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“Jesus Christ, I’m coming, Ma!” “That’s what I’m afraid of,” his mother shot back. “Now open up.”
“It’s like ‘Hey, wrap up your dick, buy some lube, hell, even throw in a cock ring for a bit of craic, and have a great fucking time, but just in case it fails, you know where to come back to confirm the end of your life.’” He rolled his eyes. “I think it’s a terrible marketing idea.” “It’s not a marketing idea, lad,” I muttered wearily. “It’s for convenience.”
“And here’s more of it,” he grumbled, grabbing a box of ovulation test strips off the top shelf. “Are we preventing babies, confirming babies, or planning babies?” His voice rose with his outrage. “Which is it? All three? What the fuck, Johnny?”
“That’s it—” Shoving his chair back, Gibsie jerked to his feet. “I’m calling Father McCarthy to intervene on your behalf. You need an exorcism and Jesus.”
“I’m just so angry all the time,” she confessed, keeping her head down. “It won’t stop.”
“I’ve heard of fellas using household items as makeshift weights,” Gibsie mused, scratching his jaw as his gaze trailed over us. “But using little Shannon as a barbell? This is a new thing for you, Johnny.”
Every part of me was wholeheartedly in with this girl. It felt like she had been in my life forever. Like I’d never known anything other than Shannon. She was my first love, and she was scary as fuck to me. Being with her was an obsession that threatened to consume me daily. I had to work my ass off to keep my head in check, but remembering to keep my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds was easier said than done when I had a girl that knocked me on my ass with one glance. She wrapped me up in childish, illogical, irrational knots, with a new one attaching itself to my heart with
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I croaked out, feeling incredibly vulnerable as I stared down at the only girl I had ever loved. I needed her to tell me what to do. She needed to set the pace because I was weak around her, and I needed more than I feared she was ready to give.
Smiling against her lips, I rested my weight on one hand and used my free hand to reach over my shoulder. Catching ahold of the fabric of my T-shirt, I tugged it over my head, tearing my lips off hers for the millisecond it took to toss my shirt away before returning to her.
“I’m in love with you, Shannon. I’m completely fucking hooked on you, so when you’re hurt, it affects me. It hurts me. I can’t pretend that it doesn’t.”
“It just means that I’m going to get upset when you’re upset, and that when someone hurts you, I’m going to want to cause some serious harm to them in return. I’m all in, Shannon. Scars and all. Fucked-up father and all. One hundred and fifty percent.”
“You said in five years’ time,” she whispered, curling her arms around my neck. “I already told you, I need you for keeps,” I replied gruffly. “There’s no expiration date between us.”
“I’m with you. All of you. Every part. Good and bad. I’m staying. So don’t hide this part from me.”
It was hard for me to comprehend why a guy in Johnny’s position, with everything going for him, had so willingly attached his sail to my damaged mast. But he had. And every day that passed since was made bearable because I had him.
“Would you believe me if I told you that was mine?” I offered weakly.
“Two tickets for The Wedding Date please, and a container for her to store my balls in.”
“For keeps?” I breathed. He kissed my shoulder. “For keeps.”
“Don’t judge you?” Gibsie spluttered, eyes wide. “Lad, you stole some fucking kids.” His voice rose, turning all pitchy as he continued to rant. “And you brought them here—to my house—making me an accomplice!” “I didn’t steal them,” I growled. “I took them.”
“You don’t steal children,” he hissed. “It’s like the fundamental rule of life.”
“No,” I snapped, flustered. “She’s having a good day for once in her life. I’m not wrecking that with more shite.”
“What are we going to do with this one?” Gibsie asked as he leaned against the side of my car and pointed to Sean who was still sitting in the back seat, chewing on his fingers. “Why does he keep eating himself?”
“He likes to eat his hand,” Gibsie offered, like that was important information. “But Johnny reckons it’s okay.” Shrugging, he added, “Don’t know much about kids myself. All I have at home is a cat.”
“And we met that weird guy over there—” He paused to point at Gibsie. “Well, Tadhg says he’s weird. I think so, too, but he’s also kind of nice.” Grinning, he added, “He gave me a fiver.”
“I stole your brothers, baby!” he blurted out and then froze. “Sorry,” he squeezed out. “I love you.” Grimacing like he was in physical pain, he added, “Please don’t break up with me.”
“Baby.” He held his hands up. “I have a dick. I am clueless right now.”
“My poor pussy,” Johnny said with a sigh as he sank down on the bed beside me. “You’re a butcher.”
Memory, my brain reminded me. They’re only nightmares if they’re not real.
“I’m here for Shannon, not you, so you can like me or not, but either way, you might as well get used to seeing me because I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m in the same car as you, asshole,” Gibsie growled. “I can clearly hear your conversation. What do you want me to do? Stick my head out the window and bark at the traffic like a dog?”
“I don’t have a dog. That was my mother you puked on!” Feely snapped, sounding outraged. “And it was last Christmas, not a million years ago, asshole.”
Smirking, he said, “Je veux lécher la chatte de ma copine.” I frowned. “What?” Johnny grinned devilishly. “I said, je veux être à l’intérieur de toi.”
“No, you don’t,” I said hoarsely. “I love that girl. Like, I really fucking love her, and I can’t cope with knowing she’s in that house right now. I lose sleep worrying about her.”
“Save her.” Swallowing, I added, “Save them all.”
“I’d do anything for you, Shannon like the river,” Johnny replied gruffly, pulling me in to his side. “Anything.”
“You did everything right. You are a good man. You saved her children.”
“She’s not gone, guys,” Joey whispered, sniffling. “She’s just an angel now instead.” “An angel?” Ollie sniffled, looking up at Joey. “With wings?” “Yeah. Big beautiful wings,” he choked out, wiping his cheek against his shoulder. “A special angel just for you.”
“I want you here,” I interrupted her by saying. “I want you in my space, Shannon.” Twisting sideways, I tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze. “There’s nowhere else I want you to be than right here with me and my family, okay?”
“I like your trouble,” I told her. “I want your trouble and your complications and everything else that comes with you.” Leaning closer, I stroked my nose against hers. “I want you.”
“You smell like home.” Shivering, I curled my body around hers and pressed a kiss to the curve of her jaw. “You are home.”
“We need six people to carry her,” Darren whispered back.
“You are. You can do this, Joey Lynch. You’re the strongest, most headstrong person I’ve ever known in my life.”
“You shut up, Joey Lynch,” she sobbed, gripping his sides. “I love you.” “You shut up, Aoife Molloy,” he shot back gruffly and pressed a kiss to her brow. “I love you, too.”
“I’m not a good swimmer,” I admitted. “Then I’ll throw you a life jacket and swim out to get you,” he shot back, tucking me into his side. “Because I’m an excellent swimmer.”
“Let’s get out of here before we both start anxious puking.”
“Look at his boobies,” Ollie laughed from the tree house. Pointing a finger at Gibsie, he said, “He’s got earrings on them.”
“Eat shit,” Lizzie growled. “I’d eat shit before I’d eat you,” he shot back.
“You’re my queen,” he purred, slapping his thighs. “So come here and let me worship ya.”
“Then you better plan on keeping me,” he warned, settling between my legs. “Because I’m all fucking yours.”
“Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I need to go and find somewhere to take a shit because I’ve been holding one in since we left Ballylaggin—and I had a curry last night, so you can only imagine the pressure I’m under right now.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem—” Grabbing the instructions out of her hands, Gibsie balled the paper up and threw it in the river. “That’s what I think of your instructions.”
