Lilac Lane

by Sherryl Woods

  Dillon chuckled. “Who knew those shows would serve a useful purpose? So where are you going now?”

  “To Sally’s. I’ll plant a few seeds here and there, and if I know my granddaughters, by tomorrow they’ll have turned this into their own idea and added a few embellishments.”

  “Nell O’Brien O’Malley, should I be worried that one day this devious streak of yours will be used against me?”

  She laughed. “What makes you think it hasn’t been already?”

  *

  Since in her eagerness to get away from Bryan and those knowing glances of his she hadn’t lingered at Nell’s long enough for a scone, Kiera decided she deserved one of Sally’s croissants to replace it. Perhaps the gathering of O’Brien women she was likely to find there would prove more settling to her nerves than the way her day had started.

  Today Connor’s wife, Heather, Kevin’s wife, Shanna, and Bree were lingering over coffee when she arrived. The three had distinctive personalities that were echoed by the clothes they chose, Bree’s flamboyant and colorful, Heather’s soothing, and Shanna’s classic.

  “May I join you or are you about to leave?” Kiera asked.

  “Please join us,” Bree invited, pulling out the chair next to hers. “We’ve been commiserating over getting drawn into Gram’s fall festival planning again.”

  Kiera brightened at once. “You’re on the committee, as well? That’s great news!”

  “She’s asked you to come to tomorrow’s meeting, too?” Bree asked.

  “Of course she has,” Heather said. “Have you ever known Nell to let an able-bodied person escape her clutches when she’s planning her favorite community event?”

  “Forget able-bodied being part of the criteria,” Shanna said. “Poor Jaime Alvarez was still on crutches when she corralled him into helping last year.”

  “Well, this year she’s added both Bryan and me into the mix,” Kiera said. “I’m excited about it.”

  The other three women exchanged glances.

  “Maybe that will let us off the hook,” Heather suggested hopefully.

  “Not a chance,” Bree said ruefully. “I don’t think there’s an O’Brien alive who’s ever successfully squirmed off Gram’s hook once she’s set it.”

  Kiera heard the grumbling complaints and couldn’t imagine why they weren’t more enthused. “It honestly sounds like so much fun to me. Is it really such a burden? I’ve never had a chance to work on a community event like this.”

  “We need to stop trying to scare her off or Nell will never forgive us,” Heather said. “It really is fun.”

  “Maybe the first ten years,” Bree groused. “I’ve been doing it since I was old enough to take fliers around town and climb on chairs to post them in shop windows. You’d think, given how many O’Briens have come along since then, that she’d cut the rest of us a break for time served.”

  Shanna laughed. “Oh, stop acting like a martyr. You know perfectly well that there’s not a one of us who wouldn’t do anything Nell asked. She has her hand in half a dozen or more community projects. We’re all in awe of her energy and we’re trying to figure out where it comes from. Personally, I think she takes some magic elixir.”

  “There’s no elixir. It’s pure O’Brien stubbornness,” Bree said.

  “Maybe that explains why you and I don’t have it,” Heather told Shanna with exaggerated resignation. “We weren’t born with O’Brien blood.”

  Kiera suddenly realized that the complaining was something that simply came with the territory. She suspected Shanna had been right, that the level of love and respect they all felt for Nell would make them all willing to walk over hot coals for her. Being on this committee might be a chore for them, but it was a more welcome responsibility than they’d ever let on.

  Just then Bree turned to her. “You’ve really never been involved in planning any sort of community event?” she asked as if such a thing were unthinkable.

  “Never,” Kiera told her. “Back home, I never had the time. I tried to take Moira and her brothers to festivals and the like, but there were so many temptations and there were times when money was too tight for me to give them even those small trinkets or treats.”

  “Then we’re going to make sure this is a wonderful experience for you,” Bree vowed. “If there’s one thing that Chesapeake Shores knows how to do right, it’s our special events. You’ll see on the Fourth of July. And the fall festival is even more amazing, especially since Gram decided to shake it up a little. I think even she was stunned at how well the kissing booth and the dancing went over last year. We’re really going to have to use our imaginations to top that.”

