Harbour Lights

Kevin pulled his sunglasses down on his nose and eyed Mick skeptically. “Really? You’re volunteering?”

“Yes, I’m volunteering,” Mick said irritably. “It was your grandmother’s idea, and it was a good one.”

“And your company?”

“Can pretty much run itself these days,” Mick said. At first that discovery hadn’t pleased him. He’d always thought of himself as indispensable, but now he’d recognized the advantages of having more free time. He was spending quite a lot of it in New York with his ex-wife. The rest he was devoting to building these houses for Habitat for Humanity. They’d been thrilled to have someone with his level of expertise on a site. With his contractor skills, he could juggle several locations at once and keep construction flowing on all of them. And he had contacts in the trades all over Maryland and wasn’t above twisting anyone’s arm to get a few free hours of help with the skilled carpentry, electrical and plumbing work.

“Okay, let’s say I can swallow this new, compassionate, giving role of yours,” Kevin said, his tone wry. “Where exactly do you see me fitting in? You pretty much banished me from every job site you were ever on. As you were so fond of pointing out, I have absolutely no construction skills. I believe you mentioned a time or two that I was a disgrace.” He grinned. “You weren’t wrong.”

To Mick’s dismay, Kevin was right about that. It had been a sad day when he’d realized that neither of his sons knew one end of a hammer from the other and, worse, didn’t care. They couldn’t even paint a room without making a mess of it.

Still, he said optimistically, “You’re not too old to learn. A lot of volunteers aren’t experienced.”

“But won’t it be embarrassing when the son of the great architect Mick O’Brien puts up a wall that falls right back down?”

Mick chuckled despite himself. “You have a point.” He studied his son with a worried frown. “So, what are you going to do with yourself?”

“Today? I thought I’d hang out here for a while with Davy, then maybe run some errands.”

Mick barely managed to keep his irritation out of his voice. “You know I’m not just asking about today. What’s your long-term plan, Kevin?”

“No idea,” he said succinctly and without remorse.

“There are paramedic openings here in town,” Mick said.

“So I’m told,” Kevin admitted. “I’m not interested.”

“Then what does interest you?” Mick asked impatiently, then could have bitten his tongue. He’d vowed to build a bridge with his son, not destroy the rare bit of peace between them.

At his raised voice, Davy looked up, his chin wobbling precariously, his eyes filling with tears. The look tore at Mick’s heart. He bent down and scooped up his grandson.

“Hey, big fella, what about you? You want to come with Grampa today?”

Kevin frowned at that. “You can’t have a two-year-old running around a construction site,” he objected.

“I’m only going by for an hour or two to check a few things. I have a hard hat somewhere around here that’s just his size. I won’t let him out of my sight. You could ride along with us, if you’re worried about him.”

“Nice try, Dad, but contrary to whatever impression I gave you earlier, I actually do have things to do.”

“Such as?” Mick pushed.

The simple question seemed to throw Kevin. Clearly he needed time to invent an excuse.

“I’m going into town,” he said eventually. “For?”

“What difference does it make why I’m going? Isn’t the goal to get poor, depressed Kevin out of the house?” He stood up and stalked off.

Mick stood, staring after him, and sighed.

“Daddy go bye-bye,” Davy said sadly.

Mick gave his grandson a hug. “That’s okay, pal. We’re going bye-bye, too, and something tells me we’re going to have a lot more fun.”

And, truth be told, knowing that ripped him apart inside.

3

Despite his resolve the day before, Kevin found himself on Main Street in front of the bookstore. He was only here because he was so annoyed with his father, and he might have walked right on past, but his sister chose that moment to step outside of Flowers on Main, the shop she’d opened over a year ago.

“Well, well, look who’s here,” she said cheerfully. “You came to help Shanna, after all. Good for you.”

“Maybe I came to help you,” he muttered, embarrassed at having been caught anywhere in the vicinity after making such a big show about his determination to steer clear of the town’s new bookseller. He watched anxiously to see if his sister would buy that he’d come to see her.

Bree regarded him with a speculative expression. “Okay,” she said eventually, as if taking his claim at face value. “What did you have in mind?”

“I could deliver flowers,” he offered impulsively, seizing at straws.

“You could,” she said agreeably, “but I already pay someone to do that.” She seemed to be fighting a smile.

“Maybe your place needs to be swept out. I could do that.”

She laughed then. “You are so pitiful, big brother. Go inside and give Shanna a hand. She’s the one who could really use some help today. Being a Good Samaritan to a newcomer in town will make you feel better. Who knows? You might even enjoy yourself.”

She was probably right about that. Gram had always taught them that reaching out to someone else was the best way to forget about their own problems. He regarded his sister with a narrowed gaze. “Only if you don’t mention it to anyone else,” he bargained. “I’ll do it, if you promise you won’t go blabbing to Jess, Abby and Gram, making some kind of big deal out of it or hinting around that I’m interested in Shanna.”

“You didn’t mention Dad,” she noted. “Can I tell him about it?”

“Actually, he sort of knows,” he admitted sheepishly. “Not about Shanna exactly, but that I was coming into town today for a reason. I used it as an excuse to get out of going with him to a work site.”

She stared at him in astonishment. “Dad wanted you to go to a construction site with him? Seriously?”

Kevin laughed at her reaction. “Yeah, it shocked me, too. Obviously he’s desperate to get me out of the house.” He sobered. “So, is it a deal? If I help Shanna, you’ll keep quiet about it? I just don’t need the aggravation.”

“What aggravation?” she asked, her expression all innocence.

He rolled his eyes. “We both know Abby and the rest of them would be down here before the day’s out to check out Shanna. Whatever antimatchmaking resolutions they supposedly live by would be tossed out the window. If Shanna passes inspection, they’ll be throwing her at me every time I turn around.”

“Would that be so awful?”

“Exactly how much of their meddling did you find tolerable?”

Her smile spread. “You have a point. It’s a deal. I won’t say a word.”

“And you won’t poke your head in every two seconds to see what’s happening in there,” he added.

“Why? You scared I’ll catch you sneaking kisses behind the bookshelves?”

Kevin turned on his heel. “That’s it. I’m out of here.”