Book Read Free

Enticing the Weary Warrior

Page 20

by Tammy Jo Burns


  “Ours?” Megan turned her head and looked at Liam in shock. He nodded and kissed her forehead. He squeezed her hand and twisted his free before pushing her forward. Megan raced down the hall and Paddy to her. She fell on her knees and the little boy flung himself into her arms, holding her tight. “I’ve missed you so much,” she told the boy, tears of joy streamed down her face.

  “I ran away, but Uncle John always caught me. Aunt Beatrice always yelled after you left.”

  “At who?”

  “Everyone—the servants, Uncle John, even Grandfather, but never little Johnny. I heard the maids say she was going to have another baby. Uncle John came to me and said he was sending me to you. That he had no need of another mouth to feed. He said he had his heir and a spare and I was no longer his re…re…”

  “Responsibility?”

  “Yes.” Paddy nodded sagely.

  “Who made sure you arrived safely?”

  “I did, Mam. Uncle John gave me money to pay someone to help me. He saw me on the ship, and paid someone to see me from the ship to the carriage.”

  “That bastard,” Megan seethed. “I’ll—”

  “Meg, he’s safe, that’s all that matters now.” Liam crouched down beside her and Paddy and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

  “But do you ken all that could’ve happened?”

  “Yes. You should’ve seen Justin’s face when Paddy showed up at his door with his case in tow.”

  “I can only imagine.” The little boy yawned widely. “You must be exhausted,” Megan said.

  “Hungry,” Paddy said as his stomach growled.

  Megan laughed and hugged him tightly. “We’ll get you some food.”

  “Mam, you smell like smoke.” Paddy wrinkled his nose.

  “Aye, I do.”

  “Let Annie get him something to eat while you and I clean up,” Liam suggested.

  “Paddy, how did you remember me after all this time? I mean, well, it’s been over a year.”

  “When you first left I couldn’t sleep. I cried for you. Grandfather hung up a painting of you in my bedroom. I remembered how we used to sing and play. I’ve missed you, Mam. I think Grandfather missed you, too. He wasn’t happy after you left.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” she replied huskily, choosing not to think about John and the choices he made. She hugged Paddy tightly once more, despite the smoke that clung to her.

  Annie appeared in the hall behind Liam. “Come with me, Paddy. Cook made you a treat. She’s excited to have a growing boy to cook for again,” the maid said, holding her hand out for the boy to take.

  Paddy kissed Megan and whispered in her ear, “Mam, I like my new Papa.”

  “I like him, too,” she whispered back, choked that he already thought of Liam in that manner. She watched him quickly hug Liam, before taking Annie’s hand and going with her. “It looks like you’ve been busy,” Megan said, trying to get herself under control.

  “There’s more, but we can talk about it later. Let’s get cleaned up.”

  * * *

  After helping each other bathe, dress, and tend their wounds, they both went downstairs, bodies ablaze with unquenched desire. Megan gave Liam a look full of promise before she returned to Paddy and he adjusted his breeches before he entered the study. He found Hamrick waiting for him.

  “Would you like a drink?” He offered the man.

  “Nay. Are ye’ back for good, or are ye’ here for another round with the lass?”

  “I never left in the first place.”

  “If ye’ didn’t leave, then why’d she cry and not eat? Why has she been actin’ like her life was over?”

  “Did she really act like that?”

  “Aye.”

  “I left her a note.”

  “She didn’t get it.”

  “I’m well aware of that and for that I’m sorry. I promise I’ll not leave her again if it’s at all within my control.” He watched as the old man nodded. “One of the things I took care of while I was gone was looking into my new estate. It’s about five miles on the other side of Newmarket and perfect for raising horses. I think Megan will approve. I’m going to write down the directions. I want you to move Legend and Belle tomorrow and get them settled. We’ll follow in a day or two.”

  “Aye.”

  “How’s the new jockey working out?”

  “Good. He’s young and eager to learn. He gets on well with Legend and trusts the horse. He listens to the lass, too. We have a race at the end of the week. That’ll be the telling factor.”

  “Excellent. There’s something else you should know. I brought Paddy back with me.”

  “The boy’s here?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened?”

  “Let’s just say that his uncle no longer has need of a spare.”

  “Ah, I see how the wind blows.”

  “Yes. I think Megan is ready to take the first boat to Ireland and take care of John and Beatrice.”

  “I’m sure she is, poor lass. But now they’re together again.”

  “Yes.” Liam started to jot the information down on a piece of paper. “Here are the directions to the new estate. It’s called Brookdale Manor should you get lost or need better directions.

  “Best tell me lad, I’ve no use for readin’.”

  “Of course.” Liam quickly gave the old man directions to the house. “Now, go see Paddy before you retire for the night. They are in the kitchen.” He watched the old man nod. “Hamrick, thank you for all you did tonight. If I had lost Meg…” he trailed off, his throat growing thick. The old man grew rheumy eyed, and nodded to Liam in understanding. Liam watched him turn and leave the room.

  “Hammy!” he heard the young boy exclaim moments later.

