“Thank you so much for inviting me. These are for you,” Rachel replied as she handed Mary the flowers.
“These are beautiful. I simply adore flowers.”
Rachel smiled. “Yeah, I was telling Daniel how I was missing the warmth of the sun back home and needed a little dose of spring.”
Daniel returned her smile with a broad grin, his cheeks still rosy from the cold. “Well, I got a sidewalk to shovel, especially if I want to get one of those muffins you guys are going to be baking.”
“Son, you better get out there, then,” Mary teased as she playfully swatted at Daniel, who was already heading back outside.
Before Mary could lead Rachel to the kitchen, a little girl with thick, bouncy, auburn hair cut into a bob rammed into Mary.
“This, Rachel, is my prettiest little granddaughter, Melanie.”
Rachel leaned down to greet the child, who was, indeed, quite pretty. Her skin was milky, her cherub lips were pink like little rosebuds, and her eyes, though a different shade than Liam’s and Daniel’s, were green with flecks of amber and sheltered behind thick lashes.
“Melanie, this is Rachel.” Mary peeled the little girl from her waist and led her closer to their visitor.
“Hello, Melanie, it’s nice to meet you. And your grandmother is right. You are such a pretty girl,” Rachel said in a soft voice, trying to sound soothing and gentle.
“Thank you,” Melanie whispered as her eyes twinkled and her chubby cheeks rounded into a sheepish grin, much like Daniel’s.
Rachel went on to ask Melanie several questions: how old she was, what grade she was in, her favorite animal, and other simple icebreakers to get the child to open up, which she quickly did.
After they got acquainted, Mary led them down a hall, where Rachel spotted an archway to her right that led to what appeared to be a den. Two older men sat inside, engrossed in newspapers, one puffing on an old pipe. As the sweet, tantalizing tobacco smoke reached Rachel’s nose, Mary knocked softly against one side of the archway.
“We have a visitor, gentlemen,” Mary announced, pointing to the younger of the two men. “Rachel that is my husband, Pat, and his father, who we all call Grandpa Paddy. My friend Rachel is here to do a little baking with me,” she said proudly.
Rachel emerged from behind Mary and gingerly waved at them. “Good morning, I’m Rachel. Very nice to meet you both.”
“Ah, you’re the new principal down at the school where my grandson teaches?” Grandpa Paddy asked in his thick brogue as he looked at her over the rims of the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He too had the famed O’Brien eyes, which danced with mischief.
Rachel loved the sound of accents, especially Irish, Scottish, or English ones. The way words rolled off their foreign tongues gave every word an unusual, almost fairy-tale-like flare. “Yes, that would be me.” Rachel smiled back.
Liam’s father congratulated her and told her what a fine place Birch Valley was, then asked Rachel to tell him more about her background and family history. Mesmerized by his charm and his accent, Rachel enjoyed talking to him. After a few minutes, Mary took her arm and escorted her out of the den, telling her husband and father-in-law they could visit with her at dinner.
“If I didn’t steer you away from that old goat, you would’ve been talking to him for hours,” Mary explained.
“I didn’t mind. Your father-in-law is a delight. His accent is so charming,” Rachel gushed.
“Well, charming or not, that man is usually busy trying his hardest to get on my last nerve, or anyone’s, for that matter. He’s quite the character, but he seems to have taken a liking to you as well,” Mary said as she gave her a kind smile.
***
The large, open kitchen was several feet from the den, and had an array of baking ingredients were lined up along the island inside. As they entered, a slender young woman whom Melanie was now hugging looked up from donning an apron like Mary’s and gave Rachel a slight, unsure wave.
“This is my lovely and only daughter Maggie,” Mary said, giving Melanie a tickle when she passed by them, causing the girl to squeal.
“Nice to meet you,” Rachel said politely as she took Maggie’s hand.
“Same here. I’ve heard so much about you from Mom. Looks like I’m also getting a much-needed cooking lesson,” Maggie said with a slight, nervous laugh.
