The Spell of Four

by Casey Morgan

  Killian and Mila tried to pull us apart. Donovan was laughing, so I don’t think he was taking me seriously.

  I grabbed a handful of mud and shoved it in his face. He got mad then. Then he was taking me seriously.

  “Ah. You little shit,” he snapped.

  Suddenly, I realized just how strong Donovan was. He was fast, too. I suddenly found myself on the bottom and Donovan was shoving grass into my mouth in retaliation. Killian and Mila managed to pull him off me.

  “Stop. The two of ya,” she snapped. “What the hell was that about?”

  “Don’t yell at me. He’s the one who started it,” Donovan protested.

  I stood up and spit the grass out of my mouth. This was a long time coming.

  “It’s not my fault,” I said. “Everyone around here treats me like I’m nothing. Like I’m a little baby. Well, I’m not a baby. I’ll fight Peter. I’ll fight anyone.”

  “We’re not trying to treat you like a baby,” said Killian. “We’re trying to watch out for a friend. That’s all.”

  I looked around and realized my mistake. Guess I wasn’t angry at them so much as I was angry with myself.

  My own frustrations in what I couldn’t do to defend myself in school just boiled over. I wanted my shot at Peter, but they took that away.

  Maybe it was for the best. He was a big lummox. Either way, I shouldn’t take it out on Donovan and the others.

  “I’m sorry, Donovan,” I said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I guess, all those memories from the years of Peter picking on me came flooding back. I just couldn’t take I any more. That’s on me; it’s not on you. You’re my friend. Sorry.”

  “Ah, c’mere, you big elf,” said Donovan, hugging me roughly. “It t’was a good shove. Never saw it coming. You might’ve beaten me. Ya know, if ye had the wind at your back or some other advantage.”

  “This is ridiculous,” said Mila. “Now I have the McDonnells stalking me. All we did was knock on their door.”

  “I’m afraid that was enough,” said Killian. “The McDonnells don’t do much except sit around that farm. Most of the family doesn’t work. When you spend so much time like that, you tend to get territorial.”

  “Still, that’s no excuse,” said Donovan. “I mean, to insult her and all.”

  “Is that what they said?” I snapped, getting angry. “She said it so fast at the door, I didn’t totally understand. Now I’m mad.”

  “Easy, killer,” joked Donovan. “You want to take on the whole McDonnell clan, you’ll need more than piss and vinegar. Ye ever see their family reunions? Must be two or three hundred of ‘em running around.”

  “They had a family reunion?” said Mila, sounding astonished. “If they welcome family to the farm, why wouldn’t they welcome me?”

  “They only held the family reunion as part of a scam,” Donovan assured her. “They charged their relatives and then short changed them on the food and drink. Everyone left pissed off and there were several fights. The cops had to arrest over a dozen of them.”

  “Can you imagine if you had been raised by them, Mila?” asked Killian. “What your life would be like?”

  “Actually, yes. I had a dream last night about exactly that,” she said. “It was awful. I was overweight, dressed like white trash—”

  “White trash?” asked Donovan, not understanding.

  “It’s an American pejorative term for unkempt people with bad manners,” she explained. “Anyhow, it was just awful, in my dream. All the screaming. But I am a McDonnell; I have to accept that.”

  “But only in blood,” I assured her. “Your blood doesn’t make you who you are. That’s just part of it. I’m a Hennessey and I’m not at all like my brothers.”

  “Well, you’re a bit like your brothers,” said Killian. “You look like them.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Donovan. “And you bartend well, just like them.”

  “But personality wise, I’m not,” I said. “I mean, you have to admit that.”

  “Yeah, in the big picture. You’re not at all like them,” admitted Donovan. “But in the little things, you’re just like them. Like how you tap the glass with your finger every time your pour a pint. Your brothers both do that.”

  “What? No they don’t,” I insisted.

  “Oh, aye, they do,” said Killian. “And how you all always put on and take off the apron before you clean the bar.”

  “It’s like watching clones with that move,” added Donovan. “Exactly the same.”

  “Well, those things don’t matter,” I dismissed them.

  “It’s the little things, though, is what I mean,” said Donovan. “Either way, we’re just glad you’re okay. What were you doing all the way out here?”

  “Walking and talking,” said Mila.

  “Mila came out here to tell me she wants to be with all three of us,” I said.

  I don’t know why I blurted it out. I guessed I felt it was time to get all the cards on the table. If Mila wanted this and I could be with Mila, then this is the way it would be.

  “I guess she told me first and then was going to tell you next,” I told them. “I’m down for it, if you boys are.”

  There was no hesitation in the way that I said it. At first, I’d felt some fear or doubt, but now that I’d had some time for it to sink in, I was completely sure that it was what I wanted.

  “Wait a minute,” said Killian, as if he was reeling a bit. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about? Are you talking about sharing Mila? The three of us?”

  “Just like your brothers share Shanna?” asked Donovan. “Are ye serious?”

  “What gets into you Hennessy boys?” Killian asked, scratching his head.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Right, Mila?” I asked.

