by A. S. Kelly
A Four Days Novel
Book 2
A . S . K E L L Y
Copyright © 2018 A. S. Kelly
Translation by Kathleen Fitzgerald
Sweet Days
A.S. Kelly
English Edition
All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction
prohibited.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and storyline are the fruit of the author’s
imagination or are used in a fictional sense.
Any similarity to facts, places or people living or
deceased is purely coincidental.
To all those who think they’re never enough.
The book
Patrick Doyle is a rude, selfish and cynical man,
but for his friends and family, he’d do anything.
His dream of pursuing music came to an abrupt
halt after a car accident involving those he loves
most in the world after which he dedicated himself
to working full time in the pub he manages with
his childhood buddies, keeping his distance from
love or any other kind of bind.
Erin O’Neill is a bright young woman with her
future well planned: she’s about to graduate, she’s
got a part-time job in Patrick’s pub and the perfect
boyfriend until the unexpected happens, upsetting
her life and turning all her well-laid plans upside
down, leaving her alone and desperate.
Patrick isn’t the kind of guy to get caught up in
other people’s problems, especially if it involves a
damsel in distress, but he can’t help coming to her
aid and finds himself catapulted into her life
against his will—even if he would like to maybe
be part of that life—even if that means getting
hurt, and hurting her too. Because Patrick destroys
everything he touches.
Prologue
Erin
“Rain?”
“Erin, hi.”
“Could you … could you come to the pub?”
“Something happened? Are you all right?
Everybody okay?”
“Yes, everybody’s fine, Rain. I need…” I take a
deep breath, trying to hold in the tears.
“Something’s happened and I didn’t know who to
call.”
“You’re making me worry.”
Rain’s voice is a trembling whisper that
instantly makes me feel like a moron for calling
her.
“I need a friend, Rain. I need you. Please, I’m
desperate.”
“Okay, take it easy, I’m on my way.”
“I’ll be waiting,” I say, while the hot tears start
running down my face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Thanks,” I blurt out, but she’s already hung up.
I close the conversation and let my telephone
slide into my jeans pocket. I’ve been locked in the
bathroom for ten minutes. My break is finished by
now and I have to get back to work. I take a look
in the mirror and it’s just what you’d expect: a
disaster. My mascara has run down my cheeks and
my eyes are dressed in dark circles due to the lack
of sleep, the uninterrupted crying last night and the
make-up, which has completely melted.
I wash my face and take a few deep breaths
before opening the door and going back out there.
Luckily, the place isn’t very crowded tonight
because I’m telling you I don’t have it in me to
smile at a bunch of people tonight. Not a joke in
me. I take a few steps towards the counter where I
find Patrick talking with Alan, one of the regulars
at Only4You, a middle-aged man who prefers
spending most of his nights here instead of at
home with his wife. I offer a half-hearted smile
and grab the tray to collect the empty glasses on
the tables when Patrick lets go with one of his
typical comments that normally don’t bother me.
However, tonight could be the final straw.
“Hey, what’s going on over there, you were
gone forever!” he tells me. “I have to go on break
too, ya know.”
“Sorry, I was on the phone.”
“Problems in paradise? ”
He’s making fun of me and he has no idea how
much it hurts.
“Nothing that would interest you, Patrick.”
“You can be sure about that. I think no sane man
should be forced in any way to have just one
woman.”
I turn slowly, pursing my lips and trying not to
burst out sobbing before answering him.
“And yet your friend doesn’t seem to be having
a bad time of it,” I say, referring to Liam, Rain’s
boyfriend.
“Huh, not exactly what I’d call an expert
source. And then we’re talking about Rain, the
only woman on the planet who is intelligent,
beautiful and sensual.”
“Gee, thanks,” I reply dryly, holding the tray
against my chest.
“Don’t get into a hissy Erin, you know what I
mean.”
“Sure I do Patrick, perfectly: you’re an asshole.
What did women ever do to you?”
“Women?” He breaks out in a rude laugh.
“Women don’t have any effect on me and you
know it. Or maybe they do have an effect but I
doubt you’d want to hear the details.” He
concludes, chuckling.
