Willow Brook Road

by Sherryl Woods

  “There are two parts of that we should talk about,” Carrie said. “You’ll have to get to know my stepfather better. His first love was graphic design. His father tried to steer him into running the community bank here in town, but Trace balked and focused on his design career. He gets to work from home, so he was there for Caitlyn and me when Mom couldn’t be. The same with Patrick, though Trace and Mom claim my brother is not the little angel my twin and I were.”

  Sam laughed “They say that or you do?”

  “Okay, that’s my interpretation.”

  “And the other thing we need to discuss?”

  “Your desire to wander. What’s that about?”

  “I’ve never analyzed it, but I suppose it’s because my mom had always wanted to see the world. She must have had a hundred travel memoirs in the house and read them to us instead of storybooks. I was fascinated by those books.”

  “Did she ever get to see all of those exotic places?”

  Sam shook his head, surprised by the depth of sorrow that washed over him. “She had gotten pregnant with Laurel, married my father and spent her life stuck in a tiny three-bedroom house in the suburbs of Cleveland. The longest trip she ever took was down to Columbus, and that was only because my dad wanted to go tailgating with his buddies and their wives at an Ohio State football game.”

  “No girlfriends she could travel with?” Carrie asked.

  “No friends of her own,” Sam corrected. “In hindsight, I think my dad abused her psychologically by isolating her and controlling her. She didn’t have the strength to walk away, though there were some pretty intense fights from time to time. Laurel tried to protect me from all that, but I heard way too much.”

  “Kids usually do,” Carrie said.

  “In some crazy way I wanted to shape my life to do the things my mother hadn’t been able to do. I always intended to take her along to the places she’d dreamed about, but by the time I could have done that, she was too sick to travel. At the end, I sat beside her bed and told her stories and showed her pictures from my travels.”

  “Oh, Sam,” Carrie whispered, her eyes damp with tears.

  He tried to shrug off the memories. “Anyway, there will be no more trips for me for the foreseeable future now that I have Bobby in my life.”

  “Are you afraid you’ll resent him because of that?” Carrie asked with surprising insight. “Do you somehow see this as a repeat of what happened to your mom?”

  “I was worried about that when all of this first hit me, but you know what? I’m starting to realize being a parent is its own kind of adventure. And I’m very glad that if it had to happen, it happened after I’d moved to Chesapeake Shores. I wasn’t thinking about it when I took the job, but now I truly appreciate what a great place this will be to raise a child.”

  He leveled a look into her eyes. “And then there’s you. I certainly can’t regret anything that has brought me closer to you. If you hadn’t jumped all over me for leaving Bobby in the car the night we got back to town, who knows how long it might have been before we crossed paths.”

  She smiled. “You think that was fate?”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it. What about you? Any thoughts about whether there’s one right person for all of us?”

  “I’ve grown up in a family of romantics,” Carrie told him. “How could I not believe that? I just spent a long time looking for my soul mate in all the wrong places.”

  “Any regrets about that?”

  Her expression turned thoughtful. “You know what? Not really. I think I learned something from all of my mistakes, even miserable Marc. I figured out what I don’t need in my life.” She met his gaze. “And lately I’ve started discovering what I do need.”

  “A shift in priorities?”

  “No, just a sudden awareness that there’s more than one way to approach those priorities. Family will always be first for me, with a fulfilling career a close second. If you study my family, you’ll discover that most of them have achieved a balance between those two things, even if it took a few of them a little longer than it did others.”

  “I never gave much thought to having a family,” Sam said, drawing a shocked look. “I know that must be strange to an O’Brien, but my family was very different from yours. Laurel and I were fairly close as kids, but we’ve had our differences as adults.”

  “But your sister left you custody of her son. That must mean she trusted you.”

  “There was no one else,” he replied simply. “I was the default guy. I know she believed I’d do right by Bobby. So did Robert. But if they’d had any other viable option, they probably would have taken it. Robert’s parents are around, but they’re older and a little too set in their ways for the chaos a kid Bobby’s age would bring into their lives. They did talk to a lawyer about fighting me for custody, but I think they were relieved when he advised them they were unlikely to win.”

  “Will they continue to be a part of his life?”

  “Of course, if they want to be. I’ll take him to visit or invite them here. I can see the value of Bobby knowing I’m not the only family he has.”

  “Now that you’ve had some time, how do you feel about becoming a dad overnight?”

  “It’s an adjustment,” he admitted. “I was a pretty carefree guy. Now I have no choice but to think of someone other than myself. Fortunately Bobby’s a terrific kid. I think we’re going to do okay. It may be rocky from time to time while I find my way, but there’s nothing like a kid to keep a guy honest.”

  He smiled at her. “You’ve been doing that, too. I don’t want to let either of you down. That’s a scary prospect, because I know sooner or later I will. Until this happened, I’d led a pretty selfish existence, doing whatever appealed to me, taking off at a moment’s notice if something that sounded exciting came up. Those days are done.”

  He was surprised to realize that he no longer regretted that the way he had when he’d first grasped all the changes he was going to have to make to life as he’d known it.

  “As long as you’re doing the best you can, you won’t let either of us down,” Carrie assured him.

