How about his relationship with Thomas, Aidan thought. That would surely do the trick. Of course that was not a topic he intended to share with anyone except the man in question. And he had no particular timetable for doing that, yet another worry that was weighing on him these days. He seemed to be putting off contact with his father, even with that self-imposed one-year clock already ticking.
With school out and no answers yet about whether he could call any unofficial practices, he had too few distractions himself. Maybe that was the cause of his restlessness and not Liz at all. Wouldn’t that be a relief?
“Sorry, nothing,” he told Kevin, then grasped for the first straw that came to mind. “How’s Shanna feeling?”
“Huge,” Kevin said, then quickly amended, “Not that I think she’s huge. That’s her perception and I will call you a stinking, flat-out liar if you ever say otherwise.”
“Wise man.”
“You have no idea,” Kevin said. “The last pregnancy—her first actually—went pretty smoothly. It sort of caught us off guard. This time, though, she’s been sicker. She’s gained more weight. And there are days when she’s mad at the whole world, but especially at me for thinking another baby would be a great idea. There was about a minute there when the doctor thought we might be having twins. You should have seen the look on Shanna’s face. I swear if she’d had a weapon, I’d be dead.”
Aidan laughed, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t. “Sorry, man.”
“No, you’re not. No one is,” Kevin said, sounding resigned. “Every single person in my family is taking great delight in this. All I know is that Shanna’s due date can’t get here fast enough. I want my cheerful, contented wife back.”
“She’s seemed cheerful enough every time I’ve seen her,” Aidan said.
“Sure. You’re not the enemy. That’s reserved for me. All I did was suggest one night that we have one more. I guess I did it long enough after the baby had started sleeping through the night that it seemed like a good idea to her, too. I might have mentioned something about Henry being old enough to babysit, not that he’s around the house much these days. The only thing he cares about is football.” He gave Aidan a hard look. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
Aidan couldn’t help it. He laughed again. “You might be the only person in this entire town whose life is as crazy as mine is right now. Thanks for reminding me that things could be worse.”
Of course, Kevin O’Brien had one very important thing that Aidan didn’t. He knew exactly who his father was and there was nothing complicated about acknowledging it. In fact, it was a source of pride, rather than a potential scandal.
* * *
With the Thomas situation, as Aidan was starting to think of it, very much on his mind, he was thrown completely the morning after his conversation with Kevin when he walked into Sally’s and found Thomas there with Connie and Sean. Thomas waved him over.
“If you’re not meeting anyone, join us,” he suggested. “We’re celebrating the end of the school year.”
“It’s a tradition,” Sean said, then beamed. “I get all the pancakes I want.”
Aidan chuckled. “That sounds like an excellent tradition.”
“Then you definitely need to join us,” Connie said. “After all, your school year just ended, too.”
Seeing no polite way around it, Aidan pulled over a chair and sat at the end of the booth. Crowding in beside Thomas was not an option.
“Keep in mind that the school year only lasted a few weeks for me,” Aidan said. “I’m not so sure I deserve to celebrate.”
“Then you only get half as many pancakes as Sean,” Connie said, regarding him with a twinkle in her eye. “Not to worry. He’s ordered a lot. Our son’s eyes are way bigger than his stomach, so Thomas will wind up finishing every last bite of them. He hates waste. I’ve tried to explain that those calories don’t magically not count just because he’s being frugal, but he doesn’t seem to care.”
Thomas shrugged. “Sally makes excellent pancakes, and since you don’t give me anything but bran flakes at home, I’m going to indulge when I can.” He met Aidan’s gaze. “Take it from me. Do not marry a woman who has the avowed intention of keeping you healthy.”
Connie scowled at him. “So I should sit back and wait for you to die of a heart attack? I was a single mom for a long time. I’d like to stay married long enough to enjoy it.”
Thomas laughed and reached for her hand, lifting it to his lips. “I’m glad to know your reasons are totally unselfish.”
Aidan listened to the lighthearted exchange with a sense of wonder. Would Thomas and his mother have gotten along half as well? Had they teased each other when they were dating? He tried to imagine the two of them together and couldn’t. He hoped by the time Sean was his age, he’d realize what an amazing thing their loving, attentive relationship was.
Even as he thought about that, he considered what impact his own news was likely to have on these two people who had no idea of the bomb he was preparing to drop on them. Did he have the right to turn their lives upside down? He was no longer quite as eager to exact some sort of revenge on Thomas, but he still believed the truth needed to come out, if only to provide some closure on the past for him.
Since he couldn’t grapple with that at the moment, he faced Connie. “You were a single mom?” he asked.
She nodded. “A divorced single mom. My daughter’s grown and married now. She lives in Nashville, where she writes for some of the top country singers.”
Aidan recalled what he’d heard about her. “She’s married to Caleb Green, right? I’m a