I know Patrick well by now. I’ve been working
in this pub for about a year and I’ve met all his
women. His general rule of thumb is to have two
women a week and with no strings attached.
And I shake my head and turn away from him
because tonight I don’t feel like going over the
same old conversations again. We all know
Patrick’s got some kind of allergy to the words
relationship, couple and most of all, love.
Just in that moment, Rain makes her entry. Her
face is red and she’s winded. She must have run to
get here and I feel guilty for having made her
worry and drop everything to come.
“Hey,” she says, running across to hug me, “I
got here as fast as I could.”
“Not here,” I whisper, drying my newly wet
eyes.
“Something wrong?” Patrick asks to my back.
“Erin’s going on break,” Rain announces, taking
my arm and bringing me toward the back of the
pub.
“She just got back,” Patrick adds, “it’s my turn.”
“Well, you can wait another fifteen minutes, or
half an hour or however long this takes,” Rain
concludes, nodding her head to indicate that I
should follow her.
Patrick mumbles something about women and
PMS and Alan laughs at his joke. Instead of
answering him back like I normally would have, I
shoot him a bitter, resentful look, but he must have
read more into it because the entertained
expression on his face changed in an instant. His
eyes narrowed slightly as if to study me closer, and
his forehead wrinkled as if he was thinking.
Almost as if he was worried.
Rain takes a key out of her pocket and asks me
to follow her upstairs to the apartment Liam left
after having moved in with her.
“Come on up, it’ll be calmer here.”
I nod and follow her up the stairs, trying to find
the right words to tell her that my world just fell
apart right on top of me.
Patrick
Erin takes off with Rain, leaving me alone at the
counter. I needed a break, more than anything else;
I needed time to check out the scene tonight. I
have pinned down at least five possible lays and
I’d like to get started testing out the territory in
order to see who I should concentrate on.
I dry the glasses that I’ve just pulled out of the
dishwasher and put them away on the shelf, while
Alan goes on with his vulgar jokes that I smile at
to be nice, while my cell phone vibrates
incessantly in my back pocket. I pull it out and see
my mother’s name on the display. I step away from
the counter to answer her.
“Hello, darling.”
“Mom, everything okay?”
“Sure it is!” she explains with a bit too much
enthusiasm.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Just wanted to say hi,” she says, but I can tell
by her voice that something is wrong.
“What’s going on?”
She lets out a big sigh on the other end of the
line.
“I didn’t want to call you. You already do so
much for us.”
“What is it that you need?”
“It’s for Ciara.”
“Is she well? Has something happened?” I look
at the counter and see a crowd starting to form,
customers waiting for me to get back.
“She’s fine, don’t worry. It’s for University.
There are taxes to be paid and it’s just too
much…”
“How much is it that you need?” I cut her short.
I know how much it costs her to call me for these
kind of things and I don’t want to drag out her
discomfort.
“Just this one time, a little help.”
“Mom,” I interrupt her before she can go on.
“You don’t have to worry, okay? You know I’m
always here for you and the family.”
I hear her sigh again.
“Carl tried to get some extra work as a delivery
guy in the evenings but he works so hard during
the day and he’s never home with his family. He’s
a good man and a real worker.”
“Yes, I know, Mother, and that’s why I’m here.
He doesn’t have to be the only one to take care of
everything himself.”
“He would do anything for us, you know.”
“Yes, I do know and I appreciate it, but this
time, let me handle it, okay?”
“Thanks dear, you’re the best.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“I know that I’m a lucky woman to have a
wonderful son.”
“Knock it off,” I tell her, shaking my head even
though she can’t see me. “I have to go now. I’ll
call you tomorrow, okay? You can give me all the
details.”
“Sorry, I didn’t want to bother you at work.”
“You didn’t bother me, it’s just I’m working the
counter and I have to go now.”
“Sure, of course. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow, Ma.”
“And … Patrick?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without
you.”
I bite my inner cheek to stop an outpouring of
rage that shoots right to my head.
“Bye, Ma.”
I hang up and slide the phone back into my
pocket. I take a big breath and make my way back
to the counter where Aaron has taken my place.
“Hey, where’d you go?” He asks me while
serving someone from the bar.
