Page 57 of Myla: The Hawthornes

I grinned. “Fair enough.”

“Seanie, your cereal is ready,” Ashley called from the kitchen.

“I’m havin’ Cinnanin Toast Crumpch,” Sean informed me importantly. “You can have some if you want.”

“Maybe in a little bit,” I replied as he went bounding out of the room.

“Mornin’, Daughter,” my dad said as he followed Cian into the house.

“Good morning, Father,” I replied formally, pushing to my feet. “Damn, it feels like I slept in an armpit last night.”

Cian chuckled and shook his head.

“You know, we got you a motel room,” my dad said as the three of us walked toward the kitchen. “With a whole fuckin’ bed.”

“Cian had to stay here last night,” I reminded him.

Whatever snarky thing he was about to say was lost when we reached the kitchen, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Angry Ashley?”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Ashley said in exasperation. “What is this? Ghosts of Christmas past?”

“You know my dad?” I wheezed.

“Know me?” my dad said, stomping toward Ashley with a huge grin on his face. “Hell, we’re old friends.”

“We are not,” Ashley argued, but the words held no heat. “Damn, you got old, Tommy.”

“You just got prettier.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Ashley said with a laugh as my dad leaned in for a hug.

“Is this creeping you out, too?” I asked Cian quietly.

“Understatement,” he replied, moving past me. He walked around the two old friends and reached for the coffee pot.

“You hung out with bikers?” Aisling asked from her place at the table. “Go you.”

“When I was younger than you,” Ashley replied dismissively. “That phase was a short one.”

“But fun, right?” Dad said, still grinning.

“Hello?” I called. “Your daughter is standing right here.”

“You know Ashley?” my dad asked, pointing at her with his thumb.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Small world.”

“Please tell me you didn’t,” I said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Didn’t what?” my dad asked in confusion.

“We never slept together,” Ashley said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, thank God,” I muttered.

“Are you outta your mind?” my dad asked, glaring at me. “You think I’d be huggin’ a woman I slept with? Your mother would have my balls. Ilikemy balls.”

---