A Chesapeake Shores Christmas

by Sherryl Woods

  It was a beautiful Victorian structure with every tiny detail carefully crafted. She’d been as awed as the girls had been.

  “I think it was their most prized possession,” she told him. “It was the one thing they never minded sharing. They brought all of their friends over to see what their dad had made for them. They had bragging rights over owning an original Mick O’Brien architectural design, even if it was on a small scale.”

  Mick looked momentarily taken aback. “I’d forgotten all about that. Where is it now? The twins should have it.”

  “They do,” Megan reminded him. “Trace took it over to their house a few months ago. If Bree has a girl, Abby’s promised to pass it on to her when the twins outgrow playing with it. I suppose Jess’s children will eventually have it, too.”

  Mick sighed. “I missed too much, didn’t I? I built that house, but I don’t think I ever saw them play with it.”

  “You missed some of the best times,” Megan agreed. “But you won’t do that now. Our grandchildren are giving both of us a second chance.”

  “That they are,” he agreed, then regarded her with a concerned expression. “Speaking of Jess, do you worry about her?” he asked unexpectedly.

  She frowned at the question. “Why would you ask that? She’s doing really well with the inn.”

  “No question about that, but running that place shouldn’t be all she has,” he complained. “It’s a career. She needs a man in her life. She needs those children you were talking about. Abby, Bree and Kevin are settled now. Even Connor has someone he cares about, plus that little guy upstairs. Jess is alone. She’s never stuck with anyone for long. I worry about her.”

  “She’ll find someone when the time is right,” Megan said with confidence. “In fact, I’ve always thought...”

  “What?”

  “Never mind,” she said, thinking of Will Lincoln and the way he always regarded Jess with such longing in his eyes. Megan had been gone when Jess and Will were teenagers, but she had a gut feeling he’d had a crush on Jess all those years he’d been hanging around the house with Connor and Kevin. Now that they were all grown-up, though, he’d done nothing about it. Or perhaps he had, and Jess had rejected him. Megan had no way of knowing. Planting the idea in Mick’s head right now, she suspected, could lead to awkward consequences. He was bound to start meddling. Knowing Jess, that would be counterproductive.

  “Just trust Jess to know when the right man comes along,” she told Mick.

  “I want to see them all settled and happy,” Mick said. “I know we’re already well on our way, but I want this house filled with grandbabies.”

  “I know. So do I.”

  He gave her a pointed look. “I wouldn’t mind grabbing a little of that happiness for the two of us, as well.”

  Megan laughed at the less than subtle reminder. “We will,” she promised him. “In due time.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Besides, I’m happy right now just being here with you with the holidays right around the corner. We’re going to have a wonderful Christmas, Mick.”

  “I suppose,” he said, clearly unhappy with her response and the lack of any mention of what the new year might bring.

  “Mick,” she said, holding his gaze. “I do love you.”

  “So you say,” he grumbled.

  “I could prove it,” she suggested seductively.

  To her astonishment a gleam lit Mick’s eyes, but his words weren’t at all what she expected.

  “Not until there’s a ring on your finger,” he declared, looking pleased with himself.

  Megan chuckled. She knew him too well to believe the threat for a single second.

  “No, I mean it,” he insisted. “Not until you make an honest man of me.”

  It was definitely a twist Megan hadn’t anticipated, and it upped the stakes for getting Connor’s life on track in a very big hurry.

  * * *

  Everyone at Sally’s was fussing over the baby when Lawrence Riley walked in. The banker headed straight for Mick and Megan. He leaned down for a closer look at the baby.

  “Who have we here?” he asked, returning the baby’s mostly toothless smile.

  “This is my namesake,” Mick said proudly. “He’s Connor’s boy.”

  “I definitely recognize those O’Brien genes,” Lawrence said. He straightened, then glanced at Megan, his expression sobering. “I was going to give you a call this afternoon.”

  Beside Mick, Megan stilled. “Oh?”

  “The loan committee met this morning,” he said.

  “And?” Mick prodded. “Don’t drag it out, man. She got the loan, right?”

  Lawrence shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Megan. I thought this would go differently. I’m afraid in this economy, the committee was concerned it might be a bad time to open a small business, especially one dealing in high-end art.”

  Mick couldn’t believe his ears. “Even after I...” His voice trailed off as he caught Megan’s horrified expression.

  “Mick O’Brien, did you interfere in this?” she demanded.

  “I went to see Lawrence, that’s all,” he said hurriedly. He scowled at his longtime friend. “He assured me you had nothing to worry about, so I backed off. Now he’s saying they turned you down, despite me being very clear that I was willing to back you.”

  Lawrence flushed guiltily. “Like I said, I’m sorry. Maybe at a later time, Megan.”

  Megan ignored the apology and whirled on Mick, her scowl deepening. “Mick, I told you very clearly that I didn’t want you involved.”

  “Well, apparently that didn’t work out so well,” Mick retorted. “If you’d let me write the check in the first place, you’d be starting a business in a few months instead of having to scramble for other financing. I can still do that. Let Lawrence and that band of shortsighted number crunchers of his eat their hearts out when you make a huge success of this without them.”

