by Sierra Rose
“Yes, again he defied me by going with your mother and brother to that island,” she stomped a foot as she recalled, shaking her head. “I had to keep you from going until later than you planned, hoping to salvage what I could but… Sebastian failed.”
“He killed my parents so I don’t think he failed,” Kerry snorted, feeling her anger as she whirled back to him.
“He was supposed to kill the whore and her brat, not my son!” Kathleen snapped angrily. “Kerry, I had to protect you, Ryan, Patrick and Ian as best as I could after that dismal failure, so that’s why I sent them away to be raised by nice families and your lovely brothers prospered so much, didn’t they?”
There was silence as he digested this. “What did Roarke do to you that you would want him dead?” he finally asked.
A wave was his answer but finally she did look over her shoulder. “He wasn’t supposed to be born, darling. He was supposed to die in the womb but your Mother’s power and her own mother saved him. The mark of evil was on him since that night, so it was alright for him to die.”
Kathleen sighed in disgust. “That boy was meant to die that day but instead your father died in his place. For those sins, it didn’t matter what happened to him and you shouldn’t concern yourself with such an evil, twisted boy that…” She drew off as she saw the anger flash in his eyes.
“Is that why you sent him to Mayo to friends of yours instead of letting Bridgett and Padric take him in when they asked you?” Mac Fitzgerald’s voice asked from the top of the steps where he had been sitting during most of this conversation.
Whirling at the unexpected voice, Kathleen Murphy Fitzgerald started to smile at her second born grandson but stopped when she saw that Mac’s normally handsome, smiling face was unsmiling and hard.
“Darling, how handsome you look,” she cooed, but got nothing but stony silence in return. “Bridgett had eight little ones to care for and then you. She couldn’t have handled another, much less one as wild and untamed as that one. Ida and Felan were much more capable and had less to care for.”
“You mean, they had more land and needed the slave labor to do the work so their own worthless brats wouldn’t have to,” Mac threw back, standing slowly.
Narrowing her eyes, she pointed a long finger up at him. “Now, you watch your tone, lad,” she warned, sniffing. “They were a wonderful couple that had their hands full constantly with that boy and had to react accordingly. Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say.”
“Or in this case, it was use the rod, the whip, hands or whatever else they could on the child,” Kerry murmured, recalling the scars he’d seen and what he’d felt. “You ordered them to abuse him. Your eleven year old grandson who had seen his parents murdered and you knew he was being abused and raped and did nothing!”
Kathleen whirled and on instinct and anger raised her hand to slap but had it caught. “He should have died and needed that sin destroyed so what did it matter how they used him?” she screeched, some of her glamour spell fading and making her true age show. “I wanted him dead and he would have been if that interfering girl and her friends hadn’t come. Now Sebastian or I’ll have to…”
Lightning seemed to come from the morning sky as Kerry’s eyes darkened and Mac started to come down the steps. “You will not touch that boy again, Grandmother,” he spoke lowly, anger plain. “So long as I’m alive, so long as my brothers live, this house is ours and for this betrayal you are not welcome here.”
Shocked by this, she was silent for a long time then laughed. “You honestly think all your brothers will agree with this?” she asked, almost mockingly. “Ian doesn’t even know him and Ryan has hated him since that day so…”
“Maybe, but he’s been my little brother for twenty-six years and I’ll tell you the same thing I once told Liam McCarthy, who was fond of being a bully; Roarke’s my bratty brother and no one picks on him but me,” Ryan spoke from where he was leaning in the now open manor doorway just finishing buttoning his shirt up.
Unknown to Kerry, his three brothers had felt the emotions raging outside and had been hanging around eavesdropping until they felt he needed backup, and while both Mac and Ryan had tried to get Ian to stay inside, the boy had shown his stubborn Irish roots.
