Acclaim for New York Times bestelling author

Sherryl Woods

‘Sherryl Woods always delights her readers— including me!’

—No.1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

‘Compulsively readable … Woods’s novel easily rises

above hot-button topics to tell a universal tale

of friendship’s redemptive power.’

—Publishers Weekly on Mending Fences

‘Sherryl Woods always delivers a fast, breezy … romance.’

—Jayne Ann Krentz

‘Sherryl Woods gives her characters depth, intensity,

and the right amount of humour.’

—RT Book Reviews

‘Sherryl Woods is a uniquely gifted writer whose deep

understanding of human nature is woven

into every page.’

—New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers

Other novels in the Chesapeake Shores series

THE INN AT EAGLE POINT

FLOWERS ON MAIN

A Chesapeake Shores Christmas
Sherryl Woods

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Friends,

Here is your chance to see Mick and Megan O’Brien’s long-awaited reconciliation. Watching these two stubborn people—arguably the most stubborn in a family of mule-headed folks—reunite after so many years apart sets up the perfect situation in need of a holiday miracle or two.

It’s especially tricky with Connor, their younger son, determined to stand in their way. Connor, as you may know, has a few issues of his own to worry about, though, which may give Mick just the manoeuvring room he needs to get Megan to the altar.

I hope the reconciliation is worth the wait. I also hope you’ll be looking for the next instalment in the Chesapeake Shores series, Driftwood Cottage, in stores in June 2013.

In the meantime, I wish you the happiest of holidays and all the blessings of the season!

1

It was only the second time in the more than twelve years since her divorce that Megan O’Brien had been home in Chesapeake Shores during the holiday season.

Newly divorced and separated from her children, Megan had found the memories had been too bittersweet to leave New York and come back for Christmas. She’d tried to make up for her absence by sending a mountain of presents, each one carefully chosen to suit the interests of each child. She’d called on Christmas Day, but the conversations with the older children had been grudging and too brief. Her youngest, Jess, had refused to take her call at all.

The following year Megan had ventured back to town, hoping to spend time with the children on Christmas morning. Her ex-husband, Mick O’Brien, had agreed to the visit. She’d anticipated seeing their eyes light up over the presents she’d chosen. She’d even arranged for a special breakfast at Brady’s, a family favorite, but the atmosphere had been so strained, the reaction to her gifts so dismissive, that she’d driven everyone back home an hour later. She’d managed to hide her tears and disappointment until she was once again alone in her hotel room.

After that, she’d made countless attempts to convince the children to come to New York for the holidays, but they’d stubbornly refused, and Mick had backed them up. She could have fought harder, but she’d realized that to do so would only ruin Christmas for all of them. Teenagers who were where they didn’t want to be could make everyone’s life miserable.

Now she parked her car at the end of Main and walked slowly along the block, taking it all in. Even though it was only days after Halloween, the town was all decked out. Every storefront along Main Street had been transformed with twinkling white lights and filled with enticing displays. The yellow chrysanthemums outside the doorways during the fall had given way to an abundance of bright red poinsettias.

Workers were stringing lights along the downtown streets and readying a towering fir on the town green for a tree-lighting ceremony that would be held in a few weeks. The only thing missing was snow, and since Chesapeake Shores hadn’t had a white Christmas in years, no one was counting on that to set the scene. The town created its own festive atmosphere to charm residents and lure tourists to the seaside community.

As she strolled, Megan recalled the sweet simplicity of going Christmas shopping with the kids when they were small, pausing as they stared in wonder at the window displays. There were a few new shops now, but many remained exactly the same, the windows gaily decorated in a suitable theme. Now it was her grandchildren who would be enchanted by the displays.

Ethel’s Emporium, for instance, still had the same animated figures of Santa and Mrs. Claus in the window along with giant jars filled with the colorful penny candy that was so popular with the children in town. Once again, Seaside Gifts had draped fishing nets in the window, woven lights through them and added an exceptional assortment of glittering nautical ornaments, some delicate, some delightfully gaudy and outrageous.

At her daughter Bree’s shop, Flowers on Main, lights sparkled amid a sea of red and white poinsettias. Next door, in her daughter-in-law Shanna’s bookstore, the window featured seasonal children’s books, along with a selection of holiday cookie recipe books and a plate filled with samples to entice a jolly life-size stuffed Santa. Inside, she knew, there would be more of the delectable cookies for the customers. The chef at her daughter Jess’s inn was sending them over daily during the season, some packaged for resale as enticing gifts.

In fact, all along Main Street, Megan saw evidence of her family settling down in this town that had been the creation of her ex-husband, architect Mick O’Brien. Though all of their children except Jess had fled for careers and college, one by one they had drifted back home and made lives for themselves in Chesapeake Shores. They’d made peace with their father and, to some extent, with her. Only Connor, now an attorney in Baltimore, had kept his distance.

It should have been gratifying to see an O’Brien touch everywhere she looked, but instead it left Megan feeling oddly out of sorts. Just like Connor, she, too, had yet to find her way home. And though her relationship with Mick had been improving—she had, in fact, agreed to consider marrying him again—something continued to hold her back from making that final commitment.

Megan shivered as the wind off the Chesapeake Bay cut through her. Though it was nothing like the wind that whipped between New York’s skyscrapers this time of year, the bitter chill and gathering storm clouds seemed to accentuate her odd mood.

When she shivered again, strong arms slid around her waist from behind and she was drawn into all the protective warmth that was Mick O’Brien. He smelled of the crisp outdoors and the lingering aroma of a spicy aftershave, one as familiar to her as the scent of sea air.

“Why the sad expression, Meggie?” he asked. “Isn’t this the most wonderful time of the year? You used to love Christmas.”

“I still do,” she said, leaning against him. Despite all those sorrowful holidays she’d spent alone, it was impossible for her to resist the hopeful magic of the season. “New York is always so special during the holidays. I’d forgotten that Chesapeake Shores has its own charm at Christmas.”

She gestured toward the shop windows. “Bree and Shanna have a real knack for creating inviting displays, don’t they?”

“Best on the block,” he said proudly. There was nothing an O’Brien did that wasn’t the best, according to Mick—unless, of course, it was an accomplishment by one of his estranged brothers, Jeff or Thomas. “Why don’t we go to Sally’s and have some hot chocolate and one of her raspberry croissants?”

“I was planning to start on my Christmas shopping this morning,” she protested. “It’s practically my duty to support the local economy, don’t you think?”

“Why not warm up with the hot chocolate first?” he coaxed. “And then I’ll go with you.”

Megan regarded him with surprise. “You hate to shop.”

“That was the old me,” he said with the irrepressible grin she’d never been able to resist. “I’m reformed, remember? I want to do anything that allows me some extra time with you. Besides, I’m hoping you’ll give me some ideas about what you really want for Christmas.”

Given all the years when Mick had turned his holiday shopping over to her and later to his secretary, this commitment to finding the perfect gift was yet more evidence that he was truly trying to change his neglectful ways.

“I appreciate the thought,” she began, only to draw a scowl.

“Don’t be telling me you don’t need anything,” he said as he guided her into Sally’s. “Christmas gifts aren’t about what you need. They’re about things that will make those beautiful eyes of yours light up.”

Megan smiled. “You still have the gift of blarney, Mick O’Brien.” And over the past couple of years since they’d been reunited, his charm had become harder and harder to resist. In fact, she couldn’t say for sure why she’d been so reluctant to set a wedding date when he’d shown her time and again how much he’d tried to change in all the ways that had once mattered so much to her.

When they were seated and held steaming cups of hot chocolate, topped with extra marshmallows, she studied the man across from her. Still handsome, with thick black hair, twinkling blue eyes and a body kept fit from working construction in many of his own developments as well as his recent Habitat for Humanity projects, Mick O’Brien would turn any woman’s head.

Now when he was with her—unlike when they were married—he was attentive and thoughtful. He courted her as only a man who knew her deepest desires possibly could. There was an intimacy and understanding between them that could only come from so many years of marriage.

And yet, she still held back. She’d found so many excuses, in fact, that Mick had stopped pressing her to set a date. She had a feeling that a perverse desire to be pursued was behind her disgruntled mood this morning.

“You’ve that sad expression on your face again, Meggie. Is something wrong?” he asked, once more proving he was attuned to her every mood.

She drew in a deep breath and, surprising herself, blurted, “I’m wondering why you’ve stopped pestering me to marry you.”

