Willow Brook Road(94)

“You haven’t guaranteed anything, have you?”

“Of course not. I’ve told them I’ll call the minute I have all the necessary approvals. I want to be careful not to take on too many children at once. With me being new to this and a new staff, I can’t risk us being overwhelmed and making mistakes. To be honest, I’d be happy enough to get open by the end of the year once I’ve finished my classes and gotten in a few more weeks of working with Julie.”

Connor nodded approvingly. “Smart thinking.”

Carrie couldn’t seem to stop a smile from spreading across her face. “Connor, this is really going to happen, isn’t it?”

“Looks that way.” His expression suddenly turned worried. “You aren’t going to panic and change your mind, are you?”

This was about the tenth member of the family to ask her the same question this week alone. She was out of patience with it. “How flighty do you all think I am? How many times were you asked if you were sure about going to law school? I doubt anybody questioned my mom about going to work on Wall Street.”

Connor gave her an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? Even after I’d graduated from law school and gone to work in Baltimore, the family was all over me for choosing divorce law. Nobody was very happy with me until I’d moved my practice down here. And your mom chose to work in New York initially. That caused its own sort of ruckus. Let’s not forget Kevin deciding to go to work for Uncle Thomas, which set my dad’s teeth on edge. Or Bree going off to Chicago to be a playwright, which is not exactly a stable profession. This family is incredibly supportive, but they don’t hesitate to nudge and maneuver and speak their minds until we’re living according to some grand plan Dad has in mind for us.”

Carrie winced. “I see your point. This just seems really personal.”

He laughed. “Well, of course it does. It’s focused on you. Just remember that in your case, they’re not just asking because they think you made the wrong choice. They’re asking to give you an opening to change your mind. O’Briens may push and prod to get any of us to go in a particular direction, but the bottom line is all they really care about is whether we’re happy. It took me a while to grasp that myself, especially since living in Chesapeake Shores once Mom came back was not part of my life plan.”

She studied him. “No regrets now, though, right?”

“Not a one. And all of my issues with Mom leaving years ago are in the past. I may never totally understand her choices, but I’ve stopped reacting like an immature kid. She’s actually a pretty great person and she’s really pulled through for Heather and me more than once.”

Carrie knew how hard her grandmother had worked to make amends for leaving Grandpa Mick and moving to New York, leaving her children to be raised by him and Nell. Everyone in the family had finally made peace with that difficult time.

“I’m glad you’ve moved on,” she told her uncle.

He shrugged. “It was past time. How about you? Any regrets about not going back to Europe or New York?”

She shook her head without a moment’s hesitation. “I know this is right. I know it’s going to make me happy,” Carrie said with certainty. She was convinced enough to go right on ignoring all of Marc’s texts and voice mails.

“Then give the family six months, show them how deliriously content you are, and they’ll all be claiming it was their idea,” Connor said.

Carrie laughed. He was right. Taking credit, even for decisions they’d discouraged that turned out okay, was definitely the O’Brien way.





18

Though he’d had no experience dealing with them, Sam had heard plenty about the terrible twos when Bobby had been that age. Laurel had called from time to time in tears, because her stubborn son seemed to know only one word, no, said emphatically in response to anything she asked of him.

Tonight it seemed Bobby had reverted to those days or something very close to it. When Sam asked him to pick up his new toys that had been left scattered all over the living room floor, Bobby scowled at him, turned his back and ran from the room. Since it was the first time he’d been openly defiant in quite this way, Sam was shocked.

“Young man, come back here,” he commanded in what he thought sounded like a sufficiently parental tone.

Bobby kept right on running, his footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors. When he evidently reached his room, he slammed that door behind him.

Sam stared after him in dismay. Working to keep a rein on his own temper, he took a deep breath, walked down the hall and opened the door. He knew he needed to get an explanation before tackling the boy’s intolerable behavior. This was the first time he’d felt the need to establish some basic ground rules. It was a reminder that Bobby, for all of his good traits, was still a little boy in need of the kind of guidance Sam wasn’t sure he was qualified to give.