by Taylor Hart
“We thank thee for bringing us all home tonight in safety and for this bounteous food that sits before us.” His father was quiet for a long time.
JJ didn’t know what was happening; usually his father’s prayers were heartfelt, but not long. Now all of his brothers’ eyes were open—and they looked to him. His pulse kicked up and he didn’t know what to do or say, but something had to be done about whatever was going on with their father.
“Thank you, Lord. Amen.”
“Amen,” the brothers said in unison.
His father took a slice from the plate of ham in front of him and then offered the plate to JJ, who took two slices. The food was passed in an orderly fashion to the right, a habit that his mother had ingrained in all of them since they were little.
For a few minutes, they were quiet as they ate. The boys had always started eating right away. Their mother used to make them slow down and have more conversation during the process, but their father just let them eat for a while before they slowed down and talked.
JJ hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he’d started eating the delicious ham Martha had prepared. All he’d had that morning was a protein bar before he’d boarded the plane for Denver from L.A. It wasn’t that he hadn’t had an opportunity to eat or be served; there just wasn’t room for an appetite with the tension gnawing his stomach.
After a while, JJ noted his father hadn’t eaten much. Plus he was staring at JJ with a strange, proud smile. “Can you go any faster?” his father asked.
JJ glanced around and saw that his other brothers were almost done with their food—except for Parker, who looked worried. “Guess I was hungry.”
His father smiled wider and looked around the whole table. “I love it when you boys come home and eat.”
Parker’s gaze flicked toward their father. “Are you going to give the announcement you’ve been gearing up for, Dad?”
His father sighed and leaned back.
JJ defended him. “Let the man be; he still needs to finish.”
His father put his hand up. “I’m not hungry, and Parker’s right. I’ve been waiting to give you one of my famous lectures for a couple of weeks now.”
A low murmur of laughter went through his brothers.
JJ felt himself relax. If it was just a lecture, well, that was fine. They were all used to his father’s lectures.
Parker spoke. “I came home for a visit last month and you kept telling me you wanted all of us together for an announcement.” He leaned forward, resting his arms against the table. “You’re hiding something. What’s going on?”
His father scowled. “Nothing’s going on, Mr. FBI.”
Ryan piped up. “Yes, there is, Dad. You’ve been…You’ve been antsy.”
“I haven’t been antsy,” his father denied. “I just need to tell you boys something important.”
Clark sighed. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to bring up that I’m living beneath my potential when I took the job with Banner Output Marketing.”
This wasn’t an issue JJ wanted to get involved with. After all, he’d left the ranch and operating his father’s oil leases company for his music; he’d be the last person to judge anyone for that kind of thing.
His father shook his head. “No, but maybe we should talk about Maren.”
Clark glared at him. “I don’t talk about her.”
Seth calmly steepled his fingers, his elbows propped on the table. “Dad, we all feel that something is going on. Please, just tell us whatever you’re going to tell us.”
JJ’s father leaned back. “I do have an announcement. I’ve been wanting to talk with you boys about something I take very seriously. Something that your mama and I wanted for all of you.”
They all waited. The tension in the room was stretched tight enough to snap.
“It’s time for you all to trade in that bachelor lifestyle and get married.”
Silence reigned for a moment. Out of everything JJ might have expected, this was far down the list.
“Are you kidding me?” Ryan blurted. “This was why you called us together? This was why you leveraged the fact that Mama would want us to come home for Christmas Eve dinner? The reason you’ve had us all worrying?”
“Stop it, Ry.” Seth gritted his teeth and turned to JJ, silently asking for help.
JJ grimaced. He was tired of the games his father had been playing to get him to come home as well.
His father’s face took on that all-knowing look. It was a look that too many businessmen had failed to understand when facing Jack Kelly. “Don’t sass me, boys. You need to hear me out and take this seriously.”
JJ fumed inside. This was the important thing his father needed to lecture them about? Getting married?
His father stood, and his gaze seared each of them in turn. “Your mama and I were happy. Very happy.” He blinked, as if forcing back tears, and then pointed to the Kelly coat of arms, which hung above the mantel of the fireplace. “You all know that we have a strong Irish heritage. We are Kellys, and that means we bear the Irish name with pride. My great-great-grandfather came to this country with nothing but his two hands, and he carved out a home in America. Then my great-grandfather served in the war and gave his life for this nation. We are Americans now, and I am proud of that. I love this country. You know your grandfather served in the war as well, and I’ve always told you that the greatest thing a man could give to his country as gratitude for freedom is his life. Your mama believed this too. It was one of the reasons I fell in love with your mama.”
“Dad, what’s going on?” Parker stood.
His father put his hand up. “Nothing.” He wiped beneath his eyes.
Clark stood, too. “It’s not nothing, Dad. There must be something going on.”
“You boys sit down and let me talk.”
Both of them hesitated, then sat. Obeying their father had been ingrained in them their whole lives.
His father cleared his throat. “I loved your mama with everything I am. And she and I both wanted to teach you to value three things: God, country, and family. In that order.”
