“Watch me Dom,” he shouted. He proceeded to make a big splash jumping from about five feet above the pool.
“You didn’t try that did you?” Ronan asked.
“Pregnant,” I replied. “No climbing allowed.”
“Good girl,” he answered me.
Maddie put her arm around me. I swam to the side and handed her up to them. Ronan wrapped her in one of the towels. He reached for me to help me out and I slipped my hand in his. I didn’t think that I could do it but I was feeling mischievous. I gave him a slight tug and Ronan toppled into the water, gym shoes, shorts and t-shirt. He broke through the water’s surface shaking his wet hair at me scowling. I giggled. He did not. He grabbed me around the waist. “Lucky for you, you are pregnant.”
“Don’t hurt her,” Maddie cried.
Ronan looked up at Maddie over my shoulder. I could see the horror on his face. “Maddie, I would never hurt Skylar. I love her.”
I heard the words. I tried not to get too excited by them because I knew that Ronan did love me just not the way I wanted him to. I leaned back into his body. We watched Dom put his arm around his little sister. “It’s not like when Mom brings somebody home Maddie that isn’t always nice. Coach Moore is different.”
Maddie nodded but there were tears in her eyes.
“Gramps offered for us to eat dinner with them Dom,” Maddie offered. “Can we?”
“You know we can’t,” he said.
“But Dom, he said we could eat early enough that we could stay.”
Dom rubbed up and down Maddie’s arms. “Okay then.”
“We better get out then and get dried off,” I replied.
Chapter 13
We walked back to the farm together. Nickolas was talking about Adam to Dominick. He was telling him about him and Joey living on this farm and growing up together being as close as two brothers. Dom put his arm around Nickolas’s shoulder. They made me smile because I knew from seeing the Moore brothers how special that bond was.
The three children ate with us. We sat around the kitchen table with Fionn and Aine. Dom asked Fionn a lot of questions which made Aine laugh because Fionn wasn’t a talker. She and I were cleaning up after dinner with Maddie’s help when I realized there was a problem in the living room.
Declan stopped by after work. I’m sure he hadn’t expected us to still be there. He was yelling at Ronan. I left Maddie with Aine and went to see what was going on. Adam was trying to stop the argument. Dominick and Nickolas were wide-eyed and concerned about Ronan. I could see it on their faces, staring at Ronan who was stricken by his father’s outburst.
“What’s the matter Ronan. Don’t you want these children to hear what you’ve done? To know what you are?” Declan was saying when I entered the room. I couldn’t believe how mean his father was being to him.
“Dad, don’t take this from me too.”
His father laughed a harsh laugh. I was shocked. “Declan, that’s enough. You aren’t perfect or have you forgotten that you and your brother both decided that you didn’t need to come to the house after your mother’s funeral to pay your respects? You ended up at the bar in town playing pool. Your wives had to come find you?” Gramps was getting angry too.
Ronan’s head snapped towards Gramps. “What?”
Declan’s hands went to his hips. “Turn this around on me Pop. Make it about me when I’m not the one that has screwed up his life and hers.” He pointed at me.
“Don’t make this about me,” I snapped. “I’m quite happy thank you.”
“How?” Declan declared. “How can you be happy with how things turned out?”
‘Because I love him Declan,” I declared. Ronan turned around and looked at me. He knew in that declaration that I meant those words differently than how we had always said them to each other.
“Boys, could you come to the kitchen with me,” Gramps asked.
“Sure Gramps,” Dom replied. Both he and Nickolas followed him out of the room.
“Do you see what you’ve done Ronan? “Ronan turned to his father. Anger was building up in Ronan’s face. I could see it.
“Why don’t you tell me Dad?”