A Chesapeake Shores Christmas

by Sherryl Woods

  “Fine. She’ll come for a visit,” he said. “Why would I object to that? When we built our house, we included a guest suite just for such a visit. When you furnished it, I know you did it to your mother’s taste, hoping she’d find it comfortable the first time she came. I believe her favorite Irish blessing hangs on a plaque just inside the door.”

  “She’ll find it welcoming, there’s no doubt of that,” Moira said. “But there’s a bit more. We’re thinking of something a little longer than a quick visit.”

  And here it comes, Luke thought, barely containing a sigh. “Tell me.”

  “I’m going to ask for her help with Kate,” Moira began slowly, then added in a rush, “And you’re going to give her my old job at the pub.” Her smile brightened. “Won’t that be grand? With all of her experience, she’ll be far more help than I ever was.”

  He studied the hopeful glint in his wife’s eyes and didn’t even try to contain the sigh that came. When he didn’t immediately speak the emphatic no that hovered on his lips, Moira beamed, clearly taking his silence as agreement.

  “And you’ll talk to Connor about getting her a work visa as your Irish consultant, just as you did for me?” she asked, referring to his cousin, who’d become a first-rate lawyer. “I understand it may be a bit trickier these days with changes in the law, but I have every confidence Connor can manage it.”

  “I’m a bit surprised you haven’t already discussed this with him,” Luke said.

  “Never before talking to you,” she said with a hint of indignation that made him chuckle.

  “Then you weren’t a hundred percent certain I’d go along with your scheme?”

  “Maybe ninety-five percent,” she admitted. “You’ve a stubborn streak that sometimes works against me.”

  “Pot calling the kettle black,” he retorted. “You know you have me twisted around your finger. And what you can’t accomplish, Nell can. I’m quite sure she’d have been by first thing tomorrow if you’d put out a distress call.”

  “But it’s not coming to that, is it?” she asked hopefully.

  Luke studied his wife closely. “Does it mean so much to you to have her come and stay for longer than a brief visit?”

  “I think this change is what she needs. So do Nell and Grandfather. And I owe her, Luke. She gave up everything for my brothers and me. I don’t think I realized how hard she worked or how many sacrifices she made until I’d had a taste of working in a pub myself. I used to blame her for not spending more time with us, but now that we have Kate, I can’t imagine being away from her as much as my mum was away from us. It must have been hard for her to put work over her children. My brothers may be ungrateful louts, but I’m not.”

  “No, you’re definitely not that,” Luke said, though he couldn’t help regretting it just a little. Then, again, having Kiera underfoot would be a small price to pay for the joy that Moira had brought into his life. “I’ll call Connor in the morning.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “Seriously? You’ll do it?”

  “Was there ever any doubt? Now, come here, Moira, my love,” he said, beckoning her closer. “Let’s not waste this effort you’ve gone to tonight. I know you think we’re somehow going to gain more time to ourselves with this plan of yours, but I have my doubts. I think we need to take full advantage of this bit of spontaneity.”

  “There will be more chances, I promise,” Moira said, launching herself into his arms. “You’ll see.”

  It helped her case that the strap on her gown slid off. After that, Luke could barely think of his own name, much less any arguments he might have wanted to offer.

  * * *

  Moira was thoroughly pleased with her efforts the night before. She might have used a little manipulation to get her way, but she was pretty sure Luke was pleased enough with the reward for his acquiescence.

  When there was no response to her tap on the kitchen door at Nell’s, she headed for the garden. Sure enough, Nell was on her knees weeding, while her grandfather observed.

  She settled into the Adirondack chair next to his. “Shouldn’t you be helping?” she asked him.

  “Fool woman chased me off,” he grumbled. “She claims I don’t know a flower from a weed. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to tell the difference this time of year? They’re all just green things poking through the dirt.”

  Nell glanced up at that. “Wasn’t a nursery among your business interests in Ireland?”

  “Yes, and others ran it quite successfully,” he countered.

  Nell turned to Moira. “If he were half as uninvolved in that business as he claims, you’d think by now he’d have let me educate him about the difference,” she said tartly. “I think he finds it convenient not to know.”

  Moira laughed. It was obviously a familiar argument. “Something tells me you’re right, Nell. My grandfather has mastered any number of skills over the years. If he’s not grasping this one, there’s a reason for it.”

  Nell took off her gardening gloves. When she went to stand up, Moira started to her feet to assist her, only to be waved off.

  “The day I can’t get up on my own, I’ll have to give this up,” Nell said. “And since I don’t intend to do that until I’m dead and gone, I’ll manage.”

  “At least you got her to take a break for a cup of tea,” Dillon said. “I’ve been trying since I came out here. It’s probably stone-cold by now.”

  Still he poured her a cup and set it on the table beside her chair. “If you’d like a cup, you’ll need to run into the house for one,” he told Moira.

  “Nothing for me. I just dropped Kate off at day care and stopped by here to give you both an update.”

  “You’ve talked to Kiera, then?” Nell said.

  “No, only to Luke. He’s agreed to the plan.”

  “I’ve no intention of asking how you persuaded him,” her grandfather said. “I’ll just accept the outcome as a blessing.”