  Megan shook her head. “I can’t do that. If they don’t think my plan is solid, then why would I take money from you and put it at risk?”

  “Because this is your dream, dammit!” Mick said so forcefully that the baby began to cry.

  Megan immediately stood, took the baby from his carrier and walked off, crooning softly to him.

  Mick turned on Lawrence. “Are you in charge at that bank or not?”

  “I don’t make unilateral decisions,” Lawrence said. “I’m truly sorry about this, Mick, but in this economy we’ve survived by being prudent. Megan has a good business plan. Maybe in a few months or another year, we can take another look at this.” He regarded Mick with regret. “If you’d cosigned, it would be different, but that’s not what she wanted. In fact, she was adamant about it.”

  Mick knew there was no point in arguing. He even understood that Megan’s own stubbornness was what had cost her the financing for the gallery. That didn’t make it any easier when he saw the disappointment she was covering with her anger at him.

  Worse than that, it was one more blow to their future. Without that business to give her the independence she craved, it was even less likely that Megan would stay here in town.

  He drew in a deep breath and resolved not to let this latest hurdle stand in their way. He had no idea how to fix this, but he would. It used to be that all the challenges in his life that mattered to him were work-related. Now he had a huge one in his personal life, and it was clearly the most important challenge he’d ever faced.

  * * *

  Megan wandered around Sally’s holding the whimpering baby and trying not to cry herself. Her dream had just gone up in smoke, and she hadn’t even seen it coming. She’d been so sure the bank would back her. It wasn’t as if she’d been asking for a fortune, just enough capital for the first couple of years.

  As for Mick, as annoying as his i
nterference had been, it hadn’t been unexpected. Butting in was just what he did. She couldn’t really blame him for wanting to help her. At the same time, she couldn’t allow it, either.

  She waited until she saw Lawrence leave before returning to the table.

  “We’ll fix this business about the loan,” Mick said at once, regarding her worriedly. “It’s a setback, Meggie. Nothing more.”

  “Don’t minimize it, Mick. If a bank that’s known me for years turns down my loan application, I can’t imagine that another bank will view it more favorably.”

  “There’s still me,” he said. “I believe in you, and I have the money.”

  She regarded him with exasperation. “How many ways do I need to say no?”

  He looked as if he was ready to argue, but then he backed down. “The offer’s there if you change your mind. In the meantime, what’s your next step?”

  “I don’t have one,” she admitted. “To be honest, I’m still reeling a little bit. I was so sure...” She shrugged. “I guess nothing’s a sure thing these days.”

  “What about the partnership with Phillip you mentioned a while back?”

  “I suppose that’s still an option,” she said, though she dreaded going back to Phillip to detail one more glitch in her plan to move to Chesapeake Shores and open her own gallery. He’d probably use it as yet another reason why she should be staying put in New York with an established business.

  “You don’t sound as if you like it, though,” Mick said, being surprisingly perceptive.

  “I don’t. All the reasons I had for wanting to do this on my own are still valid. Even Phillip, though he was willing to work out a partnership arrangement, thought I’d be happier knowing I had total control.”

  “Is that because the two of you don’t see eye to eye?” Mick asked. “Or are you afraid he’d strip you of all your authority to make decisions?”

  “More than likely, that’s exactly what he’d do,” she admitted. “Even though we’ve always worked well together, I’ve always known he was the boss and that his decisions were final. I doubt we could change that balance of power now.”

  “What about—”

  Before Mick could finish his thought, she cut him off. “Can we please not talk about this right now? I honestly have no idea what comes next and I’m too upset right this second to think about it.”

  Mick nodded. “As long as you know I’m right here and will do whatever it takes to help you make this come together.”

  “I do know that, Mick, and I appreciate your faith in me more than you could possibly know.” She hesitated, then said, “Can we go home now? Suddenly the last thing I want to do is wander around looking at Christmas displays. It’s too cold outside for the baby, anyway.”

  Mick studied her worriedly. “Why don’t you take the baby on home? I have a few things I’d like to do as long as I’m already in town.”

  “How will you get home?”

  “I can still walk, can’t I?” he said, sounding annoyed. “But if I don’t think I can make it, I’m sure one of the many people I know in this town will give me a lift.”

  “Fine,” she said, matching his testy tone. She regarded him with suspicion. “You’re not going to the bank, are you?”

  “I said everything I wanted to say to Lawrence when he was right here,” Mick assured her. “Even I have sense enough not to beat a dead horse.”

  “Okay, then,” Megan said, putting the baby back into his warm jacket and wrapping his blanket securely around him. “I’ll see you at home.”

  Mick walked outside with her, then waited while she settled the baby into his car seat. After she’d gotten behind the wheel, Mick held her door open.

  “Meggie, are you sure you’re okay to drive? You still look upset.”

  “I’m fine,” she insisted. “The house isn’t even two miles away. Even if I were hysterical, which I’m not, I could probably make it that far.”

  “I just worry about you,” Mick said.

