And then there was still the question of what to do about Detective Shane Fitzpatrick.
Seven years ago, she’d had good reason to search for him. But seven years was a long time. Now she didn’t know whether to remain silent … or to tell him.
All those thoughts went round and round in her head until she couldn’t stand it anymore. She picked up the phone and called her best friend Dana, who answered on the second ring.
“I knew you would call, Thorne! Don’t be such a mother hen, come on.” Her friend’s tinkling laughter usually brightened her mood in an instant, but this time it failed to do so.
“I’m not a mother hen,” she objected. “Are you guys doing alright, then?”
“Of course,” Dana replied with a sigh. “We’ve already eaten dinner and are about to watch a movie. I thought you were doing the same thing, weren’t you?”
“Hm,” she choked out, feeling an even bigger lump in her throat than before.
“What is hm supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” Thorne answered hastily. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. It … I was just—”
“Feeling a little mother-hen-like,” Dana finished for her, sounding amused. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back tomorrow, safe and sound.”
The screaming she could hear in the background was easily identifiable as a childish whoop of glee. It made her smile despite herself. “Thank you, Dana. I really appreciate it.”
“Whenever you need a break,” her friend offered cheerfully. “Just don’t forget you promised to take Patrick with you to the movies when that awful cartoon comes out. You can’t imagine how glad I am that I won’t have to sit through that.”
Sighing, Thorne rolled her eyes. “I know.”
After a short conversation, she hung up and looked at the picture frame that stood next to the phone. The picture showed Brady smiling for the school photographer like a good boy. Her gaze lingered affectionately on the photo, but she had to suppress an amused giggle at her son’s expression. Her boy could be quite the rascal, and he was full of mischief. The twinkle in his light brown eyes gave him away. Nobody had prepared her for such a stubborn and vivacious kid, who was able to drain her of all her energy while at the same time being the most amicable boy she could imagine. She could never be angry with him for long, no matter what pranks he might get up to, because his charming smile melted her vexation every time.
Thorne swallowed as she stared at her son’s face.
She had been right not to allow Detective Shane Fitzpatrick to enter her apartment. It was filled with photographs of the six-year-old who was the spitting image of his father. You didn’t have to be a detective to figure that one out.
Chapter 3
“Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I swapped my shift. Hayden has some kind of school function tonight, so I need to be home with Joey. You really need to go grocery shopping, Shane. You don’t even have milk in here.”
Shane rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder. His older brother was examining the contents of his fridge with a critical eye. Shane was sitting on his couch in an old t-shirt and comfortable running shorts. He had been in the mood for a lazy day in front of the TV, when his brother had shown up. Which was a good thing, come to think of it, because Shane had spent a tossing-and-turning kind of night after his run-in with Thorne O’Shea, whose name was apparently Thorne Parker now. In short, he could use a little distraction. He had spent half the night staring at the ceiling and thinking about how unfortunate their encounter had been. He knew full well that he hadn’t been very sensitive or considerate, but seeing her after all those years had been a shock to him, too.
The fact that Thorne had looked at him as if he’d rammed a knife into her stomach was still gnawing at him, even though he didn’t want to admit it. There were few things in his life he was ashamed of, but the undercover investigation definitely belonged on the list of things he was not proud of. Playing a role had not been a problem, until he had begun using Thorne to get closer to her brother.
There had been weak moments over the years when he’d felt the urge to find her and explain his part in her brother’s prosecution, but every time, his common sense had come out on top. His false identity was not supposed to be uncovered, even after the investigation, which was why he had disappeared overnight—as soon as the gang had been arrested. Shane liked to think of himself as an utterly professional police officer, and part of that image required the rejection of a guilty conscience when he had simply done his job. His moral sense came second to his understanding that a cop had to do whatever was necessary.
What kind of cop would he be if he had blown his cover to apologize to her?
After their encounter last night, sleep had eluded him, and his one day off, which was supposed to be governed by utter relaxation, was spoiled as well. Fortunately, he had his brother, who had just graced him with an unannounced visit early in the morning, thus keeping him from further brooding over Thorne and the past.
From time to time, Heath, who lived close by, came over to hang out. But his visits had become more frequent in the last couple of weeks, and Shane suspected that was because Hayden was plagued by pregnancy hormones and Joey had reached her terrible twos. Granted, Heath was cool as a cucumber and adored his wife and daughter, but even the most patient man needed a break now and then.
Shane fully understood that. Only three weeks ago, Heath and Hayden had wanted to spend a romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant—without the rug rat, of course. So Shane had agreed to watch her. In the beginning, he’d thought he was dealing quite well with her refusal to go to bed. But when she’d howled and screamed in a manner that convinced him the neighbors would call the police or child protective services, he’d seen no alternative but to take Joey downstairs with him. They’d snuggled on the couch, watching a movie, and Hayden had not been too happy to find her sleeping child on the sofa with a war movie on, but Shane felt that was preferable to seeing her blue in the face from all the screaming.
Ever since that evening, he’d felt an increased respect for his brother and sister-in-law, though he would never admit that to Heath’s face. His older brother was full of himself quite enough already. And he had the annoying habit of thinking Shane needed his advice.