Maggie had a plain sort of beauty with pale skin and chestnut hair bound up in a high ponytail from which a few strands had escaped to fall down her neck. Those incredible O’Brien eyes dominated her face. Though polite, she didn’t come off as warm and friendly as Daniel had. Rather, she seemed unsure of their visitor. Rachel didn’t take offense, though. She understood that Maggie was sizing her up, attempting to understand why her mother had invited this strange woman into her home.
“I’m here because those muffins your mom makes are out of this world. I’m pretty awful in the kitchen,” Rachel added lightheartedly.
“Yeah, we do a lot of takeout too, which I know is terrible. I’m spoiled in Seattle. We have so many options for dining out,” Maggie commented while her mother turned on the double oven.
“You ladies ready to do some baking?” Mary asked cheerfully as she began setting out several large, glass mixing bowls.
Rachel watched Mary flutter around the kitchen, a domestic butterfly, completely in her element.
“I don’t know how she does it,” Maggie said as she watched her mother.
“Me either, and she looks so happy about it too.” Rachel looked on as Mary pulled out different ingredients from the cupboards. “Oh wow, so is this like from-scratch type of baking?”
“Nothing comes out of a box when it comes to my mom cooking.”
Mary placed her hands on her plump hips. “Let’s get started.”
The women had baked several batches of muffins when two little preschool-age boys ran into the room. Rachel raised her eyebrows in surprise when she realized they were identical twins.
The man who entered calling after them had the same green O’Brien eyes, but he looked different from the rest of the family. He was tall like Liam, but his dark hair and features gave him a sense of mystery and sex appeal that was completely different than that of his brother. The beginnings of a beard peppered with gray outlined his strong jaw, and he parted his sensual lips to greet his mother as he locked eyes with Rachel.
She’d thought Liam made her feel nervous. This man caused a whole array of emotions to rush through her.
“Patrick, love, this is Rachel.” Mary grabbed his hand and pulled him over. “Rachel, I present to you my oldest son, Patrick,” she announced playfully.
“How do you do?” He extended his long arm. His sleeves were rolled up, showing muscles rippling under a light spray of fine, dark hair.
“Nice to meet you.” Her palms turned sweaty, and she used a nearby dish towel to wipe them.
“Come on, boys, let’s go see where Uncle Daniel’s hiding,” Patrick said, corralling his children.
Mary eyed Rachel, who felt a little flustered. “Aren’t Patrick’s twins the cutest little guys?” she asked.
“Adorable. I love their matching overalls. Too cute,” Maggie said.
“They are really cute. How old are they?” Rachel asked, shaking off her stupor and taking a dirty mixing bowl to the sink.
“Those sweet little things are three years old. I get to watch them while Patrick is at the shop,” Mary explained as she reached into the oven to check on another batch of muffins.
“Oh, what does Patrick do?” Rachel asked, trying to sound casual. She was still recovering from how incredibly handsome he was. She could only imagine what Chelsea would think.
“He and Daniel run my husband’s old business that his father, Grandpa Paddy, started. It’s the construction company here in town. That large metal building just off Main. You probably have driven past it.” Mary brought the warm muffins to the kitchen island to cool.
“God, those smell amaz
ing.” Rachel inhaled deeply.
“And now you both know how to make them,” Mary added, stacking the muffins that had already cooled onto a glass platter.
Next, Mary told them the basics of a pot-roast dinner. Rachel learned how to make homemade biscuits as well.
The aroma of the cooking meat simmering in veggies and its own juices made Rachel’s mouth water, and apparently, she wasn’t the only one, as each member of the family kept coming into the kitchen to ask when dinner was going to be ready.
Rachel was helping butter some biscuits Mary had pulled out of the oven when she felt Liam enter. She could somehow smell his cologne through the thick scent of the cooking dinner. Trying to keep her back to him as Liam talked to his mother and sister, she lost her grip on the butter knife and sent it clattering to the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel said, quickly bending down to grab it.
