Chapter Three #2
“I-I—”
“It was late, so Mr. Chaudry was savin’ ya the bother until mornin’,” I said quickly.
She frowned before seeming to accept what I’d said, turning back to her patient. “Well, then, let’s get that bullet removed. I can’t promise it won’t hurt a bit even with a local.” She turned to me. “You’ve done your part, Agent, if you need to go.”
“I’ll be staying if Wes doesn’t mind.” I looked at him, happy to see him nod.
“I’m fine with it.”
“As you wish.” She turned to the nurse who’d come into the room and gave her instructions as I looked at Weston.
He didn’t look frightened but then again, he shouldn’t be.
The questions about reporting it to the coppers had been done.
Once this was over, and he had his new job, things would be looking up for him.
Two hours later, Wes was discharged. The bullet removal had been fast and relatively painless, according to him. After giving him a bag of IV antibiotics, they discharged him and sent him home with a bottle of painkillers, more antibiotics, and instructions to finish them all.
“Thanks for staying with me and vouching for me, Patsy,” he said as we climbed back into my Beetle.
“It’s no bother, Wes, I told ya.” My mobile rang and I looked down, surprised to see Napoleon’s picture come up on my screen.
The second I saw his smiling face, I remembered what day it was and groaned.
I glanced at Wes. “Sorry, this is my friend. I need to take this.” I swiped the mobile when he smiled at me, putting it on speaker and hooking it into the dash bracket. “What’s up, Napoleon?”
“What’s up! What’s up? Why the hell didn’t you call me? I had to find out from Candy that you were nearly murdered last night!”
“Oi! First of all, I wasn’t nearly murdered. What the bloody hell did he tell ya guys?”
“That you were in a convenience store at one in the damn morning when a robber came in and shot someone…and you were unarmed, Patsy! You didn’t think it was a good idea to call your best friend instead of letting the boss tell the team?”
Wes looked right uncomfortable. I suspected his expression had nothing to do with being shot in the arm.
I shifted gears and gunned the engine. “Sorry, Nap, had a lot on me mind. By the way, the man who was shot is sittin’ right beside me in the car and he can hear every word comin’ out of yer gob. ”
“Oh…ah, sorry, total stranger who my friend hasn’t introduced sitting next to him.”
I snorted, glancing at Wes. “His name is Weston.”
“Nice to meet, you…Napoleon is it?” Wes asked, staring at the phone.
“That’s right.” He paused. “Did you forget we have a date tonight, Patsy?”
I looked back at Wes and rolled my eyes, making sure he knew my friend was a complete gobshite. “I didn’t forget. Wes and I are on the way now.”
“Good, because we made a promise and you know they always need help.”
I looked at my watch. “Be there in ten minutes, eejit.”
“See you then,” Napoleon said. “Thanks for coming with him, Weston. Glad you weren’t hurt too badly.”
“Um…thanks.” Wes looked right confused.
“Bye then!” I said, disconnecting the mobile before I could be further embarrassed by my best friend.
“You have a date?” Wes asked hesitantly.
I grinned. “Aye, with a priest no less.”
“A…what?”
His confusion made me laugh. “Father Gilmartin is the priest at Blessed Sacrament just down the street, he is. I volunteer to feed the needy once a month. My best mate, Napoleon, goes with me, and tonight, so are you, provided yer feeling up to it.” When he didn’t reply, I glanced over at him.
He was looking down at his op shop clothes and all of a sudden, I felt awkward, wanting to smack myself for saying something so rude.
“Oh, shite…me mam always says my mouth moves before my brain catches up.” I sighed.
“I didn’t mean to imply that ya were needy, Wes, just…
a wee bit, ya know, down on yer luck.” I was gobsmacked when he reached over and covered my hand resting on the gear stick.
“I’m definitely up to it, and I think helping the less fortunate is a wonderful thing to do, Patsy.
” The glow in his oddly colored eyes was quite arresting.
The smile on his bearded face was even more so.
For the first time, I noticed he had dimples hidden under the scruffy beard.
He said he’d been on a few interviews for his new job which made me wonder how fast his beard grew.
Of course, my horny brain immediately made me wonder how hairy the bear was all over the rest of his body.
Feck. You wouldn’t read about it. The last thing I needed was a hard on when I was sitting in a car with a man I was attracted to, and driving to see my favorite priest. Aaand… now, I’m going to hell.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
I looked down at his big hand, covering mine. It was warm and for the first time since I’d met him, I wished I could turn my palm over, take hold of his hand, and never let go. Instead, I was forced to change gears and his hand dropped away.
“I know I should’ve asked ya before committin’ to bringin’ ya along.
It’s just that Napoleon is right, he is.
The church has lots of parishioners with hungry, wee kids, so they’ll be needin’ the volunteers to help serve.
They also accept donations of books, toys, and clothin’ which get sorted at the same time.
The Catholic charity takes them for the homeless kiddies. ”
“That’s really nice. I’m so glad you’re involved with that.
The homeless population grows every year and with all the layoffs and foreclosures in the past year, a lot more families are living on the streets or in their cars.
” He left the “like me” unsaid, but I knew he’d be well within his rights to say it.
“My mam and da raised a large family at home in Ireland, and when we were kids, we spent a lot of time goin’ through church bins.” I saw Wes nod in my peripheral vision.
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“I’m the eldest of ten. Four girls and six boys.”
Wes let out a low whistle. “So, you’re saying your parents had no TV.”
I laughed as I turned onto Cassil Place where partitioners parked in a multi-story car park across from the Catholic school on the south end of the church.
“No…’tis true we didn’t have the telly, only shelves full of books to entertain us on rainy, winter nights.
We lived on a farm in the country, full of back breakin’ farm work but in a lot of ways, it was an idyllic life.
They raised us right.” I pulled into the car park and took a ticket.
A car was backing out on the ground level, so I waited, giving me a chance to look my fill of Wes’ smiling eyes.
The blue and brown together fascinated me.
“I always wished I had siblings,” he said wistfully. “I only had one—a baby sister—but she died in infancy. Are you close to them?”
I shook myself, shoving aside feelings of how nice he was to look at, and remembered we’d been talking about family.
“We’re very close. Of course, they’re all still home in Ireland, but thanks to email and Zoom, we talk all the time.
And I try to get home at least once a year to meet the newest crop of nieces and nephews. ”
His smile widened as he chuckled. “It’s wonderful that you make the effort, Patsy.”
I tried to ignore how much I liked it when he used my first name and pulled into the space, parking the Beetle, and rushing around the car to open his door.
I held out a hand to help hoist him out.
He smirked up at me but took my offer. Once he was on solid ground, we walked toward the street, and I found it incredibly easy to fall into step beside this gentle giant.