Dogwood Hill

by Sherryl Woods

  To his shock, Archie obeyed the command. That was a first, but definitely a welcome one. More shocking, though, was the fact that his dog—the one he’d left in his locked apartment—had been with Liz. How on earth had that happened? Did he have some sort of O’Brien gene in his blood, too, the kind that had him meddling to straighten out Aidan’s love life? Was he an escape artist on top of that?

  There was only one way to solve that particular mystery. He headed for Pet Style, uncertain of his welcome.

  Liz was waiting for him just inside the door. Clearly she’d anticipated his arrival, but the way she was nervously clenching her hands together suggested she was as uncertain as he was. One glance told him she’d slept no better than he had, but he was wise enough not to mention it.

  “This is unexpected,” he said, nodding in the direction of the dog, who was now sitting docilely at his feet with a rawhide bone in his mouth. That was new, too. “You taking in boarders again? Giving them treats they probably don’t deserve, because you’re a soft touch?”

  A blush tinted her cheeks. “Not exactly. I may have made an error in judgment, but when you hear the whole story, I think you’ll thank me. I hope so, anyway.”

  Aidan listened as she described hearing Archie’s barks, her rescue mission and the discovery that he’d only wanted to go outside to pee. He bit back a laugh at her chagrined expression. “Thanks for saving the floor.”

  “Susie appreciated that, too,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “I promise I won’t go into your apartment on a regular basis. We didn’t snoop around or anything.”

  It bothered him that she felt the need to defend herself in that way. “I’m sure you didn’t.”

  “But I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting strangers just busting in whenever the mood strikes. And given how many questions you know I have about you, it wouldn’t surprise me if you thought I might get answers however I can.”

  “First of all, you’re hardly a stranger. Second, that’s not who you are, Liz. I know that. You may not like waiting for those answers until they come from me, but you will.”

  She nodded vigorously. “Yes, I will.” She paused, then added, “And, just so you understand, none of this was Susie’s fault. I begged her to let me in, so please don’t get her in any trouble.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it. I probably should just give you a key in case something like this comes up again. Now that Archie knows he can get your attention by barking, who knows how often he’ll pull the same stunt. And I’ve been known to lock myself out from time to time. Sure, Susie’s close by, but it’ll be good to have a backup place to get a spare key in case she’s out of the office.” He realized he was fighting hard to convince her to accept a spare key, which should have been nothing more than a matter of convenience. He seemed to be viewing it as more than that, a first step to a new level of intimacy, perhaps.

  So, it seemed, did she. In fact, she looked genuinely startled by the gesture. “Aidan, are you sure about that? Things between us are kind of up in the air right now. Do you really want me to have a key?”

  He heard the genuine worry in her voice. He looked her directly in the eyes and held her gaze. “I trust you, Liz. I know you have your doubts about me, but I have absolutely none about you or your motives.”

  “Well, if you’re really sure, maybe it would be a good idea, just in case of another emergency, or at least what passes for an emergency in Archie’s world.”

  “I’ll bring a spare key by later,” he promised. “I have a couple upstairs. Susie gave me a slew of them. I’m not sure how much entertaining she thought I’d be doing, but having them looks as if it’ll come in handy, after all.”

  She peered toward the bucket he’d set down just inside the front door. “What’s in there?”

  “A rockfish,” he boasted. “The first one I ever caught.” He decided to take a risk, since the past few minutes seemed to have gone well enough. “It’s more than enough for dinner for two. Would you like to join me? Just as a friend and as a thank-you for rescuing Archie today. We can make it an early dinner. You can still be home before dark. I won’t consider it impolite if you decide to eat and run.”

  When he actually met her gaze, she was fighting a smile.

  “That’s quite an extensive and persuasive argument,” she said.

  He grinned. “I was trying to hit all the right notes. You know, light, casual, no expectations.”

  “Aidan, I don’t know. We just decided—”

  “You decided,” he corrected. “And won’t it be easier to overcome your distrust if we keep the lines of communication open?”

  She sighed heavily. “Okay, as long as you understand that this is just a friendly meal, nothing more.”

  “Absolutely,” he said at once. “I promise not to make a pass at you or to bring up anything heavy or too personal. A little friendly chitchat. That’s it.”

  He thought maybe she looked just a little disappointed that he’d ruled out making a pass, but maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part. Bottom line, though, if he could get her to agree to keep on spending time with him until he could tell her everything, perhaps she’d find some way to start believing in him.

  * * *

  Since healthy food was at a premium in his nearly empty refrigerator, Aidan had made a quick trip to a farmer’s market just outside of town after Thomas had given him a lesson in cleaning the fish. The process had been messy, but he thought he’d done a decent job of it. Now he needed some side dishes to go along with it. Thomas had recommended the local produce and even told him how to cook it on the grill.

  “You’re a man of many talents,” Aidan had told him.

