“And you’ve taken the skill of texting to new heights,” Liz said, knowing it was the method of choice for the O’Brien meddlers.
“We have adapted to technology,” Bree agreed. “Even Dad, more’s the pity. Mom keeps threatening to take his cell phone away from him and toss it in the bay, but Uncle Thomas would have a conniption and Dad would only replace it.”
She reached across the counter and gave Liz’s hand a squeeze. “Whatever you and Aidan are up to tonight, have fun.”
Liz wasn’t sure how much fun the evening would be, but it would be a turning point, no question about that.
* * *
Thomas hoped like hell that tomorrow would bring the quick and final proof that Aidan was not his son, but he knew it was unlikely. From the moment he’d first seen the boy, there’d been something about him that felt familiar. Sure, now that he knew he was Anna’s son, that was part of it, but it was more. He’d felt that same stubbornness and grit that all the O’Briens shared.
At first, of course, that possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind, but now it seemed so obvious.
Ever since Aidan had told him of their supposed connection, Thomas had been wrestling with his conscience. Had he known on some level back then that Anna was carrying his baby? Was that why he hadn’t fought harder to keep her from leaving town? Surely he hadn’t been that self-absorbed or shallow, but the truth was, he had been single-focused back then and for a lot of years after that.
His career had cost him two marriages. He couldn’t deny the truth of that. And the only reason he was so happy now with Connie was because she understood him in ways neither of his other wives had. She was patient with his absorption with work and tolerant with the time it took away from their family.
Of course, he’d made more compromises with her than he had in either of his other relationships. He’d moved home to Chesapeake Shores. He worked from the house when he could. And he welcomed his wife’s involvement in the work that had been his life’s passion. In fact, it was that shared interest that had brought them together in the first place, despite quite a few obstacles and objections.
Though he’d tried for the past few days, he couldn’t conceive of how the news that he had a son would disrupt his world. Despite what he’d told Mick about Connie accepting that he’d had a relationship with Aidan’s mother, he knew that an old flame wasn’t the same as having a grown son who would connect them forever.
She liked Aidan, though. Whatever her reaction to the relationship, Thomas thought he could count on her dealing with it in the same calm, evenhanded way she’d dealt with most of the rough spots in her life. She felt as strongly about family as he did. Surely her heart was big enough to embrace Aidan as part of that group.
He was pondering all this as he sat on the porch, an Irish whiskey in hand, when she came out and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
“You okay?” she asked, leaning down to whisper in his ear.
“Fine,” he said. “Where’s Sean?”
“In bed, more than likely reading a book even though I told him to turn off the light and go to sleep,” she said, her voice threaded with laughter. “I’d fight him harder, but I like that he loves to read.” Her amusement faded quickly and she regarded him with concern. “You’ve been awfully quiet all evening.”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“Are you thinking about the shock of discovering that your old college flame was Aidan’s mother?”
“It was a shock, that’s for sure,” he said.
She came around and sat beside him, pulling her chair close enough to hold his hand. Her fingers caressed his knuckles, which had been roughened by so many hard days on the bay on the foundation’s research boat.
“There’s more, isn’t there?” she asked softly.
Thomas gave her a sharp look. “What makes you ask that?”
“He’s an O’Brien,” she said flatly, keeping a close eye on his face as she awaited a reaction.
“You know?” He supposed he wasn’t that surprised. Connie knew him better than anyone on this earth except maybe Nell.
“Not until this minute,” she said. “Not for sure, anyway. You told me he looks like Anna, but I see you every time I look into his eyes. You and Mick and Jeff, you all have those smiling Irish eyes they talk about in the song. So does Aidan.”
“I don’t know for sure,” he said, startled by the complacency he heard in her voice.
She smiled at him. “Yes, you do. You don’t need a DNA test to tell you the truth.”
“I’ll await the results, just the same,” he said stubbornly.
“Of course you will, because science matters to you.”
“It doesn’t lie.”
She frowned at that. “And you think Aidan could be lying?”
“Anything’s possible.”
“You know better,” she chided. “If I can see the truth, I know you can, too. Why are you so afraid to admit it?”
“It’s going to change things,” he said.
“Such as?”
“Us.”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. I’ll love your son the same way you’ve loved my daughter.”
“Ma’s going to lecture me from now till eternity.”
Connie laughed at that. “More than likely, but she won’t stop loving you. And she will open her heart to Aidan. If you think otherwise, you’re not giving Nell enough credit. She’d be insulted by that.”
She gave him a good long look that Thomas was sure could see into his soul.
“Want me to tell you what’s really worrying you?” she asked.
“Because of course you know,” he said, amused by her certainty.
“I do,” she said. “You don’t want Mick or Jeff to think less of you. As much as you’ve feuded with your brothers over the years, the three of you have an incredibly strong bond. You need their respect,
