by K. C. Crowne
“I did. And what you mean by it?”
“Well, it ain’t like there’s a bustling city on the other side of the road.” He nodded toward the picture window. “There’s the McCallister place and that’s it. You think she was heading over that way?”
Without a word, I rose from my seat and hurried over to the window. The McCallister place was thirty or so meters away, and as far as I could tell no one was there. Then a window opened, the familiar face of the girl from the road appearing in it.
“Shite,” I said. “You’re right – there’s someone there.”
“That’s her?” he asked. “The woman who owns the place?”
“There’s two women who own the place. And that very well could be one of them – she talked like an American, after all.”
I grabbed my leather jacket from the rack near the door and threw it on.
“What’re you getting up to, Ro?” he asked. “You’re not planning on trying to talk her into selling right here and now, are you?”
“Nah – now’s not the right time,” I said as I pulled open the door, the chilly Monday morning air rushing in to greet us. “But I do want to make sure she’s on the up and up.”
“You know we’ve got a practice to run here, right Ro?”
I flashed him a grin over my shoulder as I headed out. “My first appointment’s not until ten. But if you get lonely, I’ll be just across the way.”
He let out a groan as he whipped a pencil at me, which hit the door right as I closed it and stepped out. The air was brisk, the sky blue – the perfect sort of day to get your head right for a solid week of work. With the nonsense of the reality show mostly behind me for the time being, I was ready to throw myself into work at the clinic.
I checked both ways before I crossed the road that separated the office from the McCallister house.
What the bleeding hell am I doing? I thought to myself as I crossed the road. Girl’s probably shaken out of her mind. I mean, it was her damn fault that she’d almost gotten hit. All the same, she probably doesn’t want to deal with me chewing her out.
Once I was across the street, I allowed myself to accept the real motivation for my going across – aside from wanting to know that she was on the up-and-up, I wanted to know what kind of seller I was dealing with. Would she be driving a hard bargain, or would a little carefully applied pressure do the job?
I reached the front door and prepared to give it a quick rap, holding still for a moment as I realized this was my last chance to turn back. I’d never been the type to do that, so I gave the door a quick knock and waited.
It opened seconds later, and when it did my cock jolted to life at the sight of the woman.
Everything that had happened before had all gone by in a quick blur. Not to mention she’d been wearing a big, baggy cardigan and pageboy cap that had mostly hidden her from view. There, standing in front of me dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt, was a whole different story.
She was stunning. The woman was small, had to have been at least thirty centimeters shorter than me, with curvy hips and ample breasts hidden underneath her shirt. Her skin was had a slight olive tint, her complexion reminding me of someone from closer to the Mediterranean. Her hair was dark and shoulder length, her eyes dark and sensual, her lips full.
The fear that had been on her face when I’d almost run her over was gone. Despite her small size, there was a strength to her that I picked up on right away, a strength that suggested she was no one to mess with.
“Yes?” she asked, her eyes moving up and down my body in a scanning manner. “Something I can help you with?”
“Hi,” I said. “I’m the bloke who nearly ran you over just a bit ago.”
She nodded slowly. “Uh huh.”
I stuck out my hand. “The name’s Dr. Ronan O’Neill.” I stuck my thumb out over my shoulder toward the clinic. “That’s my place over there; I run it with my brothers.”
“OK,” she said. The woman clearly still not sure what to make of me. “That all?”
Alright. I could understand a bit of hesitancy considering I’d almost reduced her to a splatter on the pavement. Still, I wanted to be the composed one in the situation.
“There a chance I could get your name? Figure we might as well know each other if you’re going to be staying at the McCallister place. That is, assuming you’re supposed to be here.”
The word slipped out, and I could tell as soon as I’d spoken them that they were a misstep.
“Assuming I’m supposed to be here? What are you suggesting exactly, Dr. O’Neill? That I broke into this place? What do you think happened, exactly – I got hammered over at the pub and then decided to do a little breaking and entering so I could sleep it off?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. Listen,” I closed my eyes and held out my palms in front of me, giving myself a second to make sure my next few words came out right. “The boys and I, we were close with Mary. Hell, we’re all even close with the Byrnes’ who come take care of the place. So, I figured that if someone was staying here, we ought to at least introduce ourselves. Also, I wanted to apologize for the near-miss over across the street.”
Right as I finished, I heard the sound of a pair of cars come to a stop. I turned to see two small city cars parked in the small driveway of the house, both black. The doors opened and the drivers got out, both men, both wearing the same green polo that I realized right away was for a car rental company. One of them had a clipboard tucked under his arm.
“Good morning,” one of them greeted. “Are you Joann McCallister?”
“That’s me,” she said with a smile – the first smile I’d seen on her face since nearly running her over.
Finally, I had a name.
“Got the rental for you,” he said, coming to a stop as he flicked his eyes over the piece of paper on the clipboard. “We have the…EQ Electric car, the contracts for an indefinite rental.”
“Sounds right.”
