Page 98 of Harbor Lights
I hope my new recruit is more together than she appears!
Shiv’s reply came back in moments.
She’s a Walsh. We’re all amazing x
Con pictured Shiv up a stepladder, dropping her screwdriver into her toolbelt while she took the time to reply, and smiled.
She’s a nepo baby and you’re all as bad as each other. Text me when you’re on your way x
She finished the tour with Daisy and wished her luck in her move back from Dublin. She’d be starting in a couple of weeks and Con felt mainly good about it.
She got stuck back into paperwork after Daisy left, and lost track of everything until the loud thunk of a water bottle jolted her back to the present.
“Honey, I’m home!” Shiv looked irresistible in her work clothes, and Con wanted to strip them off her, and take her against the door.
“I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” Shiv grinned at her own cheek.
“So far, nothing, because you were supposed to text me.” She wasn’t actually annoyed. They hadn’t gotten into a regular routine yet, and she was happy to let things develop naturally. She was glad Shiv appreciated her cooking, though, and thrilled to find she enjoyed being a cook.
“Well, surprise!” Shiv lifted an insulated box onto her desk—the type Joey used to keep shellfish cool. “See what I brought you.” She was grinning from ear to ear.
Con stood and opened the box, to be hit by a cloud of aromatic odors. “Ooh, not my favorite Thai takeout?”
Shiv nodded. “I was finishing that job in town, so I thought you’d appreciate it.”
Con’s mouth watered at the thought of the feast ahead. She grabbed the box and marched to the kitchen. “I’ll get plates. You find cutlery.”
As they ate, she paused for a moment to reflect on her day.
Shiv dangled a steamed dumpling before her eyes. “Are you still worrying about your new signing?”
“Of course not.” Con snagged the dumpling and pushed it into her mouth.
“It’s understandable. You’ve been flying solo since your dad retired, so it’ll take some adapting. But it’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Shiv’s gently caring tone dispersed Con’s worries. She swallowed the delicious morsel and straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. I want this practice to be the best it can be for my patients. Daisy brings a lot of skills and experience.” She took a sip of water to wash down the food. “But even more importantly, it’ll cut down on my workload and those pesky out of hours calls. And that means more time with you.”
She placed her hand on Shiv’s. She’d given her some space over the last week while her mom had been visiting, but Con had missed her like hell.
“Sounds perfect to me.” Shiv’s smile was full of love and Con wondered once again at the way their lives had transformed over the last few months.
When the empty boxes were all that remained of their feast, Con sat back, wiped her mouth on a serviette, and resisted the urge to burp her satisfaction.
“You need to work in the city more often.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Shiv started to clear away the debris.
Con stilled her hand. “I’ll get that.”
“No, you get a shower and relax. I’ll follow when I’m done, and then maybe we could sit out in the yard? It’s a mild evening and the planting is starting to bloom.”
Con wanted to suggest they showered and went straight to bed. She was behaving like a teenager these days. “Grand. Perhaps you’ll join me in a whiskey?”
Shiv nodded solemnly, though her eyes laughed. “Perhaps I will.”
An hour later, Con poured a finger’s depth of her best whiskey into two glasses. She carried them carefully out into the garden and up the renovated stone steps onto the patchy lawn finally thickening up in the places it had been carefully raked clear of moss. The legs of the stone bench had been beyond repair, but Shiv had replaced them with two roughhewn lumps of granite, and the bench now sat proudly on the raised garden.
Shiv had already settled on the bench, legs crossed on the wide surface. She’d spread numerous throws and rugs onto the seat and backrest to make it more comfortable. As Con approached, she turned, revealing an easy smile.
