Exhaling: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection Book 3) (10 page)

F
allyn was so distracted
by Keenan’s black eye that she forgot about the envelope that might shift her perception of life. The DNA results to see if Patrick O’Keefe was her father remained unopened once again as they set out to spend a weekend with the two families. The bigger Fallyn’s belly grew, the more her brothers treated her as if the slightest breeze might upset the balance. “I’m really fine, guys. Honestly, I can go for a walk by the creek by myself. Are you afraid I’m going to fall in or something?”

“Can you wait a few minutes?” Carrigan asked as he stood from the couch in the den. He’d lost the last hand of poker and stretched his arms over his head to shake off his defeat at Tony’s masterful hand. “I’ve got something to say.”

Beers were set down and heads were turned to take in whatever grave announcement might rock everyone’s carefully constructed canoe they’d all taken refuge in.

“In light of recent… I don’t know why I’m making such a big deal out of this. I, um, I started seeing someone.” Carrigan rolled his eyes and waved off the catcalls that rose around him from the peanut gallery. “Calm it down. Her name’s Kara, and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple months now.”

“Months?!” Danny cried, indignant. “You’ve been seeing someone for months? What gives with all the secrecy?”

“It’s because he knows once she meets the better looking brothers, it’s all over for him,” Declan guessed, high-fiving Finn.

Carrigan’s nose rose in the air. “I’m only telling you because she got curious as to why she’d never been introduced to my family.” This was met by a slew of whips being cracked in the air. “Whatever. I told Fallyn about her a while ago, and she’s been wearing me down about bringing Kara around. I invited her to come here tonight to meet all of you, so you know, be cool.”

Declan grinned at Seamus, the brothers exchanging the same evil grin. “Oh, you mean like show her old family photos and tell her the story about when you sat in chocolate milk at school? Dude, if she doesn’t already know your nickname was poo-pants, then she doesn’t know the real you.”

“Shut it. I wasn’t going to ever bring her around, but she’s getting antsy, thinking it’s her I’m hiding instead of you lot. So be on your best behavior, and I mean best. Act as if your car being keyed or not depends on it.” He pointed to the D’Amatos. “That goes for all of you. Your cars are at stake too, you know.”

Angelo narrowed his eyes at Carrigan, but Joey threw a piece of popcorn at him. “Is she hot?”

“She’s covered in leprous boils and scales, as far as you’re concerned. Keep it in your pants.”

Joey nodded and stood. “She’s hot. I’m going to hit the shower. Think I’ll walk around without a shirt all night.” He shrugged at Carrigan’s glower. “What? It’s warm in here.”

“It’s barely March!”

Fallyn clasped her hands under her chin and swooned. “You guys are missing the cuteness! Kara and Carrigan. Isn’t that precious? You have to marry her. I want a sister so badly!”

Carrigan whirled on his sister, face stern. “Now you quit it with that kind of nonsense talk. Get it all out of your system before she gets here. I mean it. She’s already doing that annoying girl thing of dropping hints that she wants to get more serious, so don’t encourage her.”

“So I probably shouldn’t tell her the story of how Vince and I got married only a couple months after our first date?” She winked at her husband, who tossed up a lax smile at Carrigan being put in the crosshairs. “I shouldn’t tell her that I got pregnant on my honeymoon?”

“How about you keep all that noise to yourself,” Carrigan said, glowering at his sister. “No one wants a replay of that story.”

Fallyn grinned at her brother. “I’ll just tell her how supportive you are of us. How great you’ve been with helping baby proof every single house, including your own. How sweet you’ve been about the idea of being an uncle.” She clapped her hands a few times as a new brilliant idea occurred to her. “Oh! I could tell her that you sing to the baby. She’ll love that.”

Carrigan looked up at the ceiling. “Weren’t you going on a walk?”

“Oh, I can stick around for this.” She touched her forehead. “Oh, I think I have some pictures of you graduating from the Academy. So cute! She’ll want a peek at those.”

Carrigan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Forget it. I’ll tell her she can meet you all another time when you’re less… yourselves.”

