Lilac Lane

He brushed a wayward strand of hair from her cheek. “I am always interested in you,” he contradicted. “And will be until the day I die. However, Moira, my love, I know you a bit too well to take this seduction at face value. You have something on your mind. Out with that and then we’ll get to the rest of the evening as you’ve planned it.”

She looked as if she wanted to argue, but in the end she sighed and sat back, then took a healthy gulp of her champagne. Since Moira rarely indulged in alcohol, Luke figured whatever she was about to tell him was likely to be something she knew he wasn’t going to want to hear.

“It’s about my mum,” she confessed.

Luke’s antenna went on full alert. He and Kiera had called a tentative truce since he’d married her daughter, but they weren’t exactly close. And though he sympathized with what she must be going through since Peter McDonough’s unexpected and sudden death, he couldn’t imagine what that had to do with him.

“I was with Nell and my grandfather earlier,” Moira continued.

“So they’re involved in this, too?” he asked, his antenna now waving as if there were a dozen signals coming at him all at once, none of them boding well. If his grandmother was involved, there was a very good chance it involved the sort of sneaky meddling that terrified everyone in the family. The only person even better at it was his uncle Mick O’Brien. Thankfully, so far his name hadn’t come up.

“Just tell me,” he instructed his wife. “What are the three of you conspiring about when it comes to your mother, and what could it possibly have to do with me?”

Moira leaned toward him, her expression earnest. “You know how devastated she was by Peter’s death. We think she needs a change of scenery if she’s not to go back to her old ways.”

“Her old ways?”

“You know, retreating from the world, wallowing in her misery and bitterness,” she explained. “I’ve already heard hints of that when we’ve spoken. She feels betrayed. The walls are going back up. It happened after my dad left. I can’t let her waste the rest of her days being all alone again. She’s still young enough to enjoy a full and happy life, if only she’ll allow it.”

Luke recalled how impossible Kiera had been when they’d first met in Ireland. The only person topping her in that department had been the woman sitting right here with him, her skin glowing, the strap on her gown sliding provocatively low, and her voice filled with passion, albeit of an entirely different sort than when he’d first walked in the door. What sort of idiot was he to have redirected that passion to this conversation?

“I’m guessing you three have come up with a solution to save her from herself,” he said warily.

“We have,” Moira said enthusiastically. “We think she needs to come here, to be with us, with all of the O’Briens. She needs to be surrounded by family. It’ll show her just how a life is meant to be lived. We’d be setting a good example.”

Though Luke desperately wanted to argue, to claim it was a terrible idea to remind Kiera of all the family closeness she’d just lost when Peter died, he couldn’t do it. Despite the flare-ups of old family feuds and conflicts, there was healing power in the O’Brien togetherness. He’d experienced it his entire life. And there was healing magic in Chesapeake Shores, as well. He’d have to be hard-hearted to deny that to Moira’s mother.

“Fine. She’ll come for a visit,” he said. “Why would I object to that? When we built our house, we included a guest suite just for such a visit. When you furnished it, I know you did it to your mother’s taste, hoping she’d find it comfortable the first time she came. I believe her favorite Irish blessing hangs on a plaque just inside the door.”

“She’ll find it welcoming, there’s no doubt of that,” Moira said. “But there’s a bit more. We’re thinking of something a little longer than a quick visit.”

And here it comes, Luke thought, barely containing a sigh. “Tell me.”

“I’m going to ask for her help with Kate,” Moira began slowly, then added in a rush, “And you’re going to give her my old job at the pub.” Her smile brightened. “Won’t that be grand? With all of her experience, she’ll be far more help than I ever was.”

He studied the hopeful glint in his wife’s eyes and didn’t even try to contain the sigh that came. When he didn’t immediately speak the emphatic no that hovered on his lips, Moira beamed, clearly taking his silence as agreement.

