Page 219 of Keeping 13

Ollie beamed up at her. “I am?”

Mam nodded. “Yes, you are.”

Tadhg snickered, joining Ollie at the island. “You look like Shannon.”

“So?” Ollie huffed, keeping his gaze trained on the cake Mam was cutting. “I’msweet.”

“You want some cake, Sean?” I asked when his head popped up, eyes trailing his brothers. “I bet it’s nice.”

“He doesn’t talk much,” Tadhg explained, eyes widening when my mother placed a huge slice of cake in front of him. “He only says, like, seven words.”

“It’s true,” Ollie agreed, picking up his slice of cake with his hand and taking a huge bite. “And he hasn’t said anything since Daddy hurt Shannon—”

“Ollie,” Tadhg groaned, shoulders slumping. “Stop talking.”

“It’s okay, boys,” Mam coaxed, voice shaking a little as she set a plate of cake down in front of Dad. “We don’t have to talk about that today.”

“Hey,” Gibsie interjected then, winking at Tadhg. “Don’t you be eating all that cake, fatty. I want some.”

Tadhg snorted. “You look like you’ve had enough cake for a month.”

“I’ll have you know that it takes hours in the gym to look as good as I do,” Gibsie shot back, joining them at the opposite side of the counter, taking the stool next to my father.

“Yeah,” Tadhg snickered between bites of his cake also using his hands and not the fork beside him. “Hours with your head in the fridge.”

Gibsie threw his head back and laughed. “You’re a cheeky little fucker.”

“Gerard,” Mam said, giving Gibsie a grateful smile as she set a plate of cake in front of him. “No bad language.”

“Sorry, Mammy K,” Gibsie replied with a sheepish grin before stabbing into his cake with relish. “Mmm.”

“I’ll get the ice cream,” Mam announced then, before hurrying into the utility room, smothering a sob as she went.

“Will we get some?” I asked Sean, who was now physically gravitating toward the food. “Yeah?”

Sean nodded and wiggled in my arms. I took it as a signal to put him down, and the minute I did, he scooted toward his brothers, trying and failing to climb up. Both of his brothers ignored him, entirely too focused on their own cake as they scarfed it down. Giving up on getting their attention, he moved around the island, stopping at my father’s legs. I watched as he seemed to hesitate before reaching up and tugging on the leg of his pants.

Wordlessly, my father reached down and lifted him onto his lap, not making a big deal of it, as he set his plate of cake in front of Sean. Diving for the cake, Sean started to shove it into his mouth, sitting contently on my father’s lap as he ate. Ollie and Tadhg turned to watch their little brother, both eyeing my father with wary curiosity.

When Mam walked into the kitchen with the tub of ice cream, she quickly backpedaled out again. Shaking my head, I followed her into the utility to find her sobbing against the freezer. “God love them,” she whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks. “Oh, Johnny, those poor babies.”

“I know, Ma,” I replied, keeping my voice low. “But don’t be crying. You’ll freak them out.”

“It’s just terrible,” she choked out. “How anyone could dothatto those babies—”

“Ma, stop.” Closing the space between us, I placed my hands on her shoulders and sighed. “Feed them,” I encouraged. “Fill them up with ice cream and all that shite you gave us when we were small. They don’t need any more tears.”

“You’re right.” Sniffling, she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and forced a smile. “No more tears.”

“Edel,” Dad said, popping his head around the door with Sean balancing on his hip. “We need to talk.”

“I know, John.”

“No.” He shook his head and gave my mother a meaningful look as Sean pulled on his tie. “We need to talk now, sweetheart.”

* * *

“This is bullshit,” I snarled, pacing my father’s study like a deranged lunatic. “I’m not taking them back there, Da.”

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