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“Don’t be silly, dear. You’re our guest for the next two weeks and we won’t have you hiding away from us. Best you get comfortable with us as quickly as possible. That way when someone upsets you, you’ll have no problem setting them straight. We’ve got a tough lot here and best you show them you’re no shying violet from the start.”
Sheilagh stood and carried her plate to the sink. “You’re gonna scare her, Mum.”
“No, Samantha’s tough. I’ve faith in her. She can handle herself. Can’t you, dear?”
Clueless of what a proper reply would be, Sam smiled and took a sip of her juice. If she hadn't immediately liked the McCulloughs so much she’d probably label them all crazy. She focused on eating her breakfast while each family member took their turn introducing themselves.
Katherine was indeed the other redhead. Older than the rest, but still beautiful and vibrant. Sam was quickly realizing all McCulloughs were. She had red hair to her shoulders and bangs that covered her forehead yet always seemed to part in the center. She was the type of woman that pulled off natural as if it were an art. Wearing no makeup that Sam could detect, her ears didn’t appear pierced, and the only jewelry she wore was a gold Claddagh wedding band. She also was very pregnant.
The twins seemed the most reserved of the bunch, but perhaps that was because it was still early and they weren’t quite awake yet. Finn left the kitchen soon after Sam sat down so she hadn’t gotten an opportunity to analyze him yet. Braydon was right. They were identical. What he failed to mention was that they were both off the charts gorgeous.
Luke appeared respectful yet careless. There was something guarded about his posture and the set of his eyes. All through breakfast he wore a short brimmed hat that reminded Sam of a paperboy from the turn of the century. It made his ethnicity all the more apparent and he kept the hat pulled low over his eyes. This brother was the one Braydon said lost his chance at being a professional athlete. He definitely had the body of an athlete. Yet there was something mysterious about him she couldn’t quite figure out. Other than a short hello, he said nothing to Sam and very little to anyone else.
Mr. McCullough, who insisted Sam call him Frank, was polite and quiet. Sam supposed being married to a woman like Maureen, didn’t leave much to be said at the end of the day.
He wore a red flannel, blue jeans, and faded yellow work boots. Realizing she had imagined what Frank McCullough looked like, he fit the acceptable logger image her mind subconsciously preordained.
And then there was Sheilagh. No wonder she had a reputation of being somewhat of a wild child. Even sitting next to her was intimidating. She was so beautiful it almost defied what Sam thought acceptable for normal people who weren’t airbrushed supermodels. Sam fought the urge to keep staring at her in search of at least one flaw. In her glances she found none.
Sheilagh had bright green eyes, the same color of Maureen and Katherine’s. Her lips looked naturally made up, as if she was eating berries and the juice permanently stained them. The youngest McCullough was like a thistle flower, beautiful and tempting, but impossible to hold without being cut.
The sound of a car pulling up the gravelly drive followed by a car door slamming filtered into the kitchen. A dog barked and Katherine went to the door.
“It’s about time!” She smiled as she pushed open the screen door at the back of the kitchen, her belly filling most of the entrance.
Braydon stepped in and Sam silently sighed with mild relief at his return.
“Beautiful Kate. How are you?”
He hugged his sister with unguarded affection and she whispered something in his ear that made him flush and smile. When the siblings separated Braydon placed a hand on his sister’s belly.
“Another boy, eh?”
Katherine smiled and cradled her protruding belly. “I’m fighting to get you a namesake, but Ant says Braydon Marcelli just sounds ethnically wrong.”
“Well, that’s what you get for marrying an Italian.”
A dog scratched at the screen and Katherine leaned past Braydon to let it inside the house. It was a mangy looking beast with gray brown wiry hair. Sam tried not to react outwardly when she noticed it only had three legs.
“Here you are, Rufus,” Maureen called as she dropped scraps into a metal bowl on the floor. The dog hobbled over and gratefully nibbled at the trimmings.
Braydon kissed his mother on her rosy cheek than moved over to Sam and did the same before sitting next to her on the bench.
Leaning close he whispered to Sam, “How are you this morning?”
“Good. Where’d you go? I would’ve gone with you.”
“I had to go check something at the end of the property for my dad. If you want to go out later to see the land I’ll take you.”
He began to eat as the rest of the family returned to the table with mugs of coffee. Frank was perusing the local paper. Kelly drifted back upstairs, and Luke disappeared shortly after Braydon returned. The children played across the foyer in what Sam assumed was the den. Katherine questioned Braydon about his recently completed semester at school and he quizzed her on his nieces and nephew’s recent achievements.
“Are we having a game today?” Braydon asked to no one in particular.
“Aye. We’re meeting at two. Colleen and Rosemarie have already each called this morning to see if you got in okay.”
Braydon smiled and turned to Sam. “They’re my aunts. You’ll meet them today and the rest of my cousins. We always start the summer with an opening game of baseball.”
A ball game. That’d be fun to watch. Sam tried not to get overwhelmed at the idea of more family. These were busy people, lots of offspring. Sam thought it charming the way the family pronounced Colleen as C’leen and Rosemarie as Ross-mer-ree.
