“Accept her just the way she is.”
“I do.”
“No, ye don’t. Ye shut her out. Whenever she tries to talk to you about William, you change the subject. Do ye not think she realizes what you’re doing, and that it doesn’t hurt her?”
“I see she doesn’t have any problem talking to you.”
“Because it doesn’t matter to me if William is real or not: all that matters is what Mabel believes. If she tells ye the sun was green when it rose this morning, then maybe you could go sit on the island with her this evening, and see if it’s still green when it sets.”
“How will feeding her delusions help anything?”
“Maybe the question you should ask is, what could it hurt? If Mabel isn’t in this world, why not join her in the world she is in?” He reached out and touched her cheek, catching her so completely off guard that she didn’t step back. “Think about it, would ye? What harm could possibly come from sharing something special with your mother, even if it is a delusion?”
Eve stared at him, unable to utter a word, then turned and quietly walked back to the store.
“You have to tell him,” Maddy said, coming to sit beside Eve on the bed.
Eve stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. “I can’t.”
Maddy flopped back on the bed with a sigh, pulling Eve with her. “Will you keep it?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” Eve said, blinking back tears, as she stared up at the bedroom ceiling.
“Then you’re going to have to tell him. He has the right to know he fathered a child, whether you two are together or not.”
“But you’ve seen how old-fashioned he is. What if he asks me to marry him?”
“Then you start dating him seriously, and maybe it will lead to marriage.”
Eve turned her head. “Only to have it work out the way it did for you and Billy?” She looked back at Maddy’s ceiling. “I’d rather stay friends with Kenzie and share the baby, than get married and have him start resenting me.”
“There’s a world of difference between Billy and Kenzie, and you know it.” Maddy rolled onto her side to face Eve, and brushed away a tear running down Eve’s cheek. “You have to tell him.”
“But not today. Or tomorrow. I have to decide what I want to do before dealing with what he thinks I should do. And I have to consider Mom, and how this is going to affect her.”
“Mabel will be thrilled to have a grandchild.”
“But how am I going to take care of her and a baby? At some point, they’re going to be acting the same age.”
“You’re going to do it with Kenzie’s help.” Maddy sat up and pulled Eve with her. “Even if you don’t marry him, he’s still going to be part of your life. Sarah still spends a great deal of time with Billy and his family. You’re not just having a baby, you’re having a toddler, a nine-year-old brat, and a teenager. Kenzie has an entire family in the mountains who are going to love this child, too. You can’t steal that from them—or from him.”
“Oh, God, this is so complicated,” Eve sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I hadn’t even thought about his family.”
“The sooner you tell him, the better. You can hide your pregnancy for five or six months, but three months isn’t long enough for a man to get used to the idea he’s going to be a father. Why do you think God gives us nine months to plan for the big arrival?”
“How did you get so wise?” Eve sighed.
Maddy snorted and stood up. “I came by it the hard way.” She took the pregnancy test out of Eve’s hand, then handed her another one made by a different company. “Take it again, just to make sure.” She pointed at the drugstore shopping bag on the bureau. “I bought six. We’ll do two more in a few days, and two more next week.”
Eve threw herself at Maddy and hugged her fiercely. “You are such a good friend. Where would I be without you?”
“On a train heading for a washed-out bridge,” Maddy said with a chuckle, hugging her back. “But don’t worry, I won’t let you crash. Go on,” she said, pushing her toward the bathroom.
When Eve finally came back, she silently sat on the bed next to Maddy. Maddy looked at her watch, and Eve looked anyplace but down at the frightening future in her hand.
Three weeks and several positive pregnancy tests later, Eve was discovering there was more to the art of deception than she had realized. Keeping her condition from her mother made hiding Mabel’s illness from everyone in town seem easy in comparison.
Eve was sick to her stomach morning, noon, and night, and the lilac bush behind the house was flourishing. Whenever she walked in the kitchen to find her mother had set another bouquet of those amazingly vibrant lilacs on the table, Eve would run out back and give that poor bush another dose of whatever was in her stomach.
