The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

“So you still haven’t told me how it was, staying with Karen and Jack,” Luke said. “And you haven’t filled me in on school, girls, any problems you’ve had—or whatever has you staring endlessly at that phone.”

He took in the sun rising above the horizon through the kitchen window as the coffee finished brewing. Brady was wearing sweats and a T-shirt, his hair sticking up, as he worked on his second bowl of cereal. He had taken the last of the Oaty-O’s, which were also Luke’s favorite.

Brady put down his cell phone and shoved another huge bite of cereal in his mouth, then just stared in that stubborn way of his, chewing, maybe deciding what not to say. He shoved over the carton of milk, which was also empty, sitting on the counter beside him. Evidently, a trip to the grocery store was in order, considering his mom was gone and nothing had been stocked and waiting for him when he came home.

“She still sleeping?” was Brady’s only response. He stared into his bowl from where he sat at the island, on a stool, slouched over, teenage, tall, and lanky, before flicking his eyes up to Luke again. Even though Brady was his brother, he was the only one in the family without the O’Connell blue eyes.

“Who, Rosemary?” Luke said. He glanced toward the hall, picturing Rosemary where he’d left her, sound asleep in his bed. “Yeah, she’s not a morning person. You didn’t answer me. We’re talking about you and how you’re doing, so don’t change the subject.”

“Well, what about you changing the subject? Is she really who Ryan and Owen said, and is her brother? Did he really try to hurt Iris and Eva?”

What was he supposed to say? He’d never believed his family would understand, and maybe that was why he’d never brought her around until the night before. He’d tried to tell himself over and over that it was a bad idea, getting involved with her.

Sex had been just s*x—until it wasn’t.

“Yes, it was her brother who broke into Marcus’s, but he was after me. It was because of me, to get to me over something I’d done to his family. It put my mom and Eva in the line of fire. But if everyone in my family wants to be angry with someone, they should really be angry with me, considering I was the one who brought my work home, back here.

“You don’t have your head buried in the sand, kid. You know what I do. You know what your dad did, too, and the kind of people we deal with. I have a team, and we do the kinds of things that make a lot of enemies. You also saw what went down that night at your old house, you and Alison. We don’t live in a world of fairytales and butterflies. Rosemary was caught in the middle, too. Is she responsible in any way for what happened? No. So stop changing the subject, and let’s talk about you and how you’re doing. I noticed something was up with my sister and Jack, too. You know what that’s about?”

Brady dumped his spoon back in the bowl with a clatter and pushed it away, then shrugged as he finished chewing. There was a lot Brady just wouldn’t talk about, including the night he thought he’d watched his dad die, when he’d had a gun in his face and been tied up and terrorized. No one could walk out of that without some kind of battle scars. Luke wondered now why Brady didn’t hate him for having to lie the way he had, telling him Raymond was dead.

“I don’t know,” Brady said. “Jack and Karen are always working on something, a case. They never seem to agree. Well, no. Rather, Karen never agrees with whatever Jack says. I swear, she disagrees with him just because it was his idea. Then they do this big back-and-forth—and, by the way, Karen isn’t quiet. Jack starts out quiet but gets louder, and I can see how she provokes him. To tell you the truth, I think she really enjoys it, but I don’t think he has any idea what she’s doing and how she does it.

“They’re always in my business, asking about school, what I’m thinking, what I’m doing. They argue all the time, and when I said something to Karen about it, she said they don’t argue; they discuss and disagree and verbally spar. I pointed out to her that it sounded like arguing, and I also told her I think she enjoys it too much. She just smiled. Jack gets off on it, too, though, I think. Karen is so stubborn. She doesn’t let anything go. I find it easier not to say anything when she’s talking about something, or I just agree when she gets in my face. And now she’s doing my laundry, too. You have to tell her to stop.” Brady was sitting up straighter. Luke could see that his sister was getting under his skin.

Luke rested his hand on the counter and leaned back as he reached for the carafe of coffee as soon as it had filled enough, then poured it in the “My Favorite Son” mug, which he used every time he was there. It was his mug, the only one he ever wanted to drink from.

He slid his gaze over to Brady and watched as he lifted his glass of orange juice and downed the rest, knowing he didn’t drink coffee. “If you’ve picked up on anything about my sister, then you know you don’t tell Karen to stop anything. She’s going to do what she sets her mind to, and no one can convince her of anything until she’s good and ready. She wants to pick up after you, then you tell her to stop. You’re a big boy. Use your words with her, but I can’t guarantee she’ll listen.

