Chapter 4
ROSIE
DJ was a great kid and a great son. He was also old beyond his years, had the swagger of a grown man, and cursed like a trucker.
I’d learned very early on to pick my battles with him wisely.
If he said fuck, I told him not to say fuck because that was what a mom was supposed to do.
Personally, I didn’t care that he said fuck.
What I cared about was that he didn’t get in trouble with the law or shoot heroin into his arm.
So, as much as a sixteen-year-old boy shouldn’t say fuck, I knew all sixteen-year-old boys (and most girls) did.
Therefore, as long as he didn’t get arrested for stealing cars or dealing smack, I was secretly okay with the word ‘fuck.’
At that moment, in the cab of Donovan’s truck, the word ‘fuck’ was flying around like a motherfucker because both Donny and DJ were having a very excitable conversation.
“You’ve got the DJ and Gabby seal of approval, Mr. O’Shea,” my son announced. “Which means we won’t prank you, we won’t screw with your ride, and we won’t sabotage your dates with our mom.”
Gabby giggled.
My spine bristled.
“If you want us out of the way, we accept cash and the unlimited use of your credit card,” DJ went on.
“We like the coffee shop and the movie theater over at Mapletree, though if you expect us to get our asses over there, I’ll be needing gas money to drive Gabby around so you and Mom can have privacy, especially since it’s gas I could be using to take out my honeys. ”
My eyes narrowed on my son. “Since when have I needed the DJ and Gabby seal of approval to do anything?”
It was like I hadn’t spoken because Donovan replied, “I’ll pay for one night out a week, the rest you earn.
You want cash, you get your ass to my gym a few days a week and help me out.
You’ll get paid fifteen bucks an hour, and you get free run of the place.
I know you’re working for the Demons over summer too, so I’ll speak to Atlas, and we’ll work your hours out between us. ”
“Wait a minute—” I exclaimed, but I was cut off by my son asking excitedly, “You want me to work at your gym?”
“Life ain’t gonna give you a free ride, bud,” Donovan told him. “Better to learn that now.”
“Cool!” he breathed. “Will you teach me some moves? Everyone knows you’re a good fighter and you do Martial Arts.”
Donny’s lips quirked. “Bowie and I were talking about starting a boxing league for the town’s kids.”
DJ’s grin lit up his face. “Kai’s gonna freak the fuck—shit, I mean, Kai’s gonna freak the hell out.”
“Umm, excuse me,” I interrupted. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. I haven’t even agreed to go out on a date yet.”
“You will,” DJ muttered from the back seat.
“Hey!” I protested. “Watch your mouth.”
Donovan shot me The Smirk and squeezed my knee.
I sat back in the passenger seat of the truck and let out a quiet harrumph.
Somewhere along the line, my boy had adopted his uncle’s protective streak, and he exercised it on a regular basis, not just over me but his sister, too.
DJ may have looked exactly like his dad (with my dark hair thrown in for good measure), but he was all Atlas in personality. God knew that Evan was a hypocritical sonofabitch who thought his shit didn’t stink, but he was a beautiful man, so the way I saw it, DJ got the best of both worlds.
The problem was, it meant that my son had the world at his feet, and he knew it, hence his success with his ‘honeys’.
It also meant that DJ was a strong-minded, strong-willed, determined, macho-alpha-in-training who never backed down.
If I got fucked over, it would cause mayhem, and the fallout would resemble hell on earth.
Donovan suddenly becoming DJ’s boss didn’t bode well, so maybe I needed to rethink dating him.
My gaze settled on my hand, which was currently glued to his beefy, muscular thigh, and covered by his long, tattooed fingers.
Just seeing us connected that way caused a belly flutter to ensue, which I furiously tried to ignore.
Donovan’s eyes sliced to mine. “You not okay with the gym thing?”
How the hell did he know me that well already? I had a fantastic poker face.
“You’ve got a god-awful poker face,” he murmured quietly, throwing me a shit-eating grin.
My eyes narrowed.
Hmm.
“It’ll be sick, Mom,” DJ told me from the back seat. “I just messaged Kai, and he agreed to help out too. It’ll be fuckin’ awesome.”
“Don’t say fuck, and of course I think it’s a good thing,” I assured him, lying through my perfect, professionally whitened teeth. I glanced at Donovan and noticed him grinning at DJ through the rearview, like they were bosom buddies having a secret conversation.