  Liam couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Hammy,” he said, laughing. “I just might have to give the old man trouble about that.” He rubbed his hands over his face. He was exhausted. When he first left, he had merely thought to check on his new estate. Then he had received that message from the courier as he had left. He had been forced to go by the Jockey Club and present the paperwork showing that Prinny had signed over Legend to him. Everyone was satisfied and said the win would be upheld.

  He had gone on to Brookdale Manor and introduced himself to the estate manager. They spent the next few days discussing what needed to be done on the property to make it ready for Megan’s horses and inhabitable once more. He had left the man in charge of hiring servants and having the house ready within a fortnight, with the instructions that there were a handful of servants that would be joining them.

  Then, for some reason, he had felt a need to see Justin. One thing he had learned over the years was to trust his instincts. Sometimes they had been the only thing that kept him alive. He thought to clear the air between them and had been there for only a few hours when a timid knock had sounded on the front door and Paddy stood on the other side. He had been all smiles when he saw Justin, but had promptly burst into tears when he found out his precious Mam was nowhere about. Justin had quickly steered the boy from his depression and introduced him to Liam.

  “Paddy, this is your Mam’s husband. His name is Liam.”

  The boy warily studied Liam for several minutes. “Does this mean that you’re my Papa?”

  “I don’t know. How would you feel if I said yes?”

  “I’ve always wanted a Papa,” the boy said.

  “And I’ve always wanted a son.”

  “Good,” the little boy nodded. “Do you mind me calling you Papa? Jace calls Uncle Justin Papa and I want one, too.”

  “I don’t mind at all.”

  “Do you think Mam will let me call her Mama? I know she’s not really, but I never knew mine and now that Grandfather went to Heaven, no one would know.”

  “I bet we could talk her into it,” he said.

  They had spent the next couple of days at Justin’s house getting to know one another. Liam was
surprised at how well they rubbed along. He had fallen into the role of “Papa” rather easier than he ever thought to. One afternoon he had taken the boy for a walk and somehow the subject of adoption had come up.

  “Paddy, now that you’ve gotten to know me, how do you feel about me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I really don’t know,” Liam laughed nervously. They came to the pond at the back of the property and sat down. Liam spent some time teaching Paddy how to skip rocks across the still surface of the water. The little boy laughed delightedly when his rock hopped three times, but he stood and clapped and cheered when Liam’s skipped all the way across the pond to land in the grass on the other side. “Paddy, I know that you had your own Mama and Papa.”

  “But I don’t remember them. I killed my Mama and Papa died a little later of a broken heart.”

  “Who told you this?”

  “Uncle John and Grandfather. After Mam left, Grandfather changed. He wasn’t happy and he was sick a lot.”

  Liam found himself wishing a dead man were in front of him. How dare a man say such a thing to a child? “Paddy, you listen very carefully. It is not your fault that your mother died. It was just her time to go to Heaven. Do you understand?”

  “Aye,” the little boy answered softly.

  “Paddy, I want to make it to where no one can take you from Megan and me. I want you to stay with us forever. Would you like that?”

  “Aye,” he nodded exuberantly and threw himself at Liam, wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. “Does this mean I’ll be your son?”

  “If you would like to.”

  “Aye!” He hugged him tightly once more. Liam snaked his arms around the boy and held him close.

  On the way back home they went through London and stayed with Megan’s parents who were pleased to see Paddy, but kept giving Liam looks of concern. Finally, Maureen cornered him one afternoon.

  “Where’s my daughter?”

  “I left her at the house.”

  “Why?”

  “I informed her about some things regarding the years I was gone. I felt she needed space to deal with what I told her. I left her a note so she wouldn’t worry.”

  “Men,” Maureen muttered and threw her hands up in the air.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Liam asked.

  “Note or no note, she’s going to worry. You left her five years ago. Do you think that’s just going to stop playing through her mind because you leave a note promising to return? I remember you promising her you would be back to marry her.”

  “I’m not going to say that the decisions I made were correct, but I did what I thought I had to do at the time. If I had the same amount of information now as I did then, I would do everything the same way. I’m sorry she had to suffer. I’m sorry she lost our son, but I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I refuse to continue to be punished for something that’s in the past. We’re now married. I’ve fully disclosed everything to her and have given her time to do what she will with that information. It’s my hope that once I return we can move on.”

  “And isn’t it convenient that you have Paddy to lessen her anger towards you.”

  “Come now, Maureen, you know your daughter better than that. With Paddy present or not, if she is angry with me, I will feel the full force of it.”

  “Hmph,” she muttered.

  “I know I hurt her, and you don’t want to see her hurt again. All I can tell you is that I want to be the best husband to her I possibly can. That’s all I can do.”

  Maureen grabbed him close and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re back with us.”

  “Thank you.” He awkwardly hugged her back. “I’ve a favor to ask of you.”

  “What is it?” she asked, releasing him and taking a step back.

  “I need to go see a solicitor and was wondering if you could watch Paddy for me.”

  “Of course.”

  It was amazing what all had happened in a fortnight. He pulled out the large envelope and smiled. Megan was going to be surprised.

  “Liam, I’m putting Paddy to bed. Since your old room is still ready for use, I’m going to let him sleep there.”

