The O'Malley Brides (8 page)

“God,
I hope
not,” she answered truthfully as she pulled him back down to her lips.
 

It was several minu
t
e
s before Patrick raised his head a
nd
sighed.
 
“Come on
,
my little Fairy gir
l.  Let’s gather up the youngin’
s and go home.  I don’t think you really want to be here
when the shit hits the fan
.”

Molly jumped up and pulled Patrick up after her.  Laughing she threw herself into his arms
,
bit his earlobe and whispered,
“Are you psychic
now too
,
Patrick?”

“You better hope not,” he growled, snatchin
g her up of the floor,
“
b
ecause right
now I can see myself spanking your beautiful ass if you lie to me about Tess.”

“Oh,” Mol
ly gulped.  “Michael, Ryan
, tell
Grandma and Grandpa
g
ood
-
bye
.  We need to be getting home.”

Patrick set her gently on her feet, turned her in the direction of the hall
,
and swatted her crisply on the
ass.  He had no doubt the boys
would be making an appearance in the next minute or so.  For some reason they always heard Molly calling to them no matter where they were.  He didn’t believe there was another woman in the world quite like his lovely Molly.

Rory never found Tess
.  After searching the entire house including the cellar and the attic, where the remnants of a tea party still remained, he was no closer to an answer. 
The worst part was that now his anger was beginning to cool and the worry was setting in.  Rory had made a lot of
enemies
in his profession.  Not only as part of the police force, but before.  There were several nameless, dangerous thugs in other parts of the world who would like nothing better than to get their hands on him or someone he loved.  It wasn’t something he thought about much. 
Dangerous jobs meant
enemies and his job in Special Forces had been plenty dangerous.  Eve
n though he sometimes did some "consulting"
work for the government, he was not privy
to
all information.  It wasn’t like some contact was going to call him up and say,
"
Hey Rory, remember that mission in Iraq?  Well a couple of those guys are missing so
,
heads up.
"
 
No, you were pretty much on your own, once you got out. 

Heading back up to her room, Rory took the stairs two at a time.  Tess would know exactly how pissed off and worried he was when he got his hands on her.  She could bring the whole house running with her
screams;
it wouldn’t stop him from paddling her ass.

Everything looked pretty much normal.  Tess didn’t have a lot and from what he could guess she never had.  The nick-knacks around the room were all still in place, but they were there before she came.  A sinking feeling made him make his way to her closet.  Throwing open the door he stood there staring,
feeling gut-
punched.  Her clothes were gone.  Walking to her dresser
,
he pulled the drawers open:
nothing, not a damn thing.  Cosmetics were still scattered on the top of the vanity but they could be Bridget’s.  Tess wasn’t much for make-up
. Stumbling to the bed he sat down.  For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure what to do.  Indecision wasn’t part of his nature, nor was fear.  Rory was a
full-
steam ahead kind of guy.  With his incredible strength and sharp mind
,
he coul
d usually make things go his way
.  If that wasn’t
enough
,
the force of his will was the kicker
.  Rory didn’t give up,
not
on anything.  He’d be damned if he let Tess be the first. 
No half-pint
woman
,
with no more sense than to sleep on a park bench
,
was going to take him down even if she was the most beautiful woman he’d eve
r known, and
even
if he
did want her more than he’d e
ver wanted anyone else. 

Rory grabbed her pillow and threw it across the room.  How dare she take off without a
word?
  His mother would
be
hurt, the girls too.  He got up and snatched the pillow off the floor to replace it and saw the pink envelope for the f
irst time.  She must have hidden it under
the pillow for his mother to find.  Tearing open the envelope he sat down and began to read.

Dear O’Malley Family,

I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me.  I finally got to know what it was like to live with a real family.  You took me into your home and treated me with love and kindness.  I will never forget you and hope I will see you soo
n.  I am sorry to leave this way
but I did not want to fight with
"you know who."
  I will still be working for Mr. Nick and Maggie so I will stay in touch.  I cannot tell you where I will be living, but I have made temporary arrangements. 

Please do not be angry with me, I love you all so very much.  Someday I hope to have a large wonderful family of my own.

                                                                      Theresa Elena Martinez

“Well hell,” Rory curse
d violently and
left the room
,
slamming the door behind him.  In the kitchen
,
he slapped the letter on the table in front of his mother so har
d her coffee cup trembled on its
saucer. 

Maeve picked up the letter and shooed Caitlin and Todd out of the kitchen.  Sliding her reading glasses up farther on her nose she began to read, Colleen over one shoulder and Bridget over the other.  Three sets of eyes looked accusingly at Rory as he leaned against the counter, his arms crossed ov
er his chest. Nobody asked who "you know who"
was, they all knew ex
actly to whom Tess was referring
.

“Rory O’Malle
y, what did you do to drive the
poor wee lamb
out on her own?”

