Shamrocks and Secrets

by Cayce Poponea

  Patrick and Thomas began to chuckle. Matthew looked between the three, frustrated he wasn’t in on the joke.

  “She had the balls to try and throw a punch when I knocked that pathetic pocket knife out of her hand.” I would have given anything to have seen that.

  “She forgot the one rule in engaging an enemy.” The men began to chuckle harder. “Never bring a knife to a gunfight.”

  Nora was clearly unscathed from her run in with Makenna. It was as if Makenna had forgotten to flush the toilet rather than pulled a knife on her.

  “Why would her plan have worked if she would‘ve stayed in the sunroom?” My father finally asked the question I wanted to know the answer to as well.

  “Because her favorite gun is in the kitchen. The sunroom only has a shotgun and Nora isn’t as good with a shotgun,” Thomas answered and a smile came across Nora’s face as she leaned into his side, nodding in agreement.

  “It’s a very nice nine millimeter with a silencer on it. Eileen never knew what was happening down here. Now, had I used the shotgun, she could’ve heard what happened, and killed my girl,” Nora said seriously.

  And just like that, Nora became my hero.

  The next day, I was once again sitting in the Malloy house. This time I was allowed, to get up long enough to set the table. Nora had insisted on having a big family dinner. I watched in awe as she scurried around the kitchen, as if doing the most graceful ballet dance. No matter how long I lived, I would never look that good in the kitchen.

  Once everyone was seated and grace was said, the only noise you could hear was the clanking of forks against plates and an occasional moan of someone enjoying their food. While everyone else had plates of salad, I was forced to eat yet another bowl of ice cream.

  Maggie had arrived late yesterday after the guys had cleaned up the two bodies. Had I not been here and seen all the blood everywhere, I would never have guessed there had been a gunfight. Even the front door had been re-hung and was absolutely perfect. Nora had insisted that Maggie and Angus be here for the family dinner as well.

  “Christi, I have only the programs left to put together and I thought we could do some this evening as long as you’re not too tired,” Maggie offered.

  “No, I’m more than willing to do a few. But first, Missy, I want to know what’s been going on with you.”

  The smile on Maggie’s face dropped and her head lowered. It was instant waterworks. Angus quickly took her hand and drew her into his side.

  “Oh, my, Maggie. Whatever is the matter?” Nora asked concerned.

  I watched as Maggie’s body began to convulse with sobs. Poor Angus just continued to rub her back.

  “It’s my fault she’s so upset, Mrs. Malloy,” Angus’s voice was sad, regretful, and I wanted to go over and hug it all away.

  Maggie took in a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her dinner napkin. “Since I was a wee little one, I’ve had my wedding planned out,” her voice was so small, not the usual strong person she was.

  “I made a promise that I’d save myself for my husband and give him all of me.” No one moved or tried to say anything as Maggie continued. “I love Angus with everything I have, but I’ll never be able to show him that love and give him all of me now.”

  I quickly turned to Patrick; I wanted to know why he wouldn’t let Angus marry Maggie.

  “Angus isn’t in the country legally,” Patrick’s husky voice filled the table, clarifying the situation for everyone. “He’s not able to apply for a legal marriage license here.”

  It was as if the angels from heaven above shouted it themselves as three female voices cried out at the exact same time.

  “Da, you have to fix this!” Amex slammed her tiny hand down on the table.

  “Who do you know, Thomas?” Allyson’s voice was not far behind.

  “Dad, call someone and do something!” I wasn’t about to be left out, either. Shannon also nodded vehemently in agreement.

  Nora shook her head as she began to chuckle. We girls were all talking over one another, demanding that our fathers do something.

  Poor Maggie sat gob-smacked in her chair.

  Finally, Thomas raised both hands in surrender, “Fine, yes, I’ll make a call.”

  “Right now, Da!” Amex shouted.

  I turned to see Patrick’s face growing red, his eyes boring into mine. “What?” I questioned him.

