by Natalie Ann
“My boy does have good taste. Look at that thing.” Claire turned to Sean. “Your brothers-in-law are going to hate you.”
“Why?”
“Because your sisters aren’t going to be able to stop talking about how Carly could knock one of the kids’ eyes out with that rock.”
Carly giggled over that assessment and shouldn’t have been surprised that Claire was so blunt about it either. “Sean gave me his heart,” she said holding the ring up and looking at it softly, then running a fingertip over it. “We know how big of a heart he has, so I guess it makes sense.”
Claire had stepped back from the hug to make a comment to Sean, but just now she pulled her forward again, kissed her cheek and said, “Welcome to the family.” Then she pushed Carly back quickly, almost clumsily and said, “Excuse me, I’ve got to call the girls.”
Carly looked at her watch, less than five minutes, Sean was right again.
“That was really sweet what you said to my mother.”
“What’s that?”
“That I have a big heart.”
She placed her arms around his waist, tipped her head and whispered, “It’s so true. Even if you gave me a tiny little chip of a diamond, I’d still think the same thing. And I’d still say it to everyone.”
“But you’re happy I didn’t give you a little chip, aren’t you?” he asked, grinning.
She knew he was joking, but she wasn’t and wanted him to know. “Sean, you didn’t even have to give me a diamond at all. Your love, that’s all I want.”
He dropped his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, then opened them back up. “You’re all I want.”
***
Not surprising, Carly and Sean went to dinner at the pub that night. Patrick had to work until eight and he wanted to see them. Claire had stayed at home and said she had some wrapping and baking left to do still. So Sean and she showed up for an early dinner around four, hoping to have time to talk to Patrick before the dinner rush showed up.
He’d already known about the engagement. Not that Claire called to tell him, because she hadn’t, but Anna worked at the pub part time and she’d been there when Claire made the first call to her oldest daughter.
The minute Carly and Sean walked in the door, Patrick made his way from behind the bar and rushed forward, shaking Sean’s hand and bringing him in for a hug. It was so nice to see a father not afraid to show his emotions to his children.
Carly had noticed that on the last visit. Not just with Patrick, but also Sean’s brothers-in-law were always hugging, kissing, tossing a kid in the air, or plopping them on his lap. Not just their own kids either, but their nieces and nephews.
No one was afraid to show that side of themselves in the Callahan clan. As much as Sean joked about being labeled as sensitive, it seemed most of the men in his family had that trait, even if they tried to hide it.
When Patrick was done with Sean, he reached over, hugged her tight, kissed her cheek and said, “I knew if you made it through Thanksgiving, you weren’t going anywhere.”
It was such a sweet, yet sincere statement. “What can I say? I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment.”
“Sassy. She needs that to keep up in this family. Good for you, Carly,” Patrick said, praising her.
It felt right to her to be praised by Sean’s father. She’d never felt praise from a man before in her life. Well, that wasn’t true—she’d felt it from Sean, but other than him, no one else.
She didn’t need it; she was good on her own. She really never got much of it from her mother, and she understood why. Her mother had all she could do to manage her own life. Carly spent more time praising her mother on her accomplishments and her strength to pull it together, that she never expected to get it in return.
Her grandmother was the one that praised Carly the most, but still not often. Big events—graduations, her first job teaching and when she won the award earlier this year—never the little things. She always knew her mother and grandmother were proud of her, but they didn’t voice it, and she didn’t need them to; knowing was enough for her.
But hearing it now, she’d never realized how much it would warm her, the pleasure it would bring her. It was a nice feeling, a really nice feeling, one of belonging.
“Your parents must be so happy. I bet your father can’t wait to walk you down the aisle. Proudest days of my life, handing over my girls to their husbands.”
“That’s because you knew they were finally out of the house and bossing someone else around,” Sean had said after he eyed her. She knew he saw her hesitate on what to say to Patrick’s statement.
“So true, and you know it,” Patrick confirmed. “Still, I bet your father can’t wait,” he said again, addressing Carly.
She cleared her throat and put a forced smile on her face. “I haven’t seen my father in over twenty years, but my mother is thrilled, and so is my grandmother. They’re all I’ve ever needed.” And she meant it. Truly.
She didn’t have the most normal of childhoods. She didn’t have the white picket fence lifestyle that she always secretly wanted, or the doting mother and father, but she was loved and she knew it. It wasn’t said often, but she felt it and that was all that mattered.
Deep down she knew what she just said to Patrick was true: her mother and grandmother were thrilled for her.
“Then that’s his loss, isn’t it?” Patrick jumped in to say.
“Absolutely,” she said back strongly, meaning it more than ever before, more than she’d ever meant anything before. She was strong on her own and always had been.
“Come on back and grab a few seats at the bar. Anna will be out soon. I won’t even have to tell her. She’ll sense you’re here and will want to get a look at the rock on your hand.”
Carly thought that was funny since she hadn’t noticed Patrick even looking at the ring. Then again, she should have known by now that Sean’s parents didn’t miss a thing.
