Forever Mine: Callaghan Brothers, Book 9

by Abbie Zanders

  She wiped at her tear-streaked face with dirty hands. “Down by the pumpkin patch. I was picking out my pumpkin and it was too big for me to carry and I asked him to help me and he didn’t answer,” she sobbed. “So I went over and tried to wake him up but he just won’t!”

  Jake handed Riley to Taryn. “Okay, sweetheart, you did fine. Stay with Mom while we see what’s going on with Grandpa.”

  Game forgotten, Kieran and Shane were already sprinting down the hill, followed closely by the others. Jake shot Taryn a somber, knowing look, slipping into commander mode. “Keep the kids here until we know what’s going on. Nicki, ready the Hummer. Maggie, run inside and get Mick’s emergency kit.”

  They nodded, their expressions worried, then took off without hesitation.

  “Daddy, is Grandpa going to be all right?”

  Jake loved his daughter, but he wouldn’t lie to her. Until he knew the situation, he wasn’t going to make any promises he couldn’t keep. He kissed her on the forehead. Then he took off too.

  He knew it was bad when he spotted his brothers around the base of the old tree, a semi-circular wall of large men obstructing the view from above. His worst fears were realized when he reached the bottom and saw his father prone. The eldest, Kane, was straddling him, doing chest compressions while Michael searched for a pulse. Ian met his eyes and shook his head slightly.

  “Nicki’s got transport,” he said even as he heard the powerful engine of the H2 roaring to life. “Status,” he barked.

  “Probable heart attack,” Michael bit out.

  “Is he...”

  “His heart’s not beating.”

  “Come on, old man,” Kane grunted out with each push. “You will come back to us.”

  June 1968

  Pine Ridge

  “You will come back to us.” Jack’s mother kissed him on the cheek, her words brimming with a confidence he didn’t feel.

  “I know,” he lied. His mother gave him a smile, one that said she knew he was full of shite, but one that also told him she believed with all of her heart that he would return alive and in one piece. It helped. A little.

  She moved away with her head held high, back toward a gathering of other neighborhood moms. They all shared the same stoic, determined look as they replaced near-empty pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the picnic tables, along with plates of homemade cookies and brownies.

  The truth was, he was scared. Scared and excited and proud and determined. Each of the emotions warred for dominance in his eighteen year old mind. In a few days he would be heading out with a half dozen other local boys. The massive block party was the town’s way of giving its native sons a proper send-off. A few, like him, were headed into the Navy. Others had chosen the Army, Air Force, or Marines.

  Jack had chosen the Navy with dreams of becoming a SEAL. The relatively new special operations force was trained to operate in all environments –—SEa, Air, and Land –—and only selected the best of the best. Jack was determined to be one of them.

  With furtive looks to where his mother was talking with several others, no doubt rallying around each other in support, his father handed him a beer and patted him on the back, pride shining from his clear, blue Irish eyes.

  “Don’t tell your mother.”

  Jack grinned and accepted the cold bottle. His father was a bear of a man, scared of nothing, except possibly a severe tongue-lashing from his wee wife. Liam Callaghan claimed his bonnie bride before emigrating to the United States years earlier, but was still every bit in love with her as he was the day they first met. Even now the man’s eyes softened as his gaze found her.

  Many people scoffed at the notion of love at first sight, but Liam had sworn the phenomenon was every bit as real as they earth upon which they tread. The best thing that could happen to an Irishman, he’d told his son, was to find his croie, his heart—– the one woman divinely fashioned by God to be the other half of a man’s soul. Young Jack had grown up on stories of such things, and hoped to find his own someday. But first he had to make it through the next six years.

  “Good lad. If you’re old enough to fight for your country, you’re old enough to share a cold one with your Da.”

  Jack turned slightly, away from his mother’s direct line of sight, and took a long drink. Less than a week earlier, he’d been proudly accepting his high-school diploma in his cap and gown. Soon he’d be heading out as a member of the United States Armed Services. It still hadn’t quite sunken in. All his life, he’d looked up to the men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of God and country, and now some of the younger boys were looking up at him the same way.