“Sorry, it was my mother, I had to answer.”
“Everything okay at home?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just the usual
problems.”
“Anything I can do?” he asks me, stopping for a
moment to look me in the eyes.
“Nope, it’s all taken care of.”
“You know if you need anything—”
“No,” I stop him. “I have it under control.”
And I hope I really do.
“Patrick,” he says empathetically, “you know
that I’m here for you and that I love your family. If
they need anything…”
“I can take care of my family myself Aaron,” I
answer resentfully. I always have taken care of
them since I was fifteen years old. I don’t need
him or anyone else.
Aaron nods his head and goes back to work as I
try to gather my thoughts. Last month Danny
needed a new uniform, the month before that Carl
had an accident at work and was off for two
weeks. And now Ciara … I know how much it
costs Mom in pride to ask me for help and I have
to be honest, sometimes I really am afraid I won’t
be able to take care of all of them, but they are my
family and I’d live in the street in order to give
them what they need. I’ll make it. In a short while,
they’ll be able to take care of themselves, at least I
hope so. I have to hang tough another three, four
years, and then I’ll be able to think about myself,
like I’ve always planned to.
And I’ll think only about me.
1
Erin
I go downstairs the minute it’s daylight. I spent the
night in the apartment over the pub following
Rain’s advice that kept me company until the first
rays of dawn. She didn’t want me to go back home
and have to face him again. I need some caffeine
or some kind of shot in the arm after having spent
the night awake, but there’s nothing in the
apartment except the furniture and a few sparse
accessories. Nothing to drink or eat. It had been
empty for a long time before Liam moved in after
moving here from Dublin.
Liam is one of Aaron, Jay and Patrick’s best
friends. Collectively, they are my bosses and Liam
is Rain’s boyfriend. They’ve been together a few
months, after he came back to Ireland from having
lived in London for two years. Liam was a famous
singer in the UK but he gave it all up to come back
here to be with the woman he’d always loved.
Rain is a sweet girl, we became friends right away.
She was in an accident just over two years ago in
which her boyfriend – Liam’s brother Neil – lost
his life, which also cost her grave consequences in
addition to losing her memory. She’s better now,
she’s not without difficulties nor has she recovered
all of her memories, but
now she’s got Liam, who
came back to take her heart and to give her his.
They’re happy in spite of everything that’s
happened.
Rain was Neil’s girl since a tender age but it
seemed like subconsciously she was in love with
Liam, who obviously reciprocated her feelings.
And how could he not? They never declared
themselves until a few months ago when the truth
came to light and Rain couldn’t help falling into
his arms, and I have to tell you the truth, I can’t
blame her. Liam can be dark and melancholy at
times, but he’s good and sweet in his own way.
Now he works at the pub too and he went to go
live with them, all of them settled in one big
house. They’re a great couple.
I live with Nate, or at least I did until last night.
We’ve been together for more than a year and have
been living as a couple for four months since my
father decided to accept a prestigious teaching
position in England, something which would also
make it easier for him to continue his research in
genetics.
My parents separated ten years ago. My mom is
American and after the divorce, she decided to go
back to San Francisco. She wanted to take me with
her but my life was here. My school, my friends …
so, she and my dad decided that I’d stay in Dublin
until I finished school and then we’d make a
decision about it. I love Ireland, America is too …
American. Too much chaos, too many people. Too
much everything. So, at the end of my studies, I
decided to stay here with my dad and follow in his
footsteps.
I study at Dublin City University, reading
molecular biology just like he did. He didn’t force
me into that choice but having grown up
surrounded by charts and graphs, research and
formulas it couldn’t have gone any differently.
When my father was offered a position in
Liverpool however, with a rich budget that would
allow him to do the most important research of his
life, he didn’t feel it was right to ask me to follow
him. I’ve got my whole life here, I had Nate.
I go to America to visit my mom every chance I
get. My dad is always willing to buy me a ticket,
but with my studies, my obligations and an
upcoming graduation, I can’t afford the time off as
frequently as before. We talk on Skype a few
nights a week and we get along, despite the
distance. We’re like two friends, and I don’t mind
