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A sniff from the other side of the breakfast table, followed by, “Such an asshole,” had me blinking in surprise. Seamus was quiet in the morning, but he had his AirPods in and was watching something on his phone.
I was used to it by now. Quite liked it, if I was being honest. Aela ate a yogurt and drank tea then made a to-do list for the day, and I caught up with my emails as I ate the omelet she made for Seamus and me.
Breakfast was quiet. Reflective. Proof that the three of us were meant to be a family because none of us were morning people.
“What is it?” Aela asked, her head tipped to the side.
She didn’t mind if he cursed, and though I didn’t, I knew I’d have to warn him about Da. Dawouldmind until he was eighteen and then it was a free for all. Except in front of the women.
Christ. That reminded me.
I’d have to take them to church soon. And for the family Sunday roast.
Fuck.
“I can’t believe that prick won.”
“Which prick?”
“Alan Davidson. God help us now he’s President.”
I shrugged. “He’s good for business.”
“Shit for the environment. I’m the one who’s going to have to deal with him destroying the ozone layer,” he grumbled. “I’m the one who’ll have to live with zero ice caps while he rolls back laws that destroy nature so that fat cats like you can get richer.”
My brows rose at the vitriol in that statement, but though I could have grown angry, I didn’t. My lips twitched instead, which I knew pissed him off further. “Hate to break it to you, kid, but you’re not exactly living like a pauper. With your brand-new iPhone, and your brand-new iWatch, and those fancy AirPods, you’re as much of a capitalist as anyone. So before you start throwing stones around, acting like I’m the only fat cat in the room, bear in mind that your ma is richer than me.”
Aela’s nose wrinkled at that, but Seamus’s mouth dropped open as he swung around to gape at her. “What?” he boomed.
Didn’t take a miracle worker to figure out that Seamus hadn’t known that.
She evaded his gaze by blowing on her tea. “Your father’s right,” she murmured, and her backup was appreciated even if I’d thought she’d take things a different way. “You can’t sit and cast judgment on people when you’re sitting in a penthouse in one of the most expensive cities in the world. You’re privileged, kiddo. But… that doesn’t mean you have to be a schmuck about it. You’re going to change things, aren’t you? Well, you’re in a position to do it.”
His brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because what’s in my bank account isn’t yours,” she said wryly, but she reached over and swiped away the messy locks that had tumbled onto his forehead. “Look, you’re about to go to a school where you’re going to rub shoulders with the best of the best. You can take that one of two ways. Be a jerk, make no friends, stand out because you’re the anarchist. Or you make friends with everyone, get into their pockets, and when you’re older” —she tapped her nose— “remember every little thing they did wrong, and use it as leverage to get them on your side.”
“That’s not honorable.”
“Neither is rolling back environmental laws, is it?” She shrugged. “You want to trigger change? Now’s the time to do it. You schmooze, and you approach every day in class like it’s your first day in court.”
“Court’s only the beginning,” my kid muttered.
“He wants to be a politician,” she clarified, “but he thinks becoming a DA is the smartest way to hit the Senate running.”
There was amusement in her words as she spoke, and I knew why.
A DA in the family?
Sweet mother of Jesus.
I rubbed a hand over my face, but when I thought about it, when I really calculated how badly that could go awry… I knew I could play it to my advantage.
Da would try to drag Seamus into things soon. He’d try to recruit him. If I hit preemptively, then I could make him see that Seamus was in a unique position to do what Da had been wanting for a long time—get a politician in the ranks.
He wasn’t to know that Seamus was an idealist.
Shay, still processing his mom’s words, murmured, “You think that will work?”
