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“As opposed to you and that junkie brother of yours?” he countered. “Word around school is that big brother got a slut from BCS humped with his kid and—”
He didn’t finish his sentence—couldn’t if he wanted to, because I laid the bastard on the flat of his back.
A laugh tore from Tadhg’s chest. “Thought we didn’t care about his opinion?”
“Change of plans.”
144
At Least You Made It to Big Lunch
JOEY
“Dellie, he called our sister a slut,” Tadhg defended with a huff, climbing into the back seat of her Range Rover after she’d been called to come collect us from the office. “Yeah, Joe threw the first slap, but he goaded it out of him by bringing up Aoife and my nephew. And listen, before you say it, I’m not apologizing for kicking him in the nuts when he was on the ground either. The prick had it coming.”
“Well,” she sighed heavily. “At least you made it to big lunch.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered from the passenger seat. “I fucked it.”
“No, you didn’t,” Tadhg argued, reaching a hand through the seats to pat my shoulder. “You turned his nose sideways, Joe. It was a solid right hook.”
“Not helping, kid.” I dropped my head in my hands, knowing that I was in deep shit for my outburst. “How long am I being suspended for?”
“For the next two weeks,” Edel replied, pulling into traffic.
“Sweet,” Tadhg hooted. “Talk about a result!”
“Not you, Rocky,” she corrected. “You’re back on Monday.”
“Fuck my life,” number four grumbled. “I knew I should have thrown the first punch.”
“Hey,” I snapped, twisting around to face him. “Stop acting like a little shit. I did the wrong thing back there.”
“But you—”
“I did the wrong thing, Tadhg,” I reinforced, giving him a stern look of warning. “I was wrong, okay? Don’t copy me. It’s not a good thing. Do better, Tadhg. Be better.” Than me.
______________________
“Can we talk?” I asked, lingering in the kitchen doorway a little while later, watching as Edel Kavanagh mothered my youngest brother.
“Always, love,” she replied.
“Nanny gave me money.”
“Oh?” she mused, ruffling Sean’s curls before turning her attention back to the pot of stew she was stirring.
“Yeah.” I shrugged, still lingering. “A lot of money.”
She turned to look at me then. “How much are we talking?”
“Fifteen grand.” I reached into the gear bag I had packed for Molloy’s house and showed her the envelope full of cash. “It’s from my grandfather. He left it to me when he died.”
Her brows shot up. “And you haven’t touched it?”
I shook my head. “Not a penny.”
“Have you been tempted?”