Seamus swiped Carrigan’s phone from his hand and tossed it to Declan, who shoved it down the front of his pants with a sinister smile. “Can’t wait to meet your special girl, Carri. Please tell me she’s got some hot friends so we can double date.”

“The only double you’re getting is the one you pour yourself.” Carrigan ran his fingers through his hair. “Now I’ll have to dip my phone in antiseptic to get your stank off it.”

Declan did some deep lunges just to irk his brother. “Please tell me you put this thing on vibrate.”

Tony laughed as he picked up the football that had seen its fill of usefulness the last time they’d been on vacation together, but not this time yet. “Anyone up for a game?” The guys all moved outside, except for Vince, whose phone rang as the others meandered out.

“Yeah?” He motioned for Fallyn to sit on the couch by his side as he chatted in a conversational business tone. He tangled his fingers in her curls, conversing with the caller as he admired his wife’s beauty. She had been worried about the added weight as her pregnancy progressed, but Vince’s smile had only widened the rounder she got. She’d gained most of the weight in the best areas – the baby belly, her breasts and her hips, making her curvier. His hand drifted to her back to rub the spot he knew would be bothering her, watching with satisfaction when she quietly moaned in relief. “Thanks again,” he said into the phone. “I’ll see to it your mother’s laundromat gets taken care of this weekend.”

Fallyn raised her eyebrow at her husband. “Do I want to know?”

“Oh, you really do. This’ll get me all kinds of favors from you. You’ll be singing ‘Vince is the king’ all night long for a while once you find out the magic I worked.”

“Did you buy me a unicorn?” she teased.

“Better than a unicorn.”

“Did you buy me roller skates?”

Vince snorted, picturing her pregnant form klutzing around in the gear. “Yes. That’s exactly it. I get heart palpitations when you run down the street, but roller skates are fine. Your doctor needs his license examined, letting you off bedrest like he did.”

“What can I say? I told you all I was fine, and finally someone listened. Now, what’s my surprise?”

Vince kissed her lips and laughed to himself that his plan actually worked. “I’ve got to make a few calls,
tesoro
.”

Fallyn knew that was code for: I’m about to do illegal things you don’t want to know about. She squeezed his knee and made to stand, grunting twice before Angelo stood to help her up. “You’re going down by the pond?” Angelo inquired, proffering his elbow to her like a gentleman.

“I am. I was going to think up some decent ways to torture Carrigan when Kara gets here. Want to join me? Evil plan it out together?”

“Sure.” Ever since she’d taken him to the hospital that night, Angelo had become her shadow. There were no more words exchanged about the gratitude he felt, but he showed it to her every day he was around her. He opened doors, picked up foods he knew wouldn’t make her sick, and even stopped by on occasion to check in on her bakery, making sure she was alright whenever she went into the store for a few hours. He walked her silently to her weeping willow, carefully lowering her to the grass and sitting a respectable distance from her. He knew he owed much to Fallyn, and he did his best to be counted as one of the men who made good on the love she beamed at them all.

W
hen a timid knock
sounded at the door, Carrigan paled, making his barely noticeably freckles stand out. Fallyn lit up and ran toward the door, freezing at the several shouts that told her to stop running. She wanted to accuse them all of being overprotective, but her doctor had ruled her pregnancy high risk, so towards the end, she was instructed to take it easy, lest she be put on bedrest again.

Carrigan intercepted his sister and two of his brothers who wanted to be the first to get a peek at the new addition to their lives. He plastered his body to the door, eyes wide in warning. “Please, guys. Don’t be yourselves.”

Declan and Finn exchanged identical evil grins. “I’ll be you, then,” the two said in unison, pointing to each other.

Carrigan closed his eyes, taking a bracing breath before opening the door to find not just the blonde petite beauty with doe eyes that blinked up at him nervously, but Killian standing behind her with a stack of pizzas he’d picked up from the nearest eatery for everyone’s dinner.

