Harry are together. He’s been a different person this last year. Amazing, after all these years, to realize the man actually has a heart under all that bluster.”
“A good, caring one. And healthier than it’s been in years.”
No matter her own misgivings about the relationship, she hoped for many joyful years for the two of them. Her mother didn’t need more loss.
“Harry makes you happy. That’s the important thing. You deserve somebody great in your life.”
Mary Ella gave her a careful look. “So do you, my dear.”
“Mom. Don’t start again.”
“I know. I know. It’s just...you’ve been alone all these years. Don’t you ever think maybe there’s somebody great out there looking for you?”
Ugh. Slip an engagement ring on her finger and a woman seemed to think everyone else needed one.
“Mom, can’t we just celebrate your happy news?”
“Hear me out. Last week I met this really nice young lawyer at the firm that handles Harry’s affairs in Denver. He’s been divorced about six months. No kids. He’s great-looking. Brown hair, blue eyes. He dresses well and it’s obvious he takes care of himself. More important, he’s funny and charming and kind. We had dinner with him and the entire time, I kept thinking how the two of you would be perfect for each other.”
“I’m not in the market for nice young lawyers, Mom.”
Mary Ella looked undeterred. “Okay. That’s fine. What about doctors, then? One of Harry’s cardiac specialists is also unmarried. He looks just like that scruffy Irish fellow you and Claire think is so good-looking.”
It took her a minute to figure out her mother meant Colin Farrell. Scruffy Irish fellow, indeed.
While she had to admit to being intrigued by the concept of a physician who looked like Colin Farrell, she couldn’t help worrying that all of Harry’s connections had apparently widened her dating pool, at least as far as her mother was concerned.
“I appreciate that. Really I do. But I’m not looking for a lawyer or a doctor. I’m really happy with my life. I just bought a house, after all, and the restaurant will be opening in a few weeks. Everything is perfect.”
Mary Ella looked doubtful. “What about that nice construction worker? He definitely looks like he could fill out a tool belt.”
“Mom!”
“What? What did I say?”
She shook her head, trying to banish that image from her entirely too active imagination.
“I mean it. My life is arranged exactly the way I want it.”
Mary Ella grew quiet. She sipped at her tea for a long moment then set her cup down on the saucer and faced Alex squarely, her green eyes a murky mix of sadness, concern and that lingering joy that couldn’t quite be squelched.
“Not all men are like your father, Alexandra. You know that, right?”
They rarely approached the topic of James McKnight. She really didn’t want to discuss it now.
“You think I don’t want to make a commitment to a man because of Dad?”
“You were so close to your father.” Mary Ella seemed to be picking over her words as carefully as Alex chose produce at the farmers’ market. “I remember how you used to love cooking something special for him on weekend mornings. I would wake up and you would already be hard at work in the kitchen trying to come up with something unique. He would come in from his run, scoop you up in his arms and call you his little Julia Child.”
She hated remembering those weekend mornings. “He had everything a man could want. But he still walked away from all of us.”
“Oh, darling. Your father loved you and your brother and sisters. I have to think he loved me, as well. But there was always some core of him that could never be happy, no matter what I did or any of you children did. I’m not sure he had the capacity to be truly happy. We married so young and I think part of him could never stop wondering about the roads he didn’t have the chance to travel and what might have been waiting for
“A good, caring one. And healthier than it’s been in years.”
No matter her own misgivings about the relationship, she hoped for many joyful years for the two of them. Her mother didn’t need more loss.
“Harry makes you happy. That’s the important thing. You deserve somebody great in your life.”
Mary Ella gave her a careful look. “So do you, my dear.”
“Mom. Don’t start again.”
“I know. I know. It’s just...you’ve been alone all these years. Don’t you ever think maybe there’s somebody great out there looking for you?”
Ugh. Slip an engagement ring on her finger and a woman seemed to think everyone else needed one.
“Mom, can’t we just celebrate your happy news?”
“Hear me out. Last week I met this really nice young lawyer at the firm that handles Harry’s affairs in Denver. He’s been divorced about six months. No kids. He’s great-looking. Brown hair, blue eyes. He dresses well and it’s obvious he takes care of himself. More important, he’s funny and charming and kind. We had dinner with him and the entire time, I kept thinking how the two of you would be perfect for each other.”
“I’m not in the market for nice young lawyers, Mom.”
Mary Ella looked undeterred. “Okay. That’s fine. What about doctors, then? One of Harry’s cardiac specialists is also unmarried. He looks just like that scruffy Irish fellow you and Claire think is so good-looking.”
It took her a minute to figure out her mother meant Colin Farrell. Scruffy Irish fellow, indeed.
While she had to admit to being intrigued by the concept of a physician who looked like Colin Farrell, she couldn’t help worrying that all of Harry’s connections had apparently widened her dating pool, at least as far as her mother was concerned.
“I appreciate that. Really I do. But I’m not looking for a lawyer or a doctor. I’m really happy with my life. I just bought a house, after all, and the restaurant will be opening in a few weeks. Everything is perfect.”
Mary Ella looked doubtful. “What about that nice construction worker? He definitely looks like he could fill out a tool belt.”
“Mom!”
“What? What did I say?”
She shook her head, trying to banish that image from her entirely too active imagination.
“I mean it. My life is arranged exactly the way I want it.”
Mary Ella grew quiet. She sipped at her tea for a long moment then set her cup down on the saucer and faced Alex squarely, her green eyes a murky mix of sadness, concern and that lingering joy that couldn’t quite be squelched.
“Not all men are like your father, Alexandra. You know that, right?”
They rarely approached the topic of James McKnight. She really didn’t want to discuss it now.
“You think I don’t want to make a commitment to a man because of Dad?”
“You were so close to your father.” Mary Ella seemed to be picking over her words as carefully as Alex chose produce at the farmers’ market. “I remember how you used to love cooking something special for him on weekend mornings. I would wake up and you would already be hard at work in the kitchen trying to come up with something unique. He would come in from his run, scoop you up in his arms and call you his little Julia Child.”
She hated remembering those weekend mornings. “He had everything a man could want. But he still walked away from all of us.”
“Oh, darling. Your father loved you and your brother and sisters. I have to think he loved me, as well. But there was always some core of him that could never be happy, no matter what I did or any of you children did. I’m not sure he had the capacity to be truly happy. We married so young and I think part of him could never stop wondering about the roads he didn’t have the chance to travel and what might have been waiting for
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