“Oh, that’s quite fine, dear,” Mary assured her as she got Rachel another butter knife.
Maggie laughed when Liam retreated from the kitchen, and Rachel realized how painfully obvious her reaction to him had been.
“Good grief, what was that about? I just have to ask,” Maggie teased. Though she had started off wary of Rachel, the two had bonded over their lack of cooking skills and found they had quite a bit in common, especially the time they’d spent living in large cities. Rachel could see herself becoming good friends with Maggie, and she adored Melanie, who had had enough of baking and was off playing with her cousins.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Liam and I work together, as you probably know.” Rachel shot Mary a look.
“I may have mentioned it to Maggie, yes,” Mary confirmed.
“Yeah, I know you’re his new boss, but what gives?” Maggie pestered as she walked just a few feet away to get a stack of dishes from the hutch in the dining room.
“Nothing really. We just don’t see eye to eye on some stuff at the school,” Rachel tried to explain while remaining as vague as possible.
“It doesn’t look like nothing. You could cut the tension with a knife, it was so thick. Well, or drop the knife,” Maggie teased as she proceeded to set the table.
“I think you and my son need to sit down and really come to some sort of agreement on this whole matter,” Mary continued as she gathered glasses from the cupboard above the sink. “I know about the whole testing thing. He ran it down for me, and so did Karen. Personally, I think change can be a good thing. I know you are just doing your job, and ultimately you want what you think is best for the students and the school. But so does Liam. He doesn’t like having to grill those kids on filling in bubbles and worrying about a bunch of tests. So you both need to meet in the middle.”
“But Mary, Liam flat-out refused to use the guidelines I created.” Rachel was starting to feel defensive.
“Mom, Rachel’s right. Liam’s being a little stubborn about the whole thing, and Rachel is his boss,” Maggie said from the dining room.
“I know. He’s been acting a bit odd since you came here, to be honest, Rachel. Liam’s normally so easy-going and lets things roll off his back without making too much of a fuss,” Mary said as she brought several glasses to the table.
“Well, I need his support. The other teachers are hardly wanting to comply, and they seem to look to Liam for what to do. They take his lead.”
“Maybe I can talk to him,” Mary said.
Rachel shook her head. “No, we’re having a staff meeting next week. I’ll try and sit down with him and hammer this out before then.”
Maggie cleared her throat and motioned to Rachel that Liam was entering the room.
***
Liam
As Liam walked into the dining room, Rachel quickly ducked back into the kitchen. He’d been surprised to see her in there when he’d arrived earlier. His mother had conveniently failed to mention she would be coming to dinner.
Rachel was all Daniel and Patrick had been talking about for the last hour. Patrick thought she was great and couldn’t understand why Liam had a problem with her. Daniel thought she seemed nice and was gorgeous. He then suggested Liam should try to get to know her better on a way more personal level.
His brothers didn’t realize that Liam had been struggling to keep his thoughts about her professional. Seeing her in the kitchen, mingling with his family and doing a great job of making everyone fall in love with her, possibly even him, didn’t help. She acted as though she wanted nothing to do with him, and that bothered him a great deal, but he wasn’t about to let his brothers know that.
Mary declined Liam’s offer to help her set the table and told him to round up the rest of the O’Briens because dinner was almost ready.
“Hey, Liam, so what’s up with you and Rachel?” Maggie asked as she trailed after her brother.
Liam huffed. “Nothing, why?” He had heard her chatting and laughing away with Rachel as though they were long-lost friends and was curious to know what Rachel had said to her.
“You guys didn’t really acknowledge each other a little bit ago, and I just thought that was kind of weird, considering you work together.”
“I don’t know,” Liam said, softening to her questions. He had always been close to Maggie and felt he could tell her just about anything.
“Well, it’s something for sure.” Maggie put her hands on her narrow hips.
Liam leaned against the wall and carefully chose his words. “I think things are strained because we don’t agree on some stuff at work.”
