How many times had she looked at her brother like that? Like he was weird just because he was different from her? From everyone? How did he handle constantly being an outcast when, after one morning of it, Brooke was practically in tears?
And maybe the bigger question was: How was she supposed to stay with Owen while dealing with such intense scrutiny?
Chapter 8
“Did we get here in time?”
Owen looked up to see his brother Hugh and his wife, Aubrey, striding into the waiting area hand in hand. He stood and walked over to join his family even though his mind was spinning and his heart ached for Brooke. The look of defeat on her face as she’d walked away had devastated him.
The woman with the beautiful smile wasn’t smiling.
And those eyes that always shone so brightly were now dimmed.
And it was because of all the people standing in front of him…the people he loved.
“Owen!” Hugh cried as he walked over to greet him. “Glad you’re here! How are you?”
Owen shook his brother’s hand and then embraced him as they always did, but Owen was in too much turmoil to do more than nod. Hugh looked at him and then turned to look at the group.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Owen forced himself to say and went to accept a hug from Aubrey. “Where’s Connor?”
“We’re sharing a babysitter with Aidan and Zoe, so we stopped and dropped Connor off on our way here,” Aubrey replied and then looked around excitedly. “So? Do we have a new baby?”
Everyone started talking at once, and Owen took a step back and looked over at the sofa in the corner longingly. He was just about to turn and walk over to it when he was flanked by Hugh and Aidan, and together the three of them sat down.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Hugh asked. “You look depressed. More so than usual.”
Owen frowned at him. “When do I look depressed? I’m never depressed.”
Hugh rolled his eyes. “Okay, you look far more…serious than you usually do. Is that more accurate?”
Before he could say anything, Aidan spoke up. “I’m going to take a guess and say he’s pissed at us.”
“Us?” Hugh parroted. “I just got here. Why’s he pissed at me?”
“The rest of us,” Aidan clarified. “When he showed up here this morning with Brooke, we were kind of…surprised.”
Hugh looked around. “Brooke? Who’s Brooke?”
“She’s probably climbing out a window or hailing a cab to the airport right now,” Owen murmured.
“I didn’t ask where she was,” Hugh said. “I’m asking who she is.”
“From the looks of it, she’s Owen’s girlfriend.”
It sounded so juvenile, Owen realized. Girlfriend. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure what else to call her, so he nodded and said, “She is.”
“So what’s the problem?” Hugh asked, confused. “Was she mean? Disrespectful?”
This time, Owen spoke before Aidan could. “She was perfectly polite to everyone. She came here because I asked her to and assured her that my family would love her—after all, everyone loved Zoe, Anna, Aubrey, and Savannah!” he snapped, realizing just how annoyed he truly was.
“Oh,” Hugh said quietly and then seemed to consider his next words. “So she’s like…a serious girlfriend.”
“I hate that word,” Owen murmured.
“I’m sure she’s very nice,” Aidan said diplomatically—as he was prone to do at times like this—“but I think we’re all just a little out of sorts. It’s been a long night, we’re functioning on minimal sleep, and to be honest, no one knew you were dating anyone.”
“And that matters…why?” Owen asked in confusion. “I didn’t know you were dating Zoe, and yet when you brought her home for dinner for the first time, I was polite.”
“We were polite,” Aidan corrected, “but we were also…surprised.” He raked a hand through his hair. “And you have to believe me on the lack of sleep. I already don’t get enough because of Lily’s schedule, and last night we all stayed here late because we thought Anna was going to have the baby. We didn’t mean to upset you, Bro. And we certainly didn’t mean to upset Brooke.”
“Well, you did,” Owen said and hated that he was actually pouting. He was better than that, but…this bothered him. “She didn’t want to come. We were in Vegas, and she was going to fly home—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Hugh interrupted with a grin. “What were you doing in Vegas?”
Owen explained about the Red Rock project and Brooke’s painting and the general reasons why they went—but not what happened between them while they were there.
Both Aidan and Hugh clapped him on the back with big smiles on their faces. “That’s awesome!” Aidan said. “Good for you!”
“So you flew in directly from Vegas?” Hugh asked.
“We did. We were supposed to fly back to Chicago last night but had some time to kill, so we went and gambled awhile—just the slots,” he said for clarification, “and then we ran into Darcy fighting with her boyfriend—”
“What?” Both his brothers jumped to their feet, all good-natured ribbing over.
“What the hell was Darcy doing in Vegas?” Hugh demanded.
“And who was the guy?” Aidan asked.
Uh-oh…
Thinking quickly on his feet was never Owen’s strength, but for some reason, it came naturally today. “Can we please focus on how rude you were to Brooke?” he snapped. “Geez, way to try and throw everyone’s attention elsewhere.” He snorted with disgust. “Typical.”
“Hey…wait a minute,” Aidan said, sitting back down. “I told you why I behaved the way I did. And if you must know, Zoe already called me out on it.”
“Yeah, well…she wasn’t particularly friendly either,” Owen said, looking away.
“Damn,” Aidan sighed, slouching in his seat.
