Forever Mine: Callaghan Brothers, Book 9(42)

Jed grinned down at him. “I came to pay my last respects.”

Jack snorted, then drew a hand to his chest when even that tiny, sudden movement felt painful. “I’m not dead yet.”

“Uh huh, I can see that.”

“Looks like you made the trip for nothing,” he smirked.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Jed walked farther into the room, looking a lot older than the first time Jack had seen him. He still had that same swagger, that same no-nonsense glint in his dark eyes that Jack had seen forty years ago when Jed Baker and his team pulled his ass out of that hellhole in Vietnam after two years as a POW.

“All these years ya been braggin’ about that Pub of yours, tellin’ me I should come up for a visit,” Jed said, shaking his head. “And when I finally get there, your boy Jake tells me you landed your ass in the hospital.”

“Wasn’t part of the plan, but shite happens.”

“Damn straight it does,” Jed agreed. “Seen a fair amount of it myself.”

Jack nodded. They’d kept in touch over the years. Not often, but enough to know the major events in each other’s lives. Jack knew, for example, that Jed had four sons: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He also knew that like him, Jed had lost his first wife, Ginny, when his kids were still young.

“How are the boys?”

“Still wild as hell,” Jed chuckled. “But men now, with families of their own, just like yours.”

“Time flies.”

“Hell yeah it does,” Jed agreed.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Pull up a chair and sit a spell.”

Jed cocked a brow. “Sit a spell?”

“Sorry,” Jack said, his eyes glittering with amusement. “My redneck is a little rusty.”

Jed snorted and sat down, stretching out his booted foot. “Better than that bull shite you speak out your Irish arse.”

Jack laughed, careful not to pull anything. “It’s damn good to see you, Jed.”

“You too, Jack.”

“How long are you in town?”

“Just the day. Claire and I are doing a cross country train trip. Figured we’d do a little sightseeing, take the scenic route to the station in New York City. She talked me into one of those damn honeymoon suites in the Poconos with the hot tub shaped like a champagne glass.” He grunted, clearly not as thrilled with the idea as his wife.

Jack sympathized. He’d never quite understood the allure of that either, but apparently a lot of people did. It was novel, different. He and Kathleen had been to places like that often enough, short romantic getaways without the kids. All those special amenities were nice, but it was the time alone with Kathleen that he’d treasured. They might not have made it up there for their honeymoon as originally planned, but Jack made a point of stealing her away for a long weekend every year. Those couple of days, when it was just the two of them, away from the kids and the pub and the rest of the world, were some of the best days of his life.

If he had only known there would be so few of them... “Treasure every moment, Jed.”

“Don’t I know it.”

They talked for over an hour, catching up on things, bragging about their kids and grandkids. By mutual agreement, they never talked about how they’d first met. Some things didn’t need to be spoken of aloud to be shared.

Jed stood, grasping Jack’s hand in a firm shake. “Remember what we talked about. Soon as you’re up and about, haul your ass down to Lakeside for some Southern hospitality, ya hear?”

“I will,” Jack said, wondering if he’d be able to make good on that.

They said their goodbyes, and Jed took his leave. Exhausted from the visit, Jack closed his eyes. He felt old. Tired. He missed Kathleen. Jed was very fortunate; he’d found that special connection with not one, but two women. Unlike Jed, Jack knew there would never be another for him. Kathleen was, and continued to be, the love of his life. That wasn’t going to change.

The gaping hole left by Kathleen’s untimely death was still there. The edges were a bit smoother than they had been, worn down by the sheer persistence of time, but when she had gone, she had taken that part of his heart with her and held it still.

Jack lifted his hand, placing it over the incision that now ran the length of his chest. The part of his heart that remained wasn’t doing so well anymore, either.

Was his time approaching? Was that why he was dreaming of Kathleen so much? Because he was going to be with her again?

After her death, he hadn’t wanted to go on. He’d had to be strong for the boys then, but no longer. His sons were grown, fine men with families of their own.

What did he need to stick around for? Sure, he loved his grandchildren, but what else? He’d long since retired from actively participating in the missions; the boys handled all that now. And as for the Pub, Jake and Ian had been running that for years. They didn’t need him anymore.

He had done his part. Surely after all this time, he was entitled to a rest, wasn’t he?

“Kathleen,” he whispered into the empty room. “Are you coming?”

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June 1975

Pine Ridge

“Kathleen, are you coming?” Jack called out. He shifted impatiently, waiting for her to finish brushing her teeth and come to bed. She’d been in there a long time.