Forever Mine: Callaghan Brothers, Book 9 (2 page)

“He said indigestion,” Maggie said.

“But you think it’s more than that.” Maggie felt Nicki’s diamond-like eyes studying her and scanned the field again.

Nicki was the only female who actively participated in the brothers’ covert ops team missions. Before marrying Sean Callaghan, she’d been a member of the Chameleons, another secret, “nonexistent” organization that dealt primarily with vice-related crime and meted out justice to the scumbags who managed to elude the legal system. She was every bit as skilled and deadly as her husband, and just as protective of her family, which included the family patriarch.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because your eyes are doing that weird swirling thing again.”

Maggie had been told on numerous occasions that her eyes “swirled” sometimes, usually when her mental wheels were turning. Though she’d secretly looked in the mirror several times, she’d never seen it herself. Maggie knew they all thought she had some psychic ability, but she routinely denied it. It was more like a kind of acute insight into what
might
happen, or a particularly strong from of women’s instinct. Her grandmother had been the same way.

The truth was, she
was
worried. She was certain Jack hadn’t been entirely truthful, but that wasn’t what bothered her. The Callaghan men didn’t lie, exactly, but they often omitted bits and pieces of the truth, believing that if revealed, would cause unnecessary worry. Being a part of the family for as long as she had, Maggie had become quite adept at sorting things out and reading between the lines.

No, what concerned her was the heavy sense of dread she felt, the one that was getting heavier by the minute, like an approaching storm. Intuition, or awareness, or auras—whatever name put to the sense—told her that something was wrong, and she felt it most strongly when she was around Jack.

She wasn’t about to share that with the others, though, at least not until she had more information. What she really needed to do was talk to her husband, Michael. He was a doctor, as well as being practical and level-headed, and the perfect complement to her intuitive, often illogical feelings.

Maggie looked across the yard to where the guys were fully engaged in what had become a no-holds barred display of masculine one-upmanship. Michael had the ball and threw with perfect aim, catching Jake with a solid shot in the back. He whooped in victory, at least until Ian came up behind him and pulled his shorts down around his ankles.

“Damn fine ass,” Taryn commented casually, appearing from the path leading up from the creek. She sported a streak of mud across her forearm, but was otherwise none the worse for wear as she dropped down onto one of the bench seats.

“Kind of standard for the Callaghan men,” Lexi added, but her eyes, too, were cast that way. The newest to their sisterhood, Faith, was still getting used to the family antics. Her cheeks flushed a dark red as she suddenly found the cloud formations above them utterly fascinating.

Taryn, who clearly had no problem enjoying the view, put her hand up for a high-five. “I know, right?”

“Seriously?” Maggie said, shooting her a look of mock disbelief. “You two are ogling my husband’s ass?”

“Seems only fair,” Lexi shrugged. “He’s seen ours.”

Michael had tended to both Taryn and Lexi when necessary, but Sean’s
croie
had needed no such care. Maggie turned to Nicki, who, like Taryn and Lexi, made no secret of the fact she was enjoying the impromptu peep show. “And what’s your excuse?”

Nicki blinked her clear, diamond-like eyes. “Damn. Fine. Ass.”

“Good point,” Maggie admitted with a sigh and turned back in time to see Michael pulling up his shorts and launching himself at Ian. They both went down and were rolling around in the grass like little boys instead of grown men while the rest of the brothers goaded them on.

* * *

“U
ncle Michael!  Uncle Michael!”

Riley’s cries were lost among the hooting and hollering of the men, but Taryn shot to her feet as her daughter made a beeline in her uncles’ general direction. Jake smoothly intercepted his daughter and scooped her up before she got hurt.

“Daddy!  Let me go!  Uncle Michael!  Uncle
Michael
!  Stop.
STOP!
”

“Riley Kathleen Callaghan, what’s gotten into you?”

“It’s Grandpa!  He’s fallen asleep under the tree and he won’t wake up!”

Ian and Michael ceased their tussling as all attention focused on the little girl. As one, the women rose and moved closer. Ian jumped to his feet and gave his brother a hand up.

