Chapter Thirty
It was rude, really, that Kieran ate before everyone else the day after the wedding, but he just couldn’t help himself when he’d woken beside Lily, hard and craving another taste.
Fucking his woman with his tongue two hours before brunch was the closest he’d ever get to being a morning person without a mug of coffee in hand.
“I’m absolutely starving,” Lily said after the waiter finished taking their orders. They were still waiting for the happy brides to arrive.
Kieran rolled his lips between his teeth, trying his damnedest to keep a straight face. “Must be from all that cardio yesterday.”
Lily’s relaxed grip on his thigh tightened. The temperature of the room shot up a degree as a blush climbed her neck like roses. “Something like that.”
From across the table, Maeve’s dark blue eyes narrowed and flicked between Lily’s bashful expression and the grin he couldn’t quite contain.
His sister’s lips trembled between a smile and a scoff.
“You two could not be more obvious.” She rolled her eyes at him and settled her gaze on Lily.
There was definitely a smile in the making. “But I’m happy for you.”
Beside Maeve, Danny faked a gag. The tiny smile afterward stayed Kieran’s scowl.
Kieran found Lily’s hand under the table and gave it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “Thanks, Maeve.”
Across the sun-splashed outdoor dining area, the glass doors of the main house opened. Shauna stepped over the threshold, hurrying toward them. There was something off about the way she carried herself. Shoulders tucked in and arms covering her chest. Like she was making herself small.
“So how was your first morning as a newlywed?” Maeve asked, her smile bright as she stood to receive their little sister.
But as Shauna rushed forward into Maeve’s arms, Kieran caught a glimpse of the little red splotches around Shauna’s eyes and along her temples.
Kieran leaned forward in his seat. “What happened?”
Against Maeve’s shoulder, her words were muffled but still intelligible. “All the gift cards and money for our honeymoon—they’re gone.”
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth, but she stayed silent.
Taking a deep shuddering breath, Shauna swiped at her cheeks and leaned back.
“We went out for coffee this morning. Just some time for us, you know?” She hiccupped and shook her head as if furious at herself for doing so.
“We came back, and our door was open. So were our suitcases where we packed the cards.”
Maeve rubbed her back. “Where’s Stephanie? Is she okay?”
Shauna nodded. “Yeah, she’s doing better than me. She’s checking with the staff to see if they caught anything on camera.”
Lily’s hand curled tighter around his. Was she thinking the same thing as him? That his father’s sudden appearance after years of silence was oddly convenient, and even more so was his absence at this brunch for the brides’ families?
Danny scowled and threw his napkin on the table. “What kind of asshole would do something like that?”
Kieran glanced down the table and found Stephanie’s father staring at him, a grimace pinching his kind face.
He must’ve been thinking the same. Kieran had seen how careful they’d been in their introductions at the reception.
Stephanie’s family made good money. People like them didn’t have brunch with people like Brennan Sullivan.
When Stephanie joined them, a somber expression settling over her face as she wrapped her arm around Shauna’s waist, Kieran knew.
“It was Brennan.” Stephanie focused her stare on her canvas slip-ons. “They have footage of him picking the lock and coming back out with a handful of envelopes. The receptionists said they saw him leave not long ago. He made a big show of thanking them for their hospitality.”
Rage coiled in his gut. Of course, Brennan would show up for Shauna’s special day and ruin it. Knowing the old bastard, he’d use the money and gift cards to chase his next high. Trade the gift cards he couldn’t use for favors. Brennan Sullivan didn’t change. No, he just got fucking worse.
Danny sat back in his chair. His brows pinched together and a look somewhere between anger and consternation washed across his face. “He said I could catch the bus back to Chicago with him. We’d hang out.” His voice was as small as the tuck of his shoulders.
Kieran let go of Lily’s hand before his grip became too tight. What he wouldn’t give for a heavy bag right now. He’d wail into that thing until he couldn’t feel his arms anymore. Or his legs.
Maeve and Stephanie bracketed Shauna, offering comfort from both sides.
Saoirse, not to be forgotten and unaware of the abrupt change in mood, climbed into Lily’s lap and flung her arms around Lily’s neck.
Lily peered at him from over Saoirse’s shoulder, uncertainty clouding her bright eyes. Or was it doubt?
Kieran shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about what her look could mean.
He had a family to take care of—to protect.
“We’ll have to file a police report.” They were better off doing something than sitting and crying.
“They might not find him before your honeymoon, though, so…” He took a deep breath as he freed his phone from his pocket and tapped into his online banking account.
His savings weren’t as robust as they used to be, not after helping Maeve pay for her massage school tuition, but he had enough that he could help.
If they didn’t catch Brennan and get back the money he’d stolen, Kieran would just have to avoid takeout and any purchases for himself for a while.
“We’ll get your money back, but in the meantime…
” He sent the money to Shauna’s bank account before anyone could talk him out of it.
“Use this. You can pay me back when you get your money, okay?”
Shauna’s phone dinged. Her confused expression twisted into one of shock when she checked the notification. “Kier, no. We can’t accept this.”
What else would she do? Skip her honeymoon?
They were supposed to drive down to New Orleans and spend a week together.
No way was he going to let Brennan fucking Sullivan get away with taking that from her.
“You can, and you will. You and Steph deserve some happiness after all the bullshit that bastard’s put us through. ”
Stephanie’s mother stood, a protest at the ready if her raised finger was anything to go by. “No, honey. Let us help.”
Kieran held up his hand to stop her. “You helped give my sister the wedding of her dreams. Let me take care of this. If they catch him quick enough, I won’t be out anything.” He hoped.
Danny scraped his chair back and lurched to his feet. He didn’t say a word before storming away.