“No one lays their bloody hands on him again,” Ryan finished, eyeing his grandmother coolly. “You hated him. You hated our mother so to get back at Roarke for not dying you ship him off to a damn hellhole where your mates used and abused him to their hearts content until the pretty little girl came along to save him, because you made sure his older brothers never found out what was going on up there.”
“You ordered the staff here to destroy any letters either we or Roarke wrote to Kerry,” Ian had stayed by the door so he could watch the steps in case his older brother woke up and he could watch outside in case those brothers needed help. “Not cool.”
Mac could have laughed at that but right then he struggled on staying calm while also making certain no attacks came. “You didn’t count on Roarke’s letters being kept and be glad you didn’t show up last night.”
“Bloody hell, Kerry wouldn’t have thought twice,” Ryan snorted. “He’d have tossed the ‘may it harm none’ rule out the window and flash fried her.”
Kathleen faced her four grandsons with an even look. “You still look at things with basic eyes. I am looking out for you for the big picture,” she argued, eyes slitting up to the manor as if searching and took two steps back when a giant wall slammed down. “Kerrigan! How dare you!”
“You will not touch him in any way and if you try I will ruin your precious reputation so fast,” Kerry warned, jerking a hand toward the car. “Just take your driver and go back to Waterford.”
“This is my land, my house and…”
“By the long-set Fitzgerald rules of succession, no it isn’t.” Mac cut in smoothly as he came down the steps the rest of the way. “You lost all claim to this land, the house and the things on it and in it the day our father married our mother. That’s the way it works and that’s how it’s always worked. The first son to marry claims the land, etc.”
Ryan groaned and rolled his eyes back at Ian. “Saint Mac is now in lawyer mode,” he muttered darkly, but the younger boy could tell he was teasing.
“Does he do it often?” Ian asked curiously, seeing Maggie coming down the steps.
“Probably, but I bet it gets confusing when he starts giving legal advice when he’s playing medic or vet,” Ryan returned, also seeing the fiery haired reporter coming down the steps. “Hey, Kerry!” he called suddenly, winking at Ian. “You better get a girl soon or Mac may be inheriting the house with his little red-headed reporter.”
Ian stared dumbfounded and saw Maggie freeze on her way to the kitchen just as Mac turned to throw a glare up at his smirking brother.
“You will hurt for that,” he vowed, then saw Kerry’s smile and knew it had been their brother’s way of breaking up a very dangerous situation.
“Kerry, you can’t possibly…” Kathleen couldn’t believe this was happening.
Again nodding to the waiting car, Kerry just stared at her. “Leave and don’t even step foot on this land again because I will never forget what you allowed to happen to my brother.”
“I am still your grandmother, boyos,” still haughty, she lifted her head into the air and tried on final bout of intimidation but felt the wall of stone increase.
“No, you aren’t,” Kerry’s voice was sad as he was raised by a loving mother to honor family above all else, but he couldn’t ignore this. “Our grandmother would not have broken us up for personal, selfish reasons and she wouldn’t have sent a helpless eleven year old boy into a den of abusive sadists and known what was happening.”
Silence filled the air until finally, Kathleen eyed each young man before nodding and stepping in her car, but before the driver shut her door, she looked back.
“This is a mistake, Kerry,” she warned coolly. “You, your brothers are making
a serious mistake by shunning me.”
No one spoke as the car drove off and was well out of sight. Ryan broke the strained air. “Well, that was always fun before breakfast. What do we do for lunch?”
“I hope sit down and talk this through,” Kerry sighed, running a hand through his blond hair as he turned to face his three brothers. “I was hoping to keep you out of that.”
“One saint in the family is enough,” Ryan waved that off, sniffing the air as scents from the kitchen wafted out to them. “Lord, Deirdre made her famous cinnamon pancakes. I have died and gone to heaven.”
“No, but you might if you don’t back off of Maggie,” Mac shot back, following him into the house. “There is nothing between us.”
Ryan sent one look over his shoulder and just smirked which made Mac want to slug him right then, but then he recalled the kiss between them and had to wonder how true that was.