“Where?” Michael asked with a somber face, all traces of levity gone with Riley’s words.

She wiped at her tear-streaked face with dirty hands. “Down by the pumpkin patch. I was picking out my pumpkin and it was too big for me to carry and I asked him to help me and he didn’t answer,” she sobbed. “So I went over and tried to wake him up but he just won’t!”

Jake handed Riley to Taryn. “Okay, sweetheart, you did fine. Stay with Mom while we see what’s going on with Grandpa.”

Game forgotten, Kieran and Shane were already sprinting down the hill, followed closely by the others. Jake shot Taryn a somber, knowing look, slipping into commander mode. “Keep the kids here until we know what’s going on. Nicki, ready the Hummer. Maggie, run inside and get Mick’s emergency kit.”

They nodded, their expressions worried, then took off without hesitation.

“Daddy, is Grandpa going to be all right?”

Jake loved his daughter, but he wouldn’t lie to her. Until he knew the situation, he wasn’t going to make any promises he couldn’t keep. He kissed her on the forehead. Then he took off too.

He knew it was bad when he spotted his brothers around the base of the old tree, a semi-circular wall of large men obstructing the view from above. His worst fears were realized when he reached the bottom and saw his father prone. The eldest, Kane, was straddling him, doing chest compressions while Michael searched for a pulse. Ian met his eyes and shook his head slightly.

“Nicki’s got transport,” he said even as he heard the powerful engine of the H2 roaring to life. “Status,” he barked.

“Probable heart attack,” Michael bit out.

“Is he...”

“His heart’s not beating.”

“Come on, old man,” Kane grunted out with each push. “You
will
come back to us.”

––––––––

J
une 1968

Pine Ridge

“You
will
come back to us
.
” Jack’s mother kissed him on the cheek, her words brimming with a confidence he didn’t feel.

“I know,” he lied. His mother gave him a smile, one that said she knew he was full of shite, but one that also told him she believed with all of her heart that he would return alive and in one piece. It helped. A little.

She moved away with her head held high, back toward a gathering of other neighborhood moms. They all shared the same stoic, determined look as they replaced near-empty pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the picnic tables, along with plates of homemade cookies and brownies.

The truth was, he was scared. Scared and excited and proud and determined. Each of the emotions warred for dominance in his eighteen year old mind. In a few days he would be heading out with a half dozen other local boys. The massive block party was the town’s way of giving its native sons a proper send-off. A few, like him, were headed into the Navy. Others had chosen the Army, Air Force, or Marines.

Jack had chosen the Navy with dreams of becoming a SEAL. The relatively new special operations force was trained to operate in all environments –—SEa, Air, and Land –—and only selected the best of the best. Jack was determined to be one of them.

With furtive looks to where his mother was talking with several others, no doubt rallying around each other in support, his father handed him a beer and patted him on the back, pride shining from his clear, blue Irish eyes.

“Don’t tell your mother.”

Jack grinned and accepted the cold bottle. His father was a bear of a man, scared of nothing, except possibly a severe tongue-lashing from his wee wife. Liam Callaghan claimed his bonnie bride before emigrating to the United States years earlier, but was still every bit in love with her as he was the day they first met. Even now the man’s eyes softened as his gaze found her.

Many people scoffed at the notion of love at first sight, but Liam had sworn the phenomenon was every bit as real as they earth upon which they tread. The best thing that could happen to an Irishman, he’d told his son, was to find his
croie
, his heart—– the one woman divinely fashioned by God to be the other half of a man’s soul. Young Jack had grown up on stories of such things, and hoped to find his own someday. But first he had to make it through the next six years.

“Good lad. If you’re old enough to fight for your country, you’re old enough to share a cold one with your Da.”

Jack turned slightly, away from his mother’s direct line of sight, and took a long drink. Less than a week earlier, he’d been proudly accepting his high-school diploma in his cap and gown. Soon he’d be heading out as a member of the United States Armed Services. It still hadn’t quite sunken in. All his life, he’d looked up to the men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of God and country, and now some of the younger boys were looking up at him the same way.

He didn’t feel like he a hero, though. He felt like a teenager in way over his head. He wondered if the others felt the same way. If they did, they wouldn’t admit it. Neither would he.

