Page 65 of After Indigo Irish Nights
“Fine, but if you want to talk about it, I’m here.” Liam slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m off for brownies. You’d better join us, or I can’t promise there will be any left.”
With that, he left, and Declan stared after him.
“What’s Liam talking about?” Brady asked, grabbing his arm and planting himself in front of him.
He ground his teeth. “Nothing. Old history. You know how long Jimmy and I go back. You were at our first fight…and the last.”
Brady’s brow knit. “Liam’s more canny than that. He only gets like Yoda, as you say, when he knows something is below the surface. You holding out on your brother about something with Jimmy?”
Dredging up old business would only weaken him as a man and a fighter, just like Eoghan had predicted. Shadowboxing Jimmy was one thing. Throwing open the box of destruction Jimmy had gifted him, one tied to Morag, would only amplify his already volatile emotions. He needed to keep them contained. Fighting with a volcano of emotion inside you was a good way to lose.
“It’s my own business and nothing for you to worry about,” Declan said, taking him by the shoulder. “Come along. Let’s grab the brownies before they disappear.”
Brady didn’t let him past. “You know you can talk to me too, right?”
“When do I talk to anyone?” Some things a man didn’t talk about. “Don’t pull that worried face. You know me.”
“I do, and you’ve been wound tight, tight as ever. Dad says the same. He’s worried you’re burning the candle at both ends.”
“I haven’t fought in five years.” He sighed, knowing he’d need to give his brother more. “It will be in front of the whole village, first with Paul and then with Jimmy, and you know how far he and I go back. Further, the outcome is important to the arts center, which is beloved to my future sister-in-law and Kathleen and our friends. Then there’s Kathleen herself and all. Surely you can understand why I would be wound up.”
Brady’s mouth tipped to the right. “You’ve fallen pretty hard for her, haven’t you? Sorcha—”
“Don’t bring her into it,” Declan said as he heard the ghost’s sudden laughter in the entry hall, making his hairs raise. “Dammit, I hate it when she does that.”
“Sorcha always was good for a bit ofcraic,” Brady said, looking around for her before shaking his head. “Anyway, I’m glad you two are together. I might be biased, but Kathleen is grand to the core.”
“I don’t need a character reference. Now can we go and have some brownies?” Jesus, he was begging for brownies. But it was better than undergoing Brady’s continued inquisition.
“I’ll race you,” his brother said, streaking ahead like he’d done since they could first toddle on two legs.
Declan strolled slowly, taking his time. When he reached the kitchen doorway, he leaned against it to give himself a moment.
Kathleen had chocolate in the corner of her mouth, close to her sexy mole, and she and Ellie were laughing as Liam pretended to hide the brownies under the table from Brady.
She was surrounded by people he cared about and looked as though she belonged there. Much like she’d looked when she’d pulled beers behind the bar at the Brazen Donkey.
The knowledge that she fit in all the places that mattered to him made his heart swell like a melon in his chest.
He didn’t mind that they ended up in the parlor, demolishing brownies and watchingThe Matrix. Better that than the ghost chick flick she’d mentioned. Who in the world would find something like that romantic?
NowThe Matrixwas another thing, and when she leaned against him, soft and warm and smelling of chocolate, he bent closer to whisper, “You know. I think you look like Trinity.”
She narrowed her eyes to slits. “Believe me, I’ve heard it before. It’s the hair—and my black coat. My brothers love asking me if I’ve seen Neo lately. But they’re a bunch of morons.”
“They sound like a good group.”
“They’re the best.” Her face was radiant, he thought, but then a shadow seemed to fall upon her features.
“You miss them badly, don’t you?”
Her shoulder lifted and she turned her attention back to the kung fu fighting on screen. “Yeah, of course. Wouldn’t you miss everyone here?”
He wasn’t a man to dwell on his emotions but looking at his brother and one of his best friends sprawled on the old furniture, he had to admit he would. He nodded. She didn’t say much after that, but as the movie played, he thought about her family. To his surprise, he found himself wanting to meet them.
When good had prevailed and Neo had saved Trinity, they all broke up and went their separate ways after a round of hugs started by the women. Closing the door to his bedroom, Declan watched Kathleen sink onto his bed and start unlacing her boots.
“Bare bones decor,” she said with a smirk. “Exactly what I was expecting, except your bed is bigger than mine, as promised. You’re such a guy. My brothers are the same way. I swear they’d run if I threw a colorful throw or ruffled pillow at them. But that’s why I love them. WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. Like me.”
