Duncan: The Lucky Irish Series - Book 1

by Anna Castor

  Kayla did as he said and sat down on Declan’s other side on the sofa. Duncan sat on the sofa arm beside her and gently stroked the back of her neck, making it difficult to concentrate. When she shifted away from his hand, Duncan squeezed her shoulder once before releasing her. Kayla immediately missed his touch, so she grabbed hold of his hand. Their eyes met, and Duncan lovingly smiled down at her.

  “Tom is being a pain in my ass. I’m afraid he’s savvy with technology, and he knows that we’re on to him,” Donovan grumbled.

  “Fuck,” Duncan cursed, clutching Kayla’s hand a little tighter.

  “Well, it might not be so bad. Now he knows we’re watching; it could mean that he will refrain from any further stalking or criminal activity,” Caitlin suggested.

  Kayla looked at her feet and then back to Caitlin. “Sorry... hearing you talk about Tom makes it all real again. I’m not making sense, am I?”

  “Sis, don’t sweat it. I’m sure Caitlin can handle anything you throw at her.” Calum treated her to a wink.

  Caitlin jumped from the sofa and rushed toward the kitchen. “Coffee anyone?” She didn’t even stay for them to answer but kept on going. Declan guffawed and shook his head. Even Kayla didn’t recognize her new friend in this behavior. She was always so cool and collected. Her brother sure made an impression on Caitlin.

  “What?” Calum asked Declan, looking surprised by his sudden outburst.

  “Nothing, Calum, nothing,” Declan said. “Forget it. Okay, so, Don, what’s next?”

  When Caitlin reentered the room, without any coffee but wearing a flustered expression on her tanned face, Declan chuckled again. He stopped when Caitlin sat beside him and jabbed him in the ribs.

  “Calum, I need for you to get your other sisters here with us,” Donovan said, bringing the conversation back on track. “I don’t want to alarm you, but last night I saw Tom on some old camera footage from St. Catherine’s Kindergarten’s playground. Your sister Kate isn’t in any danger, as I now have someone shadowing her, but Tom went to her work in the past week, and he has to be stopped.”

  Kayla didn’t know what to do with all this information. Tom was now stalking Kate? And Donovan had someone shadowing her? Her stomach churned and sweat broke out on her forehead. Swallowing a few times, she let go of Duncan’s hand and placed her head between her hands, crying softly.

  “What if he hurts Kate or Errin? We have to protect them. What if this time he’s not interrupted, and—” Kayla sobbed.

  Duncan softly stroked her back. “It’s okay, wildflower. We’ll stop him. Your sisters are gonna be okay.”

  Calum stood from his chair with his phone in his hand and went into the kitchen. A loud bang was followed by her brother’s swearing. “That motherfucker. Fucking cocksucker. He’s dead.”

  Duncan stood up and went into the kitchen, calmly stating, “That door needs to be replaced, Calum. If you need to vent, then come by the dojo today.”

  “I’m sorry, man. You’re right, but nobody hurts my family. I need to keep them safe, Duncan,” Calum said.

  When Duncan went into the kitchen, Declan had slid into his spot and wrapped his arm around Kayla’s shoulder. He nudged her softly. “We protect our family, Kayla, and that includes you and your family. You’re safe.”

  Nodding, Kayla looked to Donovan. She knew him best out of all of Duncan’s brothers. He was her boss, but she felt a connection with him stronger than that. “Donovan, you have someone shadowing my sisters?”

  Donovan looked like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It was a look that she wasn’t used to seeing on him. He always seemed so in control. He was calm and calculated in his moves, and he knew what to say to unnerve others, not the other way around.

  “I figured with this loose cannon, that’s best. After discovering Tom at Kate’s workplace, I contacted a close friend of mine who lives in New York. He’s a PI and is looking out for Kate as we speak, and his partner is on Errin. They are safe and sound, I promise, Kayla,” Donovan responded.

  Calum and Duncan reentered the living room. “I’ve called Kate, and she’s calling Errin. They think I have a last-minute visit planned for the two of them to surprise you, Kayla. At the airport, they’ll find out where they’re flying to. It was a good call that you didn’t tell us where you were, sis,” Calum said.

