That scary dude in the picture seemed the oldest out of his brothers and sisters, and maybe even older than Caitlin. Bree’s oldest sister’s birthday is coming up. On the last day of the year Cait would turn thirty-six.
She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the oldest brother. He had a bit of crowfeet next to his eyes. But he also had a certain darkness to him that Bree only had seen with Ronan whenever he was fighting in a cage during one of his MMA matches.
Yes, that’s it. He had a smoldering rage inside of him. His raven beard and half long inky hair made him stand out in a crowd, she was sure.
“How did you even get this picture?” Bree said.
“Let’s say, there was a situation at someone’s house and your sister stumbled upon this picture.”
“Oh… that’s the reason she flipped her shit,” Bree said.
“I don’t think it is, Love. She’d already flipped out. But seeing this picture was the final straw. If I’m honest, she scared the shit out of me, Bree. She needs help.”
“You scare me, Dec. It’s not like you to say stuff like that. Not about my sister.”
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Because of their privacy, I first felt like I couldn’t share any of this with you. But I’ve thought about it, and since Cait already told you fragments about what happened…” Declan took a deep breath and stared into Bree’s eyes.
“The little girl that Cait talked about—her mom turned out to be your cousin.”
“Oh, no! Are they okay?” Bree asked.
Declan nodded. “I know that Jessie, she’s your cousin, wants to keep in touch. She gave me her number so we could set up a meet. She’s grateful Cait saved her little girl’s life, and she wants to help Cait by sharing information about your dad, I guess.”
“What did she look like?”
Declan reached out to cup Bree’s cheek and she leaned into his touch.
“She has a girl about Tommy’s age, her name is Liv. And Jessie and Liv have both long, blonde hair. But Liv’s hair is almost as white as Kayla’s hair. They both have been through a lot.”
He pulled her in for a hug and said, “I know. I’m sorry. I needed to tell you before she sprang this on all of you tonight.”
She sagged against his chest. “Oh.”
“I love Cait like she’s my big sister, you know that, Love. But I won’t let anyone hurt you. She may not care about anything anymore. She’s about to lose her job, hell, her purpose in life, even. But I can’t let her spring something this important on you.”
“Thank you.”
How could she be so stupid? She had been changing clothes like she was about to walk the runway tonight. She’d shaved her legs and everything else… All because she was sure he would finally tell her he loved her.
“Shall we go?” Bree said, suddenly done with it all.
“Aren’t we early then?”
Bree grinned. “You really don’t care much about my mom, eh?”
Declan stood from the couch and pulled her up by her hands.
“For you, Love… only for you, I’ll tolerate her. I know she’s not a bad person. But I don’t like the way she treats you. I never have. After your dad left, she became some bitter version of Joan Ryan that I find hard to get along with.”
“I get it, Dec. But I’m happy to be spending my Christmas with you.”
He kissed the top of her head and she felt him nuzzling her coconut hair.
“Hmmm, I just love the way you smell…”