  “What am I, Christi, chopped liver?”

  I was confused at his question and his anger.

  “Calm down, Son. These ladies know who can do certain things and who they need to call on,” Thomas said in defense.

  “Oh, so only you can forge some documents?” Patrick’s voice was tight and clipped, his anger now spilling over in his words.

  “No, I could forge them just as easily as you could, or I can call Governor Stamford to play some golf and then have him sign an executive order so everything’s aboveboard.”

  I watched as Patrick hung his head and began to chuckle. “Touché, Da, touché.”

  Muscles was sitting back in his chair shaking his head, his look was of disbelief.

  “What has your crow, Muscles?” Thomas questioned.

  “Just an observation.”

  “Continue.”

  “It’s just that with one word from these little daddy’s girls, they have the two of you snapping to attention.”

  My dad let out a deep bellied laugh. Thomas followed.

  “What, what’s so funny?” Muscles questioned.

  “Son, when you’re blessed to have a little girl, you’ll learn there’s nothing you won’t do to make her smile.”

  “Pfft.”

  “Muscles, when my three were little, I was their mannequin when they wanted to play dress-up. I was their guest at more tea parties than I can count. I cleaned up scraped knees and broke up fights over favorite shirts. I’ve had the pleasure to be the first boy they ever danced with and to have warm, wet, strawberry-scented kisses every night before bed. I held my daughters as they cried over first crushes and even one particularly persistent young man who had my daughter followed,” my dad turned to Patrick and winked.

  “I was blessed with Abby and again I sat at that small table with my knees to my ears and I sipped the tea she made me, no matter what it tasted like. I let her put lipstick on me and paint my nails. My own girls have long since grown up, but I can assure you that when Patrick and Christi bless us with a little girl, you’ll once again find myself and Thomas with barrettes in our hair, feather boas around our necks, and frilly hats on our heads.”

  Not a dry eye was left at that table after my dad’s speech.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, Sir, but Christi and I will only be having boys,” Patrick was trying very hard to be serious.

  “Oh, well, I’m certain I can speak for Thomas when I say this to you, Patrick. You can only pray to be blessed with a little girl.”

  I noticed Sherman had grown very quiet and I was certain he was thinking of Mia. My heart broke for him.

  “Sherman, do you need any help with the funeral?” Nora’s voice was warm and gentle.

  Sherman’s head quickly turned in her direction. “We’re just having a small service, since it’ll only be Caleb, Paige, and me.”

  Nora reached over and took Sherman’s hand in hers. “We’ll all be there, Sherman. She was still your wife and I know that at one point in time, you loved her. She gave you a wonderful son and we’ll all benefit from his devotion to this family,” Nora patted Sherman’s hand as his other discretely wiped his eyes.

  When the truth about Eileen was finally told, Sherman could only shake his head in disbelief. He knew all along that Eileen had never loved him, but he had loved her. He admitted that they only shared two moments of intimacy their whole time together. She had lied to him, saying she didn’t care for sex and he had been gentleman enough not to push. Meanwhile, she had been enjoying regular visits to Velenci.

  After the shootings, my father had contacted a
friend of his who had moved to Italy several years ago. He had become a constable in a town not far from where Velenci lived. He alerted him that there might be an issue. When the police arrived at Velenci’s estate, they found a very happy Mia shouting out orders to men who wouldn’t listen to her. They also found a naked Velenci with a knife through his chest in an upstairs bedroom. He had been dead for some time. Mia was taken into custody and was awaiting trial for murder.

  Caleb had been concerned that Patrick would think he’d been involved in Eileen’s plans. Patrick had made it quite clear that he knew Caleb better than that. The tapes had also proved Caleb and Sherman had no knowledge of what Eileen had been plotting.

  “I’ll never fall for a pretty smile and an accent again,” Sherman’s words brought me back to the present. “With present company excluded, women are nothing but headaches.”

  I felt so bad for him, he was such a good man and he deserved someone to love him, we all deserved that.