  “I kind of wanted to approach them myself,” said Mila. “But I suppose – Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I want. The three of you. All together. This is what I want in a relationship. Or at least I want to try it. I can’t pick between the three of you and I like you all.”

  There it was, then. She had said it, and they knew, just like I did, what she wanted. Now it was up to them to decide what would happen to the future for all four of us.

  Chapter 16

  Killian

  Well, that was a bit of a bombshell. I had to admit I hadn’t seen it coming, even knowing how Aiden’s brothers lived. It was a very similar situation. American girl looking for her roots, local Irish boys – almost like it was a pattern.

  “From the first moment I met all three of you,” Mila explained, “I felt this zing. This moment of electricity when I brushed against your hands. Did you feel it?”

  “Yes.” said Aiden, excitedly. “I thought that was just static electricity.”

  “Oh, aye,” I said. “I felt it too.”

  Donovan just stood there. I gave him a nudge. If this was going to happen, he had to speak up now.

  “Aye, yes,” he admitted. “It was weird. Never felt anything like it. Not even with Sian.”

  In all my adventures with the ladies, I had never been in this situation. It sounded to me like if she couldn’t pick between us, the “fair” thing to do was to pick none of us and go back to America.

  How depressing would that be, though? To come all this way, find out your relatives are pieces of shite, fall in love with three Irish gentlemen, and then go without even a story to tell your girlfriends?

  It made me a little queasy just thinking about it. I don’t know why I wanted Mila so badly. I guess I had never really been love.

  What did I have with all those sexual encounters and dalliances? It wasn’t love, was it? None of those girls would take care of me when I was sick or even remember me at my funeral, would they?

  Maybe I was just getting old. I remember my Great Uncle Terry. He was a confirmed bachelor. He always had a beautiful girl on his arm, even when he was well into his seventies.
r />   In fact, I was looking forward to that age. The women to men ratio gets quite good if you’re still dating.

  But then, by his mid-eighties, Great Uncle Terry had slowed down. He couldn’t get in and out of a car without help and then he couldn’t drive at all. He would sit in his house alone, watching TV – basically waiting to die.

  None of those many women he had made happy over the years came by to help him. It ended up all just being empty dating.

  I mean, after all, if you were just dating – What did you really owe that person? If you’d dated someone a few times and they got sick, you could walk away.

  If you didn’t have a relationship, it wasn’t like anyone was going to say you “abandoned” that person. You didn’t know that person well enough to be in a relationship with them, let alone take care of them or be there for them when things got hard.

  Maybe that was it. I had never truly been in a relationship at all. Maybe these women I had dated over the years hadn’t come anywhere close to being relationship material. I wasn’t a relationship expert; I was just a dating expert.

  Poor Great Uncle Terry. I could only imagine his last moments. He wasn’t surrounded by family. They just found him in his wheelchair, dead in front of the TV. I didn’t want to go out like that.

  As much as I loved the thrill of the hunt and the challenge of trying to get a new woman to respond to my advances, in the end, it was all sport. It got old after a while.

  Now I wanted something more than sport – something permanent. I wanted Mila. And the tragic part was, I sensed she wanted me, too. But without Donovan and Aiden, I sensed it wasn’t going to happen.

  Could I share a woman with the lads?

  It seemed like a crazy thought, but was it?

  The lads and I always had things to do. And when you were in a relationship with a woman, the woman demanded a bit of your time. With the three of us, that time would be cut into thirds, essentially.

  If she felt lonely and was busy, she could always go to my brother or Aiden. And since they were the only other lads in the group, I wouldn’t have to worry about her going outside the family. Well, technically, Aiden wasn’t family, but he was like family to us.

  People would give us trouble at first, like they gave Brody, Ryan and Shanna. But just like what had happened with that group, they’d eventually come to accept us.

  In fact, with the triad as an example, they’d be more likely to accept us more quickly. Who cared what we did in private, right? As long as we loved each other, it didn’t matter.

  Could the rest of my family accept it? I’m sure they’d come to, eventually. And if it didn’t work out, we could just all go our separate ways. I wanted it to work out though. I felt, deep in my bones, that it definitely would.

  Donovan was going to be the toughest to convince, I think. He always liked to be in charge. He’d have to contend with me and Aiden.

  Aiden would probably be the easiest to convince. I mean, he was already in. The lad was a virgin and this was obviously a step up. Maybe by watching Donovan and me, he could learn how to take care of a woman.

  Of course, my brother had his problems. It wasn’t all how he had painted it with Sian. Sure, she was bored and restless and wanted to leave the village and all, but Donovan didn’t handle it as best as he could have, with communication and honesty.

  Instead, back then, Donovan liked to drink. He liked to stay out all night and bury his feelings in a bottle. That did not make for a happy young wife. It was a continual “chicken and egg” scenario in which one made the other unhappy and then vice versa.

  Who knew whose “fault” it really was? And it wasn’t up to me to assign blame. It was a miserable situation all around. And either way, they got married way too soon.

  I could see it in his eyes, that Donovan would be devastated, too, if Mila didn’t pick him. It was weird how someone could love another woman as much as I did, but I could tell that he did.

