Page 24 of Accidental Irish Daddy

“Grand,” she says.

“Better than this morning?” I sit on the bed.

She rolls her eyes.

“Aisling tattled on me, eh? Nice girl. Really needs to work on her loyalties, though.”

I sigh. “She did mention that you were being a little resistant to taking the pain medication.”

“They make me loopy.” She frowns. “I don’t want to spend my days like a zombie.”

“If you don’t take them, you’ll end up having more days like this morning. We’re supposed to be keeping you comfortable, Ma.”

She grumbles. “I will, yeah.”

I roll my eyes, and she sets her book down. “Alright, look, I’ve already caved. You can save the lecture. I’ll be taking my meds as prescribed from now on.”

“Good.” I give her a reassuring tap on the leg.

Aisling is doing a good job with her. I’m glad they seem to be getting along, but then, Aisling is the kind of girl who gets along well with others…or so I’ve seen. I wonder about her. About how real she is. It’s been my experience that nice girls are rarely nice at all. I wonder if Ma has some insight into her.

“Ma, can I ask you about Aisling?”

She tilts her head to look at me. “Well, of course, you can. What’s on your mind?”

“We talked a little this afternoon and…well, she seems a little evasive to me about certain things.”

She chuckles. “Aisling? Evasive? Must be just with you because that girl tells me everything.”

I blink. “She does?”

She nods. “She’s on about her friends and schooling a lot. She certainly chatters on and on about her little sister. Not that she shouldn’t, of course. Bridget’s a wonderful little girl. I think she’s just proud of her.”

“Hmm.” I hesitate, not sure if I really want to know. “What about her home life? She told me she lives with her uncle. She talks to you about him?”

Ma opens her mouth, I think, to say something along the lines of,Of course,but she stops, frowning as she thinks about it. “Now that you mention it,” she says, “she doesn’t say a lot about her uncle or whatever’s going on at home. Oh, I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything. That’s probably much too personal or maybe even too boring. She probably goes home, takes care of her sister, and goes right to bed.”

I suppose that’s a reasonable explanation.

Ma nudges me. “I have noticed that she gets flustered around you. I think she might like you.”

I scoff, “Ma, don’t, okay? She is my employee.”

“Employees get together with their bosses all the time,” she says. “Listen, I see how she looks at you when you’re not paying attention. She’s practically undressing you with her eyes.”

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s like that. And even if it was—”

“Right. She’s an employee. You shouldn’t write her off so quickly, boyo. She seems suited for you. Smart and kind andverypretty.”

I just sigh and shake my head.

She’s almost as bad as Martha with the whole ‘finding someone to connect to’ thing that they’ve been doing. I wonder if they’ve been trading notes about me behind my back.

She puts her hand on mine. “I would love it if you’d just entertain the idea of really connecting with someone. Aren’t you tired of playing the field? Don’t you want to settle down at some point with someone?”

I know that what she’s saying is coming from a warm place. She’s my mother, and she only wants me to be happy. And yes, I’d love that someday. Wouldn’t everyone? Love is life’s ultimate goal, isn’t it? And yet…

I put my hand on hers. “I don’t really think I’m worthy of that kind of thing.”

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