Willow Brook Road

by Sherryl Woods

  “Not everyone,” Abby said, pulling up another chair and joining them. “Sorry for eavesdropping, but Mack, I was looking for you.”

  “Any particular reason?” Mack asked.

  “Did you need to speak to him alone?” Will asked, obviously sensing Abby’s mood. Even Mack, who could be pretty oblivious to such things, could tell she wasn’t happy.

  “Actually, you should probably all hear this. Will, you might have some ideas about how to handle the situation,” Abby said.

  Mack regarded her warily. “This is about Susie?” he concluded.

  She nodded. “I was coming out of the house just now and overheard her talking to Jess about Sam, Bobby and Carrie.”

  Mack could guess from Abby’s protective expression what the gist of the conversation had been. He knew because he’d heard the same or similar comments. “She thinks Carrie’s making a move on Sam because of Bobby and that Sam’s completely lacking in parenting skills.”

  Abby gave him a startled look. “Pretty much. She’s said the same to you?”

  Mack nodded. “She knows she’s wrong, but she can’t seem to help herself. It’s this whole adoption fiasco. She’s not thinking straight. For some reason she’s seized on Bobby like some sort of lifeline, a child who might need her.”

  “Well, I don’t know how often she’s been talking like this or to whom,” Abby said, “but this time not only did I overhear her, so did Carrie.”

  “Blast it!” Mack said heatedly. “I am so sorry, Abby. Did they get into it?”

  “No, Carrie walked away. I don’t know if Susie even realized she was there. I’m afraid my daughter might not be quite so forgiving next time. She was hurt and angry, but she was trying very hard to put herself into Susie’s position.” She leveled a look at Mack. “The last thing we want is an open feud between those two with everyone in the family taking sides.”

  “Of course not,” Mack agreed, then turned to Will. “How am I supposed to fix this?”

  “Talk to her,” Will said. “Get her to open up to you.”

  “Do you think it’s that freaking easy?” Mack retorted. “She won’t talk about it. If I bring up the adoption, she snaps my head off. I get it. I really do, but it’s taking a toll. I swear there are days when I think dealing with the cancer was easier than this. At least we knew what we had to do then. And we stuck together. Neither of us knows how to fix this and it’s evident to me that she thinks she’s facing it all alone.”

  Will regarded him thoughtfully. “I noticed something today that fits what both of you are saying. When Susie was watching Carrie with Sam and Bobby, she looked almost angry, as if Carrie had stolen something from her.”

  Mack sighed heavily. “I know. It’s just as I feared when I took her over to the inn to meet Bobby. I think she got this crazy idea of jumping in to save this poor motherless little boy. Except now Carrie’s obviously beat her to it.”

  “If she won’t open up to you, do you think she’d talk to someone else?” Abby asked gently.

  Mack frowned. “You mean a professional?”

  Abby nodded, then gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze. “Look, I’m going to let you handle this. Me butting in beyond alerting you to the problem won’t help. I may be open-minded and rational about a lot of things, but when it comes to my kids, I’m going to stand up for them, no matter who gets hurt in the process. I know Susie doesn’t need me coming down on her. If there’s anything I can do, though, let me know. I know how hard this is and I feel for Susie. I really do. I’ll leave you all to figure out your next step.”

  After she went, Mack sighed.

  “This really does suck,” Jake said. “It doesn’t sound like there are any easy answers.”

  “Certainly none Susie’s going to be happy about,” Mack agreed. “She doesn’t like asking for help, even when she recognizes how desperately she might need it. On top of that, she’s pretty private. I can’t see her talking to a stranger.”

  “What about me?” Will asked. “We’ve always been close. She used to open up to me about her feelings for you, Mack. At least she did back in the day. I’d be happy to spend some time with her, though somebody completely impartial with no connection to the O’Briens at all might be better.”

