“Ah,” Sam said, understanding at last. “And then?”
“I bet if we use our imaginations, we’ll be able to think of something.”
“Already on it,” Sam said. In fact, he was several wicked steps ahead.
* * *
Carrie obviously knew kids pretty darn well, Sam concluded as he tucked Bobby into bed five minutes after they returned home after eating ice cream. Bobby barely mustered up a mild protest at the early hour.
“Told you,” Carrie said, smiling up at him when he joined her on the deck out back.
She’d opened a bottle of red wine and poured two glasses. When he picked his up, she tapped hers to it. “Cheers!”
Sam held her gaze. “It was a good day, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. “It felt right somehow, you and Bobby being there with me.”
Sam drew in a deep breath, then admitted, “It felt that way to me, too. The last time I was there it was a little intimidating.”
“O’Briens, cumulatively anyway, can be a scary bunch. They’ve been known to terrify me from time to time. One-on-one, though, they’re just family.” She gave him a long look. “I think they’re all wondering how long it’s going to be before you’re a part of the family.” When Sam opened his mouth to speak, she held up a hand. “Let them wonder, Sam. That’s on them. You and I have agreed we’re taking one step at a time.”
To his surprise, she didn’t seem to be bothered by the slow, steady pace toward an uncertain ending. He smiled at her deliberate nonchalance.
“Any thoughts on how we’ll know when we get to the last step?” he asked, taking her hand and weaving their fingers together as they sat side by side with darkness falling.
“Since I’ve never gotten there with anyone before, I’m not sure, but based on evidence I’ve seen around me, I think we’ll recognize it when it happens.”
“Are you okay with waiting?”
She turned to him then, her expression earnest. “Do we have a choice? Sam, I like you. No, more than that, I think I may be falling in love with you, but it’s not a one-sided decision. I can wait till you get there, and then we can decide what happens next.”
“Some people think sex comes into play at some point,” he said, fighting a smile and a rush of hormones stirred just by the suggestion.
“Don’t think for one second that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” she said. “You?”
“It’s front and center right now, as a matter of fact.”
He saw her lips curve at that. Then she sighed.
“Good to know.”
“But it’s not going to happen, is it?” he said with regret.
“Not tonight with the possibility that Bobby could wake up and wander in on us,” she said.
“Run away with me,” he pleaded with some urgency.
Carrie laughed. “Much as I might want to, I can wait. Anticipation is half the fun.”
“It’s not the half I’d like to get to right now,” Sam grumbled. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, then took each finger into his mouth. He heard her breath hitch, even as his blood hummed. “You wouldn’t want to come over and share this lounge chair with me, would you?”
“Sounds dangerous,” she said.
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
A second later, she was stretched out beside him, her head on his shoulder, her body fit snugly against his. It was a form of sweet torture to be sure, but it definitely clarified the direction in which they were heading.
21
Carrie was going through the stack of résumés on her desk once again, hoping to spot the perfect candidate for assistant manager. Unfortunately, she kept getting distracted by memories of her evening with Sam.
The more time they spent together, the closer they were getting. And, she thought wryly, the more frustrated they were becoming. Despite their reaffirmation just last night that they wouldn’t sleep together with Bobby in the house, that rule was getting more and more difficult to abide by.
Nor were they in any position to suddenly take off for a day or two on their own, even though Kevin and Shanna had offered more than once to let Bobby have a sleepover at their house. They both had too much work right now to take advantage of the offer.
Plus, if she were being totally honest, Carrie wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with all the questions that were bound to follow if the family discovered they’d gone on a trip together. With O’Briens that was tantamount to an admission that a wedding was right around the corner. Inquiries along that line would add way too much pressure.
And then there was Marc. As diligent as she’d been about ignoring his texts and calls, his insistent attempts to contact her kept that part of her life very much alive. She didn’t want any part of that old life, but she couldn’t quite forget it—or him—completely. What did that say about her feelings for Sam?
Since wrestling with all of this was getting her nowhere, she sighed and forced her attention back to the résumés. She reached the bottom of the pile and concluded that there was nothing she’d missed the first time around. There simply were no good candidates.
Just then, a tap on the front door of the center startled her. Most people just walked in, even with the closed sign on the door. She hurried across the room, wondering if there was some inspection she hadn’t known about or possibly a parent desperate to find child care and hoping not to be turned away if they came in person.
Instead, she discovered Lucy on the porch.
“Hi,” Lucy said, shifting nervously from foot to foot, a tentative smile on her face. “I know you must be swamped with details, but do you have some time to talk to me?”
“For you, absolutely,” Carrie said with delight. “What brings you here? Come on in. I have some bottled water if you’re thirsty, but not much else.”
“That’s okay. I’m good. Well, mostly good. Actually I’m a little rattled, because I don’t know how you’re going to react to this, but Mom told me I had to try.”
Carrie led the way to her cramped office, then regarded her nervous guest with confusion. “Lucy, you’re always welcome here. After everything you and your mom have done for me, are still doing for me, I consider you to be much more than mentors. You’re friends. Now have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind. Is your mom in town with you? She didn’t mention you were planning a visit.”