“You guys go get some food,” Kerry urged, looking upstairs. “I’ll be in soon.”
“Is this good?” Ian asked, deciding to let Ryan enter the family dining room first just in case Maggie was waiting.
Neither Mac nor Ryan had an answer so they could only shrug and hope Kerry knew how to handle this best.
Knocking softly, Kerry waited a full minute before opening the door to his brother’s room. “Is he still asleep?”
Jessica Hadley had been awake for some time but had remained with Roarke to shield him as best as she could from the emotions and voices coming from outside.
Still tired and emotionally weak from the events of the prior evening, Jessica still looked pale to the Irishman and he knew that shielding his brother would have taken its toll on the girl.
“Yeah but he’s starting to shift like he does usually before waking up,” she yawned, turning from the window. “So is the wicked witch gone or what?”
“Gone for now but I doubt if she’ll stay gone,” he sighed, running a hand over the still burning candle until it went off in a puff. “Da always said his mother was an obstinate, hard-headed woman. Now I know what he meant.
“Why don’t you go change, Jessica?” Kerry suggested. “Your room is next door since I doubted you or Cam would want him to be alone this soon.”
The girl easily read the unspoken questions and was glad Kerry wasn’t asking them yet. She didn’t like leaving Roarke to wake up alone but she also knew his brother would stay for that and she did want a bath and fresh clothes before dealing with the day.
“If he wakes up too badly just yell for Cam,” she told him, hesitating at the door. “Kerry, despite things he still blames himself.”
“I know, luv,” he assured her gently, closing his eyes and trying to find a link that had been dim for fifteen years. “Mac.”
Still shooting Ryan evil looks and trying to ignore the way Maggie was acting way too sweet, Mac winced at the sudden voice as it came as a surprise.
“Lower it a little,” he urged silently, sipping tea with lemon and not letting on. “Is there trouble?”
“Not yet,” Kerry returned, pleased his brother was picking up his thoughts more easily. “Ask Deirdre to prepare Jessica’s drink, be it whatever she chooses, with something to help her regain some color and strength.”
Considering this, Mac understood. “I’ll handle it,” he assured him. “Being linked with Roarke could cause her issues.”
Kerry knew this as he watched his younger brother’s eyelids blink a few times before opening slowly to look around warily, and he could notice his unease.
“Would it do any good if I said you were safe?” Kerry asked from where he was standing.
Roarke knew he was safe but his biggest anxiety was waking up in a strange room and not knowing where his friend was. Sitting up slowly, he let his senses adjust to the bedroom before letting them focus on his oldest brother.
There was a long moment of silence as the two men just looked at each other until finally Kerry broke it. “Hello, little brother.”
Knowing this homecoming would be the hardest on Roarke out of all of them; Kerry was prepared to give him the time he needed. “Breakfast is probably ready unless Mac and Ryan have destroyed the dining room.”
Moving slowly to test his strength and any injuries, Roarke slowly shifted a look at his brother. “Where’s Jess?” his tone quiet as it always was when unsure.
“She went to change clothes then probably went to breakfast.” Kerry could have looked but didn’t want to take too much attention off his younger brother.
He could recognize the signs of Roarke being wary by the way he moved. Kerry tried to shield his own emotions when he noticed finally that the boy would not turn his back to the room fully, which would have left him unprotected from that direction.
“Roarke…” Kerry began but wasn’t sure how to address this fear or if it should be this soon.
“I thought I dreamed seeing Ry last night,” his brother broke in quickly, as if sensing what was coming. “He said I hurt Jessie, you and Mac at a hospital.”
Silently giving Ryan a stern thought, Kerry shook his head but slowly did take a step forward. “Mac and I were caught off-guard and mainly suffered from wounded egos.”
“But she’s hurt,” his brother frowned, still trying to recall those events. “I…can’t remember that.”
