Page 139 of On The Rocks

“Merry Christmas, Ma,” I replied softly, leaning down and kissing her cheek before nodding toward her cup. “You need a refill?”

She shook her head. “I’m grand. The pot’s fresh, though.”

I went to the teapot and poured myself a cup, added a spoonful of sugar, and stirred it in while studying Maureen thoughtfully. She seemed melancholy and a little sad. It was the first Christmas without Lorcan here, and I knew how emotional she must’ve been feeling.

“You can ask him for dinner, Maureen. It’s fine with me. I saw him the other night, and it broke the ice a little, and it proved that we can be in the same room without me strangling him now.”

“That’s grand for you,” she cut out. “But I’m not sure I can be in the same room without giving the little eejit a clip around the earhole,” her eyes slid away from me, “again.”

I giggled. “I still can’t believe you did that.”

Maureen sniffed. “He was lucky it was all I did.”

With my tea stirred, I grabbed my cup and joined my ma at the table. “Have you heard anything from Patrick?”

“No,” she clipped out. “The deeds for the bar have been changed, though. Callum called a couple of days ago to tell me.”

“That’s good,” I whispered. “I can’t imagine the stress he’s been living with.”

She smiled, tight-lipped, and patted my hand. “I know. It makes my blood boil when I think about what my husband and Patrick got up to. Lorcan knew the bar meant the world to Callum because he drummed its importance into our boy from when he was a wee lad. Patrick can be mean as a snake, so I’d expect it from him, but Lorcan... I thought...” Her voice trailed off, and she pursed her lips.

“The last time I saw Lorcan was at Orla’s birthday,” I relayed, my eyes glazing over as I thought back. “I’d escaped outside andwas hiding under the terrace with a book when he found me. He sat there for a good thirty minutes and told me the story about when my da met my mammy.”

Maureen’s eyes softened.

“Da didn’t like her at first, thought she was weird because she liked books and was quiet. Then, one day, she turned up at a party, and he saw her in a different light.” My eyes met hers. “Lorcan told me how that night she walked into the room, and every man in there couldn’t take their eyes off her. She’d gotten a makeover, right?”

Maureen’s eyes shone with tears, and she nodded.

“Her friend took her under her wing and helped her with her hair and clothes, the same way Tristan did me?”

Maureen smiled.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” I breathed. “You were the friend.”

Slowly, she dipped her chin.

“Then you did it for me, too. That conversation with Tristan the day I met him at the coffee shop. I remember it all.”

Her smile widened. “I never said Lorcan was wrong for what he did; I’m just pissed with the way he went about it. You’re perfect for my son, and he is for you. We talked about getting you two together for years, but neither of you seemed interested, so I backed off.” Her smile turned into a dazzling grin. “Seems Lorcan didn’t.”

I shook my head at my ma-in-law, but it was in a good-natured way. “You’re incorrigible.”

“My boys are eejits, but I want them to be happy. They’re good lads who do stupid things. Lorcan was hard on them growing up, especially Callum. My husband had a traumatic childhood, and he witnessed things no kid should see. He was a good father in a lot of ways but held a lot of anger and was taught young to use his fists to solve a problem.” Her gaze bored into mine. “You know, I caught Lorcan hitting Callum once?”

My chest tightened, and I blinked.

“I threw him out,” she continued. “I wasn’t sure our marriage would survive it. We told the boys he had a death in the family and went to Ireland to help out. But really, I made him leave, which at the time was a big thing.”

“Why did he do it?” I asked in a voice thick with emotion.

“It was all he knew. Lorcan’s da took a belt to him in his younger years, as did his da before. My husband grew up fighting for his survival. I was raised in a different area, and don’t get me wrong, even Roscommon experienced fallout from the troubles—all of Ireland did—but Lorcan was brought up in a tough place at a tough time. It’s no wonder it affected him. I know I clip Callum around the earhole—I do all my boys—but I’m a woman with a fraction of their strength, and it doesn’t hurt them. What my Callum’s da did left marks inside and out.”

My hand reached for hers on the table, and I squeezed. “I’m sorry.”

“Lorcan got the help he needed, so there’s that, but I hated him for a long time for hurting my son. It’s my biggest regret as a mother and a woman. I should’ve seen the signs. Callum worshipped his da, so getting punished in that way made him withdraw. Since then, he’s always been the type of boy to deal with his own troubles and problems, like with you. I think it stems from the fear of coming clean for his wrongdoings and his da giving him a good hiding for it.”

“Poor Callum,” I whispered, feeling my heart give a tug.

---