Harbor Lights by Sherryl Woods

grieve at their own pace, but sooner or later it was time to get on with life, especially with a child to consider.
    “Have you tried to get through to him?” she asked Mick.
    “Of course I have,” Mick said. “I tried to get him to go with me this morning, just to give him something to do. He turned me down flat, then stormed off. I haven’t seen him since.”
    “Oh, Mick, you don’t think he’s drinking, do you?”
    “Absolutely not,” Mick said at once. “I haven’t seen him have more than a beer or two in the evening since he moved home, and he hardly leaves the house, so I think I would know.”
    “Well, something has to be done. He can’t go on like this,” she said.
    “That seems to be the general consensus around here, but not one of us has been able to come up with a plan.”
    “I’m coming down there,” Megan announced. “I’ll be there on Friday.”
    “Not that I won’t be happy for any excuse to have you here,” Mick said, “but what is it you think you can accomplish that the rest of us haven’t?”
    “I’m his mother. Surely I can think of some way to get through to him, even if having me around does nothing more than make him angry. At least that would demonstrate some kind of emotion.”
    “Meggie, are you sure?” Mick asked worriedly. “He’s not been very receptive on your last visits.”
    “Because I’ve been tiptoeing around like everyone else, trying to give him space. He’s mad at me. We all know that. I left and he took your side and he can hold a grudge with the best of the O’Briens. It’s time to put that in the past. Like it or not, I am his mother, and I will make him listen to me.”
    Mick chuckled. “I’m impressed by your determination and I agree he should let go of the past, but this may not be the best time to get through to him,” he warned. “He already has a lot on his plate.”
    “Since when did you give two figs about timing?”
    Mick chuckled. “Never,” he conceded. “I just don’t want him trampling all over your feelings.”
    “I can take it,” she assured him. “I deserve whatever hewants to dish out. And maybe if he’s venting all of his anger at me, he’ll release some of the pent-up emotions he has about Georgia. Where is he now?”
    “I have no idea,” Mick admitted. “Like I said, he took off this morning in a huff, and Ma says she hasn’t seen him since.”
    “What about Davy?” she asked incredulously. “He didn’t just go off and leave Nell to take care of him, did he?” Even as she asked, she saw the irony, since that was exactly what she’d done years ago, left Mick’s mother to raise her children. It had been unintentional, but that’s how it had turned out when her plans to bring them to be with her in New York had been ditched for a whole variety of reasons that she now knew were nothing more than flimsy excuses.
    “No, he’s very reliable when it comes to his son. He knew Davy was with me. He called earlier to check on him, but when Ma told him Davy was already asleep, Kevin said he’d be home in a couple of hours.”
    “Maybe he’s spending time with one of the girls,” she suggested. “Or Jake. They used to be good friends.”
    “Maybe,” Mick said, though he sounded doubtful. “He’s not been in any mood to socialize, though. Jake’s stopped by more than once, suggested a guys’ night out, but Kevin’s refused. I suspect he’s off somewhere by himself, brooding.”
    “For hours on end?” she asked, her concern growing. “He was always a social kid, not a loner. This really isn’t good, Mick. I’m worried.”
    “You think I should go look for him? I could take a ride around town.”
    “He’ll be furious if he thinks you’re checking up on him,” Megan said. “Then, again, it would put my mind at ease if I at least knew he wasn’t in real trouble.”
    “Then I’ll go right now,” Mick said at once.
    The immediate response surprised her. There’d been a time when Mick