Dogwood Hill

* * *

Aidan was still thinking about his connection to Thomas O’Brien the next day when Coach Gentry pulled him aside before that afternoon’s practice session.

“Rob mentioned to you about the after-school club you’ll be sponsoring next year, right?”

“The one that works with the bay preservation foundation,” Aidan said.

“That’s the one. I know you have practice with the team this afternoon, but the club’s meeting after school. It’s the last meeting of the year. Thomas O’Brien’s going to be speaking to the students to thank them for their work. I thought you might like to stop in and say hello. Any chance you could get there by four? That’s when we’ll be winding down. Thomas has arranged for refreshments to be sent over from the inn. You won’t want to miss those.”

Aidan knew there was little to be gained by postponing the inevitable. He had to be in the same room with Thomas at some point. Just like that Sunday dinner at Mick’s, it might be best to be surrounded by other people.

“I’ll do my best to make it,” he promised the coach. “It may just be for a couple of minutes, though. I don’t want to cut practice short and set a bad precedent. The team needs to take these sessions seriously, even if the season is months away.”

“Understood.”

Though the meeting was on Aidan’s mind the rest of the day, he managed to push it aside long enough to get the team started on a series of drills. He asked Henry and another PE teacher, who’d volunteered to help out, to record the results while he ran over to the school to drop in on the end-of-season party.

Thomas had just wrapped up his speech and, while a table was set up with refreshments, the kids were all gathered around him asking questions, clearly inspired by whatever he’d said to them before Aidan’s arrival. With their serious expressions and earnest questions, it seemed they thought of him as a sort of rock star of the environmental world.

Aidan hung back, watching Thomas and listening to him as he interacted with the students. He wasn’t even the tiniest bit condescending, but rather took their questions seriously and answered them thoughtfully. When he caught sight of Aidan, he sent them off toward the refreshment table, then made his way over to Aidan. He held out his hand.

“I hear you’re taking over with this gang next fall,” he said, shaking Aidan’s hand with a firm grip. “It’s an incredible group. They’ve done a good job this year.”

“I may be new to the area, but I already understand what a great cause it is,” Aidan said. “I’ll do my best to encourage the kids to continue doing whatever they can to help.”

“Awareness is always the first step with something like this. People tend to be careless with our resources until they understand the consequences. Then most people are more than willing to do their part to protect them.”

Aidan had the feeling Thomas was just warming up, so he was grateful to have a team outside waiting for his return. “I’m going to want to hear a lot more about this and what activities you’d like us to take on next fall, but I’ve got a bunch of players on the field doing drills. I need to get back to check on them. I just wanted to say hello and let you know you can count on me.”

“I’ll do that,” Thomas said. “Maybe we can get together a few times over the summer to brainstorm.”

“Sure,” Aidan replied, though the prospect filled him with a sense of dread. Suddenly it felt as if everything was moving too quickly. He’d wanted to find his father, maybe even see him from time to time, but this was already more intense than he’d envisioned.

Of course, he thought with a sigh, maybe that was because of the huge secret that stood between them. He knew exactly who Thomas was, but the older man knew him only as the new football coach and sponsor of an after-school club. Once the truth was out and that dynamic changed, who knew what might happen?

* * *

Liz opened the shop’s doors on the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend not knowing what to expect. There was a familiar trickle of regular locals who stopped by before noon, mostly to pick up the organic pet food she stocked. Cordelia was among them.

Liz smiled at the older woman, who was wearing a flowered print dress and bright yellow sneakers. “You look very perky and springlike today,” she told her. “How are you, and how is Fluffy?”

“That cat does something every day to put a smile on my face,” Cordelia told her, then confided, “But I do miss Archie. I know he was too much for me, but he’s such a special dog. I named him for my late husband. Did I tell you that?”

“No, you hadn’t mentioned it,” Liz said. “Would you like me to bring him by to visit?”

Cordelia’s face lit up. “Would you? Please do, if it’s not a bother. We always had Aussies, Archie and me. I know that’s why the grandchildren chose him, but none of us thought about how much energy it takes to keep up with one, especially a puppy. Are you going to keep him?”