“That’s basically what she said. But I think there’s something else going on here.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think you guys are attracted to each other and neither of you want to admit it.”
“Mags, I think you got it wrong. She’s all business. The only thing we have in common is that we both work at the school. Who knows how long she will even be there.” Liam denied having any feelings for Rachel and explained that they were completely different people who had nothing in common.
“Okay, if that’s your story and you’re sticking to it, I’ll let it go—for now.” A playful grin crept across Maggie’s lips.
“Thank you,” Liam said, relieved.
***
Rachel
Rachel sat next to Maggie and her daughter at the large dining room table, and Liam and Daniel sat directly across from them. As the sounds of chatter and utensils clinking against plates echoed off the walls, Rachel quietly took in the affection this family shared and how ordinary moments were somehow special to them.
Liam’s gaze would constantly find hers, even when he was busy laughing at something silly the twins had said or as he listened to something Melanie was telling him.
Daniel was spooning more vegetables onto his plate as he said, “Wow, dinner is great.”
Patrick nodded as he turned his attention to Rachel. “So, Rachel, how are you liking Birch Valley?”
“It’s a very nice place. Everyone has been really kind, and the students are great,” she replied, feeling Liam’s gaze burning into her. Avoiding it, she focused her attention on Patrick.
A thought rolled into her mind suddenly. Chelsea would have just loved being here. She wouldn’t have enjoyed the whole cooking part, but getting to stare at the handsome O’Brien brothers would have been well worth the trouble.
“Well, I’m glad. I’m sure the students and the staff are pleased you’re there.” Patrick smirked at Liam.
Liam shot him a glare, and Rachel licked her lips in nervousness. She went on to explain how different the school was compared to the one she’d worked at in California. Liam’s family then bombarded her with an array of questions, especially about her home state, and she graciously answered each one. Sadness washed over her when she told them about her family, but she perked up when she talked about Chelsea and about the ocean, both of which she missed terribly.
All too soon, dinner was finished, and the men retreated elsewhere while the women cleared t
he table. As Mary broke out her Tupperware, Rachel playfully reminded Liam’s mother to pack her cut of the muffins before trying once again to encourage Mary to let the bakery sell the yummy treats.
Rachel exchanged numbers with Maggie and said good-bye to the children. As she hovered near the front door, fully loaded with goodies, she glanced at Liam, who was on the floor playing with one of the twins. She hoped to leave unnoticed, but he looked up at her and stood quickly.
“Here, let me help you out to your car,” Liam offered as he grabbed their coats. Mary threw a look to Maggie, then raised her eyebrows approvingly at Liam.
“Oh, it’s fine. I got it,” Rachel said, despite struggling to balance the Tupperware and her purse in her hands.
Not allowing her to shoo him away, Liam grabbed several of the containers as he worked the door open. Giving up, Rachel took her coat from him and waved good-bye to the family. Daniel gave him a thumbs-up as Liam closed the door behind them.
“Really, it wasn’t necessary for you to come out here,” Rachel stammered while she fussed with her keys.
“I wanted to.” Liam placed the containers in the trunk of her car as she stood beside him.
They then looked at each other in silence, waiting for the other speak. Snow had started to fall gently, landing on Rachel’s hair. Liam carefully swept it away and looked down at her. Then he leaned in and planted his warm lips on hers.
Bolts of shock blasted through her as she accepted his kiss. The connection was hot and electric, but his lips on hers were warm and soft. It was perfect.
Liam lifted his head, searching her eyes as if waiting for a response.
She felt dizzy as she begged the panic that had suddenly reared up in her to vanish. “I need to go.”
Disappointment flickered through his eyes, but he simply nodded and opened the driver’s side door for her, then closed it after she got in.
Almost too stunned to drive home, Rachel told herself she had to regroup as she pulled out of the driveway. She wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened and wondered if she had just imagined it. She was thankful that the drive to her home would be brief.
Loving Liam (Cloverleaf #1) Page 14