Page 85 of Strangers in Love

Eoin.

It took my brain only seconds to make all the connections. Eoin’s early morning phone call and rush to leave. His comment about a group who’d made him a monster and a group in Iraq who’d bought and planned to re-sell the others. The fact that he’d already told me that he’d planned to go back to get them before we’d learned they’d disappeared.

That was why he’d left me in the hotel room.

He’d kept his word.

While it did make me a little less upset, it didn’t mean I was going to reach out to him or anything like that. What we’d had might’ve been good, but it hadn’t been made to last. Without the weight of the others’ captivity on my shoulders, I could focus on moving forward and beginning the next stage of my life. That’s what I should have wanted.

That’s what Ididwant.

And maybe if I said it enough, I’d believe it.

Fifty-Six

Eoin

I hadno idea how Mom had managed it, but everyone was here for Thanksgiving. Everyone. And it wasn’t like all of us were close by.

Austin was just in San Jose, but as CEO of Carideo Tech – the company Austin’s father, Marcus, had created – he had the sort of obsession with work that made the rest of us look like slackers, which was saying a lot. He’d missed family events almost as often as I had over the years.

Alec and Evanne had brought Lumen, which Mom had immediately taken to mean that their relationship was serious. I tended to agree, but I wasn’t going to bug them about it. I left it up to the others to bombard the happy couple with questions. Evanne had already made the rounds to all her aunts and uncles before heading off to the kitchen to ‘help’ with the cooking.

The oldest of the cousins/siblings, Blaze, had flown in from Baltimore on Tuesday evening since his being a professor gave him extra time off during the holidays. I didn’t have to ask if he’d brought anyone with him. After his divorce ten years ago, he’d pretty much sworn off anything resembling a serious relationship. I couldn’t blame him. His ex had done a number on him.

Rome had his own extremely successful real estate business in L.A., so he’d given his employees Wednesday and Friday as well as today. He’d driven up yesterday while I’d flown in, but I’d be riding back with him tomorrow afternoon rather than taking a commercial flight since the family plane would stay here.

Brody was the last one to show up, which was funny since he actually still lived here in San Ramon. I would’ve hassled him about it, but it was his birthday, so I didn’t. Thirty-two. I wondered if his age was bothering him because he just seemed a little off, but when no one else commented on it, I chalked it up to it just being in my head.

When Fury and Cory showed up, I remembered how Aline had talked about how impressive they were. That wasn’t something I really wanted to think about. Fortunately, there were enough of us catching up that I had plenty of other things to focus on.

Like the horror story Carson – Cory’s fraternal twin – and our younger sisters, Maggie and Rose, told about their two-hour layover in Chicago on their way here from New York City.

Maggie didn’t mention why her boyfriend Dale hadn’t come, and no one asked, but I knew everyone was hoping she’d finally realized she was too good for him. They’d been together for three years, but he’d only met the family a handful of times. Because of my time in the army, I’d never actually met the man, but I trusted my siblings’ gut feelings that Dale was just an asshole.

Carson hadn’t brought anyone either, but he’d always been extremely private about his dating life. I didn’t blame him. The first couple years after he’d first started making a name for himself in the fashion world, he’d had women come on to him all the time because they wanted to use who he was and the connections he had.

London had said more than once that she was too focused on her career to date. Considering she’d moved to New York to become an actress, it made sense. With her being the youngest, she wouldn’t have to worry much about Mom asking about her love life.

Paris had been in Canada for the last two weeks doing some lectures and had just flown in yesterday evening. She’d be around until after the first of the year, working on some paper with a title too long for me to remember. Mom and Da were thrilled that she’d be staying with them, especially since I’d moved out. Now they’d have two of their kids here again.

Aspen said she was still looking for an apartment, but I suspected she’d put it off until after the holidays so she wouldn’t have to move with all the festivities going on. I didn’t blame her. If I’d decided to stay in San Ramon, I probably would’ve done the same thing.

The other set of twins – identical ones this time – were sitting off by themselves, talking. Sean was twelve minutes older than Xander and never missed an opportunity to mention it. Knowing how close the two had always been, I’d been surprised a few years ago when Xander had moved to England to play professional football for the Tottenham Hotspurs. ‘Real’ football as he and Da said, not ‘that American nonsense.’

Rose had actually gotten here this morning and was leaving first thing tomorrow. She was technically self-employed, but it wasn’t the sort of thing that allowed her to take many breaks or long ones. She owned a ranch in Colorado and did most of the work herself. I suspected the only reason she’d even come this year was because it was my first Thanksgiving at home since I’d enlisted.

Mom wasn’t making a big deal about it, especially since it was Brody’s birthday, but I could see in her eyes how much it meant to her that all of us were here. I had a feeling there’d be family photos happening between dinner and dessert.

The thought made me frown. I’d never really cared about having my picture taken before. Even when I was going through my stupid phase as a teenager, I’d never given Mom a hard time when she wanted a shot or two. We’d had a couple family things since I’d come home, and if I’d thought about it, I could’ve probably remembered pictures being taken, especially since one of the things we’d done had been Evanne’s birthday, but for some reason, the idea of something more formal and planned bothered me a bit more. Maybe because there’d be no way for me to hide in the background.

I wasn’t going to ruin this for Mom, though. She’d been so worried about me, not only when I was overseas, but since I’d been home too. I’d be damned before I’d let her down by arguing about a simple picture. I wouldn’t have to look at it.

“Dad says you’ve moved to L.A.,” Brody said as he plopped down next to me on the couch. “Thinking of going into acting?”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to be the next Indiana Jones.”

“You’re a decent guy, little brother, but Harrison Ford you’re not.” Brody grinned at me, but the smile didn’t look quite right. Like his heart wasn’t really into it.

---