A Chesapeake Shores Christmas (8 page)

Nell nodded. “Of course.”

“How?”

“I have no idea, but Jeff is right. We have to give Connor a chance to explain.” She touched Megan’s cheek. “Whatever you do, though, don’t let this be one more thing to come between you and Mick.”

Megan sighed. “How can I not? You saw what happened earlier. I practically accused him of fathering a child with a woman young enough to be his daughter.”

“Mick knows why you leaped to such an outrageous conclusion,” Nell said. “I might have done the same thing. In fact, for a moment there, I did. Mick saw it in my face, I’m sure. You heard the way he snapped at me, and rightfully so.”

“It was only for a moment, though,” Megan said. “You’ve always had more faith in Mick than I have.”

“That suggests that I’m unaware of his flaws,” Nell chided. “We both know that’s not true. I understood why you needed to leave him years ago, even if I didn’t like how things worked out with you leaving the children behind.”

Megan sighed. “I made such a mess of things,” she admitted. “I think I’ve earned forgiveness for some of my mistakes, whether I deserve it or not, but with Connor things just seem to get more and more complicated.”

Nell regarded her with surprise. “Surely you’re not blaming this latest twist on anything you did?”

“I set a very poor example for him when it comes to demonstrating that marriage is supposed to be forever and that adults should fight to work things out, especially when there are children involved. It’s little wonder he feels the way he does about marriage. Nor is it surprising that he’s not taking responsibility for his own son.”

“I think we can blame his career for some of that,” Nell said dryly. “He spends most of his time with couples who are bitterly fighting over possessions and money. You and Mick never did that.”

“No. I just walked off and left my children behind. You tell me which is worse,” Megan said bleakly.

“That’s all water under the bridge,” Nell declared. “Connor’s a grown man. He’s been making his own decisions for some time now. Apparently, he hasn’t been making very good ones.”

Megan thought of Heather and the sorrow she’d seen in her eyes. “I feel so bad for that young woman. She looked absolutely brokenhearted. She looked the way I felt the day I left Mick. I tried to stop her. I asked her to stay, but her mind was obviously made up. If Kevin is right and she and Connor have been living together for some time, I wonder what on earth happened to make her do something this desperate.”

“We’ve no way of knowing,” Nell said pragmatically. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

The kitchen door opened and Mick walked in. He poured himself a drink, then sat down at the table. “Kevin hasn’t reached Connor. Jess finally managed to get the baby to sleep. She’ll be down in a minute.”

Nell suddenly looked every one of her eighty-some years. “If you don’t mind, then, I think I’ll go upstairs to my room and rest for a bit. Suddenly I’m feeling very tired.”

Megan regarded her with alarm. She’d never heard Nell admit to being exhausted before. “Are you okay?”

“Just a bit too much excitement, I’m sure,” Nell said. She nodded toward Mick. “Besides, I think the two of you have things to discuss without me underfoot.”

Megan waited until Nell had gone before facing Mick. “Once again, I owe you an apology for what I thought earlier.”

Mick waved it off. “Let it go. I have.” He gave her an astonishingly vulnerable look. “What are we going to do about this mess? That baby’s apparently our grandchild, Megan, and we didn’t even know of his existence.”

“We’re not going to do anything, except to take care of that little boy until Connor turns up here,” she said emphatically. “This is his situation to resolve.”

“Maybe so, but it’s landed on my doorstep,” Mick argued. “I’d say that gives me a right to speak my mind.”

Megan regarded him ruefully. “If you had any of the facts, it might. Until you do, keep an open mind, Mick. I mean it. Connor needs our support and guidance now, not a lot of shouting.”

“I don’t—”

Megan gave him an incredulous look that cut off his words.

“Okay, I’ll keep a hold on my temper,” he promised.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Mick sipping his drink and Megan her tea. When Mick finally looked up and met her gaze, there was an expression of awe in his eyes. Megan had seen it before when each of their children had been born.

“Did you take a good look at him?” he asked. “He’s an O’Brien, that’s for sure. Strong, too. He got a grip on my finger and wouldn’t let go.”

