“I’m so offended. Not. Answer the question.”
“I’ll good and well drive when I good and well feel like it. Now, leave me be.”
She muttered the words, careful not to interrupt the playful glee of her nieces who played tag around her waist. Nevertheless, Liam knew he had her at a disadvantage, so he continued. “I’m taking you shopping next week. Seriously, it’s becoming a pain to keep carting you everywhere when you’re the picture of health.”
“Well, aren’t you kind and gracious.”
The twins gave up trying to secure Siobhan’s undivided attention and scampered to the next door media room where a family-friendly television show played out.
“I’m neither. Instead, I’m pushing, which seems to be my job of late.”
Siobhan snorted.
Liam plowed on. “You need to find your feet in more than just dancing, sprite. Best to get on with it.”
Siobhan’s jaw dropped; she promptly clamped it closed. Liam arched a brow and walked away…insolence personified.
Naturally that’s when AJ chose to step to the fore. Offering a sarcastic nod of gratitude to fate, Siobhan worked a smile into place, thinking, God, please give me strength. As usual, governed only by that mystical connection they seemed to share, AJ spoke volumes without uttering a single word. He folded his arms against his chest, nearly grinning, searching her eyes for a moment.
“Did I interrupt a bonding moment?”
“Oh, I’ll bond him one day. Trust me.”
AJ’s answering laugh rumbled and tinged against her senses.
“Older brothers were created for one reason alone, to protect and antagonize their younger siblings.”
Remembering her desire to make amends—in at least one area of her life—Siobhan softened and latched her arm through his. They ambled toward the formal dining room which still teemed with hungry guests. “Truer words have never been spoken. Liam’s trying to keep me moving forward by needling.”
“Still, he makes a point.”
Siobhan wilted against his side. “Please, please don’t push at me like everyone else. I’m trying…it’s just…I’m scared. I break out in a sweat even thinking about touching a steering wheel. Give me time.”
AJ halted their progress and gave her a gentle tug, nodding toward a semi-private area of the hallway leading to the foyer. He settled her against the wall and cupped her face, piercing her with a direct, unyielding glance. “We’ve been on rocky ground, Siobhan, but the truth remains; I want you to function at one hundred percent. In order to do that, you need to face all your fears. I won’t push, but I won’t relent, either. Maybe that’s something the men in your life have in common. We’re unwilling to compromise when it comes to seeing to your welfare.” He stroked a fingertip along the plane of her jaw. “Think about that, OK?”
Heart lodged firmly in her throat, Siobhan could only nod.
****
“But offering a toast for the meal is a tradition bequeathed to the newest attendee. That would be AJ.”
“Liam.”
“Well, it is.”
“Liam.”
Two warning shots had been fired by their mother, yet Liam persisted. Troublemaker. Siobhan seethed at the way her brother orchestrated dining matters with regard to AJ. And was it just her imagination or did Aileen seem to be hiding a smile by acting like she was dabbing at her lips with a freshly unwound napkin? Traitor.
“I’d be honored.”
Siobhan blinked. OK, that smooth, low-spoken response from AJ was three shades of awesome. Siobhan leaned toward him; radiance filled her spirit, and she hoped her adoration spilled onto him in the look she delivered.
AJ paused for a moment then lifted a wine goblet that held an offering of merlot.
All eyes and ears awaited his decree.
“Mr. and Mrs. Douglas, thank you for allowing me to join you today, and Liam, thank you for the invitation. To one and all, may the smile of God light you to glory.”
When he spoke the concluding sentence, AJ’s focus trained exclusively on Siobhan, which made her a bit dizzy, and warm.
Murmurs rounded the table. More than a few eyes went wide, and she noticed several approving nods and delighted expressions. Catching Siobhan’s eye, Kassidy and Maeve offered a dual thumbs-up.
Coop lowered his eyes. Full lips curved into a sheepish smile. “Don’t be too impressed. It’s an Irish blessing that I found with a little help from my friend Google. I wanted to be fully prepared for anything that might happen today.”
Following grace, mealtime began, and conversation turned to a just concluded football game between the Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
“Josh Andrews brought it today.” Liam dished his salad.
