Page 92 of Shattered Union

"I like that idea; it'll be good to have the entire family around. Does Thomas have to come?" I ask regarding her brother-in-law. The man is an arsehole who gets rowdy when he's had a few drinks. None of the family like him, but he's Patty's husband and Jess's father. We have to put up with him.

Mam smiles. "Don't worry, Callie. Patty and Thomas are in Spain at the moment. I'm pretty sure Jer sent him away so he wouldn't come to the party."

I laugh. That sounds like something Jer would do. "Thank God, I can't be nice to him. The way he acts..." I shiver in disgust. He's so sleazy and always hits on the women he's around, including my mam. But no matter what he does, Patty doesn't seem to care what he gets up to.

"Yep," she says with a grimace. "You never said what you'd like to have. Are you hoping for two boys? Or two girls?"

"Honestly, I'm happy with either or one of each. As long as they're healthy and happy, that's all that matters. I didn't have a sister but Mav and I are close and I couldn't imagine not having him in my life."

"He's your protector."

I laugh at her words. "Yeah, I have a lot of those." I'm lucky, not only do I have Mav, but I have Stephen and my family as well.

The whooshing of the automatic door draws my attention to it, and in walks Denis and Chloe. Relief washes through me that they came, but I'm still pissed they're late.

"I'm so sorry, it's my fault. Dad's mad at me. He hasn't spoken to me since we got in the car," Chloe says.

"Everything okay?" I ask loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"Grand," he says, his eyes narrowed in on Chloe and his jaw clenched. He takes a seat beside me, his hand going to the base of my back. I can't help but tense beneath his touch. "I'm so fucking sorry, baby. Chloe had a fucking meltdown this morning."

I frown. That doesn't sound like her. "What happened?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Something was said. Fuck if I know. I came downstairs to Chloe and Holly standing off against each other." He glances at his daughter, the love and affection clear to see, but also the worry and anger. "Holly made a comment about me and you having some alone time together, spending the weekend together, and Chloe lost the fucking plot. I've no idea what the hell happened. One minute she's shouting and screaming at Holly and the next she's locked herself in her bedroom and won't talk to anyone."

I shake my head. That makes no damn sense. "There has to be more to it than that. Was anything else said?"

"None of them have said anything. But I agree, there's more to it. I just wish I knew what." He kisses my temple, inhaling my scent as he does. "I'm sorry I'm late,mo ghrá. While I was giving Mary a bath this morning, my phone took a fucking dive into the bathtub. It's ruined and Chloe was in a bitchy mood and wouldn't let me use her phone."

Wow, she really is in a mood. "I'll talk to her in a while and see if I can get her to talk to me." It sounds nothing like the girl I know.

"Once she locked herself in her room, everyone else left the house," he groans. "I need to get a new phone."

"You had a shit morning," I tell him with a small smile. "We still on for dinner tonight?"

He places another kiss against my head; I lean into his body, loving the warmth that seeps into me. I'm glad he's here. "Nothing is stopping us. Mary's looking forward to seeing you again."

I smile. Good, because I can't wait to see her and Gareth again.

The door to the ultrasound room opens, and I hear a deep laugh. One that sends chills running down my spine, taking every breath from me, making my heart stop and my stomach churn. It's a laugh that I know, one I hear every night in my nightmares.

"Callie?" Denis's voice is low as he whispers in my ear. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"It's him," I choke out. "That's the man who broke into my home and hurt me."

Mam's instantly beside me, her hand running through my hair. Chloe's biting her lip, uncertainty written all over her. The man takes one look at me and smirks, but it soon falls from his face when he sees Denis. Before Denis is even up off his seat, the man runs out of the building.

"Deep breath, Callie. Come on, in and out," Mam coaxes me.

Denis moves away from me and I want to reach out and take his hand, beg him to stay with me. But I know that's not possible. He follows the man through the exit door and I lose sight of him when the doors close behind him.

"It's going to be okay," Mam promises me as Chloe takes a seat on the other side of me. "You're going to be okay."

I wait with bated breath for Denis to return, and when he does, he's pissed.

"He's jumped into his car and sped out of here. Michael's on his tail. We're going to find him, baby, I promise you." The sheer conviction in his voice makes me believe him. I know he'll do whatever it takes to find out who the man was.

"The woman he's with is currently with Justin," Denis growls. "We'll find out who he is. He's no longer a ghost, baby. The nightmare is almost over."

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