“Damn it.” Mike eased Alex into the crib so Sandy could clean the baby.
“Don’t you know not to hold a loaded baby over your head.” Sandy laughed and tossed him a towel.
“I didn’t know he was loaded.” Mike pulled off his shirt and used the towel to wipe off his face. “This shit stinks. What the hell are you feeding the kid?”
“Breast milk.” Sandy laughed hysterically, and Mike gagged. He wasn’t as amused as his sister-in-law.
“Well for that I’m stealing one of Ian’s T-shirts.” Mike opened the drawer that Sandy pointed to because she was laughing so hard she couldn’t speak.
“Why is my brother half naked in the bedroom with my wife?” Ian sauntered into the room. His question only made Sandy laugh harder.
“Cause your kid regurgitate breast milk all over me.” Mike turned and entered the ensuite off the bedroom. He needed something to get the smell of the spit up cleaned off of him before he threw up himself.
When he felt somewhat clean, he walked back into the bedroom. Ian had Sandy in his arms kissing her like she was about to disappear. Mike cleared his throat as he yanked the shirt over his head.
“Sorry, I see this man and all I want to do is jump his bones.” Sandy sighed.
“Well, it’s nice to know even when you have a half-naked man in your room you still want me.” Ian laughed as he swat her on the ass.
“How’s the reno going?” Ian asked.
“They just started yesterday, but they got most of it down to the bare bones. How’s working with dad?” Mike propped himself against the dresser.
“Better than I expected. I enjoy this nine to five thing. Working with dad and Robert is interesting.” Ian sat at the foot of the bed.
Robert Connolly was his father’s lifelong friend, and they’d opened the clinic in Hopedale over twenty years before. It was the only doctor’s office in the town, and they had patients come from the neighboring communities as well. Mike’s father and Robert were also the types of doctors that still did house calls. Especially for people who couldn’t get to the office.
Ian joined their father’s medical practice when he and Sandy got married. Sandy worked from home mostly for Keith as a computer analyst. It worked for them. Sandy was also a police officer with the Hopedale division of the Newfoundland Police department, but she was currently on maternity leave from the police force.
“Any luck on finding that girl Sandy was tracking for you?” So, Sandy did fill Ian in on Billie.
“Thanks for keeping that a secret, Sandy.” Mike narrowed his eyes at her, and she shrugged her shoulders.
“In my defense, I was drunk when he asked, and I can’t say no to him.” She plopped down at her desk and started clicking on the keyboard.
“Why all the secrecy?” Ian asked, and it did seem stupid to keep it under wraps.
“You know the way mom and Aunt Cora get. I didn’t want them making a big deal about her. Besides, it doesn’t look like I’ll ever find out how to get in touch with her.” Mike crossed his arms over his chest.
“Maybe if you’d gotten, shall we say, a last name before sticking your tongue down her throat I might have more luck.” Sandy motioned him to stand next to her.
“What’s all this?” He looked at the screen, and all he saw was a bunch of letters and numbers.
“I searched for women between twenty-five and thirty in Newfoundland. Then I added some other parameters. You said she was a social worker and her name was Billie. That’s a very unusual name, and it’s probably a nickname. So, I checked what it could be short for and came up with Wilhelmina, Sybilla, but Belinda was the most obvious.” Sandy explained as she continued to click on the keys.
“What did you find?” Mike crouched so he could see the screen better.
“Diddly-squat.” Sandy sighed. “First off, I found a bunch of Belinda’s and Wilhelmina’s, but the ages didn’t match. I found a couple of Billie’s but one was in Stephenville, and the other is no longer a social worker. I could look through the motor vehicle database for their license pictures and see if that works.” Sandy worked hard to find Billie.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just one of those things.” Mike stood up and headed for the door.
“Was there a reason you dropped by, to begin with?” Ian asked.
“Can’t a guy just drop in and see his family?” Mike grinned.
“You want to stay for the night?” Ian laughed.
