Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(91)

“Would it be easier if we waited in the car?” Moira inquired testily.

Kiera winced. “No. I want you with me. I really do. I’m just nervous. I want to get this exactly right.”

“To show up Bryan?”

“No, just to prove I know what I’m talking about and can be taken seriously. Otherwise, what use am I?”

“Mum, Bryan takes you seriously. So does everyone else at the pub. You’ve been a huge help with everything Luke’s asked of you. If you’d stop being so stubborn about going back to Ireland, where there’s nothing waiting for you, you could have a permanent job and a good life right here.”

“I appreciate that you want me to stay out of family loyalty, but this is the big test, isn’t it? My make-or-break moment?”

Moira frowned. “Why on earth do you see it that way? There’s nothing make-or-break about it.”

“Of course there is. If I fail, what sort of consultant can I possibly be?”

Moira left the cart to give her mother an impulsive hug. Kate joined in by lifting her arms toward her grandmother. “Up!” she commanded. “Gamma, up!”

Smiling at last, Kiera picked her up. “Okay, my little cheerleader. I can do this.”

“And you might want to start reminding yourself that your presence here is valued because we love you,” Moira said.

Kiera nearly burst into tears at that, but kept her head turned away from her daughter and returned her focus to her shopping until she was back in control.

She calmed a bit as she found chicken stock. “Prepackaged,” she said with a derisive sniff. “But there’s no time to make it from scratch.”

She dismissed the lamb as looking too tough, even though meat cooked in a stew could often be a lesser cut. “Do you suppose the butcher will have any better?” she asked Moira.

“I’m sure he will. He supplies the pub with its meat.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so? I wouldn’t have been wasting my time in here. We’ll see the butcher and then go to the farmers market.”

“It’s the end of the season and the middle of the week. The selection may not be ideal there, either,” Moira warned.

“It will be better than anything here,” Kiera insisted. “And surely it will be organic.”

“Since when has organic mattered to you?” Moira asked, but there was a twinkle in her eyes that suggested she knew the answer and found it telling.

“It matters to Bryan. He takes pride in his garden being organic.” Even as she spoke, she saw Moira trying to hide a smile. “Don’t even go there. I’m not cooking this for Bryan. He won’t even be there tonight.”

“Not a word,” her daughter promised, leading the way back to the car.

An hour later they had both beef and lamb from the butcher that satisfied Kiera’s critical eye. The carrots, onions and thyme were fresh and organically grown.

“We need some pearl barley,” she announced, checking her list. “Where can we find that?”

“There’s a gourmet store that might have it. Let’s check there,” Moira suggested. “They have artisan bread to go with the stew. Perhaps a few bottles of wine, as well. And they have a few prepared salads we can grab for our lunch.”

Panic struck. “Lunch? Is it that time already? I need to start cooking. Everyone’s coming by at six.”

“I’ll have you home in plenty of time,” Moira soothed. “And we can eat a little something while the stew is simmering. You might consider a glass of wine, as well.”

Kiera’s nerves once again steadied. “Thank you, but wine at this hour will only make me sleepy. I need all my wits if this stew is to be any good at all.”

“Mum, you’ve no need to thank me.”

“Perhaps not, but you’ve calmed me down and you suggested the bread and wine. It never crossed my mind to plan something to serve with the stew. What about dessert? Should we get something from a bakery?”

“I’ve already told Bree to ask her sister Jess if the chef at the Inn at Eagle Point will send over something with her. She’s known for her decadent desserts. It’s going to be fine. This is just a chance for you to practice and for family to sample your stew. It’s not a dinner party meant to impress anyone.”

In her head, when she was thinking even a tiny bit rationally, Kiera knew that. Still, it felt like a test, and one she was terrified of failing. In some ways cooking for Nell and the rest of the O’Briens mattered even more than the outcome of the contest at the fall festival. Because of Luke, this was her daughter’s family now, one that had made her feel welcome, as well. She wanted more than that, though. She wanted to belong, to entertain them as an equal, something she couldn’t recall ever wanting quite so badly.

*

“It smells absolutely heavenly in here,” Bree declared when she walked into the cottage just before six. She was the first to arrive, and after giving Kiera a quick hug, she headed directly toward the pot simmering on the stove. Lifting the lid, she breathed in deeply. “If this tastes half as good as it smells, you’ll win this contest hands down.”

The praise was reassuring, but the real test would come later, when the meal was served. Kiera had tasted the stew at least a dozen times and thought it as good as any she’d ever made, but was it good enough? She had no idea.