Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
Tommy
T he early-morning light was muted by the gray clouds but every once in a while, the sun would peek through and cast long shadows across the track.
With the chill dissipating, I had rolled up the sleeves on my lightweight flannel.
I stood next to Rory at the rail, timing the young colts as they thundered past, their hooves kicking up clods of packed dirt in steady, rhythmic strides.
“One minute, four seconds,” I called out, lowering the stopwatch in my hand and writing the number down on a sheet.
Rory nodded, arms folded over his chest as he studied the chestnut gelding on the track.
“He’s comin’ along fine.”
I glanced at him.
“You think he’s race material?”
Rory exhaled through his nose.
“If he gets his mind right.” He shifted his weight, still watching the horse.
“He definitely has the heart.”
That word had been sitting heavy on my chest since last night.
Heart .
Fiona had plenty of it.
And I’d do anything to protect it.
She and I stayed up late last night talking on the couch after Kathleen and Rory went to bed, but none of it was pertinent to her current predicament.
We discussed politics and food.
I asked her to go see Smokey and the Bandit , a popular film from last year in the States that was now showing in the local Fethard cinema.
She asked me when she could sneak back to my cottage one night and that prompted a groan from me before I kissed her.
We made out, right there on the couch, and both of us were breathing hard.
I wanted her so bad, but I knew I had forever to be with her, and I wasn’t about to disrespect Rory in his own home.
I eventually left with a hard-on and a heart that was both aching for Fiona and exhilarated at the potential future we had before us.
A crunch of gravel behind us had me turning, yanking me from my daydreams of Fiona, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling.
A Black Mercedes pulled up near the track, its tires spitting dirt as it skidded to a quick stop.
The driver’s door flung open, and out stepped Seamus Conlan.
His sleeves were rolled up, his collar undone, his eyes ablaze.
Rory cursed quietly.
“And so it begins.”
Seamus stalked toward us, his steps hard, fists clenched at his sides.
His glare cut straight to Rory, his expression murderous, but I was ignored.
I’m sure he felt I was beneath his notice and he clearly didn’t care if I overheard what he had to say.
“Ye had no right to take my property,” he growled, stopping just short of us.
Rory didn’t flinch.
“Would that be yer daughter yer talkin’ about, or her clothing?”
Seamus’s nostrils flared.
“Ye know what I mean. Ye took property from my home that I paid for and specifically prohibited Fiona from taking.”
My jaw locked tight and I was astounded the man could be so petty over something so inconsequential.
My response would have been to punch him but Rory maintained a cool head.
Sort of.
“Yer welcome to take them back,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“But ye have to go through me first.”
Seamus sputtered.
“So ye want to boil it down to… what? Fisticuffs?”
I almost snorted at the antiquated term but Rory wasn’t amused.
“I’m merely tellin’ ye, that if ye want Fi’s clothes, ye have to go through me first. If ye want anything to do with yer daughter, ye have to go through me first. She’s safe and secure now and I’m going to keep her that way.”
“Safe,” Seamus spat, eyes flashing.
“She’s supposed to be home. Where she belongs. And ye’re harborin’ her like some runaway.”
Rory’s jaw ticked, but his voice stayed even.
“Ye made a choice, Seamus, when ye kicked her out without any other options. No one owes ye anything.”
Seamus let out a harsh laugh.
“She’s a foolish, naive girl. She doesn’t know what she’s doin’.” I had previously thought that Seamus’s ego was too big to even notice me standing there, but I think I was wrong.
His glare flicked to me, narrowing.
“And I know damn well who put these ideas in her head.”
I took a step forward before I could stop myself.
“You don’t need anyone to blame but yourself,” I said, voice steady.
Seamus’s lip curled.
“I should drag her back home where she belongs.”
A deep rage uncoiled in my chest, and before Rory could stop me, I stepped between them, squaring my shoulders.
“Not without dealing with me. Rory will be waiting for you, but you’ll never make it past me.”
The moment stretched tight, Seamus staring me down like he was weighing whether to take that challenge.
But I was bigger, younger, and I sure as hell wasn’t afraid of him.