Was it so obvious that he didn’t want to be in St. John’s? He couldn’t wait for his house to be ready but he couldn't keep crashing at his family's homes because he dreaded to go back to town
“Nah, I need to get back. I should probably start packing up things I’m not using and start shipping it out here. It would save all my brothers from having to carry to much stuff when I move.” Mike grinned.
“You know I think I’m out of town that week.” Ian laughed.
“I wouldn’t put it past you to hide when it’s time to do all the hard work.” Mike laughed as he hugged Sandy and waved to his brother.
The drive back to St. John’s was short and as he pulled into his parking spot his phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced down at the screen.
“Hey, Jason.” Mike headed for the entrance of the building.
“Wanted to see if you were up for a chat.” Jason Breton went to law school with Mike. They worked for the same firm and were good friends. Although, Jason was moving into criminal law.
Jason also played with the band Mike and his brothers put together a while back. Rockin’ The Law was the name, and they weren’t looking for fame or a record deal. They just played mostly for parties and charities. Only four of his seven brothers played even though all of them were musical but Keith, Ian, and James weren’t into performing. John, Nick, Aaron, and Mike loved it. Along with Aaron’s friend, Cory Fleming. A police officer who worked with John, James, Nick, and Aaron.
“Sure, I’m just heading into the apartment now. Did you want to drop by?” Mike made his way up the four flights of stairs to his floor.
“Sure, beer?” Jason asked.
“If you’re buying, I’m drinking.” Mike laughed and unlocked his door.
“Are the b’ys home?” Jason always used the Newfoundland slang for boys. Mainly he just wanted to know if Ernie and Bobby were home.
“Ernie’s on duty for the next two days, and Bobby isn’t off until midnight.” Mike closed the door and tossed his keys on the table next to the entrance.
“See you in a few.” Jason ended the call, and Mike shoved his phone in his pocket.
Mike had finished showering the last of the stink of Alex’s puke when the buzzer rang. He didn’t have to look to know it was Jason. He always gave the button four short pushes and then a long one. Mike hit the button to open the main door to the building and went back to his room to get dressed.
“Hey, you didn’t have to get cleaned up for me.” Jason teased when Mike walked back out of his room.
“Ian’s baby puked on me, and the smell was horrid.” Mike grabbed a beer out of the box and hopped up on the bar stool.
“Your brothers are popping them out like a Pez dispenser.” Jason took a long gulp of his beer before he rested his elbows on the counter.
“I know.” Mike laughed. “So, I know this isn’t a social call because you never drop by in the middle of the week. What’s up?”
“Your cousin.” Jason stood up and plowed his hands through his shoulder-length hair.
“I have four, but I’m going to guess you’re referring to Jess.”
Jason and Jess had dated a few years before and were hot and heavy for a while. They seemed made for each other, and even Cora said it was a match, but something happened. Neither Jason or Jess would talk about it, and his cousin made sure she was never in the same room with Jason.
“Who else would I be talking about?” Jason plopped down on the stool next to Mike.
“Maybe if I knew what happened between you
two, I’d be able to help.” Mike turned to face his friend.
“I love her, but she’s never going to forgive me.” Jason rested his elbows on the table and pulled his hands down over his face.
“What the fuck did you do?” Jason was his friend, but Jess was his cousin, and if Jason did anything to hurt her Mike wouldn’t hesitate to punch the man.
“I didn’t want her to get hurt.” Jason sighed and turned his head to look at Mike.
“What are you talking about?” Mike threw his hands in the air.
“Jess wanted to join the police academy.” Jason turned, so he was looking Mike in the eye.
“I never knew that.” He’d never heard Jess say she was interested in following her father’s footsteps.
“I was the only one she told because she wanted to surprise her dad. I was a jerk and told her it was too dangerous.” Jason rested his cheek on his fist. “We had a huge fight, and I told her to stick with her flower shop. It was what she was good at.”
“And she didn’t kick you in the nuts?” Mike laughed.