Once seated at the bar, Patrick filled a pint of dark beer for Sean and grabbed her a glass of white wine, the same as she drank last time. That he remembered shouldn’t have surprised her, but she was touched he did. Placing the glass in front of her, he asked, “Did you make those pretzels again for me?”
He had the same charming smile and crinkle to his hazel eyes that Sean had. She couldn’t help but love that she was falling for his whole family, even as crazy and loud as they were. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t make them this time.”
His crestfallen face was hysterical, but he recovered fast. “That’s okay. Claire has been baking cookies for days. I’ll get to steal a few of them when she isn’t looking.”
“Don’t eat too many of them,” she said, and saw Sean chuckle into his glass.
“I won’t.” He pouted slightly, then eyed Sean. “Just what I need, another woman watching what I eat.”
“Now you know how I feel,” Sean said, complaining.
“You only have to deal with it a handful of times, and they give you more food. They take half of mine away.”
“I don’t think Carly was telling you not to eat too much for the reason you think,” Sean said slyly.
“Really? Then why?” he asked, perking up a bit. “In a minute,” he said to someone at the bar who raised his hand for another beer.
“Don’t you need to wait on him?”
“He’s a regular; he doesn’t mind,” Patrick said, but Carly watched as he filled another pint of beer.
She pulled her pocketbook up and set it on the bar, then pulled out a small white box, and slid it toward him. “Our little secret. Hide it where no one can see it before the rest of it comes out.”
Patrick slid the beer down to his customer without looking, and quickly snatched the box off the bar and opened it up greedily. He closed his eyes and inhaled softly. “Fudge. You made homemade fudge, and you brought me my own box to hide. Sean, if you weren’t already engaged to her, I’d be breathing down your neck to know why.” He grabbed a small sample o
f the peanut butter fudge, took a bite and exhaled out slowly. “This is the best I’ve ever had.”
“I told you he loves fudge,” Sean said, looking at her. She’d wanted to know what his father’s favorite treat was. He’d been so nice and kind to her on the last visit and she wanted to do something special just for him. She’d never done anything special for a father figure before in her life, never even wanted to, but for some reason she had the strongest urge to for Patrick. Maybe as a silent thank-you for how Sean turned out. “She made it just for you, Dad.”
“You did?” Patrick asked, and Carly could see his eyes misting over. Wasn’t that just the sweetest thing? This big burly man serving beer to his customers and getting all teary-eyed that she thought to make him fudge.
“I did. Sean told me chocolate and peanut butter were your favorites, so that is your little secret stash. But I also made maple walnut and vanilla peppermint.”
Before Patrick could reply, Anna was swinging open the door from the kitchen. “Dad, why didn’t you tell me they were here?” and she was rushing forward and grabbing Carly’s hand before anything else. “Let me see that ring.”
After she hugged Carly, congratulated her and swatted Sean on the shoulder for keeping it a secret, she gave him a hug too. “What did you just put behind the bar, Dad?” she asked.
“What are you talking about?” he questioned her, then eyed Carly, hoping she would cover for him.
Carly didn’t have a chance to think of a reply before Anna was walking behind the bar and reaching underneath, where Patrick had hidden the box. “What’s this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. Opening the top, she frowned, looked at her father, ready to scold, then to Carly’s surprised face, she asked, “Where’s mine? I won’t tell if you give me my own box, too.”
Carly laughed. She couldn’t help it—at that moment she honestly felt part of the family.
Heart Shaped
“Thank you, Uncle Sean and Aunt Carly!” Sean turned his head to see his niece Brittany as she uttered those words loudly, then watched as she rushed to Carly’s side and started asking questions about the camera. He’d never been so ignored by the kids in his family in his life.
It wasn’t the first time he heard “Aunt Carly” either. She seemed to take it in stride, which was good, since she would be their aunt soon enough. Of course she did make it through the last holiday with his family, unlike other women he’d dated in the past. That alone should have proven she wouldn’t have a problem with the kids running over to her today.
Watching the kids tear through all their gifts, he’d felt kind of guilty for taking the easy way out and giving gift cards for years.
The girls were all swooning over the clothes that Carly picked out. He’d been hopeless there, but she seemed to know exactly what the elementary-aged ones would like. She even confessed to him that she asked another teacher with teenage girls what the latest style was to help out with the older girls. He was touched that she went the extra mile for his family, though he shouldn’t have been surprised by it.
His nephews were easy. All he did was buy them each a jersey of their favorite athlete and whatever accessories they needed for the sport of their choice. Then again, he’d always been easy to buy for, too. He guessed that was just the nature of the beast, boys were more generally simple, basic even.
His parents were thrilled with the cruise that he and his siblings all chipped in together to get. He was ecstatic Kristy had thought of that and saved him from coming up with a gift.
His mother all but cried when she saw it, and though his father grouched about who was going to run the pub, everyone jumped in and said it would be covered. He couldn’t remember the last time his parents had a vacation, let alone a week out of Boston. It would do them good.
He was watching the kids tearing into more gifts. They were at the pub again for Christmas dinner. Each family did their own Christmas breakfast and gift giving, then came together at the pub to exchange gifts with everyone else. When dinner was done, as a family they would put the pub back to rights so that his father could just open on time the next day.