Megan smiled at the note of pride in his voice. “That’s the thing about O’Briens,” she said. “Once they get a hold on you, none of them will let go.”

Even with years and miles between them, Mick still held her heart as securely today as he had on the day they’d wed. If only she could be sure that would be enough to get them through whatever lay ahead.

Mick awoke after midnight, aware that Megan had left his bed. He knew, though, even before he heard the baby’s giggles, where he’d find her.

Pulling on a robe, he walked down the hall to Connor’s old room where they’d set up the portable crib and a few other things to turn the room into a makeshift nursery. The only light came from a night-light and from the moon spilling through the window. Megan sat in the same rocker in which she’d rocked all of their children to sleep, holding the baby in her arms and tickling him. He giggled some more and tried to grab onto the necklace she was wearing.

“Oh no, you don’t, my little angel,” she murmured, taking the diamond pendant from his little hand and putting it behind her neck, where it wouldn’t tempt him. “Your Grandpa Mick gave me that necklace years and years ago. I’m not letting you break it.”

“I’d buy you another,” Mick said, taking in the picture the two of them made, bathed in moonlight. He’d never seen anything lovelier.

“Did I wake you?” Megan asked, lifting her gaze to his. “I’m sorry.”

“I always know when you’re not in my bed,” he said. “I didn’t have a decent night’s sleep all the years you were gone.”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “There’s that blarney again, little one. Your grandpa is full of it.”

“I’m only speaking the truth,” Mick insisted, then tucked a finger under the baby’s chin and gazed into those solemn blue eyes that were so like Connor’s. “But I am here to tell you that a bit of blarney can serve you well. It’s gotten me out of many a tough jam, some of them with this very woman.”

A toothless grin spread across the baby’s face, as if he understood exactly what Mick was suggesting.

“Do not be giving him ideas,” Megan ordered, though there was a hint of laughter in her eyes. “I suppose I should put him down and let him go back to sleep, but I can’t bring myself to let him go. I’ve missed holding a baby in my arms. I had far too few chances to do it with Carrie and Caitlyn, and I completely missed being around Davy when he was this age.”

“Something tells me you’re going to have plenty of time with this one,” Mick said, then sighed sorrowfully. “What is wrong with our son that he’s ignored all of Kevin’s calls?”

“He could have gone out of town for the holiday,” Megan suggested.

“Without his cell phone?” Mick asked. “I sometimes think that phone has been surgically attached to his ear. Ever since he joined that highfalutin law firm, it’s like he’s scared to death to miss a call. No, he’s ignoring this because he doesn’t want to face any of us.”

“Can you blame him?” Megan asked. “He has to know what’s going to happen the second he shows his face.”

“He should have thought of that months ago,” Mick said, then recalculated. “No, more like a year and a half ago or more, when he got that girl pregnant in the first place.”

“He’s not the first young man who didn’t think things through when he got involved with a woman,” Megan reminded him.

“He’s the first O’Brien who didn’t,” Mick retorted.

Megan gave him a disbelieving look. “Is that so? You and I took our share of chances before we got married.”

“But we knew marriage was in our future. There was never any question about that. If Connor’s so dead set on staying single, then he has no business putting a woman at risk of getting pregnant.”

“You’re suggesting he steer clear of women?” Megan said, looking amused. “Connor took an interest in girls before he turned twelve. I think celibacy is a pretty unrealistic expectation.”

“Hasn’t the boy ever heard of protection?” Mick grumbled. “I seem to remember giving him several lectures on that very topic.”

“And I’m sure he heard every word,” Megan consoled him. “Things happen, Mick. That’s just the way life is. The point is, we have to deal with the here and now.”

“Fine by me,” Mick said. “Do you see Connor anywhere around dealing with it?”

“He’ll be here,” Megan said with confidence. “And then we’ll figure this out.”

She put the now-sleeping baby back into the crib, then took Mick’s hand. “Let’s try to get some sleep before he wakes up again. Something tells me tomorrow’s going to be just as chaotic as today turned out to be. We’ll want to be rested.”

Mick allowed her to lead him back to bed, then pulled her into his arms. But even as Megan fell asleep, he lay there wide-awake trying to figure out any way this disastrous situation could turn out well.

