“I think there are two or three left from when Davy was a baby,” Nell said distractedly, her gaze riveted on the child in Jess’s arms. “They should be in the back of the pantry. They might be packed up in a box, though.”
“Not to worry. I’ll find them,” Jess said.
“Take the rest of the kids with you,” Abby suggested. “They don’t need to hear any of this.” Carrie and Caitlyn, especially, were staring at the newcomer with wide-eyed curiosity.
“Whose baby is that?” Carrie asked.
That was certainly the uppermost question on everyone’s mind, Mick thought.
“We don’t know,” Abby told her daughter and hurried her along to the kitchen.
“Is it a boy? Why is he here?” Carrie wanted to know, determinedly hanging back.
Out of the mouths of babes, more good questions, Mick noted. Though he was aware of all the undercurrents in the room, he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from Megan, who was looking everywhere except at him. Judging from her tight-lipped expression she was still seething and trying very hard not to show it in front of everyone. He had the distinct impression she was torn between bolting and exploding.
“Okay, now that the children have left the room, let’s look at this situation calmly,” he said mildly. He took his seat again, as did Abby and then with obvious reluctance, Megan.
“Megan, what’s going on here? Where did that baby come from?” Mick asked, echoing Carrie.
Megan finally looked in his direction with an expression that cut right through him.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” she said, her voice like ice. “A young woman just dropped him off and said he belonged with his father.”
An audible gasp greeted her announcement. It was the first time in forever that this family had been in unison on anything, Mick thought irritably.
He regarded Megan with confusion. “His father? What the hell is she talking about?”
“All I know is what she said,” she insisted, her gaze locked with his. “Did I forget to mention that his name is Mick? Michael Devlin O’Brien, in fact.”
“Holy mother of God,” Nell murmured, sketching a cross over her chest. Thomas quickly moved to Nell’s side and put an arm around her, all the while staring at Mick incredulously.
Mick could practically feel his blood pressure skyrocket at the unfairness of the implied accusation. He scowled at his mother and his brother. “Save your prayers, Ma. This is not my son, and anyone who says otherwise is lying!”
“Then how do you explain him being dropped off here?” Megan asked. “I’ve seen enough O’Brien babies over the years to know he bears a striking family resemblance. Plus the name would seem to be more than a coincidence.”
Mick was at a loss to explain any of it, but then Kevin spoke, his voice shaky.
“I may know,” he said.
“Then you need to explain fast,” Mick told him. “What do you know about this? Is the boy yours?”
At Mick’s blunt question, Shanna turned on her husband with a dismayed expression. “Is he?” she murmured, sounding stunned.
“Of course not,” Kevin said impatiently. “I can’t be a hundred percent certain, because I’ve never seen the baby before, but I’m pretty sure Connor must be the father.”
“Connor!” Mick bellowed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I can’t swear to it,” Kevin stressed. “It just fits with a few things I do know for a fact.”
Mick couldn’t accept what had to be outrageous speculation on his older son’s part. “You must be wrong,” Mick argued flatly. “Connor couldn’t possibly have kept this kind of secret from the rest of us.”
“Of course he could,” Bree said, speaking up for the first time. “Connor’s as tight-lipped as anyone I’ve ever known. That’s why his clients trust him.”
“I agree,” Kevin said, giving Mick a challenging look. “Have any of us ever been invited to his apartment in Baltimore? No. When he wants to see us, he comes here. He never talks about who he’s involved with or even if he’s involved with anyone. Dad, you and I were talking about that very thing just the other day.”
Mick thought back to that conversation. He still couldn’t grasp the magnitude of the deception Connor might have perpetrated on all of them.
“So you’re saying your brother has been hiding not only a woman but a baby from us?” Mick said. “Why the hell would he do that? We’re family.” He tried to think of an explanation that made sense. “Is there something wrong with this woman? Does he think we wouldn’t approve? Why else would he never once bring her here? Did the two of them sneak off and get married?” Mick had at least a hundred questions. Unfortunately the only man who could answer most of them wasn’t here.
Feeling completely out of sorts over this turn of events, he scowled at the one son who was here. “Kevin, what exactly do you know about all this?”
“I’ve already told you most of what I know,” Kevin insisted. “I saw a woman at his apartment when I stopped by unexpectedly months ago. She was obviously pregnant. Connor looked as embarrassed as hell that I’d caught her there, but he didn’t offer any explanation. He barely even introduced us.”
“What did he say?” Mick asked. “Did he say she was a friend? His wife? Some woman he was helping out?”
“Believe me, he barely mentioned a name, and it wasn’t O’Brien. I don’t think they’re married, but I do think she was living there. There were some cozy touches in the apartment, things only a woman would do, like a quilt hanging on the wall, some fresh flowers in vases, that kind of thing.”
“And you never thought to say a word to the rest of us?” Mick said incredulously, just as Bree muttered, “Speaking of tight-lipped.”
