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“Always.”
“I’m ready to go home now, but the fact that the doctor is agreeing with Darren has me second-guessing myself.”
“In what way?”
“She hasn’t put me wrong yet.” I chewed on my nails, beyond anxious. “What if she’s right? What if I’m wrong? What if I fuck this up?”
“How long are they wanting you to stay for?”
“I don’t know, Edel,” I forced myself to say. “But I can’t do it. I can’t stay any longer than I already have. I can’t do it to Aoife. Not after everything I’ve put her through.”
“Is there a way to negotiate?” she suggested. “How about another two weeks of treatment? Although, if you feel you’re ready to come home on the twenty-second like originally planned, then you’re ready. You have excellent instincts, love. Don’t let anyone shake you.”
“I think the doctors were expecting Darren to vouch for me when he came to visit, and when he didn’t, it threw some red flags up for them.”
“Can I do something to help?” she asked. “I mean, I would never force myself into your private life, Joey love. You’re a brilliant, capable young man, and I respect that you aren’t a child. That’s not the kind of relationship I want us to have, but if you need me to step in at any time on your behalf, then I am willing and ready to go to bat for you.”
“You could vouch for me?” I said and then exhaled a shaky breath before admitting, “Because I could really use your help.”
130
Meet the Parents…Kind of
JOEY
Like a flurry of unrestrained blond energy, Edel Kavanagh strutted into the room the morning after our phone call, reminding me of a glammed-up version of Sarah Connor from The Terminator.
Flanking her in his usual attire, which consisted of a top-end tailored suit, with an amused expression etched on his face and a briefcase in hand, was John Sr.
“Joey,” Edel exclaimed when she spotted me leaning over the windowsill, thoroughly enjoying the cigarette I’d managed to snag from one of the security guards I’d helped change a flat, while trying not to set off the smoke alarm.
As soon as her eyes landed on me, the hard expression she’d been wearing melted away. “Oh love, would you look at you.” Shaking her head, she smiled widely as she rushed toward me. “Look at him, John. Isn’t he only handsome?”
“Sweetheart, we’ve talked about this,” John tried to interject, but she was already up in my personal space with her arms wrapped tightly around me.
“I, ah…” Feeling awkward, I quickly tossed the butt out the window and patted her back, mentally counting down from five before escaping from her stranglehold. “When I said I could use your help, I didn’t mean you had to drive halfway across the country to see me.”
“Excuse me.” One of the porters rushed into my room, all red-faced and flushed. “All visitors need to report to reception. And like I told you already, lady, patients are forbidden to have guests in their room.”
“Ah, would you cool your jets, Detective Inspector?” Edel drawled sarcastically, dismissing him with a flick of her wrist. “Do I look like I’m smuggling contraband up my backside?”
“Edel,” John said wearily.
“Now.” Turning her attention back to me, she reached up and pushed my hair off my face and smiled. “Let’s go, love.”
“Go where?”
“To sort this mess out.”
______________________
“As you’re well aware, my husband and I have been awarded guardianship of the Lynch children,” Edel declared a little while later as she paced the visitors’ room, while John looked on from his perch on the leather couch with his usual amused expression. Sitting beside him was a stressed-looking Darren. “If Joey was under eighteen, then he would be legally under our care, too.” She turned to stare at Dr. B. “However, I consider age to be just a number, Doctor. That boy belongs with us. He has a home with our family—his family—for the rest of his life. If you have concerns about his ability to cope after leaving treatment, then rest assured that he will have the world of support at his fingertips.”
“His brother has voiced some concerns about the pressures he feels Joey will be exposed to upon discharge.”
“My brother’s a dick,” I sneered, glaring across the room at enemy number one.
Darren sighed heavily. “Joey.”
