An Unplanned Lesson

by Beth Rinyu

Chapter 25

  Dailan’s nice romantic kiss went from tender to passionate at warp speed. I was just about to pull away and get it under control, knowing this wasn’t the time or place for that when I heard someone clearing their throat loudly. I broke free from his embrace to find a tall, handsome, gray-haired man with the most striking blue eyes standing in the doorway.

  “Honestly, Dailan, have I taught you nothing? You should always lock the front door before you kiss a pretty girl in the kitchen,” the gray-haired man said with a smile. He immediately extended his hand to me “Jack O’Maley,” he said. It took a minute for me to realize that he was Dailan’s father. It was hard to make the connection at first because his father didn’t have any accent at all; then, I quickly remembered that his dad was American.

  “Dad, this is Nicole Morgan,” Dailan said.

  “Oh, as in ‘Miss Morgan’?”

  I nodded with a smile.

  “Well, my grandson is quite taken with you,” he said. “And given what I just walked in on, I’d say my son is quite taken with you too,” he added with a smile. I knew that I liked this man within the first few minutes of meeting him. He had a presence about him that immediately made me feel comfortable.

  “Jack, do you think you could get the rest of the bags out for me?” a short blonde woman who had just entered the kitchen asked. “Oh, hi, I’m Annette,” she said, looking at me as if she were surprised, even as a smile stretched across her face.

  “Annette, this is Nicole Morgan, as in ‘the Miss Morgan,’” Jack O’Maley said, making it sound like I was some type of celebrity.

  “Oh, Miss Morgan, Ryan has told us so much about you! Oh, and I’m Jack’s wife, by the way, just in case you haven’t figured that out.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  She gave me another smile before giving Dailan a kiss on the cheek. “What the heck? Oh God, Dailan, please don’t tell me you were trying to cook?” she asked upon seeing the turkey still sitting on the counter.

  Dailan shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, it’s not my fault that my helper here refuses to touch raw poultry.”

  Dailan’s father began to laugh. “Or that the cook obviously got distracted by his beautiful helper.”

  I felt myself begin to blush; I was hoping that Dailan’s father didn’t form an unfavorable opinion of me based on what he walked in on. I quickly put that thought out of my mind; he somehow didn’t seem like the judgmental type to me.

  “I’ll finish this, Dailan, please stay out of the kitchen,” Annette said as she quickly began tending to the turkey.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Jack O’Maley recollect on Dailan’s childhood. Some of the stories he told brought tears of laughter to my eyes, listening to all the mischief Dailan got into as a child. I was given a whole history of the O’Maley clan. Dailan’s dad met his mother when he was over in Ireland visiting family. They married and had Dailan’s brother Jerry and Dailan wasn’t born until seven years later. I was surprised, not realizing there was such a big age difference between him and his brother.

  It seemed therapeutic for Jack O’Maley to talk about his son. But I could see the pain on Dailan’s face at the mention of his brother’s name. I placed my hand in his and squeezed it tight. He looked at me with a quick smile of gratitude as his father continued reminiscing about Jerry.

  “I always said that’s why Jerry came back here to live once he got older. He was always more American than Dailan. He lived here for nine years before moving to Ireland. Dailan was just a baby when he left and I still haven’t been able to convince him to move here permanently since,” Jack said.

  Dailan rolled his eyes at his father. I could tell by the look on this face that it was a topic he didn’t want to discuss. Ryan had woken up somewhere in between, probably from all the laughter. He sat on his grandfather’s lap, unable to wipe the smile from his face.

  Jack O’Maley teased his grandson. “Ryan, how come you didn’t tell me your teacher was so pretty?”

  Ryan laughed and shrugged his shoulders, looking like he was embarrassed.

  “Awww, Ryan, do you have a crush on Miss Morgan?” Dailan teased.

  “No, but you do,” Ryan blurted out, causing Jack O’Maley to spew with laughter at his grandson’s observation.

  “Me? Are you crazy? I don’t even like her,” Dailan joked.

