Always and Forever (12 page)

“We need to do more fun things. Without the kids.” Already tanned from just an hour in the sun, Pat had stared over at her. “And I’ll probably lose my man card for sayin’ this, but outside of bed, too.”

She’d pretended a pout. “Well, if you don’t want regular sex anymore…”

He’d leaned over and ran a finger down her sun-screened arm. “I want both. I think it’s good for us
to do things like this, lass, don’t you?”

Lost in the moment, she said dreamily, “Yeah, I do…”

On Tuesday, they’d lounged at home after Irene had taken Isabella on an excursion, made delicious love, watched the news and ate chocolate croissants that Pat had surprised her with.

“Let’s go to a play,” he’d said spontaneously on Wednesday morning. He didn’t have to be to work until nighttime.
“You can pick it out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you told me about your conversation with Dr. Forbes. And you’d like to start goin’ again. What do you wanna see?”

“Something adult…”

So they’d attended a showing of a revival of a new play starring Robert DeNiro and Pat had found that he liked the theater more than he thought he would. Brie was thrilled.

“What are you thinkin’ about?”
Pat asked when there was a lull in the presentation. He still held her from behind. The night was warm, but she liked the cuddling.

“What a nice week we had.”

“Yeah, it was.” She could feel his chin rest on her head. “The kids were funny about it, weren’t they?”

Sinead had teased them about acting like kids, Sean had asked what that meant and Kathleen had gotten pouty because she loved
New York plays and was missing one.

“We had some good family time, too.” Something Pat valued. Something
she
valued in him.

“We did.” She pictured their morning in the pool. “Isabella will be swimming soon.”

“And Sean did great in his summer baseball league. Him and Cleary.”

She felt Pat take a deep breath and let it out. “All’s right with the world,” he murmured.

For now
.
But she shooed away the negative thought. Brie was hoping this week was a new start, a commitment to calmness in their relationship. As the sky burst into flaming white stars, she made a promise to herself to work harder, compromise and encourage them to have some good, plain fun. She was done with the fireworks in her life.

The man stared up at the fireworks in the sky. Soon
the time would be ripe. Soon he would finally be able to take action. He’d delayed for an eternity, but that was nearly over. Then his world would be right again. Then this piercing loneliness would be forever forgotten.

As Brie walked through the house, thinking of how she and Pat had been so in sync these days, she uttered a silent prayer.
Please don’t let things change between us because of what’s
happened.

Once on the porch, she sank down on a rattan rocker and stared out at the pool. The light was on, making the wide expanse of water glisten. So many changes in their lives, yet so much had stayed the same.

She heard the garage door open then noise in the kitchen. Patrick. She checked her watch. He was later than usual tonight. She stood and he came to the doorway. “Hi, honey.”

“Hello, darlin’.” He wore the short-sleeved green polo shirt of the pub, which accented his muscles and broad shoulders. He didn’t work out at a gym, or run, but kept in shape hauling things around for his job. He did like to play basketball, and she remembered how he’d taught the three oldest kids the basics. She felt a spurt of attraction, of desire. At least the chemistry between them hadn’t
diminished over the years.

She crossed to him and brushed her hand down his cheek. His usual scruff had filled in a bit. Hmm. She didn’t know if she liked beards on men. “You look tired.”

“Yeah, things got busy, so we stayed open awhile longer. Then Dylan and Aidan stopped in, so we corralled Gale into some cards.”

“That’s nice.” She stepped back. “Want me to fix you something to drink?”

“No, I’m good. I had beer.” He glanced over her shoulder. “I’d sit outside, though. I haven’t seen much of daylight today, except what filtered in through the pub windows.”

They slid open a screen door to the patio. Back here, the concrete had been replaced with the slate Brie had always wanted. She’d hired a professional, though Pat argued he could have done it. But he worked too hard
as it was.

They took the gravity chaises. Pat tipped his to almost horizontal and sighed. “My back hurts.”

“I can give you a back rub. Later.” He grunted. After a few moments, she added “I’m glad you hired Sweeney’s son Joey to bartend. It’ll save you from some of those aches and pains.”

“He’s workin’ tomorrow, so I have off the whole blessed day and night.” He stared at the sky. “Man,
look at those stars.”

Brie glanced up. Pinpricks of light dotted the sky. She could never see the constellations, no matter how hard Patrick and the kids tried to teach her.

He asked, “So, did you take the day off, like we planned?” He chuckled. “I like havin’ fun, just you and me.”

Here goes…

“About tomorrow. I can’t spend the day with you. Something happened to Annie.”

His
head snapped toward her. “Is it serious?”

“She was in a car accident. Her brakes were bad and kicked out on her.”

“Dear Lord in heaven. Did she get hurt?”

“She’s pretty bruised up, and her ankle is badly sprained.”

“She need your help tomorrow?”

“No. Steve’s on summer vacation. But I have to reassign her jobs.”

“Is that a problem?”

“In a way. Annie’s taken on a lot
of responsibility so I could have time with you. Two of my part-time employees are able to cover some of her work. But she’s in the midst of one that I have to take over.”

Even in the dim light, she saw Pat stiffen. “Don’t tell me it’s Carson’s house.”

“I’m sorry, Pat. I’ve already assessed it, so I know what to do from where Annie left off. It’s just logical that I handle this.” When
he didn’t respond, she added, “Honey, I did what you asked and gave the job to Annie, but it’s not working out. Through no fault of anyone.”

“There has to be somebody else that can do this.”

“No, there isn’t. Not now.”

He got quiet. He did that when he was trying to get his temper under control. Finally he asked, “Who was Annie working with?”

Brie fidgeted. Her stomach tightened.
“Nobody. As I said, we’re spread thin, and people have had to take some solo jobs.”