  “He’s promised to speak to Connor this morning to get him started on the paperwork. Now, if you’ll make an airline reservation for Mum, I think we can put our plan in motion,” Moira told him.

  Dillon nodded at once. “I’ll go straight in and do that now, though I’d probably best buy the kind that’s refundable just in case she balks,” he said. He touched Nell’s cheek. “Shall I warm that tea for you?”

  “I’m fine with it as it is,” she said, covering his fingers with hers and giving them a brief squeeze.

  Moira watched the two of them with a catch in her throat. Would she and Luke have that same sort of devotion after so many years? Of course, Nell and Dillon had fallen in love as teenagers, then separated and had families before being reunited. Perhaps that was why they were so grateful for their second chance.

  She turned and caught Nell studying her.

  “You’re pleased by the prospect of having your mother here?” Nell asked. “I know the two of you haven’t always had an easy time of it.”

  “True enough,” Moira admitted. “But I think I understand the choices she made a little better now. I want her to finally have some of the happiness she deserves. I think she may find that here. There’s a lot to be said for a fresh start.”

  “Especially in Chesapeake Shores,” Nell said.

  “Yes, especially in Chesapeake Shores.”

  Which was why later that very afternoon, as Kate conveniently cried in the background, Moira called her mum and, with a note of desperation in her voice, pleaded for Kiera to come to Chesapeake Shores for an extended visit.

  “I don’t need to be at loose ends in a strange country,” Kiera argued. “Peter’s children have offered me a place at the pub for as long as I want to stay on. They’ll even boost my pay if I’m willing to take on managing it, so they can go blissfully on with their own lives.”

  “And you’r
e willing to accept their charity?” Moira asked, putting the worst possible spin on what had no doubt been a genuine and well-meant offer that would benefit all of them, including her mother.

  Her comment was greeted with silence, which told Moira her mother had considered the very same thing. They were very much alike in questioning the real motive behind any kindness they might feel was undeserved.

  “We’re your family, not them. You won’t be in the way here,” Moira said, pressing her tiny advantage. “I truly need the help, and you should spend a little time with your first grandchild. And with me traveling so much lately, Luke could use your presence at the pub. The customers like chatting with someone with an Irish lilt in their voice. It provides a touch of authenticity.”

  “So I’m to be the Irish window dressing?” Kiera asked, the once-familiar tart sarcasm back in her voice. “How is that an improvement over accepting charity from the McDonoughs?”

  “The job here would be much more than that,” Moira promised. “This is a family business, and you’re family. It would be almost the same as if it were your own restaurant.”

  “I doubt Luke would see it that way. Wasn’t this pub his dream? Besides, it’s not as if I can waltz in and take a job in America,” Kiera protested. “I know there are laws about that sort of thing.”

  “Luke’s cousin Connor will handle the legalities of a work visa, just as he did for me,” Moira assured her. “Focus on spending time with little Kate for now. I can’t wait for you to see her in person. She’s growing so fast, and she’s a handful. You’ll probably find her to be a lot like me in that respect.”

  With the baby’s pitiful cries to lend credence to her story, Moira gave a silent fist pump when Kiera reluctantly agreed to take the very flight that Dillon had already booked. As she hung up, Moira gave the baby a noisy kiss that changed tears to smiles.

  “Now we’ve only to find a way to make her stay,” she said.

  And that, most likely, was going to be a far more difficult task. Kiera might be feeling a bit vulnerable at the moment, but it wouldn’t last. And when her fine temper was restored, there could be hell to pay for their manipulation.

  Copyright © 2017 by Sherryl Woods

  Don’t miss

  LILAC LANE

  by #1 New York Times bestselling author

  Sherryl Woods,

  available October 2017 wherever

  MIRA books and ebooks are sold.

  www.Harlequin.com

  Still need more Chesapeake Shores?

  Head back to the beginning with this excerpt from

  THE INN AT EAGLE POINT,

  book one of the bestselling CHESAPEAKE SHORES series

  by Sherryl Woods,

  available wherever MIRA books are sold.

  www.Harlequin.com

  The Inn at Eagle Point

  by Sherryl Woods

  Prologue

  The arguing had gone on most of the night. In her room just three doors down the hall from her parents’ master suite, Abby had been able to hear the sound of raised voices, but not the words. It wasn’t the first time they’d fought recently, yet this time something felt different. The noisy exchange itself and fretting about it kept her awake most of the night.

  Until she walked downstairs just after dawn and saw suitcases in the front hallway, Abby hoped she’d only imagined the difference, that the knot of dread that had formed in her stomach was no more than her overactive imagination making something out of nothing. Now she knew better. Someone was leaving this time—quite possibly forever, judging from the pile of luggage by the door.

  She tried to quiet her panic, reminding herself that her dad, Mick O’Brien, left all the time. An internationally acclaimed architect, he was always going someplace for a new job, a new adventure. Again, though, this felt different. He’d only been home a couple of days from his last trip. He rarely turned right around and left again.

  “Abby!” Her mother sounded startled and just a little edgy. “What are you doing up so early?”