  It was the obvious next step, but Mack thought he knew how his wife would react. She’d think he was siding with the enemy in some way. “I can suggest it,” he said, resigned to a messy confrontation. “Something tells me, though, that it won’t go over well. I’m afraid it’s going to drive another wedge between us.”

  “Try,” Will encouraged him. “It’s important, especially if you think her feelings could cause a real rift between her and Carrie. Abby’s right. That would have everybody in the family taking sides. O’Briens are used to sticking together. I’m not sure how well they’d handle something that’s bound to divide them, especially when it comes to something like this. And we sure don’t want to see Sam and that innocent nephew of his caught up in some messy family dispute.”

  “Believe me, I get it,” Mack said. “None of us wants that. Keep in mind that Sam works for me. He’s a decent guy who’s doing the best he can in an already tough situation.” He shook his head wearily. “At the same time, I want my wife to be happy and to have everything she needs.”

  Will regarded him with compassion. “If what she needs is a child right here and now, you might have to accept this one is beyond your control.”

  “Could you, if Jess were this upset?”

  Will leveled a look at him, then smiled ruefully. “Of course not. I’m just saying that none of us mere mortals, not even the all-powerful Mick, can make dreams come true on command every single time.”

  “But Mick certainly has been the role model for trying,” Mack said.

  The other two nodded.

  “Oh, yeah,” Jake said.

  The truth was that Mick O’Brien had set the bar impossibly high for all of them. And the women in their lives were used to success, not failure.

  * * *

  While Abby had offered a totally plausible explanation for Carrie’s abrupt departure from her grandfather’s—that she had paperwork for the day care due in the morning—Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a lot more to it. Even though he barely knew Carrie’s mother, he thought he’d detected a real hint of worry in her eyes.

  As he made the turn onto Willow Brook Road, he drove slowly by the house he’d determined was Carrie’s. He saw no signs of life, not a light on inside, no movement.

  Of course she could be taking a nap or maybe she wasn’t even home, but he was struck once again by the sense that something wasn’t right.

  He parked in his own driveway, hesitated just long enough to draw a puzzled look from Bobby, then said, “How about taking a walk before we go inside?”

  “How come?” Bobby asked.

  “I thought we might stop by to see Carrie.”

  Bobby’s eyes brightened at once. “Okay. Maybe she’ll have more cookies.”

  Sam laughed. “Didn’t you get enough to eat today?”

  “Sure, but cookies are always good. Or they could go into my backpack for school tomorrow.”

  “An interesting line of thought,” Sam agreed. “But you don’t ask for cookies. You can accept them if she offers you some, okay?”

  Bobby shrugged. “Whatever.”

  Carrie’s house still seemed uncommonly quiet to Sam as he and Bobby approached, then rang the bell. He heard no sounds coming from inside, so he rang the bell again. Then he decided to walk around back.

  That’s where he found Carrie at the far edge of the property, her feet dangling into Willow Brook, tears on her cheeks. She swiped at them impatiently when she realized she had company.

  Bobby instantly took note of the tears and sat down close to her. “Are you sad?”

  “A little,” she admitted as he snuggled closer.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Having you here makes me feel a whole lot better,” s
he told him, draping an arm over his shoulders.

  “Are you sure?” Sam asked, studying her intently. “We don’t have to stick around if you’d rather be alone. I was just worried that something had happened at your grandfather’s.”

  “Nothing I can’t figure out,” she said, though she didn’t sound convincing.

  “Want to talk about it?” he asked, despite his lack of experience in solving the sort of problems that brought on tears. He could handle computer crashes or internet provider glitches right at the newspaper’s deadline without batting an eye, but this sensitivity business was new territory.

  “If I do, it will only convince you that you’ve gotten tangled up in a very messy family dynamic that it would take Solomon to sort out. Since you’re just settling into Chesapeake Shores, it might be better to let you keep your illusions about my family a little longer.”

  He gave her a long look. “I haven’t signed the final papers on the house. I’m not stuck here yet.”

