The Summer Garden. Sherryl Woods

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       “Oh, no, as I’ve told you in my letters, he’s perfectly serious about it,” Nell replied. “All of that wandering that he and Moira did—it had a purpose, after all. He’s even been coming over here every morning to learn how to cook some of the traditional Irish dishes.”

       She laughed, thinking about how hard Luke had struggled to pay attention to careful measurements. He didn’t have the temperament or patience for it, but, God bless him, he was trying. “It’s taken more than one attempt,” she admitted, “but he mastered Irish stew yesterday.”

       Dillon chuckled. “Does he have an aptitude for cooking?”

       Nell sighed. “Let’s just say I expect to spend more than a few of my days over there supervising unless he breaks down and hires an experienced cook, which would be my recommendation.”

       “Perhaps Moira can pitch in and help. I’ve discovered that she’s not bad in the kitchen when she takes the time to cook a meal.”

       “That would definitely be a blessing,” Nell agreed. “Do you think she’d be willing?”

       “I think she’ll do anything to spend time with Luke.” He hesitated. “Nell, I truly hope I’m not setting her up to have her heart broken.”

       “That’s not up to either of us,” Nell responded decisively. “We’re just getting them to the playing field. They’ll decide how the game goes. Luke’s a good man, Dillon.”

       “I know that. Even when the two of them were wandering about the countryside, I knew she was in safe hands.”

       Nell laughed delightedly. “Oh, I can’t wait for you both to get here and to see how this plays out. For too many years, Mick’s gotten all the credit in the family for matchmaking. I want to prove that I’m just as clever at it.”

       “And here I thought it was my arrival you’d be looking forward to,” Dillon chided.

       “Now, that, my dear old friend,” she said, “goes without saying.”

       “I’ll see you very soon, Nell. It’s only been a few months, and I already miss you even more than I did the first time you left me all those years ago. At our age we don’t have time to waste like this.”

       She knew exactly what he was saying, especially since the little wake-up call she’d gotten when she’d seen her doctor. In fact, she was thinking more and more about how she wanted to spend whatever time she did have left on this earth, and it wasn’t alone.

       Moira debated emailing Luke to tell him about her plans to come to Chesapeake Shores with her grandfather, but she hadn’t heard from him for three straight days. Even making allowances for how busy he was, she found that disconcerting. And annoying.

       Perhaps this trip was a mistake, after all. She finally had a chance to start a real business of her own. From the moment Peter had hung her pictures, there had been even more inquiries from the customers. She’d managed one session with a baby that had gone extraordinarily well, and had spread the word about her talent even more.

       With regret she’d had to turn down Tara O’Rourke’s wedding and the baby shower, because both were being held while she was to be away. After saying no, she waged an internal debate over the decision. If Luke couldn’t even send a bloody email—which he hadn’t for several days now—how much time would he have for her once she’d arrived?

       Still stewing over Luke’s silence, she left the pub on her break and walked the few blocks to her grandfather’s tobacco shop.

       “Don’t you look as if you just lost your best friend,” he said, studying her worriedly. “Shouldn’t you be getting excited about this trip we’re taking in a few days?”

       “I’ve been reconsidering, to be honest,” she said.

       “Now why on earth would you do that? The plans are all made.”

       She explained about the photography gigs she was sacrificing.

       “Is that the real reason, then?” her grandfather asked. “Or does it have something to do with Luke? Has he been neglecting you? It’s only a few weeks until his pub opens. It’s to be expected that he has a lot on his mind.”

       “Of course you’d defend him,” she said irritably.

       Her grandfather’s gaze narrowed. “And why would I do that when you’re my family and it’s your feelings that count?”

       “Because he’s Nell’s precious grandson,” she said, though she knew better. As he’d said, his first loyalty would always be to her. She might not have known that over the years when he and her mother had been estranged, but he’d proved it time and again recently. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I know better.”

       “I hope you do,” he chided. “I just don’t want to see you get in your own way by stirring up problems when there are none. Have you told Luke you’re coming to Chesapeake Shores?”

       She shook her head. “I thought it might be best to surprise him.”

       “I agree, and I say we need to stick with that plan, unless you’ve decided he no longer matters quite so much to you.”

       The problem, of course, was that he mattered too much. “What if we get there and he has no interest in spending time with me?” she asked, then held up a hand. “And before you ask, that’s not the same as having no time to spend with me.”

       “I believe I know the difference,” he said, his expression amused.

       “Well, what do I do then? Leave?”

       “And give the man the satisfaction of having run you off on your very first trip to America?” he asked incredulously. “That’s surely not the Moira I know.”

       She laughed. “No, it’s surely not,” she said. “I’m letting myself be defeated before I even know whether there’s to be a fight.” She sobered and looked into her grandfather’s eyes. “Does love make all of us just a little crazy?”

       “You wouldn’t be the first to lose sight of who you truly are,” he admitted. “But I’ll be right there to remind you. I doubt you’ll stay lost for long. Keep in mind the woman that Luke chose to spend all that time with during his stay in Ireland. She captured his fancy. I feel certain she’ll do so again.”

       Moira wished she were as confident of that. She was already in her twenties, but she swore that sometimes she felt as if she were no more than an unsophisticated sixteen-year-old country girl. That had never been more true than when she’d gotten a glimpse of the older woman who’d flown over to Ireland to be with Luke for a few days right after the family had left.

       Luke had readily explained who Kristen was, explained how they’d come to be together and dismissed any notion that she meant anything to him. Moira had accepted his explanation because it was what she’d wanted to believe. What if things had changed now that he was back on Kristen’s turf? That was something else she had to worry about as she counted down the days till her flight.

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