Harbour Lights

“Pick a book and take it home to him,” she encouraged. “I owe you at least that for all your help today.”

“Nope,” he said flatly. “Any books I get from here, I’ll pay for. This is your business and it’s a new one. A few months, a year from now, if you offer me something for free, I’ll accept it graciously.”

“I’ll make a note of that, then. On my first anniversary, you get your pick of any book in the store.”

Kevin nodded. “That’ll work. Now, how about a break? I’m starving again, and we’ve been at this for hours. I’ll come back in the morning and finish up. In the meantime, why don’t we walk to Sally’s or one of the places along Shore Road and grab a bite to eat?”

She glanced at her watch and saw with dismay that it was after seven. “I had no idea how late it was,” she protested. “Shouldn’t you get home to your son?”

“I called and he’s already out like a light. He had a big day with my dad, apparently.”

“He’s really lucky to be surrounded by so much family,” she said, unable to keep a wistful note out of her voice. She couldn’t help thinking about another little boy whose life was nowhere near as idyllic. Because despair lay down that path, she deliberately stood up and went into the back room for her purse. “I’ll have dinner with you on one condition,” she told Kevin. “I’m buying. It’s nonnegotiable.”

“In that case, I should insist on going to Brady’s. It’s the most expensive place in town, next to the inn.”

Shanna’s expression brightened. “I hadn’t even thought of the inn. Let’s go there. I stayed there last year, and the food is fabulous.”

“I don’t think so,” Kevin said flatly.

“If it’s the cost, don’t worry about it. And I think we’re dressed okay. It’s fairly informal.”

“Not the cost or our clothes,” he said. “My youngest sister owns the place.”

“Oh, that’s right,” she said. “Jess, right? I really liked her.” She frowned at his expression. “Why is that a problem?”

“Apparently you don’t have siblings,” he said direly.

“No, but …” Her voice trailed off as understanding dawned. “They meddle!”

“They meddle,” he confirmed. “I’ve already made Bree take a vow of silence about me helping you out today. If we show up at the inn, Jess will try to make something out of it, and the next thing you know Abby will be chiming in with her two cents. She’s the worst of the lot. She’s the oldest, and she stepped in as a surrogate mother hen when our mom and dad divorced. She thinks that gives her the right to an opinion on almost everything related to our lives.”

Kevin sighed dramatically. “The only one not likely to chime in is my brother, Connor, but that’s only because he’s in Baltimore and won’t hear about this for a day or two. He’s in his first year with a big law firm, so he barely has a minute to himself, much less time to listen to the family grapevine.”

Though she understood the problem, Shanna thought it all sounded rather wonderful. As an only child who’d lost both of her parents a few years ago, she’d always longed for a great big family of exactly the kind he was describing. That was one reason, she now believed, that she’d been so eager to marry Greg Hamilton. It had nothing to do with his wealth or his family’s prominence in Philadelphia society. Greg was a single dad with sole custody of his son, and she’d had an instant family. That had overshadowed all of the warning signs that she was making a terrible mistake.

“I hear the French bistro around the corner is really good,” Kevin prompted. “How about that, instead? Please. Take pity on me and keep my family out of both our lives.”

“Sure,” she said, though not without some disappointment. “That makes sense. It’s close and I’ll be able to get back in here and do a few more things before I quit for the night.”

Kevin looked so genuinely relieved, she was glad she’d acquiesced.

To her surprise, Shanna found herself adding, “On one condition.”

“What?” he asked, instantly suspicious.

“You’ll tell me more about your family.”

“Why?” he asked, clearly bewildered by the request.

“I was an only child and have what I used to refer to as Little House on the Prairie syndrome. I idealize big families. I always imagine these amazing holiday gatherings, brothers and sisters pestering each other but being there for each other, no matter what. Is it like that with your family?”

“It is,” he said, then gave her a wry look, “though it’s not always the blessing you seem to be envisioning.”

“I want to hear about that, too,” she said eagerly, leading the way out of the shop and locking the door behind them.

“You’re going to be bored silly,” he warned her as they strolled down the block and turned onto the road that ran along the beach. There were several sidewalk cafés along the block, all of them busy. Across the street, couples and families strolled along the beach.

“You won’t bore me,” she said with certainty.

Even if his stories turned out to be dull, she had a feeling she’d find them fascinating, because of the insights they’d give her into who Kevin O’Brien really was. Or maybe who he had been before his life had been turned upside down by tragedy.

“I don’t like this,” Megan O’Brien declared to Mick. “I don’t like it one bit.”

During one of their now-nightly phone conversations, Mick had been filling her in on Kevin’s ongoing lack of motivation. She’d seen for herself how lost he was on her visits to Chesapeake Shores, but like everyone else she’d been making excuses for him. Clearly, though, it had gone on long enough. Everyone might grieve at their own pace, but sooner or later it was time to get on with life, especially with a child to consider.

“Have you tried to get through to him?” she asked Mick.

“Of course I have,” Mick said. “I tried to get him to go with me this morning, just to give him something to do. He turned me down flat, then stormed off. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Oh, Mick, you don’t think he’s drinking, do you?”

“Absolutely not,” Mick said at once. “I haven’t seen him have more than a beer or two in the evening since he moved home, and he hardly leaves the house, so I think I would know.”

“Well, something has to be done. He can’t go on like this,” she said.

“That seems to be the general consensus around here, but not one of us has been able to come up with a plan.”

“I’m coming down there,” Megan announced. “I’ll be there on Friday.”

“Not that I won’t be happy for any excuse to have you here,” Mick said, “but what is it you think you can accomplish that the rest of us haven’t?”

“I’m his mother. Surely I can think of some way to get through to him, even if having me around does nothing more than make him angry. At least that would demonstrate some kind of emotion.”

“Meggie, are you sure?” Mick asked worriedly. “He’s not been very receptive on your last visits.”

“Because I’ve been tiptoeing around like everyone else, trying to give him space. He’s mad at me. We all know that. I left and he took your side and he can hold a grudge with the best of the O’Briens. It’s time to put that in the past. Like it or not, I am his mother, and I will make him listen to me.”

Mick chuckled. “I’m impressed by your determination and I agree he should let go of the past, but this may not be the best time to get through to him,” he warned. “He already has a lot on his plate.”

“Since when did you give two figs about timing?”

Mick chuckled. “Never,” he conceded. “I just don’t want him trampling all over your feelings.”

“I can take it,” she assured him. “I deserve whatever he wants to dish out. And maybe if he’s venting all of his anger at me, he’ll release some of the pent-up emotions he has about Georgia. Where is he now?”

“I have no idea,” Mick admitted. “Like I said, he took off this morning in a huff, and Ma says she hasn’t seen him since.”

“What about Davy?” she asked incredulously. “He didn’t just go off and leave Nell to take care of him, did he?” Even as she asked, she saw the irony, since that was exactly what she’d done years ago, left Mick’s mother to raise her children. It had been unintentional, but that’s how it had turned out when her plans to bring them to be with her in New York had been ditched for a whole variety of reasons that she now knew were nothing more than flimsy excuses.