  He didn’t feel like he a hero, though. He felt like a teenager in way over his head. He wondered if the others felt the same way. If they did, they wouldn’t admit it. Neither would he.

  Every now and then someone would catch his eye and nod. Jack took it for what it was—– a show of approval and respect. He’d grown up here, had known most of these people since he was a kid.

  But not her. Jack was certain he’d never met her before. Once again, his eyes were drawn to the pretty little thing with black hair, alabaster skin, and flashing green eyes. As if sensing his gaze, she turned and locked eyes with him. And in that moment, his heart stopped entirely.

  “Bonnie lass, isn’t she?” Liam commented, following his gaze.

  “Who is she?” Jack asked without looking away. It was hard to tell from that distance, but he could have sworn he saw a pink tint blossoming on that perfect white skin. Though he willed her to look his way once again, she didn’t.

  “Kathleen O’Leary. Her father, Conlan, is a friend of mine. Owns the diner across the river in Birch Falls.”

  Birch Falls. That explained why he hadn’t seen her around. He definitely would have remembered her.

  “Why don’t you go over and introduce yourself? The lass has been eyeing you all night.”

  Had she? Jack was doubtful, since he’d been sneaking glances at her throughout the evening and other than that brief visual lock a minute ago, she’d hadn’t given any indication that she’d noticed him at all. But the mere possibility was enough to make something unexpected and powerful swell in his chest.

  Jack wasn’t the smoothest operator when it came to females, but he was no choir boy, either. Most of his previous encounters hadn’t required much thought, but now he found himself at a loss. Should he hang on the fringes, hoping she would see it as an opportunity to make her way over to him? Or go over there and try to strike up a conversation? The idea had him more nervous than his enlistment.

  Don’t start anything you can’t finish, a little voice warned in the back of his head. You’re leaving soon. Chances are, they’re going ship your arse off to Vietnam sooner rather than later.

  All the more reason to make the most of the now, countered another.

  “There can be no courage without fear, lad,” his father said softly. “That applies to war as well as women.”

  Had his father read his mind? Jack tipped back the bottle and let the smooth, cold brew glide down his throat. It warmed his belly and bolstered his nerve.

  “And who knows? Maybe the lass will give you yet another reason to come home.” Jack turned to look at his father and blinked. In that moment, he realized that as scared as he was about the future, his father was even more so. He’d never admit that, but his eyes spoke volumes. With the Vietnam conflict intensifying, too many young men left Pine Ridge and came back with flags draped over their coffins.

  Jack nodded in silent acknowledgement, resolve pushing away the doubt. He wasn’t going to be one of them.

  “Don’t let your mother catch you with that,” Liam reminded him, “or it will be both our arses she’ll be having.”

  With a heavy-handed pat on his shoulder, his father moved away. Jack’s eyes once again slid over to where he’d last seen the girl, but she was no longer there. He stood up straighter and began to scan the area, looking for a flash of blac
k in the twilight. She was a little thing, so she would be harder to spot among the crowd. He was up on his toes when the hair on the back of his neck prickled, and an unusual heat warmed his groin.

  He turned around and looked down to find the clearest, most beautiful emerald eyes he’d ever seen staring up at him. The noise of the crowd faded away, and his world was suddenly reduced to only her.

  In that moment, time stopped, right along with his heart and lungs.

  “Kathleen,” he whispered.

  Those pretty eyes widened in surprise. “You know my name?”

  Get it together, Jack. “How could I not know the name of the prettiest girl here?” he said, curling up one half of his mouth in a lopsided grin that girls seemed to like. Thankfully, Kathleen O’Leary seemed to like it, too.

  She smiled and blushed, adding color to that lovely, perfectly smooth skin. This close, he could see a smattering of freckles trailed over her nose, in contrast to her pale skin and thick, dark hair and lashes.

