now,” Matthew said. “This is a picture that needs to hang above the bar at O’Brien’s once the doors open.” His expression brightened. “Aha, look what I have.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and snapped away.
“Bite me,” Luke said.
“Watch your tongue, young man,” Gram said, then turned to Matthew. “And if you don’t intend to be helpful, you can leave.”
Matthew regarded her with shock. “You’d kick me out? You’ve never thrown me out of your house before, no matter how badly I misbehaved.”
“You’re all grown up now and should know better than to tease your brother,” she scolded.
“But giving Luke grief makes my life so much more enjoyable,” Matthew said.
“Let him stay,” Luke said as he tried to work the dough into the proper consistency for the scones his grandmother claimed were a necessity if he was to offer afternoon tea. He scowled at her now. “Are you absolutely certain I need to bake scones?”
“Afternoon tea is a ritual that will appeal to a lot of the women in town,” she replied. “You want to draw the largest possible customer base, don’t you? And everyone in Chesapeake Shores knows I make the best scones. They sell out at every bake sale and church bazaar. Yours need to reflect my teaching so you don’t embarrass me.”
He sighed and kept kneading, then glanced at his brother, who still hadn’t wiped the amused expression off his face as he busily emailed the pictures to the family grapevine. “Why are you here, aside from a desire to torment me?”
“I wanted to let you know that the shipping company called. The bar will be here day after tomorrow.”
Luke stilled. “Will we be ready to install it?”
Matthew shook his head. “I’m trying to stall them for at least another couple of days. If the piece is as old as you say, we don’t want it getting damaged while we’re still under construction.”
“What did they say?”
“They’ll try to work with us, but they say it’s huge and they’ll need to send it when they have the right truck available.” He gave Luke a concerned look. “Did you actually measure it?”
Luke stilled. “Not exactly.”
“You either did or you didn’t,” Matthew said impatiently. “Listening to this guy talk, I got the impression of really, really big. That’s not a size that’s going to fit across the back of the room.”
“It’ll fit,” Luke said grimly. “It has to.”
“I’d feel better if you had the measurements to back that up.”
“Then I’ll drive to the port in Baltimore and get them,” Luke said grimly, heading for the sink to wash his sticky, flour-coated hands.
Gram gestured for him to return to the task at hand, then turned a pointed look on his brother. “Or Matthew could call this man back and ask him to take the measurements,” she said, then added, “Since you’re so worried about it, shouldn’t you have asked when you had him on the phone?”
Matthew leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You always took Luke’s side over mine. It’s because he’s the youngest, isn’t it? You love him best.”
Gram rolled her eyes. “Nonsense, and I am
not
taking anyone’s side. I’m just trying to get these scones made so they’re edible. Right now your brother is trying to pound that dough into submission.”
Luke sighed. “I think baking may be beyond me, Gram.”
“
Nothing
is beyond you,” she insisted. “Start over.”
Luke stared at her. “You want me to start from scratch?”
“Only way I know to learn,” she said blithely. “Matthew, if you intend to stick around, put on an apron and get busy. It wouldn’t hurt you to learn how to make something. You never know when Luke will need backup in the kitchen. In this family we pull together in a crisis, no matter what kind it is.”
“But that’s why he has you,” Matthew protested, already heading for the door. “Love you, Gram. Good luck with those scones, Luke. I’ll go make that call.”
Luke wished he had the nerve to go after his brother, but he was the one who’d asked for these cooking lessons. Gram clearly intended to see that he was a master Irish chef before she was through with him. He gave her a plaintive look now.
“Isn’t there some way to salvage this dough?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’ll be too tough. Bake up a few and compare them. You’ll see what I mean.” She picked up a catalog that had come in the mail and fanned herself.
Luke regarded her worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Just a little warm,” she said, her breath hitching slightly, as if she couldn’t quite catch it. “It’s sitting in here with the oven on. I should have opened the windows first.”