“First the trucks,” Brady squealed, hopping up and down. “Please!”
Thorne rolled her eyes. “Steady now. You’re acting like Mr. Mortimer’s hyperactive poodle.”
Brady’s eyes were twinkling with joy and mischief as he turned around and grinned, showing the new gap between his teeth to everyone. “I’m not a poodle, Mom. You’re just trying to put me on a leash.”
“Sometimes that wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” she admitted with a sigh.
Brady shook his head knowingly. “That would get you in trouble with the police.”
Shane and Heath both started to laugh. “I want to see the day when you’re at a loss for an answer,” Thorne said, shaking her head right back at her son. “Be good now, or I’ll take you to the vet and have him give you a rabies shot.”
The little rascal grinned at her.
“I’m not going to put you on a leash, but you can put on my fireman’s helmet,” Heath proposed, still chuckling. Then he placed a hand on Brady’s shoulder and led him to one of the shiny fire trucks.
Thorne followed them wordlessly, uncomfortably aware of Shane walking right next to her.
“They often have a group of kids or a school class visit,” he told her. “Heath’s the one who does the guided tours. He’s very good at it.”
“I can see that,” she replied dumbly, stopping a few yards behind her son and Heath. Shane stood very close to her, making her as nervous as a fully grown, hungry lion would have. She didn’t want to let him know that his presence unnerved her this much, so she buried her hands in her coat pockets and focused her attention on her son.
Shane, on the other hand, seemed to focus on her. From the corner of her eye she could see him turn toward her. “I just mean …” He stalled and then continued, “You don’t need to worry that anything might happen to Brady here. Heath is going to look after him.”
“I’m not worried,” she admitted with a sigh. “Brady seems to be enjoying himself greatly. Everything’s fine.”
“Thorne, maybe you don’t believe me when I say it, but I really am grateful that you let me see him.”
Good god, this idiot always managed to make her feel so many different things at the same time. She had a lump in her throat, but her anger was still simmering. She forced her voice to sound normal. “No problem.”
“But I want you to know that it means a lot to me.”
She waved it away. “Brady wants to get to know you, Shane. Why would I refuse him that?”
He took a step towards her. “Nevertheless, you should know how grateful I am. It’s wonderful that my family can get to know him, too.”
She watched Brady look up at his uncle, listening attentively, his eyes widening as Heath put a helmet on his head. Thorne had to admit to herself that she liked Shane’s brother. She had planned on disliking his family, but that seemed impossible now. Heath Fitzpatrick appeared so down-to-earth and friendly that all she could do was appreciate how nice it was of him to take the time to make Brady happy.
“I think it’s important that Brady finally has a father,” she admitted, “and also that he meets the rest of your family.”
“But I shouldn’t have taken this for granted,” Shane said, his voice husky. “Brady is very important to me, too. Maybe you’re not ready to believe me yet, but it’s true.”
Fortunately, Brady’s excitement saved her from having to answer that. “Mom!” he yelled with all his might. “Look! I’m wearing a fireman’s helmet!”
“You look awesome!” she called back, and then she and Shane both started to laugh out loud as the large helmet slid forward into Brady’s face.
“I really shouldn’t thank you for this,” she said without thinking. “He’ll go on and on about this adventure for weeks, until my ears are bleeding!”
“Oh no.” Shane’s sonorous laugh gave her the goosebumps. “Is it that bad?”
“Worse,” she said fervently. “He even talks in his sleep—just like you …” She broke off, startled by the course their conversation had suddenly taken, and felt herself blush with embarrassment.
An awkward silence descended, punctuated only by Brady’s giggles and Heath’s lecture. Thorne could have kicked herself for prattling on like she had. Now the memories were rising unbidden: how often she had teased him about his nocturnal murmurings. He had only made unintelligible sounds, but she remembered lying next to him and watching him sleep, charmed by the weird habit. Most of the time he’d slept on his back, naked, one arm across his forehead, muttering complete nonsense between his barely open lips. Nothing could have been sweeter than listening to his endearing nonsense.
