Forever Mine: Callaghan Brothers, Book 9(65)

It was not to be. Not yet, anyway. Their seventh son, Kieran, was born on a bright, sunny winter’s day, adding to the growing list of December birthdays. It was an ironic twist of Fate, Kathleen often said, that all of their children were either born in or conceived in March. For that reason, they’d chosen Patrick as the middle name of all their boys at Baptism, in honor of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

“Are you disappointed?” Jack asked quietly the night of Kieran’s birth. He knew it was a mistake the moment the words left his mouth.

Kathleen turned a fiery glare his way as she clutched their newest son tightly to her breast. “Never, ever, ask me that again, Jack Callaghan,” she said with stunning ferocity.

He never did. He realized, much later, that that was the only time she had ever been truly disappointed in him.

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January 1988

Pine Ridge

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked as they got ready for bed. Kathleen had been especially quiet since Adonia’s visit earlier, answering only absently, her mind preoccupied elsewhere. As always, sensing that something was troubling her made Jack want to fix it immediately.

“Adonia doesn’t think Alexis should play with Kieran anymore,” Kathleen finally said.

“What? Why?”

“She worries because Kieran is so much bigger than Alexis. She’s afraid he’s going to hurt her.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jack scoffed, shaking his head. “Kieran adores Alexis.”

It was true. Alexis had inherited the same rare disease as her mother, which kept her blood from clotting normally. They had to be especially careful with her; even the smallest cut could be life-threatening. At two years old, Kieran didn’t understand the specifics of that, but he did know that Alexis had to be treated with extra care. When Adonia came to visit and brought Alexis with her, Kieran watched over his friend and made sure the other boys never did anything rough around her. The boy had such a strong protective instinct, Kathleen had taken to calling him her ‘little white knight’.

“I know,” Kathleen exhaled. “And deep down, Adonia knows it, too. I think there’s more to it than that.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but I get the distinct feeling it has something to do with you. Whenever I mention your name, she gets this disapproving look on her face.” Kathleen shook her head. “What do you know that I don’t?”

Jack hesitated. He had a pretty good idea. Brian was out of town more and more these days, picking up side jobs from Sammy. Based on the bits and pieces Brian had shared with him, the stakes were getting a lot higher, too. The higher the risk, the higher the payout.

He pulled back the covers and patted the mattress in invitation. Kathleen climbed in and curled her body up against his. If this conversation was going where he thought it was, he wanted her soft, warm body in his arms.

“Jack,” Kathleen said softly, using her thumb to stroke along the creases of his brow. “I know that look. It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“It’s not good,” he admitted heavily.

“Tell me.”

Jack took a deep breath and pulled her closer, wishing the situation hadn’t gotten to this point. Not only did it feel like he was betraying Brian’s confidence, but between the kids and her accounts and the Pub, Kathleen already had plenty of other things to deal with. The last thing he wanted was to give her something else to worry about. And worry, she would. Brian and Adonia were their closest friends, and Kathleen’s big heart wouldn’t allow her to shrug it off.

But the truth was, he was worried about Brian himself. Brian was a damn good SEAL, but a SEAL depended a lot on his team to have his six, and Jack knew nothing about the guys Bri was working with. He could use a fresh perspective. Kathleen had a special gift for seeing things clearly; he was too close to the situation to be wholly objective.

He began simply. “Brian is picking up jobs on the side.”

“I know. Adonia told me.”

“Did she tell you what kind of jobs he’s doing?”

Her nose wrinkled just a bit as she thought about that. “No, actually, she hasn’t, other than to say that it was some kind of subcontracting work that required him to go out of town frequently.”

“That’s true,” Jack said carefully. “But it’s not the kind you’re thinking of. It’s off the books, covert subcontracting.”

It took only a few seconds for her to comprehend. “Oh, Jack. Why would he do something like that?”

“Because it pays well. Really well.”

She sighed, melting into him, not nearly as surprised as he would have thought.

“I wondered how they could afford all of those specialists,” Kathleen murmured. “But what has that got to do with you?”

“He asked me to go with him,” Jack admitted. “We went through the same training; we have the same skill set. According to Brian, there is a demand for the kind of work we were trained to do. Unfortunately for us, it’s not legal outside of wartime.”

“You said no.”

“I said no,” he agreed. Some of the tension in his chest eased a little. Kathleen’s soothing presence and rational acceptance encouraged him to share more. “He seemed okay with that at first, but he’s been on me about it again lately.”