  “Mr. Montgomery, you sound just like my poor Ma,” Maggie’s voice was now back to its jubilant tone. “When my Da left, he took a huge part of her heart with him., he did”

  Maggie continued to tell us of how her parents married extremely young and quickly had two girls, herself and her sister, Caitlyn. Her Da left literally in the middle of the night. Her Ma was left with huge debts and two small girls to raise on her own. He’d said he had found the love of his life in a neighboring village, too bad the love of his life had a husband already. One that shot him to death when he came to profess his love.

  “She’s been alone all these years and she swears she’ll never fall for a man again.”

  I remembered seeing a picture of Maggie’s mom and sister one day while visiting her shop. She was a beautiful woman who looked like a slightly older version of Maggie.

  “How long has it been since you’ve seen your Ma, Maggie?” Amex questioned.

  Maggie closed one eye and tilted her head to the ceiling, “Almost four years, I’d s’peck.”

  “Oh, my,” Nora spoke.

  “Oh, not to worry, Lass, I’ve been so busy since Mrs. Montgomery’s nuptials that I’ve paid for my Ma and my sister to come over and help me. They’ll arrive this weekend,” Maggie’s face became even brighter as she spoke to Nora.

  “Maggie, what’s your Ma’s name?” Nora questioned.

  “Ma’s is Sharon, and my little sister is Caitlyn Gael. They’ll be here on Sunday. Just in time to help with Ms. Christi’s wedding.”

  I couldn’t help but to smile at her joy. I knew that since Paige’s wedding, her business had really picked up and I knew she was booking events into the next year. I was happy for her. She made people feel special and tried to make their day perfect.

  Now, about Sherman...

  Three days later, we all stood under a huge tree behind Nora and Thomas’s house. Sherman and Caleb stood side by side as the soft breeze ruffled their jackets. I had questioned Patrick about how they would explain the death of Eileen to her family back in Ireland. He said that in families such as ours, you knew that if you did something as sinister as what Eileen had done, the family would shun her. It would be as if she had never existed. Mia could ask for all the help in the world, but none would be given. In our family, trust was everything.

  “I found your letters you got from him. I read all the promises he made you, the dreams he said he had about you,” Sherman’s voice rang strong and clear.

  “I tried to love you, I was always faithful to you, and even though you spit in my face, I stayed true to my vows to you. I took back all of the money you stole and I’m helping my son build our company, the one you tried to destroy. Goodbye, Eileen.” I watched as Sherman opened the urn and dumped the container onto the ground.

  Caleb said nothing as he continued to stare at the ashes at his feet. I watched as a ray of sunshine danced off his hair, the red strands glistening in their path. “When my children ask me what their grandmother was like when she was alive, I’m going to lie and tell them that you loved everyone and had a good heart. No child should ever have bad memories of the woman who gave them life. That’s all you did, but I’m going to work on forgiving you.”

  Nora was beside Caleb so fast that she was almost a blur. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed his cheek. She whispered in his ear so quietly that no one else could hear. Softly, she cradled him, as if he were a small boy as he shook with silent sobs in her arms. They stood like that for several minutes, no one making a single sound.

  Caleb slowly looked into her eyes as he and Nora shared a smile. “I’d be honored to call you Ma,” Caleb’s voice broke the silence.

  “Come on then, Lad, we have so much to make up for,” Nora’s warm motherly voice chuckled.

  It was days like these that I was so glad I’d worn waterproof mascara.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  I’d heard that what didn’t kill us made us stronger. If that was true, then Christi was one of the strongest people I knew.

  I had taken too many chances with her safety as of late, not seeing what was directly in front of me. That changed today.

  Last night after dinner, I spoke with Matthew. I asked him if he was happy with the department he currently worked for. He questioned me, pushing me directly to the point. I told him I wanted Christi better protected, by someone who wouldn’t be swayed by sex or money. I needed someone who would protect her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

  He thought about for several minutes. When I said I would double his salary, he continued to ponder. Then I offered to triple it.

