Driftwood Cottage (7 page)

“Oh, just wait till I see him,” Bree gloated. “I am so going to hold that over his head. Anyway, if you’re not busy, I thought I’d drop by.”

“Come on over,” Heather said at once. “Connie’s picking up pizza. I’m sure there will be enough for one more.”

“Have you seen the way I eat these days?” Bree asked. “I’ll call her on her cell phone and tell her to pick up two.”

“See you soon, then.”

When she hung up, Heather couldn’t seem to stop the smile that spread across her face. For the first time
practically since college, she was making friends. Okay, Bree was Connor’s sister, so that was probably a little risky. Connie had O’Brien in-law status through Jake’s marriage to Bree. Still, these were women whose company she could enjoy, women who clearly understood the emotional roller coaster she’d been on.

“This is good,” she murmured as she put ice into tall glasses and poured their sodas.

And for the first time since moving to Chesapeake Shores, she truly felt as if she were not just launching a business, but settling into a community that would be home.

When Heather answered the first knock on her door, she found not only Bree, but Jake.

“He insisted on walking me up the stairs to be sure I got here okay,” Bree explained, exaggerated disgust in her voice but a telltale glint of delight in her eyes.

“Stop complaining, little mama,” Jake said. “Until this kid of ours is out here in the world where I can look out for him directly, the two of you are a package deal. Get used to it.”

Bree scowled at him. “Does that mean all the attention will shift to the baby as soon as he or she is born? Am I just some sort of incubator to you?”

He fought unsuccessfully to stop a grin. “I thought that’s what you wanted, to be free from my hovering. I heard you say that very thing not ten minutes ago.”

Heather held up a hand. “Truce, you two. The goal is a happy, healthy baby and a contented mother, am I right?”

“Yes,” they agreed at once.

“Ah, unity. It’s a blessed thing,” Heather said, then nudged Jake toward the door when he showed no inclination to leave. “Your sister and I will take very good care of her for the next couple of hours. Go, paint, have a beer and relax.”

Reluctantly, Jake backed away. “You need me, you call, okay?” he said to Bree just as his sister climbed the steps with the two big pizza boxes. He sniffed the air. “Or I could stick around.”

Connie stared him down. “Do you really want to tell your friends that you spent Saturday night at a chicks’ gabfest? I brought my DVD of
Love Story.
Think about your image, little brother.”

He groaned at the mention of the guaranteed tearjerker movie. “I’m out of here.” He still couldn’t seem to tear himself away. He stepped back inside and kissed Bree. “Call when you’re ready to come home.”

“I’ll drop her off,” Connie said.

Jake looked uncertain.

“I promise she’ll be in one piece,” Connie said impatiently. “Now get out of here, or I will start to tell embarrassing stories about you that even your wife doesn’t know!”

That finally got him out of the apartment.

Bree sank onto the sofa. “I do love that man, but I need breathing room.”

“Just wait till you need him to help with the middle of the night feedings and the dirty diapers,” Connie predicted. “You’ll have trouble figuring out where he’s hiding.”

Heather thought back to the early days at home with little Mick. Connor had handled his share of feedings.
“Actually Connor was amazing about that kind of thing,” she said as she bit into the still-steaming pizza. After chewing thoughtfully, she added, “Maybe it helped that he was usually burning the midnight oil going over case files, but I can’t tell you how many times I found him half-asleep in a chair with a file in one hand and the baby sleeping on his chest.”

“And the diapers?” Bree asked skeptically.

“He changed his share.”

Connie regarded her incredulously. “And yet you still left him?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she looked chagrined. “Sorry. None of my business.”

“It’s okay,” Heather told her. “Sometimes I wonder if I was out of my mind, too.”

“Well, Connor is my brother and I love him to pieces,” Bree said as she plucked another slice of pizza from the box, “but I get why you did what you did. Marriage matters. It means something when two people stand in front of a priest or a judge and say, ‘I do.’”

“It certainly should,” Connie agreed, sipping her soda. “Of course, when I got married, all it meant to my husband was that he was buying into a permanent cooking and cleaning service. Jenny required too much of my time and attention.” She shook her head. “He was a selfish pig. How I’d missed that is beyond me.”

