A Chesapeake Shores Christmas (3 page)

“I suppose,” he said grudgingly. “I just hope Connor didn’t try to talk you out of marrying me.”

“Of course he did,” she said, then touched Mick’s cheek. “There’s nothing he could say, though, that would change my mind, Mick. We might have to adjust the timetable a bit to allow time to bring him around, but in the end, we will get married.”

He stopped pacing and stared. “Adjust the timetable? What the devil are you suggesting?”

“That New Year’s Eve may be rushing things. I want everyone in the family not only to attend the ceremony, but to be happy for us, Mick. It won’t feel right if they’re not.”

He faced her stubbornly. “We’re getting married New Year’s Eve, and that’s that.”

She frowned. “And there’s no room for compromise, even if it’s important to me?”

Apparently he heard the warning note in her voice, because he backed down at once. “I didn’t say that.”

“No, you just said it’s your way, period. This isn’t going to work, Mick, not if we can’t work through things like this together.”

He scowled unhappily, but eventually nodded. “Okay, fine, we’ll talk about it. You want a drink?”

“Just some tea, I think.”

“I’ll fix it,” he offered, then headed for the kitchen.

There was no one in this Irish household who couldn’t brew a proper cup of tea. Mick placed a steaming pot before her within minutes, then sat down.

“Were you able to talk with Nell?” she asked, hoping to avoid another argument over Connor.

He nodded. “She thinks she might want to move to the cottage.”

“Oh, dear,” Megan said. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to avoid.”

“Don’t fret too much. She seems to think it will improve her social life,” Mick said, clearly disgruntled. “She said something about having privacy for her gentlemen callers. Since when does my mother have gentlemen callers, I’d like to know?”

Megan chuckled. “Maybe that’s the point,” she suggested. “She doesn’t want you to know about them and meddle the way you have in your children’s lives.”

He shuddered. “She’s probably right. Knowing my mother is getting involved with some old codger is probably more information than I need to have.”

“I think it would be sweet for her to have someone special in her life,” Megan said thoughtfully. “Look at all the years she’s sacrificed her own needs to take care of our family. It’s her turn to find whatever happiness she can.”

“I suppose. Now let’s stop talking about my mother and Connor, and focus on us. How soon are you going to quit your job and move down here? Two weeks’ notice ought to be enough, don’t you think?”

“Not with a major show coming up at the gallery,” she said. “Besides, if I want Phillip to consider opening an extension of his gallery here, then I have to handle this with care.”

“You don’t need his backing,” Mick argued. “I’ll bankroll your gallery.”

“It’s very generous of you to want to do that,” Megan said, “but I just finished telling Connor that I wasn’t marrying you for your money. How will it look to him if you pour thousands of dollars into my new business? No, Mick. I have to make this come together on my own.”

“How?” he asked, his skepticism plain…and highly annoying.

“That’s my problem now, isn’t it?”

“Is this the way it’s going to be from here on out?” he demanded. “You refusing to accept any kind of help from me? I want to do things for you, Megan. It makes me happy.”

“Then buy me a bouquet of flowers from time to time, or take me out for a romantic dinner. I don’t need lavish gestures for you to prove how much you love me.”

Mick shook his head. “You are the most contrary woman I’ve ever known. What kind of person turns down help from someone who loves them?”

“One who needs to maintain some independence,” she responded candidly.

“Why, so you can turn right around and leave me again?”

“No, so there will never be a question in your mind that I’m with you because I love you, not because of what you can do for me.”

“That’s Connor talking,” he said. “I won’t have him meddling in our relationship or making you question the way every little thing we do might look to him.”

“It’s not about Connor,” she insisted. “It’s about me, Mick. I’ve learned to stand on my own two feet. I’m not the naive, dependent girl who expected you to dance attendance and make my life complete. If it’s going to work between us, we have to be equals.”

“So if I decide on impulse to give you a car, you have to turn right around and buy something for me?” he asked.

“That might be exaggerating just a bit,” she said dryly.

“Well, I should hope so, because it sounds ridiculous. If I’m your husband and I decide on a whim to give you something, what happened to accepting it graciously?”

“Mick, this isn’t about cars or jewelry or impulsive gestures.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Megan wasn’t sure she could. She just knew that gifts per se weren’t the problem. It was all the strings implied. And if she wasn’t careful, those strings were going to bind them together for all the wrong reasons.

And their marriage wouldn’t stand a chance.

