Page 26 of The Irish Rogue

They both stood up and headed for the door. “Does the name Liam O’Clary ring a bell?”

Sean chuckled and nodded. Bingo. There was no backing out of the sale now. His asshole of a half-brother was trying to buy his way into the market and that simply wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m familiar with the family,” he replied back.

They toured the restaurant, which was relatively quiet since it was the middle of the day. There were a couple people who had come in for lunch, but it wasn’t as busy as it would be later in the evening.

Sean continued to ask questions and was impressed with Tom’s answers as well as the cleanliness of the operation. It was well organized and everyone seemed to take a great deal of pride in their work.

However, by the time they returned to Tom’s office after going through the bottling factory, Sean kept an eye out for Kennedi. Was she still with the baby? Who the hell was the father? And how old was the baby? Hell, the baby was absolutely tiny. She must have been with some other man right after he’d been here. Unless…!

Sean stopped and turned, facing the man. “Tom, who is the father of Kennedi’s baby?” he asked, then held his breath, waiting for the older man’s answer.

Tom paused, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he looked around. When he sighed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his khaki slacks, Sean knew he wasn’t going to tell him.

“That’s not a question I should answer. I think you should discuss it with Kennedi.”

Sean nodded slowly, agreeing with him. But the answer only tightened the muscles in his gut. He knew something was off, but he still wasn’t sure what the right question was.

No, correction; he knew what he wanted to ask, but…he wasn’t ready to hear the answer.

“Is it a boy or girl?”

Tom smiled, his shoulders losing some of their tension. “His name is Declan. And he’s adorable.”

Sean nodded again. “How old is he?”

Tom hesitated briefly, then seemed to mentally shrug. “He’s about three months old.”

“About” wasn’t specific enough. But that didn’t matter. He was going to find out soon enough.

As soon as he tracked down Kennedi, he would get more answers.

Right after he finished that thought, Kennedi and Dorothy stepped back into the reception area. When their eyes clashed, he recognized the sudden panic there. And acceptance.

“Do you want me to take Declan?” Dorothy asked.

Kennedi looked down at her son, who was sound asleep in the carrier. “No, that’s okay. He’ll sleep for a while longer.” She looked at Dorothy, keeping her eyes away from Sean. He’d ignored her after all of those phone calls. It was her turn to ignore him. “Thanks, Dorothy.”

“Well, let me know if you need a break.” She turned to her husband. “I’ll see you at home for dinner tonight?”

Tom nodded, then glanced at Kennedi, sending her a silent message. She needed to tell Sean about Declan. It was the right thing to do, but Kennedi wasn’t ready. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.

Correction, she’d been ready a year ago. She would have loved to receive support and encouragement a year ago. But now? Sean didn’t deserve her consideration now!

“I’ll have those reports to you by the end of the day, Tom,” she said, hauling Declan down the hallway to her office.

“No rush. I don’t need them until the end of the week.”

Kennedi walked into her office and closed the door. She thought it was the perfect indicator that she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

However, Sean hadn’t understood the closed-door message. Or he’d simply ignored it, because as soon as she set Declan on the floor right by her desk where she could watch him while she worked, he pushed the door open, stepped quietly into her office, and closed the door behind him.

Thankfully, he had enough control not to slam the door. But if the fury in his eyes was any indication, his control was slipping.

“Who is the father, Kennedi?’ he asked with a low growl.

Kennedi bent down to pull the cotton blanket over Declan’s tiny hands, then stroked his cheek with her finger. “He’s my son, Sean.”

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