  “Oh, a charmer, are you then?” she teased, her voice holding a touch of Irish brogue. “My Da warned me about men like you.”

  Jack’s smile grew. Not only was she lovely to look at, but her voice was music to his soul. Soft and lilting, he wanted to hear it again and again.

  “Men like me? What kind of man would that be, then?” He allowed his own brogue to color the words. It felt natural; growing up as he had with two Irish-born parents, it was more of an effort to speak without it than with it.

  “Tall, dark, handsome men with sweet-talking tongues. I’ll tell you right now, Jack Callaghan, that it will get you nowhere with me.”

  His confidence grew. Maybe his old man was right. “You know my name, as well.”

  That pink tint darkened and she shuttered her eyes, embarrassed. Then she seemed to gather her courage. Her chin lifted and she looked him right in the eye again, commanding his full and undivided attention.

  “Aye, I do.”

  Good thing she did, because damn it, when she looked at him like that, he was hard pressed to remember his own name. It would have made introducing himself awkward.

  “Then perhaps, Kathleen, you will see fit to tell me what will get me somewhere with you.”

  Her lips quirked. “You are a bold one, aren’t you?”

  “Not typically, but I’m a bit short on time to do things right.”

  She nodded, looking him up and down; he fought the urge to preen. “That you are. Guess we’d better get to it, then.”

  Jack tilted his head and raised a dark eyebrow. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  “Come with me and find out,” she dared, her eyes now twinkling with mischief.

  There was nothing he wanted more, except maybe to tease her a little. “I’m not sure I should. My mother warned me about girls like you.”

  She laughed. If joy had a sound, that was it. “Oh, and what did she say?”

  “I’d rather tell you what my father says on the subject.”

  “And what’s that?”

  He paused meaningfully, wanting her complete and undivided attention. “That should I be lucky enough to find one, I should follow her anywhere.”

  Her features softened, and Jack knew in that moment that he really would follow her anywhere. Because he’d just found his croie.

  Chapter Three

  September 2015

  Pine Ridge

  “Got it! Let’s move!” Michael said, when he felt his father’s pulse flutter beneath the pads of his fingers. He tossed the portable defibrillator pads off to the side. “Time to go, Dad.”

  A multitude of hands shot out to lift him smoothly and secure him to the makeshift litter, then slide him into the customized back end of the Hummer. Michael and Shane climbed in with him, while Sean kissed his wife and replaced her in the driver’s seat. Jake jumped in on the other side. Kane, Ian, and Kieran hopped onto the running boards while they made their way up the hill, jumping off when they reached the top.

  Anxious faces peered toward the tinted windows. Nicki went to give them an update on the situation, while the brothers concentrated on mobilizing and moving out. Similar scenarios had played out enough times over the years, and they moved together seamlessly, each having a job to do and doing it well. They hadn’t lost a man yet, and they had no intentions of breaking that streak.

  “Mick?” Sean asked, looking over his shoulder as Michael skillfully started an IV and positioned a clear, plastic mask over Jack’s nose and mouth to supply pure oxygen with each shallow inhalation. There were so many questions unspoken in that one word, but no more was necessary.

  “Good to go. Fast and smooth.”

  “Got it.”

  Sean expertly wound them down the mountain and into town, using his superb driving skills to get them where they needed to go. The extra-wide set of the tires kept them hugging the curves at speeds that would have flipped a normal vehicle, and the extra horses under the hood made it faster than any conventional ambulance.

  “Hold him,” Michael commanded. “Don’t let that line come out.” Shane shifted, extending his long arms to keep his father in place while Michael extracted a cell phone from his pocket. His normally soft voice was at once sharp and clear, capable and commanding.

  “Dr. Michael Callaghan en route with male, sixty-five years of age, probable myocardial infarction. Pulse weak and thready, BP...” The stats rang out in the silence, piercing the shock that lay beneath their calm, capable exteriors. “Page Jimmy Yim, have him meet us there and clear a cath room. ETA eleven minutes...”

