Chapter 22 Donovan
DONOVAN
The rest of my weekend was uneventful, as usual.
The most exciting thing I did was continue my current backyard project: a butterfly garden.
This was probably the most unusual thing about me.
Not many people had a butterfly hobby, but here I was.
I thought about Audra’s darts and how they had butterflies on them, and my lips quirked up.
That woman sure has a hold on me—I haven’t been able to get her out of my damn head.
I entertained driving by her house to stop by, but I had no reason to.
I’d just have to wait until she came to the office so I could ask for her phone number.
The office. Ugh. I had to think about my contingency plan for when Maeve was in Hawaii. One week I could get by, but two weeks was too much for me to get everything done solo. Who the hell could I hire for two weeks of work? I was going through my options when my phone rang.
“McKenna,” I answered with a smile. “How are you?”
“Van, Guess what?” I could hear the excitement in my sister’s voice. “I PASSED!!!!”
“No way!” I met her excitement. “Congratulations, Mackey Mae! That is amazing news. Unsurprising, but no less amazing. Passing the bar on your first try is exceptional. You are going to be a badass lawyer. I’m so proud of you!
” My sister is one of the smartest people and hardest workers I know.
It was no surprise that she kicked ass at this.
“I can’t believe it,” she squealed.
“I can! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you, McKenna, at least to give you a hug. You’re going to do amazing things with this.”
“So, here’s the thing, what if I asked… no begged you to come to a celebratory dinner next Thursday?”
My heart sank at the request. I wanted to do this for my sister, but that meant that I’d have to face my parents, and I’d only had contact with them three times since I drained the trust. I hadn’t even seen them in person yet.
During the whole debacle, they tried to take legal action, but I made sure any and all loopholes were closed before I green-lighted my operation.
They were irate about it, but I didn’t give a fuck.
Our nanny, Rosalina, raised McKenna and me; Dennis and Carol Wright just provided the start-up and funded the operation.
My parents were never at games, concerts, or sporting events unless it suited them to be seen for a photo op.
And Lord knows there were never any typical family bonding activities like playing catch or cuddling up together to read a book.
I would be hard-pressed to recall a single happy memory involving them.
Even things like Christmas mornings were lacking in warm family traditions.
We were lucky if they sat to watch us open our gifts that they couldn’t even be assed to buy themselves.
I felt like such a prick complaining about my childhood because I had everything I ever could have wanted.
Everything except parents who loved me. The only things that kept me tethered to this earth were my sister, my nanny, my driver, and a couple of friends, so it’s not a complete surprise how cavalier I was with my life for a period of time.
I screwed my poor sister too, because after my whole trust issue, they wrote in the marriage clause to hers, so she was bound to it if she wanted to receive it.
Part of the reason I worked so hard was so I could finance a replacement fund for my sister.
She had no idea I was doing it, but she’d be okay in this life.
“Ah, Kenna, that is … really hard to answer.”
“Please, please, please, please, Donovan. This is literally never going to happen again. I haven’t even asked you for a birthday dinner since you left. I can send the jet to pick you up. I looked and saw a private airport kind of close. Please. PLEASE!” I could hear the desperation in her voice.
My stomach lurched. I couldn’t say no to her. Not this time. Not for something so monumental. Not after I’d left her to her own devices all those years ago. Taking a deep breath, I put on my happiest tone, “I can’t wait to celebrate with you, McKenna. I will be there.”
Our parents would undoubtedly attend and make sure there was a photo of our happy family.
They’d go on record to brag about McKenna passing the bar on her first attempt at such a young age and enjoy the accolades vicariously.
It was, after all, another feather in their cap.
And at the same time, I knew they were going to find a way to make this miserable for me.
Was I going to make my triumphant return to drugs next week?
My Magic 8 Ball said, “Strong Possibility.”
The decibel level shot up as she screamed. “Seriously? I didn’t think there was any way you’d say yes. OMG-YAY! Thank you, Van. I can’t wait to hug you.”
“This is a huge deal, Kenna. I’m so damn proud of you. Let’s connect over email about details, ok?”
“Perfect. I’m so excited! How long can you stay?”
I could hear the excitement and disbelief in her voice. I didn’t blame her, I’d only seen her once since I’d left, and that was for Rosalina’s wake and funeral.
“Wednesday to Friday, but I need to be out early Friday. Maeve is going on vacation for two weeks with Tucker, and they will either be celebrating a new proposal or getting engaged there; I’m not sure which.” McKenna knew all about Maeve.
“Ooh—that’s super exciting for her! And we like Tucker, right?”
“Oh yeah, he’s great, and they’re perfect together. It’s going to be a happy occasion.”
“I’m excited for her, but I’m even happier I get to seeeeeee yooouuuuuu soooooon,” she sang over the phone, and I smiled. She always seemed so joyful. Joy that I lost many years ago, but it had been inching back recently.
“Alright, Kenna. I will see you next week. Congrats again, you’re amazing!”
Hanging up, the dread of seeing my parents intensified. I sat on the kitchen stool and rubbed my hands over my face while giving myself the pep talk that I could do this for McKenna.
McKenna. Holy shit, McKenna. The thought hit me so hard it literally brought me to my feet.
What if she came to help while Maeve was gone?
I’m sure two weeks in Savannah Springs wasn’t her ideal way to celebrate passing the bar, but she could do it.
Hell, even if she just gave me a week. Yep.
That was going to be the plan. And I hoped to shit she’d say yes, because I was going to spring it on her when I was back in New York.
Holy Shit. This might just work out after all.
* * *
When I got to the office, I went through my normal routine and took note that Maeve was running late.
Not for any reason other than the fact that it was so unlike her.
