Page 21 of The Irish Rogue

Tom jerked to attention, then shuffled through the tissue paper to pull out an envelope. “Here. This is…well, just think about it before you reject it, okay?”

Kennedi took the envelope hesitantly. “Okay,” she replied slowly, then turned the envelope over and pulled open the seal. She expected to find a card, but instead, there were photographs. “What’s this?” she asked, then flipped through the images of an adorable cottage. There was even a covered front porch with a swing at one end. “Oh, what a charming house!” she gasped.

“Do you really like it?” he asked.

She looked up at him, not sure where this conversation was going. “It’s absolutely darling.”

“It’s a three bedroom, two bath house, with a refinished kitchen,” Dorothy explained. “And if you like it, then we can get you moved in before you leave the hospital.”

Kennedi’s mouth fell open. “You bought me a house?” she asked, needing clarification.

“Well, we actually bought it as a rental property several years ago. But,” Tom shrugged. “It’s a lot of upkeep. When one renter moves out, we have to get the cleaning crew in and restock everything.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “So, Dorothy and I thought that you might move in there so it wasn’t invaded by rodents and…other things.”

She didn’t understand what he wasn’t telling her, but she was just too relieved by the offer. “How much did you charge the renters?”

“Oh, it’s not for rent anymore. No one has lived there for over a year now.”

She eyed them carefully. “I love the house,” she said. “And it would be much better than my apartment. But if I’m going to live there, then I’m paying rent. What did you charge the previous renters?”

Tom looked relieved and Dorothy sighed with happiness. “How much do you pay in rent for your current apartment?” Tom asked.

She named the amount and he nodded sharply. “That’s how much we received in rent from the previous renter.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “No, a three bedroom house should be more expensive than–”

“We won’t accept more, Kennedi,” Dorothy announced firmly. “And that’s that!” then she cooed to the baby. “You are going to have your own bedroom, aren’t you, Declan?”

Kennedi tried to laugh, but it came out closer to a sob of relief. “Thank you,” she whispered to both of them.

Tom shuffled his feet, looking down for a moment. “You’ve been one of our most valuable employees, Kennedi. And you’re a good person. I know that you’ve been hurt by some of the comments and rumors, the comparison to your mother, but you’renothinglike her!” He sighed heavily. “You’re a good and decent person, and I know that you’re going to be a wonderful mother! Plus, your recommendation for the expansion plans was an excellent idea. We already have several new investors, including one large investor. I’ve even spoken to an architect and we’re going to start looking at location sites tomorrow for three new pubs.”

She smiled at him. “And you’ve been a wonderful mentor, Tom.”

Thankfully, the emotionally charged moment ended and they talked about Declan. She said the name in her mind several times and grew to like it more and more. It was “Irish” enough to make her think of her son’s ancestry, to honor that part of him, but American enough that her heart wouldn’t ache every time she called her son’s name.

If her heart still fluttered whenever she thought of the man who had left town so abruptly, Kennedi just shook her head and forced her thoughts elsewhere. He was gone. She’d called him three times, left three messages asking him to call her back. But he never had.

As far as she was concerned, that was the end of her responsibility to inform the man that he had a son. The woman shouldn’t have to bear all of the responsibility for contacting the father. Sean was fully aware of the fact that they’d had unprotected sex. A lot of unprotected sex! At a minimum, the man should have gotten in touch with her to make sure she was okay. Why did the woman always have the responsibility of informing the father? Especially when she’d called him several times and he’d ignored her calls.

Sighing, she pushed the guilt away. Other than leaving him a message that he was a father, she wasn’t sure what to do. And leaving a message…perhaps she should do that. She glanced over at her phone, but before she could decide to pick it up, several of her co-workers stepped into the hospital room, eager to congratulate her on her son and bearing colorful bags filled with useful gifts.

Kennedi was truly grateful for being part of this “family”. Everyone was so supportive and encouraging. However, by the time they left thirty minutes later, she was completely exhausted. The parade of visitors didn’t stop though. Her friends all traipsed into the room for a glimpse at her newborn son. Then there were the customers, her neighbors, Ella from the coffee shop, and a whole host of others. By late evening, the attending nurse took one look at Kennedi’s exhaustion and stopped the constant flow of visitors from entering her hospital room. She promptly fell asleep, not waking up until it was time to feed Declan.

Chapter 8

Sean walked into his headquarters with the feeling that something was off. He couldn’t figure out what though. He’d just sold three companies for a record profit. TBC had gained an additional ten members, two of which, he, Matteo and Levi were going to keep a careful eye on. And his realtor had just informed him that a new house was up for sale. This one had an excellent view of the Philadelphia skyline.

However, there was something that was making him hesitate. And Sean never hesitated. When he wanted something, he went after it.

Thoughts of a dark haired, blue eyed beauty popped into his mind. Why the hell was he hesitating about returning to Newnan? He wanted that brewery and Tom had just expanded his operations. Through one of his private corporations, Sean had impulsively invested several million dollars in the brewery’s expansion plans. That made him part owner, if not majority owner. Tom remained head of the company, but Sean knew that he could easily convince the newly formed board of directors to switch out company leaders, putting him in charge of the brewery as well as the expansion plans. Even better, he’d bought up all the extra shares before his father could grab them. And Sean knew the Earl of Winton had tried to get those shares, which only made his ownership even sweeter.

Sitting down in his favorite large, leather chair, Sean turned, staring out the floor to ceiling windows. But he didn’t see the view or even acknowledge the sunset that had painted the sky pink, purple, and neon orange. All he could see was Kennedi’s hair, splayed out on the white pillow, her soft smile as she turned to look at him. Or that taunting, tempting glance when she looked over her shoulder, inciting him to make love to her again.

“Damn it!” he muttered, then pushed out of his chair. He stalked out of his office, snapping at his assistant to, “Cancel my afternoon meetings.”

The woman didn’t even glance up at him this time. Apparently, he’d been acting like an ass for months, and Diandra had gotten used to his mercurial moods.

That probably wasn’t a good thing, but Sean wasn’t sure what to do about it except to stop acting like an ass.

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