  Ryan jumped off of his grandfather’s lap and came walking over to the couch where Dailan and I were seated. He playfully punched Dailan in the arm. “Yes, you do, silly,” he said, sounding as if he were getting upset.

  “Oh, you think you’re tough,” Dailan said as his got up from the couch and playfully wrestled Ryan to the floor where he began to relentlessly tickle him.

  Ryan squirmed around, trying to catch his breath from the laughter and break free from Dailan. I smiled as I watched the two of them interacting.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Annette said as she walked into the living room, shaking her head at Dailan and Ryan.

  The turkey was delicious, thanks to Annette, and the conversation even better. We finished up the night playing Clue, with Ryan and I having more fun trying to teach Dailan how to play. I looked up at the clock; I was disheartened to see that it was already nine. I was sure I had twenty plus missed calls from my mom and I wanted to call her back before it got too late.

  “I have to get going,” I said.

  “Aww,” Ryan said with a frown. I looked over at Jack and Annette, who had the same look of discontent as Ryan.

  Dailan got up to get my coat as I gave Ryan a hug goodbye. “Thanks for inviting me over, Ryan. I had lots of fun,” I said as he squeezed me tight.

  Jack and Annette both stood up at the same time. I went to extend my hand to Jack, but he instead wrapped his arms around and gave me a hug, “I hope to see you again real soon, Nicole. It’s not very often that Dailan brings girls around to meet his old man – you must be special.” He winked.

  Annette followed suit, giving me a hug and placing a kiss on my cheek. “It really was nice to meet you, Nicole. I can see everything Ryan’s said about you is true.”

  “Hey, thanks, it was really nice meeting both of you too,” I said sincerely. I truly enjoyed their company.

  Dailan walked me to my car. He took the keys from my hand and started my car to warm it up for me. We stood outside my car as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. Suddenly, it wasn’t feeling so cold anymore.

  “Did you have a good Christmas?” he asked.

  “I did, thank you very much.” I stood on my tippy toes, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He responded back with much more intensity, placing his hands on my face and kissing me hard.

  “Can you please just text me and let me know that you made it into your apartment safely, since I know you didn’t leave that front porch light on.”

  “It was light out when I left my house. Why in the world would I have turned my porch light on? I will,” I said appeasing his wishes.

  I was waiting to see if he would make any future plans before I got into the car, but he didn’t. He was always so vague and it drove me nuts! He had told his dad over dinner that he had a busy week at work ahead, trying to get contracts wrapped up before the end of the year. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t so quick to make plans. I told myself I wasn’t going to overthink it.

  I arrived home and waited until I was safely in my apartment before pulling my phone out of my purse to text Dailan. I was surprised to find only one text from Donna, agreeing to go see The Nutcracker with me tomorrow night and no missed calls from my mom.

  I’m home safe and sound. I had a lot of fun today – thanks!

  I quickly ran to check my home phone to see if my mom had left a message, but there was nothing. I took a deep breath and fought the tears.

  Dailan’s text back helped in halting them. You’re very welcome, beautiful. I’ll see you this week, sweet dreams.

  I smiled as warmth overtook my body. I looked down at my
phone again that was vibrating with a text message from Donna. Open your door; I’m freezing! I ran to the door and opened it as Donna was making her way up the stairs. She was carrying her overnight bag, a tray of cookies, and a bottle of wine.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked as a smile stretched across my face.

  “Well, Michael got called in to work. So I’m having a Christmas sleepover with my best friend,” she said as she made her way inside.

  I couldn’t remove the smile from my face. I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly. We made our way into the living room, where we would spend the rest of the night watching chick flicks, drinking wine, and eating cookies. It had been the perfect Christmas – even without a phone call from my mom.