“You’re her shiny new toy, you know. When Dad left, it hit Karen harder than anyone. She took it out on our mom, and she wasn’t nice about it. She was Dad’s favorite. We all knew it. Her getting her hands on you and not letting anyone else have you is just her way of dealing with the dad issue, though she’ll never admit it.”

Brady frowned. It was clear he still had a lot to learn about his sister, about all of them. Maybe Luke would call Karen later, maybe ask her to stop by, have a talk face to face about what was going on with her and Jack, then give her the spiel about dialing back her over-mothering of Brady. Then there was Rosemary. What was he going to do about her?

“So, girls, school?” he continued. “Come on, spill. There has to be something else.”

Brady set down his empty glass and stared at Luke with that mutinous gaze that let him know he wasn’t getting anything else.

“You know I have other ways of finding out,” Luke said. As Brady stepped off the stool, he could see he had grown, and he thought for a second that his little brother might have an inch on him now.

“Well, then knock yourself out,” Brady said. “As I told Karen and Jack in the car yesterday, school’s done for me. I have everything I need to graduate, and I’m not wasting another minute on any useless classes I don’t need. So I’m going to look for a job, something I’ve never had but always wanted. Now, at least Dad isn’t dragging me around the world before I can get settled anywhere, make friends, get a job, do the kinds of things normal people do. For the first time, I want to find something. I don’t care what it is, but I’m going to get a job. As for girls, well, I’m not dating or seeing anyone, and if I was, I wouldn’t tell you. Problems? Who doesn’t have any, especially considering who our father is? Anything else?”

Luke lifted his mug and took a swallow of coffee as he narrowed his gaze, expecting Brady to walk out. “Yeah, you asked about Rosemary,” he said. “Well, just so you know, while she’s here, treat her with respect, okay? Don’t jump right to judge, jury, and executioner because of what Owen and Ryan said. She’s nice, and I like her—a lot. She’s not her brother, and if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of it, if any of you knew even a few of the things I’ve done for this country, I’m pretty sure you would never want to speak with me again.”

He knew he sounded like an asshole, but if someone had done to his family what he and his team had done to Rosemary’s father, he’d likely have taken the same path as her brother.

Brady stared long and hard at Luke. “Fine, but what about Marcus, Suzanne, and Karen, when they find out? Have you thought of that?”

He heard the floor squeak and took in Rosemary as she stepped into the kitchen, wearing a robe of his that he never wore, her hair a mess. He wondered how close she was to packing and running out the door.

“Yeah, Luke, that’s a great question,” she said. “Good morning, Brady.” She strode in, seeing the coffeemaker and opening the cupboard to pull out a mug as if she knew where everything was. She poured herself a coffee before turning around in the silence, and Luke realized they were both waiting for him to say something.

“I’ll talk to them,” he said. “But they don’t know the whole story…”

That was all he got out before he heard a car door, then footsteps, then a key in the lock. The front door opened, which had him stepping out of the kitchen and into the hallway, where he saw his mom and Raymond.

Holy s**t!

“What are you doing here?” he said. “Thought you were enjoying the sun and sand.”

Raymond closed the door. He wore glasses and a ballcap, with the start of a beard. Iris kicked off her shoes, wearing a sweater that would’ve done nothing against the chill outside.

“Not when Charlotte is about to have the baby,” she said. “I wanted to be here, so here we are. It’s great to see you. Have you heard anything this morning from Marcus?”

He just shook his head, glancing over his shoulder to Brady, who had an odd look on his face as his mom and dad started into the kitchen. Luke took in the panic he hadn’t seen before from Rosemary, and he moved over to her, next to Brady, who was now leaning on the counter in silence. Luke wasn’t sure how to tackle this, and now, he was thinking she had been right about not coming over.

“Heard nothing yet,” he said. “We just got up, so we haven’t had a chance to call anyone. Besides, I’m sure Marcus will call and give us an update. Don’t babies take a while?”

His mom stood there, staring at Rosemary with a smile. He wondered whether it would still be there when she learned who she was. Raymond was right behind her, and just one look told Luke that his dad did know.

