50. Let’s Run
Let’s Run
Sheridan
“There you are, Sheridan.” Viola’s waiting on the steps as I walk up. “We don’t have long, and I had an idea.”
Why does that scare me? “Morning. I hope you don’t mind that I brought a bag. I had an idea that might help Gabe.”
“Not at all. Come on in. Have you eaten? My boys are all in the kitchen eating like I never feed them, as boys will do regardless of their age.” Viola rushes through the house.
The fondness in her voice is what gets me. Even though I know in my head that my family was the oddity, it’s hard to believe that someone cares that much for a relative.
She wasn’t kidding. The island is quite literally covered in men.
“Boys, meet my friend, Sheridan,” Viola announces. “I think you’ve met everyone here except Tadhg—He’s been traveling for business. He works too hard—and my daughter, Bonnie.”
Bonnie looks nothing like Viola. “Nice to meet you.” Her fingers trail across Antonio’s back as she walks over. “Viola said you were going with her to visit our Gabe.”
“Gabe doesn’t want visitors. We distract him.” Antonio doesn’t turn around.
“Well, he’s just going to have to deal with his nonna visiting him. Sheridan, why don’t you sit down next to Tadhg, and I’ll grab you something to eat.”
Somehow, I don’t think saying, ‘I already ate’ is going to fly with her. I take a seat next to Tadhg.
“Hello.” His accent is something I’d expect from someone who attended a preppy private school in the northwest rather than the Italian accents everyone else, but Bonnie, seems to have.
Then again, Tadhg has the most amazing liquid copper hair that I’ve ever seen.
He turns to look at me, and I’m struck by crystal-clear emerald green eyes. They’re so beautiful, they take my breath away.
“Wow, Tadhg, do you always have that effect on women?” Lorcan nudges him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. You just have the most stunningly, beautiful eyes.”
Tadhg grins. “Thank you.”
Viola slides a massive plate in front of me. There’s probably enough food on it to feed three grown men, or at least one of the boys sitting near me. “Has Tadhg told you about his business? We’re all so proud of the way he’s working to change the world.”
“Nonna.” He blushes.
“What? If I can’t brag about my boys, who can I brag about? Go on now, tell her.”
“My company has been working on creating more sustainable growing mediums that require less water consumption and work hand in hand with new glass solar panels.”
“Aren’t all solar panels glass?”
“They are, but ours are a bit different. They’re clear glass, or semi-clear if you want to use them to filter some light out in hot climates.
But the difference is they are roofing tiles.
They don’t require any fancy wiring or complex rigging systems, which makes them easy to install and cost-effective. ”
“Wow.” I move my fork to my plate. “That must keep you very busy.”
“It does. I spend most of my time traveling to different parts of the world to test my product and set up manufacturing facilities. Because transportation adds so much waste to the environment, we try to manufacture where we plan to sell.”
“That’s an interesting business model…”
***
“Then Gabe tossed the ball so hard it went ten feet over my head and through the window. Mom was not impressed.”
Bonnie smiles lovingly. “How many times had I told you two boys to play in the center of the yard?”
Does she have a stern bone in her body? She dotes on these boys.
Viola takes Tadhg’s empty dish. “Speaking of Gabe, Sheridan and I have to leave soon. Our ride should be landing in a few minutes. Why don’t you come with us, Tadhg. You haven’t visited your brother in a while. I know he’d love to see you.”
Tadhg glances down at his watch. “I can’t. I have a meeting in an hour.”
“Cancel it and come with us.” Viola is determined, it seems. “I know it’ll encourage him.”
“This meeting can’t wait. I talked to him yesterday. He seemed fine.”
“Tadhg.” Viola puts her hand on her hip.
Uh-oh…that woman means business.
“I’ll fly out and see him sometime this week, Nonna.” He walks over and kisses her cheek. “It was hard just getting here for breakfast this morning.”
Viola frowns.
“Fine, I’ll make some time this evening. We’ll have dinner together or something. I promise.” He turns to me. “It was very nice to meet you, Sheridan.”
It was more than nice to sit here and just be, but I can’t utter those words. So I just smile and nod.
***
Gabe and Deacon are on opposite sides of the gym when we arrive, just like they were last time.
