“Drink your coffee,” Shanna said as she set down the cup. “You’ll feel better. Bree’s is strong enough to make your hair stand straight on end.”
Liz did glance up at that. “Sounds divine.” She took a long, slow sip, then sighed appreciatively. She looked at Shanna. “You ought to consider having her make it at the bookstore.”
Shanna’s gaze narrowed. “Did you just insult my coffee?”
Liz managed a faint grin. “I think I did.”
“You know it’s true,” Susie added. “Shanna, not to be mean, but I’ve had plain old water that had more flavor.”
“Gee, thanks,” Shanna said, then laughed. “Okay, I make lousy coffee. We all know it. If I could work that stupid cappuccino machine I bought when I opened, maybe it would be better. Kevin had a knack for it, but he’s not inclined to come in to make coffee for my customers before he heads off to work. I’m stuck with that old coffeemaker of his that picks and chooses when it wants to perk. Is it any wonder I don’t charge for the stuff?”
“Any one of us could probably help with the cappuccino machine,” Susie suggested gently. “Did you ever think to ask? We just thought you made bad coffee so the customers wouldn’t linger too long.”
“Fine,” Shanna said, seizing on the offer. “From now on you can stop in and get the cappuccino machine going every morning. Your efforts will be rewarded with one to-go cup and my eternal gratitude.”
Liz grinned as she listened. “And Sally’s dismay,” she reminded them. “She’s sold a lot more carryout coffee since people on Main Street have tasted yours.”
Shanna frowned at her. “Bite me.”
“Ladies, ladies,” Bree said as she set plates of French toast in front of each of them. “We did not come over here to discuss coffee. We came because our friend needs us.”
Liz noted that three expectant faces were suddenly focused on her. She hesitated, then said, “I’m not sure what to say. Thanks?”
“Say you’re going to forgive Aidan,” Susie encouraged. “He’s crazy in love with you, and he didn’t mean to hurt you by keeping this news a secret.”
“He really didn’t,” Bree agreed.
“I know that,” Liz admitted, shocking them all into silence.
“You know that?” Bree repeated. “Since when?”
“Since the rational part of my brain kicked in,” Liz admitted. Her curiosity stirred. “How’s the family taking the news?”
Bree grinned. “How do you think? Dad swears he knew all along that Aidan was an O’Brien. Of course, there’s no way he could possibly have known, but you know Dad. He claims to have whatever it is the Irish have that makes them more intuitive than the rest of the world.”
“My dad says Thomas is still stunned,” Susie reported. “He had no idea he had a son. He denied it was possible when Aidan first confronted him, but the DNA results prove that Aidan is his.”
“Thomas insisted on a DNA test?” Liz asked, startled.
“Well, sure, wouldn’t you?” Susie said. “It might have hurt Aidan’s feelings that Thomas thought he would lie about it, but nobody takes that kind of thing on faith. I guess that’s what they’ve been waiting on before telling anyone. It’s not the kind of thing you can just blurt out and then find out you were wrong. Imagine the uproar that could have caused, especially for Thomas and Sean.”
“How’s Connie taking the news that she has a grown stepson?”
“Mom talked to her last night,” Bree said. “She says there was never a doubt in Connie’s mind that Aidan was telling the truth. She claims she could see the O’Brien in him. I think it might be easier for her that Aidan’s mom is gone, so there’s no question of old feelings being rekindled between her and Uncle Thomas, but even if that weren’t the case, I’ll bet she’d be okay. Connie’s steady as a rock. And they’ve already dealt with blending families because of Jenny and how hard it was for her to accept Uncle Thomas as her stepfather. This is going to be a piece of cake, once the shock has passed.”
Liz realized Shanna’s gaze hadn’t left her face.
“Okay, your turn,” Shanna said quietly. “How are you dealing with the news?”
“You mean today or last night at the pub when I first figured out that something monumental was going on and Aidan hadn’t told me?”
“Both,” Shanna said at once.
“Last night I was just a shade worse than the shrew in Shakespeare’s play. Nothing Aidan tried to say could get through to me. I wouldn’t let him explain anything. In fact, I kicked him out.”
“And broke his heart,” Bree said quietly.
Liz regarded her with shock. “What makes you say that?”
“I waited for him to come back from here. I had a bad feeling that it wouldn’t go well, and I was right. You really hurt him, Liz.”
“He really hurt me, more than you could possibly understand,” Liz retorted.
“Because he kept a secret that he felt wasn’t entirely his to share,” Bree suggested gently.
Liz made a face at her perfectly rational argument. “Yes, that. And some of the things he said to me. I probably deserved them, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t hurt.”
She turned to Shanna. “You asked about this morning. When the dust settled and I could think like a sane person again, I saw that he’d only done what he thought was right for Thomas and anyone else directly involved. I wish he’d included me in that circle, but I was wrong to demand it of him. There was so much at stake for him, for Thomas, for all of the O’Briens, for that matter. I shouldn’t have made it about me.”
Bree looked delighted with her response. “And you’ll go to Aidan and tell him that? Work all of this out? We so want you to be a part of this family, too, and if you and Aidan get married, we’ll be cousins. How perfect will that be?”
Liz