“As great a believer as I am in love,” Bree said, “I think we all delude ourselves sometimes and see what we want to see in a man. Look at the mistake I made with my so-called mentor at the regional theater in Chicago. I convinced myself he was madly in love with me, when he was really in love with the sound of his own voice. I
was just his adoring audience.” She looked chagrined. “To think I could have lost Jake forever for a man like that.”

Heather listened to the two of them and found solace in what they were saying. “So you’ve both been down some bumpy roads and survived,” she commented.

“Better than survived,” Bree said. “I’ve thrived. I’m happier now than I ever imagined being. I love the flower shop, and having my own theater is challenging and amazingly rewarding. I’ve actually written my first new play in ages and hope to produce it next season.”

“And I may not have met an exciting new man in, oh, the past five years or more,” Connie added, “but I have a great daughter, a wonderful brother and a really good life. I even enjoy working at the nursery for Jake.”

She frowned, set aside the slice of pizza she’d just picked up, then confessed, “I honestly don’t know what the dickens I’ll do once Jenny leaves for college next fall. I can’t imagine rattling around in that house by myself.”

“You could sell your place and buy one of those snazzy new townhouses being developed just outside of town,” Bree suggested. She eyed the pizza longingly, grimaced as she apparently lost the battle with her willpower and took another slice.

Connie shook her head. “Empty is empty. I’m afraid the empty-nest syndrome is going to hit me harder than most,” she said disconsolately.

“You need a hobby,” Bree said.

“I’ve already signed up for quilting classes with Heather,” Connie said.

Bree shook her head. “No offense, but that’s a hobby for women. You need one that will help you meet men.”

Connie regarded her with amusement. “Do you happen to have one of those?”

“You could volunteer at my theater,” Bree said at once. “We have lots of things you could do.”

“And how many men who aren’t married or gay?” Connie inquired reasonably.

Bree winced. “You have a point. Okay, what else are you interested in?”

When Connie remained silent, Heather prodded, “Do you like to read? Shanna has a book club at her store. She mentioned it to me the other day.”

“I don’t think so. I don’t like the pressure of having to read anything on a deadline,” Connie said. She glanced at Bree. “I did pick up some of those books on the bay that your uncle Thomas recommended when he did that talk for Shanna. I like the work he’s doing.”

“Then volunteer,” Bree said excitedly. “That’s perfect. It’s a really great cause. Kevin can fill you in, or you can drop by the house tomorrow. Uncle Thomas will be there for Easter dinner, I’m sure. He never misses a holiday. You can get some ideas directly from him. Bring Jenny along, too.”

“You can’t just add two people to Easter dinner,” Connie protested.

“Of course I can,” Bree said. “If there’s one thing we O’Briens love, it’s a jam-packed holiday table. It diverts Dad’s attention from us, so there’s less meddling. And Gram thinks having company keeps us all on our best behavior.” She shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that, but there’s always enough food for an army. Promise me you’ll be there. I don’t want to think about you and Jenny
having lunch all alone, anyway. Heather will be there, too, right?”

Heather nodded. “Do come. It’ll be nice to see another friendly face in the crowd. I feel outnumbered by O’Briens.”

“Clear it with Megan and Nell and I’m in,” Connie said finally. “Now let’s pop this movie in. Maybe if we shed enough tears, we’ll work off a few of the calories we’ve just consumed.”

“Not much chance of that,” Bree said, patting her belly. “If I so much as look at food these days, I gain weight.”

“Of course, you did slightly more than look at the pizza,” Connie teased. “I’m pretty sure you ate a whole one all by yourself.”

“Guilty,” Bree said unrepentantly. “Could you not tell my husband that, please? He’ll just start obsessing and insist I take some awful walk with him first thing in the morning.”

“Your secret’s safe with us,” Heather promised.

They settled into their seats as she turned on the movie, then passed around a box of tissues. “We know how it ends,” she said. “We might as well be prepared.”

“What about chocolate?” Bree asked. “Do you have chocolate?”

Heather laughed as she fetched a bag of dark-chocolate candies from a drawer. “Here you go, though how you can eat them after all that pizza is beyond me,” she said as Bree took several from the bag.

“There’s always room for dessert,” Bree said.

In less than two hours, they were all sobbing openly as the movie’s closing credits rolled.

“Just what I needed,” Connie declared, wiping the tears
from her cheeks. She stood up. “Now I’d better get you home, Bree, or Jake will be over here pounding on the door. And I need to be home to make sure Jenny meets curfew.”