Every now and then someone would catch his eye and nod. Jack took it for what it was—– a show of approval and respect. He’d grown up here, had known most of these people since he was a kid.

But not
her
. Jack was certain he’d never met her before. Once again, his eyes were drawn to the pretty little thing with black hair, alabaster skin, and flashing green eyes. As if sensing his gaze, she turned and locked eyes with him. And in that moment, his heart stopped entirely.

“Bonnie lass, isn’t she?” Liam commented, following his gaze.

“Who is she?” Jack asked without looking away. It was hard to tell from that distance, but he could have sworn he saw a pink tint blossoming on that perfect white skin. Though he willed her to look his way once again, she didn’t.

“Kathleen O’Leary. Her father, Conlan, is a friend of mine. Owns the diner across the river in Birch Falls.”

Birch Falls. That explained why he hadn’t seen her around. He definitely would have remembered her.

“Why don’t you go over and introduce yourself? The lass has been eyeing you all night.”

Had she? Jack was doubtful, since he’d been sneaking glances at her throughout the evening and other than that brief visual lock a minute ago, she’d hadn’t given any indication that she’d noticed him at all. But the mere possibility was enough to make something unexpected and powerful swell in his chest.

Jack wasn’t the smoothest operator when it came to females, but he was no choir boy, either. Most of his previous encounters hadn’t required much thought, but now he found himself at a loss. Should he hang on the fringes, hoping she would see it as an opportunity to make her way over to him? Or go over there and try to strike up a conversation? The idea had him more nervous than his enlistment.

Don’t start anything you can’t finish
, a little voice warned in the back of his head.
You’re leaving soon. Chances are, they’re going ship your arse off to Vietnam sooner rather than later.

All the more reason to make the most of the now,
countered another.

“There can be no courage without fear, lad,” his father said softly. “That applies to war as well as women.”

Had his father read his mind? Jack tipped back the bottle and let the smooth, cold brew glide down his throat. It warmed his belly and bolstered his nerve.

“And who knows? Maybe the lass will give you yet another reason to come home.” Jack turned to look at his father and blinked. In that moment, he realized that as scared as he was about the future, his father was even more so. He’d never admit that, but his eyes spoke volumes. With the Vietnam conflict intensifying, too many young men left Pine Ridge and came back with flags draped over their coffins.

Jack nodded in silent acknowledgement, resolve pushing away the doubt. He wasn’t going to be one of them.

“Don’t let your mother catch you with that,” Liam reminded him, “or it will be both our arses she’ll be having.”

With a heavy-handed pat on his shoulder, his father moved away. Jack’s eyes once again slid over to where he’d last seen the girl, but she was no longer there. He stood up straighter and began to scan the area, looking for a flash of black in the twilight. She was a little thing, so she would be harder to spot among the crowd. He was up on his toes when the hair on the back of his neck prickled, and an unusual heat warmed his groin.

He turned around and looked down to find the clearest, most beautiful emerald eyes he’d ever seen staring up at him. The noise of the crowd faded away, and his world was suddenly reduced to only her.

In that moment, time stopped, right along with his heart and lungs.

“Kathleen,” he whispered.

Those pretty eyes widened in surprise. “You know my name?”

Get it together, Jack.
“How could I not know the name of the prettiest girl here?” he said, curling up one half of his mouth in a lopsided grin that girls seemed to like. Thankfully, Kathleen O’Leary seemed to like it, too.

She smiled and blushed, adding color to that lovely, perfectly smooth skin. This close, he could see a smattering of freckles trailed over her nose, in contrast to her pale skin and thick, dark hair and lashes.

“Oh, a charmer, are you then?” she teased, her voice holding a touch of Irish brogue. “My Da warned me about men like you.”

Jack’s smile grew. Not only was she lovely to look at, but her voice was music to his soul. Soft and lilting, he wanted to hear it again and again.

“Men like me? What kind of man would that be, then?” He allowed his own brogue to color the words. It felt natural; growing up as he had with two Irish-born parents, it was more of an effort to speak without it than with it.