  June 1968

  Pine Ridge

  “Eleven minutes.”

  That’s what Colin “Fitz” Fitzsimmons said, looking at his watch. To his credit, his voice belayed none of the anxiety in his too-bright eyes. The fluttering in Jack’s stomach turned into a full-blown roil, and not all of it was because he was heading out for newbie training and certain deployment.

  His parents had already said their goodbyes. Jack had asked his father to take his mother home when he saw the tears welling in her eyes. These last few minutes were the hardest, and he didn’t want her breaking down into sobs like some of the other mothers were doing. This was hard enough the way it was.

  Was Kathleen going to make it? He was torn on whether or not he wanted her to show up for one more goodbye. The past three days had been heaven on earth, and his last image of her, sleepy-eyed but happy, was a nice one to take with him.

  On the other hand, the need to see her was a powerful one. He wanted to look into her eyes and see the promise there to reaffirm the words she had spoken as they watched the dawn rise in each other’s arms: that she would wait for him.

  It would give him the opportunity to reassure her that he would be fulfilling the vow he had made to her as well: that he would be coming home, hale and hearty, to take that which she had so selflessly offered.

  Well, maybe not completely selfless, he thought to himself smugly. She had been so soft, so ready, so willing after they had explored each other thoroughly with eager hands and lips. But it wouldn’t have been right. As wonderful as it would have been, he couldn’t take her innocence in a few moments of desperate passion and then leave. It wouldn’t be fair to her, for one thing. And for another, knowing he had that to come back to was a powerful motivator indeed.

  “Ten minutes,” Fitz said, scanning the bus depot on his behalf. Fitz would always have his back; he’d been one of his best friends since elementary school. They’d grown up next door to each other, as close as any brothers. Jack remembered the day they’d first met as clearly as if it had been yesterday.

  Fitz’s family had moved to Pine Ridge near the end of the school year, ending Jack’s twenty-three month reign as the “new kid”. Jack knew how hard it could be; Pine Ridge was a small, tightknit community, and most of them had been in the same classes since Kindergarten. Brian O’Connell had been the one to befriend him then and bring him into the fold. So when lunch time came around and Fi
tz –—a gangly, red-haired, awkward-looking second grader—– found himself in the corner surrounded by a trio of bullying fifth-graders, Jack and Brian didn’t hesitate.

  They’d all ended up with black eyes and split lips that day, but something else, too: a friendship that was even stronger ten years later.

  It was Jack who spotted her first, running down the sidewalk, looking adorably disheveled. He couldn’t help the grin that split his face as she practically launched herself into her arms.

  “I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she said breathlessly.

  His joy at seeing her was tempered by the raw-looking scratches on the side of her face. “What happened?” he asked, tilting her head for a better look.

  “Ah,” she said, averting her eyes. “It’s nothing.”

  “Kathleen, it’s not nothing. You’re bleeding.” Jack removed the handkerchief from his pocket, a gift from his mother, and dabbed gently. “Tell me.”

  “My father caught me sneaking in this morning,” she admitted with a frown. “He wasn’t pleased. He grounded me, and forbid me to see you off this morning. So I was forced to get creative.”

  Jack lifted a brow. “How creative?”

  “I crawled through the bathroom window and shimmied down the rose trellis.”

  “Ah, Kathleen,” he exhaled, his heart swelling that she would go to such lengths to see him. “You shouldn’t have done that.” He placed light kisses over the scratches, aware of the gawking stares Brian and Fitz were giving them. They would probably be ribbing him about it later, but it was worth it. Neither one of them had a beautiful young woman teary-eyed over their departure.

  “If you think I’d miss being here, you don’t know me very well, Jack Callaghan.”

  Chuckling, he held her to him, absorbing her strength, memorizing the feel of her in his arms, her scent, her warmth. Those memories were going to have to hold him for a while.

  “Five minutes.”

  Jack felt her arms squeeze around him. He shot Fitz a warning look over the top of her head.