Killian’s grin was filled with too much play to be trusted, so Carrigan swept Kara into the cabin to introduce her to the jackals. She wore khaki shorts and a green silk blouse that were too perfectly unwrinkled to have not been ironed with a nervous hand. Her fingers twisted the strap of her beige purse as she forced a brave smile.

Each word Carrigan uttered contained a heavy warning to it. “Everyone, this is Kara. She just came up here for dinner to hang out and meet you all. She’s a nurse from the east end near Greenfield.”

“We met outside. We’re already best buddies, right Kara?” Killian’s deviant eyes met Carrigan’s threatening ones, looking at his brother while addressing Kara.

“Um, yeah. It’s nice to meet all of you. Carrigan tells me you’re two families? Which ones are the brothers?”

Killian spoke for the group. “Actually, we all are because our sister married that one there. That’s Vince, and those are his brothers, Joey and Tony. And the one who never smiles is Angelo.” Angelo did not look up from his hand of cards at the woman, but raised a finger in the air in greeting.

“I’m the sister.” Fallyn stepped forward with a wide grin painting her features. “Obviously. Fallyn. It’s so nice to meet you! Carrigan’s just said the most wonderful things about you,” she said, spackling in the gaps her brother had left.

“Really?” Kara seemed genuinely surprised by this.

“Oh, yes. He said you’re kind and generous and the best thing that’s happened to him in a long time. After seeing you? I believe every word Carri’s gushed about how great you are.” Fallyn pulled Kara in for a hug in lieu of a handshake, surprising the new girl. Fallyn used the opportunity to wink and smirk at Carrigan’s slow headshake of warning directed at his sister. “Come sit at the table. Are you hungry? You must be. It’s such a long drive.” She snapped her fingers to her brother. “Carri, get her something to drink.”

“Oh, sure. Beer or water? I don’t think we have much else.”

“Water’s fine.”

Seamus’ arm went around the girl as he stood on the other side of Kara, walking her to the table. “I’m Declan,” he lied to confuse the poor girl. “Did Carrigan ever tell you about the time he cried for his mommy to come pick him up from a sleepover? How old were you? Twelve? Thirteen?”

Carrigan’s ears were red. “It was kindergarten, you tool. Get off my girl. Don’t listen to a word they say, Kara.” Carrigan shoved Seamus off of Kara, whose nerves were breaking into a smile. “And that’s Seamus, not Declan.”

“I’m Finn,” Declan chimed in. “Carrigan, how about the time you didn’t want to go to school, so you shoved a pencil eraser up your nose? That’s a great story.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Come to think of it, that’s just about the whole story. Hold on, I’ll think of another one.”

Pizza slices were passed around as more childhood stories about Carrigan were shared. When Seamus started telling the one about Carrigan knocking over two cones on his driver’s test that were supposed to be pedestrians, Carrigan stood. “I think you’ve met everyone enough, right? I mean, can this be done now?”

Kara was all smiles as she shook her head. “I’m having the time of my life. Who knew you had such a cute childhood? You’re always so perfect around me. Nice to know you were vulnerable once upon a time.”

Several of the brothers blew loud raspberries. “Perfect? Carri? Let me tell you about the time…”

Fallyn intervened on Carrigan’s behalf, wiping her hands off on her napkin once she finished her slice of pizza. “Girl time. I’m going for a walk. Want to join?” she asked Kara, who nodded quickly. “Let’s give these clowns time to regroup. They haven’t really embarrassed Carri enough yet, so you gotta give them a minute to come up with something real good.”

Vince stood, offering his arm to Fallyn. “Careful. A slow walk. And it’s getting dark out. Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

“Who’s going to snatch me up? Raccoons? Squirrels? I’ll walk slow, promise. You can start wrapping the unicorn you bought me. You’re going to need lots of wrapping paper.”

Smirking, Vince led his wife to the backdoor and opened it for her and Kara. “You’re not getting the surprise out of me, but I will say it’s only slightly smaller than a unicorn, weight-wise at least.”