AJ claimed the crystal bowl and helped himself. “It’s unreal what he’s doing in only his third season with the Lions. Still, our G-Men took it to ‘em.”
“Yeah, they did. It kind of makes me feel bad to root against the guy. It was amazing to watch him command the field at Westerville High.”
AJ froze in the process of passing the salad bowl to Siobhan. “Wait…what? You guys are friends with Josh Andrews?”
Siobhan tried to retrieve the salad, but AJ clutched it tight, thoroughly awestruck. Siobhan looked at Kassidy and Aileen who already cast uncertain glances toward Maeve. Silent, head bowed, Maeve cut into her pork chop and seemed to down her piece of meat in a hurry.
“Maeve here is the one who knew him best. Do you guys still keep in touch? I remember the two of you were voted most likely to find happily-ever-after back in your senior year.”
Maeve swallowed her food, never looking up. “That was a long time ago. I’m glad he’s doing well.” She cast a quick, unsteady smile to the table at large but a veil shrouded her deep green eyes, and she promptly disengaged from the conversation.
Aileen stepped into the void and performed an excellent diversion from the gridiron by paying compliments on the food.
Siobhan’s heart sank. Poor Maeve. No one outside their quartet seemed to recognize the degree of pain Maeve had endured when Josh landed at UCLA while she remained on the east coast at NYU. Life had sent them in opposite directions, and ever since that time, Maeve’s heart was secured more tightly than a bank vault. Siobhan, Aileen, and KC often speculated as to why their friend hadn’t moved on from a touching, if idealistic, high school romance to embrace love anew. To this day, the details of Maeve’s loss remained a mystery they were never allowed to broach. Difficult though it was, they had always respected that wish.
Not long after dinner, as a few of the guests with younger children began to say farewell and pack up dishware and leftovers, the doorbell sounded. Seated on the family room hearth, Siobhan lifted her head from AJ’s shoulder where she drowsed—dangerously close to a food-induced stupor.
“Got it.” Liam lifted from the easy chair where he sat and strode to the entryway. “It’s probably Drew Wintower.”
“The tour manager from Ganneton?” Siobhan yawned.
“Yep. He texted me just before dinner and said he has news about the tour. I invited him over for dessert.”
That piece of news dusted any remaining cobwebs from Siobhan’s mind.
KC shot Liam a mildly disapproving look as she wandered into the room. “He wants to talk business on a Sunday?”
“He’s an entertainment-centric guy. For him, Sundays blend into every other day of the week. I’ve been working on him, hitching him up with Christian acts. He’s rock solid and a good guy—but he’s been confused about things ever since—” Liam stopped short and lifted his hands in dismissal. “Never mind. Anyway, he sounded enthusiastic about whatever it is that’s going on.”
Liam headed to the door and then returned and made introductory rounds. Drew Wintower garnered Siobhan’s immediate focus, and she found herself wishing AJ hadn’t strayed to the kitchen for a beverage. She would have loved to gauge his reaction.
It took Siobhan mere seconds to absorb the u
ndercurrents that swirled through the room. This was a power player, a man who defined charisma and confidence. Blue dress slacks were paired with a loose white polo shirt. Short, well-styled hair of brown and an appealing layer of stubble formed a handsome image, but in that discovering instant, Siobhan came to understand Liam’s earlier comment. Something about Drew Wintower ran more than surface deep. Perhaps it was the way he filled the room with dynamic energy. Perhaps it was something in his smile, which was wide, easy, and real. His eyes were a clear, smoky brown, his gaze was lazy yet keen, and when they lit on KC, Siobhan could have sworn the temperature in the room ratcheted upward a few healthy degrees.
Since Drew and Kassidy were temporarily lost to one another, Siobhan caught Aileen’s eye and fanned herself. Aileen, and even a wide-eyed Maeve, nodded in emphatic agreement.
Seeming to remember himself, Drew came to attention. “First of all, I’m really glad to meet all of you, although I have to apologize for intruding on a family gathering, especially on a Sunday.”
