“I’m sure she did,” Jess said. “Gram needed a bit of a break, but she wasn’t really ready to give up the reins of being matriarch of this family. Either that, or maybe she realized that most of the rest of us are absolutely hopeless in the kitchen. I’ll go in and see if she’ll let me do anything.”
“Go at your own risk,” Mick said. “Will, you want to join me out here on the porch? Feels like we’re having a bit of Indian summer today. Who knows how long we’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors before winter sets in for good.”
He noticed that Jess cast a worried look at Will and was about to step in to rescue him, but Will gave a slight shake of his head. “I’ll stay with your dad. Since he’s sworn off meddling with the family, maybe I can convince him to help me by becoming a matchmaker at Lunch by the Bay.”
Mick frowned at him. “What the devil is that?”
“It’s my computerized dating service,” Will explained. “I’ll tell you all about it. You might have some ideas for things that can be added to the compatibility test.”
Jess laughed outright at that, but Mick had to admit he was intrigued. He waved off his daughter. “Go on. I want to hear about this. I am the expert in this family, after all. I’m sure Will can benefit from what I’ve learned over the years.”
“Dad, you’re a meddler, not an expert,” Jess corrected.
“Look around you, young lady. Your brothers and your sisters are all happily married, aren’t they?”
“And you’re taking credit for that?”
“Of course I am!” Mick said indignantly.
Jess shook her head, her expression filled with barely concealed amusement. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed Will’s cheek. “Call if you need rescuing.”
“I won’t,” Will assured her.
After she’d gone, Mick sat down in his favorite rocker. “Things seem to be good between you two,” he commented, not even trying to hide how pleased he was by that. He’d been worried about Jess for a long time, but Will was exactly the kind of solid, no-nonsense guy he would have chosen for her.
“Like Jess said, we’re working things out,” Will replied. “She has a lot of baggage to overcome.”
“Her mother leaving,” Mick said. “And me being gone so much.”
Will looked surprised. “That’s it, exactly.”
“I regret that I wasn’t more tuned in to her back then, to any of the kids, for that matter. I made a bad situation worse for all of them. Believe me, I know what a blessing it is that most of them have forgiven me.”
“You’ve been making strides with Jess, too. I see how she’s more relaxed with you now than she used to be. She’s not on edge every second, expecting you to judge her.”
“You’re right, but it hasn’t happened with Megan,” Mick said ruefully. “Those two are still dancing around each other like boxers waiting to see who’s going to throw the first punch. I thought when Megan and I gave Jess that fancy stove for the kitchen at the inn before it opened, she’d start to make peace with her mother, but it’s been slow going. One minute they’re okay, the next Jess gets her back up over the littlest things.”
“That’ll change,” Will said confidently. “Especially with Megan trying to keep you out of our business. Jess will appreciate that.”
Mick chuckled. “Why do you think I told her? She needs to see that her mother’s on her side, always has been, even when she was gone. It just about killed Megan to leave all the kids behind, but especially Jess. She had so many problems then, and none of us knew why. Took us way too long to get a proper diagnosis, partly because I didn’t want to hear that there was anything wrong with one of my kids. Made me feel like even more of a failure as a parent.”
“It’s in the past, Mick, and nothing you did created the problem. Stop beating yourself up over it. In the end, you got her help. And Jess has learned to compensate for her ADD. She’s made all sorts of adjustments to manage it, even without resorting to medication. Personally, I think you were wise to try other things first. She had a mild case and doctors are sometimes too quick to give kids pills, rather than trying alternative therapies. She’ll always have the occasional slip, I’m sure, but look at everything she’s accomplished. It’s even more impressive, because of what she had to overcome to get there.”
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Mick acknowledged. “And before you ask, I have told her that. I tell her all the time. One of these days, I pray she’ll start to believe me.”
Will gave him a nod of understanding. “I’m hoping for the same thing when it comes to my feelings for her. She doesn’t trust them yet, but I plan to stick around until she does.”
Mick liked the young man’s openness. He always had. “You need any help, you’ll let me know?”
Will smiled. “You’ll be the first.”
Mick fell silent for a minute, then turned to Will. “Enough about Jess for now. Tell me about this matchmaking thing. You actually have a way to see if people are compatible on a computer?”
“I think I do,” Will said readily, his expression animated. “I’ve only been offering the service for a couple of months now. We’ve had one marriage already, which frankly I thought came way too fast, but a few other couples have hit it off as well.”
Mick thought about the potential of such a thing. “You signed Susie up yet? I think it’s time she left Mack in the dust. The man should have made his move by now.”
“Susie hasn’t asked for my help.
