The Summer Garden

by Sherryl Woods

  She understood the truth of that. “Then what was I supposed to do?”

  “It’s a little late to figure out how you could have handled it any differently. And if it helps at all, I imagine Luke is wondering the same thing now. It’s a waste of time, looking back. Now you have to put your mind to what you intend to do next.”

  She bristled at the implication of that. “Apologize? Hell will freeze over first.”

  He chuckled. “I imagined you’d say something like that. Perhaps, though, rather than an apology, you could simply go to him and talk things through.”

  “To what end? It’s not as if he’ll have had an epiphany and declare his undying love. No,” she said adamantly. “If there’s talking to be done, he’ll have to come to me.”

  “And if he’s just as stubborn and refuses?”

  “Then it wasn’t meant to be, was it?”

  Dillon shook his head. “An ending based on assumptions is never a test of what was meant to be,” he said. “Fate’s no competition for stubbornness.”

  Moira let his words sink in, then sighed. She feared he was exactly right about that, but she wasn’t quite ready to act on his wisdom just yet.

  “Were we ever that young and foolish?” Dillon asked Nell after describing what had happened between Moira and Luke earlier in the day.

  Moira was locked in her room, and Nell and Dillon had gone outside to wait for the sun to set. Nell savored these moments she had alone with him, time to talk over their day, to share bits and pieces of memories. There’d been too few moments like this since Dillon’s arrival, quiet times for reflection and simply being together. She’d spent too much of the time she’d hoped to devote to him helping out at Luke’s pub instead.

  “For whatever comfort it might be, Luke was in no better frame of mind when I popped into the pub this afternoon,” she told Dillon. “I had no idea exactly what had happened, but Moira was missing and his mood was foul. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

  “Do you think we should intervene?” Dillon asked. “In a way, I feel responsible for her misery, since I encouraged her to come here with me.”

  Nell thought about the question. She’d seen Mick’s interference go awry often enough to know better than to try it herself. Sometimes matters needed time to settle on their own.

  “You told Moira what she needs to do,” she said thoughtfully. “And, though she can be impetuous, I think once she’s mulled over your advice, she’ll see the wisdom of it. Let’s give it some time.”

  She turned her head and smiled at him. “These nights out here like this have been too few and far between. Let’s leave the children to sort out their own problems for now and concentrate on us. I feel as if we have a lifetime to catch up on and, even with the extension of your stay, only limited time to do it.”

  “We do,” Dillon said simply. “But do we really want to waste the time we have now thinking about the past? Perhaps we should be looking ahead, making plans of our own.”

  Nell felt a quick stirring of anticipation. “What sort of plans?”

  “Precisely how long I’m to stay, for starters,” he said, then reached for her hand. “Nell, is an interlude all you want? Ironically, it’s my granddaughter who’s gotten me to thinking about this. I’m content to be with you under any circumstances, but, to be honest, you’ve owned a part of my heart for most of my life. I’d be honored if you’d agree to be my wife and claim the rest of my heart from now till eternity.”

  Nell had thought that if her heart ever began beating this hard at her age, it would be a terrible thing, but it wasn’t at all like that now. She was suddenly filled with a profound joy she’d never expected to experience again. She held Dillon’s gaze.

  “Are you sure marriage is what you want?” she asked. “Perhaps it’s foolish to consider taking such a step at our age. It’s not as if we’d scandalize anyone by just living together.”

  “I’ve dreamed of the day I could put a ring on your finger,” he admitted. “I dreamed of it sixty years ago, and now I’ve a chance to make that dream come true.” He reached over and held her hand. “But, unlike Moira, if you say you’re content with the way things are, I’ll stay right here by your side. I just want you to understand the depth of my feelings for you.”

  Nell felt the surprising dampness of a tear trickling down her cheek. “Now you’ve gone and made me cry,” she said.

  He frowned. “Is that the good sort of crying or the bad?” he asked anxiously.

  “The very best kind,” she said, laughing through the tears she couldn’t seem to stop. “I think I’m going to have to marry you, Dillon O’Malley. My heart will never forgive me if I don’t, because I’ve loved you all these years as well.”

  Until just this moment, she hadn’t realized how true that was. Though she’d loved her husband, though her life with him had been blessed in so many ways, including three fine sons and so many incredible grandchildren, Dillon had claimed a part of her heart years ago in Dublin. He still owned it.

  “Then we’re agreed?” Dillon asked, as if not daring to believe he’d heard correctly.

  She squeezed his hand. “We’re agreed. We’ll need to break the news carefully, though.”

  “I’ll go to Mick tomorrow,” he said at once. “As the oldest, and the least likely to be receptive, I’ll do whatever it takes to win his approval.”

  “Some might say a better strategy would be to win others over first,” she suggested.

  Dillon shook his head. “I owe Mick the courtesy.”

  She laughed at his old-fashioned belief in the order of things, but it touched her just the same. “Do I need to come along to protect you?”