  Abby wasn’t surprised that her mother was caught off guard. Most teenagers, including Abby and her brothers, hated getting up early on the weekends. Most Saturdays it was close to noon when she finally made her way downstairs.

  Abby met her mother’s gaze, saw the dismay in her eyes and knew instinctively that Megan had hoped to be gone before anyone got up, before anyone could confront her with uncomfortable questions.

  “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Abby said flatly, trying not to cry. She was seventeen, and if she was right about what was going on, she was the one who was going to have to be strong for her younger brothers and sisters.

  Megan’s eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Finally, she nodded.

  “Why, Mom?” Abby began, a torrent of questions following. “Where are you going? What about us? Me, Bree, Jess, Connor and Kevin? Are you walking out on us, too?”

  “Oh, sweetie, I could never do that,” Megan said, reaching for her. “You’re my babies. As soon as I’m settled, I’ll be back for you. I promise.”

  Though her declaration was strong, Abby saw through it to the fear underlying her words. Wherever Megan was going, she was scared and filled with uncertainty. How could she not be? She and Mick O’Brien had been married for nearly twenty years. They’d had five children together, and a life they’d built right here in Chesapeake Shores, the town that Mick himself had designed and constructed with his brothers. And now Megan was going off all alone, starting over—How could she not be terrified?

  “Mom, is this really what you want?” Abby asked, trying to make sense of such a drastic decision. She knew plenty of kids whose parents were divorced, but their moms hadn’t just packed up and left. If anyone had gone, it had been the dads. This seemed a thousand times worse.

  “Of course it’s not what I want,” Megan said fiercely. “But things can’t go on as they have been.” She started to say more, than waved it off. “That’s between your father and me. I just know I have to make a change. I need a fresh start.”

  In a way, Abby was relieved that Megan hadn’t said more. Abby didn’t want the burden of knowing what had driven her mother to go. She loved and respected both of her parents, and she wasn’t sure how she would have handled careless, heated words capable of destroying that love she felt for either one of them.

  “But where will you go?” she asked again. Surely it wouldn’t be far. Surely her mother wouldn’t leave her all alone to cope with the fallout. Mick was helpless with emotions. He could handle all the rest—providing for them, loving them, even going to the occasional ball game or science fair—but when it came to everyday bumps and bruises and hurt feelings, it was Megan they all relied on.

  Then again, why wouldn’t Megan assume Abby could handle all the rest? Everyone in the family knew that Abby took her responsibility as the oldest seriously. She’d always known that her parents counted on her as backup. Bree, who’d just turned twelve-going-on-thirty, and her brothers would be okay. With Megan gone, Bree might retreat into herself at first, but, mature and self-contained, she would find her own way of coping. Kevin and Connor were teenage guys. They were pretty much oblivious to everything except sports and girls. More often than not, they found their exuberant, affectionate mother to be an embarrassment.

  That left Jess. She was only a baby. Okay, she’d just turned seven last week, Abby reminded herself, but that was still way too young not to have her mom around. Abby had no idea how to fill that role, even temporarily.

  “I won’t be that far away,” Megan assured her. “As soon as I’ve found a job and a place for all of us, I’ll come back for you. It won’t take long.” Then, almost to herself, she added, “I won’t let it take long.”

  Abby wanted to scream at her that any a
mount of time would be too long, any distance too far. How could her mother not see that? But she looked so sad. Lost and alone, really. Her cheeks were damp with tears, too. How could Abby yell at her and make her feel even worse? Abby knew she would simply have to find a way to cope, a way to make the others understand.

  Then she was struck by another, more terrifying thought. “What about when Dad goes away on business? Who’ll look out for us then?”

  Megan’s expression faltered for just an instant, probably at the very real fear she must have heard in Abby’s voice. “Your grandmother will move in. Mick’s already spoken to her. She’ll be here later today.”

  At the realization that this was real, that if they’d made arrangements for Gram to move in, then this separation was permanent and not some temporary separation that would end as soon as her parents came to their senses, Abby began to shake. “No,” she whispered. “This is so wrong, Mom.”

  Megan seemed taken aback by her vehemence. “But you all love Gram! It’ll be wonderful for you having her right here with you.”

  “That’s not the point,” Abby said. “She’s not you! You can’t do this to us.”

  Megan pulled Abby into her arms, but Abby yanked herself free. She refused to be comforted when her mother was about to walk out the door and tear their lives apart.

  “I’m not doing this to you,” Megan said, her expression pleading for understanding. “I’m doing it for me. Try to understand. In the long run it’s going to be best for all of us.” She touched Abby’s tearstained cheek. “You’ll love New York, Abby. You especially. We’ll go to the theater, the ballet, the art galleries.”

  Abby stared at her with renewed shock. “You’re moving to New York?” Forgetting for a moment her own dream of someday working there, making a name for herself in the financial world, all she could think about now was that it was hours away from their home in Chesapeake Shores, Maryland. A tiny part of her had apparently hoped that her mother would be going no farther away than across town, or maybe to Baltimore or Annapolis. Wasn’t that far enough to escape her problems with Mick without abandoning her children?