“I have beer if you’re thirsty.”
Heath threw him a disparaging glance. “It’s ten in the morning.”
Groaning, Shane leaned back against the couch cushion and rolled his eyes. “You know this is my day off, don’t you?”
“And you intend to spend it on the couch in your shabbiest outfit?”
Shane crossed his hands behind his neck and grinned. “Jealous?”
His brother answered with a groan, closed the fridge door, and dropped into an overstuffed chair. “Joey woke us this morning at five thirty. I think I’m ready for a nap.”
“A nap?” Shane wrinkled his nose. “And here I thought it would be at least forty more years before I heard you say it was time for a nap.”
“Shut up,” Heath said good-naturedly. “We’ll have this conversation again once you know what it’s like to be woken up by your kid’s crying, or better yet, by the smell of a full diaper.”
“That’s the loving daddy talking,” Shane replied dryly. He wanted to avoid the conversation about having kids of his own. He couldn’t take any more well-intended patter about the topic—least of all from his brother, who had barely managed not to frighten off his now-wife with his atrocious behavior three years ago. In Shane’s opinion, Heath was a lucky bastard. He had acted like a jerk and an idiot, and it had taken all but divine intervention to keep Hayden from ditching him for good.
“Hey, I love Joey!” Heath insisted. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t long for a night of uninterrupted sleep all the same.”
Shane couldn’t suppress a wide grin, even if it might make his brother sock him. “If you long for quiet nights, you idiot, you shouldn’t have knocked up your wife a second time.�
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Fortunately, Heath didn’t seem in the mood for fighting. He merely rolled his eyes. “I’m still hopeful this baby will be as easy as Joey was as an infant. And if the little troll is over her terrible twos by then, Hayden and I might get some sleep again.”
“The little troll?” Shane repeated belligerently. “You’re talking about my godchild here! Mom is going to box your ears when she hears how you speak about her granddaughter.”
“Well, first she would have to know.” Heath nodded meaningfully at his brother. “You’re not going to tell her, are you?”
“I’ll think about it.” Shane stretched out his legs to be more comfortable. “She’s going to hit you with a frying pan, that much is certain.”
“I should thank the Lord for my loving family,” Heath groaned, extending his legs in a similar fashion. “You’re like the biblical plagues. Yesterday Kayleigh came over and stayed for dinner.”
Shane blinked in confusion. “So? What else is new?”
“Hayden made meat loaf,” Heath expounded with a frown that made Shane guffaw in return.
“Now you’ve lost me completely. Hayden makes the best meat loaf in the world—and don’t go running to tell Mom I said that, okay?”
Heath stuck out his chin. “I’m silent as the grave.”
Even though Shane had been looking forward to a quiet day, he was becoming curious about his brother’s story. “So what does Hayden’s meat loaf have to do with Kayleigh?”
Heath waved a hand. “You know how much I love her meat loaf—”
“Sure. It’s the only reason you married her.”
“Very funny, little brother.” Heath glared at him with his green eyes. “Your sister is not only a loudmouth, she’s also a damn glutton.”
“My sister?” Shane snorted. “The way I see it, she’s the most like you, so you better call her your sister!”
Heath scowled blackly. “It wasn’t enough for her to wolf down half the meal in no time, even though I wanted to keep leftovers for a sandwich, as I usually do. No, Kayleigh had the brilliant idea to talk about one of her cases in the ER during dinner. A man who’d had both arms amputated in an accident. And she had to describe every detail of his injuries. I swear I was close to vomiting right on the table!”
Shane had a hard time refraining from laughing out loud. The whole family knew Heath could be really squeamish when it came to gore and injuries. Even though he worked as a firefighter and didn’t have a problem dealing with bleeding victims when he was on duty, as soon as his shift was over, he hated hearing about flesh wounds, open fractures, and other gruesome injuries.
And nobody knew better than Kayleigh, who enjoyed teasing her older brother a little bit too much. Shane guessed that she’d been after the meat loaf. His sister could eat half a piglet when she was hungry. And because she was hungry most of the time, she had probably been clever enough to spoil her brother’s appetite in order to get more delicious food for herself.
Unable to fully suppress his amusement, Shane asked, “And Hayden didn’t object to Kayleigh’s bloody descriptions?”
His brother snorted in disgust. “Those two are thick as thieves. When Kayleigh was finally ready to leave, my wife put the leftovers in a box and gave them to my monster of a sister to take home. Can you believe that?”
“It boggles the mind!” Shane laughed. “Poor sod.”
“Kayleigh really needs to find a boyfriend to bully around!”
Shane grinned and ran a hand through his hair. “Now that poor sod has yet to be born.”
“Don’t you know some reckless cop with a chip on his shoulder, someone who thinks he has to prove something and would be willing to go on a date with Kayleigh?” Heath heaved a sigh. “There’s got to be somebody we can hook her up with.”
“Speaking of hooking people up,” Shane cut in, his mirth suddenly gone. “It wasn’t, by any chance, your idea to get Hayden to set me up with that bore of an elementary school teacher?”
