“You’ve lost five pounds in the last few days because you’re too sick to your stomach and you just won’t eat.” Her mother leaned over the table to squeeze Errin’s hand.
“I’m sorry, mom. I hate to worry you,” Errin said, giving her mother a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Conner padded his flat abs and said, “Yes, Bunny. Please go back to stuffing your face like you normally do. I’ve been picking up all your leftovers, and it’s showing.”
Evan gave the back of Conner’s head a playful smack.
Calum leaned his powerful forearms on the tabletop and said, “So, what’s the plan, sis?”
“Aye, yer aware there are dance studio’s or other dance gigs in Austin?” Pops said.
“Dance gigs?” Errin snickered as she glanced up at him.
“Don’t act like ye don’t know what I mean. Ye can teach even old Ed to do a perfect waltz. I saw how happy that naggin’ man made ye by followin’ yer lead around the pub. Yer a born teacher. That’s for sure.”
He smiled at her.
“I’ll always love ye, dear lass. If ye love me grandson or not, I’ll always be there for ye. But if ye love him, don’t let ye stupid pride get in the way. It’s okay to change yer mind—to choose love and to place yer own happiness above a dream ye had when ye were young. Maybe yer meant to do other things with yer gift. Because Iget it’s a gift. Ye can entrance anyone by dancin’ like ye did tonight.”
Errin nodded as he caressed her cheek. He took a deep breath and said, “If ye still want me to give ye that gobble, ye better come back with me,” he said with a wink.
Brennan filled another couple of pints of draft beer and placed them in front of Keenan. He nodded after his cousin had thanked him.
Keenan came to opening night with a girl that eerily resembled Errin. Not quite, because she was as dull as dishwater, but the honey blonde hair and blue eyes irked him.
“Brennan, we need you for a sec!” Sean Jr. shouted from the other end of the bar.
“Okay. Coming.” He finished stacking the few clean beer glasses left.
He walked through the crowd, and a few regulars padded him on his back. Ed said, “It looks so good, son. I told Sean Jr. he didn’t need to worry so much.”
Brennan laughed and said, “Yeah. Keep tellin’ him that.”
Every barstool, chair and booth was filled.
This opening night was for invites only. Everyone that had worked so hard to make this opening possible was here. His family and friends.
Friends of friends. Everyone he remotely liked, but there was one person missing. It seemed to become a recurrent exponent in his life, always acknowledging the fact that she was missing.
It had been a week since he last seen her, but the pain in his chest whenever he thought of her didn’t lessen.
He shook his head and walked over to his dad who climbed on top of one of the pool tables. His dad stood with the microphone in his hand, but since the pub was full with loud talking people, nobody paid attention at first.
Fianna took her fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle, silencing almost everyone at once.
“Thanks dear. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone present. Everyone who has worked so hard these past few weeks to make Lucky an even better version of itself. I want to thank my oldest son, Brennan, who’ll take over from me. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’ll do things in his own way, and I’m certain it will be a tremendous success,” Sean Jr. said, taking a sip from his beer as the crowd clapped and hollered.
“And I want to thank my father, Pops, for everything he has done for me and for my boys when things were tough at home. He was the one who guided my sons when I…” Sean Jr. wiped a single tear from his cheek and shook his head.
“Enough of that. I want everyone to lift their glass and to toast to the new Lucky and the new owner, my son Brennan.”
Everyone cheered, and Brennan felt the need to say something, since they trained all eyes on him.
Although he wasn’t a man of many words, tonight was special, so he climbed next to his dad on top of the pool table and hugged his dad. Applause erupted and as he glanced down to the floor, he saw his brothers watching them with teary eyes.
He cleared his throat and took the mic from his dad. “So, this is something I never thought I would do, but thank you, dad.”
Sean Jr. wept and grabbed his shoulder to hang on to him.