Hot Under the Collar

by Roxanne St Claire

  Oh yes. Somebody was.

  Before Agnes could answer, Finnie leaned in closer, her sweet smile at odds with the inner strength shining through from behind her bifocals. “I already love Katie like she’s my own daughter,” she said softly. “The whole family, in fact, has wormed their way into this old Irish heart.”

  For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, something intangible hanging in the balance. They could be friends, enemies, competitors, or conspirators. Whatever, Agnes sensed they were polar opposites.

  But she had no doubt this little old Irishwoman wouldn’t be turned away from the pearly gates, and it would behoove Agnes to get on her good side. She might need a reference someday.

  “How blessed they are to have you,” Agnes said, the very words like sandpaper in her mouth despite the sweet voice she tried to use.

  The tone must have worked, because Gramma Finnie angled her head and let out a little whimper of joy. “And blessed to have you here today, lass. And I mean that term of endearment as a true compliment on your beauty, inside and out.”

  Wait. Did she say inside and out? Agnes couldn’t hear it over the sound of angels singing.

  “Whoa,” Cassie muttered, giving the side-eye to Agnes. “This family is certainly growing…complicated.”

  But Gramma Finnie slid her hand around Agnes’s arm and snuggled her closer. “The more we grow, the stronger we get,” she said, nodding to the park on the other side of the street. “Just like that big old tree in that town square, always spreadin’ with new branches. Come meet my clan. They’re going to love this lovely and sweet new grandmother they just found.”

  Lovely. Sweet. New.

  Agnes pressed her hand over Finnie’s knotted knuckles. “From your lips to God’s ears, my friend.”

  And she’d never meant anything more.

  * * *

  Oh, the good Lord sure worked in mysterious ways. Finnie settled into her chair at the main table of the engagement party, oblivious to the crowd, her attention on the new addition to the ever-growing Kilcannon-Mahoney-Santorini branches that made up her beloved family tree.

  First, He’d sent the lovely Katie to change Daniel’s life from dark to light. Then He’d tied both families together with a child Katie and Daniel had unwittingly conceived forty-three years ago. And now, He’d brought forth a person who might have been a thorn in Katie’s side during her forty years of marriage to Agnes’s son, but now obviously wanted nothing but a fresh start with a new family.

  Why, yes, the woman seemed a wee bit uncomfortable in her own skin, most likely because that skin had been pulled, pricked, polished, and puffed. She simply needed a friend to help her navigate these new waters, and Finnie would certainly—

  “I still can’t believe she’s here.” Cassie slipped into the chair next to Finnie, setting down her champagne glass so hard the fizzy stuff splashed a bit.

  “Oh, Cassie darlin’.” Finnie took the young woman’s hand. “’Tis a surprise, but a happy one.”

  Cassie gave her head a negative shake. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when she opened her mouth.”

  “Must admit, lass, she’s not what I expected based on the bits and pieces I’ve picked up from you and your mother.”

  Cassie’s eyes tapered to dark slits directed at her grandmother across the crowded room. “I don’t know what she’s up to, Gramma Finnie. I’m not going to lie, something is weird.”

  “Weird? She seems perfectly lovely.”

  “Right? Wrong.” She picked up her champagne glass and took a deep drink. “She always has a motive. And it’s usually to make my mother’s life worse. Or somehow intervene in ours to make things happen the way she wants them to happen. Just her being here scares me, but this…this…” She waved her hand up and down in the direction of Agnes. “This extreme makeover? Something isn’t right.”

  “Child.” She squeezed Cassie’s hand. “People change. Especially as they get old. She’s lookin’ at eighty, right? Oh, it’s a mighty dauntin’ number. Makes you want to do crazy things.” Finnie leaned closer. “Maybe learnin’ that her grandson wasn’t her grandson at all, but mine, put somethin’ sweet on her heart.”

  Cassie gave her a skeptical side-eye. “Nothing sweet has ever been within a mile of her heart. You don’t know her, Gramma.”

  “You said she was gracious when she found out that Daniel is Nick’s biological father.”

