Lilac Lane

by Sherryl Woods

  “More important than O’Brien’s?” she asked, a smile on her lips.

  “More important than anything.” And that was something he needed no coaching to know was exactly the right thing to say.

  *

  Kiera had stood outside the door of the pub watching Moira, Luke and Kate for a moment and concluded this time together, just the three of them, was something they needed. She was in the middle of their lives a little more than she ought to be these days.

  Since she wasn’t due at work for another hour and wasn’t needed to help with Kate, she headed for her father’s. It was a pleasant morning for a walk along the bay with the sunlight filtered through sprawling oak trees and the sweet scent of lilacs strong in the air.

  She found Dillon and Nell in the kitchen, a pot of freshly brewed Irish breakfast tea on the table and the familiar scent of currant scones coming from the oven.

  “Are you sure I’m not interrupting?” she asked, sensing she’d stumbled across another cozy, intimate scene that emphasized the emptiness in her life. Funny how she’d gone for years without feeling so adrift and after just a few months of being close to Peter, she felt it with sudden and depressing clarity.

  “You’re family. How could you possibly be interrupting?” Nell said, pouring her a cup of tea without asking and bringing a warm scone to the table.

  The aromas brought back a wave of memories from Ireland that put tears in her eyes.

  “Are you missing home?” Dillon asked.

  “Yes and no,” she said. She gestured at the tea and scone. “These do stir so many memories, but in general I’ve been quite happy here. In fact, I’ve been surprised by how well I’m adapting.” She gave her father a wry look. “Just as you said I would.”

  He laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t choke on those words.”

  “I’m capable of admitting when I’ve been wrong about something,” she said. “In this case, it’s not so much that I was wrong, as that you had better foresight than I did.”

  “And a lovely spin that is,” Dillon said, but he was laughing as he said it.

  Kiera allowed herself a smile, then debated revealing something that had been on her mind for a few days now.

  “There are a few changes I’ve been contemplating,” Kiera told them eventually. “I think I should start looking for my own place. I met with Connor earlier this morning, and he says we should have the last of the details settled for my work visa in another week. If I’m to stay for a few months, if not a little longer, I can’t continue to impose on Luke and Moira. They’re practically newlyweds. They don’t need me underfoot.” She gave them both a stern look. “And don’t think I haven’t realized that I was never needed to care for Kate.”

  “A child always needs a grandmother, if only to spoil them, and to pass along a little wisdom,” Nell corrected.

  “And I can do as much if I have my own place,” Kiera said. “I’ll begin looking as soon as my work status is finalized.”

  “You mentioned other changes,” Nell said. “What are those?”

  “Not a change so much, as a desire to feel more a part of Chesapeake Shores. I’ve spent a little time with your family recently, and they all lead incredibly active, busy lives. I think I’ve spent my life so focused on work that I’ve never had the opportunity to take on other commitments. I’d like to give that a try. If I’m to have that full, well-rounded life everyone seems so intent on my having, I think that’s the next step.”

  Dillon regarded her with delight. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re interested in taking on something new. You’ll find that giving back in some way can be incredibly fulfilling.”

  “I agree,” Nell said, her expression turning thoughtful. “And I might have some ideas along that line.”

  “Of course she does,” Dillon said. “Watch out, Kiera. Nell has her fingers in a lot of community pies, so to speak. Next thing you know, you’ll find you don’t have a minute to yourself anymore.”

  “That would be just fine by me,” Kiera said. “I need more to do and less time to think.”

  “Then I will see to it,” Nell said, looking delighted by the prospect.

  “Thank you both for listening,” Kiera said. “And for the tea and scone. It felt like a moment out of time. It was…” She searched for the right word. “Comforting, that’s it. It felt like home. I think I needed that this morning. Now, though, I need to get to the pub, or Luke and Moira will wonder what on earth has happened to me. Moira will be driving around, thinking I’ve gotten lost. She watches over me and frets as if I haven’t an ounce of sense.”

