Page 6 of The Bossy One

It sloshed out of the cup and drenched my face.

This. Fucking. Woman.

Any sympathy I’d felt for her vanished. In fact, it more than vanished. It curled up in a deep dark hole where no one would ever find it and died a really quick death.

I wiped the wine off of my face. She stood frozen, blocking the aisle—and my exit.

“Move.” I took a deep breath. “Out.” Another. “Of. My. Way.”

“I’m so sorry—”

No, no more of this.

“Just move.”

She flinched and stepped out of the way.

I shoved past her and sped up the aisle. The only bright side in this whole goddamn day was that I was never going to seeOliviaever again.

* * *

Sinead and Catie lived in half of an old house that had been turned into two apartments. I’d barely knocked when the door opened, and Catie came flying into my arms.

“Uncle Declan!”

I dropped my overnight bag, scooped her up, and hugged her tight. She was taller than she’d been at Christmas, but she still had the round cheeks, bright blue eyes, and wispy brown hair I remembered. She clung to me tightly.

“There, there,” I said softly, rubbing her back. “Your mum has explained that you’re visiting me, right?”

She nodded, looking worried.

I tugged her ear, and she giggled.

“It’ll be brilliant, I promise. Now go get your suitcase. I need to talk to your mum.” I set her down, and she dashed to her room.

I poked my head in rooms until I found Sinead, sitting in a small, cluttered kitchen. She looked thinner than the last time I saw her—too thin—and her dark hair was lank and lifeless. She was hunched over the kitchen table, but she looked up at my entrance and her stark blue eyes—the same color as mine—looked weary and washed out.

I sat down in the chair across from her and cleared my throat. “I’ve found a good treatment center nearby. Serenity Lake. They suggested a sixty-day stay.”

“What? No, that’s too much. I want to do St. Marks for thirty days. It’s cheaper.”

Damn her stubbornness. I’d throw her over my shoulder and cart her off to Serenity Lake myself if I had to.

“I don’t care about the cost,” I gritted out. “This one’s better. And I’ve already signed you up.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it and sighed. “Fine. Fine. Thank you.”

Watching the fight go out of her that fast scared me. It wasn’t like her at all. I reached for her hand. “What happened, love?”

She pulled away. “It doesn’t matter. I realized I had a problem, so I’m fixing it.”

I frowned. It did matter, damn it. What she was going through mattered to me. But I didn’t want to push her. Not when she looked like she was barely holding herself together.

Catie came into the room, dragging her pink-and-purple suitcase behind her. “I’m ready,” she announced.

Sinead looked toward her daughter. “Did you pack any clothes? Or just toys and books?”

Catie looked sheepish.

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