Chapter 4
Rory
“Declan, she needs to leave,” I say, pacing back and forth down the aisle of the horse barn as he cleans out a stall. And I try to come up with a lame excuse as to why she needs to go. I mean, she’s blood, his kin, something I’ll never be. But that’s not going to stop me.
He stops shoveling the shit and leans on the pitchfork shaking his head at me. “She just got here yesterday. Besides, Wren has taken a shine to her.”
I turn and look at him. I knew I was grasping at straws when I said, “She smashed into the front of my car.”
“I heard.” He shrugged, “Get it fixed, and I’ll pay for it.”
I knew he would say that. “I don’t want you to pay for it. Forget I even mentioned it.” I turned to walk away, but he stopped me when he said, “What is really bothering you?”
Damned if I knew. It started when he announced he was stepping down and then just snowballed when we discovered he had a sister.
“Is it because you don’t want to be Captain?” Declan asked, leaning the pitchfork against the stall wall. “Or is it because you’re afraid Katrina will?”
How the fuck did this man know so much about me?
“It’s both,” I admitted before I even realized it.
As he walked out of the stall, he nodded. “Figured as much. And I can say that I don’t blame you for not wanting it. It’s a huge responsibility. But if I thought you couldn’t handle it, I never would have made you my second in command.”
I nod my understanding; I needed the affirmation that he trusted me. Something I had forgotten about.
I watch as he pulls his gloves off and then hands them to me. “I’m not just letting Katrina take over just because she has the MacGallan blood in her veins. First, she needs to know what kind of family we are and what we do. Then, if she decides that she wants to take over the reins, she’s going to have to earn it.”
I feel my brow begin to wrinkle in that all too familiar scowl it’s been sporting as of late and say, “ She can contest that; you know she can.”
“But only if she knows that she can, which she won’t,” he smiled. “Don’t worry about it. We will be discussing it tomorrow over dinner. In the meantime, you’re going to have to move into the house.”
Taken aback, I say, “What? Why? I can’t do that Declan. My mum lives with me, remember?”
“Because. The Captain lives in the house, as well as his family members. Bring your mum along.”
I shook my head. “She has a dog from hell. It will attack anything that breathes, and she won’t rehome it. I swear she keeps it just to torment me.”
Declan laughed but didn't say a word as he grabbed the pitchfork and handed it to me.
“What’s this for?” I ask, looking at it.
He starts walking away and says, “For you to clean the stalls. It’s therapeutic.” As he reaches the door, he stops and looks back at me. “Bring your mum and the dog too. Make sure you’re both moved in before the end of the day tomorrow. You don’t want to miss the meeting at dinner.” He jerks his head towards the pitchfork in my hands and says, “Have fun.”
He’s out the door, and I’m standing there wondering what the hell I just got myself into. I toss the gloves onto a feed bin and walk into the stall. The smell of putrid urine burns my nostrils and turns my stomach. But I don’t let that stop me. I’ve been feeling like my head is going to bust off for over two weeks now, and if Declan says it’s therapeutic to clean up horseshit, then so be it.
Maybe it will even stop the constant image of Kat’s tight ass flitting through my mind.
I attack the soiled wood shavings with gusto, gagging all the way. But Declan was right, within minutes I’m feeling the stress work out of my muscles with every fork full I toss into the wheelbarrow.
Kat
I wake up after a restless night of sleep and glance at my phone to see that it’s noon and I have a missed call from Derek. I tap on his name and call him back.
“You’re alive, are you?” He asks in a way of greeting.
“I’m sorry,” I yawn. “I forgot to call you when I got here.”
“Uh huh. Could it be because some smoldering man caught your eye? ”
Knowing all about the first phone call I received, he was referring to Rory. “Oh, he’s smoldering alright. I smashed into the front of his car.”
He cackled, “What?!”
“You heard me right.” I tossed the blankets off me and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “Once I saw the house, mamma’s words were echoing in my ears, and I threw the Blazer into reverse, and he just happened to be right behind me.”
I could hear a bar room brawl breaking out already in the background when he asked, “Why would seeing the house make you want to leave?”
I glanced around at my bedroom. The room was filled with opulence, as if Queen Anne herself had decorated it. I took a photo and sent it to him. “It’s a mansion Derek. Check your text messages.”