He and Carly had swapped their own gifts this morning in bed. Call him sentimental, but since he got the heart-shaped ring, he decided to keep with the theme and gave her a white gold heart-shaped locket.
It was probably an old-fashioned gift, but he remembered Brynn saying that Carly was a throwback to the fifties and he felt deep down she might be one of the few women who would appreciate the gesture of a locket.
Even though it was corny and over the top, he put the locket in a heart-shaped box. At first she was thrilled over the keepsake box, thinking that was all he got her. She should have known better by now, but when she opened it up, her eyes widened and she pulled it out, holding it close to her chest, turning toward him and saying, “I’ve always wanted a locket. How did you know?”
“Just a lucky guess,” he’d told her.
She didn’t believe it, but it was true. He was beginning to realize that he knew her almost as well as he knew himself. Especially after she scolded him for buying it, saying that the ring was more than enough and she didn’t expect anything else for Christmas.
Her gift to him, well that brought tears to his eyes, and he wasn’t embarrassed to say that. He’d opened the prettily decorated box, pushed the tissue paper away and saw a big frame holding three photos. The first was him cupping her jaw and looking into her eyes, seeing the love radiating off of her to him. Seeing that look in front of him caused his breath to catch.
He’d always been able to see her love, but looking at the two of them together in that picture made him realize why his family had been positive he was going to propose to Carly so quickly. He was certain he’d never looked at another woman that way before. Ever. Because he sure the hell never felt that way before.
The second picture was her hands on his cheeks as she gave him a laughing kiss. He didn’t even remember her doing it that day and was stunned that it was captured in a picture.
The last picture was the two of them with their heads together smiling at the camera. “Courtney did a wonderful job with these pictures. I’m amazed.”
“I set the camera on multiple frame shots and just told her to keep her finger pressed down. The camera was taking multiple pictures and focusing on its own, but don’t tell her that,” she’d said, smiling. “I thought you could put that on your wall. I’m your family now too, right?” She giggled when she said it. He could see the nervousness over the statement, even though she shouldn’t have felt it.
“You are my family, but I’m not going to put it on the wall, at least not on that wall.”
“You’re not?” She looked so sad and confused, he couldn’t help leaning forward and placing a kiss on her pouting lips.
“No. That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. I know we haven’t really discussed the future, where we are going to live or anything.”
“No. I figured we had time yet,” she agreed.
“Not a lot of time. I don’t want a long engagement,” he told her.
“That’s good, because neither do I.”
“Anyway. My townhouse is too small really.”
“My house isn’t much bigger.”
“No. I thought since we both had our own places, why not have something that is just ours.” He rushed out to say it before he could lose his nerve. He wasn’t sure how she was going to feel about this and hoped she was on board. “I talked to Alec and Brynn last week about seeing if we could get bumped before everyone else in the development. Maybe build a new house together and move in this summer? What do you say? I get special treatment there. It’s the least they can do for what I’ve had to put up with working with them.”
“Really? You want to build a new house with me? In the development?” She looked happy, he thought, her eyes were wide, and she was smiling. He knew living in a development wasn’t the ideal setting for a lot of people. Not everyone loved suburbia living
, but he wasn’t bothered by it. Hell, he was around enough people and kids growing up. The neighborhood she lived in right now was child friendly, and she seemed to enjoy it.
“Yeah. I figured you for the white picket fence around the house in the middle of a cul-de-sac.” He was teasing her, but it was the truth: he totally pictured her living that way.
“Don’t laugh at me, but I’ve always had childhood dreams of that. Corny, I know, but it just seemed so much like the American Dream.”
“Then I want to give it to you.”
She reached over and hugged him tight. “I feel like this is all a dream to me right now.”
“It’s not, it’s reality. A few more things though,” he’d said, moving her back and pushing her hair out of her eyes, then tucking it behind her ears. “We have to finalize the house plans pretty quickly when we get back. They had no problem bumping us, but that means we don’t have a lot of time and I’m sorry for that. If it’s okay with you, I told them to narrow it down to the four biggest two story houses. You can pick the layout and design, but I want big, and a finished basement.”
She smirked at him, almost reading his mind. “A place for your family to stay when they visit.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay. So what’s the other thing? You said a few, or is that it?”
“Just that you know they are opening up a few new streets to build on, and we have to decide that too, the plot we want. They’re also naming the streets after family.”
“I know. I thought it was cute that they named one Palmer Place after Brynn and Mansfield Manor after Sophia.”
“Well, if you pick a plot on one of the streets no one else is on yet, especially the one with a cul-de-sac, they said they were going to name it Callahan Crest.”
“Seriously? That is the nicest thing I’ve ever heard. See, Sean, you’ve had brothers all along.”
He looked out over the pub at his family now, at his sisters and his brothers-in-law and the few nephews. Yeah, he was in the minority growing up, and since he moved away, he never really had a chance to get too close with his sister’s husbands. They were all several years older than him, and they all got along, but he knew they viewed him as the baby of the family. The one that everyone told what to do, and he just did it to keep the peace.