At the question, Mick’s expression immediately brightened. “Are you saying you’ve finally run out of excuses?”

“Possibly,” she said, then gave him a challenging look. “Try me.”

A sheepish smile spread across his face. “Well, for starters, you should know that I have New Year’s Eve on hold at Jess’s inn,” he admitted. “Just in case.”

Startled, Megan stared at him. “For our wedding?”

“Or at least a family party, if I couldn’t coax you into finally saying yes to a wedding date,” he said hurriedly. “What do you think, Meggie? Would you like to start the new year as Mrs. Mick O’Brien? I know for me there’d be no better time to begin the next stage of our life together.”

He reached across the table and clasped her hand. “Will you marry me so we can greet the new year together? Say yes and we’ll go straight to the jewelry store where I have the perfect ring on hold. Sapphires and diamonds that sparkle like your eyes. I knew the minute I saw it that it belonged on your hand.”

It had taken Megan a long time to get over all the times Mick had gone running off for work, abandoning her to care for their five children alone. It had taken years for her to understand that the neglect had been born not just of ego but of a powerful drive to provide for his family. She’d forgiven him long ago. Now it was simply a question of ignoring all the lingering doubts that crept in late at night, when she was alone in her bed in New York, and taking a leap of faith into the future he was offering, to believe it wouldn’t turn out the same way as the past.

She took a deep breath and made the leap. “I think New Year’s Eve would be a wonderful time to get married,” she said, her eyes blurred by tears.

Mick frowned. “If it’s so wonderful, why are you crying?”

“Because I’m happy,” she said, deliberately pushing her lingering doubts aside. She was stronger now. She’d found a career of her own in New York, one she could bring with her to Chesapeake Shores. She could be an equal partner with Mick this time. Not everything would have to be on his terms. They’d finally have the life she’d envisioned the first time they’d married.

Obviously satisfied by her answer, Mick immediately grabbed his coat and stood, then reached for her hand. “Let’s go.”

She regarded him with bafflement. “Where? We just got here. I’ve barely taken a sip of this hot chocolate you were so intent on having.”

“We can get more to go. Right now, we have a ring to buy, people to tell, plans to make and not a lot of time.” Already waving for the check, he ticked off a list. “We’ll stop in to see Bree and order the flowers, then see if Kevin’s at the bookstore with Shanna and we can tell them the news.”

There he was, barreling ahead with his plans, not two seconds after she’d envisioned a real partnership. Megan regarded him with dismay. “Slow down, Mick. Shouldn’t we tell everyone at once? Maybe invite them all over for dinner and make a big announcement? And there’s Nell. We don’t want your mother hearing this from anyone else in the family. She’s sensitive enough about the idea of me coming back and taking over after all her years of running your home. We want to settle how this will work, so she won’t feel as if I’m displacing her. After all she’s done for this family, we owe her that much consideration.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Mick sighed and sat back down. “You were always the sensible one,” he said.

“And you were always the passionate one with big ideas he expected everyone to go along with,” she said. “We need to keep in mind that even though things are better with our children, they may not be as overjoyed about this as we are.”

“Abby’s been plotting exactly this for a very long time,” he reminded her.

Megan couldn’t deny that their eldest child had played a role in bringing them back together. “She may be the only one with a longing to see us reunited,” she observed realistically.

“They’re all adults. They’ll just have to deal with it,” he said stubbornly.

“Now there’s the sensitive side of you I’ve missed,” she said wryly.

“Okay, okay, I see your point. We’ll handle this your way,” Mick grumbled. “But nobody’s standing in our way. I won’t allow it.”

Megan grinned. “Famous last words.”

Mick managed to feign enthusiasm for Christmas shopping for an hour, but Megan could see it was killing him. He simply didn’t have the patience for it.

“Go home,” she said eventually. “You know you hate this.”

“I just don’t understand why it takes so long to decide between one scarf and another,” he grumbled. “You spent twenty minutes debating between the blue scarf and the red one, then wound up buying them both.”

Megan laughed. “I was thinking how lovely the blue would be with your mother’s eyes, but how much she’d enjoy wearing the red one during the holidays.”

“Then why didn’t you take them both in the first place?”

“I was trying to be frugal,” she explained, then grinned. “Then I remembered you’re rich. There’s no reason not to give Nell two cashmere scarves she’ll love. You’ll give her one, I the other.”

“Is it going to be like this with every person on your list?” he asked.

“More than likely, which is why you should go. You don’t have the stamina required for truly dedicated Christmas shopping.”

“But I want to spend the day with you,” he protested. “You’re not here nearly long enough. We need to talk about changing that as soon as possible. With all the decisions that need to be made about the wedding, you should be living here full-time.”

She swallowed hard at the reminder of just how much her life was about to change. “I promise we’ll talk about all that later,” she said. “Give me one more hour to shop on my own, then I’ll meet you.”

His expression brightened. “At the jewelry store?”

“If you like, although if you’re buying the engagement ring, shouldn’t you pick it out on your own, then present it to me with some big flourish?”

“That’s one way to go,” he agreed. “But the last time I bought you a ring, you said it was too ostentatious and never wore it. Once this one’s on your finger, it’s going to stay there, so you might as well have a say in choosing it. It’s one of those partnership decisions you’re always going on about.”

Megan chuckled. “Okay, fine. I’ll be at the jewelry store in an hour. What will you be doing?”

“I think I’ll stop by Ethel’s and get some candy for our grandkids. I’m all out of the kind they like to find tucked in my pockets.”

“I thought both Abby and Kevin told you to stop feeding their children candy every time you see them.”

“Grandfather’s prerogative,” he said airily. “And don’t be bugging me about that. I know you keep a stash of candy on hand for them, too. And Ma has her cookie jar filled with their favorites.”

“Guilty,” she admitted, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I do love you, Mick O’Brien.”

She hurried off to the boutique on the next block, her step surprisingly light. The sky had turned clear blue, as if to match her improved mood. She just prayed that the hope and anticipation she was feeling right now could weather whatever reactions the rest of the family had to their news.

When the entire O’Brien family assembled for dinner these days, it took several extra leaves in the table and the patience of a saint to be heard over the commotion of the children. Normally Mick loved these family gatherings, especially now that Megan was so often a part of them again.

For too many years after his wife had left him, he hadn’t been able to sit down in the dining room without feeling her absence as an ache in his heart. That’s why he’d stayed away so much, using the excuse of work to avoid the emptiness he felt in his home.

He glanced down the length of the table, feeling a sense of satisfaction at seeing Abby and her twins, Carrie and Caitlyn, with Trace beside them, then Jake and Bree, who was expecting their first child. On the other side of the table were Kevin and his son, Davy, along with his new wife, Shanna, and their recently adopted boy, Henry. Connor was next to Kevin, giving grief to the youngest of them all, Jess, who’d finally found her niche in life running The Inn at Eagle Point. Nell, who’d cared for the children in Megan’s absence, sat next to Jess, periodically scolding Connor just as she had so many times when they were children.

And then at the end, where she’d always belonged, was Megan. She, too, was studying their family with an expression of misty-eyed nostalgia. She lifted her gaze to meet his and smiled. Mick winked at her, then stood and tapped a spoon on his glass of wine until he drew everyone’s attention.

“Okay, everybody, settle down,” he said. “I have something to say.”

“Uh-oh, somebody’s in trouble,” Connor taunted, his gaze immediately going to Jess.

“Not me,” she insisted. “I’ve been an angel lately, right, Dad?”

“A perfect angel,” Mick concurred. “And nobody’s in trouble. Your mother and I have some news.”

“You’re getting married!” Abby exclaimed, shoving back her chair and hurrying to throw her arms around him.

As the oldest, Abby had done her best to fill a mother’s shoes when Megan had left them. She’d also fought hard to bring about this reconciliation, though it had clearly taken far longer than she’d anticipated. Mick staggered back with the exuberance of her hug, then chuckled. “Way to steal my thunder, girl.”

Bree stared at him, wide-eyed, a mix of hope and dismay on her face. “It’s true? You and Mom are getting married again?”

“On New Year’s Eve,” he confirmed as Megan lifted her left hand to display the ring he’d placed on it yesterday.

“That’s why you wanted me to reserve the inn for a private party,” Jess concluded. Like Bree, she seemed disconcerted by the news, but not entirely unhappy about it.

Abby released him and went to her mother. “Mom, I’m so happy for you. I know how long you’ve wanted this.”