“You said you wouldn’t do that. For safety reasons.”

“And I haven’t. But emergencies happen.”

“Brie, you straighten up people’s houses. It’s not like you’re a firefighter involved in saving lives. Things can wait until Annie’s better.”

That hurt. She thought he respected her profession. The notion
got her hackles up. “I have a business to run.”

She heard him blow out a big breath. “All right. Take Sinead with you.”

“He has another location to be at.” No response. “I’ll see if I can get a coworker in the future, but I’ll be fine working alone tomorrow. I know Phillip.”

“That you do, lass.” His fist clenched around the chair arm.

She put her hand over his. His skin was hot.
“I’m sorry the situation turned out this way.”

“If you were just goin’ with somebody else…”

Damn it. “I don’t need a chaperone, Patrick!”

“I didn’t mean that. I worry about your safety. You were supposed to work the Forbes’s house with Annie in the afternoon, too.”

“I’ll be fine. Jonathan Forbes is a teddy bear.”

He waited a long minute before he said, “No, you’ll have to cancel.”

She counted to ten. It didn’t work. After tipping her chair forward, she stood. “This isn’t open for discussion anymore. I’ll run my business as I see fit. I’m going to bed. Suddenly I’m very weary.”

He didn’t grab her hand or hold her back, which meant he was really mad. She shook off his mood as she stormed inside, leaving him alone with the stars and her seething with anger.

There
would be no back rub, and what it usually led to, tonight.

Once again, Pat sat on the patio. Brie had gone to bed a while ago, so he stole a smoke and tried to figure out how their lives could change on a dime. They’d had good times together last week, and now this thing with Carson flared up. He hated fighting with her, and they’d vowed to do better. But spending any time
alone with Philip-fucking-Carson? As he’d told her, she asked too much of him.

The longer he sat, the more depressed he got. And it made him remember the darkest time in his life four years ago, an event that was even worse than when she’d refused to marry him right away…

Pat had been at the pub and Liam was working in the kitchen when Brie came in through the front door. They’d separated
again, and things between them were tense, mostly because she’d slept with Pat the previous month and he’d thought that meant they were getting back together. Instead she’d started dating some FBI guy.

From behind the bar, he’d looked up at her, and his whole body had clenched. He loved this woman so much, he hurt with it. He wanted her back. He wanted his life back. “Hi.” His voice was wary.

“Hi, Patrick.” She looked around. “I was hoping to get some time to talk privately.”

“Liam’s in the back. Nobody else’s here yet.” He cleared his throat. “Want some coffee or something?” He went to the pot on the bar, stalling. He couldn’t blow this one.

“Um, no. I’m not drinking caffeine.”

That was different.

They settled at the corner table, and he examined her face. She looked
thinner. And she was alarmingly pale. “Not sleeping,
a ghrá
?”

Her eyes teared, and immediately, he reached across the table. Took her hand. It was cold. “What’s wrong? You can tell me.”

“You’ll be mad. I’m feeling so shitty I don’t think I can handle that.”

“I won’t get mad. I promise. I’ll help.”

One tear trickled down her cheek. “I’m pregnant again.”

It was like walking
into a door in the dark. He’d never expected this. Then, amidst the surprise, joy lifted his heart. “
Leanbh
, that’s wonderful.”

“That’s exactly what you said the first time.”

Recalling those days was painful. “Tell me we aren’t gonna go through that again. Having a kid while we’re separated.”

“I hope not.”

Worry skittered up his spine, but he quelled it and squeezed her hand. “Look,
I promise I’ll be here for you, no matter what.”

“I hope so.”

“It happened that night I came over last month, right? We haven’t been together since then.”

“No, we haven’t. But Pat, I… You know I was dating Phillip Carson.”

“The FBI guy, right?”

“Uh-huh. I saw him about five times.”

“I hate that.”

“You’re going to hate this even more. I slept with him.”

His whole
world tilted on its axis. Brie had been a virgin the first time they were together. But now…someone else had had her? Anger, quick and hot, burned inside him. Then, like a miracle from God, he realized he’d have to handle this right or lose her for good. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. “I think I can deal with that.”

“Maybe not.”

A horrible thought struck him. “Brie,
it’s not—My God, it’s not his baby, is it?”

“I don’t know, Patrick.”

He waited. He saw his life unfold in front of him, like people say it does when you think you’re going to die. Their three kids, their home, the years they’d had together. The anger returned, and he looked away trying to stifle it again. When he had, he turned back to her. “Whose baby do you want it to be, Brie?”

“Yours.” She started to cry in earnest. “Yours, of course. I don’t know why I slept with Phillip. Maybe because I’d never been with anybody else. I didn’t even like it. I love you, Pat. I want to get back together. I’m sure of that now. But if it’s his…”

To this day, Pat didn’t know where he got the strength to say what he had. He’d stood on shaky legs, circled the table, drew her up and hugged
her to him. “Everything’ll be all right, Brie. We’ll get back together and have the baby together, regardless of whose child it is. I love you that much…”

Later, after they reunited, Brie took the baby for a paternity test without telling him. Isabella was all his. But the damage, so to speak, had been done.

Still angry at Pat and the curt note he’d left for her—“At least
leave an address where you’ll be”—Brie was late getting out of the house the next day. When she left, Isabella, Pat and the boys were still asleep, and she dropped off Kathleen at band camp on the way. So she wasn’t surprised to see Phillip Carson had already arrived. Today, he was dressed casually in dark shorts and a gray cotton shirt. She’d put on a light work out suit but had removed the jacket
in deference to the heat.

“I got your message.” He was sitting on the front steps of the porch. “I’m sorry about Annie’s injuries. How’s she doing?”

“Did I tell you she was in an accident?”

“Yeah. When you called to say
you
were coming.”