Declan glanced at all of them again and narrowed in on Seamus. He didn’t want to be doing this. He also hadn’t thought it entirely through.
He waited until the pub owner met his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell Owen or Noah about him before you got here?”
Seamus, Solomon and Brady knew what he was talking about, but the other two seemed confused.
Seamus rubbed his face in frustration and sighed. “I didn’t think we were going to have a therapy session about it. I thought we’d say what we were supposed to say and get it over with.”
“What didn’t you tell us, Seamus? Who is him?” Owen leaned forward, staring at his brother. “You’ve been acting off since you got that call. Who was it?”
“Mom.”
“Seriously? Our mom? Bullshit. She wouldn’t approve of strong-arming Jen’s boyfriend, not in a million years.”
Their mother knew about them? How had she found out? Declan got a knot in the pit of his stomach. Jen was spending the evening with her mother and she had no idea.
“Not unless Trick was her boyfriend too,” Brady said quietly.
And then all hell broke loose.
“Brady, damn it—”
“Trick? What the hell does he have to do with—”
“Jennifer and two guys?” Noah’s words silenced everyone. “I could have gone all year without knowing that brat was getting more action than me.”
Declan was losing his calm and his audience. But he didn’t care. All he could think about now was Jennifer being cornered by her family. Her mother. He’d had a scenario forming in his head about her parents for weeks. Winning over the matriarch and author with time and patience. Letting her see how happy and fulfilled her daughter was. Then he’d have a serious talk with Shawn about his intentions.
But if Seamus was any indication, he wasn’t going to get the chance to ease anyone into the idea. Ellen Finn knew and she obviously wasn’t keen on her daughter being in a poly relationship.
“Talk to us, Professor,” Brady said, his voice still low. “I’ll listen. Tell us why it’s healthy and reasonable for a girl of twenty-six to be shared by two older men—her college professor and an ex-con who stalked her and wore her down. Why shouldn’t her family worry that she might be making a mistake?”
Declan strode over to Brady, his hands clenching at his sides. “You can attack me and make insinuations all you like, but Trick is off the table and you know why. You have no problem using him when it suits you. I know he’s helped you and your boyfriend in the past, and I know you’ve been going after some pretty sick bastards. Maybe that’s warped your perception, I don’t care. Trick Dunham is a good man and he’s been loyal to your family since your only date was a magazine and a hand towel. Show him some damn respect.”
Brady opened his mouth, then closed it again. Declan hoped he was smart enough to keep it that way.
“You’ve been a little bit of an ass lately, Gigantor,” Noah offered. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought you and Ken might be having bedroom troubles and you’re, you know, a mutant.” Brady glared and Noah shook his head. “I know. Shut up, Noah.”
“My ears were ringing,” Trick grunted from the foyer, causing six heads to turn his way. “Well hell. You finally throw a party and I miss all the fun.”
“Trick.” Declan ran toward him, catching him as he started to slump. “Damn it, what did you do now?”
Trick shrugged as if his left eye weren’t swollen shut and his lip weren’t open and bleeding. “Me? Don’t be such a nag, Declan. You can have my body anytime you like, but you can’t stop me from hanging out with my friends.”
Seamus knelt down beside Declan. “You need better friends, Trick. Here, I’ll help you get him to the couch. Noah? Find some ice.”
“Finns, Finns, everywhere,” Trick chuckled, wincing. “But I don’t see my Jen.”
“She’s with her mother,” Declan murmured. “She’s fine. You, I’m not so sure about. Is anything broken?”
“Not physically, but can you break pride?” he mused. “A few years ago I took a hit more gracefully. This time I’m fairly certain I threw up on someone’s shoes. He wasn’t happy about it.” Trick tried to focus on Seamus. “You found out, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a relief. It took forever. If you could wait a few more minutes until the room stops spinning, you can hit me if you want. It’s not Declan’s fault. Stephen told me to watch her and I couldn’t stop. She’s so beautiful, Seamus. And funny. She makes Snooty the Hermit Professor over here laugh all the time. Of course, she calls him Professor Hot Lips.”
“I’m sure. I don’t want to hit you, Trick. Hell, I don’t want to hit anybody, except whoever did this to you.” He looked at Declan. “Do you have any idea?”