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“Was he botherin’ ye, lass?” Pops said as he sat as straight as he could with his hunched back.
“He wasn’t getting the hint that I wasn’t interested.”
She watched her brother turn red in the face. To his credit, he kept his voice down as he said, “Who is this fucker?”
She shook her head and said, “I’ve handled it, Ry. I’m fine.”
“I’ll come with you tomorrow to talk to the dude,” he said and folded his arms in front of his chest.
“That’s unnecessary, Ry. Like I said, I’ve handled it.”
Pops watched their exchange for a moment and said, “Anythin’ else that’s been goin’ on?”
She took the opportunity and said, “As a matter of fact, there is. I’m looking for an apartment, so if you know of any place to rent, please think of me.”
Pops sat every day in this pub. He talked to dozens of people coming in during the day. If he would set some feelers out for her, that would be a tremendous help.
“This is about that biker,” Ryan said, his voice harsh.
“No, Ry. This is about me being twenty-one and ready to spread my wings. I need to be able to make mistakes, like everyone else. You can’t be there all the time to protect me or our other sisters. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”
Ryan brought a hand to his raven hair and said, “Yes, I’m tired—but not because I’ve been looking out for my five sisters. Never. I love you. You know that.”
It was good hearing that he loved her. Not that she had any real doubts, but things were not the same between them after his talk with Devlin.
“I love you, too. Ry. Why are you tired, then?”
Ryan held her eyes and said, “I’m tired of the tension at the farm. And I’m tired of feeling guilty about scaring Devlin away from you. It’s obvious you felt deeply for him. You haven’t been yourself in these last three weeks.”
She smiled as she rested her hand on top of his. “It’s not your fault, Ry. You didn’t scare him away. I told him to get over himself.”
Ryan scrunched his brows. “You did?”
She nodded. “Yep. I was ready for a serious relationship. He said something what led me to believe he wasn’t as into it as I was, so I walked away from him.”
She made it sound so easy… if only she could make herself get over him. That would be another thing on top of her list of things she needed to work on.
“No shit,” Ryan said with rounded eyes.
Pops’ boisterous laugh at Ryan’s shocked expression had her joining her grandfather.
“Priceless. Ye turnin’ into a fine young lady with a good head on yer shoulders,” he said.
“Thank you, Pops. Before we go, if you hear anyone about renting out rooms or apartments, can you give them my number? Or give me theirs? Yeah, that would be probably best.” She didn’t need another Tristan on her hands.
“Easy fixin’. I already have one for ye.”
“You do?” She placed her palms on top of the table and leaned in. “Where?”
“Upstairs, Lass. Errin and Brennan are movin’ into a house not that far away from the pub.”
She knew about the two-bedroom apartment upstairs and how Pops occasionally stayed in one of the rooms whenever he had too much whiskey downstairs. It would be perfect for her as a first home outside of her family's home.
Even her parents couldn’t have any objections. She would stay above the place she worked, and her grandfather could keep an eye on her. Or rather, she could keep an eye on her grandfather for the rest of the family.
“Isn’t there anyone else who wants it?” She could almost already taste her despair if this wouldn’t work out.
“Nah. I’ll talk to Brennan for ye. He wanted to keep his room as a place for him and Errin to crash after a late shift, but we can divide my room in two and make it a three-bedroom apartment. If they’re not permanently livin’ in it, there’s no need for them to have a big room. They just need a bed to rest their heads. Am I right?”
“I totally agree, Pops,” she said and smiled at Ryan, who finally also had a smile on his face.
“I think it’s a great idea, sis,” he said.
Things were looking up.
She just needed to forget about Devlin and she then she would be ready to venture into the world of a new Teagan.