8

M
egan sat in the kitchen with Mick’s namesake on the morning after Thanksgiving and tried to coax a smile from him as she spooned one of the hastily purchased jars of baby food into his mouth. They’d been guessing about whether he was beyond just drinking formula, but the baby had eagerly seized on his first spoonful of pears as if it was a favorite.

He reminded her so much of Connor when he’d been this age that it made her heart ache. He was alert to everything going on around him. It almost felt as if she had a chance to make things right with her younger son.

Unfortunately, Connor himself was still nowhere to be found. He’d ignored all of Kevin’s calls, and even those placed this morning by Mick in a fit of frustration.

“Looks just like his daddy and his granddaddy did at that age,” Nell said, joining them in the kitchen. “Has to be at least nine months, don’t you think?”

Megan nodded. “I’d thought at first he was a bit younger, but he’s trying to pull himself up in the crib, and he’s obviously used to baby food. I think I saw the beginnings of a tooth in his mouth, as well.”

Nell made herself a cup of tea, then sat down at the table, smiling as the child grabbed a few Cheerios from the tray of his high chair and stuffed them into his mouth, then reached for the spoon Megan was holding. “Has their appetite, too, I see.”

Megan laughed. “The men in this family have always had healthy appetites,” she concurred.

Nell studied the baby. “Whatever’s gone on with Connor and the child’s mother, he’s been well cared for. That much is clear.”

“It is,” Megan agreed, then gave Nell a worried look and asked yet again, “What on earth are we going to do?” She’d been so sure it would all be sorted out by this morning.

“Do as his mother asked and take care of him until we can get Connor to come to his senses, I imagine,” Nell replied, her tone matter-of-fact.

“You seem to be taking this in stride,” Megan noted. One of the things she’d most admired about Nell over the years was her unflappable nature. Whenever there was any kind of crisis, she was a good person to have around. Nothing seemed to faze her, not even the most outrageous foibles of her children or grandchildren. She’d been the ideal person to step in with Abby, Bree, Jess, Kevin and Connor after Megan had left. If her children couldn’t be in New York with her, Megan had at least known they were well cared for here with Nell, just as Heather obviously felt her son was safe with Connor’s family.

“When you’ve lived as long as I have, there’s nothing you haven’t seen,” Nell replied. “Most things work out the way they’re supposed to.”

“Do you think Mick and I are meant to get back together?” Megan asked, unable to keep a wistful note out of her voice.

“I heard what you said to him last night about trust,” Nell said. “That’s a hard thing to earn back. Obviously, for you, Mick hasn’t quite done that yet.”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it, that I’m the one who broke the trust all those years ago,” Megan said. “I’m the one who turned to someone else. I might not have had an affair, but I did go looking for the attention Mick wasn’t giving me. And he’s forgiven me for that. It hardly seems fair that I’m withholding my forgiveness.”

“Is it forgiveness you’re withholding, or are you struggling to find the faith to believe that Mick’s really changed?” Nell asked.

Megan thought about the question and knew her former mother-in-law had gotten it exactly right. “I guess I am having trouble believing he’s changed,” she admitted. “I wish I didn’t feel that way.”

“Feelings are what they are,” Nell said. “And most of the time they’re complicated, not logical. Just look at the situation with Connor and this beautiful boy of his. Even without seeing all of them together, I just know that Connor cares for them as much as if they were a real family. He’s done everything right, except for taking that one step.”

“Marrying Heather,” Megan said.

“Exactly, and I’m guessing that Kevin got it exactly right, that it’s not because Connor doesn’t love her, but because he doesn’t have a lot of faith in marriage.”

“Because of Mick and me,” Megan said with regret.

The back door opened just then and Connor walked in, looking harried and perhaps a little hungover. Baby Mick’s eyes lit up at the sight of him, and a smile spread across his little face, which pretty much confirmed what everyone had suspected: Connor was his father.

“Da!” the baby shouted gleefully, holding up his arms.