“What the hell did you do?” Hugh asked Aidan as he motioned toward Owen. “He’s never like this. Ever. You must have been beyond rude to upset Owen like this. And where’s Brooke? Do you think she’s left the hospital?”
“Owen, I’m sorry. You have to believe me. If she left…I…I’ll take you to the airport myself to go after her.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Owen said with a weary sigh, kind of enjoying how much his brothers were almost groveling to him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brooke. He immediately stood and wondered if he should go to her.
“Holy shit,” Hugh whispered.
“Maybe now you understand our earlier reaction?” Aidan quietly replied.
“I can hear you both,” Owen said without looking at either of them. His heart pounded in his chest until he swore everyone could see and hear it as he watched Brooke’s approach. She looked at his brothers, her expression guarded, and then her focus returned to Owen. She handed him a cup of coffee. “Thanks.”
“We ran out the door too fast this morning to drink ours, so I thought you might want one,” she said softly.
Taking a sip of his, he motioned for her to join him on the sofa. “Brooke, this is my brother Hugh. Hugh Shaughnessy, Brooke Matthews.”
Hugh’s eyes went wide as he shook her hand. “Wow! Like the actress? Awesome!”
How was it that everyone was aware of this fact except him?
Brooke blushed and settled in beside Owen. “Yeah, my mom was a big fan of hers and had high hopes of me being a model, so—”
“Who’s a model?” Aubrey asked as she joined them, instantly introducing herself to Brooke.
“Oh…um…I was just saying how my mom had hoped I’d be one,” Brooke replied sheepishly.
“So what do you do?” Aubrey asked, and Owen almost kissed her. Other than Darcy, Aubrey was the only one to give Brooke a genuine smile along with a friendly gre
eting.
“Right now I’m teaching art part-time. I’m trying to find work at a gallery back in Chicago. I’m staying with my uncle while I look.”
“So you’re a…you’re like one of those…” Aidan began, trying to find the right word.
“She’s an artist,” Owen finished for him through gritted teeth.
No one mentioned her work again.
“Hey, you guys!” Darcy called out. “Quinn just texted that we can come up now to the nursery and see Kaitlyn!”
Owen was never more relieved to go and look at a baby in his entire life.
* * *
The Shaughnessy family seemed to fill the hospital cafeteria, and for the life of her, Brooke wasn’t sure what to make of the whole thing. They’d gone up to see baby Kaitlyn—who was beyond perfect—and they had all visited with Anna. Why were they still here, other than having something to eat? Why didn’t everyone go home and get on with their lives? It seemed…strange.
Although she had to admit, watching the way they all interacted with one another was a bit fascinating. Their dynamics were amazing. They all laughed and joked, and even after all the tension earlier, she could see that this was how they normally behaved toward one another. It was something she never experienced with her own family.
Still, at least now she was a little more at ease with everyone. And if she had the opportunity, she would thank Anna for that. It wasn’t until they were all crowded into the poor woman’s hospital room that everything seemed to turn around.
“Oh my God!” Anna had cried when Owen had introduced her. “I am so glad you’re here! Quinn told me about you—not just from when he met you in the waiting room but from hearing about you from Owen!”
“Oh…um—”
“And you’re an artist?” Anna asked. “That is so amazing! We have a ton of blank walls in our house, and I would love to put some paintings up. Do you have a portfolio? I mean, I know you don’t have one with you, but maybe you can send me some pictures via email of what you have?”
“I…I mean…sure,” Brooke had said nervously, desperately aware that all eyes were on her.
“I’m just so glad you’re here.” Anna beamed, and Brooke could tell that she meant it.
Until she started to cry.
“Damn hormones,” Anna muttered as she wiped at her eyes. Quinn had quickly settled beside her, put his arms around her, and kissed her gently on the top of her head while telling her how amazing she was.
After that, everyone seemed to relax a bit, and even though Brooke had no idea what they were talking about half the time, they weren’t completely ostracizing her either.
Baby steps.
So now they were all in the cafeteria because Anna had fallen asleep, and Brooke was back to her original question: Why? She turned to face Owen, ready to ask, when she noticed a couple walking toward them. It took less than a second for her to register that it was his brother Riley. Brooke was up on current pop culture and music and knew exactly who Riley Shaughnessy was. And if he was half as intimidating as the rest of the family, she was screwed.
Riley and his wife made their way around the table, saying hello to everyone, and when they came around to her and Owen, Brooke wasn’t sure what to do. She was suddenly feeling a little starstruck. Luckily Owen stood up and hugged them both before making the introductions, so she had an extra minute to get herself under control.
“Riley, Savannah…this is Brooke. Brooke, this is my brother Riley and his wife, Savannah.”
She shook their hands and said hello and immediately noticed that Riley’s greeting was more than a little…cool. Guarded. And that’s when reality hit—it would seem it was the Shaughnessy men who didn’t like her. But…why?
There wasn’t time to analyze that thought because suddenly they were all moving chairs around to make room for the new arrivals and everyone was talking again. From what she could follow, it would seem that they were all going to shift around the lodging arrangements. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why, but it seemed like serious business to the rest of them.