“A tiger? But where would we put it?” Fallyn kissed her husband and walked with Kara down toward the pond, where the boys wouldn’t chime in every other sentence. The air was crisp and had the faint trace of pine in it. There were crickets just starting up their evening song, singing the sun to sleep as it set on the horizon. The pond was unrippled and peaceful, lulling them both to relax as they started walking the perimeter of the water. “So how long have you been dating Carrigan?”

“Oh, about four months. How long have you been married? Seems pretty new the way your husband looks at you.”

Fallyn smiled, ducking her chin. “Well, the baby’s at thirty-five weeks, so we’ve been married maybe a few days longer than that.”

“Ho! That’s a nice souvenir to bring back from… Where did you go on your honeymoon?”

“Vince surprised me with a trip to Italy. We were gone a month, and I miss it a little every day. It was perfect.”

“Wow! I’ve never been out of the United States.”

“One day,” Fallyn assured her.

Kara started biting her nails as they walked. “I’ve got to admit, I was scared out of my mind to come here tonight. Almost turned around twice.”

“The guys can be a little overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it. Plus, you’re the new addition, so once they see you can’t be rattled, they’ll calm down eventually.”

“Not them. They were exactly what I expected. I was afraid to meet you.”

Fallyn stopped short. “Me? I’m the least scary one! What did Carrigan tell you?” Flashes of all the violent escapades she’d participated in with her families popped up like gophers, but Fallyn smacked them back down, trying to appear like a normal girl who didn’t go on under the table drug raids or steal the starter from her brother’s car to be her “something borrowed” at her impromptu wedding.

“Carrigan plays it cool about most things, but he lights up when he talks about his family. Gushes when he talks about you. I half-expected moonbeams to shoot out of your fingertips, the way he talks about how great you are.”

Fallyn held up her innocent fingers to display the non-magic in them. “No moonbeams. Just fingers. He really talks about me like that?”

Kara’s nose scrunched in surprise. “Serious? He loves you. It’s almost reverent. Made me nervous because if you decide you don’t like me, I’m not sure how much of a future we’ll have.” She turned to face Fallyn head-on. “And I really like your brother. I want a future with him.”

Fallyn gulped, nodding slowly. “Then you should come around as often as you like. Be a familiar face around the table.” They started walking again with Fallyn deep in thought. “Carri and I had a falling out not too long ago. Did he tell you about it?”

Kara shook her head as she bit at her nails. “No. What about?”

She debated whether or not to tell Kara the details, and decided on the brief version. “He didn’t like Vince. Like, hated him and was pretty vicious about it. It’s only been the last few months we’ve all been able to hang out like this. It was tense for a long time. I love Carrigan, but man, he sure hated me when I was dating Vince. Even a little after I got married. It was messy, the whole thing.” She tapped her heart. “That he loves me still? That’s good to know.”

“Really? I never would’ve guessed. I mean, he mentioned he’s not terribly fond of your husband, but nothing more than that. Whatever animosity was there on his side just isn’t anymore, or at least he doesn’t talk about it to me.”

The girls walked a few paces in amicable silence. “Thanks for that. It fixes a lot for me. It makes me glad to see Carrigan happy. In fact, if all my brothers could find girls as nice as you, it’d solve a lot of problems for me, so if you have any sisters or awesome girlfriends, send them our way.”

“Will do.” A mischievous spark shone in Kara’s eyes, endearing Fallyn to her. “I’m thinking Seamus will want a hunchback.”

“Does she have both her eyes?”

“Yes. Darn it. She was almost perfect. I’ll go back to the drawing board.” Kara and Fallyn shared a giggle and plenty more back and forths as they walked around the pond. Kara smiled at Vince when they moved back into the cabin. “I’m returning her safe and sound.”

“I appreciate that.” Vince took his wife’s hand and led her to the couch, sitting her carefully down while Killian handed her a bottle of water.

Kara stayed another half an hour just to get a few more precious and embarrassing stories about Carrigan out of the group. When she went to leave, the guys made obnoxious kissing noises and a few offered themselves as a joke in case Kara ever wanted to “trade up.”