And Brady was the same. Only her son also had the less endearing habit of kicking out in his sleep. She knew Brady must have gotten that from her, because Shane had often complained at the breakfast table that she’d kicked like a pony during the night.
She closed her eyes and tried to suppress the memories.
Shane seemed to be fighting a similar struggle, because she could sense him fidgeting beside her. Then he cleared his throat as if to drown out some loud thoughts inside his head.
“If Brady wants to come again, I’m sure Heath will be happy to invite him any time.”
“And I’m sure he’ll love to hear that,” she said casually.
“If you want to, you could also bring him over to the police department, and I could show him around.” Shane’s voice was surprisingly insecure and hesitant now. He was usually much more decisive and assertive. “Of course I’d make sure he doesn’t see anything frightening, but maybe … maybe he’d like to see where I work.”
She smiled noncommittally and looked up at him. “I’m sure he’d like that.”
Brady laughed and giggled again, and Shane coughed. Then he leaned toward her and whispered, “I’ve been thinking about another thing we need to discuss, Thorne.”
She immediately tensed at his sober tone. She had been working for a lawyer for five years now, so she knew that tone meant business. “And what would that be?”
“We should sit down and—I mean you and I—and talk about money. I have no experience with the legal proceedings, but …”
“But what?”
“I want to pay child support. From now on, but also retroactively.”
Thorne took a deep breath. “That’s very considerate of you, Shane, but you don’t have to do that. Brady and I are doing just fine.”
“You don’t understand,” he insisted gravely. “I’m not naïve. I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to raise Brady on your own. I couldn’t help you before, but now I’m able to make up for it, at least financially.”
She could hear in his voice that he meant it, and she pondered the offer while she looked in his eyes. Of course, regular child support payments would be a great relief, she couldn’t deny that. She had a job with decent pay, but they had never been able to live it up, or go on vacation. Brady was getting older and would need more things in the future—like college tuition. Extra money would help.
On the other hand, that money would mean that Shane would really and truly be a part of Brady’s life. He would be his father—with all the duties and rights that status entailed. So far, Thorne had been able to set the terms of their meetings, but she was not so dumb as to believe Shane would be content with this situation for long. It seemed he really wanted to be in Brady’s life and wouldn’t disappear again so easily.
Thinking of arranging child support payments led Thorne to think of further arrangements and negotiations that would follow. Shane would have to be legally registered as Brady’s father, and they’d have to talk about visiting times and school breaks. Brady would have to be with his father for some holidays, and then what would she do? There were a lot of things to consider and agree on. As his biological father, Shane could easily gain shared custody and have a say in all future decisions.
The thought scared her greatly because it also meant she could no longer exclude Shane from her own
life.
She inhaled and lowered her head. “I have to think about it.”
“What is there to think about? I’ll simply write a check each month, and—”
“It’s not that simple, Shane.” Thorne tilted her head back and chewed her lower lip, staring at the ceiling for a moment. “Please let me sleep on it.”
She could see he didn’t like her answer, that he didn’t want to wait, but she couldn’t consider his sensitivities when there was so much at stake. Much to her surprise, he nodded. Grudgingly, but he nodded.
“Hey, you guys!” Heath’s voice made them look up at the nearest large red truck. Aided by his uncle, Brady was finally climbing into the cab. “This here is our new recruit. Do you want to just stand there, or are you going to come see how he fares at his new job?”
The look on Brady’s face told Thorne that if he could, he would never climb down again.
“It’s your fault if he stays in there forever, just so you know,” she told Shane jokingly as she waved at Brady.
“I can live with that,” Shane replied with a shrug. He then put a hand on the small of her back to lead her to the truck. She didn’t object and pretended not to notice the physical contact, but at the same time, she hoped he wouldn’t feel her trembling.