“Maybe she should have. She told me she’d do what she wanted and I opened my big mouth and told her if she did we were over.” Jason sighed.
“So, you ended, and Jess didn’t join the academy.” Mike was a little pissed at his friend.
“No, she ended it and told me never to cross her path again.” Jason took another gulp of his beer.
“But she didn’t go to the academy.” Jess still ran her flower shop.
“I know, but I’ve got no idea why she didn’t. The day she threw me out of her place she was leaving to turn in her application.” For the first time, Mike could see how much this was hurting his friend.
“What do you want me to do?” Mike wasn’t sure why Jason was bringing all this up now.
“She’s working at this bar in St. John’s now. There’s a guy that works with her, and he’s bad news. I’ve heard he hits on anything with a pulse. I’ve got no idea why Jess isn’t at her flower shop, and I don’t like her at this bar.” Jason pulled an envelope out of his pocket.
“I didn’t know Jess was working at a bar.” Mike opened the envelope and pulled out the papers.
“I’ll get Keith to look into this, but I’m sure if this guy tries anything with Jess, she’ll put the fear of God in him.” Mike stuffed the papers back into the envelope.
“I’m sorry about all this.” He said.
“I should kick your ass for hurting her, but since I know, she could and didn’t then I’ll let it go.” Mike laughed.
“Maybe she should have used her black belt on me.” Jason popped another beer and clinked it against Mike’s bottle.
Mike glanced at his watch as he entered his office and cursed under his breath. He’d been at a tuxedo fitting for Keith’s wedding and got held up. Now he was late for a meeting with a bitch who was fighting her husband for custody of their twelve-year-old daughter. Mike had been appointed by his firm to act on behalf of the little girl. He was the only children’s lawyer the company had, and they used him frequently.
“Mrs. Bitchface is here.” Stella shuffled into his office and set down a stack of folders on his desk.
“That’s not nice, Stel.” Mike chuckled.
His secretary Stella Bond said what was on her mind and if she didn’t like someone, they knew it. Not that she would ever be rude to a client, but it wouldn’t matter if she were because her husband Charles owned the firm. Stella didn’t need to work, but her children were off to college, and she refused to become one of those charity wives.
“I didn’t call her that to her face. Even when she told me I shouldn’t be wearing red because it makes me look fat.” Stella raised her eyebrow. “I just smiled and ushered her into the conference room. I still didn’t say anything when she told me that I needed to run across the street and get her an expresso because the one we had in the office was not up to her standards.”
“So, you’re telling me Mrs. Duffy is her usual charming self.” Mike laughed as he grabbed the file out of his briefcase.
“Ever so charming.” Stella fluttered her eyelashes and then emulated sticking her finger down her throat.
“Is Mr. Duffy here as well?” Mike grabbed a notepad.
“Yes. To be honest, I feel for the man and poor little Whitney.” Stella poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Mike.
“Whitney would be better off with her father. I think that woman only wants her for the child support.” Mike headed out of his office.
“She’s a gold digging bitch that’s for sure.” Stella followed as they walked to the conference room as if they were going to the gas chamber.
Mike couldn’t believe that he was able to talk Mrs. Duffy into giving up custody of Whitney. Mr. Duffy paid a bundle, but the man seemed happy to pay his ex-wife. It also cost Mike much of his dignity since the woman kept gliding her foot up his leg under the table. Whitney wasn’t entirely clear from her mother because of the visitation, but something told Mike the young girl wouldn’t have to worry about the visits. The grin on the woman’s face when they showed her the seven-figure settlement said she’d grab the money and run.
Mike thanked God every day for a loving family because he’d never have survived being in the middle of some of the child custody cases he’d seen. He was so glad to get out of the office and back to Hopedale for the weekend. It was his first night in his house. They'd finished the master bedroom as well as the ensuite. Matt didn’t look happy about Mike being there, but he didn’t give a shit. Although, Keith told him to give the guy some slack because he had some personal problems.
