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Family was family, blood much thicker than water. I had to try to remember that at all times. Daddy hadn’t always had the best relationship with Uncle Danny, but they were closer than any two people I’d ever seen. And I’d known my father had bailed Danny out of hard times more than once. He hadn’t been able to hide that from me. I was damn good at searching the books.
However, it was one of those conversations that couldn’t be had inside the O’Rourke home.
I headed toward the group and the closer I got, the more nervous I became. My father was in his element though, looking confident and in control and for that alone, I would try to remain in a good mood. How long had it been since he’d felt this good? Xena joined him, lying by my father’s side like a dutiful fluffy angel.
I stood in the back for a couple of minutes as my dad explained what was on the agenda. Declan noticed me as usual, sneering in my direction while giving me his usual heated onceover. The dude actually believed that I’d consider going out with him.
Not a snowball’s chance in hell. He was a true womanizer.
I folded my arms, glaring back until my father noticed me. As he motioned me forward, he handled the basic introduction. Hearing pride in his voice made me feel appreciated, yet I was no fool in that all his praise would do nothing but put a target on my back.
“Now, I’d like to introduce you to the rig manager or what you Americans call a tool pusher. My daughter, a very talented and organized woman who will beat your ass if you don’t take her seriously. And I’ll fire your ass on the spot if you dare treat her with any disrespect. She’s earned her stripes and then some, which isn’t something I can say about all of you. Please welcome Mrs. Rylee O’Rourke Donnelly.”
There were two aspects of what my father had just said that were interesting. One, he’d used my full married name, which was rare. But more important, he’d mentioned Americans. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, one of those ‘oh, God, no’ moments forming in the back of my mind. As I moved through the thick crowd of men, I held my breath, trying not to scan the audience for fear of making them think I wasn’t capable of handling the rig.
However, when I was beside my dad, there was nothing I could do but turn around and face the group.
I’d had several out of body experiences in my adulthood, including the day my husband walked into the middle of the intersection on purpose. This was another one, and in some terms, equally as damning.
Standing in the front row were the three men I’d engaged in carnal activity with.
Hudson.
Jack.
Foxx.
And not one of the three looked happy to be here.
CHAPTER 10
Foxx
What the goddamn hell?
I glared at the woman with anger and indignation likely written all over my face. That’s the way I felt. The chick had lied to us. She had to know who we were. What had she been doing, buttering us up for something? If it wasn’t bad enough that we had to work with a bunch of obvious mongrels on an offshore rig, we were also supposed to take orders from a woman?
Was the man out of his mind?
I’d grilled my father about Sean O’Rourke three times and on none of those occasions had he mentioned a woman was in charge.
“She’s married? What the hell is going on here?” Jack snarled from beside me.
“I don’t know but I am going to find out.” I started to take a step forward and Hudson yanked on my arm.
“What do you think you’re doing? We’re here as a favor to that man standing next to his daughter. Did you get that memo?” Hudson was the usual voice of reason, but this time I didn’t give a shit.
I jerked my arm away, turning slightly toward him while still keeping an eye on Rylee. She was just as pissed off as I was, and I wondered why she believed she thought she was allowed to feel that way. We weren’t the ones who’d lied about our status as human beings. She was.
“The bitch is married,” I huffed, not quite under my breath as I’d hoped to make the nasty statement. I was the kind of man to speak my mind, or as my mother had said I spouted off at the mouth issuing vomit without thinking. Yeah, I was many things including an asshole at times but what I wasn’t was a homewrecker. Not this guy.
I noticed the dog and sighed. She’d hunkered down, petting the pup as she continued staring in our direction.
“We should talk to her in private,” Hudson cautioned, managing to keep his tone subdued.
Jack was fuming like I was, shifting from boot to boot. “This is bullshit,” he barked. “I’m not doing this crap.”
“Hey! Do we have an issue, boys?” Sean asked as he threw the three of us a hateful look.