Chills washed over JJ, and he leaned a little closer to catch every word.
“You are good men.” His father sucked in a breath. “But you need good women.” He focused on Ryan.
“Dad,” Ryan protested.
JJ wondered if his father would bring up the fact Ryan had dumped Rachel, his high school sweetheart, after their mother passed.
“Let me finish.” His father put his hand up. “I know you’ve all had good women at one point or another. I can’t figure out why none of you have sealed the deal. Why you haven’t gotten married and given me some grandkids?”
Genuine laughter suddenly broke out.
His father wagged a finger at them, but the seriousness on his face softened. “I mean it. I want you to think hard about getting married and having a woman to share your life with.” A smile played at his lips. “And I am serious about getting me some grandkids, too.”
Parker shook his head. “Dad.”
His father focused his attention on him. “I know it’s been hard for you, son. The way you lost Ari would have driven most men mad.”
Parker’s face went blank.
No one ever spoke of Ari.
There was silence among them for a few moments. Then his father looked at all of them, “Think about it…for me and your mama.” He got teary-eyed again. “We believed in true love. And we wanted that for you.”
JJ thought about the woman he’d almost proposed to. Chantel. He tried not to think of her most of the time, but she’d been his muse for every love ballad he’d ever written. “So that’s all, dad?”
His father leaned back, wiping his nose. “Yep, it is. Find love. Get married. Have families. That’s it.”
Parker shot JJ a disbelieving look.
His father hesitated, like he wanted to say something more. Then he shook his head, put a hand on the table, and grinned at them. “Le
t’s just enjoy being together tonight, shall we?” He picked up his glass of water and held it in the air. “I love having all my boys home. Kelly Brothers on three.”
All of them picked up their glasses. JJ met Parker’s eyes and found that both of them were smiling.
“One, two, three!”
“Kelly Brothers!” they all shouted.
Chapter 1
9 Months Later
JJ clenched his hand into a fist. His father was dead. Dead.
He sat at the formal dining room table, staring up at the Kelly coat of arms on the wall. He wondered how it had all ended up like this. Unlike last Christmas, when he and his brothers and dad had sat here, enjoying the season together, today was the worst day of his life.
Finding it hard to pull in enough air into his chest, JJ cursed and stood. He and his brothers still had the funeral this afternoon, but Niles, the family attorney, had insisted on this meeting this morning.
JJ blinked; his eyes were raw. Every part of him felt bruised and battered. His father had told no one he had prostate cancer. None of them had heard about his radiation treatments. No one had known he was about to die—except his attorney.
“JJ,” Niles said.
JJ swiveled, startled out of his thoughts.
Niles held a paper out to him. “As executor of your father’s estate, would you like to read your father’s statement?”
Emotion scraped the back of his throat as he remembered getting the call three days ago. “No.” He moved back to the table, and he and his brothers all sat in their usual seats.
Niles sat where his father should have been.
JJ couldn’t resent him for it. He wished there was a clear enemy—someone to fight, some evil dictator to take down—but the only battle going on was inside of him.
Niles cleared his throat. “Just so you boys know, your father looked at this will last week, so everything is up to date.”
JJ wanted to yell at him to get on with it, but all he did was nod. It all felt hazy.
Niles began reading. “‘Dear Sons, if Niles is reading this to you, then I must not have been able to beat the cancer.”’
JJ turned and saw the stunned and grieving looks on his brothers’ faces that mirrored his own.
Clark was softly crying.
Parker was sullen, but there were no tears.
Seth just let the tears drip down his cheeks.
Ryan roughly wiped at his face.
Niles cleared his throat again. “‘Boys, I want you to know how proud I am of you. I’m the luckiest father.’”
JJ pushed back the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.
“‘But there is one thing I am disappointed with.’”
All of them were stunned.
“‘I told you boys last Christmas that I wanted you to give up the bachelor life and settle down, get married, start families, but none of you seemed to take that advice seriously.’”
That wasn’t quite true. JJ had actually gotten engaged to Tonya, a fellow country star. He’d proposed dramatically one night on tour, after singing their number one best-selling song that had recently gone to the top of the charts.
Too bad he’d ended the relationship right before coming back home.
“‘Well, that’s okay, boys, but now I have to play hardball. I didn’t make a fortune by being easy to handle, and this matter is near and dear to my heart. In order for you to inherit one-fifth of all that was mine, you have to get married by Christmas day.’”
“What?” Ryan gasped next to him.
Niles looked up, meeting eyes with Ryan. “This Christmas. The twenty-fifth of December.”
Parker shook out a laugh. “He wants us married in—” He broke off, doing the math. “—in fifty-one days?”
Seth looked troubled.
JJ let out a dark chuckle. His father had been a ruthless businessman. It was what had made him so successful: he never took no for an answer.
“The old man is using our inheritance against us?” Ryan cursed. “This isn’t right.”
Clark broke into overly loud, hysterical laughter. “You have to admit, this is totally Dad.”
JJ found himself bending over, laughing as well.