Her own cheeks still damp, Heather walked them to the door. “Thank you so much for coming by. This has been fun.”

“We’ll do it again,” Connie promised. “See you tomorrow.”

Bree tried to hug her, but her belly got in the way. She shrugged and settled for kissing her cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

Heather watched until they’d made their way carefully down the stairs and into Connie’s car before closing the door with a smile. She’d been right earlier. Chesapeake Shores was rapidly becoming home.

W
hen Connor arrived at Gram’s, to his surprise he found Jess and Will there. He bent down and kissed his grandmother, then gave his sister a hug.

“You always did like to sneak a taste of ham the minute it came out of the oven,” Connor accused his sister, then turned to Will. “What brings you by?”

“I’m hoping for the second taste,” he said. “And rumor had it you’d be stopping by and would be at loose ends. I thought maybe we could all go out for a drink after we take care of whatever chores your grandmother has for us.”

“The ham needs to go to the main house,” Gram said. “The pies, too. After that, you all are free to get on with your evening.”

Will’s eyes lit up. “There’s pie, too?”

Gram gave him a warning look. “Don’t you dare try to sneak a taste of any of them. If you want pie, you’ll be at the table tomorrow.”

Will grinned, his expression hopeful. “Is that an official invitation?”

“Of course,” Gram said. “You should know by now that
you’re always welcome. You were underfoot enough as a boy to count as family. Now that your folks have moved to Florida, I imagine holidays are lonely. You just think of our house as yours.”

Will kissed her cheek. “Thank you.” He turned to Connor. “So, now that I’ve successfully angled for an invitation to tomorrow’s festivities, what about tonight? Are you available?”

“Count me in,” Connor said at once. “Jess, how about you?”

She shot a distrustful look in Will’s direction. “That depends. Are we going to hang out and have some fun, or are you going to start psychoanalyzing me again?”

Will frowned at the comment. “I do not psychoanalyze you,” he retorted indignantly, then amended, “At least not all the time.”

“Oh, please, you can’t help yourself,” Jess retorted. “If I want advice from a shrink, I’ll hire one.”

Despite the animosity in her tone, Will winked at her. “But I’m the best one around and, lucky for you, I’m free for friends and family.”

Connor looked from his sister to Will, then back again, noting Jess’s tension and Will’s amusement. “Am I missing something here? Why are you two suddenly at each other’s throats?”

“Oh, these two have been going at it like this since they were teenagers,” Gram said. “One of these days maybe at least one of them will wake up and smell the roses.”

Jess whirled on Gram, her expression dismayed. “What are you suggesting? Not that I’m interested in him, I hope, because nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Ditto,” Will said, though he looked a little less certain.

With sudden insight into the situation, Connor chuckled, then draped an arm around his grandmother’s frail shoulders. “I have no idea why I never noticed it before, but you are absolutely right. I’m suddenly feeling a little overheated in here myself. Should we leave them alone to work this out?”

“Don’t you dare,” Jess snapped. “And if it’s hot in here, it’s because the stupid oven is on.” She threw up her hands. “I am so out of here. You two guys go hang out together. I have no desire to spend my Saturday evening with such a pitiful pair.”

Connor winced as she flounced from the kitchen. He heard the screen door at the front of the cottage slap closed behind her. He turned to Will. “Sorry, pal. I had no idea.”

“You’re imagining things,” Will said. “Jess is like a kid sister to me. That’s it.”

Gram shook her head pityingly. “And you’re the one with the fancy Ph.D. In my day men weren’t half so dense. They fought for the women they wanted, instead of acting like lovesick fools till it was too late.” Her look of disgust took in both Will and Connor. “Take the ham and pies on up to the house. I’m going to bed. I want to get to the early Mass at church in the morning.”

When she’d gone, Connor exchanged a look with his friend. Normally he admired his grandmother’s insights into people, but it was more difficult to handle when her scathing comments were directed at him. “Are we really the fools she just accused us of being?” he asked Will.

“More than likely,” Will confirmed.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Unfortunately the only way to change the path he was on—by ignoring everything he believed in about marriage and simply taking the plunge—was completely unacceptable.

Connor was on his third drink in the bar at Brady’s when he turned to Will. “So exactly how long have you had a thing for my sister?”

