Page 9 of On The Rocks

SOS. Office, now.

Within seconds,two green ticks appeared, and I sat back and waited.

It didn’t take long for me to hear the voices of my brothers get louder as they approached the office. The door flew open to reveal Donovan and Tadhg.

“Get your arses in here,” I ordered.

Donny sauntered over, dropped into Kennedy’s chair, and sprawled out. T took Paddy’s chair.

“Well?” Donovan drawled.

I scraped a hand down my face. “We’re fucked.”

His forehead creased.

“Da left the bar to Patrick,” I informed them. “His medical insurance didn’t cover the cancer treatment, so he borrowed money against the business. Paddy’s owed three hundred thousand dollars.”

Donovan’s head tipped back, and he spat, “Fuck!”

Tadhg’s eyes rounded. “What the hell was he thinking?”

I shook my head frustratedly. “Been asking myself the same thing, bro. Mam’s got the life insurance policies and the money in their accounts, but that’s all there is. The bar’s gone.”

Donny sat up and leaned forward on the desk. “Can’t we buy it back?”

My eyebrow cocked. “Yeah, if we can come up with three hundred thousand green in one month.”

“I just completed the sale for the gym,” Donny declared. “It’s taken everything I’ve got, and I had to get a business loan.”

“I can come up with about twenty thousand,” Tadhg offered. “I know it’s not much, but I live on the road; all my cash goes on hotels and my ride. Surely he understands our position. Did you ask if he’d give us longer to pay?”

“He will,” I admitted. “But at a price.”

“He’s charging us more interest?” Donovan asked.

“No,” I told him quietly. “I’m the fucking price.”

A brief silence fell over the room.

“What do you mean, you’re the price?” Donny murmured, his expression puzzled.

“He’ll pay fifty grand off the loan and give me a year to repay it, but only if I wed one of his daughters.”

Donovan’s jaw dropped while Tadhg stared at me with his eyes bugging out.

“Needless to say,” I added. “I refused his kind offer.”

“Fuck me,” Donny breathed. “I can’t blame ya. Both those girls are bitches. They were mean as fuck to Maeve at Orla’s birthday party. Nearly lost my shit.”

My head jerked. “You know Maeve?”

“Course I do. I got talking to her that night. She’s scary smart and sweet, if a bit shy. The girl came out of her shell after she relaxed a bit, though. But back to the point, Cal. I’d rather us lose the bar than let you marry one of those bitches.”

My face blanched. “It’s not Erin or Shannon he wants me to marry.”

Tadhg shot me a frustrated look. “Will you stop talking in fucking riddles and tell us what the fuck’s going on? Who does he want you to marry if not bitch Erin and bitchier Shannon?”

My mouth twisted. “Patrick wants me to marry Maeve.”

---