“Hey Mom,” Matt said tentatively. He emerged from the other bedroom, his gray eyes filled with concern.
“Hey,” she answered softly. “You okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. “Yeah. I really am.” Matt returned his mother’s hug; judging by the almost-desperate feel of it, he’d needed it every bit as much as she had.
*
Kieran watched the scene from the doorway. He’d been ready to bark at Faith for not keeping her word, but he changed his mind when he saw them together. As much as he wanted Faith back in his bed, in his arms, they needed this. And he was fairly certain Faith wasn’t going anywhere. If she was, he would find her.
He slipped back into the room quietly, opting for a shower and shave instead.
When he returned, he found Matt in one of the La-Z-Boys and Faith on the sofa. Both had cups of coffee in their hands, and looked as though they were in the midst of a deep, serious discussion. Two sets of unique gray eyes turned to him in unison, and Kieran felt a possessive tug deep in his chest. They were his. Both of them.
“Here,” Faith said, patting the seat beside her. “Matt was filling me in on everything I, uh, missed, yesterday. I made you some coffee.”
Kieran gladly accepted the cup with thanks, but he didn’t sit down. There were some things they had to get straight, and the sooner that was taken care of, the better off they would all be.
He drained his cup, briefly taking note of the fact that Faith had made his exactly the way he liked it (of course she did, she was his croie, she would do everything perfectly for him), and faced the two of them.
He gave a meaningful glance to Matt, who nodded soberly. The kid knew what was coming. Kieran had a long heart-to-heart with him the day before, and Matt had given his full and whole-hearted support.
“Know this, Faith,” he began, keeping his voice carefully modulated – soft, yet firm. “You are my croie – my heart and my soul. I’m sorry if you can’t accept that just yet, but you will, and I won’t give up until you do. If you run, I’ll be two steps behind you. If you hide, I will find you. Because there is no other option.”
Faith gazed up at him, her eyes widening slightly. “Okay.”
He stood there, immense and immovable, ready for a battle. He was through with stepping lightly. Faith was his, that’s all there was to it. And now that he’d started, he had no intention of stopping until she’d heard him through till the end.
“And I’ll tell you something else, too,” he said, refusing to be sidelined by her willful pride. “I couldn’t care more for Matt than if he was my own flesh and blood. I don’t know much about being a father, but I can promise I’ll do my damnedest to do right by him, and I’ll always be there for him, whatever he needs.”
“Alright.”
She was not going to wear him down with her illogical arguments, he decided stubbornly. “You can just forget all that bullshit about having to carry every burden on your own shoulders, because mine are a lot broader than yours, sweetheart. And while we’re on that subject, you will drive a safe and decent car and you will have a workable phone so I am not batshit crazy with worry over whether you’re broken down or laying bloody in a ditch somewhere.”
He paused as he blew out a breath and crossed his arms over his chest, setting his face in what he hoped was a stern look that let her know he meant business. She stared up at him with those big, soft gray eyes, her face much more relaxed than he’d expected.
“Anything else?”
Kieran blinked, the fury he’d prepared for not yet forthcoming. She meant to lull him into a sense of complacency first, obviously. A clever trap, but one he would not be falling for today.
“Yes, actually. I want you to be happy. If you want to work? Great. Go to school? Awesome. Stay at home? Fine by me. I am totally cool with whatever you want to do, but you will allow me to provide for my family, which, in case I wasn’t clear enough, now includes you and Matt.”
The corners of her mouth twitched. “Are you done?”
“Almost.” This was going much easier than he’d expected. It made him suspicious, scared the hell out of him, really, but Callaghan men were renowned for their courage and fortitude in the face of danger. He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, then went down on bended knee.
“I want you to marry me, Faith. Be my wife, and let me take care of you for the rest of our lives.”
*
She stared at him for a full minute while she tried to control the irregular pounding of her heart against the walls of her chest, as well as how to breathe. Finally, when she was capable of speech again, she opened her mouth.
“No,” she said softly.