Page 61 of Question Everything

“Go slow, brother,” Sibby said. “Dinner will be up in a minute. You can drink all you want after you put some food in your stomach.”

Maeve finished putting the remaining dinner rolls on a tray and slid them into the oven to warm before turning to Finn. She walked over to where he sat and kneeled in front of him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know you did this for me,” she said, lightly touching his leg, not wanting to disturb the bandage she could see under the outline of the fabric of his pants.

“Pish posh,” he said, mimicking the words she’d recognize as something their mother used to say to them when they were children. “’Tis nothing.”

“It’s something, alright,” she replied.

“Maeve, you know I’ve got your back. Always.”

She kissed the top of his head. “And I’ve got yours.”

Sibby interrupted the moment between them with a simple statement. “Come and get it, people. Dinner is ready.”

Maeve stepped back and made a plate for her brother and placed it in front of him. Then she went into the pantry to find the powdered formula she’d brought along from Boston for a situation exactly like this one. When she came back into the kitchen, she could feel Kyle’s eyes on her. She looked up to find him across the room, holding two plates – one for him and one for her. Suddenly, she realized just how hungry she was, but not for food. She was hungry for his touch, his kisses, the strength of his body as he covered her own. And with one glance, she could tell that he felt the same.

CHAPTER 35

It was as if after the day’s events, the family did not want to be apart from one another. Tim and Millie were sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table playing Scrabble. Geoff, Sibby, Conor, and their parents were engaged in a rousing game of Monopoly. Finn was sleeping on the couch after refusing to go to bed before the party ended.

Maeve and Kyle were curled up together in the loveseat, quietly watching the fire burn low, both silently wishing that they could retreat to his bedroom and the privacy it afforded them but knowing that they should stay for propriety’s sake. Finally, when the Monopoly game ended with Sibby once again the big winner, everyone started to stand and disperse. Kyle and his brothers had to wake Finn and help him up the stairs to the room that Maeve had once stayed in; it was pretty much unused these days. No one questioned that development.

She had gotten to his room first and went into the ensuite bathroom to wash her face. She didn’t hear him come in and when she lifted her head from the sink, she saw him in the mirror, standing behind her.

“You startled me,” she said.

“Were you expecting someone else?” he teased.

“I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t you,” she replied, turning and easily fitting into his embrace.

She reached up with one hand and caressed his cheek. “Have I told you how much I love you? You were truly my knight in shining armor today.”

“I guess I’ll take that over being your Prince Charming,” he said with a wry smile.

“Very funny,” she said, reaching down now to acknowledge his reaction to her closeness as he strained against his jeans.

“Maeve,” he whispered in her ear. “I will always be in your corner.”

She stepped back and looked up at him once more. “I know. And when this scandal has passed, we can be together. But for now, let me go. It’s time to let me go.”

The wind rattled the window, and both turned their attention to the increasing intensity of the storm outside. “I don’t think it matters tonight, or even tomorrow. We’re going to be snowed in here for a bit, so for right now, let’s go to bed. I have big plans for us.”

Knowing that the time for conversation was ended, she simply replied, “Do you? Lead the way.”

It continuedto snow throughout the night, a surprise storm that blanketed the Cape with over two feet of snow. Maeve had to admit that the blizzard might not have been a shock to the weather forecasters, but it was to Kyle’s family since they had been so focused on the holiday and then on the swirling scandal involving Daisy’s biological father that they’d missed the bulletins that had apparently scrolled along the bottom of television sets the day before. It didn’t matter. The discussion at the breakfast table surrounded the fact that no one was goinganywhere until the roads were cleared, and that could take a day or two.

“And this is why everyone needs a second refrigerator in the basement,” Sibby said to Maeve. “We have plenty of food to feed this crowd until the roads are drivable. We can finish off the leftover turkey with a pot pie tonight. After that, we’ll raid the freezer and go from there.”

“How did you get to be this organized, Sibby?” Maeve asked. “I owned a bakery and often had to call in an emergency order for flour or sugar to one of my suppliers because I unexpectedly ran out.”

“My mother trained me well,” Sibby said, smiling at Colleen who was sitting at the table, sipping at her coffee.

“When you start with nothing, you learn to adapt. We had a lot of mouths to feed on a policeman’s salary when the kids were young. I made do with less and we all survived, right?” Collen responded.

“Yes, ma’am!” Sibby replied. “And had a lot of fun along the way. I never realized how much scrimping and saving you had to do until I was married with kids of my own. It was a targeted and well-thought-out effort to keep us all clothed and fed and we all appreciate what you and dad did for us.”

“That’s what family does, Sib. You know that.”

Maeve knew that Colleen’s statement was truly meant for her. “You’re lucky to have each other. Finn and I lost our parents when we were young. Getting to know all of you over the past two months has been eye-opening for me. I can only hope to aspire to the same thing for me and Daisy as time moves on.”

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