Page 38 of The Irish Rogue

He breathed in deeply, then looked around. “I guess I should head back to my place, then.”

“Did you rent the lake house again?”

“No. My assistant found a different place.” His mouth quirked slightly. “I’ll be back in the morning, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Would you feel comfortable leaving Declan with me tomorrow? You could go into work and focus. I’ll keep him here with me so you don’t have any distractions.”

“But…you don’t really know his schedule.”

He shrugged. “I’m a smart guy, Kennedi. I’m pretty sure that, if you wrote down his schedule, then I could follow it.”

She laughed and nodded. “Okay, sure. If you want to spend the day with him, then yes. That would be great.” She looked around, wondering how she could get him out of her house before she broke down and jumped him. It had been a long year of sacrificing for Declan. Now her body was screaming, “Me me me!”

Kennedi had to remind herself that Sean wasn’t trustworthy. Correction; instinctively, she knew that he was completely trustworthy when it came to their son and his well-being. But she couldn’t trust him with her heart. Not again.

“Great. I’ll…” he looked around, then spotted the front door. “I’ll let you get some sleep and then I’ll be back here at…” Sean paused, still unsure of the details. “What time does he normally wake up in the morning?”

She laughed, rubbing her palm against her forehead. “If I could predict what time he wakes up, it would make my life a whole lot easier.” She looked around, then spotted the diaper bag and the toys all over the floor. She still had about forty minutes of tasks to accomplish before she would be able to go to bed. “How about if you come over tomorrow around seven o’clock?” She cringed, then looked up at him. “Is that too early?”

“I’ll be here at seven unless you call me earlier and tell me that both of you are awake. I’m just a phone call away.”

“Deal,” she sighed, fatigue starting to kick in. “Thanks, Sean.”

With the decision made, Sean turned and headed for the front door. He wanted to tell her that he’d sleep on the floor right outside Declan’s room, but that would be a bit ridiculous. Still, there was something about needing to keep his family safe, now that he knew he had a family.

Chapter 12

Sean drove around after leaving Kennedi’s house. He was still wound too tight to sleep and the thought of heading to some anonymous house and hanging around until he could head back to Declan just didn’t feel right.

So instead, he drove, his mind racing with a myriad of thoughts. He was a father! Damn, that thought just…it was hard to comprehend!

He got a text from Matteo just as he came to a stop at a red light. “More info coming in on our favorite guy.”

Bubba Levinthall. The man had his finger in just about every dirty enterprise in the country, it seemed.

“Found out that I’m a father,” he texted back. The light turned green and he sped up, feeling more light-hearted by the moment. His phone pinged several times and he smiled, knowing that Matteo and Levi, his two best friends in the world, would be losing their minds over that statement. They told each other everything. But he couldn’t take his eyes off the road to answer their questions just yet.

Finally, he headed for the house his assistant had rented for him. It was another lake house, but as he pulled up outside, he noticed that this one wasn’t quite as nice as the one he’d rented last year. It wasn’t as close to the water, but the neighbors were further away. That was probably a good thing, he thought as he parked next to the storage shed and grabbed his leather bag. Tossing it over his shoulder, he walked to the front door, not bothering with lights. The moon was bright tonight and he could see relatively clearly.

After entering the code, he walked into the house, dropping his bag on the floor and walking through the darkened house. It was nice enough, with hardwood floors and large windows. He knew that there were four bedrooms and a large kitchen. He didn’t need the kitchen as much as he needed the big, comfortable bed upstairs. And yet, he still didn’t think he could settle down enough to fall asleep yet.

Gazing out at the lake shimmering through the trees in the moonlight, he wondered what Kennedi was doing now. Was she finally asleep? Or was she up, pacing that tiny family room. She’d only be able to take two or three steps before needing to turn around.

Was she worrying about what he might do? He hoped not. Hell, he didn’t even know if Kennedi was a worrier or if she was the kind of person that could rationally think through problems. Was she a good sleeper or did she wake up several times during the night?

Sean only slept about four or five hours a night and that was enough. Could he help Kennedi to get more sleep by taking over the nighttime feedings? Or did she have to nurse Declan?

Declan. What a fine Irish name, he thought. He liked the name. His mother would approve as well.

Thinking of his mother, he pulled his phone out, but it was around four o’clock in the morning back home. His mother wouldn’t be awake for another couple hours.

He’d let her sleep, even knowing that his mother would be furious with him for not telling her as soon as he’d discovered Declan’s existence.

She would also be furious that he wasn’t married, but he’d assure her that he would get that fixed as soon as possible. Being an unmarried woman in a small Irish town, even the town run by the man who’d gotten her pregnant, had been hard on his mother. Plus, no matter how much he’d tried, he couldn’t get his mother to move away from that damn town.

He understood. His ancestors had lived in the town for the past three hundred years. “No man or petty gossiper is going to run me from my home,” she’d told him on several occasions.

---