***
“Heath? Disaster at six o’clock.”
His brother shook his head and laughed. “That’s not a disaster. It’s just our mom with my daughter.”
“What the hell is she doing here?”
“Paying us a visit.”
Horrified, Shane stared at his mother, who came walking into the station pushing a stroller with Joey in it. He threw a glance over his shoulder and felt his hands become sweaty. Thorne and Brady were sitting the table right behind him with a few of Heath’s colleagues, while he and Heath had gotten up to see what the latest recruit was cooking for dinner.
He hadn’t expected to see his mom and didn’t know how to feel about her sudden appearance. Of course it was nothing out of the ordinary; she came to visit her son and the other firemen at the department on a regular basis. After all, her husband had been chief here until three years ago. Growing up, Shane and his siblings had spent almost as much time at the fire department as in school, and his mother was upholding the tradition of bringing homemade pies and cakes for the horde of hungry firefighters.
Still, he couldn’t help wondering whether today’s visit wasn’t due to his own—and Brady’s. In fact, he was certain her showing up now was no coincidence. Shane hadn’t told her Thorne and Brady were coming to see the station because she was still refusing to speak to him. That meant Heath must have. The old tattletale!
He frowned at his brother. “Did you tell her Brady was coming today?”
Heath slipped his sweatshirt on and then shrugged the question off. “You know nothing ever stays secret in this family. You should be glad Kayleigh’s got the early shift, because she wanted to come, too.”
“Heath,” he hissed under his breath. “You’re not helping!”
“Hey, it’s not my fault at all! I didn’t say a word. Hayden told Mom—”
“Well, thanks a lot,” Shane cut him off with a snort. “This is just great!”
“I can’t keep anything from my wife, and you know that.”
“The only thing I know is that you’re worse than an old housewife. Believe me, this is going to end in chaos.”
His brother smirked and patted him on the back. “It’ll be fine. Come on, you know Mom.”
“Yeah, but you don’t know Thorne. She’s going to give me hell.”
“Wait and see,” his brother said nonchalantly. Then he leaned closer and whispered confidentially, “Your woman is awesome.”
“She’s not my woman,” Shane said defensively.
“Whatever. Brady is a great kid, and Thorne is a wonderful woman. You could have fared worse.”
He studiously ignored his brother and his dumb comments, turning his back on him and walking over to where his mother had stopped to chat with Kyle’s successor, Phil. Joey flailed her arms as soon as she recognized her uncle, and a smile spread across his face in spite of himself. He squatted to free her from her stroller. As expected, she pressed a wet kiss on his cheek and then proceeded to pull his hair, which reminded him that it was time to have it cut again.
When Phil had returned to his colleagues, his mom turned and fixed her most severe stare on him. He sighed and held Joey tightly.
“Mom, I don’t think your visit today is a coincidence.”
“Of course it’s not,” she replied snappily, making it clear she was still upset with him. She had told him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t condone his actions during his time undercover. He had lied to a woman, and he’d been with her for all the wrong reasons. It hadn’t mattered when he explained how he didn’t have a choice. From his mom’s perspective, he had acted immorally, and he had lied, which was a mortal sin. And the fact that he hadn’t known of his son’s existence for six years because of those lies had only aggravated her disdain.
“You could have warned me you were coming,” he whispered, not wanting to draw everyone’s attention.
Her frown could not have been any darker. “Your brother gets to meet your son, but I—his grandmother—am excluded? Shane, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
He wanted to tell her it was too early to introduce Brady to his entire family, and that he hadn’t warned Thorne that his mother could suddenly show up, but she didn’t give him a chance to say anything at all. She just marched right on into the recreation room and approached the table where Thorne and Brady were sitting. With a queasy stomach, Shane followed her.
“Hello, everybody,” she said to the room at large.
“Ellen!” Heath’s colleague Sam called out cheerfully. “Did you bring cake?”
