Those Sweet Words

by Kait Nolan

  “And after?” she whispered.

  “We don’t think about the after. We take each day as it comes.”

  One day at a time. Yeah, she could probably do that. “Okay.”

  “I got you something today.”

  “Oh, you didn’t have to do that. You made Ari so happy with that fiddle.”

  “That was fun, and I’ll enjoy teaching her. But this was actually the whole purpose of our trip.”

  Pru heard the faint snap and looked down to see an open ring box in his hand. “Oh my God.”

  Flynn plucked the ring out and dropped to one knee. “If we’re going to do this thing, we’re going to do it right. So, will you wear my ring and take what comes, with me by your side, partners ’til the end?”

  She didn’t know when the end would be or what it might bring. But she was too far gone to give any other answer.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Eight

  WHAT A DIFFERENCE A ring made.

  Wearing Flynn’s made this whole engagement feel more real. Mistake or not, it was easier to face telling people with it gracing her left hand. Pru had gotten more practice with that when they’d driven to Johnson City to pick up the exception to policy packet Monday morning, explaining her reasons for the request to the woman at DHS. Twenty minutes later, they’d left with the thick sheaf of papers and warm congratulations. They hadn’t run into Lydia Coogan, and that was a blessing. Pru had also gotten more details on Mae, who was scheduled for back surgery at the end of the week. At this stage, they weren’t clear when she would be back to work or whether she would be back at all.

  “Do you know if she’s receiving visitors at the hospital?” Pru asked.

  “Family only, right now.”

  Pru wondered who that would be. She knew from her mother that Mae was long divorced and had no children of her own. It was part of why they’d been friends. Mae took as much joy from helping place children as Joan had from keeping them.

  Back in the car, Flynn flipped through the packet. “This is…a lot of material.”

  “I warned you, they’ll be going through your life with a fine-toothed comb. I don’t quite know how it will work since your friends and family are in Ireland, but I guarantee they’ll at least call.”

  “Then I’d best prepare them.”

  She glanced his way as she navigated into traffic. “And how’s that conversation gonna go?”

  “Ma, Da, I met a wonderful woman, and I’m sticking around to see where it goes.”

  “That simple?”

  He picked up her hand, kissed it. “It’s the truth.”

  Pru wished it were just that. She wished she were the only reason he was staying. She wished she were the kind of woman who inspired that kind of devotion. “I’d say the truth is a fair bit more complicated, and they’re gonna need some more details to back up our story. The whole engagement and—oh yeah—child make that a necessity.”

  “My mother will be so thrilled at the prospect of my settling down and acquiring another grandchild, she’ll go along with anything. The hard part will be stopping her from hopping on the next plane to come welcome you both to the family.”

  “That sounds both awesome and terrifying.”

  “She can be both. She’s gonna love you.”

  Pru didn’t know what to do with the future tense. A man with one foot out the door, with an eye on the eventual end of things wouldn’t talk about her meeting his mother. So what did that mean? Don’t fight it, she reminded herself, running a thumb across the bottom of her ring. Maybe she would meet his family. Maybe in the end this would all work out.

  “Where are we going now?” Flynn asked.

  “The police station. Might as well get the fingerprinting over with here. I don’t think anybody at the Sheriff’s Department would call Xander on his honeymoon, but I’d just as soon not have to explain anything to them until they’re actually back.”

  “Fair enough.”

  It was past time for lunch when they made it back to the inn. An unfamiliar car was parked in the lot.

  “Were we expecting a reservation today?” Flynn asked.

  “No. But Ari knows she was supposed to call if anyone showed up. Maybe it’s one of Abbey’s clients. She was supposed to be here all morning.” Except Pru didn’t see Abbey’s car. A trickle of unease bled through. What if this was Lydia Coogan? Pru didn’t like the idea of the woman talking to Ari by herself. But surely Ari would have called if she’d shown up.

