Finally. Saoirse was calling. “Tell me you closed the deal.”
“How the fuck did you ever land a woman as sweet as Raven Byrne— a mystery for Bible study Sunday.”
“Miss Kennedy...” Bran was too keyed up to joke.
“He accepted. His man of business is drafting letters to all the tenants today. The grumpy bastard and heisa grumpy bastard— you owe me a drink for that— isactuallypaying his renters the equivalent of $3,000 as a Sorry I’m Kicking Your Ass to the Curb with No Notice gift. By the by, it was a hard, fuck off, no, until I mentioned it was a grand gift to the woman you hope will agree to marry you. Turns out, the old geezer is a widower who loved nothing more than his late wife.”
“You are extraordinary, Miss Kennedy. A fucking brilliant, mouthy, extraordinary agent. Meet me at The Palace Bar and bring your carpenter boyfriend, Timothy Daniels. I have a proposition for him.”
“Oh, feck. Give me forty-five. Have a double of Jameson Cask on ice and waiting. I’ve got paperwork to do and a boyfriend to track down.” She hung up.
“You must be satisfied, Bran,” Patrick noted.
“Oh, very pleased. The girls were right. Miss Kennedy knows her shit.”
Patrick laughingly agreed. “She might be mouthier than River.”
Dad finally decided to join the conversation. “I’m pleased about the building, but I don’t need one of the floors. If it works, a guest room on the ground floor is all I need when I visit. I will still pay for part of the building and renovations, of course.” He went back to swirling his Guinness.
Both he and Pat regarded their father in silence. What was this all about, he wondered. They always did everything together. Theywantedto do everything together.
Carefully, because he didn’t want to come across as some petulant child, Bran asked, “Is there a... reason you don’t wantto live there... with us?” Jesus, he inwardly cringed. That wasn’t how it was supposed to come out.
His father sighed and moved his glass further from him. “I still hate Guinness. You boys are, for lack of a better phrase, spreading your wings, leaving the nest.”
Dad was the one cringing now. Good.
Looking first at the darkened beams above their heads, he looked at his sons again. “Your lives are changing. Bran, you’re about to be a father and hopefully a husband before that. Your time will be split, staying where Raven is, which it should be. And Pat, you’ve been restless, and I hope growing tired of your parties and women. You mentioned buying an old distillery here in Ireland, and perhaps opening a Wolves here.”
“What’s all this have to do with the property?”
“For fuck’s sake, boys! You don’t need your old man tagging along on your adventures. And before you ask, no, you have never made me feel like that. Still, a parent has to eventually recognize when they are... or rather, when they need, to step back and allow their children some breathing room.”
Talking in complete sentencesandfeelings. Dad was definitely out of sorts. Before Bran could respond, Patrick jumped in.
“I’ll clear my end up, Dad. I’m not tired of parties and women. When I mentioned trying our hand at whiskey and a Wolves in Dublin, those thoughts and suggestions were just round tabling our next ventures. ‘Our ventures,’ Dad. You, me, and Bran. We are smarter and better together. I never once considered it wouldn’t always be the three of us.”
“Pat’s right. We’ve always been a team. I never want that to change. I know we’ll be traveling a lot more with the girls living in Dublin, but they’ll also be coming home with us to Muskogee. They grew up in Oklahoma. They’re going to want to be there, aswell. Plus, I have a plan for a manager for Triskelion, but we can talk about that later.
“We are either all three true partners in this property, or I will revoke the offer. Our lives will always be changing, but not the part where we’re together. I mean, you never know Dad, women still fall all over themselves around you, maybe someday you’ll decide to remarry. Pat need’s a good stepmom to curb his wild ways.”
His dad’s lips twitched in a smile. “No on the wife, but yes on sticking with you boys. If you promise to tell me if anything changes.”
“It never will.” He and his brother said at the same time.
“Fine. Then I’ll want the top floor, and we’ll need an elevator.”
Back in business. “One step ahead of you, old man.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to talk Daniels into the reno? It’ll be a hell of a big job, on top of wanting it started ASAP and done fast.”
“He’ll have a price. We’ll pay it.”
“We won’t know the true scope of the project until we get in the building. It might not be as bad as we think. We just made his girlfriend one very large commission. We’ll get him. Another bonus, we’ll hire Triskelion for Interior Design.”
The very elegant Miss Kennedy and, he presumed, Timothy Daniels were making their way toward them. The three men stood and introduced themselves to Timothy, or Tim as he asked to be called. The waiter took the newcomers’ drink orders as everyone sat back down.
Saoirse laid a manilla folder full of documents to sign on the table before relaxing back into her chair. “It’s only midday, and I already feel all wobbly in my heels,” she laughed. “So, you’re the daddy, huh?”
