“Can anybody tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Gwenn said.
“Fine! Dec and I were on a call to check out a critical situation. As you all know, I went off my rockers and totally flipped when I saw a man holding a knife to a child’s throat.”
The sisters took a sharp intake of breath around the dining table.
Bree placed her hand on Dec’s hand. She searched his eyes, but he held his emotions to himself. She wanted to be there for him. To ask him more, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her with everyone around at the table.
Declan leaned in to say something, but Cait said, “It’s all on me. I take responsibility if it ever comes out I told anyone. I’m quitting anyway.”
“So I kicked this asshole unconscious—”
“Cait!” Joan scolded.
“Sorry Mom, I mean when I served this rather unsavory fellow my foot to his face.”
Joan didn’t respond but rolled her eyes.
“And then I heard Declan say we forgot to clear all rooms—”
“What the fuck?” Gwenn asked. “Was it your first day on the job or something? You always clear the premises first.Always.”
“I’m not even going to answer that. So I walk into this bedroom with clothes thrown on the floor like there had been an altercation. I don’t see anyone there, so I search for signs of drugs lying around, for other weapons… I look at some pictures of several families. The next thing I know, I see a picture of a guy with his family. A guy that looks awfully a lot like the asshole that left us behind all those years.”
Bree’s eyes zoomed in on the picture of Rob in the middle of the table. Although almost twenty years older, she would also have recognized her father.
“And he’s smiling. He’s happy with his three sons and two beautiful daughters. He had his arm around his wife and one around one of the girls. I wanted to be that girl in the picture.” Cait cleared her throat and Bree brought a hand to her chest, understanding Cait’s pain.
“I may have been a bit out of it and told the victim we’re related after she told me that the guy in the picture was her uncle Rob. So yeah, that’s that. I’m suspended from my job. I found out my Dad has a whole other family, and I saved my newfound cousin and her young daughter from a man that was threatening to kill the little girl.”
Cait grabbed her wine. “So, yeah. I said to myself today: ‘Fuck it all.’ Yes, I got drunk this afternoon. And I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t drink now. Cheers!”
“Drinking is never the solution, sis,” Kera said.
“No. I know that. But for me, on this day? It’s a great escape from reality.”
“Until come morning and reality hits you right in the face,” Fianna said.
“Just let me have this night, okay?” Cait said. “Tomorrow, I’m going to be your responsible big sister again. Not tonight.”
Waking up with his nose stuck in Bree’s curls was Heaven. Last night had been very emotional for Bree.
Being there for her at one of the lowest nights for her family had meant everything to him.
He’d noticed the shift in Bree right after her mother’s revelations. After she’d finished her dessert, she got up and sat down on his lap. She’d taken his cheeks in her hands and kissed him in front of her family.
Joan cleared her throat, but unlike her normal self, she didn’t even make a snide remark. Bree had broken their kiss and had whispered, “Thank you for being you.”
He couldn’t wait to tell her today how much he loved her.
Her sweet little snores made him smile. He traced lazy circles with his finger on Bree’s soft tummy.
Good morning, Little Loves.
He still couldn’t believe they were having twins. Twins! He should have thought about the possibility, since he was part of fraternal twins.
A ping alerted him of an incoming text. He slipped his arm from under Bree and grabbed his phone. He muted the device before he read the text.
RO: Everything is ready.