  “Exactly. Who uses ‘gracious’ and ‘Yiayia’ in the same sentence? No one.”

  Finnie sighed and slid a look to the table where Agnes was now deep in conversation with Cassie’s brothers, twins Alex and John. Agnes was pointing to the food and nodding enthusiastically, so that would make Alex the chef happy, and she seemed to have a very cordial relationship with John.

  “I think you should be grateful she’s here, lass.”

  “I think she should go home and not try to ruin my mother’s happiness, Gram.”

  Finnie tsked. “Unkind words can turn your mouth rotten.”

  “Then hers must be growing mold.”

  “Why don’t you give her a chance? Remember, she buried a son and a husband in her life. I can tell you from my firsthand experience, you’re never quite the same after pain like that.”

  Cassie looked at her, her shoulders dipping with a tiny bit of resignation. “You’re so good, Gramma Finnie. I love how you give everyone the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Not everyone, but family. Family is the bedrock, the only thing that matters. You best remember that, lass.”

  “My grandmother doesn’t think like you,” Cassie said on a sigh. “If she did, our family would have been a lot happier.”

  “Well, when your mother marries my son, I’ll be your step-grandmother,” Finnie said, patting Cassie’s hand. “And as such, my first order of business will be to ask you to love the one God gave ye.”

  “I do love her. I just don’t trust her.”

  Finnie added a little pressure on Cassie’s hand and jutted her chin in the other direction. “Oh, look, Braden’s standing all alone.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “Subtle, Grammiecakes. Real subtle.”

  Finnie laughed, amused as always by this refreshing lass. “Well, if you won’t talk to him, I will.” She started to push up, but Cassie circled her wrist, holding her in place.

  “Why don’t you talk to Yiayia instead? People always confide in you, Gramma Finnie. See if you can suss out her ulterior motive for the unexpected arrival.”

  “What if she doesn’t have one?”

  Cassie notched one of her perfectly arched dark brows. “Twenty bucks says you’re wrong about that.”

  “Twenty bucks says she’s here to love and appreciate her family.”

  “You are one for the books, lady.” Cassie leaned over and planted a kiss on Finnie’s cheek. “The world would be a better place if more people were as optimistic as you.”

  “Phooey on your optimism. I want my twenty bucks.” Finnie pushed up and headed off to prove a point.

  On the way, she lifted two champagne flutes from the bar. She’d have preferred a shot of Jameson’s, but maybe that was too Irish for a fine Greek goddess like Agnes Santorini. Still, a wee lubrication of the tongue wasn’t a bad idea.

  Finnie arrived just as the matching lads were rising to their full stature, both of them wearing pleased but puzzled expressions on their handsome bearded faces.

  “I have to check on the food,” Alex said, his dark gaze still on his grandmother. “But I have to say, Yiayia, you look amazing.”

  “And you seem so…happy,” John added, adjusting his glasses as if he could somehow get a better look at Agnes and make sure it was really her. “And I’m sorry I haven’t visited you down in Florida for so long.”

  “Nonsense, Yianni.” The Greek version of her grandson’s name rolled off her tongue, making Finnie suspect she’d called him that since he was a babe. “I’m the one who should have come back to North Carolina more
often. And I will now, I promise.” She gave a quick laugh. “Who knows? I may never leave.”

  As soon as they stepped away, Finnie moved in, placing the glasses on the table and getting comfy in the seat across from Agnes.

  “You know what the Irish say about grandchildren?” Finnie asked.

  “They’re better than potatoes?” Agnes bit her lip as soon as that came out. “Oh God. I don’t mean that as an insult.”

  “None taken,” Finnie assured her, inching Agnes’s glass of champagne closer in invitation. “They say, ‘Children are the rainbow in life, but grandchildren are the pot of gold.’”

  She sighed and smiled. “That might very well be true, Finnie. I only have five, but they are all golden to me.” She wrinkled her nose, which might have been the only thing on that face that could wrinkle. “I guess I only have four now.”