  She tried for a smile, but it wobbled and failed. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? If I start blabbing and blubbering, you could take off faster than one of those rockets they fire from Wallops Island to get supplies to the International Space Station.”

  “I’d like to think I’m a little tougher than that.” He sat on her other side and stretched out his legs, then reached over and brushed away the dampness that lingered on her cheek. “Seriously—you’ve stood by me in some tough spots the past few weeks. I’d like to return the favor if I can.”

  “Maybe a cookie and some milk would help,” Bobby suggested hopefully. “That always makes me feel better.”

  Over the top of his head, Sam caught Carrie’s gaze and held it. “Or we can take off.”

  She tried another smile and this one held. “I think cookies and milk sound like the best idea ever,” she said, getting to her feet and leading the way inside.

  She flipped on the kitchen lights to reveal a small space, but one that would have been a gourmet chef’s dream with its granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a door that opened into a walk-in pantry stocked with every conceivable snack, healthy and otherwise. Bobby stood in the doorway, clearly mesmerized.

  “It’s better than the grocery store,” he said, awe in his voice.

  Carrie laughed. “I like to be prepared when the kids come over,” she told Sam, her expression chagrined. “I told you I like being the go-to aunt.”

  “Well, I can see I’m going to have difficulty getting Bobby back to our house ever again,” Sam said. “In fact, I might want you to adopt me, too.”

  The color washed out of her cheeks at his words and she quickly turned away. Sam walked around to face her. “What did I say?”

  “Nothing. Honestly,” she claimed, though she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “If you could get three glasses from the cabinet above the sink, I’ll get the milk and the cookie jar.”

  Behind them, Bobby was doing an inventory of the pantry. “There are those fruity things I love, and chips, and Oreo cookies, and peanut-butter crackers and pretzels and apples and bananas and lots and lots of cereal and—”

  “Enough,” Sam said, chuckling. “I’m sure Carrie is well aware of what’s in there. Stop being nosy.”

  “But the door was open,” Bobby protested.

  Once the milk was poured and the cookies placed on a plate, Carrie focused her attention on Bobby. “Did you have fun today?”

  He nodded, his mouth already full of crumbling chocolate-chip cookie.

  She finally turned to Sam. “And you?”

  “It was a revelation.”

  “It seemed as if you’d lost that glazed-over, overwhelmed expression by the end of dinner,” she observed.

  “Pretty much. It was fascinating watching the ebb and flow as people moved from one conversation and one group to another.”

  “Sort of like witnessing a social experiment in person,” she suggested.

  “Not at all. It’s evident that O’Briens love and respect each other. I found that pretty impressive.”

  “Oh, believe me, we have our share of squabbles,” she said, an odd note in her voice. “In some ways they’re worse when they happen, because the expectation is that we’ll all get along all the time.”

  “Personal experience?”

  Rather than answering directly, she told the story of the warfare among her grandfather and his brothers when the town was being built. “Uncle Thomas took Grandpa Mick to court because he didn’t think he was working hard enough to protect the bay. Uncle Jeff sided with Thomas and war was declared. It was Gram who brokered peace, mostly by insisting that the Sunday-dinner tradition would not be broken and that they had to get over themselves.”

  “And just like that, they did?”

  Carrie laughed. “Hardly. It took years. According to Mom, Sunday dinners were sometimes very tense if anyone ventured onto a dangerous topic. Of course by the time Caitlyn and I came along, Chesapeake Shores had been built and peace once again reigned, at least most of the time.”

  “Well, I certainly didn’t notice any strain today,” Sam said.

  Again, though, he had the sense that Carrie wanted to dispute that, but she remained discreetly silent.

  “We should go,” he said eventually. “Thanks for asking us to join you today.”

  “I’m sorry I bailed on you. I hope Mom explained.”

  “She did,” Sam said, though with no mountain of paperwork in sight, he was well aware he still didn’t have the whole picture. Given Carrie’s reticence just now, he wondered if he ever would.

  Or why he had a gut feeling that it mattered.