He handed the board over and she quickly filled out the information, then handed it back. The man gave her a set of keys and was off with a smile, the two of them getting into the other car and driving off.
“So,” I said. “Joann McCallister.”
“That proof enough for you that I didn’t break into the place?”
“That’s not what I-”
“Well, I’ve got a question for you, actually,” she said as she tucked the keys into the side pocket of her yoga pants. “I saw pictures from my grandma’s funeral – if you and your brothers were so close with her, why weren’t you any of you there?”
Now I was starting to get a little annoyed. I’d come over to mend fences and she was questioning my relationship with Mary?
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I said.
“I suppose it’s not.” She blew past me, making her way over to the car. She clicked the fob and unlocked it, opening the drivers’ side door and poking around to make sure everything was in order. As she did, I could help but clap my eyes onto her perfect ass, an ass that was pointed right in my direction. I watched as she took her phone out of another pocket and took pictures here and there before shutting the door and coming back to me.
“Pictures of the car for Instagram?” I asked with a smile. She was starting to get on my nerves, but I still wanted to break the tension if I could.
“Nope, for liability. You take photos of the car as soon as you get it so you have time-stamped proof in case they try to stick you with damages that you didn’t cause.” She sidled past me, going into the house. “Now, Dr. Ronan O’Neill, if there’s nothing else…”
It was irritating me the way she was acting. Was she that mad that I’d asked who she was, what she was doing there?
“There’s nothing else,” I said. “Nothing else at all.”
“Then good day.”
With that, she slid into the house and shut the door behind her. My jaw was clenched as I turned and made my way across the la
wn. About halfway there, a beep sounded out from the car, and I nearly jumped out of my loafers.
What the hell was the matter with that woman? I was all kinds of ticked off as I crossed the street. I tried to be neighborly, to extend a hand of friendship, but she was putting up a damn brick wall.
Her tough demeanor had made it clear she’d be no pushover when it came to negotiations for the house – that was assuming she’d even want to sell in the first damn place.
I’d really put my foot in it. Didn’t help matters that she was about the most gorgeous damn woman I’d ever seen in my life. Whatever happened, I was certain things were about to get a hell of a lot more interesting in Sandy Cove.
Chapter 8
RONAN
The office was already busy by the time I got back. Aiden and Collin’s first patients were in the reception area, and though Brendan wasn’t at the front desk, the upbeat pop music playing from the speaker near the workstation let me know he was somewhere around.
I loved our little clinic – though little wasn’t the best way to describe it. The place was rather large in size considering it was a little more rural, with three big offices, three examination rooms, a break room, and even more storage space. My brothers and I had decided that, while we were all eager to work with one another, we were going to need space. We were three brothers with three big egos, after all.
I nodded to the patients as I walked past, craning my neck to see if I could spot Brendan, wherever he was. Brendan was a damn good receptionist, but he liked to do things his own way. And his own way sometimes involved vanishing from the front desk for extended periods of time.
I spent the rest of the walk down the hallway thinking about the conversation with Joann, how damn frustrating it had been. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d come to find out more about the buyers. Once she found that the buyers were none other than my brothers and me…I couldn’t even imagine how she’d react to that revelation.
It was a mess. Somehow, before the workday had even really begun, I’d put the future of our shelter house in jeopardy. I stepped into my office, the space reasonably large, with a big wooden desk and leather chair, a small seating area in the corner where I could meet with patients. Several bookshelves packed with medical texts were up against the walls, and the view from the big window behind my desk looked out over the expanse of green all the way to Sandy Cove off in the distance.
I dropped into my chair and put my feet up on my desk, the conversation with Joann playing in my head once more.
I closed my eyes and was back in the moment, back to her doorstep. She was once more in front of me, still dressed in her light T-shirt and yoga pants. Now, instead of the skeptical, borderline hostile expression she’d worn throughout the entirely of the conversation, a small smile played on her lips.
“Listen,” I said, the conversation now taking place in my mind. “I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot.”
She pursed her lips, nodded, and looked away, seeming to sense that I had a point.
“You’re right.” Joann held up her palms and shook her head, as if having a hard time believing that she’d acted toward me the way that she had. “How about this – you got a minute?”
“I suppose. For what?”
Joann smiled. “How about you come in? I just put on some hot water for coffee. We can have a cup and get off on the right foot.”
I grinned. “That sounds brilliant.”
One more smile and she opened the door a bit more to let me in. I shut it behind me, my eyes locked onto her perfect ass as she made her way through the house into the kitchen. Once we were both there, she turned and leaned against the counter, folding her arms across her chest in a way that pushed her breasts up in a way that was impossible to ignore. The water in the kettle on the lit burner rose to a boil.
“So, you just get into town?”
“Just this morning. I have to admit, I’m already feeling a little overwhelmed.”
“Is that right?” I asked. “How do you mean?” I stepped next to where she stood at the counter, leaning back against it right near her. Just being close to her like that was more than enough to make my blood rush through my body, my cock stiffening a bit.