Kevin frowned at both of them. “It wasn’t any of my business. Whatever was going on, it was Connor’s news to share. I just chatted for a minute and got out of there. It was damned awkward, to be honest.”
Mick studied the rest of his family. Everyone appeared as shocked as he was feeling. Megan still looked as if she were reeling. Hard as he tried, he couldn’t think of a thing to say that might make her feel better. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He slammed a hand down on the table so hard the china rattled.
“None of this makes a bit of sense,” he declared. “What kind of person lives with someone, has a child with her and never says a single word about it to his family? It’s just not possible.” He scowled at Jeff’s sons. Matthew was twenty-four, Luke twenty-two, both of them plenty old enough to have created this situation. “What about you two? Do you know anything about this?”
Jeff bristled at Mick’s hint that they could be involved. “Don’t start throwing accusations at my sons,” Jeff said heatedly. “If you can’t control Connor, that’s your problem. That child in there doesn’t belong to Matthew or Luke.” Despite his adamant claim, he cast a frown in their direction, then looked relieved when they nodded.
“We don’t know yet that Connor had anything to do with this, either,” Mick insisted. “For all we know some woman got pregnant, maybe knew Connor in passing or something about this family and decided to leave a baby on our doorstep because she knew we’re rich enough to care for it. Mark my words, she’ll be back to make even more outrageous claims in a few days.”
This time it was Megan who spoke. “I don’t think so. She sounded totally sincere. She wanted her baby to be with his father.”
Mick refused to accept that. “I’ll say it again. There’s no reason Connor would keep something like this a secret.”
“Of course there is,” Kevin countered. “You know how adamantly Connor’s opposed to marriage, because of...” His voice trailed off as he glanced apologetically at Megan. “Well, you know why. At the same time, he knew if any of us knew about the baby, we’d be all over him t
o get married.”
“Well, of course we would,” Mick declared furiously. “O’Briens step up to the plate in this kind of situation, I don’t care what kind of so-called issues they have.”
No one seemed to have any response to that.
Eventually his brother Thomas stood up. “Mick, I think Jeff and I and the rest of us need to clear out and let you all deal with this crisis.”
“You’re family, too,” Nell protested. Though she looked shaken by the news, she clearly wanted to salvage whatever was left of the holiday celebration. “And we haven’t even had our meal yet. Shouldn’t we at least try to share our Thanksgiving meal before everyone leaves?”
“We’ll take some turkey and a pie home, if that’s okay,” Jeff’s wife, Jo, said. “It’s fine, Nell. Thomas is right. You don’t need the rest of us chiming in with our opinions. The situation is complicated enough.”
Mick appreciated the gesture. Jo had always been a sensible woman. “Thank you. I apologize for this, and Jeff, I’m sorry for trying to drag Matthew and Luke into it.”
To his surprise, Jeff paused by his chair and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “No need to apologize, Mick. And before you go off the deep end with Connor, make sure you get all the facts, okay? If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years with Matt, Luke and Susie, it’s that things aren’t always what they seem.”
Mick glanced toward the kitchen, where the baby could be heard whimpering. “I’d say these facts speak for themselves.”
“Not necessarily,” Jeff insisted. “Give the boy a chance to explain.”
It was Nell who walked his brothers and Jeff’s family through the kitchen to wrap up some meals to go. His own family sat where they were in stunned silence until they heard the kitchen door close. Then everyone began talking at once. Mick held up a hand and demanded silence. He turned back to Kevin.
“Are you absolutely sure you don’t know anything else?”
“Not much,” Kevin said. “The next time I saw Connor, I asked him about the woman I’d met, but mostly he just blew me off. He did tell me that her name is Heather and they’ve been together since college.”
Megan’s eyes widened as Kevin spoke. “Of course. I should have seen it right away,” she murmured.
Mick’s head was spinning. “Seen what?”
“Just now, at the front door, I thought she looked vaguely familiar,” Megan said. “I saw them together years ago at one of Connor’s college baseball games. She was a cheerleader.”
“I think she was,” Kevin said, regarding her with surprise.
“You were at Connor’s games?” Mick asked.
She frowned at him. “That’s hardly the point.” She whirled on Kevin. “Call your brother,” she said decisively. “Tell him to get over here now. If he balks, you might mention that his son is here and that pretty much trumps whatever he’s feeling about me, his father or the wedding.”
“I’ll call him myself,” Mick said, but Megan put a hand on his arm.
“It’ll go better coming from his brother. Besides, I owe you an apology for thinking even for a second that you could be responsible for this.”
“Understandable,” Mick said, conceding how things must have looked at first glance.
Megan sighed. “But it’s yet another reason why we shouldn’t be rushing into marriage again.”
He stared at her incredulously, unable to fathom how she’d made such a leap. “Why on earth would you say that? One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
“Oh, Mick, don’t you see?” she whispered. “If I could doubt you, even for an instant, then clearly I haven’t worked out all the issues between us.”