He let out a whistle. “So, they’re rich, what’s wrong with that?”
I sighed. “My mother never said why my father wasn’t a nice man, I just assumed he was an asshole. I have a feeling he was up to no good.”
He laughed. “What, is he the mafia or something?”
I stood. “I don’t know, and it’s likely I never will. ”
The sound of glass shattering came over the phone line just as a tap sounded on my door. I lowered my voice, “Sounds like you need to take care of business and so do I, I’ll talk to you in a few days.”
I hung up and called out, “Yes?”
The door creaked open, and Wren popped her head in. “Hey, just wanted to make sure you were okay,” she smiled.
“Yeah, just getting a late start to the day.”
“Nothing wrong with that. When you’re ready, come on down and get something to eat.”
I nodded. “I’ll just hop in the shower really quick.”
“See you soon!”
She closed the door, and I hurried into the adjoining bathroom as fast as my aching body would allow me.
∞∞∞
We’ve been sipping coffee and making small talk on the patio when Connor comes out carrying a tray. He sets it on the table, and there is a mound of buttered scones baked to perfection sitting on a plate with a jar of jelly beside it .
“Help yourself ladies!” He says dusting his hands off.
My mouth is watering just from the smell of the delicate pastry, and I reach for one, slathering jelly on it before taking a bite.
“Oh my gosh, these taste like heaven,” I groan, savoring the mouthful of the warm Irish scone. I’m reaching for another before I’m fully done with the first one and know that as long as I stay here, I’m likely to gain weight. Not that I care. At 131 pounds, I could stand to gain some, just not too much as it will only affect my leg if I do.
Wren nods as she takes one. “Wait until you taste a proper meal of Connor’s.” She glances up at him as she smears jelly on her own scone and says, “I swear you should quit the family business and become a chef.”
Family business?
Without missing a beat, I take another bite and chew it thoughtfully.
“Oh? Are we related too, Connor?”
Wren and Connor exchange glances, and then he announces, “I uh, I think something is burning in the kitchen!” he then hightails it out of there while Wren evades the question with one of her own.
“We didn’t get a chance to chat last night, so will you tell me all about this roadhouse you own?” she asks with a grin on her face. “It must be exciting!”
I chuckled, cleaning up every bodily secretion known to man and breaking up fights, wasn’t my idea of exciting. “It’s different. It wasn’t my lifelong dream to own one. When my mother passed away, she left it to me.”
That’s all I said. As much as I like Wren, I wasn’t going to share my past life with anyone. As far as I was concerned, no one needed to know about my kickboxing days. Because if I did tell them, inevitably the question would be asked, why am I no longer doing it.
“What did you do before that?” she asked, as I heard someone coming up the stone steps and Rory’s head came into view followed by his body. He’s wearing all black and his jeans mold to his muscular thighs with every step.
Call me crazy but the scone turned to dust in my mouth, and I choked out, “I was a champion kickboxer.” The second the words passed my lips I realized my mistake. FUCK!
Wren hasn’t a clue he’s standing behind her, and she wrinkles her nose and looks at me, “Do you smell horseshit?”
I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing and jerk my chin towards Rory. “It must be him. I didn’t smell a thing until he came.”
She swung her gaze around to see him standing there. “Why do you stink so much?”
“Declan had me cleaning out the stalls,” he said, his eyes never straying from my face.
“Where is he?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No clue.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You were a champion kickboxer? Of what, the peewee division?” he snorted.
I raised my chin and folded my arms across my chest. “There is no such thing as a peewee division. You are referring to Atomweight. I was Middleweight.”
“What does that mean? Does it go by weight and height?” Wren asked.
“Weight. I was 165 pounds of pure muscle.” I looked away, towards the stables where the horses lazily grazed and hoped they would stop with their questions. Whenever anyone talked about it, I relived the day my career ended. A memory I tried to leave buried.
Wren laughed, jabbing her elbow into his leg. “She could kick your ass, Rory.”
He took a step away from her and stared me down. “I highly doubt that. I have a good hundred pounds on her at least. ”
I stood up. “Yes, well that’s in the past, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it there. Excuse me.”
Without another word, I took off walking across the patio, heading straight for the pasture and prayed my leg didn’t betray me.