The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Iris spread mayonnaise on wholegrain bread, then added a slice of cheese and leftover sliced ham from the fridge, as well as some lettuce. She was very aware of how quiet Brady was as he sat on the stool at the island, just staring at the sandwich fixings on the cutting board. She added some mustard, then another slice of bread, then sliced it in half.

Brady was so different from her children. She didn’t know how to make sense of the fact that this was Raymond’s son. All she could think about was that he’d been with another woman. She’d been punishing herself because of everything that happened, only to learn that he had left her for Brady’s mother. She rested the sandwich on the plate and slid it in front of him.

“Here, eat something,” she said. “How about something to drink—water, juice, or I think there’s some soda? Not ideal this late, but…”

He lifted a sandwich half and took a bite, still wearing Luke’s hoodie, which was way too big for him. All he did was shrug. “I’m okay,” he said. “Thank you for this. It’s good, better than my dad makes…” He shoved another bite in his mouth.

She could see how hungry he was. At the same time, she didn’t know what to do with Raymond’s son. She reached for a glass in the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap, then slid it in front of him. “Not sure if there’s anything I can say, Brady, to make this better for you…”

“Why would he do it?” he said.

For a second, she didn’t know how to answer him, this teenage boy who seemed so very, very lost. “Do what, exactly, Brady? I’m not sure I’m clear on what you’re asking. I take it we’re talking about Raymond.”

He just shrugged, not looking at her. There was awkwardness there.

She could hear Luke in the other room. What he was doing, she didn’t know.

“You called him Raymond,” Brady said. “He tells everyone to call him Ray. I didn’t know he had a family before me. He said he left eighteen years ago. That’s what he told me today. I’ll be eighteen on October 16—so did I break up your family?”

For a second, she didn’t know what to say. When she heard the door and voices, Raymond’s voice, her heart thudded, and she couldn’t move. She hadn’t answered Brady, because how could she explain something that was beyond his control and couldn’t have been his fault?

“Brady, whatever this is, none of it is on you,” she said. “I don’t know what your dad told you about what happened…”

Then Raymond was walking into her kitchen, Luke and Marcus behind him. Those O’Connell blue eyes completely unsettled her. It wasn’t lost on her that the last time Raymond had been inside her house, it had been their house. They’d been a family, Iris and Raymond, and now he was someone else.

Brady didn’t move from where he sat, holding the sandwich, gripping it so hard that the mayonnaise oozed out. He was still chewing, leaning on the counter with his elbows, refusing to look at his father. She recognized the teenage anger she’d experienced a time or two with her kids, each in his or her own way.

There it was again, the way Raymond looked at her. She couldn’t remember him ever appearing uneasy, so damn confident. The moment stretched out, just the two of them. He didn’t look away from her, but then he did, giving everything to his son, who was staring at that sandwich as if it held all the answers.

Awkwardness lingered.

“Why are you here?” Brady said, adding more of an edge to an already uncomfortable situation.

Marcus lingered in the background, looking as if he’d been pulled from bed. She wasn’t sure why it bothered her that he’d shown up with Raymond. Evidently, his father had reached out to him.

“For you, son,” Raymond said. “You can’t be here. This isn’t okay. Iris, I’m sorry.”

All she could do was reach for the lid of the mayonnaise and put it back on. “Well, I’m sure you are, but still, this is where we are, isn’t it?” She slid her gaze over to Brady, who was staring at her. She wondered if he expected her to throw him out. “Brady, I know you’re angry, and you have a right to be…”

Brady shook his head and put his sandwich down on his plate. “I’m not going anywhere with him. Please tell him to go.” He was looking right at her, and she felt torn. She didn’t have to look over to Raymond to see that he wasn’t going to take this lying down.

He stepped around the island, beside Iris, as Brady was refusing to look his way. Having him standing so close to her, being there, was exactly what she didn’t want. Luke and Marcus were staring at them, and their expressions had her wanting to walk away. She had to stay, though, to be there for the young man in her kitchen, who’d had his world as he’d known it torn apart.

“Hey, don’t talk as if I’m not even here,” Raymond said. “I’m your father, and although you have a right to be upset, you don’t get to pull a stunt like this. You have any idea how worried I was that something had happened to you?”

“I’m fine, as you can see,” Brady snapped. She could feel Raymond tense.

