Page 29 of The Irish Rogue

What the hell was going on?

He turned right, heading in the direction of the place where he’d seen the red color. But there was nothing now. Whoever was hiding in a red dress was gone now.

Pushing the mystery out of his mind, Sean turned again, heading towards the address on the sticky note. As soon as he drove down the street, Sean was already assessing the security of the neighborhood. There were several small houses on this block, all of them with tidy yards and well cared for homes. Lots of trees shaded the front lawns from the intense afternoon sunshine. And sidewalks made a path from the front doors of each house out to the driveway and the mailboxes that lined the street.

He parked in front of Kennedi’s house, surveying the yard. She’d planted some pretty flowers outside, but they’d wilted in the afternoon heat. The bushes looked healthy, but they needed trimming. And the grass needed mowing.

All of those things were cosmetic and he examined the rest of the house. It looked solid enough. The siding was grey and the front door black with a brass handle and lock. There was a large window on each side of the covered front stoop, but she didn’t have a covered porch. He’d always wanted a swing on his front porch growing up, but there hadn’t ever been enough money for one.

He was stunned for a long moment, wondering where that memory had come from. Normally, Sean refused to look backwards. His life hadn’t been easy, but fighting for everything had made him into the man he was now.

Still, she needed a covered porch. And a swing set. If Declan was going to be swinging, then Kennedi would need a fence for both the front and backyards.

Driving away, he thought of several other ways to improve the house. He also wondered about Kennedi’s car. When he’d been here last year, Kennedi had been driving an old, beat up hatchback. Was she still driving that rust bucket? He pulled over to the side of the road and looked through the information from Tom, which included the salary information for all the employees. When he found out how much she earned in a year, he nodded with approval. Kennedi was doing well for herself. Her salary wasn’t as high as his staff members, but she also lived in a small town where the price of living wasn’t as expensive.

That’s when it hit him. He was a father! He had a son! Holy hell, he had a son!

Sean looked around, but all he could see was crops. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had a son!

It was such an amazing thought that he almost forgot how to breathe. Turning around, he headed back to Kennedi’s house. There, he sat on the front stoop, contemplating the fact that he had a son!

Chapter 11

Kennedi pulled into the narrow driveway and parked in the small garage. She’d already seen Sean sitting on the front stoop. At some point during the day, he’d changed into a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. It was hot, nearly ninety degrees outside. Even tonight, the temperature wouldn’t drop down much below the seventy-five degree mark. But it was the humidity that made the heat difficult to bear. Everything in Georgia was sticky because of the humidity. The heat and the kudzu were a constant battle in the state.

For a moment, she sat in her car, but Declan wasn’t amused by her delay. A squawk jerked her back to the present and she sighed. “I got ya,” she called out to her tiny son.

But as soon as a she stepped out of her car, Sean was there. She’d forgotten how tall and powerfully built he was. While she struggled to get the car seat unlatched from the base, she could feel Sean looming behind her, his presence like a physical force.

When she straightened up, she noticed the sheen of sweat on his forehead. “How long have you been here?”

He shrugged and took the heavy car seat out of her hands. “I don’t know,” he said, then lifted the car seat so he could stare at his son.

Declan was startled by the new face and not sure how to react. For a long moment, father and son simply stared at each other. Then Declan, because he was acting like the best baby in the world for this particular moment, beamed.

Oh, that smile, she thought. It melted her heart every time!

“He’s…!”

She chuckled and grabbed Declan’s diaper bag. “Smiling at you. Yep. He does that.” She stepped around Sean, heading for the garage door. “Are you hungry?”

After a moment, Sean followed, hefting the carrier as if it weighed nothing at all. Jealous, she focused on unlocking the garage door.

“I thought you lived in an apartment building a year ago.”

Kennedi pushed through the door and dumped the diaper bag onto the kitchen table, then sorted through the mail she’d grabbed from the mailbox. Bills and advertisements. She threw the ads in the trash, then stuffed the bills into her purse. Then turned to face him.

“I had been. But as soon as I realized I was pregnant, Tom and Dorothy offered to let me stay here.” She waved her hand towards the small, but well-appointed, kitchen that opened to the equally small family room. “This has three bedrooms while my apartment had only one. I could have made it work, but with a baby, the apartment would have been tight.”

“So they…own this place and just let you stay here?”

She stiffened, offended by his question. “I pay rent, Sean. I always pay my own way. Me and Declan, we’re doing okay!”

He stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. “I can see that, Kennedi,” he replied calmly. “I wasn’t criticizing. It was just a question.”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her temper. “Sorry,” she finally replied. “Today has been…overwhelming.” He lifted that dark eyebrow and she laughed. “Okay, it’s been a bit of a shock for you as well.” She walked over to the fridge. “I have some iced tea. Would you like some?”

“Sure. Unless you have a beer?”

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