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“And?”
“And we’re getting married. We’re announcing it officially at Sunday dinner but I wanted you to know first.”
“I’m so happy for you, Maisie. Truly.”
“I know. As my maid of honor you have to be.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t be offended if you asked Kat.”
I didn’t exactly have the resources and soon, I wouldn’t have the time to help the way a maid of honor should.
“I’m sure, Bonnie. You’re my sister and I need you with me on my wedding day. You and that little redheaded boy or girl you’re carrying.”
I couldn’t promise that I would be there for her wedding. I knew that made me a terrible person and a worse friend, but I couldn’t count on minimum wage jobs to support a child.
“I’ll do my best, Maisie.”
“You always do.” She wrapped me in a hug and I squeezed tight, remembering the way she smelled, the way she felt. The way it felt being with my best friend.
In just a few days, I would start my new life.
Somewhere else.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Cal
I was usually the only one of the Ashby offspring who actually looked forward to Sunday dinner. It was the one normal thing we did as a family. The one day a week where we were just a typical Irish family who talked too loud and too much about nothing and everything, over too much damn food and alcohol. It didn’t matter if we talked about million-dollar businesses or underworld dealings, it was a family dinner.
And today I wasn’t in the mood for good food, good company, or family dinner. Not at all.
How could I smile and pretend that everything was okay when I knew what Bonnie really thought about me? She thought I didn’t give a damn about her, just like Squeaker and Joey. No fucking different than those lowlifes.
I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, and Kat would say it served me right, hearing what I did, but I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But once I heard her tell Maisie about the pregnancy—finally—I couldn’t stop myself. It was my one shot to figure out what was going on her pretty little head. And I didn’t like what I heard.
“Have you managed to dig up anything else on Jack or his daughter?” Sadie’s voice, more than her question, pulled me out of my brooding thoughts about Bonnie.
“Nothing,” I told her and kept my attention on the corned beef on my plate. “There’s no trace of him through Oklahoma or Texas, which just leaves New Mexico.” It was my only hope of figuring out what happened to Jack to get his annoying daughter off the Ashby scent. “That was the last leg of his drive, unless something happened to him in Utah.”
Virgil laughed. “Un-fucking-likely. We have a few contacts up there and they might be reserved, but their word is their bond with those people.” With those words, he dug back into his food with gusto.
“Either way, if nothing pans out in New Mexico, Utah will be our last hope to give Agent Beck the answers she wants.”
If I couldn’t find answers, Jasper would decide what to do and that would mean trouble for everyone.
“Either way, it will be handled.” Jasper, making sure we all knew who made the decisions. As if we could ever forget. “These potatoes are fucking killer, Ma.”
“Too right, Sadie. Killer meal as usual.” Terry flashed a smile, as much one of the Ashby children as the rest of us, and dug back into his plate, piled high with food. “Emmet will be bummed he missed out but he’s training that big guy.”
Sadie flashed a smile at Terry and then Jasper before turning her worried green gaze to Bonnie, totally oblivious to all the people at the table who gave a damn about her. “Thanks. Thomas found some fresh garlic at a nearby farm.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t have anyone to kiss tonight,” Kat said with a laugh. “So somebody please, pass the potatoes.”
Everyone was in a good mood, a surprisingly good mood that only made Bonnie’s sullen stares and my quiet presence stand out more. They were used to it with me, but everyone, even Jasper, would cast a wary look at Bonnie every so often, taking in her pale skin and hollow cheeks, sunken eyes and the cloud of sadness she carried with her everywhere.
Fucking sadness. Having my baby made her sad. It was a burden, one she wanted, but a burden all the same, and it made her sad. And worried. And that made me sad.
“Here Bonnie, have another helping to fatten you up.” Kat smiled and flopped another serving of mashed potatoes onto Bonnie’s plate.
“Thanks, Kat. The potatoes are delicious, Sadie.” Her words were bland instead of effusive, her politeness routine now instead of sincere. She flashed something that resembled a smile and turned back to the food she mostly shoved from one end of the plate to the other.