Bree dutifully made her way to Megan and hugged her, followed with slightly less exuberance by Jess. Kevin stood and shook Mick’s hand.

“Congratulations, Dad!” he said with lukewarm enthusiasm. With obvious reluctance, he turned toward Megan. “You, too, Mother.”

In the general commotion, it took a minute for Mick to note that Connor had remained totally silent. Mick caught his younger son’s eye and saw a surprising amount of barely banked anger in his gaze.

“Connor? You’ve been awfully quiet,” Mick said, giving him a warning look. “Isn’t there something you want to say?”

Connor stood and cast a sour look at everyone else in the room before turning the brunt of his anger on Mick. “Are you all out of your flipping minds?” he demanded heatedly. “Have you forgotten that Mom ditched us all, Dad included? And now you’re going to welcome her back so she can break all of our hearts again? Well, not me.”

“Connor O’Brien!” Mick said, his voice booming in warning. “Keep a civil tongue in your head.”

“Save the lecture, Dad,” Connor retorted. “I’m out of here.”

As he tore out of the room, Mick turned to Kevin. “Go after him,” he ordered.

“No,” Megan said, standing. She looked shaken, but determined. “I’ll go.”

“Mom, maybe that’s not such a good idea,” Abby protested.

“I’m the one he’s unhappy with,” Megan said. “It’s up to me to fix it.”

“She’s right,” Nell said, speaking for the first time. “Let her go.”

Mick wanted to stop Megan, to do whatever was necessary to protect her from more hurtful accusations, but he knew better than to try. “If that boy says one disrespectful word to you, if he—”

She gave him a chiding look. “I’ll handle it. The rest of you enjoy this wonderful meal Nell fixed for us.” She gave Nell’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room.

Filled with regret, Mick watched her go. Abby returned to her seat beside him and patted his hand.

“It’s going to be okay, Dad,” she said, setting aside whatever reservations she’d had. “Mom will get through to Connor. She has with the rest of us.”

Mick wanted to believe Abby was right, but he knew what the others might not understand. Connor’s whole reason for becoming an attorney, the drive behind his success, was a grim determination to help other men get even for their wives’ betrayals. He already had a reputation in his young career as the kind of attorney any man would want in his corner during a particularly acrimonious divorce. Mick couldn’t help but be proud of his success, but he worried about the embittered motivation behind it.

On the surface, Connor had seemed like a typically carefree teen, taking Megan’s departure in stride, but it had affected him deeply. It had left him jaded about marriage in general, and especially about Mick’s marriage to Megan. During the divorce, when Mick had acquiesced to most of Megan’s requests, when he’d supported her lifestyle in New York until she’d been able to pay her own way, Connor had viewed it as a sign of weakness. When Mick had told him he intended to do right by the mother of his children, Connor had told him he was a fool, then stormed from the house. Even as a young teen, he’d had a temper and a tendency to speak his mind. To this day he and Mick had an uneasy relationship because of his ill-considered remarks back then. Usually, though, he disguised his hostility behind a jovial facade that the others rarely saw through.

So, while it wasn’t surprising that Connor wasn’t happy about Mick’s announcement, it was a shock to see the facade slip. Mick had hoped for a different reaction, but with Connor resentments ran deep. Since Mick had been carrying his own deep-seated grudges against his brothers for years, he understood how difficult it was to let go of the past. He’d just hoped for better from his son, for Megan’s sake, if not his own.

One way or another, though, he wouldn’t let Connor ruin what should be the happiest time of his life—the chance to finally get it right with Megan and bring his family back together. If Megan couldn’t get Connor to listen to reason, Mick would. One way or another, the O’Briens were going to celebrate the new year with a wedding. He’d see to it.

2

Megan caught up with Connor as he was trying to start his car. She slid into the passenger side of the expensive two-seater sports car and closed the door, then gave him a defiant look.

“Wherever you’re headed, you’re stuck with me,” she told him.

He scowled at her, but when she didn’t budge, he shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He threw the car into gear and shot out of the driveway and along the coastal road at a pace Megan knew was designed to terrify her. She clung to the door and kept silent until they reached town, where he was forced to slow down. He pulled to a stop in a parking space on Shore Road facing the bay, his jaw set, his scowl firmly in place.

“Feel better?” she inquired. “You do know that getting us killed probably won’t solve anything.”

“At least you wouldn’t get to marry Dad and ruin his life again,” he said, his tone petulant.

“Does your father seem as if his life’s ruined?”

“Maybe not, but only because he’s living in a dreamworld right now. Just wait till you take off again.”

“Maybe what we really need to talk about is how I ruined your life,” she suggested. “That’s what this is actually about.”

“You’re irrelevant to my life. You have been for years.”

Megan blinked back tears at the deliberately cruel words. “If I truly meant nothing to you, you wouldn’t sound so bitter,” she said quietly. She tilted her head and studied him. “You’ve fooled us all, you know. You have this easy, lighthearted way about you, but I think hurts run even more deeply. You’re like your father that way.”

“Don’t try analyzing me, Mother. You don’t know anything about me.”

“Is that so?” she countered. “Let’s see. I know you graduated at the top of your class from college, that you could have played pro baseball, but chose to go to law school. I know that you won a highly coveted job as a law clerk with a top Baltimore firm. I know when one of the senior partners was getting a divorce, he chose you to represent him and bragged that he’d never seen anyone fight harder for a client.” She gave Connor an assessing look. “I assume that was because you saw me in his wife and your father in him. Obviously my divorce from your father was good for something.”

Connor looked faintly surprised by her recitation. “What, did you hire a private detective to dig up all that information when you started seeing Dad again? You must have figured you’d need a way to worm your way back into all our lives.”

Megan sighed. “I didn’t need to hire anybody, Connor. I’ve kept tabs on each of you. Abby and I grew close again after she moved to New York. I went to Chicago to see Bree’s plays. I even came to a few of your college ball games.”

He snorted with disbelief.

“Remember the game against Carolina?” she said. “You hit an inside-the-park home run, and when you slid into home base, you broke your wrist.” She shuddered at the memory of his face contorted with pain. “It took everything in me not to run to you on the field.”

“You could have read about that in the paper,” he said.

“I could have,” she agreed. “Or someone in the family could have mentioned it to me. But if I’d found out either of those ways, would I have known that a pretty blonde cheerleader left with you in the ambulance?”

He sighed and closed his eyes. “Okay, fine. You were there. Big deal.”

“It was for me,” she said quietly. “Knowing that I had no right to come to you even when you were hurt tore me apart, Connor.”

“So it was all about you, as usual.”

“No, it was about you, and knowing that you wouldn’t have appreciated me showing up out of the blue at the hospital. It’s always been about you and your sisters and Kevin. Everything I did, I did because I thought it was for the best for you. Even leaving your father.”

“Oh, no,” he said. “You can’t spin that now. Leaving was all about you, Mother. You can’t deny that. You didn’t give a second thought to what it would be like for us after you ran off to make an exciting new life for yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that I needed to leave and build a new life for myself, but I thought that would be better for all of you, too. You wouldn’t have a mother who resented your father the way I did. You’d have one who was strong and sure of herself again.”

“That sounds to me as if it was all about you.”

“Well, it wasn’t,” she said defensively. “Surely you know by now that I planned for all of you to come to New York with me. I had rooms ready, schools picked out. I even had your father’s blessing.”

“Funny, but I don’t recall spending even a day in New York.”

“Because you and Kevin took your father’s side and refused to consider moving. You didn’t want to leave your friends. You wouldn’t even spend time with me when I visited you here. Abby said she wasn’t going anywhere without Jess and Bree, and they threw fits at the thought of leaving Chesapeake Shores. Your father and I finally agreed to give it more time, to start with visits.”

“How’d that work out? I’ve been to New York a dozen times, and never once did I see you,” Connor retorted.

“Because you turned down every invitation,” she reminded him quietly. “And I don’t recall you phoning on any of those visits you made, either. Relationships work both ways, Connor, even between parents and their nearly grown children. Every time I knew you were coming—and I did know about most of those trips—I sat by the phone, hoping against hope that this would be the time you’d reach out to me.”

“So now you’re the neglected saint of a mother and I’m the terrible son?”

She gave him a pitying look. “Oh, Connor, no. I’m just trying to make you see that there are two sides to every story. You have your perspective, and I have mine. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Don’t you think it would be worth it to try to find it, to make peace after all this time? I’m still your mother, and I’ve always loved you.”

