“Nah, it’s okay. Kieran is going to bust my balls about my brother. He’s going to want to hear everything about Keenan and know exactly what his intentions are with you. I can’t wait to fuck with him.”
She laughed along with him because she knew he’d spoken the truth.
“Language…” Melissa said before she scooped up the last bit of the mashed potatoes.
“Come with me, boyo. I need a cigar herf.” Pops slapped Keenan’s back with still remarkable force for a seventy-eight-year-old.
“A cigar herf?” she said.
“Aye, lass. It’s when a few cigar lovers meet up and smoke together. Preferably in the yard with some food, hopefully a whiskey…” Pops winked at Melissa and she said, “Coming right up, Pops. No worries.”
“Good. Imma steal ye man for a minute, lass.” Pops stood from the table and lead the way for Keenan to follow.
Keenan stood and gave Ryleigh’s cheek a kiss. “I won’t be long. If I’m not back in half an hour, come and find me outside. It’s no problem at all if you’d join us.”
With a nod, she said, “Sure. Enjoy your cigar.”
“Ah, wishing you could smoke with us, eh?” He grinned, and she stuck out her tongue.
When he put his head back and laughed, the room fell silent. His brother Roarke sat back in his chair with his mouth slack and his coffee cup mid-air. Like Keenan laughing out loud was some kind of big deal.
Keenan’s dad, Niall, wiped at the corner of his eye and she felt like she was an outsider looking into this huge family moment.
“Okay, I’m going outside with Pops. Y’all are acting crazy,” Keenan said.
“Spoken like a true Texan,” Liam joked.
“Can I come with you, Dad?” Tommy asked.
Keenan held out his hand, taking Tommy with him outside to the patio. Ryleigh sighed as Tommy hadn’t spoken a single word to her tonight.
When they first met, they’d hit it off almost instantly. She was sure the little guy loved her as much as she loved him.
But ever since she became his dad’s girlfriend, it seemed like they both didn’t know how to act around each other. As a nanny, things had been very clear; she was there to take care of Tommy, to supervise, guide and help him. She got paid to stand in for Keenan whenever he was at work.
Tommy no longer wanted to listen to her whenever they were alone. And whenever his dad was around, he tried to create as much conflicts possible.
After they closed the patio door behind them, his mother Melissa said, “I wished they’d stop smoking those things…” She filled three glasses with whiskey and placed them on a tray. “I can’t believe they really enjoy that chirping.”
“Chirping?” Ryleigh said, unsure.
Deirdre had taken Keenan’s seat next to her and said, “It’s peak season. If you sit outside this time of year, you hear a constant colony chatter of bats chirping.”
“Yeah, probably about some million fuckers hunting out there tonight,” Liam said.
She remembered something about bats from high school, when her teacher told the class about Austin’s bat season. The largest urban bat colony of North America lived right under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, which was only three miles from Keenan’s parent’s home.
Melissa went out to the patio and closed the door behind her, leaving Ryleigh alone with Keenan’s sisters Deirdre, Briana and his brothers Aiden, Liam and Roarke.
“Okay, enough with the bat talk. Let’s talk about you, Ryleigh. We want to know everything about the woman who’s making our brother happy again.” Liam said.
She swallowed her sip of water and placed her glass in front of her. She pulled one shoulder. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Leave her alone, bro,” Aiden said. She smiled at him in thanks and he gave her a reassuring wink. She took a deep breath and remembered she wasn’t that insecure teenager anymore. She was an adult now. And possibly even a stepmother, if all would work out with Tommy.
“It’s okay, Aide. I’m twenty-one, I’ve dropped out of college and then worked as Tommy’s nanny and now I’m going to work for your cousin Duncan at his dojo. Eh, yeah…”
She hated these talks. It was like sitting at a job interview with ten eyes scrutinizing her every move and weighing every answer if she’d be worthy of their brother.