Will refused to meet his gaze. “I don’t.”

“Look me in the eye and say that,” Connor ordered.

Will sighed deeply and turned, still not quite meeting Connor’s eyes. “I do not have a thing for Jess,” he said as if he’d repeated it a thousand times for his own benefit.

Connor chuckled. “You need a lot more practice lying to pull that off, my friend. So, have you ever done anything about it? Have you asked her out?”

“Jess has made her opinion of me perfectly clear,” Will said. “You heard her tonight. She’s terrified I’ll put her under some shrink microscope, dissect every word she says and turn her into a case study or something.”

“Is that what you want to do?” Connor asked.

“Have you looked at your sister?” Will asked, his tone incredulous. “Is that the first thing that would come to your mind?”

Connor felt it was his brotherly duty to swallow the laugh that was bubbling up. “Hey, that’s my sister!” he protested. “Watch it.”

Will sighed. “I’m just saying, I do not think of Jess as a case study.”

“Then tell her that.”

“Don’t you think I have?” Will held up a hand.

“Enough. Let’s talk about you and Heather. How’s that going?”

“It’s not,” Connor admitted. “And it won’t as long as I refuse to cave in and marry her. I just don’t see why it’s not enough that I love her and want her and our son to live with me. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve offered her a lifetime commitment.”

“And of course she disagrees,” Will guessed.

“Of course, though for the life of me I don’t get it.”

“Maybe because she sees the obvious loophole. You could change your mind tomorrow and kick them right back out.”

“I could do the same thing if we were married,” Connor argued. “People do it all the time.”

“But if they have to untangle all the legal ramifications, sometimes it makes them stop and think twice about it,” Will said. “They can’t just show the other person to the door.”

Connor regarded him with disbelief. “Oh, no? Do you know how many of the people who come to me have really tried to work things out? Maybe ten percent. Most of them bail at the first sign of trouble.”

“Come on,” Will protested. “That can’t be right. They probably don’t tell you all the details about what they’ve tried to do to resolve the issues in their marriage. By the time they see you, they’re ready to take that next step.”

“I actually ask how long they’ve felt their marriage was in trouble and what they’ve done to make things better,” Connor said.

“And?”

“For way too many of them, divorce is the first option, not the last.”

Will looked troubled by his response. “That’s sad.”

“I agree,” Connor said. “Despite my own beliefs and what everyone in my family thinks about my opinions on the subject, I even encourage clients to seek counseling. After all, I know what it’s like to be a child caught up with parents who are divorcing. I don’t wish that on anyone. But almost no one takes me up on the idea. They just want the marriage to end. Maybe I should insist, but I don’t.”

He eyed Will curiously. “What about you, though? Do you do much marriage counseling?”

“Some,” Will said. “But often it’s only one side who seeks help and the other refuses to participate. When that happens, divorce is pretty much inevitable.”

“Well, there you go,” Connor said triumphantly. “You see it, too. Marriage is pointless, when it too often will end with heartbreak.”

Will shook his head. “Sorry, pal. I just don’t see it that way. I think it’s the only step to take when two people really love each other.”

“It’s a ring and a piece of paper,” Connor argued.

“They’re symbolic of much more,” Will insisted. “They represent commitment and security and feelings that are worth nurturing for a lifetime.”

“Or until they’re not,” Connor corrected cynically. He sighed. “This is depressing. Let’s talk about something else.”

“But this is the conversation that matters,” Will said, giving him a penetrating look. “Come on, Connor. You know it is. Your future with Heather and your son is at stake. She’s already left you. Unless you meet her half
way, one of these days she’ll meet somebody else, and it will be too late for you.”

“Meeting her halfway is one thing,” Connor said. “She wants me to give in.”

“I suppose in this situation, there is no halfway,” Will admitted. “But mark my words, stick to your guns and she will move on. Can you live with that?”

Connor didn’t want to think about it. “Careful, or I’ll refuse to hang out with you, too. Jess isn’t the only one who doesn’t want to spend an evening being psychoanalyzed.”

Will backed off at once. “In the interest of hanging on to that invitation to dinner tomorrow, I won’t say another word about love and marriage. How about the Orioles? Think they have a chance this season?”