Since Kassidy had been the one to remark on that particular faux pas, Siobhan catalogued her friend’s reaction to the forthright and gentle apology. KC, their rose bloom with a spine of steel, had transformed to mush.
“When Liam told me the four of you were here together tonight, I realized there’d be no better time to deliver a piece of wonderful news,” Drew continued.
“Which is?” Kassidy continued to take him in slowly and thoroughly.
“First things first.” Drew’s sense of expectation touched the air with magic. “Siobhan, I want to let you know that Ganneton and Zion’s Peak have come to terms on your participation in the upcoming tour.”
Siobhan steeled her spine. Her gaze traveled to the entryway between the kitchen and family room when AJ crossed the threshold. She extended her hand to him on instinct—on a heartbeat and a prayer.
He joined her at once, brows creased as he took her hand and stepped to her side. Like everyone else who assembled, he focused on Drew.
“It’s been officially agreed that the debut tour of Sisters in Spirit will be delayed by two months in deference to your continued rehabilitation from the accident.”
Siobhan’s knees wobbled. She covered an open mouth with shaky fingertips. Joy spread through her body before she even heard another word from the man.
“We need to rehearse—intensively—over the next eight weeks, but we’ll start slow and build. Your exhibition at the dance academy impressed everyone. We want to give you the time you need to be fully recovered. The tour will kick-off at Jacobson Arena.”
“That’s in Connecticut. At Mantauk College.”
Drew nodded in confirmation of Maeve’s comment. Siobhan liked his enthusiasm as well as his forthright resolve.
“The contract is being formalized for final execution, and we’ll need your signatures of course, but I’ve been instructed to hit the floor, schedule rehearsals, work on set designs, costumes, form a band, and complete details necessary for launch. I’ll be managing the tour.”
Liam made a happy sound and exchanged animated fist-bumps with Drew. Siobhan’s focus skimmed toward KC. Expectation flashed and sparkled in Kassidy’s eyes before being carefully masked. Wow again. What was brewing here…? Siobhan held fast to AJ’s hand as the pace of her world escalated to hyper speed.
Discussion ensued, outlining plans…and dreams. A signing meeting would take place early next week to make the thirty-city tour official. Before long, Liam led Drew to the kitchen mentioning a craving for angel food cake topped with peaches and drizzled with ice cream. AJ and Kassidy followed.
Once they were out of ear shot, Aileen motioned to Maeve. The trio perched on the wide, stone ledge of the fireplace hearth.
“And so, ladies, just like that, our lives have gone high octane.” They shared a laugh. “It helps me rest easy to know that Drew’s been a friend of Liam’s for a long time. I think we’re in good hands for the tour.”
Still, Siobhan kept tabs on Kassidy and Drew, nodding toward the dining room. “What do you guys think about that?”
“He seems nice enough, but he better not pull anything on KC.” Maeve’s warning vibrated through the air.
In a quiet corner of the dining room, Kassidy sat next to Drew, chatting with him as he devoured a slice of cake. Chin propped in the cup of her hand, body tilted close, Kassidy definitely enjoyed getting to know the man.
All the same, the instincts of a lioness arose, marching against Siobhan’s skin. Nobody, but nobody was allowed to hurt Kassidy Cartwright. KC might present a sassy, indomitable image to the world—which was how she liked it—but at heart, she was soft, and easily hurt.
Then there was Maeve, and that strong reaction to the dinner table discussion of Josh Andrews. What was up with that? Why had barriers gone up so fast and strong?
Siobhan sighed. So much intrigue whirled through the circumstances of their lives, with so many moving parts. God was at work, yet orchestrating patterns in such unexpected and challenging ways; Siobhan felt disjointed and anxious.
Always the most centered one of their crew, Aileen stretched her legs. “KC can take care of herself—and she’s adorable when she flirts.”
Aileen’s focus homed in on Liam, and Maeve released a wistful sigh. “You’re wishing you were already married. I can tell just looking at you as you watch him. And I swear, at dinner, you were acting like you’ve already been married for years.”
Aileen struck a comedic pose and framed her face with her hands. “Open book here.”