  Thomas had laughed. “Trust me, this is a new one. Mick has always held the family barbecues and Ma’s in charge of all the other cooking. Connie seemed to feel that we should be equal partners in the kitchen. My skills are still pretty limited but we don’t starve when it’s my night to cook.”

  Aidan had determined right then to make it one of his goals, too. It seemed like something Liz might appreciate. She’d been impressed by his sandwich-making ability, after all. A whole meal might just knock her socks off. And he was still determined to get those socks—figuratively—and a few other articles of clothing off. Nothing in recent days had changed that mission.

  He’d started the grill, put a foil packet of vegetables on the heat to roast and made a salad by the time he heard her hesitant tap on his door. Not that he’d needed the warning. Archie’s reaction—barking and racing to the door and back—had been sufficient.

  “Sit!” he ordered before opening the door.

  Archie obediently sat, though it was clear that he was practically quivering with excitement over Liz’s arrival.

  “Stay!” Aidan said as he opened the door.

  Liz stood in the doorway and regarded them with a shocked expression. “When did this happen? All the good behavior, I mean.”

  “If you’re referring to Archie’s, it’s relatively new. I’ve always been well mannered.”

  She laughed and some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease. She came in and looked around curiously, proving that she really hadn’t explored the place earlier. Not that he would have minded if she had. He wanted her to know him, not that there was much she might discover from his belongings. He even wanted to get those secrets he couldn’t yet reveal out in the open, too.

  “Would you like a glass of wine? I’ve opened a bottle of white, but there’s red here, too.”

  “White’s fine.”

  “Dinner’s almost ready,” he told her as he poured the drink for her. “I just have to put the fish on the grill. I think I can follow the directions Thomas gave me.”

  She regarded him with surprise. “Thomas?”

  “I guess I didn’t mention it before. I was fishin
g at Mick’s earlier with him and Sean,” he said, hoping he’d managed to strike just the right casual note for something that had felt momentous to him.

  “How’d that happen?”

  Here was one of those minefields he wasn’t certain how to navigate without giving away too much. For most of his life he’d been open and honest. He’d even had a reputation for unbridled candor with the media when he’d been playing pro football. Now he was forced to walk on eggshells every time he opened his mouth, at least when it came to this one topic.

  “You know the after-school activity I’ve been assigned to handle, aside from football, is the environmental club, right?”

  “I think you mentioned it. I guess I didn’t realize Thomas was involved, but that makes sense.”

  “Can you imagine a better person to inspire these kids to treat the environment around here with care?” he said.

  Liz studied him with a curious expression. “You sound impressed.”

  “Of course. He has incredible credentials.”

  “This is quite a turnaround,” she said. “I used to think there was bad blood between the two of you. What I couldn’t understand was why, if you’d never even met.”

  “Just one of those things,” Aidan said with a shrug. “We didn’t hit it off at first. Now that I’ve gotten to know him better, I’m seeing him differently.”

  The comment was true as far as it went. He could only pray it was enough to satisfy Liz. He watched her closely and noted that she seemed to have made up her mind to let it go.

  She studied him. “So today was about bonding and talking about your plans for fall?”

  “Exactly,” he said. “Thomas is getting me up to speed on what projects the club has tackled in the past and what he’d like to see the kids focus on this year. He even thinks perhaps one or two of them might want to testify during the hearings this year on some proposed changes to the law that could adversely affect the Chesapeake. The fishing was just a bonus. When he found out I’d never been, he suggested I join him and Sean.”

  “He must love it that you’re embracing his favorite cause,” she said.

  “The man has pretty amazing recruitment skills,” he said wryly. “I don’t imagine anyone living in the entire region could resist his arguments about protecting the beauty of our natural resources. Kevin’s good at it and just as passionate, but Thomas seems to innately know the right buttons to push.”

  “Believe me, I know,” Liz said. “He had half the town working one day back in March to clean up the shoreline. It was still chilly and it started raining, but not a single person left. Nell was right there alongside him, even though her husband and Mick were grumbling she was going to wind up with pneumonia.”

  Aidan smiled at the image of Nell defying the two men to work on a cause dear to Thomas’s heart. It suddenly dawned on him that that petite dynamo was his grandmother. Of course, he’d known that intellectually, but the implication hadn’t really registered until now. He’d seen for himself how wise and caring she was and suddenly found himself yearning for that to be directed his way. Since he’d been in town and met the O’Briens, he was realizing how much he missed those deep family connections he’d lost when first his maternal grandparents and then his mom had died.

  Liz regarded him with an odd expression. “What was that look about?” she asked. “Something seems to have shaken you.”

  Aidan scrambled for a plausible answer. “I just remembered the fish. I need to get it on the grill before the vegetables burn.”

  “Need any help?”

  “I’ve got it. Just give me a minute to run downstairs to the barbecue area. I’ll be back with everything, hopefully cooked to perfection.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come along to carry anything?”

  What he really wanted was a minute to gather his composure. “I’ve got it covered. Sit out on the balcony and relax. You’ve been on your feet all day.”

  “To be honest, that does sound heavenly,” she admitted.