“Okay, that’s it, we’re leaving,” Raymond said. “Thank Iris for the sandwich. Let’s go.” He snapped his fingers and gestured sharply, but Brady simply slid off the stool, leaving his sandwich on the plate, and took a step over to Marcus and Luke, then fisted his hands as if ready to fight.

“No, I’m not going anywhere with you,” he said. “You’re such a liar. I hate you! How could you lie to me? I don’t want to be with you right now. Iris, can I stay here?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, though, now looking over to Marcus and Luke, almost as tall as them. “You’re my brothers, right? Can I stay with one of you?”

Marcus rested a hand on his shoulder, and she knew what he was going to do, so she spoke without thinking.

“Brady, of course you can stay here,” she said. And what about her granddaughter, who was over there almost every day?

“Maybe that’s best for tonight,” Marcus said, looking over to her, his hand still on Brady’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Raymond said. She was forced to look up at him, standing so close to her.

“Look, considering the situation, Raymond, you have to understand that Brady needs some space,” she said. “A night away will likely do you both good. You know well that I’m not willing to—”

“Can I talk to you a second, in private?” he said, cutting her off quite sharply, and somehow he maneuvered her out of the kitchen, his hand on her arm. “Brady, finish your sandwich, and then we’re going,” he called out over his shoulder as if he hadn’t heard a word anyone said.

Once they were in the living room, he pulled his hand away and walked over to the window, looking out. It was something she noticed Luke doing a time or two when he was just back from one of his missions someplace overseas. Whatever it was he did, she had no idea. She knew only that he was in the special forces.

She glanced to the kitchen and could hear Luke, Marcus, and Brady talking, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She took in the man she’d loved so deeply, whom she hadn’t seen in nearly two decades. Here he was, in her living room, in the house he’d bought.

“Okay, Raymond, what is it?” she said. “It’s late. Everyone has had a trying day, and evidently, Brady doesn’t want to go home with you.”

“He can’t stay here,” he said, the blue of his eyes flickering with something absolutely immovable. This was a man she didn’t know, one who wasn’t about to be convinced of anything.

“Of course he can,” she said. “He’ll be fine. He can stay in the girls’ old room, where Alison and Eva sleep when they stay over. I’m sure a night away will have him thinking differently in the morning.”

“You don’t get it,” Raymond said. “It’s impossible. He can’t stay.”

Had she missed something? Even though this situation was about as bad as it could get, she also knew it could’ve been so much worse, considering all the lies, the secrets, the truth of who he really was.

“You know what, Raymond? The fact is that you’re the one who’s going to have to go tonight. I’m sorry, but I’m on Brady’s side here. You should be grateful that he showed up at my door instead of wandering around out there, lost. You should know that he’s a great kid, too. Give him the night, and then you two can talk tomorrow.”

He looked out the window again, then glanced back to the kitchen, where Marcus, Luke, and Brady were. Just something about it let her know, deep down, that he wasn’t telling her something.

“What are you doing?” she said. “Why do you keep looking out the window?” She knew it had come out rather sharply.

He was standing right there in front of her. He pulled his hand over his chin, and the way he looked at her had the knot in her stomach tightening even more. “Not sure, just a feeling I have. Just so we’re clear, I’m not walking out the door without Brady.”

Had he always been this stubborn? Likely where her children all got it from. She let out a sigh, as he seemed to be considering something, then shook his head.

“Well, then I think we’re at a standstill,” she said, “because you’re not dragging him out of here, by the way he’s dug in. He’s made his feelings clear. He’s not a little kid. You can’t just pick him up and make him leave.”

“No, he’s my son, Iris,” Raymond said. “I hear you loud and clear on how I can’t make him leave, but I’m not walking out the door without him.”

For a second, she couldn’t get her tongue to move. When she did, all that came out was “Excuse me?” She thought her voice squeaked.

“You heard me. Since he’s hell-bent on staying here, then evidently I am, too.”

There was no way, no goddamn way!

He slid off his jacket, tossed it on the chair, and gestured to the sofa. “I’ll take the sofa. So do you want to tell them, or do you want me to?” he said, though it wasn’t a question.

“I don’t want you here, Raymond.”

He pulled in a breath, and nothing in his expression told her he was willing to listen to reason. “I know you don’t, and I understand, but this is happening. I’m staying, so either you tell them in the kitchen or I will, because that’s the only choice I’m giving you.”