LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Why not?” Connie pressed. “It’s your home.”

      Jenny shook her head. “Grandma’s house where I grew up, where you and I lived when it was just the two of us—that was home. I imagine you sold it, though,” she said, unable to keep a note of bitterness out of her voice.

      “No, I kept it,” her mother said softly. “Jake’s kept up the yard. Thomas has had Mick come in and make a few repairs and updates. He had it painted.” She held Jenny’s gaze. “He thought, we both did, that you might like to have it someday if you ever came back here to live.”

      Jenny’s heart seemed to go still at the enormity of the gesture. “You saved Grandma’s house for me?” she whispered, incredulous. “Even though you knew I might never come back here?”

      “I always hoped you would,” her mother said simply. “Maybe not to live, but it’s a great town for vacations.” She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “And Chesapeake Shores is home. At least I hope you’ll always think of it that way. I hope you’ll remember how much you once loved it here.”

      “Jake and Bree never said a word,” she said, amazed. “And just now, until I mentioned it, you were pushing for me to stay with you.”

      “Bree and Jake knew I wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, I guess I was hoping to maybe have you under my roof for just a little bit before you went off to your own place. If you want the keys now, though, you can have them. I brought them with me this morning.”

      “Mom, I honestly don’t know what to say,” Jenny said, filled with a mix of gratitude and dismay that she’d thought her mother didn’t understand how she felt about that old house. She didn’t even want to think about what it meant that Thomas had understood as well. That he had shown such kindness to her, despite how aloof she’d remained, gave her a rare bit of insight into why her mom had fallen for him so hard.

      Her mother’s smile was tinged with sorrow. “I take it you want the keys.”

      “Absolutely,” she said at once. Not only was that house the only home she remembered, it would provide a refuge as she tried to figure out how to fit in with this new and overwhelming family.

      Her mother fished in her purse and came up with a set of keys on a Chesapeake Shores souvenir key ring. She pressed them into Jenny’s hand, then enfolded it in her own. “We’ll transfer the deed into your name while you’re here, if you decide you want to keep it. Connor can take care of the paperwork.”

      “Can we go see it now?” Jenny asked, unable to contain her excitement, even though she could see that her reaction was hurting her mom. Connie might have made this magnanimous gesture, but it was clear she’d hoped Jenny wouldn’t want to take advantage of it so quickly. Though she hid her disappointment reasonably well, Jenny could see through her act.

      Because she didn’t want to deal with all the undercurrents, she forced a smile. “I rode by yesterday and saw that it looked like it had a new coat of paint. I was glad to see that someone was taking good care of it.”

      “Then you can thank Thomas and your uncle for that when you see them.” Connie hesitated. “Will you at least think about coming to dinner at the new house tonight, so you can do that? I’ll make spaghetti or a pot roast, whatever you want, though I think pot roast is probably on the menu at Mick’s for Sunday dinner.”

      Jenny desperately wanted to put off her first encounter with her new stepfather until Sunday when they’d at least be surrounded by a crowd of O’Briens, but maybe this would be better. There’d be no watchful gazes, no people ready to jump in to defend Thomas from any cutting remark she might make. Not that she would do such a thing intentionally. They’d both walked on eggshells whenever they were together for her mother’s sake. It would almost have been better if they’d blurted out whatever was on their minds and then dealt with the fallout.

      “What time?” she asked her mother eventually.

      The smile that spread across her mother’s face was worth any discomfort the evening was likely to bring, Jenny concluded, glad that she’d said yes. Now she just had to make a real effort to open her heart to the man who’d given her mom the bright future she’d never dared to envision.

      “How about seven? Thomas is usually home from Annapolis by then. Now that he has Kevin on board, Thomas runs the foundation from home a lot of the time. Today just happened to be one of the days he needed to go into the office for meetings.”

      “Has Mick finally accepted the fact that one of his sons is working for Thomas?” Jenny inquired curiously. “I know he hated it when Kevin first said that’s what he wanted to do, rather than working with Mick or doing something else right here in Chesapeake Shores.”

      “Oh, Mick blustered for a few months, but he’s admitted more than once that he’s proud of the work both of them are doing to preserve the bay.”

      “And he didn’t choke on the words?” Jenny asked incredulously.

      “No. Mick’s mellowed now that he’s back with Megan and mostly retired. You’ll see.”

      Jenny found it hard to imagine that the hard-driving man she’d known had eased into retirement that readily. “I’ll bet he’s still in his office poking around whenever he can.”

      Connie laughed. “Matthew can attest to that. He says his uncle drives them all crazy. He still wants status reports on every development project they have going around the country.”

      “His name is on the company,” Jenny said, understanding that sort of pride of ownership. She often found it painful to relinquish control of her songs once she’d sold the rights. One of the great things about collaborating with Caleb had been his willingness to let her hang around through the recording sessions. He’d claimed to appreciate the occasional insights she’d dared to offer about phrasing or holding a note for emphasis.

      “Your uncle’s the same way about this place,” Connie acknowledged. “Jake put me in charge of operations and I know he trusts me to get the job done, but he does have his moments when he tries to micromanage every detail.”

      “Will you ask him and Bree to come to dinner tonight, too?” she said, needing the reassurance of familiar faces. “I’ll want to thank him for what he’s done to the house.”

      “Anything you want,” Connie agreed readily. “If that will make you more comfortable, I’ll see to it they’re there. With Sean and Emily Rose around, the adults may not get a word in edgewise. Maybe that’s for the best for now.”

      “Thanks.” She knew it wouldn’t completely quiet her nerves, but it would be comforting.

      Connie gave her a knowing look. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie. I promise. We’re family. You’ve known Thomas most of your life.”

      But he’d only been her stepfather for a few years, most of them in her absence. That was a huge adjustment to make when she thought about him and one she had yet to fully accept. Clearly, though, the time had come to make a real effort.

      * * *

      Bree tucked her cell phone back into her pocket and regarded Jenny curiously. “Dinner at your mom’s tonight?”

      Jenny nodded. “I couldn’t say no. It would have been like kicking a puppy or something, especially after she told me about renovating our old house and keeping it for me.”

      Bree’s eyes lit up. “She finally told you about that? Keeping quiet when you and I have talked these past few weeks has been killing me. Have you seen it?”

      “We walked through on the way over here. The renovations are amazing. It’s a lot more than a fresh coat of paint, which was what I’d been expecting. They even put in a whole new kitchen with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. And the bathrooms are straight out of a design magazine.”

      “Isn’t the whole place amazing?” Bree said. “Dad thought

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