First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“Not even concern for his daughter?” Ian found it hard to believe that a father could ignore that kind of behavior, especially against someone as innocent and loving as Lexi. Not to mention that old-generation Irish men were known for being extremely protective of their women and children.

A shadow fell over Shane’s face. “There’s a lot more to it than that,” he said cryptically. Before Ian could ask what he meant, Shane continued. “You really don’t remember anything about her, do you?” he asked, considering Ian thoughtfully. “Lexi would never put her father in that sort of a position - where he would have to choose one over the other. She did the next best thing. She started hanging around us. Instant big brothers.” He grinned. “Except for you, of course. We kept her far away from you.”

“Yeah? And why is that?”

“For one thing, you only thought with your dick back then. Christ, Ian, some things never change.”

Ian scowled and shot him a withering look, but he knew it was true. There were some things he was not especially proud of.

“But for another,” Shane continued, “Lexi had it bad for you, man. She couldn’t be in the same room with you without starting to stutter and knocking things over. It was kind of embarrassing, really. Glad she’s past that.”

“Yeah,” Ian said, his voice sounding strange even to his own ears. Shane shot him a suspicious glance.

“Hey, where were you last night anyway?” Shane asked suddenly. Too suddenly for Ian’s comfort.

“With someone.” He kept his eyes on Shane purposefully. Now was not the time for one of Shane’s psychic bursts of insight. He needed to keep his answers truthful without revealing everything. He slammed his mental shields down around the images of Lexi now permanently burned into his brain. Images of her so adorable and shy on the bus; of her eyes lighting up with excitement at the burgers he’d brought her; her body flushed and hot and slick for him; the look on her face when she made love to him with her mouth...

“Well, duh,” Shane said, interrupting Ian’s recollections. “Whoever she was, she did a number on you. You’ve been walking around in a daze all day.” He paused, sitting back and tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I know it wasn’t Kayla.”

Ian looked up sharply. Why did everyone assume he’d be with Kayla? And how did Shane know he wasn’t?

“She came around looking for you,” Shane answered, correctly guessing at least one of Ian’s questions. “Got real pissy when we said we didn’t know where you were.”

“Whatever.” Ian was tired of Kayla. Really, really tired. And he had no desire to discuss her any more. “So why’d she leave?”

“’Cause no one else around here can stand her company for more than five minutes. And Taryn scares us, man.”

What? It took him a moment to figure out what Shane was talking about. “No, you moron, not Kayla. Lexi. Why did Lexi blow town?”

A definite shadow passed over Shane’s face this time. “Ah, right. Well, things got worse over at the O’Connells. Lexi was happy with us, and that pissed Kayla off. Seems that Kayla had a bit of a crush on you, too. And Jake. Me and Sean. Mick. And –“

Ian rolled his hand in a “get on with it” gesture. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

“Well, the story goes that Kayla must have gone whining to mommy about it because one day, Patricia decided that with Lexi ‘maturing’ it wasn’t right for her to spend so much time with us, which, in retrospect, was probably a good thing, though none of us ever viewed her as anything more than a little sister. Brian apparently agreed, and told her she couldn’t hang out with us anymore. Kieran got really pissed – you know how close they were – and talked to Dad. Dad tried to talk some sense into Brian, but he just wouldn’t listen. Lex ran away a couple of times, but we always found her and brought her home.” Shane chuckled. “One time Kieran snuck her into his room to keep her from spending the night in the woods alone. Dad found out and nearly hit the roof.”

Something ugly reared in Ian’s chest. “Kieran and Lexi?”

“It wasn’t like that, man. Not everyone’s a whore like you.” Ian scowled again, but Shane went on. “Kier was just trying to protect her, give her a safe place to crash. We all were.”

Ian nodded, the pressure in his chest momentarily subsiding and then filling instead with something much heavier.

“But that’s not the whole story, is it?” Ian asked, the dread building in his gut.

“No. Something happened. And before you ask, I don’t know what. But it was bad, real bad. Next thing we know, Lexi’s gone and no one’s saying anything. It wasn’t even Brian that took her away – it was Dad that drove her to the airport that day and put her on a plane. That should tell you something.”

“And you have no idea why?”