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Hell, maybe he shouldn’t be so gloom and doom. Maybe this was a good sign.
That hope firmly in place, he pasted on a happy face and yanked the portal open. “Hello, Mum.”
“Mom?” Raine squeaked beside him, then tore her hand from his and smoothed her rumpled dress.
Behind them, he sensed Hammer’s silent laughter.
His mother gazed his way with a slight tsk as she stepped in the house. “Hello, Liam, darling.”
Dutifully, he hugged his mother and kissed her cheek. Yeah, he shouldn’t have put off calling her to say that he’d moved, started a new relationship, and now had a baby on the way. But then again, he shouldn’t have to explain.
His father strolled in with a wry smile and gave him a hearty hug. “Hello, son.”
Liam slapped his back. “Da. It’s good to see you.” Really, it was. His father was his best hope for sanity. “I suppose I don’t have to ask what brings you here.” Liam reached for his wee wench’s hand. “This is—”
“Raine.” His mother beamed at her. “How nice to finally meet you. I’ve been waiting for years to have another daughter.” She shot Liam a dainty glare. “Not that my son has bothered to tell me anything. But never mind that.” She pulled Raine in for a hug. “So happy I am to clap eyes on the woman who’s tied my boyo in knots.”
“She’s not the one doing the tying, Mum,” Liam drawled. “As you well know.”
Behind him, Hammer chuckled.
Raine’s jaw dropped and she turned twenty shades of red. “Liam! Oh, my… I’m not… I mean—”
“It’s all right. You love him, lass. And Liam adores you. Hammer, too. However you three choose to express that is up to you.”
Raine looked somewhere between speechless and wishing the earth would swallow her whole. “How do you…”
“Know?” Mum smiled. “Don’t be embarrassed. You and I will be very close. You’ll see.” His mother placed a hand on Raine’s belly. “And the babe! Such a thrill… Would you like to know the gender? Who the father is?”
“No,” he and Hammer both said in unison.
“Focus, my love,” his father suggested.
“You’re right.” She smiled at Raine. “I’m Bryn, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you. Liam didn’t tell me you were coming. I would have cooked a nice dinner, been more presentable, and…”
His wee wench was embarrassed. She shot him a glare that warned he might not get any dog food in his doghouse. He likely wouldn’t be getting any help with his bone.
“Oh, don’t blame him. He didn’t know I meant to visit until his ear started itching, I’ll bet.”
Raine looked completely confused. “So he didn’t mention me but told you about the baby?”
“No.” His mother smiled. “But he can’t keep much from me.”
Raine stared as if she had no idea how to interpret that comment. Something else Liam knew he’d have to explain later.
Bryn held a hand out behind her. “Duncan, come meet the girl I’ve been telling you about. Isn’t she lovely?”
Rolling a suitcase in one hand, his father held out the other to Raine. He winked and gave her a beaming grin. “Ah, aren’t you the bonniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Come give me a hug, then.”
Raine’s expression had morphed from confused to overwhelmed.
“Mum. Da…” Liam groaned and took Raine’s hand again, trying to reassure her. “This isn’t a good time.”
His mother scoffed. “How long did you expect me to stay away? You should have told her about the family by now.”
“You’re not exactly easy to explain.”
“If I waited for you to ring me, this babe would be out of nappies.” She huffed before bustling closer to Hammer. “And Macen. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again for so long. And we’ll finally be family! Come here and give me a squeeze. You get more handsome every time I see you.”
“Bryn, you sweet woman.” Hammer picked her up and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “How the hell have you been?”
“Quite well. I’m sorry for all you’ve been through. The years have been difficult, to be sure. But it was all for the best.” She gave him an empathetic smile. “I did try to warn you…”
“You did.” Hammer pursed his lips together, then turned to Liam’s father, giving him a hearty handshake. “Duncan, it’s good to see you. Your timing might have been better.”
His dad smiled. “Bryn mentioned that. Sorry.”
“Um, I didn’t mean to be rude.” Raine looked utterly rattled as she extended a hand toward the couch. “Would you like to sit down, Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill? Can I get you a drink?”
Mum shook her head. “That’s not why we’ve come, lass. And there’s no time for that now.”
“Oh. All right. Well…did you have a good trip? Where did you come from?”
“Liam’s told you nothing?” Mum glared. “That scamp. We came from Ireland, of course.”