  “Don’t ever say that.” Finnie leaned in and held the other woman’s gaze. “Nick might be my son’s biological child, but he was raised into a fine lad by your son.” She waited a beat before adding, “And Katie.”

  For a millisecond, her dark eyes widened, but almost immediately, she managed a smile that wiped away whatever her initial reaction would have been. “I hear Nick didn’t take the news well at first.”

  Finnie gave a shrug, but well remembered that fateful Saint Paddy’s Day when the handsome doctor confronted his biological father. “’Tis the past,” she said. “After a few weeks, Nick made his peace with it all. Of course, he’s in Africa now, and I understand he’s in love.”

  “I’ve heard that, too.”

  “Although…”

  Agnes raised both brows with open interest. “Yes?”

  Finnie waved it off. “Needless gossip.”

  “Is there any other kind?” She put her hand over Finnie’s. “It’s not gossip if it involves our grandchild. And in this case, he is both of ours.”

  For a long moment, Finnie didn’t say anything, then she smiled. “’Tis a strange and wonderful twist of fate, isn’t it? Us having the same grandchild and the same daughter-in-law.”

  “It does give us a unique bond.” Agnes didn’t sound like that bothered her, though. “Otherwise, we might never be…friends.”

  But could they be? “You’re different than what I expected,” Finnie said softly.

  The observation made Agnes’s expression shift into something that could be described only as satisfaction. “Really? You think so? Has anyone else said that to you about me?”

  “Just my own observation, dear.” When the other woman’s face fell a little, Finnie remembered her mission. “You’ve done a kind thing for Katie by showin’ up,” she added. “I do believe you’ve shocked your family.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  “Is it?” Finnie pressed, suddenly worrying if Cassie had been correct. “So you’re here to…shock them?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

  Oh no. “You think you’ll be spendin’ some time with Katie, then?”

  “I don’t know. Does she spend any time with anyone other than Daniel?” There was enough wryness in her tone to make Finnie certain she’d noticed the couple was virtually inseparable. Did she want to change that, or was it just an honest observation?

  “They’re together a lot, and I would know, considering I share the house with Daniel and Katie’s all but moved in. Redecoratin’ everything, too.”

  Agnes nodded. “She’s very good at that.”

  “She’s making it her home now,” Finnie told her. “’Tis beautiful, but…different.”

  Agnes eyed her closely, clearly intrigued by the tone in Finnie’s voice. Well, every good friendship did begin with honesty, and Finnie hadn’t confided her concerns to anyone yet. “I’m getting used to it,” Finnie added with a smile she hoped didn’t look sad, because her new role as the second lady of the house didn’t make her sad, just restless. Which was both a blessing and a curse for a woman her age.

  “I can’t wait to see Waterford,” Agnes said. “Cassie told me that it’s not just a homestead, but a large canine rescue and training center.”

  “Aye, ’tis the largest in the state. And I built the original home with my husband when we came here in the 1950s.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  Finnie took a breath to start the story, then stopped herself. This woman hadn’t quite earned the history—long or short version. And everyone knew Finnie told only people she liked the long version.

  “Could I bring my dogs there?” Agnes asked.

  “I wasn’t aware you had dogs with you.”

  “I never go anywhere without Pygmalion and Galatea, my doxies. They’re named after the famous Greek lovers. Of course they made the drive up from Florida with me.”

  “Well, yes, you should bring them to Waterford,” Finnie said. “How long will you be in town?”

  “I don’t know…” She looked around for a moment, scanning the faces in the room. “I’d like to stay for a while,” she mused. “I’ve missed my family.”

  Bingo. Finnie was right, and Cassie was wrong.

  Agnes leveled her gaze at someone across the room. “Who is that tall and handsome young man who seems to never be more than five feet from Cassie?”

  “Braden Mahoney, my daughter Colleen’s youngest son,” Finnie said without looking. “I had such high hopes for those two.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I thought for sure they’d be the next, what with the way they are both so anxious to leave Wednesday night dinners and go dancin’ with the others and always teasin’ each other, but…” She sighed and looked across the room where Daniel and Katie gazed into each other’s eyes, laughing about some secret joke. “My son seems to have forgotten his matchmaking magic now that cupid’s arrow has struck him.”

