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Maeve sighed as she walked through the front door a couple nights later. She was exhausted. Today had been one of those days where too many reports had been due at once and she’d been scrambling to keep up with it all. The companies she did financial books for had all been in a hurry today, wanting their information and during the few minutes between calls, she’d been trying to interview teenagers to help Estelle out at the front desk.
Her feet ached, along with her backside from sitting at the computer too long. All she wanted was some dinner and a chance to soak in a bubble bath before she went to bed.
A thudding sound caught her attention and Maeve jerked her head up. “Dad?”
“Maeve!” her mother shouted. “Come help!”
Maeve ran up the stairs, her exhaustion forgotten as she rushed to her parents. “What happened?”
Her mom was kneeling next to her father. “His leg buckled,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” Maeve’s dad said, brushing them both off. “Just help me back to my feet and I’ll be fine.”
“Dad,” Maeve scolded. “You’re not fine. And Mom and I can’t carry you down the stairs.”
He scowled. “No one needs to carry me. I’ll use the banister. This is just like what happened in Italy. My knee buckled, but get me back up and I’ll be fine.”
“Oh?” Maeve challenged. “Like when you fell and broke your wrist?” When her father’s face fell, Maeve knew she shouldn’t have said it, but this was serious! No one liked that this disease was stealing his strength, but they couldn’t ignore it either. He already struggled to eat. Going down the stairs was just another problem in the long list that was headed their way. It broke Maeve’s heart, but there was nothing she could do to stop it either. “I’m sorry,” she said, forcing her tone to drop. “But I think we might need some help.” Her smile was self deprecating. “Mom and I are the smallest of the bunch. We’re too itty bitty to carry you down.”
Her father tried to smile back, but it was as shaky as his hands. “I know,” he assured her. “Maybe...maybe we need to move my bed?”
“Not without me, you don’t,” Maeve’s mom said adamantly. “I won’t have you sleeping on the couch or on a blow-up mattress. If you need to be downstairs, we’ll need to build a room.” Her lips pinched. “For both of us.”
Her father sighed. “There isn’t space for a room,” he said softly. “And you shouldn’t have to leave the place where we’ve spent all our married life.”
Maeve backed up a little as her parents argued quietly back and forth. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. First things first...they needed help getting their dad down the stairs.
Ethan.
As soon as she had the thought, Maeve paused. Yes, Ethan should be home this time of night and he was close enough to be easily accessible, but Estelle wasn’t home to go get him. If someone was going to get him, it would have to be Maeve. “Um...maybe Ethan could come help us?” she asked, keeping her voice as even as possible.
A voice in the back of her mind begged her mother to say they didn’t need help, but Maeve had no such luck.
“Oh, Ethan,” her mother gushed. “Perfect, hon. Would you go get him, please? He’s just the answer we need right now.”
Fear immediately pushed through Maeve’s system, but she forced it aside. This is for Dad. I’d do anything for him. She forced her own shaky knees into compliance and walked back down the stairs. As she walked out the door and across the yard, her breathing grew erratic and she nearly turned back three times.
How could she simply show up at his door and ask for help? Maeve had been ignoring, or trying to ignore Ethan for nearly eight years. She had no right to ask him for anything.
Not only that, but this meant she’d have to speak to him face to face. She’d not only have to humble herself, she’d have to address him in a way that gave every opportunity for her heart to get involved.
She wasn’t cold to him by choice but necessity. Any chink in her armor meant that her feelings for Ethan came rushing to the forefront as if she hadn’t spent years trying to hold it back. His ability to draw her attention and make her heart speed up was unlike anything she had ever known and was exactly why she had never been able to move on.
If another man ever came close to replicating those feelings, Maeve knew she’d be able to heal. But it had never happened. It had never even come close. Every other man was boring and tedious compared to Ethan and try as she might, Maeve had been unable to change that.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand. “For Dad,” she whispered. Surely she could do this for her dad. Her feelings and emotions didn’t matter nearly as much as getting him help...right?
Her knuckles hit the wood once...twice...three times before her hand dropped and Maeve intertwined her fingers to keep them from shaking.
