Chapter 52
fifty-two
BéBHINN
“The name could be a coincidence,” Dagr said in a tight voice.
It was clear to Bébhinn that where the women were excited at the possibility, the men were quietly staring at one another. None of them was willing to admit their circle might be increasing in circumference.
“So that woman,” Patrick began, never calling his mother anything but Helen or that woman, “screwed some Viking fisherman during her posh European tour?”
“Possibly,” Bran said grimly. “Humoring this connection, she didn’t know Dad yet. Had they been together, our father would have raised your father as his own.”
“Your brother, you mean, sweetheart,” Raven gently corrected, making Bran wince.
“I’m thankful Hugh didn’t know.” When everyone looked shocked at Rowan’s pronouncement, she explained, “Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to have another stepson.
” Daniel and Jonathan, and even Bébhinn’s brothers, groaned at the reminder of how convoluted their family was.
Bran and Patrick preferred Rowan’s familial description, sister-in-law.
“Dagr, I’m only glad that your father had a loving mother to raise him. Bran and Pat had that horrible woman, and my Hugh had to call her wife.”
Jonathan reached across the table and took his Aunt Rowan’s hand. “There’s a reason for everything,” Jonathan said. “Grandma Nan always told me, Daniel, and Bébhinn that when we were little. It makes sense, right? You ended up marrying Grandpa, and Dagr’s dad was adopted by parents who loved him.”
Mom tapped Jonathan’s hand softly as she pulled her hand free. “You’re right, Jon. It’s a good thing to remember. This will be just one more interesting twist and turn in our family history if it turns out to be true.”
Her mom grinned, actually grinned at the family seated around the table. Bébhinn’s dad would be so relieved to see that the woman he loved above all others was trying to smile again.
“You’re thirty-nine, right, Dagr?” River asked.
Bébhinn witnessed the telltale heat race across Dagr’s fair skin at her aunt’s question. She leaned into his side and kissed the underside of his jaw to show her love, which seemed to go a fair way toward alleviating his discomfort.
“Yes,” Dagr confirmed.
“So how old is your father? Ulf, right?” Raven asked.
“Ulf," he confirmed. “Dad’s fifty-eight.”
She saw her family’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “How old was Ulf when he and your mom had you?”
“Nineteen,” Dagr shrugged and chuckled. “Dad said he knew at sixteen that Mom was the love of his life. My grandparents wished he might have waited until he finished university to have me, but Dad and Mom made it work.”
“What happened to your mother? If you don’t mind me asking,” her mom asked. The death of a spouse was not something she took lightly for obvious reasons.
“Cancer. I was twelve. Mom told Dad near the end that he would find another woman to love someday. He bellowed at the home nurse to up her meds because she was clearly delirious. If Mom’s words were prophetic, they haven’t come true yet.
He’s never so much as looked at another woman twice for twenty-seven years. ”
When her mother dabbed the tears from her eyes, the family turned their attention to the bottle of Three Wolves sitting in the center of the table.
Daniel gripped the bottle and poured a round of shots before holding his portion high. “To family, the possibility of gaining new members, and Dagr and Bébhinn,” he toasted.
Daniel toasting her relationship. Would wonders never cease?
“To the idea of another nephew.” Bran brought his glass high.
“To making our complicated family lines even more tangled.” Patrick raised his glass.
“To another cousin. Maybe.” Jonathan winked at Dagr before raising his whiskey.
“To family,” her mom added.
“Family above anything,” Raven chimed.
River raised her glass. “To Dagr and Bébhinn waiting longer to have children than both Helen and Ulf!” Her toast caused snorts and shouts of laughter, even from Dagr.
“To my man. I don’t give a shit if I have to call you boyfriend, nephew, or cousin as long as I get to call you mine,” Bébhinn added her toast to the group.
“Christ have mercy,” Dagr murmured, his glass raising last. “To the O’Faolains.”
“And the Griffiths,” Bran added, looking directly at Dagr and nodding his head.
The chances of them being related surely had to be low even if the woman in question sported natural white hair, was named Helen, and lived in Massachusetts. Okay, maybe not that low.
Everyone tossed back their shots and set down the crystal glasses in one.
Bran’s phone began to ring, and after looking at the screen, he immediately picked up his phone and answered, “MacGregor.”
“That’s Gray’s father,” she whispered to Dagr.
Bébhinn knew that her brothers spoke to her friends’ fathers on the regular, so she wasn’t surprised by the call until she saw her oldest brother’s face turn white. When he stood and knocked over his chair and then grabbed Patrick’s arm, a sickening premonition coursed through her veins.
