Page 16 of Desired

“Aye, but your da has never steered you wrong, Declan. My da would take me for every penny I own and then some if I let him. He’s a selfish, conniving, greedy jackass.”

“Yet you still love him. And that’s okay, as long as you set boundaries. Besides, he’s not going to hurt you if he’s behind bars.”

“That’s the thing, Declan. He’s behind bars because of me.”

“I really don’t think so, lass. It sounds to me like he’s asked for his own troubles.”

“But I won’t testify against Richard. That’s the missing piece here.”

“If your da has a strong enough case to get him out of jail, one person’s testimony isn’t going to change anything, unless you physically watched this Richard lad do the murdering yourself.”

She grasps her hair in frustration. “God, this is such a mess. I was stupid for running away from my problems. I was a fool for moving here when I still had so many ties back home.”

“Shhh...stop this, Moira.” I tell her kindly. “You’re exhausted. You need some sleep. I should never have asked you to talk about this tonight. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sully our night, lass. This has been beautiful, and I’m a fool for bringing all this stressful shit up.”

“No, it’s okay, Declan. I do this sometimes. Only it’s my granny that brings me back down to earth. I haven’t seen her in a couple of days and I should know better.”

I hold her close to me. “Moira, you shouldn’t need your granny to grow some sense. You had your reasons for moving on, bonnie. It sounds to me like it was high time that you did.”

She scoffs. “My granny is going to love you.”

I chuckle. “You think so?”

“I know so.” She looks up at me. “Thank you for being so understanding. It means a lot, Declan.”

“Not at all, lass. You know, my family is no stranger to trouble, either. Something is always at our doorstep, and just when we think that the coast is clear and we let our guards down, something new falls into our paths. It’s the way it is when you’re wealthy.”

“It’s true.” She agrees. “My da was like a normal person until he ended up in financial peril. And then when my granddad died and left me everything, all hell broke loose. My family was a mess, and all over me, because suddenly I had all the money, when I did nothing to sway granddad.”

“But you did well with it, Moira. I mean, I assume that’s how you went through medical school.”

“Aye. And I put my granny into the best retirement home I could find. I bought this apartment and put the rest in the bank. That’s why I wanted you to help me invest it.”

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow, Moira. Get some sleep, bonnie. You’re tired.”

She leans up and kisses my lips. “Are you staying?”

“I am.” I smile at her.

...but I receive a call about an hour later, so I have to slip out without her knowing...

“I’m not even going to ask where you were, Declan.” Da practically growls at me. The phone vibrated from my pocket on the floor, but Moira’s apartment is so quiet, I heard it from a mile away. Da said three words to me and I was dressed and out the door in less than thirty seconds. In case you’re wondering, all he said was ‘get home now’. Da isn’t even supposed to be home, but with our private jet, he’s pretty much mobile, day or night. Mama is home a lot now, helping to look after Peg, Caleb and Laney’s adopted daughter, but she works remotely for the most part, while da still cracks the whip at the office.

“Obviously you’ve figured it out.” I tell him, not afraid to lip off, for now.

He storms through the living room, after he let himself in, likely afraid to wake mama or Peg, so he opts to tear me a new one in my own home, instead.

“Of course I figured it out, you fool!” He bellows, a bead of spittle flying out of his mouth. It turns out, da has a temper.

“Well, what’s the problem, da?” I ask rhetorically, but he takes it literally.

“The problem is that you fell under the fucking radar, Declan! You and Maverick went behind my back and associated with this woman that we know nothing about!” I’m surprised when he doesn’t bring up the fact that her da is in jail for murder. But I don’t add insult to injury, and I keep quiet. “And your brother...using that baffoon!”

“I know, da. Believe me, I was pissed at Maverick, too.” I change tack. “You know that he set me up with her, right?”

He rolls his eyes. “Yes.”

I sigh. “I’m sorry, da. I didn’t want to defy you. Had I known what Maverick was up to, I would have refused.”

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