Mick had been thoroughly frustrated by his conversation with Megan the night before. He was still stewing over it on Monday morning after he’d driven her to Baltimore to the airport. He knew Connor was behind her attitude, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it. He also knew he needed to settle a thing or two with his younger son.

He pulled out his cell phone and called Connor at the office. “Take a break,” he ordered without preamble. “I’ll meet you at the coffee shop on the corner in ten minutes.”

“I can’t. I have an appointment with a new client in an hour.”

“This won’t take long,” Mick said grimly. “I’ll talk and you can listen.”

Of course, that was an optimistic outlook. Connor had never once suffered a lecture in silence. Those strong opinions of his were bound to surface. Still, Mick wanted to clear the air and make a few things plain. His son might be a grown man, but Mick still ran the family. He was due a little respect of his own.

Connor was already waiting at a table with two cups of coffee by the time Mick had found a parking place and walked the two blocks to the crowded little café. “Parking in this city is a nuisance,” he grumbled as he sat.

“Is that why you wanted to see me,” Connor inquired, “to complain about the parking in downtown Baltimore?”

Mick frowned at the sarcasm. “You know perfectly well it’s not. We need to discuss the wedding.”

Connor looked as if he was ready to launch into another diatribe, so Mick cut him off before he could get started.

“You will not interfere,” Mick told him flatly. “You don’t have to approve of it. You don’t have to like it. But you will stay out of it.” He leveled a hard look into his son’s eyes. “And you will show up for the ceremony with a smile on your face. Is that understood?”

Connor gave him a knowing look. “Mom’s talking about postponing, isn’t she?”

“That’s not an option,” Mick said forcefully.

“But I got to her yesterday and now she’s having second thoughts,” Connor said with a triumphant note. “Good for her.”

Mick regarded him with sorrow. “Do you care nothing for my feelings?”

Connor looked shocked by the question. “Of course I do! Dad, can’t you see that I’m trying to protect you? You’ve gotten all caught up in sentiment. You’re not thinking clearly.”

Mick was none too pleased by his son’s determination to interfere, to say nothing of his confidence that only he knew what was best for his parents. “Connor, I’m a grown man. I don’t need looking after, no matter how well-intentioned it might be. I love your mother. I always have. God’s seen fit to give me a second chance with her, and I won’t let you or anyone else take that away from us.”

“She’ll break your heart again,” Connor predicted.

“I don’t believe that, but if it happens, so be it.”

“You can’t mean that. The last time she left, it almost destroyed you. It almost ruined our entire family.”

“I thought Bree was the one in the family with a flair for drama,” Mick chided. “What happened was devastating for all of us, no question about it. But look at Abby, Bree and Kevin today. They’re all happily married. Jess has a thriving business she loves. And even you have found your life’s work. We’re more tight-knit as a family than we have been in years.”

“All of that’s in spite of Mom, not because of her.”

“Maybe so, but we can hardly claim that what she did ruined our lives. It shaped us, to be sure. It changed her, as well—for the better, I think. She’s stronger and more independent.”

“You almost sound as if you approve of that,” Connor said.

“Well, of course I do. I made your mother very unhappy. I wasn’t the partner she needed. I think we’re a better match today than we were back then.”

“Just how long do you think it will take before this independent streak of hers gets on your nerves?” Connor asked.

Mick chuckled. “It already has. More than once, in fact. That doesn’t mean it’s not for the best. None of this is your worry, son. All we need from you is your blessing, even if you disagree with the choice we’re making.”

Looking genuinely distressed, Connor shook his head. “I can’t do it, Dad. Not when this marriage has disaster written all over it. I’ve already told Mom I’m going to draw up a prenuptial agreement.”

“You did what?” Mick was aghast. “You most certainly will not. I don’t believe in starting a marriage trying to figure out how it will end.”

“It’s commonplace for someone in your position,” Connor insisted.

“No!” Mick said, slamming his fist on the table.

Connor didn’t bend. “Dad, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, whether you want me to or not.”

Mick bristled at his unrelenting attitude. “Then you’ll stay away,” he ordered. “From this moment on, you’ll stay away.”

“Stay away?” Connor repeated, his expression incredulous.

“From Chesapeake Shores, from our house,” Mick said, his gaze unyielding.

“I’m not welcome in my own home?” Connor said, looking shaken.

“Not until you can see your way clear to treat your mother with the respect she deserves and can accept our marriage.”