When the call had come informing them of her father’s accident, the room had felt similar. One by one, every person at that table stood and waited for Bran to drop another bomb on their heads.
“We’re all together. This family doesn’t keep secrets from one another. I’m going to put you on speaker and ask you to repeat what you just told me.”
The scariest part was that Bran had now grasped Pat’s hand until their bones looked close to breaking. Whatever was coming was nothing she wanted to hear. Dagr pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms protectively across her front, keeping her back tight to his front.
Gray’s dad started speaking, and Bébhinn felt her legs turn to withering stocks, forcing her to lean more heavily against Dagr.
“You’ll all probably know Mirren was at the girls’ house today visiting.
” Bébhinn had known and was excited to introduce her to Dagr.
Thomas continued. “Mags asked her sister to try to find where Coll and I had placed the security cameras—because she’s a wee shit,” he grumbled, “and Mirren likes to outsmart me and her Uncle Coll every chance she gets. I’ll make this short.
Mir said that Bébhinn had told her that she could borrow a purse or whatever.
She still had her hidden camera detector on when she went into Bébhinn’s room.
“There was a strong reading the moment she walked into the bedroom. Mirren knew that we would never place a device in any of the girls’ personal spaces. She played it cool, retrieved the purse quickly, and shut the door behind her.
“Someone has placed a device in Bébhinn’s room and her room only. Mirren checked before calling me. Coll and I,” there was a hesitation when voices in the background were heard, “without Josephine and Catriona,” Thomas growled, “are driving to Inverness airport now, heading your way.
“I’ve called an inspector that I know well in the Dublin office to meet me as soon as we land.
Someone has been videoing Bébhinn. I don’t know how they got the camera in there without MacGregor surveillance catching them.
I called Ciar to gather up Blair, Gray, and Margaret and take them to his home until this is settled.
I will call you when we land. No one is to go to the girls’ house until this issue is resolved. ”
As Thomas gruffly said his goodbye, she looked at her family with the same horror as everyone else at the table. Someone had been watching her while she was in the sanctuary of her bedroom. It was shocking. Sickening. Bébhinn looked toward her mother, who was visibly shaking.
“Thomas,” her mom half shouted before he could hang up.
“I’m here, Rowan,” he answered.
Her mom hesitated for a moment, fighting the tears leaking down her cheeks. “Hugh would… He would be… I am…” She stuttered to a halt.
Gray’s dad simply said, “Hugh would burn down the world for you and his daughter, and I will too.”
In the silence that followed the sickening revelation, Dagr grasped Bébhinn’s arms and forced her to look into his eyes.
“Whatever this is, Bébhinn, you’ve always told me that Gray’s dad is the best. This will be resolved. If some sick freak has truly been watching you—”
“Us,” she cut in. Bébhinn was sick and so scared. Someone had been in her home, in her room…watching her. The person had possibly seen her and Dagr together. The violation made bile rise in her throat.
“Us,” he agreed grimly. “That person will be found, and they will pay. I’m devastated, baby, that this is happening to you.”
Bébhinn was a snotty, hiccupping mess, but she simply leaned into his chest and nodded. She believed him. It was just the shock of it all.
“The moment Thomas and Coll can get near the camera, they’ll follow the IP address to the person responsible,” Bran assured.
Both of her brothers walked over and took turns kissing the top of her head and hugging her, whispering apologies and regrets.
Daniel cleared his throat, clearly as emotional as everyone else. “Jon and I are going to go home and stay with Ciar and the girls. If that’s okay with you, Bébhinn.”
She meant to say a simple “Yes, please,” but all she managed was an affirming nod, before pressing her face against Dagr’s chest again.
Her mom and aunts surrounded her next, murmuring love and encouragement, and all the while, she tried to understand how something like this could have happened.
She released her grip on Dagr and caught Daniel and Jonathan before they left.
“Hey guys,” they immediately stopped and turned, “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think if there was ever a stranger at one of our get-togethers.
They were always small, and we usually knew them. Did you ever notice a stranger?”
“We’ll think about it and have Ciar and the girls do the same, but off the top of my head, no,” Daniel answered thoughtfully.
Patrick shook his head negatively. “It had to be someone who was invited in, though. You girls never forget to set the alarm and lock the doors. Barr and MacGregor would know if you didn’t and lose their shit.”
Bébhinn nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was thinking too. Okay, you’d better go. Tell everyone I’ll see them soon.”