Having Faith (11 page)

Twice, Lacie had driven up to chat and putter.  Faith appreciated her visits.  Lacie was the first and only female friend she’d managed to make since relocating, and she enjoyed their hour or two of “girl time”.  So much so, in fact, that they agreed to make it a regular, weekly event. 

* * *

K
ieran didn’t get to see Faith nearly often enough during the first couple of weeks, having to rely on only those few minutes each day when she came to pick up Matt.  It was hard; he had to keep himself busy so he would not drive up there each night like he wanted to and take their relationship past the friend stage to the next level.

Faith wasn’t ready.  She became skittish whenever he got too close.  It wasn’t ideal, but he was a patient man.  He understood that Faith needed some time to get herself situated, to find her place in Pine Ridge, and to accept him as something more.  He and Shane had several discussions on the topic, and Shane agreed that slow and steady was the way to go.

In the interim, Kieran made good use of his time.  Matt, while not overly talkative, was a wealth of information on all things Faith.

For instance, Kieran discovered that Faith’s birthday was approaching, and that Matt was saving up his earnings, thrilled that this year he would be able to get his mother something nice.  He also learned, with very little effort, that Faith loved flowers, cried easily at especially sad or romantic movies (a trait that horrified her son), and preferred thoughtful gifts to expensive ones.

What Kieran had not been able to unearth had been anything substantial about life prior to Pine Ridge, or, more importantly, Matt’s father.  Matt tended to clam up if asked either directly or indirectly about either.

Some things Matt didn’t seem to mind talking about, though.  He told Kieran they had never had a “real” house before, having lived mostly in trailer parks.  He also occasionally made mention of an older man that had taken him fishing once in a while and had taught him how to shoot, but Kieran didn’t get the impression the man had been a relative.

Kieran couldn’t help but wonder who and what they had left behind.  Instinctively, he knew the basis for Faith’s reticence lie there, and until he knew what that was, he had to tread carefully.  So far, he had managed to restrain himself from asking his older brother Ian to run a bio on her.  Ian had a knack for anything digital.  With a few keystrokes and a bit of time, Ian could create a comprehensive dossier on anyone, living or dead.  

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t asked Ian for the information.  Maybe on some level he was afraid of what they might find.  Or maybe, he wanted the information to come from Faith.  He hoped that eventually, she would trust him enough to confide in him.

* * *

“S
o can we go?”  Matt asked, shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to the other. 

“You got ants in your pants or something?” Faith teased, the ancient phrase bubbling up from her childhood.  It was something her father would say when he’d look down from the pulpit and see her squirming on the hardwood pew. 

Matt scowled as only a teenager could.  “Come on, Mom.  You said we could go if we got everything done and we did.”

Surely not
, Faith thought as she wrapped the paint brush in aluminum foil and placed it in the fridge.  It was a handy trick, one that kept the brush soft in between coats without requiring her to clean it each time.  But a quick glance around told her that Matt wasn’t kidding.  He’d mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedges, and built several of the flower bed boxes she’d requested out of old scrap lumber they’d found in the shed.

She’d spent the entire morning painting the outside trim and shutters that Kieran and Shane had repaired, greatly improving the exterior appearance of the place. 

“I still need to clean the bathroom and do the dishes,” she told him, wiping the back of her hand over her sweat-covered brow.

“Done,” Matt informed her.

She raised her eyebrows and glanced at the counter, now conspicuously empty of the morning’s breakfast dishes.  Then she walked into the first floor bathroom.  It wasn’t that her son was in the habit of lying to her, but some things needed to be seen to be believed.  The clean scent of lemons and bleach tickled her nostrils, and the old fixtures literally gleamed.

“Wow.  You must really want to go to this, huh?”

“Yes, Mom,” Matt said, infusing the words with as much “duh” as he could safely get away with.  “Kieran says it’s awesome.”

And if Kieran said it
, Faith thought with a smirk,
it must be true
.  According to Matt, the sun rose and fell based on Kieran Callaghan and his brothers.  It wasn’t a bad thing, not really.  She had hoped that Matt would find some positive male role models, and he had.  All week he had been polite, accommodating, and suspiciously obeisant. 