Ignoring Megan and his grandmother, Connor scooped his son into his arms and held him tightly, a tear leaking from the corner of his eye, surprising his mother and grandmother. “Hey, kiddo, I didn’t know you were coming for a visit,” he said in what had to be the most massive understatement ever uttered in that house.

Megan studied her son’s expression and saw all of the love she would have hoped for shining in his eyes as he held his boy.

His expression shut down, however, as he turned to her. “Mind telling me what happened here yesterday?” he asked, as if this were, in some way, all her fault.

“Watch your tone,” Nell cautioned.

“Sorry,” Connor said automatically. “I just need to understand what’s going on.”

“So do we,” Megan replied mildly. “It seems no one in the family knew you had a son. Kevin suspected, but the rest of us didn’t have a clue.”

“It’s complicated,” Connor said, not denying that the boy was his.

“I’m pretty smart. So’s your grandmother. Try us,” Megan said, regarding him with an unyielding expression.

Just then Mick walked into the kitchen. “Took you long enough to get here,” he declared. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

Connor opened his mouth to reply, glanced at Mick, then shook his head. “Not now. I need to get him home to his mother.”

“Has his mother come home then?” Mick asked.

Connor hesitated, then admitted, “I have no idea. I haven’t been back there in a couple of days.”

“Maybe you ought to know for sure before you take that boy anywhere,” Mick said. “His mother seemed to want him to stay here. Ask
your
mother. Heather, if that’s who she is, said she wanted him here.”

Connor frowned. “You saw her?” He didn’t sound entirely pleased about that.

“I did,” Megan said. “She didn’t walk off and leave him on the doorstep with a note. And what she actually said was that he needed his father.”

Connor looked relieved. “Thank heaven she didn’t run off with him,” he mumbled, then gave them a pleading look. “Can we please get into this later? I need to find Heather and try to sort things out. I don’t know what she was thinking. The last time I saw her, she was sitting in my living room. I thought things were fine. I didn’t have a clue she was thinking about taking off.”

“When was that?” Megan asked.

“Day before yesterday. I was on the phone arguing with Dad. When I got off, she gave me this look that said she didn’t like what was going on. I didn’t want to discuss it, so I went out.”

“And just stayed away?” Mick asked incredulously.

“I needed time alone to think,” Connor said defensively. “I knew I wouldn’t get that with Heather nagging at me to come down here for Thanksgiving.”

“Yes, I can understand why you might not want to hear that,” Mick said wryly. “The woman obviously has a level head on her shoulders.”

“Mick, you’re not helping,” Megan said quietly. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“I think we have,” Mick said. “Heather had an opinion that Connor didn’t want to hear, and instead of sticking around and discussing it like a man, he walked out. Then she packed up and left, brought the baby here and has taken off. Can’t say I blame her. Connor’s obviously not acting responsibly these days.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Connor replied testily. “I’ve been responsible from the very beginning.”

“Are you married?” Mick asked.

“No, but—”

“Then you haven’t been responsible,” Mick insisted.

Megan regarded Mick with a warning look, then turned to her son. “Connor, maybe the baby should stay right here while you find Heather and talk things over. We can look out for him.”

Rather than smoothing the waters, her suggestion was greeted with anger.

“You want to dump another child on Gram to raise?” Connor asked bitterly.

“Connor!” Nell said sharply, which was enough to put a chagrined expression on his face.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“Just keep in mind that I’m not the one who dropped him off here,” Megan said quietly. “And I’ll stay right here for as long as it takes for you to work things out with his mother.”

“Yeah, right.”

Nell stood up. Even though Connor towered over her, she had him backing up a step. “Okay, that’s enough, young man. You do not speak to your mother like that,” she said in a voice filled with disapproval. “I taught you better than that. So did she and your father.”

Connor looked for an instant as if he might argue, then nodded. “Sorry again.”

“Right now this isn’t about you and me,” Megan said. “It’s about your son. Will you leave him here for the time being?” She tried not to make it sound like the desperate plea it really was. She wasn’t entirely sure why she saw this child as the answer to her prayers. Maybe, though, she could finally reach Connor through his son.

When Connor had gone off in search of Heather and the baby was napping upstairs, Mick found Megan and regarded her with frustration.