“How convenient that you’ve discovered this maternal love after all these years!”

“Do I need to remind you of the time I devoted to you, to all of you, before I left?”

“Give me a break, Mother. This is all about stopping us from interfering with your plan to marry Dad again, your scheme to take advantage of him. I won’t allow it, you know. There will be a prenup this time. I’ll see to it.”

“Fine,” she said readily. “Bring it on. I’ll sign it happily, though I think your father might have other ideas. My relationship with your father has never been about money. We were church-mouse poor when we started out.”

“But not by the time you left,” he reminded her. “You were happy enough to take a bundle of his money so you could live in New York.”

“I took only what was necessary to find a place that would be a good environment for you children,” she corrected. “When you didn’t come, I moved into a smaller place and never took another dime from him.” She met his gaze. “Did you know that? I’ve paid my own way for years now, Connor. That’s not going to stop if your father and I marry.”

He seemed startled by the news. “You’re planning to work?” he scoffed. “Doing what?”

“My boss and I have been discussing the possibility of me opening a branch of his art gallery here. Now that your father and I have set a wedding date, I’ll speak to Phillip about proceeding with that.” She gave him a steady look. “Any other concerns?”

“A boatload of them, but I’m sure you’ll have an answer for everything,” he said sourly.

“And I imagine some of them will be things you don’t particularly want to hear,” she replied. “Now, since we’re parked on Shore Road and neither of us ate a bite of our meal, why don’t we get something to eat? My treat.” Again, she leveled an unyielding look at him. “Or you can take me home, then sulk for the rest of the afternoon and complain that I bailed on you yet again.”

She held her breath as she waited for him to make his choice. It seemed to take an eternity as he weighed the options.

“I suppose I could eat,” he said grudgingly.

She resisted the temptation to reach over and ruffle his hair as she said, “You always could. You and Kevin were bottomless pits.”

“We were growing boys,” he countered as he got out and, to her surprise, came around and opened the car door for her. It was evidence, she thought, of Nell’s stern emphasis on manners. It also demonstrated that no matter how badly Connor wanted to hate her, on some level he still had at least a tiny grain of respect left for the mother she’d been before the fateful day when she’d left Mick to save herself and turned all their lives upside down in the process.

Mick paced around the kitchen as Nell and Abby cleaned up after their dinner.

“I think I should go looking for them,” he said for probably the tenth time since Connor had stormed off and Megan had gone after him.

“No!” Nell said emphatically. She and Abby had taken turns talking him out of doing anything rash.

“Mom needs to deal with Connor,” Abby repeated. “If she’s smart, she’s probably somewhere in town feeding him a steak about now.”

Mick paused. “You think they went to dinner? I could drive around, look for his car. Make sure no blood has been shed.”

“No!” Abby said, regarding him with impatience. “Dad, you can’t fix this. It’s up to Mom.”

“Some of what happened was my fault,” he argued.

“A lot of it was,” Nell agreed, “but that’s not the point. This is between your son and his mother. You can sort out your issues with him later.”

“Well, I can’t just sit around here,” he grumbled. “I’ve never been any good at sitting on the sidelines and waiting.”

“But this time that’s exactly what you’ll do,” Nell said firmly. “Now grab a dish towel and dry some of those pots and pans.”

Mick sighed and took a towel from Abby, who promptly announced she was going to get Trace and her girls and head for home. She nodded silently toward Nell and mouthed to him, “Talk to her.”

Mick got the message. After Abby had gone, he put the last of the pans back in the cabinet and turned to his mother. “Ma, sit down.”

She regarded him with a narrowed gaze. “Why?”

“Because you’re the one person who hasn’t said how you feel about Megan and me getting married again.”

She looked him directly in the eye and said, “I’m happy for both of you. This has been in the wind for a long time now. I’ve had time to get used to the idea.”

Though her words and tone were meant to be convincing, Mick didn’t buy it. “You do know that our marriage isn’t going to displace you, right? This has been your home for a long time now, and Megan and I both want you to stay right here.”

She gave him a defiant look. “What if I want to go back to my own cottage and get on with the life you two disrupted when you split up?”

Startled, Mick stared at her. “Is that what you want?”

She sighed softly. “I can’t say for sure, but it holds a certain appeal. It’s not as if I’d be at the ends of the earth. The cottage is within walking distance. And it’s mine. I fixed it up exactly the way I wanted it when you built it. It’s warm and cozy, which would be a nice change from rattling around in this big old place now that all your children are grown and have moved out.”

Mick felt a deep sense of loss at the thought of his mother going off to live on her own. Still, he said, “It’s your decision, Ma, as long as you know you’re welcome here if you want to stay. This became your home the day you moved in here to help me with the kids. I dumped most of that responsibility on your shoulders because I couldn’t cope. I’ll owe you till the day I die.”

“You don’t owe me a thing. I did what was necessary,” she insisted. “And I’m thinking you and Megan should have a fresh start without me underfoot. She probably has her own ideas about how she’d like the household to run.”

“She’ll more than likely be working, Ma. The house would continue to be your domain.”

“Like some glorified housekeeper,” she said with asperity, then held up a hand. “I didn’t mean that to sound so harsh. I do know you both want me here, and I appreciate that. We have a couple of months to think about it. Maybe I’ll go over to the cottage tomorrow and see how it’s holding up. It could probably use a fresh coat of paint and airing out. No matter the care I’ve taken of it, a house suffers when it’s not lived in.”

“I’ll come with you,” Mick offered. “Anything you want done, I’ll take care of it. And if you change your mind and decide to stay here, that’s fine, too.”

Her expression suddenly brightened, and a twinkle lit her eyes. “It might be nice to have my own place if I should have a gentleman caller.”

Mick stared at her. “Excuse me?”

“You never know, young man. I’m old, but I’m not in my grave yet.”

“Far from it,” Mick said, shaking his head. He wondered if Nell O’Brien would ever stop surprising him. He had a hunch if she had her way, there might be a few more shocks in store.

* * *

Even though they’d managed to get through dinner, Megan wasn’t deluding herself that anything between her and Connor was truly settled. Once again, he’d resorted to the kind of civility that had fooled all of them into believing he’d weathered the divorce without scars. Now that she knew otherwise, she’d be more attuned to the hostility that seethed just beneath the surface. One dinner without fireworks wasn’t going to change that.

By the time Connor dropped her off at the house, she was emotionally wrung out. Finding Mick pacing impatiently in the foyer did nothing to soothe her.

“It’s about time,” he muttered when she walked inside. “Where’s Connor?”

“On his way back to Baltimore,” she said wearily.

“Why didn’t he come inside?”

She lifted a brow. “So you could badger him?”

He frowned at her. “I wasn’t going to badger him, just tell him a few facts of life.”

“Well, he doesn’t need to hear anything more from either one of us at the moment. He needs time to process what’s happening. Once again, we’ve turned his view of the world upside down.”

“This isn’t about him,” Mick grumbled.

“Of course it is,” Megan said. “What I did years ago had an impact on each one of our children. So did the way you chose to handle it—by running off to one job site after another. What I thought of as consideration for their feelings in letting them stay here in their home with you, they interpreted as me not caring at all. There were bound to be repercussions.”

“I suppose,” he said grudgingly. “I just hope Connor didn’t try to talk you out of marrying me.”

“Of course he did,” she said, then touched Mick’s cheek. “There’s nothing he could say, though, that would change my mind, Mick. We might have to adjust the timetable a bit to allow time to bring him around, but in the end, we will get married.”

He stopped pacing and stared. “Adjust the timetable? What the devil are you suggesting?”

“That New Year’s Eve may be rushing things. I want everyone in the family not only to attend the ceremony, but to be happy for us, Mick. It won’t feel right if they’re not.”

He faced her stubbornly. “We’re getting married New Year’s Eve, and that’s that.”

She frowned. “And there’s no room for compromise, even if it’s important to me?”

Apparently he heard the warning note in her voice, because he backed down at once. “I didn’t say that.”

“No, you just said it’s your way, period. This isn’t going to work, Mick, not if we can’t work through things like this together.”

He scowled unhappily, but eventually nodded. “Okay, fine, we’ll talk about it. You want a drink?”

“Just some tea, I think.”

“I’ll fix it,” he offered, then headed for the kitchen.

There was no one in this Irish household who couldn’t brew a proper cup of tea. Mick placed a steaming pot before her within minutes, then sat down.