Lucy shook her head. “No, she’s been at the day-care center since dawn as usual. but we did come down yesterday. It was a last-minute thing. I talked her into it. She didn’t want to admit it when we were here the last time, but she fell in love with Chesapeake Shores the same way I did.”
Carrie laughed. “Everybody does. Did you go back to Brady’s?”
“Actually we just grabbed a sandwich at Sally’s Café, and then spent some time with a real estate agent, a woman named Susie Franklin. She said she’s your cousin.”
Ah, so that explained Susie’s absence from yesterday’s dinner. Carrie had feared she was avoiding Sam and Bobby. Maybe her, as well.
“Susie’s great, and she certainly knows every single piece of property in the town. Are you all seriously thinking of relocating? That would be fantastic!” She frowned as a thought crossed her mind. “Your mom’s not worried that I’ll think she’s watching over my shoulder, is she?”
“Not at all. I actually think I’ve just about convinced her that it’s time to retire, or will be when her current clients are too old to need her anymore. That’ll take another two or three years, but for that long she could commute, just like you told her.”
“She’d close her center?” Carrie asked, startled.
“She’s done really well with it, but to be honest, she’s had no life. I’ll be graduating from college this year, so that financial burden will be behind her.”
“How were you able to persuade your mom to consider this move?” Carrie asked.
“I told her she’s not getting any younger.”
Carrie winced,
but said nothing.
“I told her it’s way past time for her to do something for herself,” Lucy continued earnestly. “I think this town is the place for her to reinvent herself. She’s starting to agree.”
Her expression brightened with the bubbly enthusiasm that made her so great with kids. “We actually made an offer on a house yesterday,” she revealed. “Your cousin called last night and the offer was accepted. My mom turned pale, but I really think she’s as excited as I am, just a little scared about taking such a huge step.”
“Oh, my gosh, that’s incredible!” Carrie said. “I’m so happy you’re going to be close by.” She studied Lucy and saw that she was still a bundle of nerves. “But you didn’t come by just to share that news with me, did you?”
“No,” she admitted, then drew in a deep breath. “I came to ask if you’d consider hiring me, part-time till I graduate in the spring, and then maybe full-time.”
Carrie’s jaw dropped. “You’re serious? You’d want to work with me here?”
“I like you. I can already tell I’ll love this town. This facility is beautiful. You’ve created a wonderful environment for kids. For me it’s exactly where I’d want to wind up after graduation. I don’t like where we’re located now, even if it would mean taking over an established day care.” She shrugged. “I might as well seize the opportunity now, if there is one.”
“And your mom doesn’t care that you’re abandoning her?”
“Like I said, she’s already cutting back. Pretty soon she won’t have a place for me, anyway. She was the one who suggested this, as a matter of fact. Do you still need any help? Please tell me I’m not too late.”
Carrie stood up and threw her arms around the girl. “You, my friend, are the answer to my prayers. I’ve hired a couple of promising employees, but I’d despaired of ever finding a good candidate for assistant manager. You have the experience and qualifications for that, if you’re interested. I know it wouldn’t be full-time at first, but I think we could get through this year okay till you’re finished with school. I know how good you are, Lucy. Not just with the kids, but with the business side of things. When your mom was hitting me with too much information that sounded like a foreign language, you turned it into plain English. Please, please say you’ll do it.”
A smile spread across Lucy’s face. “I came in here scared to death to ask you for a favor, and now it almost seems as if I’m doing one for you.”
“You would be. Bringing you on board would free up a little of my time.”
A knowing expression passed over Lucy’s face. “So there is a guy? I knew it. I told Mom you were too fantastic not to have a special man hidden away.”
An image of Sam came to mind, of the way his kisses continued to knock her socks off, of how much more she thought there could be between them. “Yeah, there is a man,” she conceded. “Not that making a success of this business isn’t my top priority right now.”
“Of course it is, but I’ve been telling Mom for years that her life shouldn’t be all about me and business. I think when Dad left it took something out of her. I’m hoping living here will give her back that part of herself.”
“Chesapeake Shores does have a way of creating that kind of magic,” Carrie said. “So, except for talking salary and schedule, do we have a deal?”
Lucy nodded eagerly. “We have a deal.”
For the very first time since she’d set her career plan into motion, Carrie was truly filled with confidence that she would succeed. And, in time, with Lucy’s energy, exuberance and experience on board, she’d be able to get the sort of balance into her life that her mom and every other woman in the O’Brien clan worked so hard to achieve.
* * *
When Sam walked into Sally’s to grab an iced tea and a sandwich to go, the black Cadillac Escalade with its uniformed driver and handsome, semifamous occupant was the talk of the café. Sam overheard just enough to make his blood run cold.
He nodded toward the gossiping trio of female tourists in the closest booth, then asked Sally, “What’s that about?”
“That designer, the one Carrie used to work for, was in here a few minutes ago looking for her. Obviously those women don’t know the kind of man he is or they wouldn’t be acting like fools over him.”