  Her confidence, especially given their rocky first meeting, meant a lot. “I’ve already made mistakes, as you can attest.”

  “Find me one human being who hasn’t,” she countered. “Or one parent who hasn’t made a boatload of them. My grandparents, the ultimate role models for a family matriarch and patriarch now, made some doozies. I’ll fill you in sometime. Mistakes are part of life. It’s what you do to fix things that really matters.”

  “I’m going to remind you of that next time you’re scolding me for the error of my ways.”

  “I vowed to give you gentle advice, not scoldings, remember?”

  Sam touched her hand to make sure he had her full attention. “I think I might miss the fire in your eyes when you’re telling me I’ve gotten it all wrong.”

  She glanced up at his words and he met her gaze.

  “There’s something about a redhead with a full head of steam that gets to me,” he said. “Makes me want to discover what else she might be so passionate about.”

  “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” she said, a telling hitch in her voice.

  For the first time since they’d begun this dance, Sam was starting to believe they might get the steps just right.

  * * *

  “This house is amazing,” Lucy enthused as she walked from room to room in the property Carrie was hoping to turn into her day-care center.

  “Lucy’s right,” Julie added. “The open concept is very workable for keeping an eye on the kids from anyplace you happen to be, yet it’s easily divided into activity areas.”

  “Then you think it will work?” Carrie said, excited by their enthusiasm. She’d been holding her breath awaiting their reaction. If they approved, she was ready to move forward first thing Monday morning. Connor was on standby to close the deal. She knew even the
n she’d be weeks, if not months, away from opening, but owning the right property would make the dream feel real. She’d have something concrete to show for all the steps she’d taken in this new direction.

  “Not a doubt in my mind,” Julie said. She handed over a few pages from a notebook she’d been writing in since she’d arrived. “Notes on things you’ll need to address to bring it up to code for a day-care center. An inspector might have more, but this should cover most of it. When are you thinking of opening?”

  “As soon as I can take care of this list and get all the licenses and approvals I need.”

  “That could take a while,” Julie cautioned. “Bureaucracy doesn’t move quickly.”

  “I know. My cousin’s a lawyer. He’s warned me not to get ahead of myself.”

  “And I imagine you’ll have your grandfather’s help with the renovations?” Julie said.

  Carrie chuckled. “Yes, but not just because he’s an outstanding architect and has years of construction experience.”

  “Then why?” Lucy asked, regarding her curiously.

  “It will keep him focused on this, instead of my social life,” Carrie said candidly.

  Lucy’s expression brightened. “Tell us more!”

  “Stop being nosy,” Julie chided her daughter, then grinned. “Unless of course you’d like to share, Carrie. It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date I can barely remember what it was like. I yearn to live vicariously, and Lucy is pretty tight-lipped about sharing any details about the men in her life. She hasn’t brought one to the house to meet me in years.”

  “Because you interrogate them,” Lucy grumbled, though her eyes were twinkling.

  “Been there, done that,” Carrie said.

  “So, is the father of that little boy who came to the center with you part of the social-life equation?” Julie asked.

  “Now who’s being nosy?” Lucy teased.

  Carrie laughed. “Let me take you on a tour of the town, then I’ll fill you in over lunch. There’s not much to tell, though.”

  Though after dinner the other night, there were a few additional details. Those she thought she probably ought to keep to herself for now. To her surprise and delight, it turned out that Sam had the whole kissing thing down pat. It had taken every ounce of her willpower not to drag him inside to find out what else he’d mastered!

  She caught Lucy nudging her mom.

  “Carrie’s blushing. Did you notice?”

  Julie laughed. “I noticed. Maybe we should skip the tour and go straight to lunch.”

  “Not a chance,” Carrie said, chuckling. “I want to show off Chesapeake Shores.”

  An hour later they’d had a condensed tour of the town and were seated at a waterfront table on the outside deck at Brady’s.

  “This is a fantastic little town,” Julie said as she drank her iced tea. “I can see why you love it. I can’t imagine why I haven’t driven over this way in so long.”

  “Well, this may be the first time, but it definitely won’t be the last,” Lucy said. “Mom, I think we should look for a house. The commute to the center wouldn’t be that awful and I’ve seen some very attractive men in town.”

  “I’m too old to be looking for a man,” Julie said. “But you are right about the town. I can almost imagine how relaxing it would be to come home to a place like this after a tough day. I could see myself sitting out here with a glass of wine and unwinding.”

  “My cousin Luke has a pub that’s great for unwinding and spending time hanging out with locals. Sally’s Café has its own crowd in the mornings and on weekends, especially when it’s not tourist season,” Carrie said. “You really should consider it, Julie. I love it because it’s been home for most of my life, but I’ve lived in a lot of other places and, believe me, nothing compares.”

  “We’ll see,” Julie said.

  “Mom, what’s holding you back?” Lucy prodded. “You hate our house. You hate the traffic and how crowded everything’s gotten.”

  “But it is a much longer commute from here,” Julie protested, though not very convincingly.

  “Mostly on a country road that’s not that busy,” Carrie said, adding her encouragement to Lucy’s. “And you’d get to keep an eye on me, make sure your protégé isn’t messing up.”