  “What about Evan and Conner, and Mom and Dad? Is it safe for them?” Kayla asked, her voice trembling.

  “I know, Kayla, I know. I’m telling Evan, Conner, and Dad about this situation today, after the girls are safe on the plane. Dad can decide if he wants to tell Mom. It’s going to be okay. From what I hear, the fucker is only interested in you and perhaps Kate.”

  Donovan growled at the mention of Kate. “We’ll make sure she’s safe.” Donovan seemed to have taken a special interest in her sister. Kayla couldn’t care less. She wanted her family safe, and she knew Calum and the Mills brothers would protect them.

  Donovan’s growls about Kate being safe made Duncan extra alert. Donovan had never shown the slightest interest in one particular girl growing up, or even now as an adult. He’d always had women flocking to him. He took what he needed from them, but he never gave anything from himself.

  He could be a selfish bastard, and he was as arrogant as any Mills brother could be, but hearing Donovan speak in this protective way about a woman he hadn’t even met? Duncan knew there had to be more to this story.

  Kayla and Calum had gone back to her apartment to get things ready for her sisters to stay with her. Duncan had invited them all into his home as he had three bedrooms, but Kayla said she had missed her sisters and that they needed some alone time. Of course he understood, but fuck, he also felt a bit left out.

  “You know she already loves you, Dunc. What I witnessed between the two of you today, it was like seeing how Dad was with Mom. Always touching and smiling,” Donovan said.

  Duncan tried to picture his parents together, but he came up blank. He was nine years old when his mother died, and he only had a handful of memories left of her. Donovan had been twelve at the time, and because he was older, he had more memories from their time with Mom.

  Duncan could still see her lying on the sofa, sweating, with a pale face and a scarf around her head. She would try to act normal, try to smile when Duncan came from school, but he was nine and knew his mother was dying. He did his best to not act out as much, to make things easier on her. He remembered giving his mother some special kind of tea... ginger tea. It helped her when she was feeling sick. He rapidly blinked the memory away.

  “So Kate is a kindergarten teacher?” Duncan knew he had to tread lightly if he wanted Donovan to open up to him.

  His brother arched a brow, and his upper lip tilted into a smirk. “What are you doing?”

  Duncan held up a hand and chuckled. “Nothing, just making conversation?”

  Donovan shook his head and turned the sound up on the television with the remote control. They’d been watching a basketball game, but Duncan didn’t pay much attention.

  Duncan sighed. Figuring that he had to try a different way, he said, “Do you know what Errin does?”

  “Dunc, leave it.”

  That was all he said on the topic, so now Duncan knew for sure something was up. He smiled at the thought that his brother had it bad for a kindergarten teacher. With all the stuck-up women he had coming and going into his office, he hadn’t expected this.

  “Do you have a picture of Kayla’s family?” Duncan asked, and Donovan stood instantly. Duncan was worried for a moment that he would walk out on him too, as Ronan had this morning—fuck, he needed to call Ro—but Donovan retrieved some papers from his coat and dropped them in Duncan’s lap while passing him on his way back to the sofa.

  “Picture a brunette Kayla—a beautiful girl with long dark brown hair, but big blue eyes instead of Kayla’s browns, a shy smile, a kind and loving nature, and... too damn sweet for me,” Donovan said.

  Duncan laid the pictures
of the three sisters next to each other on the coffee table.

  Kayla had a bright smile with a hint of a little wrinkling next to her big brown eyes. Her light blonde hair was flowing down her back as she sat on a swing in an enclosed backyard. He figured the picture would have been taken when she was barely out of college. She was holding the ropes of the swing next to her shoulders, which pushed her ample cleavage in her yellow sundress even higher. She was tanned and had more freckles over her cute little nose than she had now.

  When he looked at the “brunette Kayla,” he could see the similarities. Kate had the same long wavy hair, only in a deep dark brown color. It shined fiercely in the sun as Kate sat in the exact same swing as Kayla. She was wearing a simple white T-shirt, and he could only see the hint of light blue jeans underneath, as her legs had been cut off from the picture.