“You let that boy off the hook,” he accused.

“I did no such thing. He needs to work things out with Heather before he worries about any explanations he owes us,” she told him. “Try to keep the goal in mind.”

“And what would that be?” he inquired testily. He’d thought it was getting things settled so he and Megan could move forward with their wedding. Something told him, though, that he’d be wise not to mention that right now.

“Getting Connor, Heather and their son back together.” She gave him a wistful look. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that happened before Christmas? I would love for all of us to celebrate the holidays together.”

“Nobody would be happier about that than I would be, but Connor’s a stubborn one, as you perfectly well know. Don’t get your hopes up.” He hesitated, then asked, “What if things don’t work out between them?”

“They will eventually,” she said with confidence. “I’m certain they love each other.”

“And in the meantime, are you and I supposed to sit around and wait?” he asked, because he couldn’t help himself. He needed to know what she had in mind for the two of them.

“Mick, I can’t think about our wedding right now, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He studied her implacable expression, then slowly nodded. “I see. I guess that tells me all I need to know.”

He stood up, walked into the foyer and grabbed his coat, then walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Megan had found the perfect excuse for postponing their future yet again. And while he’d once thought he would wait forever to have her back, now he wondered if even that wasn’t a fool’s dream.

“Why did Dad just storm out of here looking like a thundercloud?” Abby asked Megan when she arrived not two minutes after Mick’s departure. “He barely even acknowledged me.”

Megan sighed. “He asked me a question, and he didn’t like my answer,” she admitted.

“About the wedding, I assume,” Abby said, her expression dismayed. “You’re still insisting on postponing it, aren’t you?”

Megan nodded. “There really isn’t any choice.”

“Of course there is,” Abby snapped, then studied her curiously. “Mom, do you really want to marry Dad again? I thought you loved him, but maybe you just needed to see if you could get him back. Is that it?”

Megan was genuinely shocked by the question. “Of course not! I’ve never stopped loving him.”

“Then why are you seizing on every excuse imaginable to keep from walking down the aisle?”

“The timing has to be right,” Megan replied defensively. “Not just for me, but for everyone in the family.”

“Meaning Connor,” Abby concluded. “Don’t you think he has more on his mind these days than whether you and Dad marry again?”

“Of course he does. And we need to help him through this,” Megan said.

“By postponing your own happiness?”

“I’m happy enough right now. Your father and I are together, even if we haven’t remarried. I’ve reconciled with you, Bree, Jess and Kevin.”

Abby gave her a hard look. “You know who you sound like right now? You sound like Connor. I’ll bet you he’s said something very much like that to Heather a thousand times over the years. He loves her, he’s happy, they have it all except a ring and a marriage license, yada-yada-yada. Based on the fact that she’s just walked out on him and left his son here with us, I don’t think she bought it. Dad’s not on board with it coming from you, either, and if you don’t wake up and see that, you’re going to blow it, Mom. Dad has his pride. Surely you know all about that. It’s what kept him from following you when you left us.”

Megan winced at the certainty she heard in Abby’s voice. “Your father’s not giving up on us,” she said, but after the way he’d just stormed out of the house, she no longer felt quite as confident about that. “And if he does, then it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Oh, Mom, you know better than that. If Dad’s pride kicks in and he feels as if you’re going to keep finding excuse after excuse to postpone the wedding, he’ll walk away.”

Megan knew that Abby had a point, but she couldn’t allow herself to be bullied into agreeing to a wedding date just because Mick had all but uttered an ultimatum. Besides, it hadn’t come to that yet. He might be frustrated. He might even be annoyed. But he wasn’t going to throw in the towel, at least not yet.

“Your father and I will work this out,” she assured Abby. “I promise.”

Abby regarded her skeptically. “I hope so, Mom, for your sake, because I don’t know if you’ll ever be truly happy if you blow this chance with Dad.”

Though she wasn’t about to admit it aloud, Megan wondered about that, as well.

At loose ends after walking out on Megan, Mick eventually made his way to Sally’s. To his surprise, he found both Kevin and Connor already there. He scowled at his younger son.