Dogwood Hill

Mick didn’t look as if he bought the reply, but he didn’t pursue it. Liz thought she was off the hook, until he added, “I imagine it won’t break your heart, though, if he decides to stick around.”

No, she thought with a sigh. It wouldn’t break her heart at all, even if she wasn’t quite sure why.

3 (#ulink_4e261479-e5d0-5f9c-82d1-ce913ef3ec3c)

In the end, despite a boatload of reservations, Aidan surprised himself and decided to take the job if he could win one big concession. He wanted a one-year deal, not five. He figured that would be long enough for him to prove himself as a coach and short enough for him to escape if it got too difficult being around Thomas. He’d take an option for another four years, but that was the best he could do.

He’d made the decision during dinner, after he’d had a chance to observe Thomas O’Brien from a distance at the crowded table. He’d concluded that despite his own simmering resentment, the man didn’t seem to be the devil incarnate he’d imagined. He was just a man who seemed crazy about his wife and who adored his little boy. In fact, watching Thomas with Sean had set off a flurry of mixed emotions with envy beating out resentment. He’d had a great life, thanks to his mom, but he couldn’t help wondering how much better it might have been if his dad had been in the picture.

Despite Mick’s suggestion that he speak to Thomas about preserving the Chesapeake Bay, Aidan deliberately steered clear of him. He never exchanged a single word with him beyond a polite hello when introduced. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what he might say when they inevitably met again.

By taking the job, he knew he’d have to face Thomas eventually. Perhaps getting to know him through his work would pave the way for a different kind of bond. Maybe he’d even come to understand the man his mother had loved and respected enough to release from any obligation to her or their child. Surely as an adult he could grasp such strong emotions and dedication in a way he hadn’t been able to as a young boy longing for a father.

With his mind finally made up, Aidan drew Mick aside as the family began to leave.

“May I speak to you?”

Mick studied him closely. “Good news or bad?”

Aidan smiled. “I hope you’ll think of it as good news. I’ve decided to accept the job, if you’ll agree to a modification of the contract. I’ll call Rob in the morning to talk that over, but I wanted you to know now.”

“What sort of modification?” Mick asked.

“I only want a one-year deal. I think that’s fair to the school, the town and to me. It gives us all time to evaluate how things are working out.”

“And then what?” Mick asked irritably. “You’ll get a little experience under your belt and cut and run? What’s fair about that?”

“I could be a terrible failure and you’ll be rid of me in a year without having to give me some huge payoff to go. Maybe that’s the way you should look at it,” Aidan suggested.

“Son, you can’t go into a job thinking you’re going to fail.”

Aidan smiled. “I’m certainly hoping not to, and I believe I can turn this team around, but nothing in life is a certainty. I’ll be a lot more comfortable if we all take the time to evaluate this carefully.”

Mick sighed. “I suppose I can’t argue with that logic, but people are going to want to know you’re committed to the job, that you’re a part of the community, that you believe wholeheartedly in the team. They won’t be happy you’ll have an out at the end of a year.”

Aidan leveled a look into his eyes. “It’s the best I can do, sir. I would certainly understand if that’s not good enough.”

Mick remained silent, clearly debating with himself. Eventually he said, “I suppose I should be grateful that I didn’t scare you off altogether.”

“No, if anything, meeting your family convinced me of the kind of values I can expect to find in Chesapeake Shores. It made me want to give this a try,” Aidan said. “I was an only child, so today has been a real revelation.”

“You’re close to your parents?”

“It was just my mom and me, and she died last summer.”

Mick’s expression reflected real dismay. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Well, you come here and you can consider us family,” he said generously. “There’s always room for one more. You ask Ma about that. Next thing you know, she’ll be dropping off food every time you turn around to make sure you’re eating properly.”

Aidan chuckled. “I wouldn’t say no to that. The meal was the best I’ve had in a long while.”

“You get a craving, you can get the same thing anytime at O’Brien’s, the pub on Shore Road. My nephew Luke owns that, but Ma has trained his chef. It’s a real friendly place, like a home away from home.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How soon can you start?” Mick asked, returning to business. “It might be good to get you back here and in place before the end of the school year, so you’ll have time to assess your players.”

“I was thinking the same thing, if that suits you. I know sometimes contracts start in August, though.”

“They do, but don’t you worry about that. I’ll take care of it. We’ll set up something separate for these last couple of months of this school year. Now, let’s talk about getting you settled in town. There’s still some daylight left. How would you like to take a look at those houses I mentioned the other day?” Mick asked eagerly.

“I think an apartment might be better, given the terms of our deal,” Aidan said. “I thought I spotted a for-rent sign on one of those places above the shops on Main Street.”

“Renting is the same as throwing money down the drain,” Mick objected.

“Or into your pocket,” his brother Jeff commented dryly as he joined them. He turned to Aidan and explained, “Mick and I split the income on those rentals.”

“Which is why I’m telling him he should buy,” Mick argued. “You and I are doing just fine. We don’t need his rent money. He’ll have something to show for those monthly payments, if he makes them on a nice house.”

Aidan had a hunch the bickering was as much of a habit as these Sunday dinners. He knew it when Nell marched over and stood between her two towering sons.

“Enough!” she said sternly, winking at Aidan. “I’m sure the man knows what’s best for him. If you’re so sure he’s wrong, give him a month-to-month lease in case he decides later he wants to buy a home. Come to think of it, you could put that rent money in escrow toward his down payment.”

Aidan regarded her with astonishment. “That’s a very generous idea, but it’s not necessary.”

Mick’s expression, though, turned thoughtful. “Ma’s right. We could do that. It would give you this year you’re so dead set on to look around for a house and have money in the bank when you’re ready to buy. No need to make a snap decision. Jeff, you okay with that?”

Jeff laughed. “If Ma’s starting to make our business deals, it’s going to cost us money, but I’m not going to be the one to argue with her.”

“Then it’s settled,” Mick said happily, shaking Aidan’s hand. “I’ll meet you in Rob’s office first thing tomorrow and we’ll hammer out all the details, then we can go by the real estate office and sign that rental agreement.” He glanced at his brother. “You’ll have Susie make the appropriate changes about that escrow business?”

“Of course,” Jeff said. He turned to Aidan. “And just so you know, my wife teaches PE at the school and coaches women’s soccer. Jo couldn’t be here today, but she wanted you to know how excited the staff is that you might be coming.”

“I’ll look forward to meeting her,” Aidan told him, reminded yet again of how integral the O’Briens were to this town. Liz had definitely been right about that. “I’ll see you in the morning, Mick.”

“Did you have a chance to speak to Thomas?” Mick asked.

“Not yet.”

“Well, there’s plenty of time for that,” Mick said. “He’s going to be eager to put you to work, too.”

Aidan bit back a sigh. That was the mixed blessing in all of this, but the die was cast now. One of the lessons his mom had taught him was never to look back.

Make your choice and live with it the best way you know how, she’d said.

He recognized now that was exactly what she had done. She’d let Thomas O’Brien off the hook all those years ago and learned to live with it. If she’d had regrets, she’d never once let on to him. Now he had to do the same.

* * *

It had taken less than an hour in Rob’s office to nail down the details of Aidan’s contract. Though Mick had made one last pitch for a five-year commitment, Aidan had held out and Rob had backed him.