“You won’t,” Kerry replied, carefully reaching to put a hand on his arm, but stopped when he caught the tightening body language. “Jessica will be fine and you’ll see her soon.”
Pushing the fears aside, Roarke finally looked at him fully. “I’ll be down as soon as I’ve changed.”
Knowing this was his brother’s way of asking to be alone, Kerry nodded but paused before leaving the room. “Mac or Peter will more than likely want to look at you, and Roarke?”
“Yeah?” looking toward the door, he saw his older brother’s eyes were serious.
“You really are safe here.” With that, Kerry closed the door and just hoped he could keep that promise.
Roarke watched the door close and waited several seconds before closing his eyes and leaning his weight on his arms on the dresser. “I haven’t been safe anywhere,” he whispered to himself.
Accepting that his friends had done the only thing possible by returning to Ireland still didn’t make Roarke happy, especially given recent events, yet he knew eventually he’d have to face his past and hoped his brothers could.
Looking for his bag, he quickly pulled his T-shirt off to change it for the denim-blue one he dug out of the bag; he paused when he saw the scars on his chest and wondered just how much any of them had learned while he was out.
“Damn,” he muttered to himself, pulling himself back and deciding to face the music and go downstairs.
Deirdre O’Connor had been brought up in a house with twelve children and had worked in this house for many years, but as she served breakfast in the family dining room she was admitting to herself it had been some time since she’d heard this much noise.
Standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, she just watched the goings on with a small smile.
“An actor? Are you kidding me?” Ryan was staring at Ian as if he’d grown a second head. “Why in Finn’s name would you want to be an actor?” he demanded, motioning with a piece of bacon. “You have above a 4.0 grade average in all your classes but you only want to be on a bloody stage.”
“I like being on a stage,” Ian replied, not taking offense at his older brother’s attitude as he’d heard it a lot times. “Acting, singing, it’s all performing to me so I can do that until I get bored then fall back on my geography knowledge or something.”
Mac buttered toast with homemade jam even as Ryan was griping. “At least he can fall back on something,” he muttered then smiled. “How’d the last casino trip go, Ry?”
“I was at a disadvantage that night. Evil witches were playing with my karma,” Ryan countered with a scowl then turned a smile on Maggie. “He’s just jealous because he never could beat me at cards.
Big brother’s poker face sucks.”
Maggie Cavanaugh nearly laughed at the playful banter the brothers were going through but managed to keep a straight face even as Mac was shooting his brother another look.
“Does it really? Maybe I could teach him since my poker’s pretty good,” she smiled back at Ryan but her real look went past him to Mac.
“And he says there’s nothing there,” Ryan spoke lowly to Ian who was grinning behind his glass. “Ah, now here’s what a man wants to see first thing in the morning after a dreary night. Two beautiful women having breakfast with him, certainly a dream come true.”
Jessica rolled her eyes at the black-haired gambler as she entered the room after taking some time to clean up and change. “You flirting this early in the day?” she asked, accustomed to Ryan Fitzgerald’s casual flirting.
“It’s never too early to admire a woman’s beauty, lass,” Ryan smiled, standing as he went over to take her hand and kiss it lightly; then, because he had known this girl for years, winked as he gave a quick pull to bring her into his arms. “You should know that.”
Kerry lifted his eyes over his coffee cup to watch this scene, nodding to Mac who knew to watch for what was bound to happen next. “Ryan,” he called lowly.
Laughing, Jessie smacked his shoulder as he bent her back just as Roarke stepped into the dining room.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he shot his brother a warning look that Ryan met evenly.
“You always were late for breakfast, brat,” Ryan didn’t look away as he brought Jessica back to her feet to smile at her. “We’ll take this up later, luv.”
“Don’t pick a fight this early,” she warned, trying to give her friend an easy smile, but Roarke was still awkward and still glaring at his brother.
Kerry cleared his throat to break the tension as Deirdre brought Roarke a plate full of food. “Ry, I don’t want blood spilled this early so cool it.”