  She seemed to have the same figure as Kayla, perhaps somewhat more petite. She looked shyly into the camera with her big blue eyes, and she smiled softly while blushing. She had dimples next to her mouth, but the same freckles as Kayla over her nose.

  She might indeed be too sweet for Donovan, he had to agree with him on that, but he could see why his big brother was so enthralled by her. Then he noticed a picture of Errin, the youngest of the Walsh family. She seemed to be the blonde version of Kate. You would think that it would make her look like a copy of Kayla, both being blondes, but Duncan could see more similarities with Kate than with Kayla in Errin.

  Errin sat on the same swing, and she looked at the camera with big blue eyes, the exact same shape and color as Kate’s. She had the same pert nose and those cute dimples in her cheeks. Instead of brunette, Errin was blonde, but you could describe the color best as honey. Unlike her sisters, she wore her hair in a braid over her right shoulder. Her shoulders were bare in a black tube top. Errin smiled at the camera, but it seemed like she was smiling directly at Duncan.

  “I know, Dunc. This is... fuck, I need to go. I’m going to call Ro and beat the fuck out of him.”

  Duncan knew that Donovan wasn’t himself right now. He normally wouldn’t swear, and for Donovan stating that he had to fight to release some pressure was a big deal. Any of his brothers would know this was a huge fucking deal.

  As Donovan stood from the sofa, his front door opened as their brother Brennan let himself in with his key. They all had keys to each other’s homes—well, only Brennan had a key for Donovan’s place. Being closest, if anyone could reach Donovan in the state he was in, it had to be Brennan.

  “Ah, Bren, your timing couldn’t be better. Can you calm Don the fuck down?” Duncan asked.

  Donovan growled at Duncan’s announcement. “Shut the fuck up, Dunc.”

  Brennan closed the door behind him and went straight toward the coffee table. “So that’s her?”

  Of course Brennan knew what had Donovan so worked up. They told each other everything. Growing up, it sucked sometimes for Duncan to be the middle child. With his two younger brothers being twins and Don and Bren above him being so close, they all seemed to have paired up. All but him.

  There was a time growing up that he’d acted out, challenged his older brothers to fights and picked on his younger brothers to make sure they acknowledged him. But as he grew older, he didn’t have to fight as much. They seemed to be more drawn to him when he would joke around, and that was kind of his role in the family now.

  He was the one everyone seemed to get along with, who made you laugh, who you could hang around with and watch a game together and talk about women. He was glad he wasn’t so on edge anymore, more laid back. He hoped that Ronan would turn out to be more like him as he was now and wouldn’t feel the need to prove himself as much anymore. He could see so much of himself in Ronan; that was why they butted heads so often. They both had a short fuse and didn’t back down.

  “Yeah, the brunette,” Donovan said and stood still as he watched Brennan going over the pictures of the Walsh sisters.

  “And they have three brothers? I know Calum, but they have two other brothers as well?”

  Donovan nodded at Brennan and picked up the bottom papers, pulling out a picture of the whole family around the same swing in the yard.

  Duncan spotted an older couple sitting on the swing. The man had the same dark hair color as Kate, and the woman had the exact same light blonde hair as Kayla and Calum. They must be Kayla’s parents.

  Kayla had jumped on Calum’s back, and they both tilted their heads back in laughter. Duncan imagined Calum tricking Kayla, pretending to drop her. They stood behind their parents’ right-hand side, and next to them he noticed a guy with honey-colored hair with Kate on his back. And next to them stood their other brother with dark brown hair, and he was carrying Errin on his back.

  “This is Evan. He’s thirty-four years old.” Donovan pointed at the brown-haired guy. “And that is the youngest brother, Conner. He’s thirty-one.” Conner had the same hair color as Errin, and they looked very much alike because of it. Conner seemed grounded and self-assured. Evan looked into the camera with a big smirk on his face, and he resembled Duncan’s brothers. Evan had the same broad shoulders and a killer smirk the ladies in Austin surely would fight over.

  He glanced at Conner once again and noticed that he had the same build as Calum. He was one tall fucker. Only the girls looked petite. Duncan smiled. Kayla seemed to come from a warm family; they seemed to be close. He was brought up in an all-male household where they would fight and talk shit, but they were also close. They had each other’s backs, no questions asked.