  “Then do it.”

  And maybe by the time he got back upstairs, she’d have forgotten all about the questions he’d managed to stir up.

  * * *

  Liz was puzzled by Aidan’s eagerness to get away from her all of a sudden, but the prospect of sitting outside on the warm night with a glass of wine in hand was too tempting to pass up. What she hadn’t considered was the fact that Aidan’s balcony was in full view of any passerby on Main Street. While it had been a fairly quiet day in town, tonight the street was bustling with locals and tourists out for an evening stroll before or after dinner at one of the nearby restaurants.

  “Well, well, well, look who’s making herself right at home on Aidan’s balcony,” Susie taunted from below. “Has he taken you prisoner after your earlier break-in?”

  “I did not break in,” Liz reminded her, then glanced pointedly at Jeff, who was standing right there with his nosy daughter. “Do you really want to go down that road?”

  “Oh, Dad knows,” Susie said. “Unfortunately he came in while we were gone. I had to explain where I’d been when I got back to the office. I’m still employed.”

  “There is a big black mark on her employment history, though,” Jeff said sternly. Even from upstairs Liz could see the twinkle in his eyes.

  “Right next to all the others,” Susie said unrepentantly. “So, how come you’re at Aidan’s?”

  Jeff gave her another disapproving parental glance. “How is that any of your business?”

  “Inquiring O’Brien minds want to know,” Susie said. “Do you really want to walk into the pub without knowing the full scoop? Uncle Mick will be all over us.”

  “And that is my brother’s flaw,” Jeff said. He glanced up at Liz. “Watch out for this crew. They may be my family, but there are times I’d like to disown them.”

  Susie kissed her dad’s cheek. “Oh, you would not. Come on. It’s obvious we’re not going to get anything out of her now. Maybe I’ll send Bree around. Or Shanna.”

  “Please don’t,” Liz called down. But, just in case her plea didn’t register, the minute they’d gone she decided maybe it would be wise if she waited for Aidan inside, after all.

  When he came in, he looked startled to find her curled up on his sofa. “Too warm outside?”

  She shook her head. “Too crowded.”

  “On my balcony?”

  “On Main Street,” she said. “Susie had questions. When I declined to answer, she vowed to send others.”

  Aidan laughed. “I have noticed that they’re a chatty group, and they all seem to wander past this time of night, either going home from their businesses, or heading around the corner to Luke’s pub. Not a one of them has chased me inside, though.”

  “Because this is your apartment. My presence here raises questions.” She sighed. “And speculation.”

  “And pressure,” Aidan guessed.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Then I suppose we should eat inside.”

  “It might be better,” Liz said. “Though it’s probably a little late for discretion. I imagine there are a whole slew of bets being placed at O’Brien’s right this minute.”

  “Bets?”

  “About whether I’ll still be here in the morning.”

  She noticed that Aidan looked as if he was about to laugh, but then he clearly recognized that she was serious.

  “You’re not kidding?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Not so much. I gather it’s considered a family sport.”

  Aidan shook his head. “This is a very odd family.”

  “Very,” she agreed, then smiled. “But kind of wonderful, too. I love my mom and my sisters, even when they’re making me crazy, but there’s something different about the O’Briens. Maybe it’s all those generation
s right here in the same town. They might butt into each other’s lives too much, but it’s obvious how much they love and respect each other.”

  “It’s only wonderful until you’re on the receiving end of all that well-meant speculation,” Aidan reminded her.

  “Yes, well, this is the first time I’ve actually experienced that part.” She regarded him with regret, then conceded, “I could probably live without it.”

  Unfortunately it seemed it came with living in Chesapeake Shores, and up till now, it was the only downside she’d discovered.

  * * *

  Aidan couldn’t help wondering if he dared to ask Thomas to request that the O’Brien troops back off by explaining that their well-meant efforts might be counterproductive. Instead, as his evening with Liz went on with no real tension, he realized that she seemed accepting of this community oddity. Maybe, if circumstances between them had been less awkward, she’d even have welcomed it. That gave him a renewed sense of hope that they could work through their issues once those DNA test results were in.

  Dinner the night before had gone surprisingly smoothly, mostly because they’d done exactly as he’d promised and kept the conversation casual and impersonal.

  Afterward, he and Archie had walked her home. They’d parted on the front walk. She hadn’t invited him in. He hadn’t taken advantage of the moment to kiss her senseless the way he’d desperately wanted to. He had a feeling it had required amazing restraint on both of their parts. He’d noticed that she’d stood staring after him for a long time before finally closing her front door.

  That, he concluded, was another positive turn of events. She’d looked as disappointed and disconcerted as he had been by the abrupt end to an otherwise perfect evening.

  This morning, though, he was restless and edgy and glad that he’d sent out a text to his team members to meet him on the green at nine o’clock.

  He stood on his balcony and watched them assembling, giving each other boisterous high fives as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, rather than days. He smiled, then set his empty coffee cup in the kitchen sink and went down to join them.