  Julie shook her head. “I’m not worried about that. You’re going to do just fine.”

  “Maybe we should back off,” Carrie suggested to Lucy. “Give her some time to draw her own conclusions.”

  “Now there’s an intriguing concept,” Julie said wryly. “I raised a little bulldozer. When Lucy wants something, she tends to roll right over anyone or anything that gets in her way.”

  Carrie laughed. “Welcome to my world! I have a whole slew of people in my life exactly like that. If you figure out how to stay out of the way, let me know.”

  Julie nodded. “I’ll add it to those lists I’m passing along to you.” She turned her attention to the plate the waiter had just placed in front of her and sighed. “Now I am going to focus on these scallops and savor every single bite. This is so far beyond my usual salad diet I may never leave.”

  Lucy and Carrie gave each other high fives.

  “Mission accomplished,” Lucy said triumphantly.

  Julie just gave her daughter a long, hard look and kept right on eating.

  Carrie envied them the bond they’d formed both as mother and daughter and as coworkers. She was close to her own mom, so she knew how rare it was to view a parent as a person and not just an authority figure. She hoped Bobby and Sam found that sort of relationship one day. Ironically, she couldn’t help thinking in some way it might be easier because of how they’d come to be together. The hard part for both of them might be the adjustment to thinking of Sam as the authority person in Bobby’s life, rather than the fun uncle who breezed into his life and out again.

  One of these days she needed to think about Sam’s wandering ways and whether they truly were behind him. Even though he seemed to have accepted his responsibility for Bobby didn’t mean the two of them couldn’t relocate at the drop of a hat. And where would that leave her? Every time she started to think she was ready to take another risk with her heart, her head jumped in with something just like this to renew her caution.

  17

  Sam didn’t have a chance to talk to Mack privately until late on Tuesday after they’d gotten the web edition of the paper online and the print edition to the company that printed it and delivered the bundles of papers to town on Wednesday morning.

  Unsure of exactly how to begin, Sam fumbled through a few attempts, then finally settled for saying again how generous Susie had been.

  Mack gave him a long look, then sighed heavily. “I know it was too much,” he said eventually. “And I appreciate you not calling her on it. Susie’s struggling right now.”

  “I heard about the adoption,” Sam said. “I’m sorry, but—”

  “But Bobby can’t be the substitute for the baby we didn’t get,” Mack said, completing the thought. “I know that, Sam. But I can’t tell you how worried I’ve been about her. Being around Bobby makes her happy. Don’t take that lifeline away from her.”

  “I wasn’t going to,” Sam said. “But maybe we should have some boundaries.”

  “That makes sense,” Mack agreed readily. “Do you have something in mind?”

  Sam shook his head. “I have no idea what they ought to be. Maybe that she needs to check with me first before showering him with gifts or making arrangements to spend a little time with him. Do you think she can do those two things without feeling as if she’s being cut off from contact with him or that I’m retaliating in some way? Parenting is still brand-new to me, and this particular situation with Susie definitely wasn’t one I anticipated.”

  “Seems to me you’re managing just fine,” Mack said. “Then again, I didn’t exactly have an ideal background to compare it to. I wasn’t at all sure I was prepared to be a father.” He sighed. “Maybe no one w
ith any sense ever is. You just do the best you can.”

  “I sure hope that’s what it takes,” Sam said, “because I wake up every day feeling as if I’m about to fail abysmally.”

  “And yet you didn’t take the easy way out.”

  “What way was that?”

  “You didn’t turn Bobby over to his grandparents, You’ve said they wanted to fight you for custody. You could have walked away with a clear conscience.”

  Sam shrugged. “Laurel and Robert chose me. They must have had their reasons. I couldn’t let them—or Bobby—down without at least trying. There have been a couple of moments here and there when I’ve actually thought things will work out okay. Bobby’s a great kid.”

  “He really is,” Mack agreed. “You should have heard him with Susie.” The words were no sooner out of his mouth, than he heaved a sigh. “About those boundaries, I think what you suggested is perfectly logical. That said, I don’t know how much logic enters into anything with my wife these days. I’ll do my best to make her see that the boundaries are in Bobby’s best interests.”

  “I’d really appreciate that,” Sam told him.

  “Under normal conditions, Susie is great with all the kids, but she seems to have created some sort of special attachment to Bobby. Just this morning, she mentioned casually that she wondered who’d be looking after him tonight while you’re here. I told her I was sure you’d made arrangements. It took all of my persuasive powers to keep her from calling you with an offer to babysit.”

  Mack frowned even as he told the story, then asked, “Or would you have welcomed the offer? I feel as if I’m walking a tightrope here.”

  “I had already made plans for Bobby. He’s over at Kevin’s.” Sam recalled that conversation, then gave Mack a curious look. “I thought Shanna was supposed to be at your house for some family book-club thing that Susie’s hosting.”

  “Susie was ready to cancel that if you needed her,” Mack admitted with a grimace. “See what I mean? She’s made Bobby a top priority.” He studied Sam for a minute, then said a little too casually, “I figured Bobby would be with Carrie.”