First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“Lex!” shouted Kieran with a huge smile as he jogged out to the car. “This is Johnny Connelly. Johnny, meet Lex.”


Lexi accepted his hand. It swallowed hers, the roughened callouses telling her that he maintained a hands-on role in his business, which elevated him immediately in her eyes. His smile, like his eyes, was warm and genuine.

“Nice to meet you, Lexi,” Johnny said. “Hey, Uncle Jack! Thanks for calling me out on this one. This place is incredible. Kieran has been walking me through it.”

The roar of a motorcycle announced yet another arrival. Lexi stiffened when she heard Ian’s voice behind her and approaching quickly.

“Johnny! Been awhile, man.” Ian greeted his cousin with a firm handshake and a genuine smile.

“Ian. Glad to see you made it back in one piece. Heard it was a tough one.”

Ian shrugged, brushing it off, but Lexi had seen the brief moment of darkness in his eyes, and it sent an unwelcome jolt of fear through her. She had known all of them had (or had planned to) enter the service right out of school – it was a family thing. She didn’t like to think about that, though.

“How’s Stace?”

Johnny’s green eyes practically glowed at the mention of his wife. “Hanging in there. The baby’s giving her a bit of a hard time, but you know Stace. She won’t ever admit it.”

Ian grinned. “Yeah. She’s as stubborn as you.”

Johnny chuckled. “Maybe even more so.” Turning to Lexi, he said, “So, you inherited this place from your grandmother?”

Lexi nodded. “I used to come here when I was little. I’d forgotten all about it until yesterday.”

“Kieran told me your father just passed. I’m sorry about that.”

She thanked him for the kind sentiments. “So tell me, what do you think?”

Johnny smiled. “I like her. No bullshit, just straight to the point – ah, sorry, Uncle Jack,” he added as the older man gave him a disapproving glance. “So, Lexi, are you looking to fix the place up for yourself or put it on the market?”

“I’ll most likely be putting it on the market,” she said, ignoring the laser-like precision of several pairs of luminous blue eyes boring into her. “My home is in Georgia now.”

Johnny nodded. “Kieran told me. You’re some kind of master chef or something, right?”

Lexi reddened. “Kieran exaggerates,” she said, shooting him a look. “But I do cook for a restaurant.”

Kieran snorted. “Yeah. The Celtic Goddess. The entire menu is her creation.”

Lexi cringed. She hated that name, but Aidan had insisted.

“No shit!” Johnny said, shooting another apologetic glance at Jack. “My wife loves that place! We hit it whenever we’re in Boston or Chicago. Never been to the one down south, though. Stace is always saying she wishes they’d open up one around here.”

“You travel a lot then?” Lexi asked, attempting to divert the attention away from herself.

“Yeah, Stace is an author, has to do these book things, you know. Gets us out of town a couple of times a year, but we haven’t been doing much lately because of the baby. She’s due any day now. It’s our first.”

His green eyes glowed with pride and excitement, and something else – fear. Instinctively, Lexi sensed that he was a lot more worried than he let on. She’d seen enough worry and fear in other’s eyes her whole life to recognize it instantly.

“What’s her favorite dish?”

“The pasta with the steak and olives.”

Lexi smiled. “That’s one of my favorites, too. Tell you what. If it’s okay with Uncle Jack, I’ll use his kitchen this afternoon and make some for her.”

Johnny beamed. “She would love that.”

“Then consider it done. Now about this house...”

“It’s a great house,” Johnny told her. “Foundation is good, solid. Structure is sound. Can’t remember when the last time was I came across stone like this,” he said approvingly. “Or saw a cellar with an honest-to-God cold spring. It needs some work, but nothing too major. Mostly cosmetic stuff. Biggest thing is the roof, you’ll want that replaced as soon as possible. Most of it these guys can handle,” he said, indicating the men who’d gathered around, “but I’ll oversee the reno personally if you agree.”

Lexi thanked him.

“Hey,” Johnny said with a grin, “Kieran says you’re family.”

“I’ll see you Saturday,” Johnny called back a short while later, getting into his truck. “And bring Lexi,” he added with a smile and a knowing laugh. “Stacey’s going to kill me if she finds out I met her and didn’t introduce them.”

“What’s on Saturday?” Lexi asked, turning to Kieran.

“The county fair. Official site of the annual Callaghan/Connelly family reunion.”