  He was reminded of the reason why she needed to spend some time alone tonight with her siblings. He shook his head. He would let her be with them tonight, and tomorrow, he would come for her again. He smiled at the thought.

  “I see, Don.” Brennan wasn’t a man of many words. He would always listen to others talk, and then he would give them advice. It had been like that growing up and even now as he worked behind the bar at Lucky.

  “And now she’s coming here. Tonight, for fuck’s sake.” Donovan paced Duncan’s living room. He had a vein popping on his forehead, and his face had turned red. “I can’t seem to shake her, Bren. Dunc, now I know what possessed you when you claimed Kayla at first sight. I looked Kate up yesterday morning as Kayla asked, and now I can’t stop thinking about her. I went home early from Lucky solely because I needed to watch out for her, keep her safe. I can’t help but monitor everything she does, and before you say anything, I know how twisted that sounds coming from me.”

  Donovan grabbed his tailored coat from the sofa’s arm and strode toward the door with big steps. “I’m out.” He looked over his shoulder to Duncan and Brennan from the opened front door. “Breathe one word about this to anyone, and I’ll make you disappear.”

  Duncan knew his brother could be one mean fucker, but he still laughed at Donovan’s expense.

  As Errin and Kate came through the sliding doors at the arrival terminal, Kayla ran to her sisters with open arms. They immediately let go of the handles of their trolleys and were just in time to catch her. The Walsh sisters stood in a three-way hug while other travelers passed them by.

  Tears fell on her shoulders from both sisters, and her nose started running as she cried. She was in full-on ugly crying mode. They had always been so close, and it hit Kayla like a freight train that she had missed them so much.

  “Come, Walsh sisters, let’s go. The traffic in Austin sucks balls, so get a move on.” Kayla’s sisters giggled at Calum’s swearing. Calum had said he wanted to surprise Kayla by arranging for Kate and Errin to visit her. Her sisters didn’t know the real reason for Kayla’s departure two months ago, let alone the real reason why they needed to leave New Jersey ASAP.

  Once they reached her apartment, Kayla had gone straight to her kitchen to make hot chocolate. She picked up the pan from the stove with a towel and filled four mugs with the hot milk, stirring it with the cocoa inside. It was a tradition in the Walsh household to drink some hot chocolate before go
ing to bed when something big had happened during the day. Recitals, important games, first dates—all had been discussed in the kitchen over a cup of hot chocolate.

  Their mother had initiated the tradition when they were young, and even now, when they happened to be together at their parents’ home, they would sit around the round kitchen table, sipping from their hot chocolate.

  Their father had “improved” the tradition on Thanksgiving Day four years ago. Her youngest sister, Errin, had turned twenty-one on the Halloween prior to that Thanksgiving. With every family member legal to drink, their dad put a bottle of whiskey in the center of the kitchen table and said, “Time for some Irish hot cocoa.”

  Errin had gotten really sick and was throwing up the same evening. Her brothers had laughed wholeheartedly, stating she couldn’t hold her liquor, but her mother had scolded her husband. Their parents agreed that the “Irish hot cocoa” was only to be had at Thanksgiving, not on other hot cocoa nights.

  Kayla walked into the living room with the four mugs on a tray. Her brother and sisters sat next to each other on her couch with their feet on her coffee table. Kate and Errin shared a blanket, and Calum sat on Errin’s other side with his own throw blanket over his legs and his arm draped over the back of the couch. The sight of her siblings in her apartment had her lips trembling. She sniffed and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as she handed each their mug.

  “Thanks, sis,” Calum said before taking a sip. Coughing, he sat his feet back on the floor and sat straight up. “Fuck, Kay-Kay, do you have Dad hiding in the kitchen?” he asked through narrowed eyes.

  Kayla smiled, knowing she went a little overboard in pouring the whiskey. She loved to joke around, and the practical jokes had been something else in the Walsh residence, growing up with three brothers. She always wanted to fit in with the boys and do as they did, and she certainly let them know that she could hold her own.