  “Mick doesn’t scare me,” Dillon said with confidence. “Because in the end, he and I both want only the best for you. I think we’ll come to terms.”

  “As long as you don’t throw a couple of cows or sheep into the bargain, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

  Dillon’s booming laugh carried on the surprisingly cool evening breeze, filling her heart with unexpected joy. And with her hand nestled in his, she was overcome with a contentment so pure it was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. And at her age, that was saying quite a lot!

  Luke was fairly certain he hadn’t slept a wink all night. Just after dawn, he showered and headed for the pub to get ready for the noon opening. His eagerness to see how well the place would do on a day in midweek was overshadowed by his realization that he was on his own. There would be no Moira at his side, looking out for details, backing him up, giving his hand a quick squeeze as she passed by.

  Well, he thought, that was just the way it was. He could hardly blame her for walking away when he’d given her little reason to stay.

  He spent the morning checking supplies, even though he’d gone through the same lists just the day before. He confirmed orders with suppliers, who responded that yes, the information they’d given him yesterday was correct, deliveries would be on schedule. In a few cases he could hear the amusement in the voices of the customer service representatives.

  “You’re newly opened,” one woman said. “I can tell.”

  “Sorry. I’m still a little paranoid about things not going smoothly.”

  “Understandable,” she said. “And the woman I spoke to earlier said the same.”

  Luke went absolutely silent for a moment as her words sank in. “A woman called? From O’Brien’s? Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I am that I spoke to you yesterday as well as just now,” she confirmed. “She called not fifteen minutes ago. I keep a notation of all calls in the account record.”

  “I see,” he said softly. “Thanks.”

  What on earth did it mean that Moira was conducting pub business as if nothing were awry?


  He didn’t have long to ponder that, because a key turned in the lock and she breezed in, barely sparing him a glance as she headed for the kitchen. Luke trailed along behind her.

  “Moira, what are you doing here?” he asked, even as she walked into the freezer obviously intent on checking something.

  When she emerged, she shrugged. “What does it look like? I’m doing my job.”

  He faltered at that, trying to decide if he should make an issue of this unexpected turn of events or let it pass. In the end, though, he had to understand.

  “I thought you’d quit.”

  She leveled a defiant look straight into his eyes then. “It was you I quit, Luke. Walking out on this job would be irresponsible.” Her expression dared him to challenge her.

  Ah, he thought, fighting a smile. This was the salve to her pride, a way to come back into his life without letting him off the hook at all.

  “Okay, then,” he said, grateful for the tiny opening, however it had come about. “I’ll be in the office, if you need me.”

  She picked up a pot then and dropped it on the floor, causing a clatter that stopped him in his tracks. “That’s all you have to say?” she demanded.

  “I’m at a loss,” he admitted. “You’re here to do a job, nothing else, isn’t that what you said?”

  She clearly wasn’t pleased to have been taken at her word, but he wasn’t quite ready to bend yet, either.

  “That’s what I said,” she agreed tightly.

  “Would it help at all if I said I was sorry about how things ended yesterday?” he asked carefully. “I had a miserable night because of it.”

  Her lips twitched at that. “Really? How miserable?”

  “Lousy enough,” he said. “You’d have been quite content, I’m sure, if you’d seen me tossing and turning and wondering how I mucked things up so badly.”

  “Do you need me to explain it to you?” she inquired, the faintest hint of a twinkle in her eyes at last.

  “If it would make you feel better, go right ahead and tell me all the things I did wrong.”

  She hesitated, then shook her head. “No, I think you should probably ponder the situation a bit longer and figure out your own answers.” She finally grinned. “I’ll be in here helping Bryan with lunch once you’ve come up with any.”

  He risked a grin of his own. “Good to know.”

  Though things between them were far from settled and nowhere close to back on an even keel, he felt a faint stirring of hope that he hadn’t blown any chance for them entirely out of the water.

  To Luke’s utter horror, given how precarious things already were with Moira, Kristen wandered in around one-thirty as the brisk lunch business was winding down.

  “Since the official, invitation-only festivities are over and this place is open to the public, I thought I’d give it a try,” she said, her expression daring him to dismiss her.

  “Sure,” he said reluctantly. “Have a seat and I’ll send your waiter over.”

  “I thought maybe you’d have time to at least have a cup of coffee with me,” she said.

  “Why would you think that?” he asked in frustration. “You know I’m with Moira. I’ve explained that.”

  “The way I hear it, there was a fight of some kind yesterday at Sally’s and she walked out on you,” Kristen said, clearly gloating about the news.

  Luke muttered a curse under his breath at the efficiency of the Chesapeake Shores grapevine. Who the devil had been in Sally’s to spread the word? And why would they tell Kristen, of all people? Was there someone in town who wanted to screw with his life that badly?

  Kristen laughed when he didn’t respond. “I can just about hear those wheels in your head going round and round as you try to figure out who spilled the news to me.”

  “It did cross my mind to wonder,” he admitted.

