“The whole family?”
“Well, the ones who are in town, anyway. We’re meeting at Uncle Steven and Aunt Gail’s house next Sunday at two.”
“Dinner at two?”
“It’s a BBQ.” He shrugs. “I’m just the messenger. Be there at two next Sunday.”
“Okay. What are you doing today?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m hanging out with you.”
“Lucky me.”Chapter Three~Kane~“Feckin hell.” Sweat pours off me, soaking through the rag I have tied around my forehead and running down my face and my back.
That’s not what’s bothering me, though. When you work in a hot barn turning glass, you’re going to sweat.
But I just broke the piece I’d been working on for two bleeding hours.
I toss my pipe onto a nearby table and rip the rag off my head with a snarl, reaching for my water bottle.
Murphy, my yellow Labrador, lifts his head, watching me warily.
“You’ve been no help today.”
Murphy lowers his head to his paws and huffs out a long breath.
Knowing that I won’t get any more work in this morning, I shut down the furnace and scowl as I walk to the sink to wash my hands, then shut the barn door behind us as Murphy and I walk toward the house.
I bought this property a dozen years ago after the museum was built in Seattle. My home, with my barn and trees, with its cliffs and views of the Pacific Ocean, is a good hour away from the city. If it hadn’t been a pain in my ass, I would have moved even farther away from all of the people and the noise, but I didn’t want to be too far from family.
If any of them ever needs me, I have to be able to get to them. And, truth be told, my door is always open to them, as well. It’s many a night that an O’Callaghan comes out to my property to spend a day soul-searching, watching the water, and spoiling Murphy.
“Someone’s here now,” I murmur to the dog, who’s stayed by my side during the walk between buildings. “Who is it, boy?”
Of course, I know the answer. My youngest sister, Mary Margaret, comes out to see me whenever her piece-of-shite husband is out of town on business.
I watch with narrowed eyes as she opens the boot—or trunk as the Americans call it—of her car and pulls out her case of belongings.
“Looks like Maggie will be with us for a few days.”
Murphy barks, his whole body vibrating with excitement to go and greet one of his favorite people. But he’s a good boy and waits for my command.
“Off you go, then.”
That’s all it takes for Murphy to take off like a shot, barking with excitement. Maggie stops and looks our way, her face brightening into a smile as Murphy joins her, wagging his tail and soaking up lots of pats and kisses.
“Is the lemon out of town, then?” I ask as I approach, not at all worried when she scowls at me.
“You know I hate it when you call him that.”
Maggie’s husband is Joey Lemon, and we siblings find the name appropriate. Joey is a lemon, at least in the husband department.
Not that my sister will admit that. Not on this day or any other, for that matter. She married him young, just out of high school, and remains as faithful as the day she said her vows.
I simply raise a brow as I take the handle of her case and lead her into the house.
“Yeah, he’s out of town for the rest of the week. He has a conference in Dallas.”
I wonder what her name is.
I’ve suspected for years that the conferences aren’t that at all, but rather an excuse for Joey to leave town with the flavor of the month.
I could easily hire an investigator to see if my suspicions are true, but it would hurt my sister, and I wouldn’t do that for anything in the world.
“Your room’s ready for you,” I inform her as I walk to the back of the house to the room Maggie chose when I first bought the home and set her case by the king-sized bed. “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like.”
“Just a few days,” she murmurs, petting Murphy’s head. “You would have known I was coming, but you never answer your damn phone.”
“No need.” I shrug and walk past her to the kitchen, then pull a bottle of water out of the fridge. “You still came all the same, didn’t you?”
“But you would have had a heads-up,” she says, shaking her head. We have the same argument weekly. “What if there’s an emergency?”
“There are police on this island,” I reply, the way I always do. “And they will come fetch me if need be.”
She sighs and sits at the table, giving Murphy the perfect opportunity to lay his head in her lap.