“Were you able to talk with Nell?” she asked, hoping to avoid another argument over Connor.

He nodded. “She thinks she might want to move to the cottage.”

“Oh, dear,” Megan said. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to avoid.”

“Don’t fret too much. She seems to think it will improve her social life,” Mick said, clearly disgruntled. “She said something about having privacy for her gentlemen callers. Since when does my mother have gentlemen callers, I’d like to know?”

Megan chuckled. “Maybe that’s the point,” she suggested. “She doesn’t want you to know about them and meddle the way you have in your children’s lives.”

He shuddered. “She’s probably right. Knowing my mother is getting involved with some old codger is probably more information than I need to have.”

“I think it would be sweet for her to have someone special in her life,” Megan said thoughtfully. “Look at all the years she’s sacrificed her own needs to take care of our family. It’s her turn to find whatever happiness she can.”

“I suppose. Now let’s stop talking about my mother and Connor, and focus on us. How soon are you going to quit your job and move down here? Two weeks’ notice ought to be enough, don’t you think?”

“Not with a major show coming up at the gallery,” she said. “Besides, if I want Phillip to consider opening an extension of his gallery here, then I have to handle this with care.”

“You don’t need his backing,” Mick argued. “I’ll bankroll your gallery.”

“It’s very generous of you to want to do that,” Megan said, “but I just finished telling Connor that I wasn’t marrying you for your money. How will it look to him if you pour thousands of dollars into my new business? No, Mick. I have to make this come together on my own.”

“How?” he asked, his skepticism plain … and highly annoying.

“That’s my problem now, isn’t it?”

“Is this the way it’s going to be from here on out?” he demanded. “You refusing to accept any kind of help from me? I want to do things for you, Megan. It makes me happy.”

“Then buy me a bouquet of flowers from time to time, or take me out for a romantic dinner. I don’t need lavish gestures for you to prove how much you love me.”

Mick shook his head. “You are the most contrary woman I’ve ever known. What kind of person turns down help from someone who loves them?”

“One who needs to maintain some independence,” she responded candidly.

“Why, so you can turn right around and leave me again?”

“No, so there will never be a question in your mind that I’m with you because I love you, not because of what you can do for me.”

“That’s Connor talking,” he said. “I won’t have him meddling in our relationship or making you question the way every little thing we do might look to him.”

“It’s not about Connor,” she insisted. “It’s about me, Mick. I’ve learned to stand on my own two feet. I’m not the naive, dependent girl who expected you to dance attendance and make my life complete. If it’s going to work between us, we have to be equals.”

“So if I decide on impulse to give you a car, you have to turn right around and buy something for me?” he asked.

“That might be exaggerating just a bit,” she said dryly.

“Well, I should hope so, because it sounds ridiculous. If I’m your husband and I decide on a whim to give you something, what happened to accepting it graciously?”

“Mick, this isn’t about cars or jewelry or impulsive gestures.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Megan wasn’t sure she could. She just knew that gifts per se weren’t the problem. It was all the strings implied. And if she wasn’t careful, those strings were going to bind them together for all the wrong reasons.

And their marriage wouldn’t stand a chance.

* * *

Mick had been thoroughly frustrated by his conversation with Megan the night before. He was still stewing over it on Monday morning after he’d driven her to Baltimore to the airport. He knew Connor was behind her attitude, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it. He also knew he needed to settle a thing or two with his younger son.

He pulled out his cell phone and called Connor at the office. “Take a break,” he ordered without preamble. “I’ll meet you at the coffee shop on the corner in ten minutes.”

“I can’t. I have an appointment with a new client in an hour.”

“This won’t take long,” Mick said grimly. “I’ll talk and you can listen.”

Of course, that was an optimistic outlook. Connor had never once suffered a lecture in silence. Those strong opinions of his were bound to surface. Still, Mick wanted to clear the air and make a few things plain. His son might be a grown man, but Mick still ran the family. He was due a little respect of his own.

Connor was already waiting at a table with two cups of coffee by the time Mick had found a parking place and walked the two blocks to the crowded little café. “Parking in this city is a nuisance,” he grumbled as he sat.

“Is that why you wanted to see me,” Connor inquired, “to complain about the parking in downtown Baltimore?”

Mick frowned at the sarcasm. “You know perfectly well it’s not. We need to discuss the wedding.”

Connor looked as if he was ready to launch into another diatribe, so Mick cut him off before he could get started.

“You will not interfere,” Mick told him flatly. “You don’t have to approve of it. You don’t have to like it. But you will stay out of it.” He leveled a hard look into his son’s eyes. “And you will show up for the ceremony with a smile on your face. Is that understood?”

Connor gave him a knowing look. “Mom’s talking about postponing, isn’t she?”

“That’s not an option,” Mick said forcefully.

“But I got to her yesterday and now she’s having second thoughts,” Connor said with a triumphant note. “Good for her.”

Mick regarded him with sorrow. “Do you care nothing for my feelings?”

Connor looked shocked by the question. “Of course I do! Dad, can’t you see that I’m trying to protect you? You’ve gotten all caught up in sentiment. You’re not thinking clearly.”

Mick was none too pleased by his son’s determination to interfere, to say nothing of his confidence that only he knew what was best for his parents. “Connor, I’m a grown man. I don’t need looking after, no matter how well-intentioned it might be. I love your mother. I always have. God’s seen fit to give me a second chance with her, and I won’t let you or anyone else take that away from us.”

“She’ll break your heart again,” Connor predicted.

“I don’t believe that, but if it happens, so be it.”

“You can’t mean that. The last time she left, it almost destroyed you. It almost ruined our entire family.”

“I thought Bree was the one in the family with a flair for drama,” Mick chided. “What happened was devastating for all of us, no question about it. But look at Abby, Bree and Kevin today. They’re all happily married. Jess has a thriving business she loves. And even you have found your life’s work. We’re more tight-knit as a family than we have been in years.”

“All of that’s in spite of Mom, not because of her.”

“Maybe so, but we can hardly claim that what she did ruined our lives. It shaped us, to be sure. It changed her, as well—for the better, I think. She’s stronger and more independent.”

“You almost sound as if you approve of that,” Connor said.

“Well, of course I do. I made your mother very unhappy. I wasn’t the partner she needed. I think we’re a better match today than we were back then.”

“Just how long do you think it will take before this independent streak of hers gets on your nerves?” Connor asked.

Mick chuckled. “It already has. More than once, in fact. That doesn’t mean it’s not for the best. None of this is your worry, son. All we need from you is your blessing, even if you disagree with the choice we’re making.”

Looking genuinely distressed, Connor shook his head. “I can’t do it, Dad. Not when this marriage has disaster written all over it. I’ve already told Mom I’m going to draw up a prenuptial agreement.”

“You did what?” Mick was aghast. “You most certainly will not. I don’t believe in starting a marriage trying to figure out how it will end.”

“It’s commonplace for someone in your position,” Connor insisted.

“No!” Mick said, slamming his fist on the table.

Connor didn’t bend. “Dad, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, whether you want me to or not.”

Mick bristled at his unrelenting attitude. “Then you’ll stay away,” he ordered. “From this moment on, you’ll stay away.”

“Stay away?” Connor repeated, his expression incredulous.

“From Chesapeake Shores, from our house,” Mick said, his gaze unyielding.

“I’m not welcome in my own home?” Connor said, looking shaken.

“Not until you can see your way clear to treat your mother with the respect she deserves and can accept our marriage.”

Connor’s expression hardened. “Then I guess it will be a cold day in hell before I set foot in Chesapeake Shores again.”

Even as he spoke, he stood up. He cast one last bleak look at Mick, then, his back stiff with pride, he walked away, never once looking back.

As he went, Mick felt his heart break. He also knew that when Megan learned of this—and she no doubt would—she might never forgive him for causing a possibly irreparable rift with their son.

3

For the next week Mick left the house before dawn and didn’t return until well after dusk. If he’d been able to think of a reason to leave town for business, he’d have been on the first flight out of Baltimore, but lately his out-of-state projects were all running smoothly under the direction of his second-in-command, Jaime Alvarez. Mick wouldn’t undermine Jaime by showing up unannounced. Besides, he had plenty of work nearby with his Habitat for Humanity projects to send him home exhausted at the end of the day.

He’d been avoiding Megan’s calls, as well. He knew that sooner or later she was going to catch up with him and he’d have to tell her about Connor, but he wasn’t quite ready for that conversation.

