Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(78)
“For tonight, anyway. She and Bryan need some time to figure things out.”
“Tell me this much at least, because my conversation with Luke was completely unsatisfactory. Unlike the other O’Briens, he doesn’t always get the details of the latest gossip straight.”
Kiera laughed despite herself. “Be thankful for that. It’s enough that Mick has a corner on spreading the gossip.”
“Did Bryan know he had a daughter, or did this come as a complete shock to him?” Moira asked. “And where’s the mother? Is he married?”
“He knew. It’s a very long story, but he’s been searching for her for years. He’d only recently given up hope of finding her. And, yes, he was married to her mother.”
“They’re divorced, then?”
“No, Moira, there was no divorce.” At her daughter’s dismayed gasp, she said, “I am not getting into this with you now. There’s a lot that’s yet to be sorted out.”
“I can’t believe you would do such a thing. You’ve been getting serious about a man who’s still married? You, who always gave us these long lectures about values and such.”
Kiera sighed. It was true that she’d tried to teach her children right from wrong, and dating someone married to someone else certainly fell into the forbidden category. None of her lectures had taken serious hold with her sons, but apparently Moira, at least, had heard them well enough to be throwing them back in her face now.
“Moira, not now. I really have to go. If things work out and Bryan can persuade his daughter to come here more often, then you’ll meet Deanna for yourself when you get home. At the least there will be answers to all your questions and explanations if you feel you’re owed those, too.”
Unfortunately, given the tension earlier in the day between Bryan and his daughter and the complexity of the situation, Kiera thought that was simply wishful thinking on her part.
*
Taking a page from Nell’s book, Kiera set about making tea and baking a batch of scones. They wouldn’t measure up to anything Nell might make, but the aroma would make the kitchen especially cozy and perhaps make Deanna feel a little more comfortable. She’d just pulled the scones from the oven, when Deanna came in looking refreshed after a shower and hopefully a bit of a nap.
“How are you feeling?” Kiera asked.
“As if I’ve been put through a wringer,” Deanna admitted. “I knew today wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect it to be so emotional. I felt as if I was being torn between two people, two very different truths. Three, if I add Ash into the mix. Thank you for offering to let me stay here so I’ve time to sort them out.”
“Let that be a lesson, then,” Kiera told her gently, setting a steaming cup of tea before her, and then sitting herself. “Every story has two sides, perhaps more. You’d do well to listen to all of them with an open heart and reach your own conclusion about the truth. It’s often somewhere in the middle.”
“In the gray area,” Deanna suggested with a faint smile, “That’s what Ash is always telling me, when I’m looking for black-and-white truths.”
“He sounds like a wise man.”
“He’s great,” Deanna said enthusiastically. “He really is, but I’ve been awfully hard on him lately since some things about this situation have come to light. I’ve felt betrayed and taken it out on him, partly because it’s hard to blame my mom now that she’s gone.”
“And you adored her,” Kiera said, seeing it in Deanna’s eyes, hearing it in her voice. “You thought she could do no wrong.”
Deanne nodded, looking chagrined. “But, of course, everybody can make mistakes.”
“And still be a fine person,” Kiera suggested.
Deanna took a sip of her tea, her expression thoughtful. “You believe my dad’s version of what happened, don’t you?”
“I have no reason not to,” Kiera said, then felt compelled to add, “But I wasn’t there, Deanna, so I’m basing that on my experience with your father. He’s been honest with me. He told me all about your mother leaving, about his search for the two of you. He’s not spared himself in the telling, either, admitting to the mistakes he made.”
“And about never getting a divorce?” she asked skeptically. “I’ll bet he never mentioned that.”
“Actually he did.”
Deanna looked surprised. “That’s more than my mother and Ash ever told me. I was still very young when they got together. I thought they’d married, maybe eloped or something, and that I’d been adopted by Ash. Instead, they just had our names changed legally. Why do you suppose my mom let me believe such a huge lie?”
“Perhaps she didn’t know how to tell you the truth or were afraid you’d judge her for the decisions she’d made.”
“I suppose. Ash thought she was afraid my dad would find us if she went to court to file for divorce, but I don’t think it was because she was scared of him.”
“Perhaps she was afraid she wasn’t immune to him and he’d try to persuade her to come home, back to a time when she’d been unhappy.”
Deanna nodded slowly. “Maybe. I wish I knew for sure what she was thinking.”