“Any idea what he wanted, aside from Carrie, that is?” Sam asked, his heart in his throat. Was this it? Had she finally responded to those texts and messages she’d claimed to be ignoring? Was this Carrie’s chance to go back to the life that so obviously suited her? He’d never understood how any sane man could let her go. Had Reynolds finally seen the light and come to claim her? He’d charmed her once. Could he do it again?
“I’m afraid he didn’t fill me in on his plans,” Sally said dryly. “I am, after all, just the owner of a small-town café in the middle of nowhere.”
Sam smiled at her attitude. “A bit of a snob, was he?”
“More like an oily snake charmer,” she corrected. “I recognize the type. Smooth as silk if they think it will get ’em what they want.”
“And did he get what he wanted?” Sam asked.
“You mean did I tell him where to find Carrie?” She shrugged. “If I hadn’t, someone else would have. Of course, I did direct him up to Mick’s place, not to the day care. Let him do a little explaining to Carrie’s grandfather, if he wants to get to her.”
Impulsively, Sam planted a kiss on Sally’s cheek. “You truly are a treasure.”
“No question about it,” she said, laughing. “Now take your lunch and go. If you don’t mind a piece of advice, I suggest you eat it with Carrie at the day care, instead of going back to your own office and stewing all afternoon.”
“You suggesting I should stake my claim?”
“It wouldn’t hurt. I put an extra sandwich in there, just in case you have more sense than pride.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll definitely take that under advisement.”
“See that you do.”
Sam left the café, then drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the clean salty air. This fresh, invigorating air was something Carrie wouldn’t get if she jetted off across the globe again. Who was he, though, to try to stand in her way? What could he offer that this Marc Reynolds couldn’t offer a hundred times over?
Reason told him to look around. Chesapeake Shores was what she claimed to want. She seemed to have deep feelings for him, too. And she certainly had feelings for Bobby. Family, she claimed was her top priority, and her new day-care center promised a deep sense of professional fulfillment.
Was that enough? It would be for the woman he thought he’d come to know.
Just in case you have more sense than pride. Sally’s words rang in his head, taunting him. He wanted to believe he did, but he also had a healthy respect for being realistic. This might be Carrie’s chance to grab everything she’d lost. And if that’s what she needed, what she wanted, he wasn’t going to be the one to try to stop her, even though in his opinion Marc Reynolds had already shown himself to be unworthy of a woman with Carrie’s kindness and generosity. If he had the chance, he’d tell her that, too.
He took yet another deep, cleansing breath and turned toward the newspaper office. If they were going to make it, he had to trust Carrie to make the right choice. He had to have faith that she would choose him—and family and home—over flash and glamour.
But as strong as his faith in her might be, it was going to be a very long afternoon.
* * *
Mick had gone outside with his father’s pipe and was enjoying the fall afternoon, when the big black SUV drove up. His gaze narrowed as he recognized the perfectly groomed man who climbed out of the back, every hair in place, his clothes impeccable. Mick’s blood promptly came to a boil, but he could hear Megan’s voice in his head telling him to wait and see what the designer wanted before kicking him off his land and out of town.
“Mr. O’Brien?”
“That’s me,” Mick confirmed. “What can I
do for you, Mr. Reynolds?”
The man’s expression didn’t register so much as a hint of surprise. Clearly he expected to be recognized wherever he went. Another black mark, in Mick’s opinion.
“I’m looking for Carrie.”
“Oh? A little late for that, isn’t it?”
The direct remark hit its target. Reynolds looked taken aback.
“Letting her leave was a foolish decision on my part,” he conceded. “I’m afraid I underestimated her value to my business.”
“But not to you?”
The man looked completely befuddled by the question, which told Mick all he needed to know. Marc Reynolds hadn’t shown up here because he’d discovered some deep, abiding love for Carrie. He was here because of what she could do for him. Well, not if Mick had anything to say about it. No man was going to get a second chance to break his girl’s heart.
“I doubt she’s interested in anything you’re offering,” Mick told him.
“Shouldn’t you let her decide that for herself?”
“More than likely,” Mick said, taking a long draw on his pipe and releasing the fragrant smoke into the air. “But I’m comfortable with telling you to get out of my town and out of my girl’s life.”
“Mick O’Brien!”
Mick winced. Unfortunately he hadn’t taken into account that Ma was inside. Apparently she’d overheard enough to guess the identity of their unwanted guest and to figure out what Mick was up to.
Marc Reynolds’s gaze immediately went to Nell, who emerged from the house and was regarding both of them with displeasure.
“You must be Carrie’s great-grandmother. Nell, isn’t that right?”
“I am.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, about all of you. Family means the world to Carrie.”
“Now that’s the first thing we’ve agreed on,” Mick said. “Which is why she belongs right here in Chesapeake Shores.”
Ma put a hand on his shoulder. “She knows that, Mick. But she needs to be the one to explain it to Mr. Reynolds. I’d say the two of them have some unfinished business.”
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