DJ rolled his eyes at Donny, communicating that I was a pain-in-the-ass, nagging banshee type of mother, before adding magnanimously for my benefit, “It’s okay, Mom. I won’t get hurt.”
“I know you won’t get hurt,” I lied again, stopping myself from tagging on, but I damned well might.
“You could come if you wanted, Gabby,” Donovan offered, glancing over his shoulder at her before his eyes returned to the road. “It’s not just for the guys; the ladies are welcome too.”
“Thanks,” she replied sweetly from the seat behind me. “But I’m more into book clubs than fight clubs.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to learn a few moves, Gabs,” I prompted gently. “You’ll be going off to college in a few years. I’d like you to be prepared for all situations and learn how to defend yourself at least.”
“I’d probably make a fool of myself,” she protested quietly. “I like sports, but I’m not really athletic.”
My lips twitched because Gabby was just like me.
I went to the gym because I loved food, which meant exercise was a necessity, not a choice, but I didn’t particularly enjoy working out. The only time I ran was when someone shouted, ‘It’s wine o’clock’ and held a filled glass out ready for me to take.
“How about I teach you the basics?” Donovan offered, his eyes darting to Gabby in the rearview. “You and your mom can come to the gym, and I’ll go through some defense and offense techniques. If you don’t feel comfortable training in front of the guys, we can keep it private.”
“I’ll think about it,” she acquiesced. “Thanks, Mr. O’Shea.”
“Donovan,” he corrected.
“Donovan,” she murmured.
My belly fluttered again, but that time the feeling stuck and spread outward until my stomach was filled with it. Despite myself, I squeezed Donny’s leg gently, silently thanking him for handling my girl with care.
“Have you thought about speaking to Maeve about starting a book club, Gabby?” Donovan asked. “She loves reading and speaks about her books every opportunity she gets. She’s always going into the city to visit bookshops and libraries. She’s even spoken to Abe about opening one here in town.”
I sneaked a look in the side mirror and saw Gabby’s eyes widen.
“Really?” she breathed. “A library in Hambleton would be so cool. What does Mizz Maeve read?”
“She loves the classics, but also historical romance stuff and something called ACOTAR. You heard of it?”
“A-A Court of Thorns and Roses?” my girl stuttered excitedly. “I love that series.” She winced when she realized what she’d revealed and added, “It’s okay, Momma. I skip the spicy scenes.”
I almost laughed out loud because little did she know I learned about sex from my mom’s old Harlequin Blaze and Dare stories, though that was something best kept to myself.
“When Mae gets back from her honeymoon, I’ll hook you up, and you can chat with her—see if she’s up for organizing something,” Donovan offered.
“That would be rad,” Gabs cried softly.
The butterflies intensified, and my heart melted because apart from Atlas, I’d never seen any man—including Gabrielle’s father—handle her with so much thoughtfulness.
It seemed that Donovan O’Shea was full of surprises.
I’d introduced two men to my kids over the years, and I’d been seeing both of them for months before I brought them around.
Even so, I’d kept them at a distance because I didn’t want DJ and Gabby to get attached to men who I wasn’t sure would last.
Seeing their dad drift from woman to woman had made me decide to be more discerning.
All kids needed stability, and as much as their dad was a hard worker and chipped in financially, his personal life was a disaster.
For example, when Gabby was younger, she got close to one of her dad’s girlfriends and was devastated when they broke up.
My girl learned a hard lesson early on, and I hated that for her.
Therefore, I decided I had to conduct my love life differently.
They were older now, and I knew that over time, they’d learned to keep Evan’s lovers at arm's length because who knew if the poor woman would be traded in for a new model by the time of their next visit.
The kids knew Donovan from club cookouts and family parties, so I couldn’t keep them apart while I got to know him better. But seeing him interact with Gabs and DJ made me realize that his relationship with the kids was independent from me anyway.
I also knew it wasn’t a suck-up tactic. Was Donovan trying to build a stronger rapport with them?
Absolutely, but I also knew that Donovan had probably been thinking about creating a boxing league for the town’s kids for a while, and having DJ around probably just reminded him do something about it.
He never knew Gabrielle loved books, but as soon as he found out, he offered to speak to Maeve because he wanted Gabby to have someone to relate to and understood it would help build my girl’s confidence.
“We’re here,” he said softly.
I looked up to see we were pulling off the main road onto the track that led to my house, and I couldn’t stop a small smile from stealing across my face.