by Terri Reed
“I’m ready,” she said as nerves tumbled through her.
He rose, his wide shoulders blocking out part of the sun streaming through the window behind him. With long purposeful strides, he crossed the room and squeezed past her through the door. “Come along, Miss Henry.”
Meghan made a face at Ryan’s retreating back. It was all she could do not to stick her tongue out at him. She wasn’t his lackey. If anything, he was hers. He might have a handsome face and shoulders wide enough to carry his entire family, but she wouldn’t let that affect her. The sooner she established herself as an equal the better.
She hurried outside to catch up to him. An ocean-scented breeze whipped at her loose hair. The briny air reminded her of lazy summer days when she was a kid and her parents would take her to the seaside at Martha’s Vineyard. Those carefree days were long gone.
Pushing back the stray strands with one hand, she gestured to the blue sedan parked in the visitor’s parking lot with her other hand. “I’ll follow you.”
He didn’t respond as he climbed into his police-issue vehicle. Not that she expected him to. He was a regular caveman. At least today. But she knew there was hero material lurking somewhere in his cold heart.
He started the engine. Obviously, he’d had the tires replaced. She hurried to her car so she wouldn’t be left in the dust.
How would the family react to having an outsider in their midst? Especially once they learned the truth? She shored up her courage. She’d faced worse, scarier situations in her life. A roomful of Fitzgeralds wouldn’t daunt her determination. Besides, seeing their reactions would add depth to the article she planned to write. An article that should propel her career forward and bring justice to her cousin.
Less than ten minutes later, Meghan parked her car behind Ryan’s in front of the colonial-style house that sat up on a gentle rise overlooking the town and the expansive Atlantic Ocean. The house sat on the highest ground above the village. All the wealthier citizens of Fitzgerald Bay had houses on the hill. The Hennessy home was a few doors down. A regular who’s who of Fitzgerald Bay.
Meghan appreciated the clean look of the white home with its symmetrical windows flanking the white pillars on the front porch, giving the place a grand air. Sunlight gleamed off the leaded, decorative glass in the massive front door.
Flowers bloomed from window boxes attached beneath the five windows marching across the second floor. She’d only seen the house from a distance and had admired it.
Now here she was entering into the Fitzgerald inner sanctum. Something she had never expected. Yet couldn’t deny she’d watched the family and yearned to belong to the tight-knit clan. If only she were visiting under more pleasant circumstances. A part of her wished she didn’t have to do this. But the other part of her knew it was the only way to find Georgina and gain justice for her cousin.
The sound of children laughing came from the gated backyard. Meghan caught a glimpse of Irene Mulrooney, the Fitzgerald family housekeeper, picking up Charles’s son. A deep longing for a child of her own tugged at her heart. She’d always wanted kids. Her ex hadn’t. She hoped maybe one day…
Ryan ushered her inside the house. She heard voices as he closed the door behind them. Others had already arrived. She followed Ryan, barely having time to appreciate the beauty of the wainscoting in the entryway, the intricately carved staircase leading to the second floor or to catch a peek of the antique-filled living room.
The house had been built on a solid foundation and filled with lovely items. She hoped the family was strong like the house to weather this news.
He led her to a high-ceilinged dining room with a long wooden table and a sea of chairs around it, several of which were occupied. She halted just inside the arched opening as everyone in the room quieted and stared.
Trepidation dried her mouth.
She noted with a tiny bit of relief she wasn’t the only non-blood Fitzgerald in the room. Pretty, strawberry-blond Merry O’Leary Fitzgerald stood next to her husband, Police Captain Douglas Fitzgerald. The man closely resembled his older brother Ryan. Enough so that Meghan had at one time thought maybe they were twins.