  The mention of the kissing booth sent Kiera’s imagination soaring off once again to the feel of Bryan’s lips on hers, albeit fleetingly, the previous night. She stood hurriedly before anyone thought to question the sudden flush in her cheeks.

  “I’ll see you all in the morning, then,” she said.

  She heard a few murmurs about her abrupt departure, but in her haste to go, it barely registered that the woman who’d just come in Sally’s door was Nell.

  Chapter 13

  After waiting for Kiera to leave, Nell crossed Sally’s and stared into the upturned faces of her granddaughter and the wives of two of her grandsons and saw suspicion written all over them.

  “What?” she asked innocently, pulling out a chair and joining them,

  “Your timing is impeccable as usual, Gram,” Bree noted. “Kiera’s just left so I have a feeling your arrival was no coincidence.”

  “You know I like visiting with all of you here from time to time,” Nell responded.

  “Agreed,” Bree said, then waited patiently.

  Nell frowned at her, but felt compelled to add, “I like catching up on all the family gossip.”

  It was obviously not the best answer she could have given. The three young women exchanged amused glances.

  “And Sunday dinners at Mick’s don’t keep you up-to-date?” Heather asked. “There’s very little that escapes your notice there. The rumor is that you have eyes in the back of your head and the kind of hearing that people half your age would envy. And the visits to the pub during the week usually fill in any blanks.”

  Nell studied her with a narrowed gaze. “Are you suggesting that I have an ulterior motive for wanting to spend time with you this morning?”

  “That is exactly what she’s suggesting,” Bree confirmed. “I’m inclined to agree. So what’s up? We’ve already heard that you corralled Kiera and Bryan to be on your festival committee this year. Given that those two reportedly get along like oil and water, despite what my father thinks he saw when he ran into them at Panini Bistro a few weeks ago, what’s going on in that devious mind of yours?”

  Nell regarded them with as much indignation as she could muster since Bree and Heather, at least, had pretty much caught her. “Devious, is it? Is that any way to speak to your grandmother? I thought I taught you to be more respectful of your elders.”

  Bree merely laughed. “Nice try playing the grandmother card, but we all know you too well. What are you up to? And how are we involved?”

  As much as she’d hoped to get their involvement without them being aware that they were being manipulated, she saw that simply wasn’t going to happen. They’d known her too long and, in some troubling ways, were too much like her. She might have passed the meddling gene on to Mick, but until now she’d thought it had skipped right over the next generation. Apparently not.

  “Okay, if I come clean, do you all swear that you won’t reveal my plan, not even to your husbands, cousins or siblings? I suppose I should mention parents, aunts and uncles, too, just to cover all the bases.”

  Bree laughed. “We’ll keep our lips tightly sealed,” she promised.

  “Unless we think someone could get hurt,” Heather corrected mildly.

  “Nobody is going to get hurt,” Nell said impatiently. “The goal is to have people living happily ever after.”r />
  “Isn’t it always?” Shanna murmured.

  Nell turned to her. “I heard that.”

  “I meant for you to,” her granddaughter-in-law said, undeterred by Nell’s scowl.

  The girl had spunk, Nell thought. They all did. It was hard to hold your own among the O’Briens without it. She couldn’t help thinking that was a good thing. Shanna had needed every ounce of it when she’d first met Kevin, who’d been grieving the loss of his first wife and struggling to raise his little boy alone. She’d had her own difficult crosses to bear from the past, as well.

  Nell leaned forward then, noting that all three of them did the same. “Okay, then, here’s what we’re going to do.”

  As she described her plan, she saw them nodding, their eyes lighting with anticipation. At the end, she sat back. “What do you think?”

  “Ingenious,” Bree admitted.

