Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(5)

Her eyes sparkled. “Seriously? You’ll do it?”

“Was there ever any doubt? Now, come here, Moira, my love,” he said, beckoning her closer. “Let’s not waste this effort you’ve gone to tonight. I know you think we’re somehow going to gain more time to ourselves with this plan of yours, but I have my doubts. I think we need to take full advantage of this bit of spontaneity.”

“There will be more chances, I promise,” Moira said, launching herself into his arms. “You’ll see.”

It helped her case that the strap on her gown slid off. After that, Luke could barely think of his own name, much less any arguments he might have wanted to offer.

*

Moira was thoroughly pleased with her efforts the night before. She might have used a little manipulation to get her way, but she was pretty sure Luke was pleased enough with the reward for his acquiescence.

When there was no response to her tap on the kitchen door at Nell’s, she headed for the garden. Sure enough, Nell was on her knees weeding, while her grandfather observed.

She settled into the Adirondack chair next to his. “Shouldn’t you be helping?” she asked him.

“Fool woman chased me off,” he grumbled. “She claims I don’t know a flower from a weed. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to tell the difference this time of year? They’re all just green things poking through the dirt.”

Nell glanced up at that. “Wasn’t a nursery among your business interests in Ireland?”

“Yes, and others ran it quite successfully,” he countered.

Nell turned to Moira. “If he were half as uninvolved in that business as he claims, you’d think by now he’d have let me educate him about the difference,” she said tartly. “I think he finds it convenient not to know.”

Moira laughed. It was obviously a familiar argument. “Something tells me you’re right, Nell. My grandfather has mastered any number of skills over the years. If he’s not grasping this one, there’s a reason for it.”

Nell took off her gardening gloves. When she went to stand up, Moira started to her feet to assist her, only to be waved off.

“The day I can’t get up on my own, I’ll have to give this up,” Nell said. “And since I don’t intend to do that until I’m dead and gone, I’ll manage.”

“At least you got her to take a break for a cup of tea,” Dillon said. “I’ve been trying since I came out here. It’s probably stone-cold by now.”

Still he poured her a cup and set it on the table beside her chair. “If you’d like a cup, you’ll need to run into the house for one,” he told Moira.

“Nothing for me. I just dropped Kate off at day care and stopped by here to give you both an update.”

“You’ve talked to Kiera, then?” Nell said.

“No, only to Luke. He’s agreed to the plan.”

“I’ve no intention of asking how you persuaded him,” her grandfather said. “I’ll just accept the outcome as a blessing.”

“He’s promised to speak to Connor this morning to get him started on the paperwork. Now, if you’ll make an airline reservation for Mum, I think we can put our plan in motion,” Moira told him.

Dillon nodded at once. “I’ll go straight in and do that now, though I’d probably best buy the kind that’s refundable just in case she balks,” he said. He touched Nell’s cheek. “Shall I warm that tea for you?”

“I’m fine with it as it is,” she said, covering his fingers with hers and giving them a brief squeeze.

Moira watched the two of them with a catch in her throat. Would she and Luke have that same sort of devotion after so many years? Of course, Nell and Dillon had fallen in love as teenagers, then separated and had families before being reunited. Perhaps that was why they were so grateful for their second chance.

She turned and caught Nell studying her.

“You’re pleased by the prospect of having your mother here?” Nell asked. “I know the two of you haven’t always had an easy time of it.”

“True enough,” Moira admitted. “But I think I understand the choices she made a little better now. I want her to finally have some of the happiness she deserves. I think she may find that here. There’s a lot to be said for a fresh start.”

“Especially in Chesapeake Shores,” Nell said.

“Yes, especially in Chesapeake Shores.”

Which was why later that very afternoon, as Kate conveniently cried in the background, Moira called her mum and, with a note of desperation in her voice, pleaded for Kiera to come to Chesapeake Shores for an extended visit.

“I don’t need to be at loose ends in a strange country,” Kiera argued. “Peter’s children have offered me a place at the pub for as long as I want to stay on. They’ll even boost my pay if I’m willing to take on managing it, so they can go blissfully on with their own lives.”

“And you’re willing to accept their charity?” Moira asked, putting the worst possible spin on what had no doubt been a genuine and well-meant offer that would benefit all of them, including her mother.

Her comment was greeted with silence, which told Moira her mother had considered the very same thing. They were very much alike in questioning the real motive behind any kindness they might feel was undeserved.