His brother buried his hands in the pouch of his sweatshirt and squinted at him. “I had nothing to do with that.”
“Oh, sure you did!” Shane snorted and sat upright. “The way you’re going on about Kayleigh, the only logical conclusion is that you’re trying to barter away all your siblings. Who’s next? Ryan or Kyle?”
“If you worked a little harder to find the right person, I wouldn’t need to look for you.”
Stunned, Shane shook his head. “I can just about manage on my own, thanks. As far as I know, I’ve never had a problem finding someone to go out with.”
Now Heath uttered a snort. “I know full well that you’re capable of hitting on women and taking them out. But I was thinking of something steady, not another bimbo to hop into bed with.”
“Bimbo?” Shane’s eyes widened with the affront.
“Oh, come on, Shane,” his older brother groaned. “We both know how the wind blows.”
Shane crossed his arms with mounting irritation. “I don’t know what’s wrong with dating women when you’re single.”
His brother didn’t reply to that, but instead complained, “Do you have any idea how Mom whines to me about four of her five children still being single?”
Shane scowled and wrinkled his nose. “And that suddenly makes you Mr. Matchmaker and gives you the right to hook us up with a bunch of weirdos?”
“Just for the record,” Heath replied, “Mom whines just as much to Hayden. She probably just wanted to do you a favor, organizing a date with her colleague for you.”
“Do me a favor?” He all but choked on the phrase.
“Of course.”
Shane scratched his head. “Your wife must be suffering from a case of pregnancy-induced dementia. She knows I can’t stand those vain, whiny types. Man, you have no idea how awful yesterday’s dinner was!”
“Come on, it can’t have been that bad.”
The look Shane gave his brother spelled murder and torture. “Oh really? The girl chronicled her experience with Weight Watchers, lectured me on the evil of carbs, and, with the aid of her butter knife as a mirror, dug for spinach in her teeth. When I was called away, she looked like she was going to cry. She wanted to know when she would see me again. I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than go through another date like that!”
“You left her alone at the restaurant?”
“Don’t play the indignant knight in shining armor.” Shane made a face. “If you had been in my shoes, you would have prayed for a fire, too. Trust me!”
“If you say so.”
The amused tone in his brother’s voice made Shane’s hackles rise. “You’re one to talk. You were lucky enough to meet your wife when you were little. The rest of us were less fortunate, and that means we have to make do with women who prattle on about Zumba classes and have about as much spirit as a neutered old tomcat.”
His brother’s laughter incited an urge to hit him, but instead Shane got up and went to the kitchen, picking up a banana. Heath’s bellowing laughter tormented him further as he peeled and ate the banana.
“May I remind you that only a minute ago, you were complaining about Kayleigh and her temperament. I think you just don’t really know what you want, bro.”
Shane answered with his mouth still full of banana mush. “I recall quite clearly wanting to spend a quiet day at home today—alone.”
“And I recall that the topic at hand was your taste in women.”
Shane kept chewing, feeling increasingly frustrated. “Whatever my taste in women may be, I don’t fancy crybabies or boring broads with imaginary weight issues. I’d appreciate it if you could tell Hayden that, just in case!”
Heath seemed to find the topic entertaining, because he grinned like an idiot and leaned back in his seat, looking awfully smug. “I have it on good authority that Mom wants to set you up with Sally O’Neal’s niece, in the even that yesterday’s date didn’t go well.”
The last piece of fruit got stuck in Shane’s throat, causing him to
cough like a madman and his face to turn bright red. “Has Mom lost her mind?” he choked out. “Sally O’Neal?”
“Sally O’Neal’s niece,” Heath repeated with obvious glee. “Mrs. O’Neal is a tad too old even for you, don’t you think? Although I seem to remember a rumor from a few years back. They said you were quite fond of cougars, if you know what I mean.”
Shane gagged and hit his own chest a few times before finally being able to answer hoarsely, “First of all, I do not fancy older women and have never gone out with any. And second, Sally O’Neal has been walking up and down the neighborhood pushing a stroller for the last twenty years. And that stroller is filled with dolls. And she talks to them!”
“So?”
“Mom thinks it’s a good idea to set me up with the niece of that nut job?”
Heath shrugged. “Mom wants more grandchildren.”
“Even if those grandkids might inherit a loose screw or two?”
“Our mother is a tad desperate, I’ll be the first to admit that,” Heath concurred, enjoying the conversation to no end.
Shane, on the other hand, had gone beyond frustrated. He was angry, and he decided not to hold back. “I don’t think my relationship status is anyone’s business but my own. Mom should back off and stop meddling.”
“Now that is a wonderful idea, my dear brother.” Heath opened his eyes wide in mock excitement. “Why don’t you go tell her that? But take me along, please. I’ll bring popcorn because I’m sure it’ll be quite the spectacle.”
“Very funny,” Shane groaned. He exhaled loudly. “How about the entire family backs off and stops sticking their noses into my love life?”
Heath guffawed. “Dream on.”
***
Blast From The Past (The Boston Five Series #2) Page 3