  “Will you all take the lead on this tomorrow, as if the idea’s just come to you? Dillon’s afraid if it comes from me, Kiera will assume it started with him and balk on principle.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Heather said. “She seems to be under your spell, too.”

  “But if it backfires and hurts her relationship with her father, I’d never forgive myself. Their bond has been healing and growing stronger since she’s been here. I can’t put that at risk,” Nell said.

  “Not to worry,” Bree said. “We’ll take the heat. This could actually be kind of fun. If there are any of those sparks that Mick saw when he caught them together, everyone in town will enjoy getting a chance to fan the flames.” She hesitated, then asked, “Why are you willing to risk Dillon’s relationship with Kiera, though? Are you so certain that Kiera and Bryan are a good match? He seems a gentle, lost soul in some ways, and she, well, she does have a bit of a temper.”

  “Which is exactly why they’re so well suited,” Nell said. “Dillon swears he sees some of Peter’s steadiness in Bryan and that it’s what Kiera needs in her life. As I’ve gotten to know them both, I tend to agree. And every relationship needs a little heat and conflict from time to time.”

  “This could cause some tension at the pub, though,” Shanna cautioned. “How will Luke feel about that?”

  “He’ll have to deal with it for the greater good,” Nell said blithely. “I expect him to do his part, too. That’s why I’ve invited him to tomorrow’s meeting, too.”

  “Invited or commanded?” Bree asked with a grin.

  “It was an invitation,” Nell said defensively, then shrugged. “With a little grandmotherly guilt tossed in.”

  “What about Moira? This is her mother we’re talking about,” Shanna reminded them. “Shouldn’t she be consulted?”

  Nell shook her head. “I think it’s best if she’s not drawn into this. Her relationship with her mother is at stake, too. She needs to be able to claim quite honestly that she’s no more than an innocent bystander.”

  “Nine o’clock tomorrow, then,” Bree said. “Suddenly—and I never thought I’d say this—I can’t wait.”

  The other two women nodded in agreement. Nell barely resisted the urge to give them a high five. She didn’t want to risk celebrating too soon. There were any number of ways this plan of hers might go awry. She was counting on Bryan’s competitive spirit and desire to be taken seriously as a chef, but Kiera was a bit of a wild card. She was feisty enough to take the bait just on principle, but she could just as easily see right through the scheme and want no part of it.

  *

  Kiera was so eager to join the O’Brien women at Nell’s the next morning and get her first taste of being a part of a community event that she was the first to arrive at the cottage. Nell had already added extra chairs around the kitchen table and had set the water for tea on the stove to boil. The aroma of scones wafted from the oven, a new flavor Kiera couldn’t quite identify beyond being especially mouthwatering.

  “What can I do to help you get ready?” she asked her stepmother, suddenly realizing that she was actually becoming comfortable thinking of Nell in that role. She’d expected it to be a more difficult transition, certain that she’d resent the woman who had taken her own mother’s place. Somehow, though, knowing that Nell and her father had shared a teenage passion so long ago and were being given this second chance by the grace of God made it easier. It certainly helped that Nell had never pushed, but only opened her arms to welcome Kiera into her life and into the O’Brien family.

  “Your father helped me before he left for a walk,” Nell said. “Just come and have a cup of tea until the others arrive.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t put my father to work on your committee. The way I hear it, no one in the family escapes from playing a role.”

  Nell laughed. “And Dillon won’t either, be assured of that. On the day of the event, I have him running in a dozen different directions to do my bidding.”

  “I’ll bet he loves it,” Kiera concluded, thinking back to his workaholic ways with his various businesses in Dublin. “I’ve never seen him so happy and relaxed. Thank you for that.”

  “I’m not sure it’s credit I deserve,” Nell told her sincerely. “He claims I’m trying to be the death of him, but being involved has brought him a great deal of satisfaction, I think. And it’s made him feel at home in Chesapeake Shores.” She gave Kiera a lingering look. “He wants the same for you, you know.”