Connor grinned. “It’s early in the season. I’m always optimistic now. I went to Camden Yards for the home opener. The firm has season tickets for box seats. We’ll have to get Mack, Kevin, Trace and Jake together one of these days and go to a game.”

“Sounds great,” Will said. “Do you ever regret not trying for a career in pro baseball? You were good enough.”

Connor shook his head. “No I wasn’t. I might have pulled off a season or two in the minor leagues, but I couldn’t see wasting the time. I decided to get my law degree and start a career that would last a lifetime.”

“It’s interesting that you chose matrimonial law,” Will began, only to have Connor cut him off with a look.

“There you go again, analyzing,” Connor said.

“What can I say? It’s what I do. Some people actually view it as friendly input, rather than a threat.”

Connor scowled at his choice of words. “I do not view your insights as a threat.”

“Really? Not even when they challenge your nice, tidy view of your world?”

Connor forced a grin, because any other response would be too telling. “Nope. That’s just annoying.”

Will shook his head. “Maybe we’d better confine ourselves to checking out the women in here for the rest of the evening.”

“Finally a plan I can get behind,” Connor said, swiveling his stool around for a better view.

Sadly, though, at this hour on the Saturday night of a holiday weekend, the place was nearly empty. Next to him, Will heaved a sigh, finished his beer and set the bottle on the bar.

“I’m out of here,” he said. “Not that your company’s not scintillating, but at least if I’m home and asleep, a sexy woman might appear in my dreams.”

Connor nodded. “Right behind you.”

Besides, the only woman he really wanted to be with was no doubt home in bed. Sadly, though, not
his
home and not
his
bed.

“Do you actually know where you hid all the eggs?” Kevin asked Connor as the family assembled outside for the traditional Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning after church. He looked like a director at a recreation center with his whistle hanging around his neck and his clipboard in hand.

“What does it matter?” Connor replied. “They’re plastic. They’re not going to stink up the yard the way the real ones did that year you were in charge of hiding them.”

“We’ve all learned a lot since then,” Kevin said grimly. “At least some of us have. You, apparently, not so much.”

Heather listened to the exchange with amusement. She turned to Bree, who was sitting next to her in an Adirondack chair on the porch. “Have those two always been like this?”

“Worse, actually. Connor is a natural-born competitor. He wants to win at everything. It’s probably why he’s so good in a courtroom. Losing is never an option. Normally Kevin is quiet and laid-back, but Connor has always been able to get a rise out of him. Most of the time I think he does it deliberately, just to see how long it takes before Kevin loses it.”

Now the brothers were standing practically toe-to-toe. Kevin had an exasperated expression on his face. “Plastic’s great,” he told Connor. “It won’t stink, you’re right about that. But while most of the eggs have candy inside, which is no big loss, some of them have money.”

Connor suddenly looked vaguely uneasy. “You mean like a quarter, right?”

Kevin nodded. “Some of them. And some have dollar bills. Dad even tucked a five-dollar bill into a couple of them. Now maybe losing track of five bucks doesn’t mean much to a big-shot attorney, but to these kids it’s a big deal.” He tapped his clipboard. “That’s why I had Dad write down what he put in the eggs, so we could check ’em off at the end of the hunt. There are thirty with candy, twelve with quarters, five with a dollar and four with five dollars. I told him it was a bad idea hiding that much cash, but he insisted.”

Connor looked encouraged. “The point is that you’ll know if any are missing.”

“But not where they are, you moron.”

Heather laughed, then tried to cover it when Connor scowled in her direction.

“Okay, okay,” Connor said. “If any of the eggs with money don’t turn up, I’ll replace the cash.”

“And give it to whom?” Kevin asked. “Dad? You certainly can’t randomly pick a kid and give it to him or her. We’ll have a rebellion.”

Bree looked over at Heather and rolled her eyes. “Somebody needs to stop those two and tell them to get on with the hunt. The kids are getting restless.”

“Don’t look at me,” Heather said. “They’re your brothers. I’m an innocent bystander.”

Bree gave Heather a chiding look. “Then I suppose it’s up to me,” she grumbled. “Haul me out of this chair.”

Heather helped her up, then watched as she inserted herself between her brothers. She reached for the whistle hanging around Kevin’s neck and blew it.

“The hunt has officially begun,” she called out, even as Kevin and Connor regarded her with dismay.