Connor stared at her with shock. “You didn’t really want the divorce?”
“Not if I’m being totally honest,” she said. “In the end, I think it worked out for the best, but it came at a huge cost. I lost all of my children because of it. I’m still trying to win you all back. I thank God every day that I’m getting a second chance.”
She studied him for several minutes. “You seem especially introspective today. Is it because of the job or does it have something to do with your feelings for Heather?”
“It’s Heather, actually.”
Megan was surprised. She hadn’t expected him to admit it.
“I love her,” he said quietly.
“I know that.”
He gave her an imploring look. “Then tell me why I can’t give her the one thing she wants?”
“Because you’re not ready,” she said candidly, regretting that he was struggling so hard to deal with so many contradictory feelings. She patted his hand. “But you will be. Moving home was the first step. I predict you and Heather will find your way back to each other, and when you do, it will be right for both of you.”
“You believe that even though we’ve done exactly what you said you and Dad did, taking stances from which it’s all but impossible to retreat?”
“But we did retreat,” she reminded him, then smiled. “Eventually.”
“Were you always such an optimist?” he inquired, sounding amused.
She took his question seriously. “Not always. I gave up on your father, didn’t I?” She shrugged. “These days—yes, I believe in happy endings. Now go on inside and get settled. I’ll fix your favorite dinner for tonight. Why don’t you invite Heather and your son to join us? We can celebrate the start of a whole new chapter in your life.”
He gave her a curious look. “What’s my favorite meal?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs,” she said at once, then grinned. “You didn’t think I knew that, did you?”
“Not really,” he admitted.
“You’d be surprised by how much I remember about each one of you, Connor. Maybe one of these days, you’ll learn to trust that I never stopped caring about you.”
“Maybe I will,” he said. Then, looking vaguely uncomfortable at the rare moment of intimacy between them, he bounded off the porch and went to his car to unload his things.
Megan watched for a moment, then sighed. One step at a time, she reminded herself. And having Connor back here, under the same roof, was going to give her the time she desperately needed to make things right with her younger son.
* * *
Heather was startled to see Connor walking into the shop in midafternoon on a Tuesday. “This is a surprise,” she told him.
“You sound just like Mom. I am obviously way too predictable.”
“As a matter of fact, you are,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“Long story short, the firm wasn’t happy about my decision to leave, so they suggested I take off now, rather than after the two weeks or longer I was willing to give them to wrap up my cases.”
“Jerks,” she said succinctly. “I always told you Grayson wasn’t half the man you thought he was.”
“I get why they did it,” he admitted. “And it’s probably for the best. I can get started down here that much sooner. Joshua Porter was thrilled when I stopped by there to fill him in on my way over here. He’d have me start tomorrow morning, if I agreed to it.”
“Will you?”
“I think I’ll use the rest of this week to haul my stuff down to the house and get the townhouse on the market, then start next Monday.”
“Makes sense. Did you want to take little Mick back to the house with you tonight?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking surprisingly uncomfortable. “Actually, I came to invite you both over for dinner. Mom’s making spaghetti and meatballs.”
Heather’s eyes widened. “Your favorite. I’ll bet hers is a whole lot better than mine ever was.”
He laughed. “Not touching that one,” he said. “So, will you come? I think she wants it to be a quiet celebration. Just us, not the whole family.”
Heather hesitated, but in the end she couldn’t resist. “Sure, why not? What time?”
“Early, because of little Mick. How about six-thirty? You close here at six, right?”
“That’ll work. Shall I bring anything?”
“Just your protective armor,” he said wryly. “I’m sure Dad will be at his matchmaking best.”
“I can handle your father,” she said bravely. Connor was the one to whom she had no immunity.
He laughed. “That’s what you think. He’s been subtle up to now. With me moving back here, I’m anticipating a full-court press.”
She studied him with a narrowed gaze. “Are you trying to warn me away?”
“No, indeed. Just alerting you to the danger. Don’t count on Mom protecting you, either. She’s almost as bad as he is.”
“Your mother and I have an understanding,” she said confidently.
Connor laughed. “Don’t count on it. She’s been lulling you into a false sense of complacency. I’m just discovering that she’s almost as much of a master manipulator as Dad is.”
“Then I suppose we’re in for an interesting test of wills,” Heather said. Oddly enough, she realized she was looking forward to it.
And that was probably a huge mistake.
* * *
Connor had been wrong about it being a quiet evening. When he got back to the house, Gram was in the kitchen with his mother, his nieces were in the den with his dad, and everyone else started turning up one or two at a time until the place was chaotic. Though he was momentarily thrown, he realized this was one of the benefits of moving back home.