  Matthew finally agreed to matching his current salary and placing additional money away for his retirement. He formally resigned from the Chicago PD last night.

  Christi’s warm body lay still and peaceful beside mine. I could feel her every breath and muscle twitch. I had never prayed as hard as I did, while we waited for the toxicology results to come back from the lab. Tonto had been correct, it was troll killer.

  No one could really pinpoint the origins of troll killer. I could remember my father using it on a particularly uncooperative man when I was much younger. He refused to tell my father who had stolen a shipment that had gone missing so my father gave him the drug and then placed him in a bathtub, and then turned on the water. It was quite effective.

  The beauty of the drug was that it rendered the extremities useless, yet the mind remained clear and breathing was unaffected. Speech was hindered, yet awareness remained sharp. Everything that was happening was still discernible, but the recipient was powerless to do anything about it. It was essentially undetectable in the bloodstream and that was again proven with Christi’s blood tests.

  The sun was just beginning to break across the horizon, beautiful shades of pink and gold lighting the sky. Today would be a good day. Today was also the last day I would be a single man.

  Muscles had pulled me to the side last night and asked if I wanted him to book a quick flight to Vegas so that I could have a bachelor party. I only looked at him and he knew the answer to that. I didn’t need or want to have a party involving half-naked women parading around. I was far too happy to toss my single days away to mourn them ending.

  Christi’s quiet stirrings brought me back to the bed we currently lay in. She had extra blankets covering her. Ever since her kidnapping, she had been obsessed with being warm. She said that being so cold had been the hardest part. I would sweat every night for the rest of my life to keep her as warm as she wanted to be.

  With one final stir, Christi softly and sleepy called out my name, “Patrick?”

  Placing my hand on her arm, tracing the soft,warm skin that lay beneath the covers, I buried my nose into her brown, silky locks as I inhaled, taking in the most pleasant aroma I had ever experienced, pure Christi.

  “Good morning, Beautiful.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Staying at Nora’s had its advantages. First, she was as neurotic about having things in their place a
s I was. Second, she could cook like there was no tomorrow. Breakfast this morning consisted of the crispiest and most amazing waffles, I had ever had with this phenomenal berry compote, and a cup of coffee that Juan Valdez himself would have been proud of.

  I had a counseling session first thing this morning. Dr. Green was well aware that the wedding was tomorrow, and that Patrick had a very long honeymoon planned, thus the reason for the appointment today.

  Patrick had informed me that my father would be my new bodyguard and honestly, it felt like the whole world was lifted off my shoulders. My daddy was the one man I trusted completely, besides Patrick.

  Dr. Green and I discussed a few fears I was currently having. One having so much attention shoved my way. The second, being intimate with my new husband. She was honest when she told me that only time would tell.

  Arriving back at Nora’s just before lunchtime, I was immediately assaulted with the smell of pasta sauce cooking. Maggie was large and in charge, with her phone in one hand and a clipboard in the other. She looked up when she noticed me walking into the room.

  “Yes, that’s right, Saint Josephine’s church. And if the runner isn’t delivered by three, you’ll be hearing from me.”

  Her smile was bright and I knew by the look on her face she was having the time of her life.

  “Christi, you’re looking sprite today, Lass.”

  With a quick kiss to my cheek, her phone began to ring and she quickly answered. “I fail to see how that’s my problem. You were contacted months ago so I suggest you go find more.”

  I didn’t want to know what the issue was. I didn’t care if the food was cold and the beer stale, I was getting married.

  “Christi, my love,” Nora came from the kitchen, hair perfect and not a single stain on her apron. “Patrick is on his way to drop your things off at your father’s, and then he’s picking up the family from the airport.”

  Nora had invited every single family member from Belfast. Patrick had chartered a commercial plane and pilot. I thought it was a bit ostentatious, until Nora told me it was actually less expensive than purchasing sixty round-trip tickets.