Willow Brook Road(91)
Every bit of anger drained away as Carrie heard the sincerity and fear behind her cousin’s words. “I’m coming over,” she said quietly.
“No, you were right. This isn’t the time to have some sort of confrontation.”
“How about just a conversation,” Carrie suggested. “Every single person over there tonight loves you and wants to help. I want to help, but none of us know what you really need.”
“I need a baby of my own, a child I can hold,” Susie whispered, a hitch in her voice. “And none of you can give me that.”
“Connor desperately wants to help you find that baby,” Carrie told her. “You just need to tell him you’re ready to try again. Everybody in this family wants you and Mack to find the perfect child.”
“I’ll take any child. He or she doesn’t have to be perfect. Goodness knows, Mack and I have our flaws. Irrational jealousy comes to mind.”
“It was irrational,” Carrie agreed. “But understandable. Now I’m heading over there. How’s the supply of Ben & Jerry’s?”
“There were at least six pints by my count,” Susie said. “Everyone must have thought I was teetering on the brink.”
Carrie laughed. “I’ll bring a few more. One pint apiece seems about right on a night like this.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s ice cream. No big deal.”
“No, for forgiving my craziness. You have forgiven me, right?”
“Forgiven and forgotten,” Carrie promised. That’s what she hoped anyone in the family would do for her if she ever went off the deep end.
Sam found Carrie at the café first thing on Wednesday morning, sitting with the usual group of O’Brien women. To his surprise Susie was among them, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her since they’d first met. Maybe that intervention thing they’d supposedly staged had helped, after all.
“Mind if I borrow Carrie?” he inquired, though he honestly didn’t expect any objections.
“You don’t want to join us?” Bree asked hopefully.
“Yes, do join us,” Heather said. “We wouldn’t mind observing the dynamics between you two so we could draw our own conclusions. Carrie won’t tell us a thing.”
Sam laughed. “Good for Carrie.” He met her gaze. “Do you mind coming with me?”
“To get away from these meddlers? I’m all yours,” she said eagerly.
“Of course you are,” Bree commented with satisfaction.
Outside, he studied Carrie’s face, smiling at the scattering of freckles across her nose and imagining how those probably irritated her. He couldn’t help wondering exactly when the sight of her had started to fill him with such an intense burst of happiness. He’d never thought of himself as lonely or incomplete, but that was before he’d met this woman who made him feel as if he were whole. Add in Bobby, and his life was full in ways he’d never anticipated. It was a little scary, but not so terrifying that he didn’t want to stick around to see what came next.
“Okay, you’ve gotten me away from my family, for which I am profoundly grateful,” Carrie said eventually as they headed toward Shore Road. “What’s on your mind?”
He regarded her blankly. “Nothing in particular. Why?”
“You realize that makes no sense. You interrupted a get-together, dragged me away, and for what? You have no idea?”
He grinned. “I spotted you inside at Sally’s and suddenly felt this need to have you all to myself.”
“Really?” she said, sounding surprised, even as a smile seemed to be spreading across her face.
“I can’t get enough of you, I guess. Do you mind?”
“Since they were about ten seconds away from interrogating me yet again about our relationship, your timing couldn’t have been better from my perspective, though I imagine my disappearance just now will only fuel their already overactive imaginations.”
“Sorry.”
She shrugged it off. “It’s what they do.”
“How about a cappuccino?” he asked as they turned the corner. “I can get them to go at Panini Bistro and we can sit on one of the benches across the street. Do you have time?”
Carrie nodded. “Sure. Jackson is at the church day care today and I’m not volunteering at Julie’s. I have a million and one things to do at my new building, but Grandpa Mick is overseeing that and the less time I spend underfoot, the better. His help comes with too many intrusive questions.”
“So I’ve saved you on several fronts this morning?”