When he walked into the kitchen on Friday night and found both Abby and Nell sitting at the table, he knew his time for avoiding this latest mess was over.

“Your dinner’s in the oven, probably all dried out,” Nell commented without a hint of apology. “Serves you right for not coming home on time and not calling.”

“Sorry, Ma,” he said, then glanced at Abby and noted her sour expression. “Everything okay with you?”

“I think you know it’s not,” she said icily.

“You’ve spoken to your brother, then?” he said, resigned.

Abby regarded him critically. “Dad, what were you thinking? You banished Connor. I know he’s stubborn and exasperating, but he’s family.”

“Apparently he’s also a tattletale,” Mick said, though he knew that was hardly the point. “I didn’t expect him to go running to his big sister whining about it.”

“What did you expect?” Nell inquired. “That he’d take this punishment of yours quietly? That’s not in his makeup. Surely you know him well enough to know that.”

“I was hoping to shake him up,” Mick said with a shrug. “I wanted him to see how important my marriage to his mother is to me. I wanted him to accept it and get on board.”

“Well, I’d say your approach backfired,” Nell said. “He’s angrier than ever.”

“Does Mom know about this?” Abby asked.

“Of course not,” Nell answered for him. She directed an accusing look his way as she plunked his reheated food in front of him. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be avoiding her calls.”

“I’m not avoiding Megan,” he said, though of course he was. “I’ve been busy.”

“Interesting that being overwhelmed with work hasn’t kept you from speaking to her half a dozen times a day for the past few months,” Nell noted. “Did you think she wouldn’t notice that you haven’t spoken all week? She’s been calling here for days now looking for answers. Did you expect me to lie for you?”

Mick stared at his mother in dismay. “You didn’t tell her what’s going on, did you?”

“It’s not up to me,” Nell replied. “You do your own dirty work.”

“I’ll call her tonight,” he promised, cutting into the overcooked, dried-up piece of beef on his plate. Not even his mother’s excellent gravy could save it. He pushed the plate aside.

“And say what?” Abby wanted to know. “Are you going to tell her about Connor?”

“For all I know he’s blabbed to her himself,” he grumbled.

“If he were speaking to her, he might have, but I doubt he broke silence to fill her in on this,” Abby said. “Dad, you need to fix this before Mom finds out. If she hears about you telling Connor to stay away from his own home, you know she’ll postpone the wedding until it’s resolved.”

Mick grimaced. “That’s what I was trying to avoid when I went to see him. I wanted peace.”

“And instead you’ve made it worse,” Nell said. “Mick, you’ve always had the tact of a bulldozer. And Connor’s more like you than anyone else in the family. You should have known better.”

He scowled at the two women. “Are you going to sit here berating me, or are you going to help me straighten this out before Megan gets wind of it? Do either one of you actually have any helpful suggestions?”

“You could start by calling Connor and apologizing. Tell him you didn’t mean it,” Abby suggested.

“But I meant every word,” Mick argued stubbornly. “He’s the one who needs to change his attitude.”

“You’re not going to win him over by banishing him,” Nell said. “That’s not a tactic to win anyone’s heart. All it tells him is that you’re choosing his mother over him.”

“Well, what would you have me do?” he asked testily. “Cave in and tell him it’s just fine if he wants to do his best to ruin the wedding?”

“Of course not,” Abby said. “But he needs to spend more time here, not less, and he and Mom need to be thrown together as much as possible. She’ll win him over. It may not happen on your timetable, but it will happen.”

“I’m not postponing this wedding,” Mick insisted, his jaw set.

“If Mom finds out about this, you may not have a choice,” Abby said realistically. “She’s determined that this family will be united and at peace before the ceremony takes place.”

“Well, I can’t be expected to work miracles, now can I?” Mick grumbled and threw down his napkin.

Nell put her hand on his. “No, but ‘tis the season of them. Perhaps there’s one waiting in the wings.”

Mick’s faith was as strong as any man’s most of the time. Right this second, though, he doubted there was a miracle on tap that could possibly fix this mess he’d made.

Megan knew there was something seriously wrong in Chesapeake Shores. Even if Mick hadn’t been clearly avoiding her, it was plain in Nell’s voice and in Abby’s. No matter how hard she’d tried, though, she hadn’t been able to get the truth out of either one of them.

“I can’t get down there this weekend to see for myself,” she complained to Abby. “Keeping me in the dark is just making me imagine all sorts of things. Is it the baby? Has Bree been having problems with her pregnancy?”

“Bree is fine,” Abby assured her. “Healthy as a horse, according to the doctor. She seems to have more energy than ever. She’s been getting ready for the children’s Christmas play at her theater. I went to a rehearsal the other night and the kids are absolutely precious, Mom. Wait till you see them.”

“I’m sure they are,” Megan said distractedly. “What about Jess? Is she okay? The inn hasn’t suffered another financial setback, has it?”

“Business at the inn is booming. Jess is doing a fantastic job. Bookings for the holidays are strong.”

“Kevin and Shanna, they’re okay? Henry’s biological father isn’t making trouble about the adoption, is he?”

“Mother, I can’t speak for every single person in Chesapeake Shores, but all of the O’Briens are just fine,” Abby said, apparently losing patience with Megan’s persistent, probing questions. “Now I need to go. I promised Carrie and Caitlyn I’d take them into town to see the decorations today. Santa’s going to be at Ethel’s, too. They’ve already put on their coats and gloves. I need to get them out of the house before they roast or burst with excitement.”

“Well, if you happen to cross paths with your father, tell him that if I don’t hear from him by the end of the day, the wedding’s off,” she said, meaning it.

Just because Abby had uttered a bunch of reassuring platitudes didn’t make Megan believe her. Being kept in the dark about something was unacceptable, and she knew without a doubt that Mick was somehow all mixed up in this pact of silence.

“You don’t mean that,” Abby said, sounding dismayed.

“Actually I do,” she said firmly. “I will not turn my life upside down to come back there, if this is the way I can expect to be treated. I feel like an outsider, instead of a member of this family. You’re all keeping secrets from me, and I want you to know I don’t like it.”

“I’m not the one who needs to hear that,” Abby protested.

“Well, of course you aren’t,” Megan said impatiently. “If I could get your father on the phone for two minutes, I’d tell him that myself. Since I can’t, you’ll just have to be the messenger.”

“Mom, I really don’t want to get caught in the middle,” Abby said, a pleading note in her voice.

“Oh, fiddlesticks. You’ve planted yourself in the middle for quite some time now. You should be used to the role.”

Abby sighed. “I love you, Mom.”

“And I love you. It’s my feelings for your father I’m starting to question. Give the girls huge hugs for me, okay?”

“Will do,” Abby promised.

Megan let her go, then hung up, even more frustrated than she’d been when she made the call. She looked up and found her boss regarding her worriedly.

“Megan, are you absolutely certain that moving back to Chesapeake Shores and marrying Mick is what you want?” Phillip Margolin asked. “If Mick is already shutting you out, it seems to me that’s not a good sign.”

She met his concerned gaze. “Right this second, I’m not sure about anything,” she admitted.

“Then stay,” he urged. “You know you’re valued here. You’ve made a wonderful life for yourself in New York.”

“I have,” she conceded. “But my family’s there. I don’t want to live the rest of my life apart from them.”

“Even though Mick is clearly exasperating you?”

She smiled. Only a lifelong confirmed bachelor could ask a question like that. “That’s what he does, but I can’t seem to make myself stop loving him just the same.”

From the moment she’d told Phillip of her plans, he’d tried to be supportive, but it was plain he wasn’t above using this to keep her right where she was. Letting her go was going to disrupt the smooth running of his gallery. Still, his tone resigned, he asked, “Do you want to go down there now and find out for yourself what’s going on?”

She considered the offer, then shook her head. “We have the opening next week. Whatever’s going on in Chesapeake Shores can wait until I go there for Thanksgiving.”

“Are you certain? Will you be able to focus if you’re worrying about your family?”

“I’ve always worried about my family,” she reminded him. “And I’ve never lost focus yet.”

That didn’t mean the next two weeks wouldn’t be a struggle, but perhaps it was just as well not to be anywhere near Mick when he seemed intent on infuriating her.

Mick sat at a table in the coffee area of Shanna’s bookstore, relieved to be around family who apparently had no idea about what was going on or about the secret he was keeping from Megan. He’d found a new mystery by his favorite author, poured himself a steaming cup of coffee and was contentedly reading when Davy and Henry suddenly appeared. Davy immediately climbed into his lap, while Henry stood shyly by. Mick brightened at the sight of them.