  “I’m more at ease here with every day that passes,” Kiera acknowledged, then felt compelled to add, “It will be difficult, I suspect, when my time here is over.”

  The light in Nell’s eyes dimmed a bit. “You’re so certain you’ll be going back to Ireland?”

  Kiera nodded, though perhaps not quite as convincingly as she might have just a few short weeks ago. “It’s my home, after all.”

  “As it was your father’s, but I like to think he considers this to be his home now.”

  “Because of you and all of the O’Briens,” Kiera said. “And it helps that my daughter has made her home here, too.”

  “You could do the same, Kiera. Are there things drawing you back to Ireland, things you miss? Your sons, perhaps?”

  “It’s where I belong,” she said simply, unwilling to get into the subject of her sons just as others were about to arrive. It was too complex a subject for a one-or two-word response.

  Nell looked as if she might press her about the two grown sons she rarely spoke of, but instead she said only, “Perhaps you’ll come to think of Chesapeake Shores that way one day soon, as the place you belong. Getting involved with this fall festival could be a first step if you open your heart to the possibilities. You already have family here and soon you’ll have friends, as well.”

  Kiera might have considered it another example of Nell’s eternal optimism, but she caught the gleam in the older woman’s eyes and wondered if there was something behind Nell’s words that ought to worry her. Before she could ask a single probing question, the others came in, the women in a chattering cluster with Bryan and Luke dragging behind. Neither of the men looked overjoyed at being included.

  As soon as everyone had something to drink and a place to sit, Nell took charge.

  “Okay, then, you all know why we’re here today,” she announced. “It’s that time of year again. We need to finalize our plans for this year’s fall festival. We added some innovations last year that did very well, but we can’t rest on our laurels.”

  “Gram, it’s not even the Fourth of July yet,” Bree protested, though it was a half-hearted protest at best. She obviously knew that particular battle was already lost.

  “Which means we’re already late getting started,” Nell countered. “I’ve been distracted. It’s time we get focused.”

  “Thanks to you the fall festival has been running like a well-oiled machine for years now,” Heather reassured her. “I know perfectly well that all of the committees have been working since last fall to put things in place. I’d wager the vendors are already signed up and the adverti
sing and press release ready to go out. We could start after Labor Day and it would still run like clockwork.”

  “Well, of course we could,” Nell retorted impatiently, “but some things can’t be left to chance. I’ve no doubt we could ‘phone it in’—is that the expression they use for putting absolutely no effort into something?—and pull off a lovely event that would be a crowd-pleaser, but a few fresh tweaks will keep things lively. I think we can all agree that last year was the best event we’ve had in years.”

  Kiera listened to the exchange with amusement. It was clear, even to her, that Nell had an agenda. She also knew Nell would reveal it when she was good and ready.

  “Exactly what tweaks do you have in mind?” Luke asked his grandmother suspiciously. “And why are Bryan and I here? You never ask the men in the family to be on the planning committee. You count on us to be the muscle.”

  “Muscle, is it?” Bree mocked, holding up her arm to point to her biceps. “I have muscles, but it’s never gotten me out of these meetings.”

  “Stop with your bickering,” Nell scolded. “I swear, sometimes I marvel at the idea that you’ve all reached adulthood, when you still sound like children.”

  Kiera laughed aloud at that, even as Heather and Shanna looked away to cover their own grins.

  “Now, as I was saying, we need fresh ideas. Anyone?”

  “Let’s eliminate the obvious,” Bree suggested. “You and the church ladies agreed years ago that there would never be any sort of baby contest or beauty pageant as part of the town’s fall festival.”

  “And that’s still the case,” Nell agreed. She paused, her expression thoughtful. “That said, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a lively competition of some kind that will draw interest from around the region. Any thoughts along that line?”

  Shanna’s eyes lit up. “A bachelor auction,” she suggested excitedly. “That could raise a ton of money for the church.”