  She and Flynn hurried inside, following the sound of voices back to the kitchen.

  Ari sat at the kitchen table in animated conversation. She looked up and beamed as they came into the room. “Look who came back!”

  “Athena? What are you doing here?”

  Her youngest sister swung around, eyes narrowing in on Pru’s left hand. “What. The. Literal. Fuck?”

  “Language,” Pru warned.

  “Screw that. You’re engaged?”

  And so it begins.

  Flynn pressed a hand to the small of her back and, for a moment, she leaned into his support. “I’ll make the tea.”

  Pru took a deep breath and sat. “How did you hear?”

  “Logan called me.”

  Damn it. Had he told anyone else? “There was no reason for him to.”

  “No reason? Pru, you are engaged to a man you barely know. No offense, Flynn.”

  “None taken.”

  “Maggie’s gonna lose her shit.”

  Pru winced. “Did you tell her?”

  “No. She’s taken off enough time the past few months to come home. She can’t afford to take any more, and I didn’t really believe Logan when he said it. I figured there was some logical explanation for it or that he was mistaken somehow, and I could come down and sort things without needlessly upsetting her.”

  “Right, because it’s Maggie’s level of upset that’s the priority here.”

  Athena stared at her. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”

  Temper pricked and for once, Pru didn’t try to tamp it down. “Ari, sweetheart, could you go upstairs for a bit? I need to talk to your aunt in private.”

  “But—”

  “Now, Ari.”

  She screwed up her face in a snit. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And actually go upstairs. No eavesdropping this time.”

  That added a flounce to the snit on her way out of the room. Pru would have a chat with her about that later. She waited until she heard the tromp of feet up the stairs to speak again.

  “Look, I get that Maggie’s stressed. We’ve all been stressed. But you and Maggie have both gone back to the lives you’ve built. I’m the one who stayed. I’m the one who’s gotten no break whatsoever since Mom died. I’m the one who’s changing my entire life for that child. So far be for me to actually think about myself for once.”

  Athena’s mouth hung open. “I don’t discount that you’ve done a lot and you totally deserve to do something for you. But for God’s sake, sleep with him. There’s no reason to go and marry him.”

  “Thanks,” Flynn said dryly.

  “Sorry. Just calling it like I’m seeing it.”

  “That was the original plan,” Pru snapped. “Which was going beautifully, until Ari’s new social worker arrived in time to see me in nothing but Flynn’s shirt.” She hadn’t made a conscious decision to tell Athena the truth, but now that she’d started down that path, she’d see it through.

  “New social worker? What happened to Mae?”

  “She’s out indefinitely for back surgery, and her caseload has been transferred to a hideously by-the-book woman, who’d like nothing more than to pull Ari out of this house.”

  “Pretending to be her fiancé seemed the lesser of available evils,” Flynn said, setting mugs of tea on the table.

  Pru’s was doctored with half and half and a spoonful of turbinado sugar, exactly as she liked it.

  Athena held up a hand. “Okay, first, good for you.
I didn’t imagine you had it in you. Second, let me get this straight. You’re only pretending to be her fiancé to protect my sister’s reputation with this social worker?”

  “That’s the gist of it.” He lifted his own tea and sipped.

  “And you don’t think it looks gnarly for you to be engaged to a guy you’ve known two weeks?”

  “Two years, according to our story. I met him when I went to visit Kennedy in Ireland, and we’ve had a long-distance relationship ever since.”

  “Did you meet him in Ireland?”

  “No.”

  “So, Kennedy’s gonna know this is bullshit.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re expecting her to lie about it when asked?”

  “I’m not expecting any of you to lie. As far as any of you are concerned, you didn’t know anything about our relationship. That’s the truth. We’re the only ones lying here.”

  “Well, and Ari’s backing us up,” Flynn added.

  “The kid knows?”

  “More eavesdropping. It’s becoming a thing,” Pru said. “But I wouldn’t have lied to her about this.”