“There he is.” Viola points to Gabe. “Let’s go say hello.”
This is probably a stupid idea, but I’m going to try it anyway. “I just need to use the bathroom for a second.”
“No rush. We’ll just be having a little chat.” She walks off.
As fast as I can, I change in the bathroom. It’s not like I haven’t done enough running already. But both these men are health nuts. What better way to connect than through a workout session?
Viola grins and waves as I step out of the bathroom.
I wave back, but for my plan to work, I need to get the two men together. Time to say hi to my new pen pal. “Excuse me, sir. You have a letter.”
Deacon grunts and shoves the bar that should be bending under all those weights onto the stand. As he sits up, a smile spreads across his face. “I wasn’t sure you actually meant it.”
“A letter as promised, though the next few won’t be delivered in person since I’m going home soon.” I hold out the addressed envelope as I sit down.
He takes it from me without opening it. “Have you been enjoying your time there?”
“Yes. It’s been a lovely vacation.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“Delivering a letter and helping a friend.” I glance over at Viola.
“She’s still matchmaking.”
“Don’t I know it? But she also cares about her grandson. And I figured out how to help.”
“Why does that scare me?” He grins.
“Eh, bullets don’t scare you, and neither do I.”
“She scares me.” He nods at Viola.
I giggle. “At least she isn’t trying to introduce you to every one of her grandsons.”
He laughs.
“Though I wonder if she has any single granddaughters.”
“That’s evil.”
“Only a tiny bit. They seem like a really kind, loving family.”
“Do you always see the world through rose-colored glasses?”
Wouldn’t that be nice? “When it comes to my friends’ happiness, I do.”
“What’s that plan of yours?”
“We’re going to work out together.”
He looks me up and down. “That explains the outfit.”
“Then you and Gabe are going to keep working out together and become friends.”
“You seem stuck on that point. I really don’t need more friends.”
“Everyone can always use another friend.”
“Woman.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. And a request for blondies with your next letter.”
“Bribery doesn’t work on me.”
“It does today.” I stand up and look down at him.
“Today it does.”
“I should stretch before we start. My morning run, which wasn’t that long, and I’ve been pushing my body a little bit more than I should the last couple of days.”
“Are you telling me you already worked out this morning?” He slowly rises, fighting not to show any of the pain he’s clearly feeling.
“Yup, but it was just a quick five miles. I’ll do another ten while you two punish your bodies.”
He chuckles. “No way. Gabe, come over here and tell this woman she’s not coasting while we do all the work. You’re going to do some weight training today.”
I groan. “What happened to us being friends?”
Deacon grins. “You don’t want to know how I would torment you if we weren’t friends.”
“Evil. For that, you’re getting plain old chocolate chip cookies from the store next letter.”
***
“You’ve been very quiet. Is everything all right?” Viola asks as we settle into the helicopter for our ride back to Urbium.
“Just fine. I had a really nice morning with your family.”
“We had a lovely time with you. You fit in so well. It was almost like you were meant to be in it.”
Those words pierce my soul. I was never meant to have a happy family, but it’s a beautiful thought.
“Why are you crying?”
“Because I would like nothing more than to be part of your family.”
“So then join it. If it doesn’t work out with Gabe or Tadhg, I have an extensive family.”
“I told you that I don’t need a matchmaker, Viola. Love isn’t for me.”
“The people who say that are usually the ones who need it the most.”
She’s not wrong. Also, she’s very wrong. “I don’t need help falling in love. I need help believing that what your family has can exist for anyone else. Because if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have called you a liar.”
“You want the truth then…you aren’t born into families like mine.
They don’t just magically stay strong and loving because that’s what you’re used to.
They require work. A lot of it. And the belief that the work is worth it.
If I stepped back or their mother was less interested in this type of life…
it would fall to pieces in a moment. So if you want this life for yourself, you need to make it happen.
You need to fight for your family, be it blood relatives or the family of your heart.
No excuses. No waiting for someone else to make the effort.
You fight. And you never stop fighting for it.
Because the next time you blink, you’ll be in your seventies, asking what happened with your life.
And your choices right now will decide which future you will have.
Be the woman who wakes up to a room full of family who comes to breakfast because you invited them. ”