speaking.'
'The in-laws are all good guys,' Ryan told her. 'Pete generally lets Bride have her head, but when he's had enough he says so, and she generally listens. They've all had enough. None of them ever counted on getting R &R. For them it was a long shot. They're all smart guys, and they knew I wasn't going to let it go over that damned clause in Dad's will. But if it weren't for that clause,' he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her heartily, 'I would have never had you, Ash. My sexy, smart, beautiful wife. When are we going to start making those babies?'
'Soon, I promise,' Ashley said. 'Oh, let go, Ryan! You're starting to get a hard-on. What if the others see?' She pulled away from him.
Their guests returned. The limo was waiting outside, and with Ashley and Ryan in her Solstice leading them, they made their way through town to the Egret Pointe Harvest Festival. Within the big car the sisters had to admit being charmed by the town, with its little shops and ice-cream parlor. They asked Bill to slow down long enough to catch a glimpse of the windows at Lacy Nothings, which were now filled with baskets of autumn vegetables, small piles of colored leaves, and mini rakes among the blue, green, and violet lacy bras, thongs, teddies, and nightgowns. Finally they arrived at the festival, and Bill parked the limo in an adjacent field next to Ashley's sports car.
With Ashley leading them they walked among the aw-ninged tables and booths where a variety of handmade and homemade goods were on display for sale. Soon Ryan's brothers-in-law found themselves loaded down with all manner of purchases being made by their wives. Deirdre and Kathleen were expecting new grandchildren, and there was a booth offering handmade baby garments both sewn and knitted.
'Ohh, I love watermelon pickles,' Magdalena said, and promptly bought six jars, along with three more of corn relish, and several jars of jam.
Coming into an open space, they saw a gentleman seated above a vat of something green, a crowd gathered before him.
'What on earth is that?' Bride wanted to know.
'It's the Dr. Sam Dunk,' Ashley told her. 'Dr. Sam is the chief of staff up at the hospital. Everyone just loves him. His family have been the town doctors since we were founded. You get three balls and three tries for two dollars. If you hit it just right he goes into a vat of Jell-O. All the money is for the hospital. He's really a very good sport about it, and the Dr. Sam Dunk always earns a lot of money. Anyone want to try?'
Her new brothers-in-law all bought their three balls, but none of them could hit the target properly. Even Ryan tried. And then Ashley sauntered up, waving her two dollars, and the crowd began to chuckle.
'Here comes trouble,' Dr. Sam called from his perch above the Jell-O. 'Hello, Ashley. I suppose you're going to try to dunk me, like you do every year?'
'And you're going down like you do every year,' Ashley taunted him. Twice she made a big issue of winding up for the pitch, and twice she missed, but Ryan could tell she was missing deliberately, and he could see Dr. Sam knew it. The third ball hit the target square-on, and the physician was dumped into the green Jell-O, to the cheers of the onlookers and the clanging of a bell. 'See you next year, Dr. Sam,' Ashley said as she moved off with her party.
'Pretty good pitching,' her brother-in-law Kevin said. 'Was it a lucky pitch?'
'Nope,' Ashley said with a grin. 'Actually, I could have dunked him every time, but Dr. Sam and I have a deal that I'll do it only once each year. I used to pitch on the girls' high school softball team.'
'Is the author here, Ashley?' Elisabetta asked eagerly.
Ashley looked around, and finally she spied Emily Devlin in her author persona of Emilie Shann. She was seated at a card table beneath an awning, but the pile of books before her was down to three. Ashley led her party over to the table. 'Hey, Emily!'
'Ashley.' Emily Devlin looked up, smiling, from behind her table.
Ashley spied a basket beside Emily's chair. 'Oh, here's your little baby!' She squealed, genuinely excited. The baby gave her a toothless grin.
Emily smiled happily and, bending down, lifted the infant up. It had a headful of dark hair. 'Meet Sean Michael Devlin,' she said. 'Born the twenty-ninth of June.'
Ashley sighed, and all the women with her cooed and commented on what a lovely little boy he was. 'These are my sisters-in-law,' Ashley said. Then she pointed. 'Bride Franklin, Kathleen McGuire, Magdelena Butler, Deirdre Napoli, and Elisabetta Sweeney, who is a huge fan of yours, Em. Will you sign the new book for her?'
'Sure I will,' Emily said with a smile at Elisabetta. 'How do you like the sexier books?' she asked her.
'I
'Sexier,' Emily promised Elisabetta.
'She has an excellent role model for her heroes,' a tall, dark, and very handsome gentleman said, coming up to the table. He bent and kissed Emily. 'Time to take the heir and go home, darling,' he told her. 'Hi, Ashley.'
'Hi, Mick. This is Emily's husband and editor, Michael Devlin,' Ashley introduced him to her guests. 'Mick, this is my husband, Ryan Mulcahy.'
The two men shook hands, and Michael Devlin said, 'I've been meaning to get in touch with you. I'd like to do a coffee table book on restorations. Can I call you?'
'I'll be back in my office Tuesday,' Ryan said.
Michael Devlin nodded and, bending, picked up his son. 'I'll meet you at the car,' he said to Emily.
'Gotten that van yet?' Ashley teased him.
'The basket fits in the back of the Healy very nicely, thank you,' Michael Devlin said with a chuckle. 'But I expect we're headed that way.' Then, with a smile, he nodded at them and walked off carrying his son.
Emily signed Elisabetta's book, but Ashley would not let her sister-in-law pay for it. 'A little remembrance of your day,' she said, smiling. 'Em, I'll take the other two books. Just put your name in them. I'll give them to Nina and Brandy.'
The sun was sinking low on the horizon now. Ashley led her party back to their limo. It followed her back to the house, where Byrnes was waiting with tea, finger sandwiches, and small cookies. It was getting chilly as the day came to a close. And finally Ryan's sisters and their husbands took their leave. They were surprised that their mother was remaining behind.
'So Lina and I can visit,' Ashley said sweetly. 'It was wonderful meeting you all. I hope you'll come up over the holidays.' She and Ryan waved them off as the limo drove away down the hilly drive. Then they joined Lina in the comfortable den, where Byrnes had already lit a fire.
'So, my children, it is love, is it?' she said with a smile. She was seated in a wing chair by the fire, a cashmere lap robe over her knees. Her beautiful Ferragamo shoes were set neatly by the chair. Angelina Mulcahy was seventy-three, but her dark hair, slender figure, and beautiful skin made her appear younger.
Ryan bent to kiss his mother. 'Yeah,' he answered her. 'It's love. Go figure.'
Angelina turned to Ashley.
'Love,' the younger woman confirmed unabashedly. 'I never thought it could happen to me.'
'You loved the others,' Lina said, 'didn't you?'
'Not like I love your son,' Ashley told her mother-in-law.
Angelina nodded. 'Then I am content,' she said. 'Perhaps I should have returned home with my daughters.' Her warm brown eyes twinkled.
'We're putting you in a room at the end of the hall from us,' Ashley teased her.
Angelina laughed heartily, shaking her finger at her new daughter-in-law.
Ryan grinned, very pleased to see how well the two women got along. He poured them all small glasses of wine from a tray on the table. They toasted each other and sat talking quietly until Byrnes arrived, pushing a trolley.
'I thought you would enjoy eating by the fire tonight after your busy day,' he said.