  Well, whatever the outcome, I wasn’t going to give up and I wasn’t going to abandon my mates over a woman. Not even one as beautiful as Mila.

  Mila was looking at each of us, while I was trying to form a response and it was clear that Donovan was, too. Now was the moment of truth: the moment that would decide our collective future.

  Chapter 17

  Donovan

  So I was standing there waiting for Mila’s response, thinking about what my life had come to up until now.

  It wasn’t so bad, was it?

  I mean, I did get married once and that was fun for a while, until it turned into our own private hell. But I always had my brother Killian to see me through any hard times. And our good friend Aiden. At least I wasn’t alone through it all.

  Now I had a good business and being a brewmaster was fun. Still, there was something missing in my life. I thought it might be Mila. Maybe it was.

  Sian and I, we had chemistry to be sure and a pretty good sex life at one point. But we never connected on an emotional level.

  Even as she was preparing to leave, she didn’t see what her leaving was doing to me. I was broken, angry – I wish she had explained herself better.

  Ah, but we were just kids back then. Now, I was much older and wiser.

  Wasn’t I?

  Sometimes, I still felt like a fucking kid.

  Killian surprised me. That lad could have any woman he wanted, so why was he going after Mila? Sure, she was hot and funny and nice, but why was he still standing here looking like he was deciding whether to share her, when he didn’t have to share anyone because he had so many girls at his disposal if he wanted them?

  Seemed to me she must be pretty special if a guy like Killian would go to so much trouble. Don’t get me wrong – he had gone to plenty of trouble for plenty of women in the past. In fact, that was his M.O. He’d fawn all over them and then boom. Off to bed.

  This time, his approach was different, more measured. It was as if something bigger was at stake.

  I’d seen him walk away from women before – he’d just get bored with them or busy with work. He was so good at setting himself up with someone, it didn’t matter if once in a while he had to pass.

  But with Mila, it was different.

  Then Aiden over there — oh, boy. The lad didn’t know what he was stepping into. He was clearly lovestruck, as I was – as we all had the tendency to get, from time to time.

  Aiden, though – I didn’t think he’d been in love before. I didn’t even think he had pursued a woman very seriously before. The poor boy was just too sensitive.

  But not this time, not for her – it was clear that he was going to fight that goon for Mila. I had never seen him so motivated.

  I didn’t know how I’d feel if she picked me. Normally, I’d just throw my arm around the girl and we’d head off to drink and then to bed.

  In this instance, I thought I would feel sad for my brother and Aiden. That was a weird bit, thought, wasn’t it? Why should I feel bad for them?

  Oy. And if I forced her to choose and she didn’t pick me? That would be a disaster, wouldn’t it?

  But the fact that she was in love with all of us tells me she could pick none of us, to be “fair”. Or she’d pick all of us, but that was crazy.

  Then again, Aiden’s brothers did it. How bad could it be?

  Killian’s mi brother and Aiden’s just like one. Part of my problem with Sian was that I could never be there enough for her. She needed constant attention and love.

  It was like, “Love? I have a job. I have to work if you want to go out on the weekends.”

  That was before I had heavily invested in growing the beer company with Killian and became filthy rich, of course. Work was definitely a priority back then, if I had wanted to survive, which I did.

  Now I’d have more time to pay Mila attention, but if I didn’t, she would have plenty of it from Killian or Aiden, which she deserved. So maybe this type of arrangement really could work out well.

  But how was this all go
ing to work? My family would go nuts. The church-going folk, well, they didn’t like Brody, Ryan and Shanna very much.

  Would they stop drinking Odell’s because of our relationship? Nah. This was Ireland. No one would stop drinking great beer for any reason – especially not one with that magical hazelnut flavor brewed into it. What the fuck was I thinking?

  I supposed it would be nice, knowin’ that the lads would be looking out for Mila when I was busy, and vice versa. It seemed like it would be a bit of a traffic jam in the bedroom. But maybe this really could work?

  I guessed it would just take some getting used to, but anything worth having was worth working for. I supposed I could ask Aiden’s brothers how they managed it.

  I imagined they’d just shrug and say, “Get on with it.”

  I mean, what else is there to say?

  It is what it is.

  I looked at Mila. She seemed a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Maybe it was all this McDonnell business, weighing on her mind.

  Who could know the mind of an American like her? They came from a completely different land of money and food and non-stop everything.

  There was a thought.

  Would she get bored with us?

  America’s pretty great, from what I hear. Why would she want to live in this rainy old Irish village full of fairy folk with us?

  Maybe this was all just a fling for her and in a few weeks, she’d come to her senses and go back to the States. She’d tell all her friends about her wild times and then she’d go marry some hedge fund manager, pop out two kids and tolerate her boring husband.

  I’d have to look out for Aiden if she didn’t pick him. The poor lad was an artist. He had always felt too much. I’d have Killian him set him up with someone if that was the case.

  If she picked Killian, then I’d have to do it. Or at the very least, I’d get Aiden incredibly drunk. That was usually the solution for most bad things that happened around here.

  How was the sex going to work if she really insisted on choosing us all? No eye contact – that has to be a rule with the lads. It was going to be a bit of a rush to get the best position.