“Jimmy, you’re always taking care of the family,” she cooed at him. As she released him, he went and joined Quinn at the dining room table, finding a spot to sit among the seven settings that were carefully placed and surrounded by hot, delicious- smelling dishes.
“Rory, you’re going to get Jimmy in trouble one of these days.” Rory just nodded, barely listening to his mother. He had long ago mastered the talent of staying silent, tuning out his family and focusing on the calming sensation of the white pills he had taken just before arriving.
“In fact, the rest of you boys could learn a thing or two from your little brother. For God’s sake, I’m going to die before I reach forty at this rate.”
“Well, then, we should probably have already planned the funeral since forty was like fifteen years ago, Ma,” Kane joked under his breath to Quinn and Jimmy, entering the dining room and joining them at the table. Rory had yet to join his brothers at the table, but was quick to join their convulsing laughter at Kane’s barb.
“Well, if you’re planning my funeral, make sure to note that I want my gravestone to say ‘world’s greatest mother to ungrateful sons,’” Dee huffed irritably.
“Ah, ma, we’re just kidding,” Quinn assured her. “So hilarious.” “Show your mother some damn respect, boys.” A booming, deep voice thundered
as their father, Seamus Kavanagh, entered the dining room followed by their cousin, Casey. Ace began wagging his tail from where he stood next to Dee. He rarely warmed up to anyone, but he had taken a liking to both Rory’s parents over the years. Between the two of them, Rory, and Casey, Ace’s list of people he liked was pretty short.
Seamus’s large frame dominated any room, even though his silver eyes were normally smiling and kind. Rory noted that his dad seemed to have acquired more gray hair even in the short time since he had last seen him. Despite his graying hair, Seamus was definitely handsome for his early sixties. Separately, his features might seem odd—a large, flat nose and recessed eyes under thick brows with salt-and-pepper hair. However, taken altogether his face was strong and definitively Irish.
“See, now you’ve upset your father,” Dee said matter-of-factly as she placed a plate of green beans on the table.
“Smells delicious in here, Dee.” Seamus kissed her rosy cheek as he wandered over to the head of the table, then lowered his voice. “And you don’t look a day over thirty-five.”
She beamed at her husband, and her smile grew even wider when she finally saw her niece behind him. While Casey was actually Seamus’s late brother’s daughter, they had taken her in when she was very young and raised her as their own. She might technically be their cousin, but every Kavanagh boy at the table thought of her as their baby sister.
“Casey! I thought you were going to nap all day after how hard you worked at Legends this morning, mo iníon,” Dee teased the young woman as they all took their seats.
“I was up late last night studying. Midterms this week.” She yawned slightly at the reminder, before leaning over the edge of her seat and giving Ace a quick pat on his head just to be nice.
Rory knew she didn’t like dogs much, but she was always friendly to his dog anyway. He gave her a warm smile at the gesture as Ace made his way underneath the table and sat waiting for someone to drop a scrap of food. Inevitably, Dee always would sneak him something, even though she denied it.
“What are you worried about studying for?” Quinn scoffed at her, shoving a buttered roll into his mouth.
“Seriously, Casey,” Rory joined the conversation, “you get better grades than any of us ever did.”
Casey smiled warmly at Rory, who had taken the chair next to hers, gently squeezing her shoulder as he sat. She had long ago carved a special place in his heart, given that he was the oldest and she the youngest. He felt the need to take care of her, especially after her family had died and left her all alone in the world. He had been there for her during the worst moment of her life and since then, their bond had become impenetrable.
“That’s because she actually puts some effort into her work. If any of you jokers had tried studying as often as she does, I wouldn’t have wasted thousands of dollars on your tuitions. Might as well have just written a check to the shitty nightclubs by the school instead.” Seamus glared at them.
“Rory got his degree in fucking, fighting, and partying.” Kane laughed, but admiration was in his tone.
“Kane’s jealous,” Quinn snorted as Rory flashed him a mischievous smile. “I feel like I’m missing a story here,” Casey added. “Just that they need to learn to stop using their fists everywhere but the damn ring.
Now which one of you kids wants to say grace?” Seamus not-so-subtly changed the topic to Rory’s scuffle last night at O’Leary’s.
Rory and his brothers were used to their father’s hostility and knew all too well that it was mostly for show, hiding the caring, loving father underneath. Everyone ducked their heads and avoided eye contact, hoping not to be picked to lead the prayer. Dee pressed her hands together, bowing her head.
“Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts that we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.” She spoke solemnly and quickly, ending with making the sign of the cross over her chest.
Quinn smirked at Rory, who had no idea why their mother kept trying to pretend they were the perfect Irish Catholic family. No one at the table, not even his mother, had a spotless record. They were a Christmas-and-Easter kind of family, and always would be.
“So, Rory, are you dating anyone?” Dee asked out of nowhere. Rory coughed into his spoonful of potatoes in surprise.
“Ma, come on, can I get one week without those questions?” He griped as his brothers smirked at him.
“An té nach bpósann níl ach uaigneas dilte dósan, Rory,” Dee told him. “I just don’t want you to end up alone. I want a daughter-in-law, and grandkids!”
Rory rolled his eyes, having heard his mother tell him a million times that a man who does not marry will be lonely. It was an old Irish saying that he was more than a little tired of. He was only twenty-eight, and a lot less worried about it than his mother was.
“Yeah, Rory, you wouldn’t want to be lonely,” Quinn teased.