  “She just wants to make sure you’re happy here,” Dillon said. “It’s what we all want. Now, would you like a ride back to the pub?”

  “Thanks, but I’m fine with the walk. It’s a lovely spring morning. Everyone tells me it will soon be too hot here to enjoy a stroll by the water, though I can’t imagine such a thing.”

  She pressed a kiss to her father’s cheek and then, impulsively, to Nell’s. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “You can count on that,” Nell said.

  “And there’s your only warning to run while you still can or leave yourself to my wife’s mercy,” Dillon said.

  “Stop with your nonsense, Dillon O’Malley,” Nell scolded. “I’ve only Kiera’s best interests at heart. She’ll tell me the minute she feels overwhelmed—won’t you, Kiera?”

  “I’ve always been known to speak my mind. Isn’t that so, Dad?” she said wryly.

  “True enough.”

  Kiera left their cottage feeling warmed by more than the familiar tea and scone. How long had it been since she’d truly felt part of a family? Longer than she could recall. It felt surprisingly good.

  *

  “You took a long time to get here,” Moira told Kiera when she walked through the door at the pub.

  “I decided to pay a visit to your grandfather and Nell, so you and Luke could have a bit of time together.”

  Moira gave her an odd look that Kiera couldn’t quite interpret, so she didn’t bother trying. “I need to touch base with Luke and see what he wants me to do today.”

  “Not before you tell me how it went with Connor after the two of you pointedly told me I wasn’t needed.”

  Kiera heard the hurt in her voice. “It was hardly that you weren’t needed. Kate was too restless to keep still while we went over so many boring details.”

  Moira looked surprisingly startled. “That’s all it was?”

  “What else would it be? Did you think we were keeping secrets from you?” Kiera asked. “You heard the most important part, that he’s convinced my status will be resolved within a week or two at the most. As a temporary consultant, I can hardly be taking a job from an American, since being from Ireland is in the job description.”

  “And you’ll be able to stay for how long? Did you discuss permanent residency?”

  Kiera frowned. “That was never under consideration, Moira. We’re looking at a six-month work visa, perhaps a year at the outside. I don’t think we can stretch it further than that.”

  “You have family here,” Moira argued. “You’ll have work. You could apply to become a legal resident. That’s what should have been discussed.”

  “A discussion for another time,” Kiera countered. “I’m not prepared to make such a decision yet.”

  Her daughter looked thoroughly dismayed by her response.

  “Aren’t you happy here?” Moira asked. “I thought you were. I thought you’d been adapting really well, in fact.”

  “Darling, I am happy. This change has definitely been good for me, exactly as you’d hoped. Do we have to take another leap already?”

  Now Moira looked oddly guilty. “I just want you to know that we like having you here with us. I know Granddad wants you to stay on.”

  “Your grandfather knows where I stand on this. We all need to focus on the here and now and not be looking too far down the road just yet.” She studied her daughter
’s expression. “Are you thinking for some reason that I’ve been feeling unwanted?”

  “Maybe I was afraid that I’d made you feel uncomfortable somehow,” Moira admitted. “Sometimes I send out mixed signals. Ask Luke. He’s been victimized by my mood swings.”

  Kiera chuckled. “And haven’t I known you since the day you were born? Your mood swings come as no surprise to me.” She put her hand to Moira’s flushed cheek. “You and Luke have been wonderful to me. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. It’s made things so much easier. I still miss Peter dreadfully, but I realize that life will go on, if I remain open to it. And it’s easier here, where I’m not constantly reminded of the loss.”

  “It will get even easier, you know,” Moira said earnestly. “And your life can be better than ever. Luke came into my life just when I was thinking I had nothing of value to offer anyone. And then my photography was discovered by Peter, and then Megan. And now I have baby Kate, too. A few years ago, I could never have imagined such things. I want that for you, too.”