Connor’s expression hardened. “Then I guess it will be a cold day in hell before I set foot in Chesapeake Shores again.”

Even as he spoke, he stood up. He cast one last bleak look at Mick, then, his back stiff with pride, he walked away, never once looking back.

As he went, Mick felt his heart break. He also knew that when Megan learned of this—and she no doubt would—she might never forgive him for causing a possibly irreparable rift with their son.

3

F
or the next week Mick left the house before dawn and didn’t return until well after dusk. If he’d been able to think of a reason to leave town for business, he’d have been on the first flight out of Baltimore, but lately his out-of-state projects were all running smoothly under the direction of his second-in-command, Jaime Alvarez. Mick wouldn’t undermine Jaime by showing up unannounced. Besides, he had plenty of work nearby with his Habitat for Humanity projects to send him home exhausted at the end of the day.

He’d been avoiding Megan’s calls, as well. He knew that sooner or later she was going to catch up with him and he’d have to tell her about Connor, but he wasn’t quite ready for that conversation.

When he walked into the kitchen on Friday night and found both Abby and Nell sitting at the table, he knew his time for avoiding this latest mess was over.

“Your dinner’s in the oven, probably all dried out,” Nell commented without a hint of apology. “Serves you right for not coming home on time and not calling.”

“Sorry, Ma,” he said, then glanced at Abby and noted her sour expression. “Everything okay with you?”

“I think you know it’s not,” she said icily.

“You’ve spoken to your brother, then?” he said, resigned.

Abby regarded him critically. “Dad, what were you thinking? You banished Connor. I know he’s stubborn and exasperating, but he’s family.”

“Apparently he’s also a tattletale,” Mick said, though he knew that was hardly the point. “I didn’t expect him to go running to his big sister whining about it.”

“What
did
you expect?” Nell inquired. “That he’d take this punishment of yours quietly? That’s not in his makeup. Surely you know him well enough to know that.”

“I was hoping to shake him up,” Mick said with a shrug. “I wanted him to see how important my marriage to his mother is to me. I wanted him to accept it and get on board.”

“Well, I’d say your approach backfired,” Nell said. “He’s angrier than ever.”

“Does Mom know about this?” Abby asked.

“Of course not,” Nell answered for him. She directed an accusing look his way as she plunked his reheated food in front of him. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be avoiding her calls.”

“I’m not avoiding Megan,” he said, though of course he was. “I’ve been busy.”

“Interesting that being overwhelmed with work hasn’t kept you from speaking to her half a dozen times a day for the past few months,” Nell noted. “Did you think she wouldn’t notice that you haven’t spoken all week? She’s been calling here for days now looking for answers. Did you expect me to lie for you?”

Mick stared at his mother in dismay. “You didn’t tell her what’s going on, did you?”

“It’s not up to me,” Nell replied. “You do your own dirty work.”

“I’ll call her tonight,” he promised, cutting into the over-cooked, dried-up piece of beef on his plate. Not even his mother’s excellent gravy could save it. He pushed the plate aside.

“And say what?” Abby wanted to know. “Are you going to tell her about Connor?”

“For all I know he’s blabbed to her himself,” he grumbled.

“If he were speaking to her, he might have, but I doubt he broke silence to fill her in on this,” Abby said. “Dad, you need to fix this before Mom finds out. If she hears about you telling Connor to stay away from his own home, you know she’ll postpone the wedding until it’s resolved.”

Mick grimaced. “That’s what I was trying to avoid when I went to see him. I wanted peace.”

“And instead you’ve made it worse,” Nell said. “Mick, you’ve always had the tact of a bulldozer. And Connor’s more like you than anyone else in the family. You should have known better.”

He scowled at the two women. “Are you going to sit here berating me, or are you going to help me straighten this out before Megan gets wind of it? Do either one of you actually have any helpful suggestions?”

“You could start by calling Connor and apologizing. Tell him you didn’t mean it,” Abby suggested.

“But I meant every word,” Mick argued stubbornly. “He’s the one who needs to change his attitude.”

“You’re not going to win him over by banishing him,” Nell said. “That’s not a tactic to win anyone’s heart. All it tells him is that you’re choosing his mother over him.”

“Well, what would you have me do?” he asked testily. “Cave in and tell him it’s just fine if he wants to do his best to ruin the wedding?”

“Of course not,” Abby said. “But he needs to spend more time here, not less, and he and Mom need to be thrown together as much as possible. She’ll win him over. It may not happen on your timetable, but it will happen.”