  “No one in your family betrayed you,” she said, “at least not intentionally. Sally was apparently worried about whatever she witnessed. She mentioned something to Susie, who dropped in to talk to Mack, wondering if she should try to intercede. She didn’t realize I was around.”

  “And you couldn’t resist eavesdropping,” he concluded.

  “Not once I’d heard your name, of course not,” she said unrepentantly. “Newspaper reporters often get the hottest news by overhearing things meant to be kept secret.” She held his gaze. “Is it true, Luke? Have you finally had the good sense to call it quits? She was all wrong for you, you know. Anyone could see what a terrible mismatch it was. She’d have made you miserable.”

  “Is that so?” Moira said, appearing suddenly beside them.

  Luke couldn’t be sure how she’d turned up so quietly, or how she’d even known Kristen was near the place. Was it some sort of female sixth sense or something?

  “You’re here,” Kristen said, looking stunned.

  “Right here,” Moira confirmed. “And wondering why you are. Come to pick over the bones, Kristen? That’s what predatory animals do, I’m told. Sadly for you, the news of the death of my relationship with Luke has been premature.”

  Kristen looked shocked by her words, but Luke had never been more proud. This was the Moira with whom he’d fallen in love, the one who spoke her mind without heed to the consequences. And if she was publicly claiming him, he could only hope that meant she’d forgiven him and not just that she wanted to stick a sword through Kristen’s heart.

  Kristen whirled on him. “Luke, are you going to allow her to say such things to me?”

  He merely smiled. “You’re on her turf. It’s your battle, Kristen. You’ve always prided yourself on your ability to handle any situation. I have to admit that I’m fascinated to see how you’ll handle this one. Susie let you off too easily, if only because she was so sick, but it seems to me you’ve met a worthy opponent this time.”

  “You’re actually enjoying this,” she said incredulously.

  “I am,” he admitted. “I’ve never had two women fight over me before.”

  She turned to Moira then. “And you’re willing to feed into his display of ego?”

  “Truthfully, Luke’s less of a concern to me right now than you are. When will you get the message, Kristen? Luke’s no longer interested in you. From all I’ve heard about you, you’re not the sort of woman to keep humiliating herself by coming by to beg for a scrap of his attention. You did the same thing with Mack. Have you learned nothing from the shame of that terrible situation?”

  Luke saw that Kristen’s hand was shaking as she reached for her purse, and he knew it was time to intervene. Even for a woman with Kristen’s arrogance and insensitivity, some words could strike a little too close and leave wounds.

  For all his increasing impatience with her deplorable behavior, he’d once seen another side of her. And he’d drawn her into his orbit, albeit to save Susie’s marriage, but he’d kept her in his life for longer than he should have. He had to accept some responsibility for this mess.

  It was that sense of honor that had him saying quietly, “Kristen, why don’t I walk you out?”

  Though Moira looked as if she had quite a lot more she wanted to say, she nodded and walked away, clearly satisfied at having accomplished what she’d set out to do.

  Outside, he touched Kristen’s shoulder, realizing that this strong woman he’d assumed was indomitable was near tears. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “But you intentionally pushed her. All she did was push back.”

  “But you did nothing to stop her,” she accused.

  “How could I? Nothing I’ve said to you seemed to sink in. I thought perhaps Moira would have better luck making things clear.”

  She drew in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Well, they’re clear enough now. I still think you’re going to r
egret this, Luke, but I’m done.”

  “And I think when enough time has passed, you’ll realize it was all for the best. I’m not the right one for you, Kristen. I never was.”

  “And you’re the right one for her?” she asked disparagingly, fighting till the bitter end.

  “We’re still working that out,” Luke told her candidly. “But I want the time to try.”

  She shook her head. “I honestly don’t see it.”

  He laughed. “But you’re not the one who has to, are you?”

  “No, I suppose I’m not,” she said, then turned and walked away.

  Luke stared after her for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and headed back inside to try to figure out just exactly what that whole little scene had really meant. Much as he wished it might be otherwise, he had a sinking feeling that it had been played totally for Kristen’s benefit and not because he’d been entirely forgiven for yesterday’s debacle at Sally’s.

  20

  The audacity of the woman, Moira thought as she paced the kitchen waiting for Luke to return. They’d been broken up for what, not even twenty-four hours, and Kristen Lewis had swooped in to stake her own claim. Did the woman have no shame? Apparently not.

  “Do I need to lock up the knives?” Bryan inquired as she stalked around, muttering to herself.

  “It might be wise,” she said, then sighed. “Sorry, I am acting like a bit of a lunatic, aren’t I?”

  “Was that the other woman, then?” he asked.

  She regarded him with surprise. “How did you know?”

  He chuckled. “No one gets as worked up as you are over an innocent visit from a casual acquaintance. I got a glimpse of her as well. I recognized the type.”

  “Predatory, right?” Moira said, seeking confirmation for her own possibly jaded view.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said.

  “Why doesn’t Luke see that? After all, she was chasing his brother-in-law when they first met. Shouldn’t that have given him a clue?”