  “A baby at my age? That might be a bit over the top when it comes to wishful thinking,” Kiera teased. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

  Moira looked startled for an instant, then chuckled. “Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to see you laughing and making jokes?”

  “Which only shows how seldom I allowed myself to enjoy life for far too long. That’s changing, Moira, and you’re to be thanked for some of that.”

  “And now you’re making me cry,” Moira said, brushing at the tears tracking down her cheeks. “I’m going into Luke’s office to steal my daughter back and take her home before I scare off the customers with my tears.”

  Kiera followed Moira to the back, then waited outside the door of the cramped office until she’d gathered up Kate and kissed her husband goodbye.

  “See you later, my little ones,” she said as they passed by.

  Moira paused, her expression startled. “You always used to say that on your way out the door when my brothers and I were young.”

  “I did,” Kiera said. “I’m surprised you remembered.”

  “Your leaving was the saddest, most memorable part of my day,” Moira admitted. “I was never awake to hear you come in at night. I never had that moment of joy, though the boys did. Sometimes I remember lying in my bed, hearing you through the door and feeling so left out.”

  Tears welled in Kiera’s eyes. “And you never once crawled out of bed to join us.”

  Moira shrugged. “I suppose I thought it would make you mad to discover I was still awake.” She gave Kiera a wry look. “Or perhaps I was just being stubborn. I was quite good at that.”

  “Indeed you were. I hope you’ve grown up to learn how important it is to make clear what you need. It was a lesson I learned far too late myself.”

  “I’m still working on it,” Moira said. “Luke reminds me time and again that he’s not a mind reader. It forces me to speak up, even when I think he should figure things out on his own.”

  “It’s a much healthier way to live,” Kiera said. “Rather than letting resentments build.”

  Moira hesitated, then said, “One of these days we should talk about my brothers. You rarely mention them. There must be some reason for that.”

  Kiera stiffened. “They’ve gone their own way,” she said tightly. “But we can discuss that another time. It’s past time for me to be earning my keep around here today.”

  Moira’s gaze narrowed. “That cryptic answer is not enough to satisfy me, you know. But I will wait since our Kate needs to get home for some lunch.”

  Kiera stared after them as they left, then sighed. Her sons were a topic always guaranteed to fill her with anxiety. She’d resigned herself to the reality that they were past her influence. Those memories Moira had of the three of them laughing late at night were from a very distant past, one she doubted they would ever recapture.

  Chapter 5

  “Would you mind handling the bar for me during lunch?” Luke asked Kiera when she came into his office right after Moira left with Kate. “I’ve barely made a dent in the paperwork that was to be done this morning.”

  Kiera gave him a knowing look. “Seems to me you had a bit of a distraction.”

  “The best kind,” Luke agreed. “But it has put me behind, so would you mind helping me out?”

  “It’s what I’m here for,” she told him. “I’m capable of drawing a few pints of ale and making friendly conversation.”

  “Just be careful you don’t do it so well that everyone asks for you and I’m rendered irrelevant.”

  “As if I could do that,” she scoffed. “You’ve a knack for listening when it’s called for or saying something to earn a laugh, when that’s needed. Owning a pub like this is the perfect fit for you, Luke. You couldn’t do better if you’d been born and bred in Ireland.”

  He gave her a startled look. “You couldn’t have found a compliment that could please me more, Kiera. I wasn’t at all sure I had a niche in life when we first met in Ireland,” he admitted.

  His candor revealed a rare insecurity, especially for an O’Brien. Kiera was touched that he felt comfortable sharing his feelings with her. “How can that be? I thought everyone in your family was born with confidence to spare.”

  Luke laughed. “It certainly seems that way, but I was the youngest and had none of the passion for a career that everyone else seemed to have. I discovered what I was meant to do while I was in Dublin. The more pubs that Moira and I visited around the countryside, the surer I felt that this could be my calling. Even then, I had no idea how my family would react. They tend to be overachievers. I feared having my own pub here in Chesapeake Shores wouldn’t measure up as much of an accomplishment.”