“I’m not postponing this wedding,” Mick insisted, his jaw set.

“If Mom finds out about this, you may not have a choice,” Abby said realistically. “She’s determined that this family will be united and at peace before the ceremony takes place.”

“Well, I can’t be expected to work miracles, now, can I?” Mick grumbled and threw down his napkin.

Nell put her hand on his. “No, but ’tis the season of them. Perhaps there’s one waiting in the wings.”

Mick’s faith was as strong as any man’s most of the time. Right this second, though, he doubted there was a miracle on tap that could possibly fix this mess he’d made.

Megan knew there was something seriously wrong in Chesapeake Shores. Even if Mick hadn’t been clearly avoiding her, it was plain in Nell’s voice and in Abby’s. No matter how hard she’d tried, though, she hadn’t been able to get the truth out of either one of them.

“I can’t get down there this weekend to see for myself,” she complained to Abby. “Keeping me in the dark is just making me imagine all sorts of things. Is it the baby? Has Bree been having problems with her pregnancy?”

“Bree is fine,” Abby assured her. “Healthy as a horse, according to the doctor. She seems to have more energy than ever. She’s been getting ready for the children’s Christmas play at her theater. I went to a rehearsal the other night and the kids are absolutely precious, Mom. Wait till you see them.”

“I’m sure they are,” Megan said distractedly. “What about Jess? Is she okay? The inn hasn’t suffered another financial setback, has it?”

“Business at the inn is booming. Jess is doing a fantastic job. Bookings for the holidays are strong.”

“Kevin and Shanna, they’re okay? Henry’s biological father isn’t making trouble about the adoption, is he?”

“Mother, I can’t speak for every single person in Chesapeake Shores, but all of the O’Briens are just fine,” Abby said, apparently losing patience with Megan’s persistent, probing questions. “Now I need to go. I promised Carrie and Caitlyn I’d take them into town to see the decorations today. Santa’s going to be at Ethel’s, too. They’ve already put on their coats and gloves. I need to get them out of the house before they roast or burst with excitement.”

“Well, if you happen to cross paths with your father, tell him that if I don’t hear from him by the end of the day, the wedding’s off,” she said, meaning it.

Just because Abby had uttered a bunch of reassuring platitudes didn’t make Megan believe her. Being kept in the dark about something was unacceptable, and she knew without a doubt that Mick was somehow all mixed up in this pact of silence.

“You don’t mean that,” Abby said, sounding dismayed.

“Actually I do,” she said firmly. “I will not turn my life upside down to come back there, if this is the way I can expect to be treated. I feel like an outsider, instead of a member of this family. You’re all keeping secrets from me, and I want you to know I don’t like it.”

“I’m not the one who needs to hear that,” Abby protested.

“Well, of course you aren’t,” Megan said impatiently. “If I could get your father on the phone for two minutes, I’d tell him that myself. Since I can’t, you’ll just have to be the messenger.”

“Mom, I really don’t want to get caught in the middle,” Abby said, a pleading note in her voice.

“Oh, fiddlesticks. You’ve planted yourself in the middle for quite some time now. You should be used to the role.”

Abby sighed. “I love you, Mom.”

“And I love you. It’s my feelings for your father I’m starting to question. Give the girls huge hugs for me, okay?”

“Will do,” Abby promised.

Megan let her go, then hung up, even more frustrated than she’d been when she made the call. She looked up and found her boss regarding her worriedly.

“Megan, are you absolutely certain that moving back to Chesapeake Shores and marrying Mick is what you want?” Phillip Margolin asked. “If Mick is already shutting you out, it seems to me that’s not a good sign.”

She met his concerned gaze. “Right this second, I’m not sure about anything,” she admitted.

“Then stay,” he urged. “You know you’re valued here. You’ve made a wonderful life for yourself in New York.”

“I have,” she conceded. “But my family’s there. I don’t want to live the rest of my life apart from them.”

“Even though Mick is clearly exasperating you?”

She smiled. Only a lifelong confirmed bachelor could ask a question like that. “That’s what he does, but I can’t seem to make myself stop loving him just the same.”

From the moment she’d told Phillip of her plans, he’d tried to be supportive, but it was plain he wasn’t above using this to keep her right where she was. Letting her go was going to disrupt the smooth running of his gallery. Still, his tone resigned, he asked, “Do you want to go down there now and find out for yourself what’s going on?”

