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Shay shot me a sheepish look, which had me winking at him.
Of course, Aela saw. “Don’t encourage him, Brennan!”
I just shrugged. “What’s a man to do? Let himself be cornered and not come out swinging?”
She heaved a sigh. “Not get into corners in the first place.”
Aoife cleared her throat. “Can we get a move on? It’s freezing out here.”
She wasn’t wrong. It was unseasonably cold, with the dew on the grass around us gleaming like the fronds were coated in glitter because they’d turned frosty at the tips.
I shuffled my shoulders together inside my coat, then tucked Camille closer, because she had to be colder as her jacket was only waist high.
“We’re going home seeing as we don’t have Ma’s roast to look forward to.”
Conor wagged his finger. “I think we should all cancel. Make a stand. Let Da know we’re not ten anymore and aren’t okay with being bossed around.”
“Why’s Grandda bossing you around?” Shay asked, his curiosity evident.
“Never you mind,” Aela mumbled, ruffling his hair up again. “I agree with Conor. You all let them have too much sway.”
“Isn’t that what good sons do?” Shay asked again, the question innocent but I saw the twinkle of laughter in his eyes.
“They do until they’re eighteen,” Declan confirmed with a laugh.
Aela crinkled her nose. “Okay, maybe twenty-five.”
Shay grinned, while the rest of us chuckled.
Well, apart from Aidan. Apparently, he could see his freedom coming to an end.
I didn’t blame him for being pissed off. Just because Da didn’t have any plans at the moment, that wasn’t to say they weren’t in the making. You never knew with him. One second, all could be well, and the next, there’d be some backdoor deal going down.
“I agree,” Aidan said with a grumble. “I think we should all skip this Sunday lunch. Anyway, Da’ll be in a pisspoor mood. It won’t be fun.”
“That’s hardly fair to Lena!” Aoife argued.
While she wasn’t wrong, the rest of us just shrugged.
“She’s used to his moods,” Conor pointed out. “Plus, he’d never hurt her.” He cut off his sentence right there for Shay’s benefit. Because we all knew he’d hurtusgiven the chance.
I rubbed my chin. “You don’t have to do this for our sake. Skip the meal to take a stand or don’t. It’s no skin off my nose.”
“No, just skin off ours,” Conor said with a huff. He rubbed his hands together. “If I don’t see you through the week, I’ll see you through the window,” he declared, before clapping Shay on the shoulder and strolling off to his car.
Finn and Aoife grinned at each other, which told me exactly how they planned to spend the rest of their Sunday, before waving at us and pulling a disappearing act.
Aidan wandered off as well, Inessa kissed Camille goodbye before she and Eoghan headed for their car, and Shay and Aela began to drift off too.
Before Declan could join them, I grabbed his arm and asked, “They look good... is it just for show?”
Dec shook his head. “No. Shay’s still having nightmares, but that’s to be expected. Aela’s a bit shaken up but she’s doing okay.”
“I’m glad.”
His lips twisted into a smile that was the opposite of cheerful. “Me too. We’re getting there. Thanks for being there for Shay. I meant to call you about it, but shit got busy.”
I shrugged. “No need to thank me.”