“Okay,” Aidan said, “Owen and Brooke will stay in the apartment over our garage. Hugh, Aubrey, and Connor are going to stay at Dad’s, since he has the nursery set up already. Darcy’s staying at Dad’s since…well, since she’s the only one who still has a room there. And Riley and Savannah are staying at Dad’s too.”
Beside her, she noticed Owen stiffen.
“But…why aren’t we staying at Dad’s? We were already there last night in the guest room. Why are we packing up and moving to your place? Why can’t Riley and Savannah stay with you?”
“We thought you’d like a little more privacy, that’s all. Besides, that last bedroom still only has twin beds,” Aidan said, shaking his head as he looked at Ian. “I told you we should have replaced them too.”
Riley leaned over and helped himself to some of Owen’s fries. “Also, Hugh and I are working on a project together, where I’m going to be doing some private concerts at his resorts. It would just be easier for us to stay together.” He looked at Owen and smiled. “It’s not a big deal, right?”
And even though Owen agreed, Brooke could tell that it did bother him.
Ian stood and got everyone’s attention then. “I know Anna’s sleeping, and we’ll all probably come back up here later, so why don’t we get moving and get everyone settled. Riley? If you and Savannah want to go up and get a peek at Kaitlyn, you should do it now, and then we’ll all go back to the house.” He looked at his family and smiled. “And I’m sure we’ll all want to go to bed early tonight since most of us didn’t get much sleep last night. If it’s all right with you, we’ll get pizza for dinner and not be formal about it—you can all grab it and eat when you want. Tomorrow we’ll talk about taking dinner over to Quinn and Anna’s to welcome Kaitlyn home.”
Everyone was in agreement, and soon they were all up and moving around. Owen never let go of her hand as they started to make their way out of the cafeteria.
“Owen…Brooke…can you hang back for a minute?” The request came from Ian. Brooke noticed he was standing alone—everyone else had gone—and her stomach sank. He motioned for them to sit at a corner table, a much smaller one than they had just vacated.
“What’s up, Dad?”
Ian smiled at them both as he sat down. “I think I owe you both an apology.”
Color her surprised.
“For what?” Owen asked, but Brooke had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly the reason behind it.
“I’m afraid you caught us at our worst this morning,” Ian began and gave them both an apologetic smile. “It was a long night, and everyone was out of sorts. Aidan and Zoe had argued because she wanted to be here for Anna but Aidan insisted she go home and sleep. She eventually did, but she was back here first thing, and there was still some lingering tension from that.”
“I don’t see where—”
He sighed. “Then there was an awkward…discussion…when Martha commented on the baby calling her grandma.”
Silence.
Brooke didn’t know much about the Shaughnessys, but she was aware that Owen’s mother had passed away a long time ago and that Ian and Martha weren’t married. So no doubt the woman implying that she’d be the baby’s grandmother probably did not go over well at all.
Ian cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “As you can imagine, it caused quite a stir. Aidan firmly reminded Martha that she was not the baby’s grandmother, and if that weren’t awkward enough, Anna’s parents readily agreed with him.” He looked over at Brooke and said, “Robert and Mary Hannigan have been our friends since the kids were little. Mary was my wife Lillian’s best friend. So you can see why things got tense.”
“And this happened…?” Owen prompted.
“Pretty much right before the two of you arrived with Darcy this m
orning. We were all reeling a bit from the argument, and then you showed up, and…” He paused with a nervous chuckle. “We were all a little surprised to meet Brooke. You hadn’t mentioned you had a girlfriend.”
Beside her, Owen sagged a little in his seat. “To be honest, we—”
“It’s okay, Owen,” Ian quickly interrupted. “I know you hadn’t planned on bringing Brooke home to meet the family quite like this, and you’re more of a private person than your siblings, so…no one’s blaming you for not telling us. I’m just sorry it all happened the way it did this morning.” Again, he looked over at Brooke. “And I’m so sorry this was your first impression of our family. We’re normally much nicer than this.”
Relief swamped her because at least she knew the cold shoulder she’d received wasn’t anything personal against her. “Thank you, Mr. Shaughnessy. I was a little self-conscious about joining Owen. This was a private family event.”
“Nonsense,” Ian said, rising to his feet. “The birth of a baby should be celebrated by everyone, and I hope you won’t hold this morning against us.”
Ian’s grin was infectious, and Brooke couldn’t help smiling in return. “I won’t, and again…thank you.”
“I’m sorry the lodgings are getting all tossed around,” Ian said, looking back at his son. “It didn’t occur to me last night to mention any of it. You were all texting me to tell me when you were coming, and I lost track of it all. I figured it would work itself out.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Owen said softly. “Not really. I guess I’m just used to always staying at the house—like Darcy. But this has been the first time we’ve all been home at the same time in a long time, so—”
“You’ll like Aidan and Zoe’s place. I think you’re the only one other than Darcy who hasn’t stayed there. And Zoe’s an excellent hostess—the place will be stocked with everything you’ll ever need or want.”
A Sky Full of Stars Page 19