“Nothing that I wouldn’t do to her right now if she were here,” Rory shot back with a growl.
 
Well maybe not
.

“Sean.  Sean, come in here and speak to your son,” Maeve ordered, sticking her head out of the kitchen door.

“Why is he my son when you
’re
put out with him and he’s your son when he’s sportin’ a new medal or citation?  Now
what is it
,
Darlin’?  Can’t a ma
n have a
moment’s
peace in his own house?” Sean asked striding into the kitchen.  “What’s this all about?”

Maeve
stood with her
hands on the table and leaned towards Rory.
 
“Rory,
what did you do to Tess
?”
 
Rory tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling, silently counting to ten.
 
“Did you spank that girl?” Maeve demanded.

Colleen and Bridget stood frozen in place, both wanted to go but morbid fascination held them.  Rory getting in trouble was almost unheard of and neither wanted to miss a word of it.

“Yes,” Rory shot back.  He never raised hi
s voice but there was a danger in the calmness just the same.  “I spanked her.  It wasn’t the first time and I doubt it will be the last.  That’s no reason
for her
to leave without a word to any of us.”

“Sean!  Do somethin’
!” Maeve insisted, stomping her foot in agitation.

“Well, just what woul
d you like me to do about it?”
he asked, beginning to feel some sympathy for Rory.

“I don’t know, but this is your fault. 
You should have raised your son
s better than to th
ink they can just upend any woman
they want over their knee.”

“You’re right
,
Darlin’
.
”

“Of course I am,” Maeve agreed primly.

“Rory, is Tess just any woman?” Sean asked, looking directly into his son’s eyes.

“No.”

“Is she your woman?”
Sean asked patiently.

“Yes,” Rory answered softly.  “She is my woman.”

Sean laughed and slapped his big hand down on the table as he stood.
 
“Well
then
,
there you have it,” he told his wife jovially.

“There I have what?” Maeve asked looking from one man to the other.  She had the funny feeling she’d been bamboozled.

Sean sighed and rubbed his head.
 
“Do I
really have to explain it to you
after forty years of marriage?” he asked in disbelief.

“Apparently so O’Malley, ‘cause I’m sure not thinkin’ what
you're
thinkin’
,
” Maeve informed him, hands on hips.

“A good man takes care of
his family.  He provides
for them, guides them, comforts them,
and loves
them.  Sometimes love is not hugs and kisses
,
Darlin’.  Sometimes love is a firm hand applied to a naughty bottom, as you
well know.  Now I don’t mean to be embarrassin’ you
my love, but
since you seem to want to talk
about this in front of the children,
I’ll talk.  You’ve been over my
own knee more than a time or two and our marriage has been
better for it.”

“Sean,” Maeve
gasped
her fac
e red with shame.  “How could you
?”

“Hush woman.  There
’s no shame in submittin’
to your husband.  I’m not a tyrant,” he continued looking at Bridget and then Colleen.  “I love your Ma and always have.  The pain of a spanking is nothin’ compared to the pain of watchin’ a loved one go off in the wrong direction
or damage a marriage so it cannot
survive.”  Sean stood and pulled Maeve i
nto his arms.  “We’ve
raised our family Darlin’.  Given’ th
em the best we could.  I’ve alway
s tried to set a good example and
so have you.  Now we must
let them be and hope we
’ve
taught th
em right.  If Rory’s lady needs a lickin’, then so be it.  
It’s not our business, do you understand
?”

Maeve
nodded
and
buried her face in her
husband’s
arms.  Colleen and Bridget told their
parents
good night and slipped out of the room.  This was not their business either. 

Finally Maeve raised her head, wiped her tears and turned to face her son.
 
“Your Da’s right
, Rory,
i
t’s not our business and I hope you’ll
be forgivin’ me for how I behaved
tonight,” she told him sincerely, her voice quivering.

“I love you Ma
, I
think I could forgive you about anything.  I never meant for this to happen.  I had no idea Tess would take off like this and I will tell you there’s more to it than just a spanking.  I will make this right.  She belong
s to me and I intend to see
she understands that. 

I better get going.  Good night, I’ll talk to you soon.”

Rory bent and kissed his mother’s cheek, patted his Da on the back and quietly left through the back door.

Sean pulled his wife back into his arms and rocked her gently side to side.  It hurt him to see her cry, but
every now and then he had to rein her in, for her own good and the good of the family.

“How a
bout I take my little Irish whirlwi
nd upstairs and show her a thin’
or two,” he growled in her ear. 

“
Oh, be off with you
,” Maeve giggled as she struggled to get out of his arms.

“I’ve also heard tell of such a thing as a
n
erotic spankin’.
My personal belief is the man
just wanted to get his hands on his wife’s
behind, but you never know do you
,
Darlin’?”