Seamus’s face twisted with disgust.
“Who the hell are ye, anyway?”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my voice like steel.
“I’m the man who loves your daughter.”
Seamus seethed, his voice like gravel.
“Ye’re the reason for Fiona’s downfall.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
“No, Mr. Conlan. With all respect, your daughter is going to have an amazing life built on her own terms. You tried to take away her happiness, to force her into a life she doesn’t want. That’s on you. You’re a pathetic excuse for a man, and an even worse excuse for a father.”
Seamus lunged, but Rory stepped between us, his hands going to his brother’s chest.
Fiona’s father pointed at me.
“I want that boy gone from this estate. He’s not welcome here.”
“He’s here at my invitation,” Rory said, his voice sounding fatigued.
“He’s not goin’ anywhere.”
I shot him a wink and Seamus’s face flushed red.
He lunged for me again and Rory pushed him back a few feet, his hands still to his chest.
“That’s enough,” Rory barked.
“Ye want to fight someone, Seamus? Fight me.”
Seamus wrenched free, breathing hard as he glared at his brother.
“Ye think ye’re in the right here? Ye think ye can undermine me?”
Rory didn’t so much as blink.
“I think yer a fool if ye don’t see what ye’re losin’.”
Seamus inhaled sharply through his nose, collecting himself.
“Ye listen to me, Rory. Ye better fix this. Ye better send her back home, back where she belongs, and get her back on board with Brian.”
Rory gave a dry, humorless chuckle.
“Never goin’ to happen. And I suggest ye don’t push me on this. Ye let yer daughter go, now ye need to leave her alone.”
Seamus stepped forward, lowering his voice to a dangerous level.
“And if I don’t?”
Rory’s expression turned to stone.
“Then we’ll split this farm right in half and go our separate ways. But I’m thinking for a man who was seeking to double his holdings by making his daughter wed Brian Kavanagh, splitting Glenhaven would be a significant blow to yer greedy nature.”
Oh, damn.
That was ice cold, and I wanted to jump up, give Rory a high five and tell Seamus to go shove it.
But I needed to be more mature than that.
Seamus blinked.
“Ye wouldn’t.”
“Don’t test me,” Rory said, voice like iron.
“I’ll watch Glenhaven burn before ye hurt Fiona anymore. That’s my solemn vow to ye.”
I had definitely grown to respect and admire Rory, but I honestly didn’t know that I could love him anymore than in this minute.
He chose his family over business…
the exact opposite of his brother, and it made me sad that Fiona couldn’t have had that type of love and loyalty from the day she was born.
Silence crashed over us.
Seamus’s face darkened.
“Ye’d lose out too if ye did that.”
“I would,” Rory shot back.
“But I’m sick of yer arrogance, Seamus. Sick of watchin’ ye care more about yer money, yer damn legacy, than yer own daughter.” He shook his head, the quiet disappointment obvious.
“Ye lost her. And if ye keep on this way, ye’ll lose everyone else too.”
Seamus’s eyes burned like the depths of hell and I think if he could kill his brother in this moment, he would.
With fists clenched, he turned on his heel, stormed back to his car, and tore out of there without a backward glance.
I exhaled, watching the dust settle in his wake.
Rory rubbed a hand over his jaw.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered.
I glanced at him.
“Will he go after Fiona?”
Rory was quiet for a long moment.
Then finally, he shook his head.
“No. He loves this farm too much to let me split it apart. He’ll back off for now.” He turned to me.
“So, what’s yer plan, then?”
I met his gaze.
“I meant what I said. I want her to come back to Kentucky with me.”
“Aye… ye said that. But ye didn’t tell me what I really needed to hear.”
I knew what he was saying and there was no shame in him forcing me to admit something that I’d frankly shout from the rooftops.
I looked him dead in the eye.
“I love her, Rory. She’s mine to protect now.”
Rory studied me for a long moment.
Then slowly, he nodded.
“Then ye have my blessing.”
No one had ever given me anything in my life that was more important than those words.
I wasn’t going to waste that gift, and I wasn’t going to let him down either.
Fiona was mine and it was time to make that official.