All Mick could see was that this latest roadblock wasn’t even of his own doing. He felt like hitting something or someone—Connor came to mind—but knew it would be counterproductive. Instead he needed to focus on cleaning up this mess his son had made and winning Megan’s trust in time to take that walk down the aisle on New Year’s Eve. It was getting more and more difficult to have faith he could pull that off.
* * *
After Kevin left to try to reach Connor, everyone remaining at the table pretty much agreed that dinner was over. No one had any appetite for the food, which had gone cold by now anyway.
“We’ll have leftovers later, when everything’s calmed down,” Nell said, taking charge. “I’ll package a few things up for all of you. Bree, you look exhausted. Jake, why don’t you take her home? Abby, you and Trace should probably take the twins home. I’ll send the food over later.” She turned to Shanna. “Do you want to take Davy and Henry home now? We’ll see that Kevin gets home as soon as things calm down a bit.”
Shanna nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Don’t you want help with cleaning up, though?”
“Jess and I can take care of that,” Megan assured her. Right now Jess was upstairs trying to get the baby settled into Davy’s old crib, which Mick had brought down from the attic.
“Then I’ll get the boys,” Shanna said. “I’ll speak to Kevin on my way out and let him know someone will give him a ride.”
“I’m so sorry about all of this,” Megan said, giving her a hug. “This family’s always been full of surprises, but today may have set a whole new standard.”
Abby gave Megan a fierce hug. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? Try not to let this upset you too much, and keep Dad from blowing a fuse once Connor turns up. If you need backup, Trace and I are only a phone call away.”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
When everyone had taken off, Megan gave Nell a weary look. “Do you honestly think we’re going to be able to sort this out?”
Nell nodded. “Of course.”
“How?”
“I have no idea, but Jeff is right. We have to give Connor a chance to explain.” She touched Megan’s cheek. “Whatever you do, though, don’t let this be one more thing to come between you and Mick.”
Megan sighed. “How can I not? You saw what happened earlier. I practically accused him of fathering a child with a woman young enough to be his daughter.”
“Mick knows why you leaped to such an outrageous conclusion,” Nell said. “I might have done the same thing. In fact, for a moment there, I did. Mick saw it in my face, I’m sure. You heard the way he snapped at me, and rightfully so.”
“It was only for a moment, though,” Megan said. “You’ve always had more faith in Mick than I have.”
“That suggests that I’m unaware of his flaws,” Nell chided. “We both know that’s not true. I understood why you needed to leave him years ago, even if I didn’t like how things worked out with you leaving the children behind.”
Megan sighed. “I made such a mess of things,” she admitted. “I think I’ve earned forgiveness for some of my mistakes, whether I deserve it or not, but with Connor things just seem to get more and more complicated.”
Nell regarded her with surprise. “Surely you’re not blaming this latest twist on anything you did?”
“I set a very poor example for him when it comes to demonstrating that marriage is supposed to be forever and that adults should fight to work things out, especially when there are children involved. It’s little wonder he feels the way he does about marriage. Nor is it surprising that he’s not taking responsibility for his own son.”
“I think we can blame his career for some of that,” Nell said dryly. “He spends most of his time with couples who are bitterly fighting over possessions and money. You and Mick never did that.”
“No. I just walked off and left my children behind. You tell me which is worse,” Megan said bleakly.
“That’s all water under the bridge,” Nell declared. “Connor’s a grown man. He’s been making his own decisions for some time now. Apparently, he hasn’t been making very good ones.”
“We’ve no way of knowing,” Nell said pragmatically. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
The kitchen door opened and Mick walked in. He poured himself a drink, then sat down at the table. “Kevin hasn’t reached Connor. Jess finally managed to get the baby to sleep. She’ll be down in a minute.”
Nell suddenly looked every one of her eighty-some years. “If you don’t mind, then, I think I’ll go upstairs to my room and rest for a bit. Suddenly I’m feeling very tired.”
Megan regarded her with alarm. She’d never heard Nell admit to being exhausted before. “Are you okay?”
“Just a bit too much excitement, I’m sure,” Nell said. She nodded toward Mick. “Besides, I think the two of you have things to discuss without me underfoot.”
Megan waited until Nell had gone before facing Mick. “Once again, I owe you an apology for what I thought earlier.”
Mick waved it off. “Let it go. I have.” He gave her an astonishingly vulnerable look. “What are we going to do about this mess? That baby’s apparently our grandchild, Megan, and we didn’t even know of his existence.”
“We’re not going to do anything, except to take care of that little boy until Connor turns up here,” she said emphatically. “This is his situation to resolve.”
“Maybe so, but it’s landed on my doorstep,” Mick argued. “I’d say that gives me a right to speak my mind.”
Megan regarded him ruefully. “If you had any of the facts, it might. Until you do, keep an open mind, Mick. I mean it. Connor needs our support and guidance now, not a lot of shouting.”
“I don’t—”
A Chesapeake Shores Christmas Page 9
