Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(17)
“Moira, for starters, I don’t think you need to worry that your mother has forgotten Peter or her feelings for him,” Luke said quietly. “I’ve found her in tears more than once when I’ve come home late at night, and each time she’s said how much she misses him.”
Moira looked startled. “You’ve found my mother in tears and never told me?”
“I caught her in private moments. They weren’t mine to reveal,” he said. “As for Bryan, that’s another thing about which you’re worrying for no reason.”
“I know what I saw,” she said stubbornly.
Luke laughed. “And I’ve seen it, too, on Bryan’s side, but neither of them is prepared to do a single thing about it. Bryan, at least, is in denial that he has any feelings for your mother at all. He views her as a necessary nuisance, or so he claims. And your mother sees only that they’re battling wits over control of the kitchen, since he’s rejected every suggestion she’s dared to make since I encouraged her to speak up. I’m seriously tempted to make her his sous chef, just to watch the fireworks.”
“Don’t you dare!” Moira said, then paused and chuckled at last. “Though it might be fun to watch. Bryan’s always seemed a bit closed off and quiet. I like him a lot, but the truth is we know very little about him or his personal life outside of the pub. Seeing the two of them rile each other could be entertaining.”
“Well, it’s something to consider, once your mother’s status is clarified and we can officially put her on the payroll,” Luke said. “I think she’s struggling with how to handle things with her status unresolved. I hope Connor’s right that the paperwork will go through soon. She needs that to feel secure about speaking out.”
Suddenly Kate released her grip on his knee and hit the floor with a solid thud. Her cries filled the pub. Moira picked her up and cuddled her close.
“I suppose she tired of not getting any attention from either of us,” she said.
“Following in your footsteps, perhaps,” Luke teased. “Weren’t you staging your own cry for attention when you came in the door just now?”
“I suppose you’ll hold that over my head,” she grumbled.
Instead, Luke pulled his wife and daughter onto his lap. He tucked a finger under Moira’s chin and turned her face toward him, then kissed her soundly. “If you ever need reassurance about how important you are in my life, all you need to do is say so,” he told her solemnly. “You and Kate are my world.”
“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.”