She smiled. “It’s kind of silly, but I could really use someone here who could, you know, give me the lay of the land. Someone who really knows this place like the back of their hand.”
Joann turned to me, looking me up and down.
“You look like you know your way around here.”
I grinned. “Sure. But first, let me give you the traditional Irish greeting.”
Back in the real world, I smirked and at how cornball my little fantasy was. But I didn’t mind – the real fun stuff was about to happen.
I focused back on my fantasy, on how Joann stood before me, her body petite but perfectly curvy, everything about her body language suggesting that she wanted me to take her right then and there.
“Traditional Irish greeting, huh?”
So, that’s what I did.
I leaned in and placed my finger under her chin, tilting her lips up and slowly moving my mouth to hers. The instant our lips touched it was on – we threw our arms around on another’s bodies and I lifted her up, placing her ass down on the counter. She opened her legs for me, my now stone-solid cock pressing against her pussy through her leggings.
Joann moaned through the kiss, and I placed my hand on her breast through her shirt, teasing the nipple and making it go stiff. We kissed one another with wild abandon, and I moved my lips all over her face and neck, across her collarbone as she stroked me through my slacks. I pulled down my pants and she shimmied out of her leggings, revealing a black thong that I didn’t waste any time pulling to the side, her lips glistening with arousal before me.
Moans poured from her mouth as she reached into my boxer-briefs and took out my cock, gently guiding it toward her as she placed the head at her entrance. We kissed one more time as I pushed into her, Joann’s warm, wet walls stretching as I pushed deep into her. She sighed into my ear, her breath hot. I pulled back and drove into her again and-
A knock sounded at my office door. My eyes flashing wide, I pulled my feet off the desk and planted them on the floor. I pinched my thigh hard until my massive erection subsided. Another knock sounded.
“Oh, Dr. Ronan!” called out the familiar voice of Brendan, the office assistant. “You in there?”
“I’m here.” My heart was racing, and I felt embarrassed and a little ridiculous that I’d let myself get carried away in such a fantasy during work hours.
The door opened and Brendan stepped in. He was in his early twenties with short brown hair, a slender physique, and a handsome, narrow face. He was dressed in one of his usual sharp outfits, this one a pair of slim, navy slacks, a white button-up, and walnut-colored oxfords with a tasteful amount of broguing.
“Good morning, doc.” There was a steaming cup of coffee in his hands that he brought over to me and set down on my desk. It smelled like heaven. “What’s the craic?”
“Nice outfit, Brendan,” I said, looking him up and down. “I’m not a fashion guy, but you look sharp.”
He laughed. “You could easily be a fashion guy if you wanted to be, boss. I’m always telling you that I’ll take you shopping if you want.”
I chuckled as I scratched my face and sat up.
“Too much time for someone who’s already strapped for it. Besides, I dress for comfort.”
“I can tell,” he said with a wry smirk as he gave my outfit a once-over. “One of these days I’m going to show you that there are more styles of pants out there than khakis. And shoes that aren’t those awful, clunky loafers with the rubber soles.”
“They work for me,” I said, reaching for the coffee. “Anyway, what’s up?”
“You’ve got a call on line two from the Dryers’, you remember them, right?”
“Of course, I do. Margaret’s due any day now, if I’m recalling correctl
y. What’s going on?”
“It’s Margaret on the line.”
“You mind staying in here while I take the call? Not sure what’s going on with Margaret, but I have a good feeling it’s going to involve my schedule getting moved around.”
“You’re likely right about that, boss.”
I held up a finger as I pressed the button for the call and brought the phone to my ear. As soon as I said “hello,” Margaret was off the races. In a tumble of words, she told me about how she’d gone into labor a few hours ago and the contractions were getting closer and more painful and that was on the way to the hospital.
Brendan had already ducked out of the office and returned with his iPad.
“You’ve got two appointments this morning, and the rest of your afternoon looks pretty clear.” He spoke with his eyes on the screen as swiped around. The second appointment of the afternoon should be moveable, but the first is already here in the waiting room.”
“Shite,” I said, shaking my head. “Who is she?”
“Name’s Iris McLarty. Young girl – can’t be older than twenty. Just moved to town to go to Trinity College.”
“Ah, my Alma Mater. Send her in and I’ll see her quickly before I head out.”
Brendan smiled and winked before ducking out of the room. I took a sip of my coffee, and it was all I had time for before he returned with a pretty young girl with milk-white skin and expressive, blue eyes.
“I’ll leave you both to it,” Brendan said before taking off.
“Are you Dr. Ronan O’Neill?” she asked as she stepped into the room, a tinge of anxiety to her voice.
“That’s me,” I said, rising from my desk and coming over to lead her to one of the open chairs. “Come in, Iris.”
She smiled, a tinge of red appearing in her cheeks as she sat down.
“Now, before we get started, I need let you know that a patient of mine just went into labor and I need to get to the hospital as soon as I can.”
Her eyes flashed. “Oh my! Well, now I feel like a right moron for coming in.”