Maddy, bless her heart, was keeping Eve supplied with thermoses of ginger tea, saltine crackers, and plenty of reassurance that the urge to throw up every time she smelled coffee brewing would eventually pass.
Eve had accidentally broken the coffee carafe. She was going to hell for sure, because Kenzie probably wouldn’t say anything, thinking Mabel was the likely culprit. But Eve was just desperate enough to let her mother take the blame.
But when she’d arrived home that evening, there was a brand-new carafe sitting on the counter—along with a month’s supply of coffee!
Eve waited until her mother was washing potatoes in the sink and Father Daar was collecting the eggs before she carried the bags of coffee into the back room. She opened the freezer, dumped in the bags, then covered them with packages of frozen meat and vegetables.
“Where would ye like me to put these?”
Eve jumped, slamming the freezer closed with a gasp.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Kenzie said, looking amused. “Mabel left these books in my truck. I thought she might want them before she went on her walk this evening, but it seems I’ve missed her.”
Eve took a calming breath. “She’s right in the kitchen.”
“Nay, I believe she’s already left for her walk.” He held the books toward her. “If ye hurry, you could catch up and give them to her.”
“But she was just washing potatoes,” Eve said, scooting past him into the empty kitchen. She went over to the sink and found the potatoes sitting in…good Lord, in soapy water. Eve immediately pulled the plug to let the water drain. “She left right in the middle of preparing supper,” she said in disbelief. “Why don’t you take them to her? I have to cook supper.”
“Supper can wait until ye get back.”
Eve sighed and took them. “These are school books,” she said, snapping her gaze back to Kenzie. “What would she want these for?”
“She asked me to take her to her old school this morning when I brought her to town, so she could pick them up. I believe she’s teaching William to read.”
Eve stared down at the books, and without the least bit of warning, she suddenly burst into loud, uncontrollable sobs. “My mother is teaching a dragon to read!”
Kenzie patted her shoulder. When that didn’t slow her down, he tossed the books on the counter, led her over to the table, and sat her in one of the chairs.
Eve buried her face in her hands, trying to get control of herself. She didn’t even know why she was crying, only that she couldn’t stop.
Kenzie started patting her again. “I need ye to stop now, Eve,” he demanded.
“I can’t!”
He pulled out a chair and sat down in front of her, then pulled her hands down and held them in his. “You’ve been dealing so well with Mabel talking about William lately. Why is this so upsetting all of a sudden?”
“H-have you seen William?” she asked on a sniffle.
“I told ye, it doesn’t matter if I have or not. Mabel’s all that matters.”
“Have you?”
“Okay. Yes, I have.”
That surprised her enough to stop her crying. “And is William a dragon?” she asked, eyeing him suspicious
ly.
He hesitated, then quietly said, “William thinks he’s a dragon.”
“That’s not an answer! Is he or is he not a dragon?”
“William is a man who thinks he’s a dragon,” Kenzie softly repeated.
Eve stood up, walked over to the counter, grabbed the books, and marched to the door.
Kenzie stepped in front of her. “He’s not going to let you see him. He doesn’t trust you.”
“Then we have something in common,” she snapped.
He set his hands on her shoulders, the warmth of his palms radiating all the way down to her toes. “If ye go after Mabel angry, it’ll undo weeks of your getting close to her.”
Dammit, why was it that whenever he touched her, she always felt calmer? Eve took a deep breath. “I’m not angry anymore.”
He dropped his hands and she nearly started crying again, but at least this time she knew why. She really, really liked it when he touched her. She just didn’t like it when he talked to her, because he made too much sense.
And sometimes she didn’t want sense, she wanted sensation.
Oh, God. Growing a baby was an emotional roller coaster!
She shoved the books at him, grabbed her stomach, and spun around and ran upstairs, making it to the bathroom just in the nick of time. As soon as she finished, she washed her face, sat on the edge of the tub, and stared out the window.