“Coming!” There was shuffling from the other side before Ethan pulled the door open. “Maeve?” A quizzical smile broke across his handsome face. “What are you doing here?”
Maeve opened her mouth to speak, but she had to snap it shut again. Did he have to look so daringly delicious at this time of night? Shouldn’t he be as ragged and worn as her? Why did his messy hair and five-o’clock shadow only make her enjoy looking more, rather than turning her off?
Ethan leaned forward a little. “Maeve?”
She cleared her throat. “We, uh...we need your help.”
Ethan frowned and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. “What’s going on?”
Maeve scrambled back, only to barely catch herself before falling down the porch steps. Way to look smooth, idiot. “Dad fell.”
“What?” Ethan took off running before Maeve could explain any more. When he realized she wasn’t with him, he came back and grabbed her hand. “Come on. Is he okay? Do we need an ambulance?”
Maeve couldn’t speak. Her legs could barely keep up as he rushed them back across the two yards and her arm was on fire in a way that was so pleasant she was momentarily mute.
“Emory? Antony?” Ethan burst into the house, finally dropping Maeve’s hand. “Where are you?”
“Upstairs, sweetie,” Maeve’s mom said calmly.
Maeve followed Ethan up the steps. He stood in front of her parents, his breathing heavier than normal. He glanced back at Maeve, then focused on her parents again. “Had to send the pipsqueak to get the muscle, huh?”
Maeve’s face flamed hotter than her hand a moment ago, but this heat wasn’t nearly as nice. Before she could snap a retort, however, her mother and father laughed.
“I suppose that’s a good way to say it,” Maeve’s mom admitted. “Do you mind?”
*****
“DO I MIND HELPING THE prettiest mom in Seagull Cove get her husband downstairs? Who the heck would mind that?” Ethan said with a forced laugh. His heart had gone through a roller coaster of emotions in the last two minutes.
When Maeve had shown up at his door, looking like she wanted to devour him in one bite, he’d had a fleeting moment of hope that a miracle had occurred. Her next words, however, had brought him crashing down to Earth. Antony Harrison was one of the best men Ethan knew and the thought of him being hurt was enough to send Ethan racing over without really knowing what he was getting into.
He’d pulled Maeve along, not missing the opportunity to touch her at least a little bit, then had another heartbeat change when he’d realized that Antony wasn’t hurt, just stuck.
“Flatterer,” Emory said with a grin. She stood up and stepped back. “We’re trying to go down to dinner. Can you give him a hand?”
“On it.” Ethan stepped behind Antony and gripped around his chest. “Okay, up first. Then I’ll shift and we’ll move forward, alright?”
Antony nodded, looking weary. “Sounds good,” he said weakly.
Ethan bit back the emotion trying to crowd his vision. He’d already lost his parents when he wasn’t yet twenty. He wasn’t ready to lose Antony as well. “On three. One...two...three!” Ethan stood, pulling the man who had always been larger than life up as if he were a young teenage boy. Ethan hadn’t realized until this moment just how much weight Antony had lost. “Perfect,” Ethan said with a wide, forced smile. “Now let me...” He shifted so he was beside Antony, his arm wrapped around the man’s torso. “Nice and easy, okay?”
Antony nodded, then looked up. “You women go ahead. We’ll be down soon,” he said soothingly.
Ethan had to admire how much the man was trying to spare his family. From the tears in Emory and Maeve’s eyes, he knew everyone was having the same realizations as he was. Life is too short with the ones you love.
He couldn’t help but watch Maeve comfort her mother, walking Emory downstairs with murmured words. His heart ached for her. He wanted to take care of Maeve the same way she was taking care of her mother. He wanted the right to hug, hold, touch, and kiss away her fears and worries.
“Don’t give up,” Antony whispered as he began to walk, forcing Ethan to move with him.
“Of course not,” Ethan said easily. “We’ll get you downstairs with no troubles at all.”
Antony gave Ethan a sidelong look, waiting for Ethan to figure it out.