“Not today, Sam,” she said solemnly, before turning to Thorne, who was taken by surprise when the older woman smiled at her and patted her shoulder. “You must be Thorne, right? I’m Shane’s mother—Ellen. I knew that you would be here today, so I simply had to come over to meet you and my grandson.”
Shane felt his neck start to burn, and he returned Thorne’s confused glance with a gesture of apology, while Joey clapped her small hands against his cheeks repeatedly. “Mom,” he muttered warningly, embarrassment flooding him.
In an obvious show of her unabated disdain for him, his mother ignored him completely, driving Owen, the paramedic, from his seat so she could sit next to Thorne. Her eyes lit on Brady, who was preoccupied with taking apart a tiny toy fire truck that Heath’s colleague Jesse had given him.
“Good heavens,” she said, the emotion in her voice hard to miss. “He looks just like Shane.”
As could be expected, Thorne seemed a bit overwhelmed by all of this. She threw Shane a meaningful look before turning to his mom and agreeing hesitantly. “He sure does, Mrs. Fitzpatrick.”
“Please call me Ellen, love.” His mother sniffled happily, which made Shane roll his eyes in disbelief. “Now I not only have a sweet granddaughter, but also an incredibly charming grandson. He is such a handsome boy! You just have to come join us for our next Sunday family dinner. Kayleigh can’t wait to meet Brady, either.”
While his mom was gushing, Thorne looked at Shane with a mixture of uncertainty, incredulity, and aggravation. He stepped closer and addressed his mom from behind.
“Mom, could we please calm down and take it slow for a moment? Don’t you think you’re going a little fast here?”
“You hold your tongue, Shane,” she dismissed him with a frown. “Don’t forget that I know exactly what you did to this poor girl. We have to make up for six lost years, so you need to keep quiet and not interfere.”
It seemed Thorne’s initial bewilderment was slowly turning into amusement, because the corners of her mouth were beginning to twitch. It came as no surprise that she agreed with his mother’s embarrassing reprimand.
He refused to feel like a chid
ed boy, however. “Mom, that is between Thorne and me.”
“In my book, this is not just between the two of you. It’s a family issue. Why don’t you go take care of your niece? I want to get to know my grandson.” She looked at Thorne searchingly then. “How is my son behaving himself?”
“Um …” Thorne was clearly puzzled again. “He … he’s very nice to Brady.”
Ellen patted Thorne’s hand. “No offense, but I know my son very well. You should yell at him from time to time—he needs that.”
“Mom,” Shane groaned through clenched teeth. He couldn’t believe he was witnessing his mother and his son’s mother form a twisted alliance of sorts. “Would you please—”
“Hush!” She cut him off as if he were the six-year-old in the room. When she turned back to Thorne, her voice was gentle again. “I’m not a proponent of violence, but Shane is a grown-up man and can take a slap from time to time. He really needs to be taken down a peg sometimes. He’s Irish, after all. If he’s being too pigheaded, arrogant, or demanding with you, don’t let him get away with it.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Thorne replied, stifling her laughter.
“Mom, you’re not helping.”
“Of course I am,” she objected, throwing him a look over her shoulder.
He shook his head. “No, you’re not. All you’re accomplishing is showing her how to pull the rug out from under me.”
Ellen raised a haughty eyebrow. “Who said I was trying to help you? I’m teaching Thorne how to manage you.”
When he glanced at the woman in question, she seemed to be in a better mood than he’d seen her in seven years. “Shane, your mom is a real darling.”
He groaned and shifted Joey from one arm to the other. At least she was giving him comfort, snuggling closer and pressing her small head into the crook of his neck. “You wouldn’t say that if she beat you up with her wooden cooking spoon.”
“You deserved that spoon, my dear son.”
“You’re forgetting that I’m raising your son,” Thorne said, laughing, her eyes sparkling. “I understand your mother very well, and I know the need for a wooden spoon sometimes.”
Blast From The Past (The Boston Five Series #2) Page 12