Lily shifted Saoirse in her lap as if she meant to follow his brother, but Kieran placed his hand on her shoulder. “No, stay. The food should be out any minute now, and I know you’re hungry.” He kissed the crown of her head. “I’ve got this.”
She caught his hand on her shoulder and gazed up at him. “His heart needs protecting, too.”
Right. His heart. The one thing Kieran had never been able to get through to. Not with homemade meals or shooting hoops. Danny wanted a father—not whatever broken brother figure Kieran was. Taking a deep breath, he strode out of the banquet hall.
He found Danny on a stone bench in the inn’s small garden. Surrounded by blue hyacinths, his brother bowed over his knees with his hands grasping at the hair on the back of his head. This angry boy was a far cry from the eager teenager who’d followed at his father’s heels like a starved pup.
Kieran sat in the space beside Danny and bumped his shoulder. “You want to talk about it?”
Danny let go of his hair and swiped at his nose with a scowl. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yeah?” Kieran angled himself toward his brother and lifted a brow. “That’s not what it looked like when you ran off.”
As if he couldn’t stand to be near him, Danny launched off the bench and directed all his wild anger right at Kieran. “As if you even care.” He threw the accusation like a punch with no follow-through. No power behind it. A bruised fighter backed into a corner.
“Would I be here right now if I didn’t?” Kieran kept his tone even. He wasn’t looking for a fight. Not with Danny.
Danny sniffed and aimed his glare at the pink creeping phlox lining the walkways. “You’re probably only checking on me because your girlfriend’s here.”
Was that what Danny thought? That in this moment of hurt, he’d only shown up to put on a show? Kieran shook his head and rested his elbows on his knees. “I’m here because, no matter what you believe, I care about you, Dan. I always have, and I always will.”
“Yeah?” Danny’s ears burned pink as he flung his arms out. “Then why did you leave?”
Kieran tilted his head, making his confusion clear.
Danny shook his head and paced the wide stone walking path.
“You left us when I was little. You left us to go be a big-shot fighter, and Mom was so sad, Kier. You left us, and she died.” His bottom lip wobbled, and he sucked in a quick breath.
“She died, and you weren’t there. And you didn’t come back.
Then Dad left because he couldn’t do it on his own.
If you’d come back sooner, he would’ve stayed. ”
Was that the bullshit story Brennan told him last night?
Their mother died and their father abandoned them because Kieran left?
That asshole had no limit for how low he’d stoop.
“Danny, I didn’t leave because I wanted to.
I left because Brennan tried to lay his hands on you, and I wouldn’t let him.
I fought him, and Mom called the cops on me. She kicked me out.”
They’d been over this. It wasn’t a new story.
Danny rounded on him, the skin around his eyes flecked with red like Shauna’s earlier. “But that’s not what Dad said.”
Kieran breathed deep. He had to remember Danny was still a kid.
“I’ve never known Dad to tell the truth, Danny.
” He clasped his hands and bowed his head.
The words came easier when staring at his boots.
“The truth is…all I could think about was how you kids were still stuck with him. I needed a job, and I needed a place. Neal took me in. I tried to go pro because it meant I could send home more money to Maeve to make sure there was actual food in the refrigerator for you kids. That the bills were paid. As soon as I knew he was gone, I did everything I could to get legal guardianship.”
Danny rambled on, his anger and grief blocking out Kieran’s words.
“I just thought if he saw I wasn’t some dumb kid anymore, that I was a son to be proud of, he’d stay.
” He shuddered out a breath. “But I’m not good enough.
I’ll never be good enough for him to stay.
I wasn’t enough for you to stay. Or Mom.
Everyone always leaves. Maeve had Saoirse and she left.
Shauna got engaged and moved away. You’re gonna marry Lily and forget about me.
” His voice broke, and Kieran lifted his head in time to see his brother’s face crumple. “I just want my dad.”
Marry Lily and forget Danny? The air rushed from his lungs as if pushed out with a knife.
Pain needled into him and pulsated. Danny thought he was disposable.
Had he been living with all that rejection and Kieran had been too blind, or too busy, to see?
Unease bubbled within him. Was Lily a distraction?
If he hadn’t been busy playing house that morning, would his father have had the chance to rob Shauna and Stephanie?
Raw emotion flooded Kieran’s chest, but he swallowed it down, stood from the bench and dragged his brother into his embrace.
He wrapped his arms around Danny as if a shield were attached to each forearm.
Danny didn’t reciprocate but let his forehead thud against Kieran’s chest. Fury and sorrow and regret crowded his heart, making it hard to draw in a breath.
“He doesn’t deserve you, Dan, and neither do I.
You’re a good kid and a hell of a ball player.
Having you for a little brother has been nothing short of a learning experience, but if I had to choose anyone to do it with, it’d be you. Every time.”
Danny’s arms wrapped around Kieran’s back, his body heaving as wet warmth bled into Kieran’s T-shirt.
Kieran hugged back with the same ferocity. “I’m here, Danny. I’m right here.”
Danny’s shoulders trembled, and his fists balled in Kieran’s shirt.
Movement in his peripherals made him glance up. Lily stood at the edge of the small garden, her expression soft. “Everything okay over here?”
Danny stepped back at the sound of her voice and swiped at his eyes with a soft curse.
“Give us a minute.” He turned, shielding Danny while the boy finished composing himself.
“I’m never leaving you again, got it? Not for a woman.
Not to be a pro fighter. Not for anything.
” He cupped the back of Danny’s neck, meeting the boy’s deep blue eyes—their mother’s eyes.
“I’ll be on your ass all through high school and college.
I’m gonna be at every game. I’m gonna teach you how to drive, and when you fall in love, I’ll be there cheering you on. ”
Danny snorted and shook his head. “Sounds miserable.”
His weak smile said otherwise.