  “Did they find fault with your choice?” she asked curiously. She knew Mick and Luke’s own brother had international reputations as architects and urban planners. His uncle Thomas O’Brien ran a foundation dedicated to saving the Chesapeake Bay from environmental toxins. His aunt Megan, of course, had major connections in the art world, which she’d used to Moira’s benefit. His cousin Bree was known for her plays that had been produced locally, by a regional theater in Chicago and even on Broadway. There wasn’t a one of them who couldn’t claim success in their field. Had they judged Luke’s ambition to be less than theirs?

  “My father questioned it at first. He thought it was too big a risk, but Uncle Mick got it right away, as did my grandmother. To my father’s dismay, they were quite vocal with their support.”

  “I should think so,” Kiera said. “Neighborhood pubs are a fine Irish tradition. Aren’t there bars in the States that are similar?”

  “I wanted this place to be more than just another bar. I wanted it to be a community gathering spot,” Luke said.

  He gestured at the arrangement of tables, subtly done to make conversation easier between tables. The antique bar he’d imported from Ireland had space for a dozen people, and a mirror behind it that allowed customers to speak to others seated several stools away and still see their reactions mirrored on the wall. And while the colors he’d chosen reflected the waterfront setting more than an Irish pub might, they were warm, inviting shades of the sea. There was even a bit of a dance floor carved out in front of the area where Irish bands played on weekends.

  “Well, if your regulars are to be believed, you’ve achieved that,” Kiera told him. “I myself can see that you’ve created a place that’s comfortable, friendly and the first place to go for the local gossip.” She hesitated deliberately, then taunted, “That is if you haven’t already picked it up at Sally’s in the morning.”

  Luke laughed. “I like to think we come by a few tidbits of news first right here, if only because Uncle Mick seems to know everything and finds my bar the perfect place to be sharing it. O’Brien’s may be my pub, but Uncle Mick reigns over it.”

  “Now, that has the ring of truth, to be sure.” With the time for the pub’s midday opening almost upon them
, Kiera reminded them both that they needed to get back to work. “You’d best get busy on that paperwork now. Leave the bar to me.”

  “I’m right here if you need me,” Luke told her. “Or ask Bryan. He’s filled in a time or two when we’ve been short-staffed.”

  “I’ll do my best to handle it without bothering either one of you,” Kiera said, and headed off to check on supplies. She stopped short when she found Bryan seated at the end of the bar with a cup of coffee.

  “And shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?” she inquired lightly, trying to calm the unexpected flutter of nerves she got at the sight of him. What was it about him that affected her so? He was annoying, to be sure, but it was more than that. Maybe that impossible nature of his reminded her just the tiniest bit of Sean Malone, which was far from a recommendation.

  As if to prove her point about his difficult nature, he immediately bristled at the hint of accusation in her voice. “Kiera, I’ve been running the kitchen quite efficiently for some time now. I don’t need you to tell me how to do it. I believe I’ve mentioned that before.”

  She winced. “More than once,” she said stiffly. And here they went again, off on the wrong foot, just when she’d been trying to convince both Luke and herself that they could manage to get along. “I wasn’t suggesting you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Really? Haven’t you made it your role to be Luke’s eyes and ears, when he’s not around?” His gaze narrowed as he watched her busy herself behind the bar. “And now what? Are you taking over bartending, too? Were you not satisfied with meddling in how I run the kitchen? For the past week, you’ve been tossing out suggestions every time you pass through the kitchen door.”

  She stopped in her count of glasses and stared at him in shock. “Are you suggesting that I’m pushing my way into things that are none of my concern? I don’t know what you expect, Bryan. Luke told me it bothered you if I kept silent. Now I’m speaking up too often. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m confused by how to make this work with you.”