“They’ve got rides and games and food,” Matt said, launching into excruciating detail of each.  “Come on, Mom.  I’ll even pay.”  Matt proudly reached into his pocket and extracted his week’s earnings.

She sighed, sensing defeat.  And the Tusquannock County Fair
did
sound like fun.  “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.  But I need a shower first.”

Matt looked like he wanted to argue, but wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded before walking back outside, cell phone in hand, obviously texting Kieran to tell him the good news.

Faith shook her head as she stepped into the shower.  Truth be told, she was feeling a sense of anticipation as well.  She hadn’t seen much of Kieran all week, except for the few minutes at the end of the day when she picked up Matt.  He always greeted her with a friendly word and that devastatingly handsome grin, leaving her feeling a touch giddy inside as she drove home.

It was silly, she knew.  Kieran had no interest in her like that, nor did she have any in him (or so she kept reminding herself).  He was simply one of the first friends she had made in Pine Ridge, a kind, generous, and thoughtful man.  Thanks to her job and the amount of work they were putting into their home, she hadn’t had much opportunity to make others.  It was only natural that she was looking forward to seeing him again.

Plus Lacie would be there with Shane, too, according to Matt.  Matt said the Fair was the site of the annual Callaghan family reunion.  That was three friendly faces, more than enough to rationalize an appearance.

She washed her hair, treating herself to a conditioning rinse.  After a slight hesitation, she also opted for the moisturizing, scented body wash instead of her traditional (and much less expensive) bar soap.  Donning jean shorts and a forest green tank, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and regarded herself in the mirror.  She wouldn’t win any beauty contests, she mused, but then reminded herself that she was not trying to impress anyone.

Matt was waiting for her downstairs, shifting his weight eagerly from one foot to the other and back again.  “Ready?”

“Yes,” she answered, laughing at his youthful exuberance.  “Let’s do this.”

––––––––

“W
ill you stop texting already?” Faith said, standing in line with Matt before the Toxic Hammer.  The ride consisted of two bullet-shaped, caged vehicles that spun in a vertical circle while revolving laterally.  With their similarly-colored hair and eyes, and the fact that Matt towered over her, they looked more like brother and sister than mother and son.  Both were receiving more than their fair share of appreciative glances from the late teen – early twenties crowd.

Matt grinned and pocketed his cell as their turn came and they climbed into the cage.

The ride was brief but violent, and Faith was exceptionally glad that they had refrained from indulging in any of the succulent treats they’d passed beforehand.  She stumbled slightly as she stepped out of the cage, leaning on Matt for support.  It was another hand – a much larger one – that reached out to steady her.

Still trying to get her bearings, she found herself staring at a muscular chest shrink-wrapped in a plain men’s black t-shirt.  Tilting her head up, she found Kieran’s smiling face about the same time she heard him.  “Steady,” he said, grinning.

“Stop laughing at me,” she grumbled good-naturedly, directing the comment more toward Matt, who seemed to find her lack of balance hilarious.  He looked at Kieran and stopped laughing long enough to snicker, “I told her she shouldn’t ride that.  She didn’t quite meet the height requirement.”

The corner of Kieran’s mouth quirked. 

“I can still put you over my knee,” Faith threatened, though the amusement glinting in her eyes took much of the heat out of the threat.

“Matt,” Kieran said, his voice suddenly deep and commanding.  “Do not disrespect your mother.”

Matt’s smile faded immediately, and Faith looked up at Kieran in surprise.  “At least not until you’re sure you’re faster than she is,” he added with a wink.

Matt and Faith insisted on riding nearly every ride, dragging Kieran along with them.  Matt was less than subtle in his attempts to pair Kieran and Faith together on the two-person cars. 

Afterwards, when they’d had their fill of thrill rides, Kieran was more than happy to guide them through some of the tasty delicacies NEPA (Northeastern Pennsylvania) had to offer.  On Kieran’s suggestions, they had sampled handmade pierogies, potato pancakes, kielbasa, sausage and pepper sandwiches, splurging on waffles & ice cream and funnel cakes until they couldn’t eat another bite.   

“Why don’t you come back to the pavilion with me?” Kieran coaxed again when they had run out of rides and food stands. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked.  Each time, Faith managed to find another excuse.