  Athena picked up her tea. “How, exactly, is this gonna work?”

  “He’s got to fill out a metric ton of paperwork, go through background checks, reference checks. He got fingerprinted this morning. And it’ll be sixty days before they can even think about scheduling the home visit now.”

  Athena shifted her attention to Flynn. “Wait, so you have to be here through all that?”

  He nodded.

  She pinned him with a look. “How serious are you about sticking this out?”

  He didn’t bat an eye. “I bought her a ring. I’m calling my mother tomorrow. I’m in this one hundred percent. As long as it takes.”

  Athena divided a look between them that Pru couldn’t interpret. “Fine. I’ll back up the story.”

  “You will?”

  “Do you really think I’m going to do anything to jeopardize Ari’s placement here? She’s ours. Mom wanted that. You got caught up in a shitty situation and made a choice. I can’t say as it’s the one I’d have made, and it’s sure as shit not the one I’d expect from you. But you made it, you’re in it, so I’ll back you up.”

  Pru let out a long breath and, with it, some of the tension she’d been carrying around for the past couple of days. “Thank you. What about Kennedy and Maggie?”

  “You leave Maggie to me.”

  “What will you tell her?”

  “The trumped up, long-distance relationship version. She’s going to lose her shit either way. She’ll lose it less over that version. I’ll talk her through it. Kennedy’s on you. I’m guessing she’s not gonna react particularly well to any of this.”

  “Probably not,” Flynn agreed. “Xander may feel compelled to adjust my face with his fist.”

  Pru shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “He warned me off you.”

  “He what? When?”

  “That night at the bachelor party, after you went back inside.”

  “He has always had that brother vibe going toward you,” Athena added.

  “For God’s sake, I’m a grown woman. Who I take to bed is none of his concern.”

  “I’m pretty sure none of us thought about you taking anybody to bed at all.”

  “Because good old, reliable Pru doesn’t have a life.” God that tasted bitter on her tongue.

  “No. Because you’re the most like Mom. Responsible and circumspect. You wouldn’t take anyone who didn’t matter, and we didn’t know anyone did.”

  That mollified her—a little—even as it made her feel exposed. But Athena wasn’t wrong. Flynn did matter. More than she wanted him to.

  “Does that cover everything?” Athena asked.

  “I suppose it does.”

  “Okay then. Ari, you can stop hovering outside the door. We know you’re there.”

  Pru sighed. Of course, she was.

  “Are y’all done, yet?”

  “Yes, I think we are.” One sister knew and the world hadn’t ended. Maybe they’d get through this after all.

  “Good, ’cause Athena promised me a game of Redneck Life.”

  “I want in on that,” Flynn declared. “You owe me a rematch.”

  “Count me in, too. I’ve got just enough time for one round before my afternoon appointments.” And there was nowhere she’d rather spend it than with her family.

  ~*~

  “There’s my bouncing baby boy! It’s been ages.”

  Flynn felt a trickle of guilt and was glad he hadn’t engaged the video feed when he called his mother from the office computer. He usually made it a point to check in at least once a week, but he hadn’t managed even once since he’d hit Eden’s Ridge. “Sorry, Ma. How are things?”

  “Oh, we’re right as rain, we are. Your da and I are keeping Murphy and Tim, while Ciara and Mick are having a little holiday, just the two of them. Between you and me, I think they’re trying for a girl to add to the mix this time.”

  Flynn had a moment to wish his engagement was real and that he’d be the one providing a granddaughter for his mother to spoil. She and Ari would be mad for one another. “And I’m sure you’re entirely put out by the chance to be a doting gran all week.”

  His mother trilled with laughter. “Sure, and you know I’d tell them to stay a whole extra week for the chance. Your da’s of a mind to teach the boys to fish, so they’re off to the lake this afternoon. He’ll be sorry he’s missed you.”

  “I’m sorry to have missed him, too.”