  * * *

  “Book club is on again for tomorrow night at Susie’s,” Shanna announced happily on Monday morning.

  “I thought she’d agreed the other day when you first spoke to her about it, then canceled an hour later.” Heather said, looking surprised. “What makes you think she won’t cancel again?”

  “I pinned her down yesterday at Mick’s and badgered her till she couldn’t say no,” Shanna said, clearly pleased with herself. “You’ll all be there, right? And you’ll bring something. I promised her she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.”

  Heather and Bree immediately offered to shop for sandwich wraps and salads from Panini Bistro.

  “And I’ll bake brownies,” Shanna said. “And I’ll ask Jess to bring another dessert from the inn. What about you, Carrie?”

  “I can’t make it,” Carrie said stiffly. “I’m swamped with paperwork for the day-care center.”

  Bree studied her with a narrowed gaze. “And that’s more important than being there for Susie?”

  “Actually it is,” Carrie said defensively. “I have to get the ball rolling, and Connor needs this paperwork to file all the applications.”

  “Surely one night won’t make that big a difference,” Shanna said.

  “Sorry. Not this time,” Carrie repeated.

  Bree gave her a penetrating look, then sighed. “So it’s true.”

  The other women stared at her curiously, even as Carrie wanted to jump up and leave before her aunt opened this can of worms.

  “What’s true?” Heather asked.

  “There’s some sort of rift between Carrie and Susie,” Bree said, her gaze on Carrie. “Am I right?”

  “No idea what you’re talking about,” Carrie said. “And I have to run. I need to pick up Jackson.”

  “Sit still. You don’t have Jackson on Monday,” Bree said.

  “Change of plans,” Carrie said, trying to keep a note of desperation out of her voice. “Noah asked me to fill in. That’s why I’m not volunteering at Julie’s day-care center today.” She gave Bree a challenging look. “Would you like to call him to check?”

  Bree relented. “That won’t be necessary,” she said eventually. “But sweetie, if there is something going on between you and Susie, you need to mend fences. That makes it even more important for you to be there for book club.”

/>   “It’s up to me? Why?” Carrie snapped before she could stop herself. She fought to bring her annoyance under control. “You have no idea what you’re talking about and I really think you should stay out of it.”

  She stood up and this time no one made any effort to stop her. She was halfway out the door before she heard the murmur of voices start again and knew that heated speculation was under way.

  This whole thing was destined to turn into a huge disaster before all was said and done and she couldn’t think of any way to stop it. How was she supposed to defend herself against Susie’s irrational suspicions and cruel comments without making matters even worse? Talking to her cousin in Susie’s present frame of mind would only escalate the situation.

  Of course, walking out of Sally’s just now probably hadn’t helped, either. Whatever her aunt Bree knew or thought she knew was going to be common knowledge before noon. And then what? Battle lines would be drawn? Not only did Carrie not want that, but in Susie’s fragile state these days, it was the last thing she needed, as well.

  * * *

  Sam had gotten Bobby off to school and was having a second cup of coffee to brace himself for a busy day at the newspaper, when he heard a car pull up outside. He glanced out the living room window and saw instead a pickup loaded with furniture. Susie was just getting out of the cab of the truck.

  Sam opened the front door. “Where on earth did you find all of that stuff?”

  She laughed. “I made the rounds after dinner yesterday and raided attics.”

  As Sam approached the truck he spotted what looked to be some decent antiques and a like-new sofa. “That’s what O’Briens store in their attics?”

  “The women in the family like to redecorate on a regular basis,” Susie said with a shrug. “It’s a curse. Heaven forbid a perfectly good sofa clashes with the new paint color.”

  “Yes, heaven forbid!” Sam replied, astonished. “Look, I really appreciate this more than I can say, but I don’t think you and I can get it into the house on our own. And I need to get to the office for an early meeting with your husband.”

  “Don’t fret. He’s on his way, along with other reinforcements. All you need to do is decide where you want things and point them in the right direction.”