Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
G o For It
Ronan
A little over two months later …
“Why do ya look like someone pissed in your pint? Aren’t ya glad for yer nephew?” Cass asks as she finds me sitting out in the backyard.
“Just a lot on me mind. Need to sort some things out in me life and in me head,” I reply.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with a pretty-faced young woman with a whole lot of sass and ass, would it?”
I snort and shake my head at my older sister. I didn’t miss how she asked Kaye about Dean earlier after the proposal. Cass and Ma took a liking to her while she was here.
“Not everything is about a woman,” I grumble.
“Aye, but ye have a glad eye for that one, so it is.”
“Ach, some things aren’t meant to be.” I shrug.
Cass slaps me upside the back of my head. I palm the stinging spot and glare at her. She narrows her eyes at me.
“Since when did ye become a big pussy? All me life I’ve known ye to go after what ye want. I know what I saw. Ye aren’t in this alone.
“I love ya, little brother, but ye ain’t been right in years. If this lass makes ya happy, for fuck’s sake, go after her and get what ya want. Ye hear me?”
“Aye, I hear ya, but I already promised yer boys I’d be coming to California.”
“Those big fuckers will get over it. Almost all of them have a hot pair of nex warming their beds. Yer not getting any younger. Do what ya need to do for ye.”
I wrap my arm around my sister’s small shoulders and tug her into a hug. I needed that kick in the pants. I haven’t been the most fun to be around lately.
In all honesty, this isn’t where I had planned to be. I should be in the States laying boots to Bujar. He’s been floating since Dean returned to New York.
Aye, I know just where the lass is. The only reason I haven’t been to find out what she thinks is happening between us is that business has been calling for most of my attention. I’ve been in a fouler mood than usual.
I want to have my woman in my arms. This is new for me and I’m not adjusting to not calling the shots and getting what I want. I’m used to women waiting for my calls, not the other way around.
Not that Dean hasn’t called. She has. The calls have just begun. Her timing is shit. I missed the first call while on my flight here to Ireland.
At the time, I thought my da was ill. Ma called and demanded I rush home for an emergency. However, there’s no emergency. Felix is here to propose to his bird and the family is all here with him.
I swear my mother knows how to drive me insane. The time difference between here and New York has kept me from getting in touch with Dean since her call. I’ve been in a sour mood all day.
Then I received a call that Bujar has reared his head in California. I don’t have to track him down, I know exactly where to find him.
That’s why I opened my mouth and offered to help out in Felix’s absence if he plans to stay here with Kaye until her movie wraps. However, my sister is right. This isn’t me and I need to put an end to this one way or another.
“Thanks, Cass.”
“I love ya. I’ve always only wanted to see ya happy. Go be grand.”
* * *
Dean
I should be in a better mood, but I’m not. My mother has been awake for a little over two months now. Her treatments are working, and she has been smiling so brightly. With each day, she’s breathing and speaking more clearly.
She’s been staying with me since they released her. I’ve loved every minute I’ve gotten to spend with her. She’s even been talking about taking a trip together.
“What did that chicken do to you?” Byron asks as he enters the kitchen.
I look up and narrow my eyes at him. Mom invited him over for dinner, not me. I’m not in the mood for men at the moment.
I tried to call Ronan to explain things, but my calls have been going to voicemail. I refuse to call Kaye and ask about him. I’m not about to do this with this man.
If he doesn’t want to talk, he doesn’t have to. I have bigger fish to fry. For one, I need to find Bujar and get this LaSalle dude to give me permission to fuck Bujar’s Albanian ass up.
Unfortunately, it’s been harder to get in touch with LaSalle than I thought it would be. Shit’s been bubbling over with him and his people.
I’m patient. My time will come. After all, he wants to meet me before this roundtable that’s coming up in Ireland. Just the thought of Ireland makes me pound harder on the chicken breast before me.
“Okay, maybe I should come back another night,” Byron says.
“Nonsense,” Mom says as she appears. “Danny needs to spend more time with a handsome young man like yourself. How else am I supposed to get a son-in-law?”
I roll my eyes. This hasn’t been helping my mood in the least. While I’m pissed at Ronan, my mother has been trying to set me up. Byron is just her latest attempt in the last two months.
Poor Lyric. She even tried to recruit him. Little does she know that man has been in love with someone else for years.
This life takes so much from us. I don’t think he would regret if Uncle Dayton doesn’t hand his seat over to him. At least then he could be with the one he loves.
“Mom, I’m sure Byron has better things to do with his time.”
“And I don’t have as much time as we once thought. I would like to see you settle down before I’m out of time, you know.”
I groan and feel guilty. She’s been giving this same speech whenever I turn down the guys she’s been pushing on me. It gets me every time.
It’s the reason I broke down and called Ronan. I’ve been trying to think about how I can date him and keep him out of my business and my world. Right when I thought I had it figured out, he decides not to answer my calls.
I sigh. “Fine, Byron, you can stay. Could you set the table for me?”
“Of course.”
“He’s a nice boy, you know. I remember how close Dayton and your uncle used to be. I had a crush on his father back in the day.
“Freddie would have killed him and I wasn’t the type of girl he ended up dating, but Dayton was it back then,” Mom says and begins to chuckle to herself as a strange, distant look comes to her eyes.
“Mom, if you don’t sit yourself down,” I laugh and throw the dish towel at her.
Just like that, my guilt is forgotten, and I feel a little lighter. I’m not going to sweat Ronan. It’s time I get my head back in the game. I have moves to make.
“I always thought Anika would be married by now. You girls don’t understand what it’s like for a mother who wants to see her girls walk down the aisle. I’ve dreamed of helping you two with your veils and getting to throw your baby showers and answer your calls in the middle of the night about the baby’s colic,” Mom says with a look of longing on her face.
And … just that quick, the weight is back, and I feel like shit. I’m nowhere near getting married or having babies. Heck, do I even want children? Not with my lifestyle.
I’d tear someone’s fucking head off if they ever targeted my babies. Nope, my life doesn’t have room for children. There’s a strong pang in my chest as I think of how I’m failing my mother. My sister isn’t any better. That bitch is still MIA.
Fuck her.