He couldn’t believe they’d been working on his house for over a month and from what Keith calculated Mike could be in the house in two weeks. A month before Keith’s wedding. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time.
“Mike, I know you’re excited about your new place, but that’s an awfully big house for a single man.” His mother set a plate in front of him at the table.
He’d dropped in for supper because the family was tying up last minute wedding plans. Several of his brothers covered their laughs with coughs, and he mentally rolled his eyes because he knew what was coming next.
“I’m sure Mikey’s not gonna be alone dere long. Kathleen” Nanny Betty scurried out of the dining room.
“Yeah, he probably won’t spend one night alone in that place.” Nick chuckled.
“Probably should installed a revolving door.” John nudged Mike.
“I’m sure that’s not what Nan meant when she said he wouldn’t be alone long.” His mother chastised his brothers.
“Come on, Mom. You don’t think your sweet mama’s boy’s a virgin, do you?” Aaron laughed.
“Aaron Jacob, I’ll not have that type of conversation at the table, and there are children in the next room.” His mother pointed her finger at his youngest brother.
“What’s a virgin?” Mike coughed to cover the laughter when his nephew Danny asked the question.
“Sweet God in heaven.” His mother sighed.
“A.J. I should make you explain that to my son,” James growled.
“Honey, remember that book we read about where babies come from?” Marina crouched in front of the little boy and took his hands in hers. He nodded and glanced around the table. “Well before that happens that’s what they call people who haven’t done that.”
“Uncle A.J. are you a virgin?” Danny asked.
Mike’s mother had to slap his father on the back because he started to choke on his water. Aaron’s face turned red, but Mike was sure it wasn’t from embarrassment. He was obviously trying hard to hide his laughter.
“Yes, sweetie. Uncle A.J. is a special kind of virgin.” Marina glared at Aaron. “Now go out with your brothers and cousins and finish your supper.”
“I just wanted to get a napkin.” Danny grabbed a handful of paper napkins off the buffet and scampered out of the room.
“A.J. a virgin.” John laughed.
&nb
sp; “The only thing virgin on him is his nose, and he fingered that once or twice.” Keith sat back in his chair and rested his arm on the back of Emily’s chair.
“As if all you O’Connor brothers were so innocent.” Emily elbowed Keith.
“Okay, I don’t want to hear any more of this talk. You bunch are going to be the death of me.” His mother plopped down in the chair as Nanny Betty came back into the dining room and took her seat.
“Come on, Mom. I seem to remember walking in on some pretty racy conversations between you and dad.” Nick pointed his fork at his mother.
“Well then maybe you shouldn’t be walking in without knocking first.” His father retorted.
That was what he loved about his family. They were real, and they wanted the best for each other. As he glanced around the table at the couples, he wondered if someday he’d have the same.
Maybe you let her get away a few months ago.
Chapter 6
Abbie sat across the table from Billie babbling about a trip down south. Dana seemed to be equally excited about all of them taking a trip together, but Billie wasn’t sure she was up for it.
Peggy had moved in with her and things were going great. Chloe was utterly enamored with Cougar, and the cat was equally charmed. Chloe asked for a pet, but Peggy wanted to wait until she was older. By the time the little girl was at the right age, Peggy was involved with Eugene, and she was afraid of what he would do to the animal. It broke Billie’s heart.
It was Friday night, and Abbie convinced Billie to go out to dinner and a few drinks. Billie’s parents had taken Chloe for the evening because Matt offered to take the little girl to the amusement park. Billie was surprised he’d suggested it, but for some reason, Peggy didn’t seem to be. Billie noticed Matt spending a lot of time at her place lately, but appeared on edge. She’d asked about it, but he said it was nothing.
“So, what was Peggy’s excuse for not coming with us tonight?” Abbie asked.
“She wanted to get a hot bath, have a glass of wine and binge on Netflix.” Billie lifted her glass and sipped on her wine.
Dangerous Silence Page 6