  Chapter 26

  The weeks were flying by and turning into months and my best friend was becoming nonexistent, taking on extra shifts at work to help pay for her wedding. But Dailan was the perfect fill-in. We were growing closer with each passing day. We were still having mind-blowing sex, but I found something else was happening. I was confiding in him and turning to him on a daily basis to share my day, ask his opinion, or just to vent. Exactly what I told myself I wasn’t going to do when we started this whole thing. But Dailan had a way that made it so easy to do. I knew that he didn’t have any intention of falling in love with me. I would never have to worry about him talking about getting married or having kids someday. He just wasn’t that type of guy and I was okay with that. I had that with Drew and it had scared me away. Every time I found myself starting to get those feelings of thinking that I could possibly fall in love with him, I cast them aside and reminded myself that this romance was just a temporary thing, Dailan would be moving back to Ireland soon. Still, I couldn’t deny the heaviness in my chest every time I reminded myself of that fact.

  Donna and Michael had instantly liked Dailan when I finally decided to introduce them. I knew that deep down inside Donna was hoping that I would overcome my fear of relationships and take the plunge with Dailan.

  I couldn’t believe that it was already the end of February. I was headed to Dailan’s office to pick up Ryan. Normally, Dailan didn’t have to work on Saturdays, but today he had to go in for what he thought would be a short period of time, so he brought Ryan with him. He called and asked me if I would mind picking up Ryan up and watching him for a few hours, since he was starting to get restless. I gladly obliged since I had no other plans.

  I pulled into the parking lot and made my way into the large, upscale office building. I hit the Number 3 button as the elevator ascended to the third floor. I got off the elevator and took in the suite numbers on each door, finally finding Suite 8. I opened up the door and was immediately greeted by Rick Kincaide dressed casually in a black turtleneck and jeans. I felt a little guilty noticing just how handsome he was, because I knew how much Dailan despised him.

  “Oh, Nicole? Right?” he said.

  I nodded. “Well, I see you’re still slumming with O’Maley,” he said with a sarcastic edge.

  I didn’t respond and was happy when I heard Ryan’s footsteps running down the hallway with Dailan following close behind. Dailan once again had an out-of-character serious demeanor in Rick’s presence. He placed his arm around my waist and kissed me with a little more passion then I cared to display in public. I knew that it was clearly for Rick’s benefit. He knew that I didn’t like to openly display our affection for each other in front of Ryan. I still didn’t get why he felt the need to lay claim to me in front of this man.

  “Well, it was really a pleasure to see you again, Nicole,” Rick said in a very flirtatious voice.

  I nodded as he walked away. I gave Dailan a look of disdain. “Why do you two hate each other so much?” I asked once Rick was out of earshot.

  “Because, he’s total scum. Ryan, be good for Nicole,” Dailan said, totally changing the subject.

  “She’s not Nicole, she’s Miss Morgan,” Ryan corrected him.

  “Hey, Ryan, do you know how to ice skate?” I asked.

  Ryan smiled and nodded. “Then that’s where were going!”.

  “Cool!” Ryan exclaimed.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I’m done. I should only be a couple more hours,” Dailan said.

  “That’s fine.”

  “Thanks, beautiful,” he said, giving me another one of his intense kisses. This time I didn’t care because Ryan was already out the door. I walked out the door, catching up with Ryan at the elevator. He was anxiously pressing buttons, waiting for the door to open.

  “Miss Morgan, I don’t have ice skates,” he said as we stepped into the elevator.

  “We can rent them there,” I said.

  We got into the car and took the short drive to Ice World, an outdoor skating rink that was one the most popular attractions in the winter. Ryan looked over at the large ice skating area in awe. “Wow, this is really cool,” he said with a huge grin.

  We stood in line and waited our turn for the skate rentals. “Ryan, do you know what size your foot is?” He shook his head. “Take off your sneaker and let me see,” I said. He removed his sneaker as I looked inside, locating his size, before handing him back his sneaker. We sat down on the bench and laced up our skates. I double checked Ryan’s to make sure they were tight enough.

  “Are you ready?” I asked.

  Ryan nodded as we awkwardly walked on the ground in our skates, finally making our way to the ice. It had been a few years since I had last been ice skating, so it took me a minute to adjust to the ice. I grabbed onto Ryan's hand as the two of us made our way around the rink like two pros.

