Page 58 of Bargain with the Irish Devil

“Declan, are you serious?”

“As a fucking heart attack, darlin’. Now for the third fucking time. Where are you?”

“At home.” She gives me the address and I give it to Colm.

“We’ll be there in fifteen.” I end the call and hand Colm back his phone.

“Why—”

I don’t give him a chance to ask. “Because I can’t take the babe home with me. Miranda is afraid our world is dangerous. I just talked her into staying. The last thing I need to do is show up with a baby whose mother died because we didn’t protect her. Brenna said she was looking forward to kiddos. This will give you guys a head start.”

From the corner of my eye, I see his mouth open and close as he searched for something he felt brave enough to say to me. He doesn’t find anything before we get to Brenna’s.

Her place is in a ten-story building with an elevator around the corner from De Paul.

Colm leads the way. I hadn’t talked to him about Brenna beyond telling him he was to marry her. He wasn’t happy, but he took her number and said he’d call her.

I hand the baby to Colm in the elevator. He takes him with a grimace.

“I don’t know anything about babies, Dec,” he mutters.

“You’ll figure it out. I have every confidence in you.” I assure him.

Brenna is waiting with her door open as we step off the elevator. Her eyes are filled with surprise, but she doesn’t hesitate to take the baby from Colm.

“You’re serious?” She whispers as she holds the baby tight and rocks him.

I nod, taking my wallet from my inner pocket. I pull out one of my credit cards and hand it to her. “His mother was a working girl in the brothel. Tommy killed her. The grandmother doesn’t want him, and Rhonda had no idea who the father is. Get everything he’ll need for the first year. I’ll get with your father to schedule the ceremony as soon as possible. The grandmother is leaving in eleven days. Before she goes, we’ll need to have the adoption put through. Or do you want to play it as he’s yours? I can get with someone to have papers made up.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’m…I don’t fucking know.”

I look to Colm. “You two figure it out. I’m taking the car. In an hour, get to the pub. By the time you get there, Shannon and Ian will be dead, and I’ll need you to run the room for the night.”

Miranda

It’s a long time after Declan has left before I go downstairs and find Aoife cleaning the kitchen.

“Well, hello there, dear. How are you doing this afternoon? What will you have?”

I blush. “I’m good, thank you. If we still have any of the quiche you made on Sunday, that would be good. Please.”

“Coming up, dear. I see Colm’s gone. That’s good.”

Nodding, I sigh as I sit down at the kitchen table. “I just hope this doesn’t blow up in my face.”

Aoife laughs. “Dear, you are forever looking for problems where there are none. It took Declan time to find you. Now that he has, he’ll not be letting you go.”

It’s embarrassing to blush so much. “That’s what he said. He asked me to stay. And I want to. I just hope…”

“This is what you make of it. Declan told me you worried about his safety. And I have to tell you that you have nothing to worry about. All that stuff you see on television is nonsense. While I’m not saying that things don’t get violent from time to time—the worst he’s come home is with a bit of blood from beating a man for money. If I didn’t believe you were safe with Declan, I would never have helped with you. He’s a good boy, especially compared to some of those asshole traders you run into. He has to be in order to be a good example to his men.” She pats my hand.

I’m reminded of what he said last night. How he hadn’t needed to use his gun, or anyone pointed one at him in years. It surprised methen and even more so now. I feared a more violent life than what he described. Last night, I felt like it would be what I was sentencing myself to.

Aoife is adamant that it isn’t what I feared. And while I want to believe Declan was honest because he promised to be, I trust Aoife completely. It's a huge relief. Because even if it were unsafe, I wouldn’t want to leave. The mere idea of leaving Declan sends a shot of pain through me that makes it hard to breathe.

After I eat, I’m drawn to Aoife making bread. “Since I don’t have any work to do, can I learn how to make bread with you? I’ve always wanted to make my own bread. I tried a few times, and it wouldn’t rise.”

“Of course, dear. I’d love to show you. You didn’t activate your yeast. I’ll show you how.”

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