“And you’ll talk to Connor about getting her a work visa as your Irish consultant, just as you did for me?” she asked, referring to his cousin, who’d become a first-rate lawyer. “I understand it may be a bit trickier these days with changes in the law, but I have every confidence Connor can manage it.”

“I’m a bit surprised you haven’t already discussed this with him,” Luke said.

“Never before talking to you,” she said with a hint of indignation that made him chuckle.

“Then you weren’t a hundred percent certain I’d go along with your scheme?”

“Maybe ninety-five percent,” she admitted. “You’ve a stubborn streak that sometimes works against me.”

“Pot calling the kettle black,” he retorted. “You know you have me twisted around your finger. And what you can’t accomplish, Nell can. I’m quite sure she’d have been by first thing tomorrow if you’d put out a distress call.”

“But it’s not coming to that, is it?” she asked hopefully.

Luke studied his wife closely. “Does it mean so much to you to have her come and stay for longer than a brief visit?”

“I think this change is what she needs. So do Nell and Grandfather. And I owe her, Luke. She gave up everything for my brothers and me. I don’t think I realized how hard she worked or how many sacrifices she made until I’d had a taste of working in a pub myself. I used to blame her for not spending more time with us, but now that we have Kate, I can’t imagine being away from her as much as my mum was away from us. It must have been hard for her to put work over her children. My brothers may be ungrateful louts, but I’m not.”

“No, you’re definitely not that,” Luke said, though he couldn’t help regretting it just a little. Then, again, having Kiera underfoot would be a small price to pay for the joy that Moira had brought into his life. “I’ll call Connor in the morning.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Seriously? You’ll do it?”

“Was there ever any doubt? Now, come here, Moira, my love,” he said, beckoning her closer. “Let’s not waste this effort you’ve gone to tonight. I know you think we’re somehow going to gain more time to ourselves with this plan of yours, but I have my doubts. I think we need to take full advantage of this bit of spontaneity.”

“There will be more chances, I promise,” Moira said, launching herself into his arms. “You’ll see.”

It helped her case that the strap on her gown slid off. After that, Luke could barely think of his own name, much less any arguments he might have wanted to offer.

* * *

Moira was thoroughly pleased with her efforts the night before. She might have used a little manipulation to get her way, but she was pretty sure Luke was pleased enough with the reward for his acquiescence.

When there was no response to her tap on the kitchen door at Nell’s, she headed for the garden. Sure enough, Nell was on her knees weeding, while her grandfather observed.

She settled into the Adirondack chair next to his. “Shouldn’t you be helping?” she asked him.

“Fool woman chased me off,” he grumbled. “She claims I don’t know a flower from a weed. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to tell the difference this time of year? They’re all just green things poking through the dirt.”

Nell glanced up at that. “Wasn’t a nursery among your business interests in Ireland?”

“Yes, and others ran it quite successfully,” he countered.

Nell turned to Moira. “If he were half as uninvolved in that business as he claims, you’d think by now he’d have let me educate him about the difference,” she said tartly. “I think he finds it convenient not to know.”

Moira laughed. It was obviously a familiar argument. “Something tells me you’re right, Nell. My grandfather has mastered any number of skills over the years. If he’s not grasping this one, there’s a reason for it.”

Nell took off her gardening gloves. When she went to stand up, Moira started to her feet to assist her, only to be waved off.

“The day I can’t get up on my own, I’ll have to give this up,” Nell said. “And since I don’t intend to do that until I’m dead and gone, I’ll manage.”

“At least you got her to take a break for a cup of tea,” Dillon said. “I’ve been trying since I came out here. It’s probably stone-cold by now.”

Still he poured her a cup and set it on the table beside her chair. “If you’d like a cup, you’ll need to run into the house for one,” he told Moira.

“Nothing for me. I just dropped Kate off at day care and stopped by here to give you both an update.”

“You’ve talked to Kiera, then?” Nell said.

“No, only to Luke. He’s agreed to the plan.”

“I’ve no intention of asking how you persuaded him,” her grandfather said. “I’ll just accept the outcome as a blessing.”