The moment Carrigan came back in from walking her to her car, Vince stood in the center of the den to garner everyone’s attention. “Now that it’s just us, I’ve got some news.” He ignored the few obnoxious guesses as he bit back an uncontainable smile he knew just wouldn’t suit him. “Now don’t get too excited, because the good part of the news comes with a lot of stipulations that aren’t so great.”

Seamus rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t undersell it too much.”

Vince’s red t-shirt and gym shorts were wrinkled and had grass stains from all the outdoor sports he’d participated in that day – each mark a testament that the division between the two sides was coming down in a permanent fashion.

Vince pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought on how best to start. “Before we left for the cabin, we stopped by for our monthly visit to Keenan. He had a black eye and a fat lip and looked, well, not his usual self.”

At this, the questions flooded and the brothers postured, demanding to know who had laid a finger on their own.

Vince held up his hand. “You have to let me get through my story.” He waited until they quieted before continuing. “Papa D used to know the warden.” He touched the side of his nose with dark insinuations. “Used to do business with him. I had a little chat with the warden. If all goes well with the parole board, and if I do a few favors for his mom’s struggling business, Keenan will be released into Fallyn’s custody.”

The shouts and unintelligible noises of shock echoed throughout the cabin, the brothers practically pushing at each other to get closer to Vince so they could ask their questions first. The question with the most voices shouting it was “when”, so Vince stuck with that subject.

“If you all don’t shut up so I can answer you, I’ll knock up your sister all over again right now.” Vince grinned like a mischievous boy when the brothers backed down with grimaces and glowers.

Killian voiced the thing they all wanted to know. “When?”

“I’m waiting on the call from the warden. But I’ve held up my end, so it’s just a matter of a vote and then some paperwork. I don’t want you to get overexcited though. Keenan’s still on lockdown, and when he’s in Fallyn’s custody, he stays within two miles of Fallyn’s house, which is my house, too.” He held up his hands to stave off their protests. “Keenan will have to wear an anklet for a year, and he can’t go to your territory because it’s outside his radius. But it’s a far sight better than him never knowing when he’s going to get jumped. When we saw him all beat up, he looked scared. I trust you don’t want that for him.”

Killian’s look of serious determination made everyone wary when he stomped toward Vince. He stared his former enemy down before engulfing him in a giant hug, clutching with his gentle ferocity the man who restored his brother to him. “You’ll keep the territory borders down so we can come see him as often as we like?”

“Of course.” Vince wasn’t accustomed to hugging grown men, so there was a four second delay before his arms returned the gesture. “Our house is your house. Same as it’s been for the last couple months. I think it’ll be good to have an extra person in the house to look after the baby. Built-in babysitter. Keenan can help out around the property and keep Fallyn company when she goes on bedrest. At the rate she’s ignoring her doctor these days, that’ll probably happen tomorrow.”

Killian tried to fish through any possible holes in the gift. “But you don’t own my brother. He doesn’t work for you.”

Vince postured. “I’ve got enough people working for me to where I don’t need to buy them from the enemy territory. I did this for Fallyn, nothing else.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t mind a little help clearing the hookers off the street near the warden’s mother’s laundromat, though. I can handle it, but if you wanted to help with that whole problem in general, I’d be grateful. Step three in cleaning up our territory.”

Killian glanced over his shoulder to his brothers, confirming they were all on board. “It’s the least we can do.”

Vince waited for Fallyn to protest that she was never going on bedrest, but her mouth was hanging open in utter astonishment. “This? This is the good news you’ve been giggling about? You got my brother back for us?”

Vince shook his head. “Not for everyone. For you. You think I’d pull that many strings for these
stronzos
?” The slight was met with a slew of middle fingers, but the brothers still bore expressions in various shades of shock and glee. Vince looked down on Fallyn where she was seated on the couch next to Carrigan and smiled, not bothering to hide in his face or his words how much he adored every bit of her. “I know how upset you were seeing Keenan like that. I don’t like to see you upset. Not when you’re so good at being happy.”