Why on earth would a man who thought he was a dragon want to learn how to read?
Chapter Fifteen
Every time the wind blew or it started to rain, Eve grew nervous. Part of the reason was because Father Daar would get out his prayer beads, sit in the rocking chair by the kitchen window, and murmur under his breath. But she suspected it was mostly because she was afraid Kenzie would mysteriously take off again.
The evening after her unexplained crying, they had just sat down to dinner when it started to rain. Eve jumped when lightning flashed in the windows, but relaxed when she heard the rumble of thunder.
Until Kenzie suddenly pushed back his chair and stood up.
“Where are you going?” she blurted out. Without even thinking, she rushed to block the door.
He looked at her curiously, then his expression suddenly changed and his eyes filled with concern. “I was just going to put Curaidh in his stall, but never mind,” he said, going back to the table. “The rain will do him good. He needs a bath, anyway.”
“You’re not afraid he’ll get struck by lightning?” Mabel asked.
“He’s in no more danger than a deer or moose is.” Kenzie sat down and picked up his fork. “Come eat, Eve. It’s just a summer cold front sweeping through. The weatherman said to expect thunderstorms this evening.”
Knowing she was wearing her chagrin on her cheeks, Eve sat down and pushed her food around her plate.
“Daar and I are going to Pine Creek the day after tomorrow, to visit Matt and Winter and their new daughter for a couple of days,” Kenzie said into the silence. “Would you ladies like to come with us?”
“Oh!” Mabel said. “Winter had her baby girl!” She canted her head in thought. “That’s right, the summer solstice was last Sunday. You said she was having it on the solstice.”
“She had a cesarean?” Eve asked.
Kenzie looked over at her. “No, what makes ye think that?”
“The only way to know when a baby will be born is to schedule a cesarean.”
He smiled at her. “It’s a tradition for the MacKeage women to have their babies on the solstices. Winter and her six sisters were all born on the winter solstice.”
“All seven?” Eve asked in amazement. “Wow, what are the odds of that happening?”
“Very high, if you’re related to Grace MacKeage. She and her sister, and their six brothers, were all born on the summer solstice.” He looked at Mabel. “So, would you like to visit the mountains for a couple of days?”
“I would love to,” Mabel said.
“But who will take care of the animals?” Eve asked.
“Winter’s cousin, Robbie MacBain, has offered to come watch over An Tèarmann for me.”
“Does he know he has to milk a cow and the goats?” she asked with a crooked grin.
Kenzie smiled back. “He knows. Can ye close your store for three days? Or if ye want, I can ask Camry to come with Robbie, and she could watch the store for you.”
“I thought Camry was a rocket scientist for NASA, and lived in Florida.”
“She’s taken some time off to visit with Winter.”
“Let’s go, Eve,” Mabel said excitedly. “I want to see Winter’s baby. You know how much I love newborns.”
Well, why not? She wouldn’t mind seeing a newborn herself, if only to find out what she was in for. And Maddy would kill her if she didn’t take the opportunity to meet Kenzie’s extended family.
“I don’t see any reason why not.” Eve looked at Kenzie. “And since Camry has taken time off to visit her sister, I’ll just close the store. Maybe it’ll make our customers crave our products even more, if they have to do without them for three days.” She shot her mom a wink. “Especially Johnnie Dempster. I think he’s addicted to your banana bread.”
“I know, he bought three loaves this afternoon, and ordered three more. Oh, how exciting,” Mabel said, spearing a carrot with her fork. “It seems like forever since I’ve gone anywhere and met new people.” She suddenly stopped with the fork halfway to her mouth, and looked at Kenzie. “What about William? He’s gotten used to my bringing him treats.”
“Robbie will look after him for ye,” Kenzie assured her.
Eve also stopped eating. “Robbie knows about William?”
“Yes.”