“This is Rosemary,” he said. He would’ve reached for her hand, but the way she stood, holding the coffee mug, her other wrapped across her waist, he knew she wasn’t about to make this easy. She’d gone into that defensive mode, as if getting ready for another attack. At this point, more questions might be the final straw for her. “But before you get all happy, Mom, she already took a s**t-kicking from Ryan and Owen, so if there are any more questions from anyone, I’ll say thanks, but if it’s all the same, we’ll be leaving.”

His mom was confused, but Raymond rested his hands on her shoulders, offered a smile to Rosemary, and said, “Rosemary, I heard a lot about you from Luke. Glad you could come, and it’s nice to meet you. Luke, we need to talk. Brady…”

Brady, who was standing with his arms crossed, turned to Luke as if he hadn’t heard his dad and said, “I’m taking the shower first.” Then he walked out of the kitchen, giving his dad a wide berth.

“I guess I need to talk to him,” Luke said.

Iris hadn’t pulled her gaze from Rosemary, and she pulled in a sharp breath. “Why would Ryan and Owen be upset with Rosemary? Did something happen? I think you should fill me in.” She dragged her gaze from Raymond over to Luke, who took in the way Rosemary stared down into her coffee, lost, angry, uncomfortable—likely all three.

“Because her brother was Ben Schwartz,” Luke said. “The Ben Schwartz who—”

“Who broke into Marcus’s place, terrorized me and Eva, held a gun to my head, and would have killed us,” his mom said, cutting him off. Her voice had risen, maybe from shock, a tone that was usually followed by a tongue-lashing of some kind. He wasn’t sure what to do next, and she breathed out in a way he hadn’t heard before.

“I see,” she said, then pressed her hands together and dropped them. “But that wasn’t you, Rosemary. Well, you know what? We’ve been flying all night to get home. I haven’t slept. I need a shower, and then I’m going to call Marcus and find out about Charlotte, how she is, and where my grandbaby is.”

The smile on his mom’s face was forced. He could see that as she dragged her gaze over to him and then back to Rosemary before saying, “Okay then. Well, sorry about this. Rosemary, it’s nice to meet you.”

Then she was gone, and that left Rosemary and Luke and his dad, who pulled off his glasses and rested them on the counter. Luke didn’t miss the puzzled expression on Rosemary’s face when he did.

“Luke, can I have a word with you?” Raymond said.

Rosemary rested her mug on the counter. “You know what? I’m going to…uh, leave you two.” She gestured to the living room, and he could see how rattled she was as she stepped out.

“So I see you listened to me,” Raymond said, watching Rosemary walk out before looking over to Luke with an expression he wasn’t entirely sure about.

“I did, but as with some things, Pops, I’m thinking it may not have been the smartest thing I’ve done.”

His dad said nothing as he looked back down the hall. What he was staring at or thinking, Luke didn’t know. “Well, I guess only you can decide that, considering the sneaking around you’ve been doing. You either keep doing that or come clean, but if you thought it was going to be easy, you should’ve known better.” He rested his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “And as I know better than anyone, you just need to give everyone some time. Let them get to know her. Is she anything like her brother?”

“No,” Luke said, biting the word out. “She’s not her brother.”

His dad smiled and inclined his head before stepping back. “Well, then everyone will know that. You just need to tell your siblings, and they’ll come around. I’m going to go join your mom. She wants to see all her kids. Oh, and just so you know, because I can’t really exist, my name’s Jake Peters now. I’m from California, but we’ll talk about my cover later. And, uh…” He glanced down the hall again before looking back over to Luke. “How you feel about Rosemary is all that matters. Give everyone time to get to know her. They’ll come around. I’ve seen you all together. Or you could go back to living how you think everyone expects you to, sneaking around, but that isn’t going to make anyone happy, especially you.”

“So what do you expect me to do?”

His dad smiled. “I expect you to find a way to figure it out. There’s always a way. If she makes you happy, then you find a way to get everyone to see that she isn’t her brother, just like your family isn’t responsible for what you do, what I do, what we’ve done.”

Raymond let his meaning sink in, then walked away, and Luke heard him tap on the bathroom door, where Brady was currently using up the hot water. “Hey, there’s a houseful here who needs the shower! Shut it down,” he called out.

That left Luke alone in the kitchen, knowing the easiest course of action would be to drive Rosemary home and say goodbye. But then, in everything he did and had done, he had never taken the easy way.