“Oh. You mean...” Ethan pinched his lips and cleared his throat. “That transparent, huh?”
Antony shook his head as he gripped the stair rail, steadying himself as they worked their way down. “I’m her father, Ethan. I see more than most.”
“Then you know she’s not interested.”
Antony chuckled. “No. I know she fights it.” His dark eyes came back to Ethan. “So I say again, don’t give up.”
Don’t say it...don’t say it. “She doesn’t trust me,” Ethan finally admitted. He’d never discussed that fateful day with the Harrisons. Maeve had never brought it up and Ethan hadn’t been too keen on it either. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d done to earn her disdain, but it had to be bad and no one wanted to talk about their worst mistakes.
Antony shrugged as much as he could against Ethan’s hold. “Show her she can.”
Ethan chuckled sarcastically. “Easier said than done, Tony. I’ve been trying to do that for eight years.”
They finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Antony was breathing heavily. “She’s worth it,” he whispered before straightening himself and walking toward the dining room. His steps were slightly uneven and Ethan didn’t dare leave him by himself, but Ethan did stay back just enough to let Antony have some of his dignity.
Ethan couldn’t imagine how it must hurt the man’s pride to have built a worldwide reputation as a sculptor, only to lose it to a disease far earlier than anyone would be ready. Instead of choosing to be done, he’d been forced out, his tremors too hard to ignore.
Many times over the years, Antony had offered advice and helped guide Ethan. He’d been a second father since Ethan spent so much time at their house. But nothing rang through his mind with as much strength as what the man had just uttered.
She’s worth it.
Antony was right. Maeve was worth it. Those who had her love and trust never had to question it. She’d give her life before she let someone else be hurt on her watch. And that was the problem. He was positive it was why he hadn’t been able to move on and find someone else. Between their natural chemistry and the fact that he simply would never find someone as inherently good. Maeve Harrison stood out on every level and Ethan couldn’t look away.
“You’re joining us for dinner?” Emory said as the men entered the dining room. She wiped her hands on a towel, raising her eyebrows at Ethan in expectation.
Ethan smiled. “That’s alright. You don’t need to do that.”
Emory frowned. “Ethan. I know better. Now sit.” She pointed to a chair, which just happened to be next to Maeve.
There was no helping the slow smile that crept across his face when Maeve blushed deep enough for her tanned skin to flush pink. “Thanks, Mama Em,” he said with a wink. “I haven’t had a home cooked meal in a while. And I worked up an extra appetite tonight.”
Emery tsked her tongue. “You used to come over all the time. We’ll have to see that happen more often again. Your parents are probably rolling over in their graves at our neglect of you.”
They all sat down and Ethan tried to ignore Maeve’s stiff shoulders. Try as he might, though, he couldn’t help pushing his seat just a little bit closer when he pulled it forward to sit down.
The look Maeve gave him said she hadn’t missed the move.
“How was the office today?” Ethan asked, trying to keep her from stabbing him with a fork. He nodded at Emory in thanks when she passed him a bowl of peas.
Maeve shrugged. “Same as always.” She stabbed at her salmon, breaking it into tiny pieces.
“It’s already dead,” Ethan whispered close to her ear. Man...she smelled good.
Maeve jumped, then cleared her throat as if to play off the moment. “I’m aware, thank you.”
He kept his smile inside, but it was hard. Sometimes her determination to avoid him was hilarious, though other times it smarted like a jellyfish sting. “This is delicious, Mama Em. Thank you.”
Emory beamed, her eyes darting between Ethan and Maeve. It occurred to Ethan that Antony wasn’t the only one pushing for something more between the two. “Tell us about the shop, Ethan. Are you running it year round yet?”
Ethan’s fork dropped as a topic he wasn’t ready to address came up. “Uh...nope,” he said with false cheer. “Not yet.” As if I wasn’t already enough of a loser in Maeve’s eyes. Let’s just show her that I can’t keep a business afloat.
“Oh?” Emory asked, her eyes wide. “What’s going on? You sound a little upset.”
Crud. This wasn’t what he signed up for.