“Hey, you’re four years behind him, but you need to start thinking about finding a wife soon, too.” Dee turned her attention to Quinn.
Rory groaned. “Can we talk about literally anything else?”
“Kane has started training at Legends, Rory.” Seamus volunteered a new topic, scooping a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
“Trying for regional this spring?” Rory asked, noticing that Kane had become a lot more muscular recently. He wondered why he hadn’t seen that last night at O’Leary’s.
“That’s the goal. Follow in your footsteps.” Kane inspected his brother, a hopeful beg for acceptance on his face.
Rory nodded, noting the expression, but keeping his features flat. He loved his brothers and wanted them to succeed, but nothing about the world of MMA fighting was appealing to him anymore. At least that’s what he was trying to convince himself.
“I think it would be good if you started training him, Rory. He needs professional coaching. He has the power, but not the knowledge.” Seamus spoke as if Kane wasn’t even there.
Rory avoided looking at his father and noticed Quinn glancing between them, obviously feeling the tension in the air. Anytime fighting came up in the last year, things turned awkward. No one ever wanted to directly call Rory on his injury, yet he could tell everyone was thinking about it.
“My leg still hurts.” His only response as he turned his attention back to his plate, piling corn onto his fork.
Concern etched his mother’s face. “Still? Have you been back to the doctor?”
“Nothing they can do.” He stood and took his glass back over to the liquor cabinet for a refill.
“Bullshit,” Seamus said. “It’s been a year; you did ten months of physical therapy. I’m
not asking you to get back in the cage, just to train your brother.”
“Pop, I’ll be fine. There are plenty of fighters at Legends that can train me,” Kane offered, making Rory glad to have any interruption that might divert attention from him. Seamus ignored his son’s remark and continued to stare at Rory.
“I just want you to get back to doing what you loved, son. I’m not trying to be a hard-ass, but your mother and I worry. You’re out getting in bar fights, drinking your weight in whiskey.” Seamus’s tone softened. “What are we supposed to think?”
Rory exhaled loudly as he took in everyone around the table, each person’s worry tearing through him like a knife. He could feel the pity, the one thing he hated more than all else.
They wanted him to be the confident fighter he used to be. The Rory that they could handle and understand, not the quiet drunk who rarely came around anymore. He frowned, knowing he might never be able to give them what they wanted.
He wasn’t even sure that he ever wanted to be the Rory he once was again, but he knew he owed it to his family to at least try. Kavanaghs took care of each other, and he had a duty to do the same for Kane.
“Fine, be at the club by seven tomorrow.” Rory pointed at Kane, who nodded excitedly. “Now, can we please get back to this delicious meal Ma made?”
The tension deflated from the room and smiles were passed around along with gossip and news of the week. Rory watched them, pretending to be interested in the conversations that were overlapping each other.
Giving up, he stood and went for his third refill of whiskey in the kitchen, discreetly swallowing a few pills with it when he was out of eyesight. Ace trotted after him and made a low moaning sound when he saw Rory’s pill bottle, but Rory shot him a warning look that caused the dog to quiet down. As the liquid filled his stomach, the anxiety Rory had been feeling melted away, replaced by the warm, soothing sensation he loved.
Keep Reading Breaking a Legend!
Download this book, and the others in the Kavanagh Legends series, by visiting Sarah’s website at http://booksbysarahrobinson.net/my-books/kavanagh-legends/
Please Note: This is an MMA fighter novel and will contain themes of violence. It is also published by Penguin Random House’s Loveswept.
About the Author
Photo Credit: Valerie Bey
Sarah Robinson is the Top 10 Barnes & Noble and Amazon Bestselling Author of multiple series and standalone novels, including The Photographer Trilogy, Kavanagh Legends series, the Forbidden Rockers series, and Not a Hero: A Marine Romance. A native of Washington, D.C., Robinson has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forensic and clinical psychology. She is married to a wonderful man who is just as much of an animal rescue enthusiast as she is, and together they own way too many animals to be considered sane.
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Also by Sarah Robinson
The Photographer Trilogy
(Romantic Suspense)
Tainted Bodies
Tainted Pictures
Untainted
The Photographer Trilogy Boxset (includes deleted scene!)
(Purchase any of The Photographer Trilogy, including the discounted boxset here!)
Forbidden Rockers Series
(Rockstar Romances)
Logan’s Story: A Prequel Novella
Her Forbidden Rockstar
Rocker Christmas: A Logan & Caroline Holiday Novella
Logan Clay: The Box Set
Her Dangerous Drummer (Coming June 29, 2017 to the Hope Falls Kindle World)
(Purchase any of the Forbidden Rockers here!)
Kavanagh Legends Series
(MMA Fighter Standalone Romances)
Breaking a Legend
Saving a Legend
Becoming a Legend
Chasing a Legend (Coming August 22, 2017)
Kavanagh Christmas (Coming November 6, 2017)
(Purchase any of the Kavanagh Legends here…also on audio!)
EXPOSED Series
(Hollywood Standalone Romances)
NUDES
BARE (Coming 2018)
(Purchase any of the Exposed series here)
Standalone Novels
Not a Hero: A Bad Boy Marine Romance (Purchase here!)
More books and series by Sarah Robinson are coming soon, check her website for the latest news and releases, or subscribe to her newsletter to never miss one!
Signed paperbacks are also available on the Author’s Website, as well as merchandise!
NUDES: A Hollywood Romance (Exposed Book 1) Page 22