“Well, now, where did the two of you come from?” he asked as Davy dug in Mick’s pocket and retrieved two wrapped candies, then handed one to Henry.

“We were looking at the store windows with Aunt Abby, Carrie and Caitlyn,” Henry said.

“I saw Santa,” Davy announced excitedly. “He was at Ethel’s. He promised he’s going to bring lots and lots of presents for Henry and me.”

“Is that so?” Mick said. “Have you sent him a list?”

Davy shook his head. “I told him what I want.”

“Well, it never hurts for Santa to have it in writing,” Mick said. He noticed that Henry looked skeptical and gathered that he’d already stopped believing. Still, he clearly didn’t intend to ruin it for his younger brother.

“Maybe Mommy will help me make one,” Davy said, a worried frown puckering his brow. “Henry can write his own. He knows how.”

“I know. He’s a very smart young man,” Mick said, giving the older boy a wink. “Why wait, though? If you ask your mother for a piece of paper, maybe I can help you now.”

Davy’s eyes immediately brightened. “Really?”

“Sure. I’ve written many a letter to Santa over the years.”

After Davy had run off, Mick beckoned for Henry to come closer. “Are you so sure Santa doesn’t exist?”

“I knew better when I was seven,” he said sadly. “I told him all I wanted was for my daddy to get better, but he hasn’t. He’s still sick. He can’t take care of me anymore.”

Henry’s biological father was an alcoholic whose liver had been severely damaged by the disease. That’s why Shanna, who’d only briefly been his stepmother, had been given custody after negotiating the arrangement with Henry’s father and grandparents. Now Kevin had legally adopted him, as well. At the same time Shanna had formally adopted Davy, whose biological mom had died while serving in Iraq. They were the ultimate modern family, pieced together by love.

“But your dad still loves you very much,” Mick assured Henry. “That’s why he’s agreed to let you be with Shanna and Kevin, so you’ll have the kind of life you deserve. Maybe that’s the gift that Santa meant for you—the gift of a new family, plus your old one. You’re very lucky to have so many people who love you.”

Henry pondered that in the serious little way he had, then nodded. “I suppose.”

“So maybe Santa would bring you something special this Christmas if he knew you still believed in him. Why not get a piece of paper and take a chance?” Mick coaxed.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Henry said, his eyes suddenly brimming with hope.

“Go then and bring your paper back here. I’ll see that Santa gets your letter and Davy’s.”

“Thanks, Grandpa Mick.”

As he scampered off, Abby settled into the chair opposite him.

“So much for finding a refuge in here,” he muttered with a resigned sigh.

“I have a message from Mom,” she said.

Mick’s stomach knotted with dread. “Oh?”

“She says if she doesn’t hear from you very, very soon, the wedding’s off.”

“Now, what kind of message is that to be sending through you?” Mick blustered.

“The kind sent by a frustrated woman who’s losing patience,” Abby assessed. “Now that I’ve delivered it, I’m taking the girls next door for lunch. You’re welcome to join us.”

“I have letters to Santa to oversee,” he said. “And then I’ve a phone call to make.”

She patted his hand. “Good decision.”

Mick wondered about that, because right this second he had absolutely no idea what he was going to say to Megan that wouldn’t wind up with her not just postponing their wedding, but canceling it.

Mick had tucked the boys’ letters to Santa into his pocket and sent them off for naps when Kevin appeared. Apparently he was taking over for his wife while she dealt with settling the boys upstairs in the apartment where she’d lived before marrying Kevin. She’d kept it so the kids could be cared for close by while she worked in the store.

“So, Dad, what’s going on between you and Connor?” Kevin asked point-blank, studying him intently.

“Who says there’s anything going on?” Mick replied defensively. “You saw the way he stormed out of the house. He’s not happy about your mother and me remarrying.”

“I know that, but when I spoke to him the other day and suggested he come down and go fishing today, he mumbled some kind of ridiculous excuse that didn’t make a bit of sense. I reminded him I needed his help to get the boat ready for the lighted boat parade the first weekend in December, and he blew that off, too.”

“Maybe he’s busy,” Mick suggested. “He’s working hard to make partner at the law firm, and he probably spends a lot of his spare time with that woman he’s been seeing.”

Kevin looked surprised. “You know about Heather?”

Mick brightened. “Is that her name?”

Kevin frowned at him. “You were just taking a stab in the dark, weren’t you, you sneaky old man? You had no idea he was dating anyone.”

“He’s a good-looking, successful young man. I never thought he was living the life of a monk.”

“But you didn’t know about any specific woman,” Kevin persisted.

“Nope,” Mick confirmed with a satisfied grin. “So, how serious is it?”

“Ask Connor.” Kevin’s expression turned sly. “Or aren’t the two of you speaking?”

“Now who’s resorting to guesswork?”

“I wouldn’t need to, if either one of you would give me a straight answer. Dad, if marrying Mom is going to come between you and Connor, maybe you should rethink it.”

“You’d have me put my life on hold because any one of you can’t be an adult and accept that I know exactly what I’m doing?” Mick asked incredulously.

“Look, Mom and I are getting along okay now, but I’ve had time to reconcile the perspective I used to have with the realities of what actually happened back then,” Kevin said, his tone reasonable. “Connor’s not had enough time, plus he’s even more hard-headed than you or I on our bad days. Why not have a spring wedding? Mom can walk along the pathway that’s lined with all those lilies of the valley she planted. It’ll be beautiful.”

“I am not waiting until spring just so your brother can make peace with this. If he knows he has that kind of power over the two of us, he’ll find some other way to force us to postpone that date. Years could go by while he manipulates the situation. In case you haven’t noticed, neither your mother or I are getting any younger.”

“I wouldn’t suggest you use Mom’s advancing age as an excuse for pressing ahead with a New Year’s Eve wedding,” Kevin said with a grin.

Mick scowled at him. “Of course not. Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Sometimes you do say things without thinking through the consequences,” Kevin said. “Something tells me that’s what happened with Connor.” He studied Mick intently. “Is that it, Dad? Did you back him into a corner?”

“We’ll work it out,” Mick said. “That’s what O’Briens do. We work things out.”

“Unless those things you’re talking about happen to be between you and Uncle Jeff or you and Uncle Thomas,” Kevin said knowingly. “How many years have the three of you been at odds? The only thing you and Thomas have managed to agree on is that Shanna and I belong together.”

“Whole different story,” Mick insisted. He heard the bell over the store’s front door ring, spotted Daisy Monroe coming inside with her pet poodle clutched in her arms and seized on the excuse. “You have a customer. Take care of her. I’m going home.”

The whole conversation with Kevin had left him more disgruntled than ever. He was in no mood to call Megan, but judging from the message she’d sent via Abby, he didn’t have a choice. Maybe he could bluster his way through it.

He walked down to Shore Road, found an unoccupied bench facing the bay where cell phone reception would be good, then placed the call.

“Meggie, my love, how are you?” he said exuberantly when she answered.

“I was better before you started avoiding me,” she said, her tone testy. “What’s going on, Mick? Don’t you dare lie to me and tell me it’s nothing.”

“Just a little glitch,” he claimed. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Mick O’Brien!”

“I’m telling you everything’s going to work out. Don’t you have that big show at the gallery this week? Tell me about that. Is everything coming together? I’m planning on flying up, you know.”

“Do not change the subject on me,” she said. “I want to know what’s going on. I’m not some outsider. Nor do I need to be protected from things.”

“Is this another of those partnership things you keep bringing up?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is,” she told him. “If there is anything going on with our family, then I need to be kept in the loop.”

Mick debated continuing with further evasiveness, but he could tell from her tone that she was losing patience. Sooner or later she’d learn the truth. She might as well hear it from him. At least he could put the best possible spin on it, assuming he could come up with one.

“I stopped by to see Connor the other day,” he admitted eventually. “After I dropped you at the airport, in fact.”

“And the two of you fought,” she guessed at once. “Oh, Mick, why couldn’t you just leave it alone? I warned you he needed more time.”

“With a wedding in a couple of months, time is exactly what we don’t have. I decided to move things along.”

“What happened?”

“I just told you. I went to see our son,” he said defensively.

“And?”

“I couldn’t make him see reason,” he admitted.