Victoria Evans, Owen’s ladylove, and Demi Townsend, the woman who took over nanny duties after Olivia died, were both seated at the table. Meghan liked Demi, they’d become sort of friendly over the past few months. Though Meghan owed her an apology for trying to warn her off Charles. Since he wasn’t guilty of any crimes, Meghan was happy that Demi and Charles had fallen in love and recently announced their engagement. They made a cute couple.
Near the window, Nick Delfino, another outsider, took a post, looking forbidding with his arms crossed over his chest. Meghan had only met the former Boston Internal Affairs officer once. He was nearly as intimidating as Ryan. Beside him, Keira Fitzgerald, Ryan’s youngest sister, regarded Meghan with a curious stare. Meghan wondered how Ryan felt about his baby sister falling for the man who’d been secretly planted in their department to determine if the Fitzgeralds were legit or corrupt.
Ryan moved away from Meghan to stand near his brothers, Owen and Charles.
Meghan stepped aside to allow Fiona Fitzgerald and firefighter Hunter Reece to breeze past her and enter the room. It was rumored Fiona and Hunter were quite the item of late. Apparently the gossip was true if the way they were holding hands was any indication. Fiona had been widowed two years earlier, leaving her to raise her six-year-old son, Sean, by herself. When an arsonist had recently targeted Fiona’s bookstore, Hunter had been the one to save not only the store but Fiona and her son, as well.
“Sorry we’re late,” Fiona said as she stopped to take stock, her gaze landing on Meghan. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Meghan managed to croak.
Decidedly uncomfortable at being the focus of so much attention, Meghan edged closer to the doorway. She’d never had a big family. Her father, Phinn Henry, had arrived in Boston from Ireland as a young man and hadn’t kept in touch often with his younger sister, Tara, Olivia’s mother. Dad had met Mom while working in a brokerage firm. Candice Henry had been an orphan so when Meghan was born it was just the three of them. Until they both died in a car accident when Meghan was twenty-one.
At the head of the table sat Ian Fitzgerald. The current sitting mayor and the clan patriarch. His observant eyes turned Meghan’s way. She willed herself to fade into the woodwork. Didn’t happen.
A moment later, Aiden Fitzgerald swept into the room, blessedly taking everyone’s attention away from Meghan. Tall, distinguished looking, he carried himself with a proud bearing that Meghan had found comforting. Until she’d read Olivia’s letter.
Moving to the end of the table opposite his father, he stood facing his family. “I’m sorry to call you here unexpectedly.” His gaze raked over the group assembled before him. Regret underscored sadness in his blue eyes. “You all are a part of this family now, so you need to hear.”
Anticipation vibrated in the air. Meghan leaned forward, wishing she could claim to be a part of this family. She longed with every fiber of her being to belong to something, to someone. But she was the outsider. That would never change. Because when they learned the truth, they would revile her just as Ryan did.
“As some of you already know, we suspect Christina Hennessy killed her husband, Burke Hennessy.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “And we suspect she may have been involved in the murder of Olivia Henry.”
There were murmurs of surprise. Meghan’s heart sped up.
“Christina has run off with her adoptive daughter, Georgina,” Aiden added.
“You don’t think she’d hurt the baby, do you?” Merry asked, her voice laced with concern.
Meghan’s own fear reared. Who knew what Christina was capable of?
“I’m hoping not, but we just don’t know.” Aiden cleared his thr
oat again, apparently having trouble getting his words out. “The truth of the matter is that Olivia Henry was baby Georgina’s birth mother.”
Meghan heard a gasp, saw the stunned expression on each face.
“Did Christina know?” Fiona asked, her lively blue eyes awash with concern.
“I’m assuming so,” Aiden said, his gaze meeting Meghan’s briefly.
Meghan noted the grief in his blue eyes. Her fingers curled against the empathy spreading through her.
Tell them, she wanted to scream, but refrained, allowing him time to come clean on his own. But if he didn’t say what needed to be said soon, she’d be forced to tell them the truth.
“Now the letter makes sense,” Merry interjected.
Meghan blinked. She knew about the letter?