Pretty soon Parker joined in, then Seth, and then Ryan.
The more they laughed and looked at each other, the louder it got.
Niles waited, looking bored. “Are you ready for me to finish?”
Clark sobered quickly. “Ahh, come on guys.” He stood. “Niles, forget it. I don’t want the money. I’m doing fine on my own.”
Parker nodded. “Yeah, not playing this game. I don’t need the money or the headaches.”
Ryan snorted. “Yeah, I agree. I’m out.”
“I’m way out,” Seth agreed.
JJ sucked in a long breath. Dang, it had felt so good to laugh, but reality was hitting him hard. Why would his father do this?
Parker turned to Seth. “It’s not surprising you’re out when you would rather be with animals than people most of the time.”
Seth grunted. “It’s true.”
Parker winked at him. “I don’t like people that much, either.”
“But it was true.” Ryan grinned, play-punching Seth’s shoulder. “You do like animals more.”
JJ’s mind whirled with questions until he finally came to the same conclusion as his brothers. “I’m out too. Guess all the old man’s money goes to charity and we live our lives.” It actually felt right. He was finally able to breathe. “He never wanted us to be trust fund babies anyway.”
The others all nodded.
Niles put up a hand. “Gentlemen, this will is ironclad.” He gave them a thin-lipped smile. “I should know; I wrote it. But there’s more. If you don’t comply with your father’s wishes, the money won’t go to the charities you and your father set up.”
JJ hesitated. “What do you mean?” His father had made it his personal calling in life to set up charities with all of them when they turned twelve.
Niles continued reading. “‘I thought some of you might say “forget the money,” after all, I brought you up to be self-sufficient so you can be men on your own, and I’m proud of that. But I am betting none of you will let your charities go under.’”
Adrenaline spiked through JJ’s veins. He thought of his charity, ‘The KB Arts Academy’ in Denver. It focused on underprivileged kids in Colorado who had talent and couldn’t afford to grow that talent. Every kid was scholarship in the two hundred student high school. Plus, the cost of the building, the staff. He actually had no idea how much it cost to run the Academy, for the most part he’d only made periodic visits to board meetings. He surmised it was quite a chunk of money.
Ryan leaned back. “This is dirty pool. Dirty, dirty pool.”
His brothers began arguing about their charities and which one should be funded if they had to pick.
JJ stood and paced over to the fireplace, his head spinning. “Dad knew this would happen; he knew we wouldn’t give up on our people or animals.” He turned to Niles. “So what do we have to do?”
“You can’t be serious,” Parker countered. “You’re really thinking that we go through with this? We just…get married by Christmas?”
Clark moved next to JJ. “Bro, you want us to just go off looking for some random woman to marry? How is that fair?” Clark sputtered, pushing a hand through his dark hair.
JJ was in the line of fire now, like his team had been ambushed and gunfire was raining down. All he knew was that they had to act fast. Determination coursed through him. “We do what needs to be done for the people who are counting on us.”
“What?” Ryan threw up his hands. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Clark shook his head.
“Niles,” JJ said, giving Clark a silencing stare, “tell us what terms we’re looking at.”
Niles glanced at each of them and let out a long sigh. “One: You have until Decemb
er 25th of this year to get married. Hopefully, find your true love. Two: If you are not married, you lose your inheritance and—this is the sticky part—” He looked around the room at all of them “—if you’re not all married, all of your charities will not be funded. Your father and I spoke in detail about this clause. He wants you to all be married. He wants this to be a team effort.”
“That’s crap,” said Ryan, pounding the table with his fist.
Niles held up three fingers. “And three: You may not discuss this deal with anyone outside of this room.”
Seth shook his head. “Come on, Dad.”
“However,” Niles said, clearing his throat and looking superior, “you may let your true love know after they agree to marry you, so they know what they are marrying into. But your father wanted to make sure you weren’t just finding gold diggers, too.”
Parker threw up his hand. “The old man officially lost it.”
JJ nodded. This was insane. His father had gone insane.
Niles cleared his throat. “Your father wanted me to stress to you that he was counting on you to use integrity when deciding whom to marry.”
Ryan laughed. “Oh my gosh, what are we on? The Kelly Brothers’ Bachelor? Oh wait,” he said, putting up a finger. “The Kelly Brothers’ Integrity Bachelor.”
JJ was silent. He faced the Kelly coat of arms again, thinking about how serious his father had been last Christmas about wanting all of them to settle down. He let out a breath. “Dad,” he muttered.
“So what’s it going to be, gentlemen?” Niles asked.
JJ raked a hand through his hair and turned back to face his brothers. “I say we do it.” Certainty pulsed through him.
Parker stood and moved to JJ’s side. “I can’t do this.”
JJ frowned at him. “What about your Surf and Soup charity in California?”
Parker shook his head. “I don’t know, I guess I’ll have to find others who want to take it over and fund it.” He swallowed and his face turned pale. “But I’m not getting married just to satisfy some bogus terms dad left us with.”
Ryan pointed at him. “You’ve been acting off since you left the Bureau six months ago.”