She considered the offer, then shook her head. “We have the opening next week. Whatever’s going on in Chesapeake Shores can wait until I go there for Thanksgiving.”

“Are you certain? Will you be able to focus if you’re worrying about your family?”

“I’ve always worried about my family,” she reminded him. “And I’ve never lost focus yet.”

That didn’t mean the next two weeks wouldn’t be a struggle, but perhaps it was just as well not to be anywhere near Mick when he seemed intent on infuriating her.

Mick sat at a table in the coffee area of Shanna’s bookstore, relieved to be around family who apparently had no idea about what was going on or about the secret he was keeping from Megan. He’d found a new mystery by his favorite author, poured himself a steaming cup of coffee and was contentedly reading when Davy and Henry suddenly appeared. Davy immediately climbed into his lap, while Henry stood shyly by. Mick brightened at the sight of them.

“Well, now, where did the two of you come from?” he asked as Davy dug in his pocket and retrieved two wrapped candies, then handed one to Henry.

“We were looking at the store windows with Aunt Abby, Carrie and Caitlyn,” Henry said.

“I saw Santa,” Davy announced excitedly. “He was at Ethel’s. He promised he’s going to bring lots and lots of presents for Henry and me.”

“Is that so?” Mick said. “Have you sent him a list?”

Davy shook his head. “I told him what I want.”

“Well, it never hurts for Santa to have it in writing,” Mick said. He noticed that Henry looked skeptical and gathered that he’d already stopped believing. Still, he clearly didn’t intend to ruin it for his younger brother.

“Maybe Mommy will help me make one,” Davy said, a worried frown puckering his brow. “Henry can write his own. He knows how.”

“I know. He’s a very smart young man,” Mick said, giving the older boy a wink. “Why wait, though? If you ask your mother for a piece of paper, maybe I can help you now.”

Davy’s eyes immediately brightened. “Really?”

“Sure. I’ve written many a letter to Santa over the years.”

After Davy had run off, Mick beckoned for Henry to come closer. “Are you so sure Santa doesn’t exist?”

“I knew better when I was seven,” he said sadly. “I told him all I wanted was for my daddy to get better, but he hasn’t. He’s still sick. He can’t take care of me anymore.”

Henry’s biological father was an alcoholic whose liver had been severely damaged by the disease. That’s why Shanna, who’d only briefly been his stepmother, had been given custody after negotiating the arrangement with Henry’s father and grandparents. Now Kevin had legally adopted him, as well. At the same time Shanna had formally adopt ed Davy, whose biological mom had died while serving in Iraq. They were the ultimate modern family, pieced together by love.

“But your dad still loves you very much,” Mick assured Henry. “That’s why he’s agreed to let you be with Shanna and Kevin, so you’ll have the kind of life you deserve. Maybe that’s the gift that Santa meant for you—the gift of a new family, plus your old one. You’re very lucky to have so many people who love you.”

Henry pondered that in the serious little way he had, then nodded. “I suppose.”

“So maybe Santa would bring you something special this Christmas if he knew you still believed in him. Why not get a piece of paper and take a chance?” Mick coaxed.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Henry said, his eyes suddenly brimming with hope.

“Go then and bring your paper back here. I’ll see that Santa gets your letter and Davy’s.”

“Thanks, Grandpa Mick.”

As he scampered off, Abby settled into the chair opposite him.

“So much for finding a refuge in here,” he muttered with a resigned sigh.

“I have a message from Mom,” she said.

Mick’s stomach knotted with dread. “Oh?”

“She says if she doesn’t hear from you very, very soon, the wedding’s off.”

“Now, what kind of message is that to be sending through you?” Mick blustered.

“The kind sent by a frustrated woman who’s losing patience,” Abby assessed. “Now that I’ve delivered it, I’m taking the girls next door for lunch. You’re welcome to join us.”

“I have letters to Santa to oversee,” he said. “And then I’ve a phone call to make.”

She patted his hand. “Good decision.”

Mick wondered about that, because right this second he had absolutely no idea what he was going to say to Megan that wouldn’t wind up with her not just postponing their wedding, but canceling it.

Mick had tucked the boys’ letters to Santa into his pocket and sent them off for naps when Kevin appeared. Apparently he was taking over for his wife while she dealt with settling the boys upstairs in the apartment where she’d lived before marrying Kevin. She’d kept it so the kids could be cared for close by while she worked in the store.