First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“What is he talking about?” Lexi said, narrowing her eyes at Ian over her baby’s head.

“You’re coming home with me,” Ian informed her, placing the overnight bag on the chair.

“The hell I am.”

Ian ignored her, pulling out a pair of jeans, and a cotton T. He made a show of holding up the silken thong and matching bra for a moment, admiring them, before adding them to the pile. When his eyes met hers again they held a promise she hadn’t seen there in a long, long time.

He laid the clothes beside her, pulling Patrick back into his arms. “Come on, buddy,” he said. “Let’s let mommy get dressed. Unless she needs help, that is.” His eyes flashed at her again, raking across her body and Lexi felt a quick, sudden spasm across her middle. He held her gaze for a long moment, as if daring her to defy him.

Taryn chose that moment to breeze into the room. “Easy there, big guy,” she said, pushing Ian toward the door. “I got this one.”

Ian looked back at her one more time, and she thought she saw a flash of disappointment in them. Surely it was just a residual effect of the happy juice Michael had been pumping into her.

“Ready, Lex?” Taryn asked.

A familiar band tightened around her chest, the instinctual warning that told her she’d been set up. “Et tu?” she said icily.

Taryn laughed, looking happier than Lexi had seen her in ages. “You bet your ass,” she said with a grin that extended from ear to ear. “You’re coming back to the Pub, which means you and I are going to have some real quality girl time, Lex. And, might I say, it’s about time. Too much testosterone, not enough estrogen in that place, you get me?”

When Lexi made no move to get out of bed, Taryn whipped the sheet from Lexi’s legs, ignoring her death stare. “I don’t want to go to the Pub,” Lexi said, hating the childlike pout she heard in her own voice.

“Tough shit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Lexi had always secretly admired Taryn for her hard-ass attitude. But now that she was on the receiving end of it, not so much.

Lexi tried to pull away from Taryn as the other woman was coaxing her out of bed, but Taryn’s grip was like iron. Was Taryn that strong, or had Lexi allowed herself to become that weak?

“You’re a real bitch, you know that?”

Rather than be insulted, Taryn laughed again. “I’ve been trying to tell everyone that for years. Don’t know why everyone acts so surprised. Now come on. Everybody’s waiting on you.”

––––––––

Lexi tried to hold her head high as she was led in through the private, back entrance of Jake’s Irish Pub, Ian’s strong hand stubbornly held at the small of her back. If she hadn’t let herself get so weak she would have kicked him good and hard. As it was, he didn’t even acknowledge the few times she’d tried to stomp on his toes, other than the slight flexing of his hand in warning.

“Try to move away from me,” he’d whispered against her ear earlier, “and I will sling you over my shoulder and paddle your ass.” It was an empty threat, she knew, but it still sent a shiver up and down the length of her spine.

Every available space in the oversized kitchen was filled with Callaghans. She felt almost as awkward as she had the first time she’d been here more than a decade ago. She had the sudden, intense urge to make them all a batch of cookies. But instead of Tollhouse morsels, she’d slip in some chocolate Ex-lax...

The welcome was understated, but sincere. Each of them hugged her, and with each embrace, she felt the anger slipping away a little more, stripping her down to the part of her that scared her the most – her heart. It was the streaming sixty-second video feed from Kieran, stationed God-only-knew-where, though, that broke through the last of her shields.

“I’m coming home soon, Lex,” he said into the camera, “and I’m hoping you’ll be there when I do.”

Lexi suddenly felt ashamed. Somewhere in her battles with Ian she’d forgotten how much Kieran’s friendship and support meant to her. By shutting them all out, she was doing to them exactly what Ian was doing to her. And she knew better than anyone how much that hurt.

“I’m so sorry, Kier,” she whispered into the mobile device. “I’ll try.” From somewhere behind her, Taryn sniffed and excused herself while the others exited quietly.





Chapter Twenty-Nine




Ian sensed Lexi’s rising tension as she looked around, no doubt bemused by what she saw. Her clothes, make-up, and a few other personal items had been moved into Ian’s suite of rooms on the third floor. Riley and Patrick would be sharing a nursery, he told her. At the moment, both children were on the floor, Patrick eagerly pulling toys from the brightly-colored storage box and offering them to Riley while Taryn watched over them protectively.