“True, and I love that about you.” Maeve caught her eye. “Need some support in the ‘stay strong’ area?”
“To put it mildly.”
Aileen crossed her feet at the ankles. Siobhan kept silent and tried to ignore a painful twinge in her heart. She lifted her hands toward the snapping, crackling fire that slowly dwindled. Guilt slithered in when she considered the fact that her accident and recovery were the reasons why wedding plans had come to a screeching halt.
“I had no idea how difficult the purity thing would be,” Aileen continued. “Liam is so respectful and caring, and he wants to preserve that moment for both of us as well but...I want to be with him. So much. It’s physical, yes. We kiss and he touches me and my entire being wakes up. More than that, it’s this…connection…I want to be everything to him.”
Maeve regarded their friend in an intense moment of suspense. “It’s difficult, sometimes impossible. I know firsthand.” Maeve breathed out, a sense of melancholy rippling around her.
“With the way the group has taken off, then Siobhan’s accident, now the tour to come, I sometimes feel like my life with Liam is far away.”
A sudden and powerful wash of emotion stripped Siobhan defenseless. Tears tracked down her cheeks, cool against hot skin. “Ailee, I’m so sorry.” She choked the words.
In a heartbeat, Aileen caught Siobhan by the hand and Maeve moved in tight as well. “Siobhan, what’s wrong?”
“I never meant to hold you back.”
“You’re not. You’re working hard to emerge from the midst of a fireball. None of us would trade an instant of what’s happening—marriage or not—because we need you. Even the powers that be are coming to understand how precious you are. Keep in mind that without you there is no us. That’s God’s truth, and we’re more than happy to follow it.”
With that, three hands came together—one on top of the other.
11
Siobhan wandered through the outdoor lot of Witheby’s Auto Mart, lagging behind Liam and AJ. AJ had even reworked his schedule at the hospital in order to help her through this nightmare.
“Do you like this one?”
AJ’s query barely elicited a shrug of acknowledgment. Her muscles went tight while he crouched a bit to study the wide, white sticker on a shiny, white, four-door sedan with sparkling chrome, and a tan leather interior that filled the air inside the vehicle with that new car smell folks seemed to covet.
Siobhan
hated everything about it.
All around her, people poked heads through open doors, popped hoods, discussed fuel mileage, and payment options. Everyone seemed so excited.
Siobhan wanted to run away.
Liam turned her way, pausing from his study of a fire engine red, two-door number that looked sporty and fun. And dangerous. Her stomach quaked. On one level, she knew she was being irrational. On another, she clung to the horrific twist and scrape of crumpling metal and shattering glass as her car spun wildly and collided with a guardrail.
What if it happened again?
“Good morning, ma’am. Would you like to take one for a test drive today?”
Siobhan jumped, gulping down nerves when a kind-eyed salesman strolled forward and offered assistance. To their everlasting credit, AJ and Liam kept quiet, but moved close in support and awaited her reply.
“Oh, umm, I…yeah…I guess I should.”
Sunshine warmed her skin. The day sparkled with barely a cloud in the sky. No threat could be found except the one that lived in her heart, and her memory of that dark and snowy night and losing control of her vehicle.
“Which one do you like best, Siobhan?” AJ waited patiently in a silence that built.
Neither.
But that was a lie. Once upon a time, the idea of tooling around Westerville in a beautiful new car of vibrant red would have been appealing. Her betraying gaze swept to the sleek vehicle.
Seemingly puzzled by her obvious reluctance, the salesman stepped back a few paces. Liam came to her side, hooking an arm around her shoulders. “You know? This is a day to celebrate. You’ve almost beaten down every negative thing that tried to topple you over the past several months. You’ve signed a tour contract complete with CD video commitments. You start show rehearsals in”—he quick-checked his watch—”just over two hours. The tour kicks off in two months. Enjoy it all. Savor it.”
AJ nodded. “And you need to focus on something else that’s important. What happened wasn’t your fault. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to drive with as much confidence and enjoyment as you did before the accident.” Next, he gave her a grin, a captivating, devilish grin that melted her heart. He nodded temptingly toward that gleaming car of show-stopping red.
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