The heavy mixture of deep-fried and spicy foods rolled uncomfortably in Faith’s stomach.  After hearing a couple of Lacie’s and Matt’s stories of some of the yet-unmet Callaghan clan, she was quite sure that Kieran, Shane, and Lacie were about all the family she could handle at any given time. 

“It’s a family reunion, Kieran,” she reasoned.  “We wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  The more the merrier.  Plus everyone’s dying to meet you.” 

His words only served to reinforce her belief that this was not a good idea.  If they were as close-knit as Lacie made them out to be, she was sure they would have heard about her and Matt.  No doubt they wanted the chance to see for themselves the woman and boy occupying so much of Kieran’s free time.  She didn’t blame them, really.  They were just looking out for their own.  She’d probably be doing the same thing – if she still had a family.

Yet she had no desire to be a part of it.  Even without meeting them, they intimidated her.  The Callaghans, she’d learned soon enough, were a powerful family in the valley and surrounding areas.  The thought of being subjected to their close scrutiny made her uncomfortable.  She was getting used to Kieran and Lacie, but if she was truthful, even the soft-spoken Shane scared her a little.  Sometimes, when he looked at her, she had the feeling he was seeing a lot more than she wanted him to.

And, really, there was no reason why she
should
feel obligated to meet them.  Most of them already knew Matt, and it wasn’t like she was important or anything.  She and Kieran were just friends, after all.  There was nothing romantic between them (she immediately quashed the pesky pang of despair at that thought), and so they needn’t worry unnecessarily. 

It would just be awkward and uncomfortable all around.  She and Matt were still outsiders, after all, and she hated drawing the kind of curious attention a huge family gathering would bring.  Pine Ridge wasn’t that big; eventually, she’d run into them, but hopefully it would be in small and infrequent doses rather than all at once.

“Please, Faith,” Kieran said, entwining his fingers with hers as he tugged her toward the pavilion.  As she looked into his big blue eyes and felt the pleasant hum reverberate through her body at the simple contact, all of her perfectly reasonable and logical rationalizations flew right out the window.  Faith could not come up with a single reasonable excuse not to accompany him to the pavilion, not without hurting Kieran’s feelings.

“All right.  But just for a little while.”  Kieran’s face split into a grin so wide she had to smile.  As he tugged her excitedly toward the massive pavilion at the heart of the annual Callaghan/Connelly family reunion, her much shorter legs struggling to keep up with his and Matt’s longer-legged pace, she shored herself up with the protective shields she’d developed over the years, hoping she wouldn’t need them, dreading that she would.

* * *

“W
ho’s that with Kieran?” Lexi asked, spotting him as they neared the pavilion.

A few sets of eyes followed her gaze.  “Oh, that’s Faith,” said Lacie, the smile evident in her voice.  “She’s really nice.  You’ll like her.”

“What is she, nineteen?” Taryn asked, narrowing her eyes to get a better look as her protective instincts flared.  Kieran was such a sweetheart, she and her sisters-in-law often took it upon themselves to ensure he wasn’t taken advantage of.  “A bit young for him, isn’t she?”

Lacie laughed.  “No.  She’s the same age as he is, but she does look young, I admit.”

“And who’s that with her?” Nicki asked, her agent’s eye immediately picking up the similar, unusual hair color.  “Her brother?”

“No,” Lacie said, her voice quieter.  “That’s her son, Matt.”

Several pairs of shocked eyes turned toward Lacie.  “You’re joking, right?” Taryn said.

Lacie shook her head, but was unable to say anymore before they were within hearing range.

* * *

T
he familiar sense of unease around large crowds hit with the force of a tsunami when Faith realized just how many Callaghans and Connellys there were.  Even Matt, having already met several of them, seemed a little overwhelmed.  The two of them stayed close together as Kieran introduced them, rattling off names faster than she could process them.

Faith tried to keep track, she really did.  Six brothers, all older than Kieran but bearing the same blue-black hair and trademark Callaghan eyes.  Six wives (she considered Lacie was close enough to being married to include her), one for each of the brothers.  The patriarch of the family, Jack Callaghan.  Three cousins – the Connelly branch – with their spouses, plus the shared grandfather to both sides, Conlan O’Leary.  Children were everywhere, ranging in age from around seven years to only a few weeks old.