Douglas nodded. “Right. Olivia was writing to her baby not a man as we’d assumed.”
Confused, Meghan sought Ryan’s gaze.
“Olivia gave Merry a letter before she died,” Ryan explained, his voice devoid of emotion. “She’d addressed it to her sweetheart saying they’d be reunited soon.”
“Oh.” Meghan digested that information. “That supports what she wrote in the letter to me. That she knew her baby was here in Fitzgerald Bay.”
All eyes focused on her. All except Ryan who looked away.
“You received a letter from Olivia?” Keira questioned. “When?”
“It was mailed months ago, before she died, but I only recently received it,” Meghan said.
“What did it say?” Owen asked.
“Where is it?” Fiona asked.
“Why’d it take so long to get to you?” Charles asked.
Feeling the force of the several sets of Fitzgerald stares, Meghan shifted her gaze to the elder Fitzgerald, willing him to step up and tell the truth.
“I have the letter,” Aiden said, drawing his family’s attention. He met his father’s gaze across the expanse of the long dining table. Ian Fitzgerald nodded ever so slightly. Obviously Aiden had discussed this with the patriarch.
Aiden placed the letter on the table. “There’s something I must confess to all of you.”
Meghan held her breath.
“Twenty-three years ago I was unfaithful to your mother.”
A collective gasp echoed in the stillness of the room.
Charles and Owen didn’t look surprised. Meghan saw the slight nod the two brothers exchanged. Interesting. Had Owen and Charles known and kept the information from their siblings? She wondered why.
Meghan’s gaze shot to Ryan. A muscle flicked angrily at his jaw. His taut expression tried to mask his thoughts, but the deep, welling pain in his eyes tugged at her heart.
But she couldn’t regret bringing the truth to light. Olivia deserved justice for her life and death. Her blood relative, Georgina, was missing. And Meghan needed the resources of the Fitzgerald family to find her.
FIVE
Ryan couldn’t take a breath. His world was imploding as he stood in his family home, the one safe haven they all shared, and the only place he’d ever felt truly at peace.
That peace was now shattered into a million fragments that cut his soul to shreds. Everything he’d believed about his father had been stripped away in one devastating blow.
The pedestal he’d placed his father upon toppled. Leaving Ryan feeling vulnerable and uncertain.
Douglas, Fiona and Keira peppered their father with questions. Only Owen and Charles appeared unfazed as they stared at their father with sympathy tempered by anger in their eyes. How could they excuse this? How could they not be reeling the way Ryan was? Unless…
“You knew?” Ryan accused his two brothers.
Charles and Owen exchanged a quick glance then nodded. Betrayal sliced through Ryan. “How could you keep this a secret?”
“When did you find out?” Douglas demanded.
Aiden held up a hand. “Please.” He waited until his kids had quieted down. “Don’t be angry at them. I asked them to let me tell you in my own time and way.”
Fury churned inside Ryan. His own time and way? Ha. Like never?
“I know this is a shock and I never intended for any of you to find out like this.”
Ryan turned away, unable to look at his father. Nausea filled his stomach, making him regret the eggs and bacon he’d had for breakfast.
“Maureen and I had hit a rough patch. You all were so young. There was so much pressure on me, on her. We were fighting all the time. Your mother and I agreed we needed some distance and time to regain perspective. I went to Ireland for a month.”
Each word was like a knife digging deep into Ryan’s chest. He remembered when his father took that trip. He’d been gone exactly a month. A long time in a child’s eyes. His mother had never once shown distress, always saying dad would be back soon with presents for everyone. And he was.
Ryan still had the chunk of rock claiming to be a bit of the Blarney Stone sitting on his desk as a paperweight. The once happy memory was now tarnished by the truth of what his father had done. Hurt burrowed into Ryan’s heart.
“I didn’t plan on… I had a brief relationship with a woman there named Tara Henry.”