“I’ve been looking around for a good home, but so far no one’s stepped up.”

“And he’s growing on you, isn’t he?” Cordelia said knowingly. “I suspected that would happen or at least I was hoping it would, so he’d stay close by.”

“Please don’t count on it, Cordelia. I’m not sure I can keep a third dog,” Liz lamented.

Cordelia immediately looked disappointed. “I would so hate it if he moved away,” she said with a sigh, then forced a smile. “I suppose placing him with the right family matters more than whether I get to spend a little time with him occasionally.”

Seeing the older woman’s disappointment, Liz knew right then that Archie wasn’t going anywhere. “We’ll take it one day at a time. Unless the perfect owner comes along, he’ll stay with me.”

Cordelia gave her a sly look. “Someone told me they saw him with that handsome young man, the new high school football coach. They said Archie seemed to take a real shine to him.”

Liz laughed. “He did, but Aidan can’t take on a dog right now.”

A speculative expression crossed Cordelia’s face. “I had a conversation with Nell after church the other day. Word is that you might have taken a shine to the same man. Any truth to that?”

Liz felt heat climbing into her cheeks. “Cordelia Ames, please tell me you are not going to start matchmaking, too,” she chided. “Believe me, there are more than enough meddlers in this town already.”

Cordelia regarded her with an unrepentant look. “It’s hard to say how many nudges it might take before people do what they’ve been wanting to do all along.”

Liz was about to protest that she didn’t need any nudges, at least not in Aidan’s direction, but several chattering customers came into the store. She clamped her mouth shut. Arguing with a customer, no matter the topic, couldn’t be good for business.

Thankfully, Cordelia seized on their arrival to give Liz a bright smile. “You have a good weekend, you hear. And I’ll look forward to a visit with you and Archie sometime after the holiday when you have the time.”

Liz shook her head as Cordelia left the store, clearly satisfied that her mission was complete. It was hard to say, though, if her real mission had been arranging that visit with her former pet, assuring that Archie stayed with Liz permanently or poking her nose into Liz’s business and giving her a less than subtle shove in Aidan’s direction. No matter which, Liz feared it was going to take all her concentration not to fall into the sneaky woman’s trap.

Come to think of it, with Liz already promising to keep the dog and to take him by for a visit, Cordelia was batting an impressive two for three.

5 (#ulink_8bfee9cc-5323-5d62-abde-12ccb1655035)

After his Saturday morning run, Aidan showered, then sat on his balcony with a cup of coffee, enjoying the soft morning air. It struck him as a picture-perfect start to the holiday weekend. To lend credence to his assessment, he noted that Main Street and Shore Road were both crowded with shoppers and with locals pausing literally in the middle of the street to catch up, while drivers waited more or less patiently.

There wasn’t a parking space to be had, which made him grateful that most places he might want to go were within walking distance. Customers had been leaving Pet Style and the other stores laden down with packages. He counted that as a good sign for Liz’s business. The fact that he was suddenly interested in how the weather might impact Pet Style’s sales was a little too telling for his comfort.

At one o’clock, tired of his own company, he went downstairs to Sally’s to grab a sandwich for lunch, but the café, too, was jammed. Sally signaled to him that a booth in back was about to open up, then led the way there even before the dishes could be cleared.

“I’ll get back to you in a few minutes. Anything I can bring you to drink when I come?” she asked, her expression harried.

“Iced tea would be great,” he said.

“Sweetened?”

Aidan had forgotten that most people around here preferred it that way. “Unsweetened, if you have it.”

“Of course we do,” she said. “Hang in here. I’ll get back to you when I can. Haven’t had a day like this in months, so I’m not complaining.”

“Take your time,” Aidan told her. “I’m in no hurry.”

When she finally made her way back to him, she dropped down wearily on the seat opposite him. “Two minutes off my feet, that’s all I ask.”

He grinned. “Are you suggesting I should take my time ordering, maybe discuss the specials?”