AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Except the incident wasn’t in Caisleán, which Malcolm planned,” Liam broke in, fishing something out of his black motorcycle jacket. “He made that point very clear to me and Taylor. We had parking tickets on our vehicles when we left Cows and Cocks—”
“You brought her to a different pub?” Brady asked, his face falling.
“I was trying to spare Taylor all of this.” Liam gestured to the crowd. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Ellie assured him, nudging her husband in the side. “Brady is just being Mr. Hospitality like usual. We know she didn’t need to be thrown into our proverbial zoo after what just happened. I mean, look at us. You’d think we were having an Irish BBQ in the front yard.”
That made some people laugh a little, but Bets couldn’t find it in her to join them. Not tonight. “All right. We could keep hashing this out or go home and get some rest like Linc said.”
Not that she expected to sleep tonight. Like she had on other nights when the center and the people she cared about were under fire, she’d pace her worn hardwood floors before retiring to toss and turn in bed.
People started to say good night to each other. The embraces were a little longer, she noted, and the meaningful looks a little more intense. Despite feeling beside herself with worry, she did her best to comfort those who were out of sorts. And when she faced Liam in the dark night, she gave in to the urge to hug him again.
“I was so worried,” she whispered fiercely. “Not only for Taylor. You might be an adult, but you’re still my kid.”
“I know, Mum.” His embrace calmed her, a power he’d had since he was a child. “I also have to ask something of you. I need you to not treat Taylor like my soulmate.”
Linc’s snort carried to her ears, and she narrowed her eyes at him when she looked over her shoulder like he did every time this topic came up. “Some people should mind their own business.”
“You are my business, sugar,” he answered before strolling away. “I’ll be in the car.”
“Mum.” Liam touched her face to turn her attention back to him. “One of the reasons Taylor didn’t let us pick her up from the airport was because she was worried you’d know what Sorcha had said.”
She sucked in her breath. Dammit, she was thrilled, likeover the moonthrilled that her baby boy’s soulmate had shown up. What mother wouldn’t be? Hadn’t she given herself this talk already? She’d told Linc to warn her whenever she got that “grandchildren dreaming” look on her face. “I hear you, Liam. I’ll do my best, I promise.”
“Don’t go there, Mum,” Liam cautioned, tapping her on the nose.
She moved his hand away. “What? Thinking is still free in this country, isn’t it?”
“Not if Malcolm or Mary have anything to do with it,” he said harshly, not his usual. “Mum, let’s focus on making Taylor’s first days easy. She’s a strong woman like you and the others, and she wants to do a good job. Look at it from her perspective. She was offered an incredible job in a small town in Ireland, where she knows one person—Sophie. Then Sorcha appears and tells her about me. After which she realizes the founder of the arts center where she’ll be working is her soulmate’s mother.”
She kicked at the ground and tried not to wince. “Dammit, it’s like being put in a pressure cooker on high heat. I’ve already told myself this. No grandkids thoughts.”
“Grandkids?Oh, Mum… That’s way off.”
“It is?” She caught his bland stare. “Fine. I’ll stop them in their tracks. Like you’ve tried to teach me.”
He tilted his head up to the sky as if imploring the heavens. “Triedbeing the operative word. Go on home and do your best not to fret too much. I’d suggest some meditative breathing, but I know it only winds you up.”
“You’re right about that. But I know I won’t be calming down anytime soon.”
“Mum, despite everything that’s happened, we’ve gotten this far, light years ahead of where we were when Aunt Mary first shut us down when Angie and Megan arrived and started teaching. Hey, is Kade home with Megan and the kids?”
“Yeah, Sophie left her daughter with them for the evening,” Bets told him. “We wanted to make sure the children were—”
“Safe,” he finished. “Understandable.”
Neither one of them wanted to discuss how Sophie had sent Greta away for a few weeks after the last harassment and vandalism incident at their home. The little girl was back because the new Garda officer had taken over for Denis, signaling the return of law and order in town.
Which is why Malcolm had struck outside Caisleán. Dammit, Bets hated what a clever bastard he was.
“Go inside.” She zipped his jacket up the couple inches to his throat like she used to when he was a little boy going to school. “It’s getting cold.”
“Did that little bit of mothering make you feel better?” He took her hands gently.
“It’s better than breathing exercises…”
He gave her a stern look before smiling. “Maybe you should ask Linc to watch a movie with you tonight to shut your mind off.”