Maybe she stopped at Grá, which was Cora’s store down the street, or maybe she was just standing in the street talking to her like last time.
Twenty minutes later, she stormed in. It was rare that Maeve looked bad, but right now, she looked unglued.
My mind started racing as to what could have happened.
I hope to God it wasn’t something with Tucker.
She sat in her chair, exhaled loudly, and brought her fingers up to her temples while she closed her eyes.
“Maeve, what’s going on?” I opened the conversation.
“You have a sister, Donovan. Have you ever wanted to kill her? Kick her ass minimum, murder her maximum.”
“Um … no. I can’t say that I have.” Though I wasn’t happy about her ambush today, that’s for sure.
“My brother is leaving.”
“What?” I said in disbelief. “What do you mean he’s leaving?”
I sat in the chair in front of her desk to give her my undivided attention. What was she talking about? He seemed great on Friday and certainly looked like he was getting along with Cora—quite well, in fact.
“He took a fucking job in California, and he fucking broke up with Cora even though they’re not dating.
I just found her fucking underwear outside his car on Saturday and outed them out on it.
Both just agreed that it was happening, and now, he’s leaving.
He’s breaking her fucking heart, Donovan.
” She looked at me like she was broken, too.
I’d never seen her so emotional over something.
“I just told her that they were great together; that I’d never seen my brother this happy before.
Literally twenty-four hours after that, he tells her he’s getting out of dodge. ”
“Why is he running?” Though there was a lot of information she spewed at me, I didn’t have to think twice about that question as it came out. Takes one to know one, and he was clearly trying to escape something.
“We had a very hard childhood. I don’t talk about it often, but after our father died, things went to hell.
We lost everything, including our mother, a little over a year later.
We were the kind of poor that never fully leaves you.
” She put her closed fist on her heart and took a breath.
“I got therapy to work through my issues, while he never did. And things may have been different for him if his trauma ended there, but then, he was engaged to a girl who told him he didn’t make enough money to be a good husband or father.
That led him down a path of unworthiness that I know he still feels, especially when it comes to money, but he is just fucking running from the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
” Her bottom lip wobbled, but I wasn’t sure if the tears she was trying to contain were angry ones or sad ones. Probably both.
“Do you want to take the day?” I asked in earnest.
“No, but I am going to maybe suggest I stay off Zoom today because,” she gestured all around her face.
“Done. Let me know if you need anything.” I knew she wasn’t going to leave, but I had to ask anyway.
We sat silently in our work worlds, and I ordered in her favorite food for lunch. Right as we finished up, Audra walked in with her scrubs on. Now that I had seen what she was rocking under them, I couldn’t help the naughty nurse fantasy that flashed through my mind.
“How are you holding up?” she asked Maeve as she hugged her. Then, she brought me into the conversation. “I presume you’ve heard.” My head just nodded because I had little to say.
“I’m just seething,” Maeve responded.
“I know, Maevers. I know,” Audra’s voice slipped into the one she’d had with both the bone break guy and the seizure guy. Calm, controlled, and comforting.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Maeve asked. “I can’t imagine you came just to ask how I was.”
“Oh no, I was dropping Donovan’s sweatshirt off,” she walked over with the paper bag.
“He let me use it Friday because I blanked on bringing a jacket, and I was chilly after the bar.” Then she turned to me, “Thank you. By the way, it’s the coziest sweatshirt I’ve ever worn,” she smiled warmly at me.
The sweatshirt was one of my oldest and most favorite ones, so it stunned me that I didn’t hesitate to give it to her that night or make her take it off before she got out.
Women were professional sweatshirt thieves, after all, and I was pretty possessive of this one.
I could feel Maeve’s eyes on me, and I ignored the look. “No problem. Thanks for bringing it back. I do smell something missing, though.” She tucked her lip in her teeth again.
“It was kind of a busy night; I threw in a thank-you cookie.”
“Oh my God, of course. That didn’t come off right.
I’m not expecting it, just giving you a hard time.
I don’t need a cookie.” I cleared my throat as I realized my face must have been as red as a tomato.
Their best friend’s life was unraveling, and I was there, hassling her about homemade food.
Jesus, what a dick thing to say, even if it was a joke.
Up to that point, I thought my flirting had been on point, but that was enough to shoot it all to hell.
“Really, really, God, that sounded bad. Let’s just gloss over that and I’ll try again,” I uncomfortably chuckled, because I was so mortified.
“Are you coming or going to work?” It was rare for me to embarrass myself like that because it was very rare for me to speak so freely.
“I’m heading there. Even though I just spent all weekend there,” she rolled her eyes. “But alas, I work hard for the money … so hard for the money,” she broke out into song and a little dance. It was so unexpected that it made both Maeve and me chuckle.
“Dork,” Maeve finally said.
“Mission accomplished. We’re all smiling in here now. Have a good day, you guys. Maeve, call me if you hear from Cora or if you find she needs anything. See you later, Donovan.”
“Will do,” Maeve shouted after her. After the door closed, she turned her attention to me. “Sweatshirt? Cookie? Your face turning bright red because you were embarrassed? I’ve never seen that shade on your sun-kissed tan skin, buddy.”
I tried to keep my face schooled in indifference. “Your friend had goosebumps on her freaking lips she was so cold. I had it in my trunk.” Why was I defending myself to Maeve? I don’t know.
“I see,” she slowly nodded her head.
“It’s a sweatshirt, Maeve. Get whatever crazy thoughts you’re having out of your head. I can see your gears turning.”
“Yep.”
“Get back to work.” I rolled my eyes at her.
“You got it, boss,” she laughed. Given all that had gone down with her brother, it was nice to hear a laugh when I turned to sit at my desk.