“In other words, he’s still opposed to our marriage.”

“You could say that.”

“Well, thank goodness Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We’ll all be together then. If we can get Connor to come for the whole holiday weekend, it’ll give me more time to get through to him. And you can use the time to apologize for whatever you said.”

“I don’t owe him an apology,” Mick said indignantly. “He’s the one who ought to be apologizing for trying to interfere in our plans. He told me about that ridiculous prenuptial agreement he wants us to sign. I told him I wasn’t interested.”

Megan fell silent. Mick was tempted to fill the void, but he knew perfectly well that the odds were he’d only make matters worse.

“Mick, how bad did things get between you and Connor?” Megan asked eventually, her voice filled with trepidation.

“He said some things,” Mick admitted. “I said some things. It might have gotten a little heated.”

Megan groaned. “I know what that means. It means it all got wildly out of hand.”

“It wasn’t all my fault,” he insisted.

“Maybe not, but it’s up to you to make it right,” she told him emphatically. “I mean it, Mick. Talk to Connor and settle this.”

“It’s already settled,” he said stubbornly.

“Meaning you’ve dug in your heels and so has he,” she said wearily. “Okay, I’ll call him and try to smooth things over. Maybe we can bond over how infuriating we both find you to be.”

“No,” he said hurriedly. “Leave it alone, Megan. I insist that you stay out of it.”

“Excuse me?” she said, her voice soft and deadly calm.

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like an order,” he said, scrambling to soothe her ruffled feathers. “It’s just that I need to deal with Connor.”

“Then do it,” she said direly. “Call me and let me know how it goes.”

“Will do,” he said as if it were going to be a quick fix.

When she’d hung up, Mick breathed a sigh of relief. As bad as the conversation had been, somehow he’d managed to avoid telling her that he’d banished Connor from Chesapeake Shores. Which meant he either had to get his son home for Thanksgiving or prepare to cancel his plans for a wedding on New Year’s Eve.

4

It was two days before Thanksgiving before Megan came back to Chesapeake Shores. Though there had been precious little time for anything other than preparations for their big show opening, she’d managed to have at least a few conversations with Phillip about starting a gallery of her own. She had pages of notes she wanted to go over during the long holiday weekend. He’d given her a lot of things to think about.

Though Phillip was willing to consider a branch of his Upper East Side gallery, they’d both agreed she might be happier with a business over which she had total control. Phillip would act as her mentor and would help her to arrange shows with some of his regular artists, most of whom she’d come to know well over the years. Many would be happy to have a new outlet for their work.

Megan had enough savings to get things in motion, but she would need additional capital to operate for the first year. She planned to see Lawrence Riley—her son-in-law Trace’s father—at the bank over the next couple of days to discuss a small business loan. She was optimistic that her experience in New York, combined with the business plan she’d devised with Phillip’s help, would be enough to impress the bank president.

Despite her determination to do all of this on her own, she was realistic enough to understand that her remarriage to Mick would come into play. Somehow, though, she would find a way to show Lawrence Riley and everyone else here in town that she might be Mrs. Mick O’Brien once more, but she nevertheless had her own separate and independent life. It would probably be difficult for some people to adjust to that idea, but she wanted to start that process now.

Beyond her business plans, there were a million and one details to finalize even for the small family wedding that she and Mick envisioned. Not the least of the things she hoped to accomplish was building on the overture she’d made to Connor on her last visit.

It was so important to her that all of the children be comfortable with her coming back to town once again as Mick’s wife. That was going to be even trickier, she feared, than teaching their neighbors to view her in a new way, especially after whatever had happened between Connor and Mick. She still needed to get to the bottom of that. Something told her she knew only part of the story. Even during Mick’s quick visit to New York the previous week, he’d remained stubbornly evasive about the details.

When she arrived Tuesday morning, she insisted Mick drop her off on Main Street. “Bree and I can talk about the flowers for the wedding. Then I want to stop by the bank to see Lawrence.”

Mick frowned. “Why would you need to see him?”

“If I’m going to open that art gallery we talked about, I’ll need to arrange for a loan.”

“Nonsense,” Mick said at once. “I’ve already told you that I’ll give you whatever money you need.”

She scowled at him. “And then it won’t be my business, will it? No, Mick. We’ve talked about this. I need to do this on my own. I have a solid business plan.”

To her annoyance, he looked skeptical. “Maybe you should run it by me first. I have a lot of experience dealing with Lawrence. I know the kind of questions he’s likely to ask.”

“Absolutely not!” she said stubbornly, then backed down at his hurt expression. “It’s not that I don’t want you to see the business plan, Mick. I’m sure your insight would be very helpful, but I just feel this is something I have to handle on my own.”

“Why?”

“To prove to everyone that I’m my own person now.”

“Well, before you go dashing off to the bank, you need to come with me,” he said, looking thoroughly disgruntled. Instead of parking on Main Street as she’d requested, he drove around the corner to Shore Road. At the end of the block, he pulled into a spot in front of an empty corner storefront. Large windows faced both Shore Road and Seagull Lane, while the door opened at an angle to both streets. It was a prime location, no question about it, and more square footage than she’d dreamed of having.

“I was planning on giving you this as a wedding present,” Mick said. “But I can’t very well have you going off to get a loan from the bank to lease something else in the meantime.”

Megan turned to him, mouth agape. “You leased this?”

“I bought it,” he corrected. “Well, truthfully, I already owned it. Jeff and I still own all the property in the business district. He manages the leases. I’ve put the lease for this in your name for as long as you want it.”

“Mick, I can’t afford the rent on a property this size,” Megan protested. “It’s bound to cost a fortune.”

“It’s yours for a dollar a year,” he said, his jaw set stubbornly. “The lease is already drawn up and signed.”

The generosity of the gesture brought tears to Megan’s eyes, but she shook her head. “Mick, you know I can’t accept this. I told Connor I wasn’t marrying you for your money, that I intended to stand on my own two feet. Accepting a free rental property is the same as taking money from you.” She shook her head. “I just can’t do it.”

“Leave Connor out of this. I want to do this for you,” he said. “I know you value your independence, but a husband ought to be able to do something nice for his wife. Opening this gallery means a lot to you, and I want to be some small part of that. Bree let me do the finishing construction on her flower shop, and Jess allowed me to do a few small things for her at the inn. She even accepted that fancy stove her chef wanted. Think of this the same way, as my contribution to getting your business up and running.”

Reluctantly, Megan nodded. Arguing further not only seemed ungrateful, but pointless. “It’s an amazing gift, Mick. Thank you.” Shoving aside her reservations, she regarded him eagerly. “Can we go inside? What was here before? I can’t recall that I was ever in this space.”

He shook his head. “I doubt you were. It sold sunglasses, beach floats, boogie boards, bathing suits and some sporting equipment. Probably would have gone over in Ocean City, but with Ethel’s selling a lot of the same things for a whole lot less money, it didn’t stand a chance. Jeff tried to warn the owners, but they were a couple of young guys with big ideas and a bankroll from their fathers. Couldn’t tell them a thing. They barely covered their overhead. Lasted through the summer, then threw in the towel after Labor Day.”

“Well, their loss is my gain,” Megan said as she waited for Mick to open the door.

Once inside, Megan knew she couldn’t possibly change her mind and say no. The property was ideal. It was filled with natural light. The walls had already been painted in the same neutral tone as the gallery in New York.

“You’ve had it painted?” she asked, sniffing the scent of fresh paint in the air.

Mick nodded. “I called Phillip and asked him what color he recommended. That’s as far as I’ve gone, though,” he assured her. “I haven’t done anything to upgrade the lighting yet, because I thought you’d want to have a say in that.”

Megan pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You really are amazing.”

He studied her worriedly. “You’re not mad at me for being presumptuous?”

“How can I be?” she said. “This is an incredible space, and the location couldn’t be more perfect.”

But she did wonder if she’d just set a dangerous precedent. Mick had always been the kind of man who, in his zeal to make his family happy, had a way of taking over. Give him an inch, he took not just the proverbial mile, but most of the county. It was going to take every bit of strength she possessed to stand up to him.

After leaving Mick, Megan walked over to the bank. She was aware when she stepped into the lobby that several of the people who’d worked there for years were giving her surreptitious looks, but no one actually met her gaze as she walked over to Lawrence Riley’s longtime secretary, a woman with whom she’d once had at least a casual friendship.

“Hello, Mariah,” she said quietly. “Is Lawrence available?”

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