Page 7 of Callahan

The older woman continued, like she hadn’t even heard her daughter-in-law.

“I hope she’s a good Irish girl. I know your mother would like nothing more than a big Catholic wedding.”

Shawn’s mom placed her hand on her hips. “How do you know what Alice wants?”

“Of course that’s what she wants. I see her at mass every week!” She batted her eyes when she looked at him with a mischievous smile. “Molly Daugherty is still available.”

“Molly Daugherty?” Mrs. O’Brien roared. “You mean Shawn’s high school girlfriend?”

“Yeah, so? He moved on—with aProtestantgirl, no less.” She crossed herself. “Glory be, my great-grandson is half-Protestant.”

“Ma, stop. If Lainey hears you talking like that, she won’t let us watch Conor. I’ll kick you to the curb before I lose the chance to spend time with my grandson, old woman.”

Wait. Grandson?

The shock must have shown on my face because Brian explained, “Lainey got pregnant before Shawn shipped out and was waiting to tell him when he was home on leave. We didn’t know she was expecting until his funeral. Conor is two months old now.”

“Still think you should get a DNA test,” the older woman grumbled.

“We don’t need a test,” Mrs. O’Brien admonished. “Conor looks exactly like Shawn did when he was a baby.”

“Hmph.”

The awkwardness hung over the room, and Brian turned toward Shawn’s mom.

“That’s part of why Adam came. Shawn had bought Lainey an engagement ring. He made Adam promise to make sure she got it if something happened to him.”

“I—I don’t know anything about that. Granted, I haven’t gone in his room much since…” She didn’t finish her thought.

“It’s in his safe in his closet,” I said quietly.

“I didn’t even know he had a safe.”

Brian asked, “Would it be okay if we looked?”

“Yes, of course. You know where it is.”

I followed Brian up the stairs to the second door on the right.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob and blew out a breath before opening the door.

I think I’d half-expected posters on the wall of women in bikinis with piles of laundry in the corners, like my room at my parents’ house had been, but I should have known better. Shawn had been meticulous about his area of our shared tent, even in the middle of the desert.

Everything was neat and orderly. The bed, with a navy blue and forest green comforter, was made tight enough to bounce a quarter off, like I’d expect a Marine’s bed to look. The items on the desk were all lined up neatly, as were the knickknacks and trophies on his dresser and chest of drawers. Although the hamper in the corner still had dirty clothes in it, there wasn’t even a stray sock on the floor.

Brian opened the sliding door of the closet. The shirts were neatly organized and separated by type: button downs, polos, and flannels. His pants hung on nonslip pant hangers. Underneath, a shoe rack held his shined loafers and pristine tennis shoes.

Brian slid the door, so the other side of the closet was exposed. In the corner, sat a small safe.

I crouched down and twisted the numbers on the dial until I’d put in the nine-eleven-one sequence.

“You weren’t lying,” Brian softly remarked when I lifted the lever and it opened. “He gave you the combination.”

I didn’t take offense on that lying remark, chalking it up to his being best buddies with Shawn. Instead, I pulled the safe’s door open. Inside were some baseball cards, a manilla envelope and some other envelopes, and a small, wooden, heart-shaped box.

I pulled the box out and flipped open the lid.

A round solitaire diamond that was probably half a carat sparkled from where it sat snug in its slot in the black velvet.

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