  She blinked back the tears that were threatening. “I know,” she whispered, then dared to meet his gaze. “Please don’t. It just makes it worse, somehow.”

  “Why?” he asked, clearly bewildered.

  “I just don’t think I can take your pity right now, or that look in your eye that tells me you’re already fretting that this is just one more thing that will keep us from getting married.”

  “Will it?” he asked pointedly.

  “It might,” she conceded. “I just don’t know. Let me go, Mick. I need to think and I can’t do it with you hovering, however well-meant it is.”

  He closed the door gently then and backed away from the car. But if anything, the worried frown on his face only deepened as she drove away. She wondered how much more concerned he would have been, if he’d seen her tears start to fall.

  * * *

  An hour later, when Bree, Jess and Abby all arrived at the house within minutes of each other, Megan knew she had Mick to thank for the rallying of the troops. Nell immediately appeared with a pot of freshly brewed tea and a plate of still-warm, homemade cranberry-orange scones. Since she usually baked first thing in the morning, Megan gathered she’d had an emergency call, as well.

  “I don’t suppose this is just a coincidence,” Megan said, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

  “Dad stopped by the flower shop,” Bree admitted.

  “And the inn,” Jess said.

  “He called me,” Abby said. “Thank goodness I was working from home today, instead of being in Baltimore.”

  Megan shook her head. “Did he give you instructions on what you were supposed to do?”

  “Cheer you up,” Abby said at once.

  Bree dragged out her catalogs of flower arrangements. “I thought we could continue that discussion about flowers for the wedding. Wedding talk always cheered me up, when Jake and I were planning ours.” She whipped a small bouquet of lilies of the valley out from behind her. “I even made this up to show you. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s lovely,” Megan said honestly. “It’s much simpler and closer to what I had in mind.” Still, she was not about to be drawn any further into wedding talk. “I propose we focus on your baby shower,” she said instead.

  Bree frowned. “The baby’s not due for months. The wedding—”

  “Is on hold,” Megan said flatly.

  Abby and Jess exchanged a look. Surprisingly, it was Jess who spoke. “Mom, it seems to me that this is the perfect time for you and Dad to go ahead with your plans.”

  Megan stared at her incredulously. “Perfect? With Connor and me barely starting to get along, the mother of his child missing and my plan for opening a business in utter disarray? Sweetie, I love you, but this is no time to go all mushy and romantic. I need to be realistic. How can I possibly think about getting married now?”

  “Do you love Dad?” Jess demanded.

  “Of course.”

  “Do you want to marry him?” Bree asked.

  “When the time is right, absolutely.”

  “Who gets to decide when the time is right?” Abby asked. “Just you? And what is ‘right,’ anyway? When everything is in perfect order? I think you can forget that, especially with this family.”

  “Amen to that,” Nell said. “To borrow an expression from my late husband, it’s time to fish or cut bait, Megan. And I think Jess is right. It makes perfect sense to get married when you’re not in the middle of plans for your business. Once you start moving forward with that, you’ll have too much on your mind to enjoy your big day.”

  “Exactly, Mom,” Jess said.

  Megan knew they all had her best interests at heart. She also knew how much they wanted to see her back with Mick. What she didn’t understand was why they couldn’t see that no marriage should st
art off with so much turmoil surrounding it. It was difficult enough to make a marriage work when all the stars were aligned propitiously at the outset.

  Jess sighed deeply. “She’s still not buying it,” she said when Megan said nothing.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Megan said.

  “Okay, what’s the biggest hurdle?” Bree asked. “Forget about Connor and Heather. That’s his mess to resolve. Is it your relationship with Connor that’s the biggest roadblock to a wedding, or is it this thing about the loan?”

  “They’re both important,” Megan said.

  “Then I’ll talk to Connor and straighten him out,” Jess said with blithe certainty that she could handle her brother.

  “And I’ll work out other financing arrangements,” Abby said just as decisively. “Just give me a copy of your business plan. I’ll take it from there.”

  Bree beamed at Megan. “That ought to do it. Anything else?”

  Megan gave them a wry look. They made it sound so simple, which just proved how naive they all were. “Come back to me when you’ve resolved those two problems, and we’ll talk,” she challenged.

  Her daughters stood up. “Shall we meet back here tomorrow?” Jess asked.

  “Works for me,” Bree said.

  “I’m supposed to be in Baltimore, but I’ll make it work,” Abby chimed in. “Getting this resolved is too important for me to miss it.”

  Megan listened as they left, still chattering excitedly.

  “You do know they’re going to pull this off, don’t you?” Nell said, regarding her with amusement. “Then what will you do? Do you have any more excuses up your sleeve?”

  “If they accomplish the impossible, especially by tomorrow, then I’ll get fitted for a wedding dress,” she promised.

  But she didn’t think there was a snowball’s chance in hell it would be an issue.

  11

  Mick slipped out to the porch after dinner to smoke his pipe and make a few calls. He was dying to know what had gone on around here this afternoon when the girls had come over to cheer Megan up. She’d been surprisingly tight-lipped over dinner, even when he’d asked her point-blank how the visit had gone.