“You mean Olivia’s mother?” Fiona asked, her voice shaking.
“Yes.” Regret and sadness darkened his eyes. “Olivia was my daughter, your half sister.”
“Have you known all along?” Keira demanded. Anger made her cheeks red.
Aiden inhaled and slowly exhaled before answering. “Yes.”
Ryan had to give his dad props for not dissembling. “Did Mom know?”
The shame in Aiden’s gaze was answer enough. No, she hadn’t known. If she had, would she have stayed married to him? Rationally, Ryan understood his father’s need to keep his affair and other daughter a secret. He risked losing his family. But he should have thought of that before making such a choice.
Unable to take any more, Ryan headed for the exit. His gaze collided with Meghan’s. The sympathy, the pity, on her face was almost more than he could bear.
“Ryan, please, wait!”
His steps faltered. He needed to get out of there. He needed to breath. To think. To ask God why this was happening. How could his father, who professed to be a man of God, do this? Was anyone’s faith true? Was his own faith even real?
“I know you’re hurt. And you all have every right to be angry with me, but right now we must pull together and find Olivia’s child. My grandchild. Your niece.”
Meghan laid a hand on his arm, the pressure light, but searing even through his uniform shirtsleeve. “Please, Ryan, you promised to find Georgina and bring her home safely.”
Her plea scored him to the quick. A child was in danger, in the hands of a murderer. He’d sworn to serve and protect, regardless of his personal problems. His duty was to find the child.
Compartmentalizing his anger and hurt, Ryan nodded. This was not Meghan’s fault. Nor was it the child’s. Covering her hand with his, he said, “She is the priority.”
Relief flooded Meghan’s face. “Thank you.”
He wanted to be angry at her, to rail at her for peeling back the veil of deception that revealed his father to be all too human, but he couldn’t. She’d acted in the best interest of her family. Just as he would have were the situation reversed.
Now he could only hope to follow her example.
* * *
Meghan hovered on the edge of the tight-knit group of Fitzgeralds, overwhelmed by the sheer size and force of the family. The yearning to belong, to be accepted into the inner circle twisted her up in knots. A pipe dream that wouldn’t ever come true.
Ryan summed up the events of the past day, including the attempt on their lives.
<
br /> “Thank the Lord above you’re safe,” Ian Fitzgerald stated. “This is nasty business. We have to pull out all the stops.”
“What we need is to get the public’s help,” Owen Fitzgerald stated.
Meghan wondered if the detective for FBPD handled fugitive cases often. Fitzgerald Bay didn’t strike her as a hotbed of crime. But then again, lately they’d had their fair share of criminal activity. An arsonist, a stalker. Murder. A shiver of dread coursed through Meghan.
“How about flyers?” Merry asked.
“We could put out a press release,” Keira said. “Show pictures of Georgina and Christina. I’ll volunteer to man the phones for tips.”
“I can answer calls, too,” Fiona said.
“Me, too,” chimed in Demi.
“A press release is a good idea, Keira,” Aiden said with approval in his tone.
The rookie police officer and youngest of the Fitzgerald children beamed.
“But a press release will only hit the surrounding area,” Douglas pointed out. “We need national coverage since we have no way of knowing how far Christina has taken Georgina.”
“A press conference, inviting all the stations in the state, would be the best way to reach a wider audience,” Nick said.
Aiden nodded. “I agree. I’ll make a plea to the public.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Fiona asked. “I mean with the mayoral elections coming up. If the public finds out about your…our family’s connection to Georgina, it could hurt your chances of winning the election. Maybe you should let Ryan be the spokesperson on this.”
“With Burke Hennessy dead, there’s no question Dad will win the election,” Owen stated. “No one in their right mind would vote for Judge Monroe, not with how he helped cover up what his son was doing.”
“That’s for sure,” quipped Keira, her blues eyes flashing with anger.
“There’s no proof he covered anything up,” Douglas said.
