Chapter One
Seamus Finn eyed his cousin with amusement. Chief of Police Solomon Finn was sitting on the floor in his dark blue uniform, a bewildered expression on his usually stoic face and his long, lanky legs twisted into a position that looked anything but natural.
And he was wearing a tiara.
Penny beamed as she pointed to her very uncomfortable tea party guest. “Uncle Younger’s pretty, isn’t he, Daddy?”
“I’m not pretty.”
Seamus covered his laughter with his fist and a well-timed cough.
“Don’t say that.” She reached up and adjusted his tiara, patting his cheek kindly before handing him an empty pink teacup. “You’re a princess. Do you want some tea, Daddy? We’re having a praxit party.”
“Practice party,” he corrected automatically, trying hard to keep his amusement in check.
“That’s what I said.”
Solomon sent him a warning glance. “Yes. Join us, Seamus. We need all the praxit we can get, since someone told her she has to mind her manners this weekend if she wants to play with her birthday presents tomorrow. I’m sure she has an extra tiara for you.”
“Believe me, she does.” He didn’t tell him it was a king’s crown and they’d picked it out together, because there were some things men shouldn’t talk about with other men. Like how wrapped around their daughter’s fingers they were. “Where’s your brother, Penny? Didn’t he want to play?”
Her mood changed swift enough to give him whiplash. She threw herself onto her small plastic chair, her lower lip protruding for all to see. “In his room. Being smart.”
Being smart was something Jake had been doing under all their noses for a while now, but this year he’d raised the bar. In his first week of high school Seamus had been called in to discuss the possibility of his son skipping a grade. After going over the pros and cons at home that night, he’d let Jake make the final decision. And so his freshman had become a sophomore overnight.
Near the end of the year, his school counselor had sent him home with information on an advanced summer program that would give him college credits. It seemed way too early for Jake to start thinking about college, but he’d been so excited Seamus couldn’t deny him the opportunity. He’d finished a few weeks ago, and was already getting ahead on his reading for the upcoming school year.
My son is a genius. I was ready for locked doors, strange mood swings and girlfriend problems. Not this.
A part of him wished Jake were upstairs sneaking kisses with a girl, or locking his little sister out of his room to play videogames with his friends instead of voluntarily reading thick textbooks by himself. He should be over the moon that his child was a book-loving prodigy—Seamus had always loved to read, though he’d never been as clever as his son—but Jake had been such a serious kid. Quiet and helpful and way too old for his age. He needed some fun in his life. At least one of them should be having some. Penny seemed to think so too.
“I hate school,” she announced, still pouting. “School is worst than the zoo.”
“Strong words,” Seamus murmured sympathetically. “I know how much you hate the zoo.”
She’d been there twice in her life and cried the entire time, begging Seamus to free the animals from their prison. His baby girl had a big heart and enough fire to grow up to be a future revolutionary. Or an incredibly passionate veterinarian.
“How about this? Why don’t you march back upstairs and tell Jake if he doesn’t come down for lunch I won’t let him study for a whole week. That should do the trick. After that, Uncle Younger will take you both to get ice cream, then drop you off at Gram and Grandpa’s house for your birthday weekend.”
Since weekends were busy at Finn’s—the pub he’d taken over after his father retired—his parents had suggested that they watch his brood so they could have two days of uninterrupted celebration. He could join them for the twins’ birthday party tomorrow and not have to worry about the inevitable sugar crash that would follow before he went back to work.
Thank you, Mom and Dad.
“Ice cream?” Penny jumped up as if her chair was a spring, mood forgotten. “Can we get some for Wes and Little Sean too?”
His younger sons were already with his parents, shopping for and wrapping Penny’s presents there, because if they were under this roof? She’d find them. “That sounds like a great idea.”
“Okay. Make sure Uncle Younger drinks his tea, Daddy.”
“You heard her,” he said through tears of mirth after she left. “Drink your invisible tea, pretty princess.”
“I could have you arrested.”
Seamus turned toward the kitchen, still chuckling. “And I’d get a long, uninterrupted nap while my children wreak havoc on your peaceful metropolis. Your call.”