  She continued to talk, filling him in on news about his assorted cousins, the neighbors, the staff, and more than half the village proper before she ran out of steam. “So, I want to hear all about you. Where are you calling from this time, my lad?” The faint clack of knitting needles punctuated the conversation. Flynn could imagine her in her sitting room, wool spilling over her lap as she settled in for a good chat.

  “I’m still in Eden’s Ridge.”

  “That’s a long stay for you. Are you having a good visit with Kennedy, then?”

  “Actually, she got married a couple of days after I got here.”

  “Married? Imagine that. I’m sure she made a lovely bride.”

  “She did. Her man suits her down to the ground. They’re old sweethearts, as it turns out. Reconnected when she came home.”

  “Oh, and that’s a lovely thing, to be sure. She always struck me as someone who needed some joy in her life.”

  “Well, she’s found it. She’s been beaming bright enough to beat the moon.”

  His mother gave a happy sigh. “I love a happy ending. So, she’s delaying her honeymoon or back already or—?”

  “She and Xander are taking two weeks. They’ll be back by the weekend.”

  “And you’re still there?” There was no masking her curiosity.

  “She and her sisters converted their family home into an inn. I’m sticking around to help out, while she’s away.”

  “Sure, and that’s a thoughtful wedding present. What’s it like putting that hat back on?”

  “A bit like riding a bike. But I’m not doing it for Kennedy.”

  “You’re not?”

  Flynn took a breath. “I met someone.”

  The clacking stopped. “Met someone? What? A woman?”

  Her sincere shock wrangled a laugh. “Yes, a woman. Kennedy’s sister, Pru.”

  She actually squealed with excitement. “Saints be praised! I have to tell your father.”

  “Hold on. Don’t go get Da just yet.”

  “Is it not serious?”

  Here was the decision he’d wrestled with all night and half the morning. Whether to tell her the lie or the truth. In the end, he couldn’t give her anything less than honesty. “No, it’s serious. It’s just…it’s complicated.”

  “Complicated how?” Her voice turned serious. “Flynn Michael Bohannon, is she married?”

  “No. I have li
nes, Ma. That’s not one I’d cross. No, she has a daughter. Well, foster daughter. She’s in the process of adopting Ari.” He briefly explained how Pru had gone from being sister to mother.

  “The poor lamb. Both of them. Pru sounds a fine woman. Are you balking at being involved because of the child?”

  “No. No, I adore Ari. It’s just, we’ve found ourselves in something of a tight spot.” He told the tale in as little detail as possible. He hadn’t thought through the part about admitting to his mother he’d been sleeping with Pru. “So you’ll be getting a call. And so will a lot of other people. References. Checking up on me. I need this to go well. I need to get through this background check so that things get back on track for Pru with the adoption.”

  His mother was silent for so long, he wondered if he’d lost the connection. “Ma?”

  “You’d do all that for this woman?”

  “It’s my fault she’s in this mess. She’s had enough heartbreak losing her mother. I won’t be responsible for her losing her child. So yes, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  He waited for her to throw his traveller lifestyle in his face, to remind him of all the reasons why this was insanity and wouldn’t work.

  “Well then, we’ll do whatever we can to help. Tell me what you need.”

  Flynn loosed a breath, and with it a tension he hadn’t been aware of holding. “Help thinking up six non-family references, to start. According to the paperwork, each of them will be asked to provide someone as a reference, as well.”

  They debated for near to an hour, but by the end, he had his list of prospective references and their contact information.

  “Thanks, Ma.”

  “You’re a good boy, Flynn, with a good heart. I hope this Pru knows what she has in you.”

  “I do.”

  Flynn turned to see Pru in the doorway behind him. He waved her in.

  “Is that her, then?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Well and it’s good to meet you, dear. I’m Moira Bohannon.”

  Pru slipped an arm around his shoulders. “And I’m very, very lucky you raised such a fine man.”

  “Son, I like this one. You should keep her.”