Maggie came out of the house with a steaming mug of gingerroot tea to find a few of her sisters-in-law sitting at the picnic table, watching their husbands in what had to be the roughest game of dodgeball ever. When these men “played” against one another, it was serious business. All former SEALs, the brothers had their own off-the-books special ops team and kept themselves in peak condition. Regardless of the game, there was sure to be lots of painful, physical contact as the brothers tried to best each other.
A brief scan assured her that their cheering, wide-eyed children weren’t in the fall-out zone; they watched from the safety of the large, multi-leveled tree house their fathers had spent several weekends building. Complete with shingled-roofs, safety-glassed windows, and furniture, it was a favorite spot among the kids (some of them bigger than others).
Jack, however, was nowhere to be found.
“Now where did that stubborn man get to?” she asked no one in particular.
“Which stubborn man would you be referring to?” Lexi asked, laughing. “It could apply to any male here.” A round of knowing, agreeing chuckles followed.
“True enough,” Maggie grinned, “but I was talking about Dad.”
“I saw him heading down to the pumpkin patch with Riley a little while ago,” Nicki volunteered. “Why?”
“He said he wasn’t feeling well. I made him some tea.”
“You know, I didn’t want to say anything, but he didn’t look so good earlier,” noted Lacie quietly.
“I noticed the same thing,” admitted Rebecca, lowering her voice as she leaned forward. “Any idea what’s wrong?”
“He said indigestion,” Maggie said.
“But you think it’s more than that.” Maggie felt Nicki’s diamond-like eyes studying her and scanned the field again.
Nicki was the only female who actively participated in the brothers’ covert ops team missions. Before marrying Sean Callaghan, she’d been a member of the Chameleons, another secret, “nonexistent” organization that dealt primarily with vice-related crime and meted out justice to the scumbags who managed to elude the legal system. She was every bit as skilled and deadly as her husband, and just as protective of her family, which included the family patriarch.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because your eyes are doing that weird swirling thing again.”
Maggie had been told on numerous occasions that her eyes “swirled” sometimes, usually when her mental wheels were turning. Though she’d secretly looked in the mirror several times, she’d never seen it herself. Maggie knew they all thought she had some psychic ability, but she routinely denied it. It was more like a kind of acute insight into what might happen, or a particularly strong from of women’s instinct. Her grandmother had been the same way.
The truth was, she was worried. She was certain Jack hadn’t been entirely truthful, but that wasn’t what bothered her. The Callaghan men didn’t lie, exactly, but they often omitted bits and pieces of the truth, believing that if revealed, would cause unnecessary worry. Being a part of the family for as long as she had, Maggie had become quite adept at sorting things out and reading between the lines.
No, what concerned her was the heavy sense of dread she felt, the one that was getting heavier by the minute, like an approaching storm. Intuition, or awareness, or auras—whatever name put to the sense—told her that something was wrong, and she felt it most strongly when she was around Jack.
She wasn’t about to share that with the others, though, at least not until she had more information. What she really needed to do was talk to her husband, Michael. He was a doctor, as well as being practical and level-headed, and the perfect complement to her intuitive, often illogical feelings.
Maggie looked across the yard to where the guys were fully engaged in what had become a no-holds barred display of masculine one-upmanship. Michael had the ball and threw with perfect aim, catching Jake with a solid shot in the back. He whooped in victory, at least until Ian came up behind him and pulled his shorts down around his ankles.
“Damn fine ass,” Taryn commented casually, appearing from the path leading up from the creek. She sported a streak of mud across her forearm, but was otherwise none the worse for wear as she dropped down onto one of the bench seats.
“Kind of standard for the Callaghan men,” Lexi added, but her eyes, too, were cast that way. The newest to their sisterhood, Faith, was still getting used to the family antics. Her cheeks flushed a dark red as she suddenly found the cloud formations above them utterly fascinating.
Taryn, who clearly had no problem enjoying the view, put her hand up for a high-five. “I know, right?”
“Seriously?” Maggie said, shooting her a look of mock disbelief. “You two are ogling my husband’s ass?”