Chapter Thirty
Adam
As expected, the O’Briens were thrilled to see us—well, Conor, but they were kind and welcoming to Lainey. And they made me feel at home—like they had the first time I’d visited. Like before, Teresa was sure to feed us—she had a lasagna baking in the oven when we arrived.
And I got to meet Hugh.
Shawn was the spitting image of his dad, much like I suspected Conor was also going to be.
“I see Adam gave you Shawn’s ring,” Teresa commented with tears in her eyes as she held her grandson in her arms while we munched on freshly baked cookies.
My gaze flew to Lainey’s hands. She’d put the engagement ring on her right ring finger. She held her hand out for the diamond to catch the light as she replied wistfully, “He did. I can’t believe Shawn bought this without me knowing.”
“Neither can we,” Granny O’Brien chimed in from her chair next to Teresa where she could also fawn over Conor. Had I not already known Granny wasn’t a fan of Lainey, it would have been made obvious during our visit.
All this shit over religion.
And, Lainey was letting Conor be baptized in the church, so I really didn’t know what the old woman’s problem was. I think Teresa recognized Lainey could change her mind at any time and treaded lightly when it came to her son’s baby mama.
“Shawn would have loved being a dad and husband.” She kissed the baby’s downy hair. “But we’re blessed that he lives on through Conor.”
I think I needed to do a Zoom meeting with my counselor to work through these feelings that had resurfaced since stepping off the bus in Haven Springs.
Either that, or steer clear of Catholics to try to keep the guilt at bay. Or stay away from Lainey and Conor. And that wasn’t going to happen.
Maybe I needed to go to confession.
It was as if Granny O’Brien was dialed into my feelings because she said, “So, Adam. Are we going to see you at church?”
“Probably not, ma’am. I haven’t been active since I went away to college.”
“Well, what better time to start back. New town, new church… Think of all the available Catholic women you’ll meet.”
“I’m not really looking to meet anyone right now. I’ve got enough on my plate with my new job.”
“Oh, yes. I heard Angus convinced you to come work for him. I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I think Haven Springs will be pretty tame compared to what I dealt with in the Middle East. At least I won’t have to worry about roadside bombs.”
“Or RPGs,” Hugh said sadly.
Oof, there was that punched in the gut feeling again.
“No,” Granny snarked. “Just getting whacked in the head with a baseball bat while sneaking out of Lainey’s apartment at the crack of dawn.”
****
Lainey
I choked on my breath and tapped my chest.
“Excuse me?”
Granny pulled no punches.
“It’s all over town. He was leaving your apartment at dawn when he was attacked. He’s got the black eyes to prove it.”
Adam intervened before I could go off on Conor’s great grandma.
“First of all, it was well after dawn, and I was hardly sneaking. When I was over at her place giving her Shawn’s ring, I fell asleep on her couch after barely getting any sleep on the bus ride here the night before. Lainey was gracious enough to let me sleep.”
I turned to him with a smile. “And then we discovered you’re the baby whisperer.”
Granny scoffed.
“So, what’s your excuse for staying last night?”
Good grief. This town’s gossip machine was ridiculous—not that it was unexpected.
Adam didn’t miss a beat.
“Brian wanted me to stay. In fact, he wants me there until we catch whoever wrote the letter threatening her and the baby.”
Granny fluttered her eyelashes, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, Hugh and Teresa gasped appropriately, and Adam continued, “I’ll bet the rumor mill forgot to mention that little fact. Maybe you can fill them in at the next meeting.”
His response was a little harsher than I expected, but kind of also appreciated. That old bat had had it out for me from the minute she’d found out Shawn was dating a (gasp!) Protestant.
And I wasn’t even practicing.
I didn’t know if that had made the situation better or worse. Either way, Shawn had wanted to tread lightly and keep our relationship under wraps until he returned from overseas.
Granny gaped at Adam, making her look like a fish out of water. It took her a second, but her face changed, and it seemed she’d come up with a retort. But as she was about to spew it, Hugh intervened.
“Are you okay, Lainey? Do you want to stay with us for a while?”
“I appreciate it. Brian also offered to let us stay at his house. But I open the bakery so early and work so late, it’s just easier for me to stay at the apartment. Plus, I can easily nurse Conor during the slow times.”
“But your safety…”
Adam chimed in. “That’s why Brian wants me to stay with her.” He shot Granny a look and added, “ On the air mattress .”
She planted her arms across her chest like a petulant child, and again, acted like she was going to say something, but once more, Hugh spoke first.
“Well, if Brian thinks it’s a good idea, then it must be. We appreciate you coming over today with all that’s going on. We had no idea about any of it.”
Teresa added, “Please let us know if you change your mind and want to stay. We can put you up in Shawn’s room.”
“Thank you for letting us come over and cooking dinner and baking cookies. Teresa, I’m never going to lose this baby weight if you keep feeding me every time I visit.
And I appreciate the offer to let us stay, but Brian put up a camera outside my building and is having his people patrol the area more often.
So, between that and Adam staying at the apartment, I think we’re safe. ”
Conor whined, and Teresa’s eyes got big with excitement.
“Can I feed him?”
I reached for the diaper bag and fished around until I found the small, insulated bag that contained his bottle.
“The doctor said the best way to warm it is with lukewarm—not hot—tap water. Hot water degrades the nutrients.”
Hugh took the bottle from me. Obviously feeding their grandson the first time was going to be a joint grandparent effort.
“Lukewarm—not hot, got it. I’ll be right back.”
Conor’s cries got louder, and I worried if we waited too long, he wasn’t going to be consoled with a bottle.
Teresa must have shared my concern because she lamented, “We should have prepared his bottle sooner, so we’d be ready when he got hungry.”
“Fortunately, it’s not too cold, so it shouldn’t take long.”
We stood awkwardly as Conor cried, and my fingers flexed with desire to take my son from Teresa and soothe him with my breast, so I tried to make small talk.
“I’ve read he can have breastmilk straight from the fridge, but I thought since this is only his second attempt with a bottle, we should try to keep everything else as close to normal as possible.”
“I agree,” Teresa said.
Fortunately, Hugh returned and handed the bottle to Teresa, who tested the milk on her wrist, which seemed to offend Hugh.
“I already checked it! And I used lukewarm water, like Lainey said!”
“Just making sure.”
She grinned at her husband before offering the nipple to Conor. My hungry boy immediately started sucking, to his grandmother’s delight.
Without taking her eyes off the baby, she let out a sigh. “When do you think we can watch him?”
I couldn’t help but smile at her obvious joy at the idea of babysitting her grandchild. I knew I was really lucky to have such caring people in Conor’s life.
“You tell me what works best for your schedule. You already know mine.”
“Would it be okay if I came and got him Wednesday morning? I can bring him home when you’re done working.”
“Sure.”
Perhaps because I was being so agreeable, she then suggested, “And maybe after he’s gotten used to being with us, we can keep him overnight on occasion.”
I patted her arm.
“Teresa, I’m never going to keep your grandson from you.
If that works for both our schedules, of course he can stay overnight with you.
I would prefer he not be out in public a lot until his immune system is fully formed and he’s had all his shots.
” I cast a glance in Granny O’Brien’s direction but didn’t say anything more.
Still, Teresa said, “He would be with us the whole time. I promise. And we’ll keep visitors to a minimum.”
Adam chuckled, “And you’re not going to run off and baptize him without her knowing?”
“Of course not! We would never do that!”
The gleam in Granny’s eyes, however, wasn’t so reassuring.