  “That’s fine,” Liam said, knowing that she meant him to be in her bed tonight. I wonder how long she’s going to give me a tongue-lashing for my imagined defection? he thought idly. If only I can find that damned note and prove to her that I always planned to return. Why should I have to prove it? he thought. She should trust me. Why? What reason have you given her to trust you? He noticed she had turned to walk out the door, “Before you go, Paddy and I have something for you. Don’t we?” he asked the boy with a wink. Perhaps this would ease the tension between them.

  “Aye,” Paddy nodded excitedly.

  “This is just for being wonderful you,” Liam said and presented her with the envelope. She opened it and pulled out the paper.

  “Certificate of Adoption,” she read aloud.

  “I’m really your little boy now!” Paddy threw himself at her wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

  “It can’t be true,” she shook her head, not truly believing.

  “It is,” Liam said. “But I warn you, I think I’ve used up all of my royal favors.”

  She looked at him with tears streaming down her face. “He’s really ours?”

  “No one can take him away from you ever again.” He gave her a crooked grin.

  “That’s right,” Paddy added. “I’m your little boy, forever and ever.”

  “Aye, you are.” She laughed through her tears.

  “Why are you crying?”

  “I think she’s just very happy, son,” Liam said.

  Paddy turned and looked at Megan very seriously. “Can I call you Mama now? I already call him Papa.”

  “Of course you can,” she said.

  “Can I have a little brother or sister like Jace has? I know he fights with Holly a lot and Ethan just crawls around and drools, but I think I’d like one. If I had a brother, I could teach him to skip rocks like Papa taught me.”

  Liam’s eyes collided with Megan’s. Leave it to a child to talk about the one thing that could tear apart this blossoming relationship. He watched Megan wipe her tears and wince as she brushed across her abraded cheek. “I promise you, Papa and I will discuss it, all right?”

  Paddy nodded excitedly, unaware of the tension in the room.

  “You better get to bed, little man,” Liam said, picking the boy up and giving him a loud smack on the cheek and a big hug.

  “I think we surprised her,” Paddy whispered in his ear.

  “We certainly did.” He hugged him once more and then lowered him to his feet. “I’ll put the certificate in the safe.” Liam held out his hand to take the paper and envelope from Megan.

  “Thank you.” She reluctantly relinquished the papers to Liam. “I’ll see you upstairs?” she managed to make it sound like a question, like she was unsure of what his answer would be.

  “I’ll be up shortly.”

  “Mama, will you tell me a story?” Paddy asked excitedly as he pulled Megan from the room.

  Liam put the certificate as well as Legend’s paperwork in the safe, then he sat behind his desk once more. He emptied the glass of whisky he’d poured himself earlier but had yet to touch. “Can I have a little brother or sister like Jace has?” The question kept running through his mind. Would Megan be satisfied with Paddy? What would happen if she wanted more children? His breathing became rapid and his clothes began to stick to his sweat-drenched body. All of a sudden, Liam’s demons haunted him once more.

  Chapter 17

  Megan was already in bed by the time Liam made his way to the room.

  “Did you get Paddy situated?”

  “Aye. He really likes you,” Megan observed.

  “I like him.”

  “I didn’t think you’d be joining me.”

  “I said I would,” he said shortly.

  �
��You don’t have to snap at me.”

  “I’m— I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  “It was Paddy’s comment about the brother or sister. I worried you would react badly to what he asked. You have to remember he’s still just a little boy. Barely five.”

  “I know, Meg. I’m not dense when it comes to children. I know they speak from the heart and they often aren’t shy about what they say.”

  “That’s true. How are you so familiar with how children behave?”

  “I’m observant, that’s all.”

  “Hmmm. I’ve been thinking about what he said and I’ve come up with a solution.”

  “What?” he asked warily.

  “I think we should give him what he wants.”

  “Meg, it’s a miracle I’m even able to make love to you,” he said gruffly. “Having children is something I don’t dare hope for.”

  “I agree. It would be just setting ourselves up for unneeded heartache. I think we should adopt orphans of soldiers,” she saw the look on his face and laughed. She sat up and reclined against the stack of pillows behind her. She kept the sheet tucked around her body, keeping her assets hidden from his view. “We cannot adopt all of them,” she clarified.

  “You had me worried for a moment.”

  “Oh, Liam, I know there is no way we can take care of all of them, but we can give some of them a good home. What do you think? Would you like to be a Papa to more than just one lonely little boy?”

  “You certainly have a way of making it difficult to say no,” he said.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “It’s a let’s get used to being a family of three. We were barely a family of two and had difficulty making that work. We need to take this one step at a time.”

  “I agree. I also need to apologize.”

  “For?”

  Megan held up a piece of paper between her fingers.

  “You found the note,” relief filled his voice.

  “It had fallen beneath the bed. It would’ve helped if I’d known about it. It wouldn’t have kept me from worrying, but it would’ve been better.”

  “That’s what your mother said.”

  “My mother? When did you see her?”

  “Paddy and I stayed with them in London while I worked on the adoption.”

 

‹ Prev