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"You’d be surprised what she knows." He shot me a look that was surprisingly measured. More than I was used to. More than I thought any of us were used to. This was getting fucking weird. "Son?"
"Yeah."
He reached out and cupped my shoulder. "Thank you for saving my soul."
Swallowing, I rasped, "You’re welcome."
"Finn came to see me a while ago. He told me what happened with St. Patrick’s." I tensed, but he shook his head. "You did good." He did the craziest thing then, his hand curved into a fist, and he tapped it gently against my chin. I was used to a punch, but not a gentle bump. "Look at you, taking over for me before I’m dead and gone."
My Adam’s apple bobbed.
Was this... acceptance?
Approval?
Fuck.
My mouth worked as I tried to figure out what the hell was happening here, and then I drawled, "You’re not leaving us yet. Long Live Aidan O’Donnelly, eh?"
His lips quirked up, but the smile didn’t hit his eyes. "We’ll see."
"Does Ma know about Finn?" I asked, my voice gruff.
"She does." His voice turned strained. "She loves him like he’s hers anyway. I wish he were.”
There was something in his eyes, a deep source of regret that had me shifting on my feet. This was just too much for anyone to have to deal with in this short a time.
"I’m about to get the women out of the safe room... I wanted to check in before I did though."
"Your ma says she likes this Savannah broad. She told me all about her when we woke up."
"Thought she’d be the last thing you had to talk about."
"After the tears and recriminations about the past, sometimes, you gotta think about the future. It’s cleansing." He tipped up his chin. "If you’re serious enough to bring her home for Christmas, then you have my approval. Not that you need it."
"Don’t I? I thought I did."
"After what you did—" His voice broke. "You earned the right to pick your own bride."
"What about Conor?"
"Think he’ll ever get married?" Da shook his head. "I don’t. But we’ll see. He has the right to make his own decision about that too."
My eyes flared wide.
Talk about a fucking Christmas miracle.
I cleared my throat. "We’ll need to show a strong front about the church attacks."
"I know. But not tonight, and not tomorrow either." It was well into the early hours of Christmas Eve by now. "Let’s just enjoy the holidays."
"We need to present an image, Da. You wouldn’t ordinarily let things lie like that."
"No? Well, there’s a first for everything."
I was well aware that I needed to tell him about his brother, but as I looked at him, right then, right there, I knew that would just be the nail in the coffin. So, instead, I rasped, "Tell Ma I love her."
Da dipped his chin. "I will. I’ll haul her out of the shower in a minute. If you’re all going to bed, then we’ll probably get started on the food."