  “His matchmaking magic?” Her full attention on Finnie, Agnes put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. “What are you talking about?”

  “Just look around and you’ll see. In the past two years, my son orchestrated six different romances. It sealed his nickname as the Dogfather, a man who knows how to pull strings and make things happen.”

  “The Dogfather?” She chuckled at that. “What was his trick?”

  “Special dogs. Perfect timing. Common sense and a wee bit of nudging, ’tis all. Liam and Andi happened thanks to a fateful trip to the hardware store and Liam learning she needed a guard dog. And there’s Darcy and the landlord who didn’t want pets that her father just happened to find for her. Aidan and Beck were forced to share custody of Ruff. My darling Molly? The pregnant one, she—”

  “Wait. Wait.” Agnes held up her hand. “I met more than one pregnant woman, and there’s a newborn in the bunch, too.”

  “Exactly.” Finnie crossed her arms and sat back. “All results of matches helped along by the master, my son. But now we have all the Mahoneys—they’re my daughter Colleen’s kids—and, of course, Daniel’s future stepchildren, who happen to be your grandchildren.”

  “That’s a lot of strings for the Dogfather to pull.”

  “The Dogfather is too in love to pay attention to anyone but our sweet Katie,” Finnie noted. “But we need more happy endings around here, and I can’t get him to settle down and get the job done.”

  Agnes turned her attention from the crowd to Finnie. “If he can do it, so can we.”

  Finnie drew back, not expecting this response.

  “How hard can it be to find them partners and prod them along?” Agnes asked, her voice rising with a bit of excitement. “What’s keeping Cassie and Braden apart? I mean, other than the fact that he’s obviously not Greek.”

  “An ex-girlfriend who hasn’t seemed to completely disappear.” Finnie shook her head. “And some notions that firefighters don’t make ideal partners.”

  Agnes waved that off as if it was balderdash. Which it was. “And Cassie?”

  Finnie gave a slow smile. “She teases him, and I’ve caught her starin’ a few t
imes across the dinner table at the family gatherings. Caught him starin’, too. The seed is planted, but it might need a little waterin’, if ye catch my drift.”

  “You know what else I catch?” Agnes suddenly clapped her hands once, as if turning on a lightbulb in her head. “A purpose!”

  “Pardon?”

  “A good one, too. And I’ve been searching for one of those for eight long months.”

  She had? “What happened eight months ago?”

  The other woman didn’t answer, but bit her lower lip and stared at Finnie. “I have an idea, but I warn you, it’s big. So, so big.”

  Finnie laughed and came closer, magnetically drawn to this fascinating stranger. “Tell.”

  Agnes reached over the table, around the untouched glasses, and put her hands on Finnie’s arms. “When the spirit moves me, I listen.”

  “And you’re…being moved?”

  “Absolutely. From there to here.”

  Finnie stared, a little breathless.

  “You feel the need to leave Waterford Farm,” Agnes said.

  Finnie gasped. “I said no such thing.”

  “You didn’t have to. I can read between the lines, and I think you’re struggling because Katie is the mistress at Waterford now.”

  “I love Katie,” she denied hotly. “I simply adore her. And I came back to Waterford Farm after Daniel’s wife, Annie, passed and—”

  “And now he’s getting married again.”

  Finnie eyed her suspiciously. “What are ye gettin’ at, lass?”

  “Let’s get a place in town. You and me. And the dogs, of course. We’ll find something nice and make it our own. And then we can set our two minds together and help our grandchildren—all of them—find true love.”

  Finnie’s jaw might have hit the table. “Move in with a perfect stranger?”

  “Why not? Why not try a new chapter in your life? Take it from someone who’s turned a page, there’s nothing better than a fresh start. Even at your age.”

  Finnie gave her a look. “Our age.”

  “Oh, oh, of course. Sorry. But think about it, Finn.” She was still holding Finnie’s wrists, a look of hope so powerful in her eyes it sent a chill up Finnie’s back. A chill of…possibilities.