  "Wow, you skate really well, Ryan."

  "My dad taught me," he said proudly.

  We spent the next hour gliding around effortlessly as I listened to Ryan talk about his mom and dad. He seemed to be happy this time when he mentioned their names, telling me all about the happy times he had spent with them. I learned that his mom loved to cook, she was an animal lover, and that she had long dark hair like mine. I could hear the love and admiration in Ryan's voice when he spoke about her. He also told me that she stayed home with him until he started kindergarten and then she started working part-time for the same company that Dailan worked for.

  "Oh, did your Uncle Dailan get her the job?" I asked.

  "I think so. My daddy didn't want to her to work, but she was always home to get me off the bus.”

  "So are you excited about going to Ireland?" I asked.

  "Not really. I like it there; I used to go all the time to visit my Nan and Uncle Dailan. But I'm going to miss it here," he said sadly.

  "Well, I heard it's beautiful there.”

  "You've never been there?" he asked as if he were surprised.

  I shook my head.

  "Well, you will get to see it when you come to visit me and my Uncle Dailan," he said sweetly.

  It finally occurred to me that Dailan and I weren’t the only ones whose emotions were involved in this arrangement that we had. Ryan was clearly a big part of it. I didn't know how to respond, because I didn't know what Dailan’s and my relationship would be once he moved back to Ireland. I felt my heart sink, thinking of how this would affect Ryan.

  I quickly changed the subject. "I think we just burned off a billion calories with all that ice skating. How about some hot chocolate?” We were taking off our skates when my phone began to ring. “It’s your uncle,” I said to Ryan.

  “Perfect timing,” I answered. “Ryan and I just got done skating.”

  Dailan agreed to meet us at the ice skating rink and then we were going out to dinner from there. Ryan and I handed in our skates and sat down to some hot chocolate, waiting for Dailan to arrive.

  “Nicole!” I was hoping that very familiar voice wasn’t who I thought it was.

  I turned around to see my sister and her older son, Christopher, right behind me. “Renee, what the heck are you doing here?” I asked as I got up and gave my nephew a hug and a kiss.

  “Oh,
well, Mark is away on business, so Mom and Dad invited me to come down with them to visit Ted and Amelia.”

  Oh God, please don’t tell me my mom and dad are here too. “Oh, are Mom and Dad with you?” I asked.

  “No, they’re out with Ted and Amelia. They took Joey with them, so I told Christopher I would take him to one of my favorite places growing up.”

  “Christopher, did you get the Christmas presents I sent you?” I asked.

  He just nodded and smiled.

  “Oh, sorry, yeah, they got them. Things have just been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to even call you and let you know.”

  “No big deal, I wish I knew Mom and Dad were coming down. I still have their presents as well,” I said.

  “Oh, well, it was a last minute thing,” she said as if she were trying to defend them for their actions.

  “Well, whatever. Maybe I’ll just drop them off at Ted and Amelia’s, since they always make it a point to visit them once a month,” I said sarcastically.

  My sister finally focused her attention on Ryan and looked at me as if she was waiting for an explanation as to who he was. “Oh, Ryan, this is my sister, Renee,” I said. I wasn’t going to get into the details of exactly who Ryan was, even though I knew she was dying to know.

  “Oh, hello,” she said in her sickening sweet voice.

  There was an awkward silence just as Dailan approached us. Oh, shit, shit, shit, now I’m going to have to introduce her to him! Ryan’s smile was a mile wide when he saw his Uncle. Dailan walked right past my sister and planted a kiss on my lips before sitting down next to Ryan. There goes my just friends excuse.

  My sister raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for an introduction. “Dailan, this is my sister, Renee.”

  Dailan stood up to shake her hand and I watched as she checked him out from head to toe. I smiled inwardly as I thought, maybe, just maybe, my sister was jealous of something that I had or at least she thought I had.

  “I want to show you all these cool hockey sticks they have,” Ryan said to Dailan as he stood up and took him by the hand.