“But how? He’s never been here.” She frowned. “Unless that means William came here with you.”
“Well, of course it does, Evangeline,” Mabel said, her tone implying that was a given. “Why else do you think Kenzie would move to such a desolate place? Dragons need plenty of room to hunt and fish.”
“There’s plenty of room in the mountains,” she said, determined to play along. “And there must be all sorts of places for him to hide up there.”
“But he’s from Ireland,” Mabel reminded her. “He likes being near the ocean.”
Eve looked at Kenzie. “So William is the reason you moved here?”
“Partly. And because I like the ocean, too.”
“So where will we be staying?” Mabel asked, apparently satisfied William would be looked after. “Do Winter and Matt have room for us all?”
“They’re building a large home, but it won’t be ready for at least another year. Grace and Greylen MacKeage have invited us to stay with them.”
“They own the TarStone Mountain Ski Resort, and Gù Brath is their home right beside it. It was built just like the ancient castles in Scotland.” He looked at Mabel. “I should probably warn you, the MacKeage family is quite large, and many of them have come back for the birth.”
“Do they do that every time one of them has a baby?” Eve asked.
“Winter is Grace and Greylen’s youngest daughter, and this particular child has been greatly anticipated.”
Wow. Eve couldn’t imagine living in a large family, or having everyone make such a fuss over a baby.
“But surely you’ll stay with your brother?” Mabel asked.
“Nay. Matt and Winter and baby Fiona need time to bond before they let the world intrude. That’s why I waited a week to go visit my new niece.”
“They named her Fiona?” Mabel said. “How pretty.”
“It was our sister’s name.”
“Was?” Eve asked.
“Fiona died years ago,” Kenzie said, then filled his mouth with food.
“I’m not staying at Gù Brath,” Daar declared, speaking up now that his plate was empty. “I’m going up to my old cabin.”
“You’ll probably be sharing it with raccoons,” Kenzie warned.
“I don’t care. I’m not staying in
a house full of heathen children.”
“Um…maybe Mom and I should find a place to stay in town,” Eve said, suddenly having reservations about staying in a house full of strangers. Maybe they could find a motel nearby that wasn’t too expensive. “If it’s such a family affair, we don’t want to intrude.”
“Trust me, Grace MacKeage is happiest when her home is overflowing. You would hurt her feelings if ye didn’t stay at Gù Brath. She’s the one who suggested I bring you both with me.”
Eve gave a quick glance toward Mabel, then looked back at Kenzie. “You don’t think all those people might make things a little…confusing?”
“I could help with the cooking,” Mabel interjected, obviously catching Eve’s meaning. “And tomorrow I’ll bake some bread to take up, and we’ll bring some butter.”
“I’m sure Grace would love your help, Mabel,” Kenzie said. He looked at Eve. “And I would love to take you horseback riding in the mountains.”
“Do the MacKeages’ have normal-sized horses, or big ones like yours?”
“Two of my mares came from Grey’s stable,” he said with a gleam in his eyes. “All the MacKeage girls got a draft horse for their fifth birthday. You’re not afraid to ride a horse, are ye?”
“Not at all. So why didn’t you invite William to come with us?” she asked, wanting to change the subject because she had absolutely no intention of riding one of those elephants. “If there isn’t enough room in your truck, he could just fly up.”
That gleam intensified. “Because William isn’t exactly welcome in Pine Creek anymore. The police chief, Jack Stone—who happens to be Winter’s brother-in-law—more or less asked him to leave and not come back.”
“Because he kept eating all the bears in the area?”
“No, because he kept eating all the doughnuts,” Daar said with a snort, standing up. He walked to the fridge and came back with a strawberry-rhubarb pie in one hand and a bowl of whipped cream in the other. “And if Mabel is going to be helping with the cooking, maybe I should stay at Gù Brath,” he said. “Just to keep her and Eve from getting lost, you understand. The place is a veritable fortress, with more crags and crannies than even the old castles.”
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