“Me too.” Daniel stroked her face with his free hand. He noticed her hair was still damp, transforming it into a lovely wheat color with bright hints of gold sparkling in what was left of the sunlight.
She gazed up at him. He couldn’t help but stare at the lips he now loved kissing. He ran his thumb across her rosebud pink lips, feeling their softness under his rough, callused skin. Without hesitation, Daniel lowered his mouth on hers and, gently, he claimed her. It was as if the world stopped rotating, that time was stopped and suspended as he connected with Hannah.
He released her slowly, reluctantly, and stared into her eyes. Flecks of amber shot through the mixture of green and blue, a spectacular color that left him wondering, how had he missed this? Why didn’t he notice Hannah sooner? This girl, with the spray of freckles on her pink-tinged skin, sun soaked from the day at the lake. This girl, who had waded out into the water without hesitation, hooked her own worm faster than he did his, and made him laugh until he could barely breathe. He had never met anyone like Hannah and he somehow knew he never would again. Daniel knew one thing for sure: now that he’d found her, he wasn’t letting her go.
Chapter Ten
Rays of sunlight streamed into his room, forcing him awake. A smile crept on his face. Daniel had dreamt of Hannah all night. He didn’t understand how he could be hit so hard with all of these feelings for her, but he wasn’t questioning it. It was as though God had heard him and finally answered his prayers. He’d just wanted what his siblings had found, what his parents had—love.
Daniel stretched and yawned happily. He had invited Hannah over to share Sunday dinner with his family. The idea for the perfect second date had came to him as he was listening to the late-night news. There was going to be a meteor shower later that night. It was his turn to impress her. What could be more romantic than kissing under a night sky filled with shooting stars? He was shocked when she’d led him to what would now be their favorite fishing spot. Daniel could almost still feel the pressure of her lips against his, the memory still fresh.
“Breakfast is ready,” Daniel heard his mother call out. Another perk of living at home was being well fed by Mary O’Brien, but he had a sneaking suspicion that if he were to marry Hannah someday, he’d still be well fed. The thought made him grin.
Daniel padded down the hallway and into the kitchen, barefoot and still in his pajamas. “Morning, Mom.”
“Good morning, dear. I have your plate at the table. Coffee or juice, sweetie?” Mary asked as she dished a scoop of fried potatoes onto a plate.
“He can pour his own drink, Mary,” Pat commented from the dining room, where he sat and was reading the Sunday newspaper.
“Come sit, my boy,” Grandpa Paddy ordered with a curious look. He folded up his section of the paper and waved for Daniel to join him.
After filling his mug with coffee, Daniel sat next to his grandfather. “This looks great, Mom. Thank you,” he said as he eyed the plate. It was filled scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, buttery toast, and bacon. His stomach growled as he forked a mouthful of the crispy potatoes into his mouth. Daniel savored the garlic and onion-infused flavors. His mother was one helluva cook.
Mary smiled and sipped her tea quietly, watching her men eat.
“So, lad, your mother says you’ve invited another lass to supper?” Grandpa Paddy wiggled his white eyebrows, the unmistakable twinkle of mischief in his emerald-green eyes.
“Yes, I want you all to meet Hannah.”
His father put the paper down gently and looked over at Daniel. “Now, is Hannah not the girl we met?” He looked at Daniel in confusion.
“No, this is her sister,” Daniel replied as he reached for his coffee. Here come the questions, he thought as he mentally prepared himself.
“Good for you, my boy,” Grandpa Paddy exclaimed, patting Daniel on the shoulder. “Why have one, when you can have two?”
Daniel shook his head, laughing. “No, it’s nothing like that. Nina and I, you know, the first sister you met,” Daniel explained. He took a swallow of his coffee and continued, “She and I never really hit it off. But her sister, now, Hannah, is the one I should have asked out in the first place.”
“Didn’t that Nina girl sort of force your hand at taking her out?” Mary asked, prodding gently.
“Kind of.”
“So we’re meeting her sister, you say?” Pat asked again.
“Yes,” Mary and Daniel both answered in unison.
“Just trying to get it straight. What is it that you like about this one?” Pat eyed Daniel curiously.
“Well, for starters, she fishes. Even hooks her own worms,” Daniel announced proudly.
Grandpa Paddy and Pat smiled. Daniel had inherited their love of fishing. “Mom, she’s an amazing cook. As you know, Nina wasn’t too comfortable in the kitchen.”
“I suppose that’s true,” she replied, taking a sip of her tea.
“I’m thinking though, it probably had a lot to do with Maggie,” Daniel stated and scooped some eggs into his mouth.
“Your sister is simply looking out for you. I wasn’t too keen on Nina either. Well, neither was Rachel or Amber.”
“I don’t blame them, to be honest. Nina wasn’t all warm and fuzzy around them,” Daniel agreed.
“What about the fact that she was eyeing your brother the whole time?” Pat commented as he unfolded the newspaper and starting peering at it. His glasses sat low on the bridge of his narrow nose, his eyes peeking above the rims as he looked at Daniel.
“I know.” Daniel hung his head. It was embarrassing how Nina had openly flirted with Patrick. His brother had been oblivious to it, but then again, since the entire town thought he was one of the most handsome guys, he was probably used to it.
“Boy, don’t let that one bring you any troubling thoughts. You’re bringing home another now. I can’t wait to meet the lass,” Grandpa Paddy said, obviously trying to make him feel better. Daniel appreciated the support he always got from his grandfather, and sometimes wondered why his own father wasn’t more like him.
“I prayed at mass this morning. I think the good Lord will bring you a love you deserve. I can’t help but add that I put in a little request for you to marry and give me more grandchildren.” Mary giggled sheepishly.
“Mom, you got a grand baby coming at the end of this month, then two more in November. Geez.”
“Can’t blame your mother. It’ll be nearly a year or more before you’d have any babes,” Grandpa Paddy added.
“Not you too.”
“I’m not getting any younger, my boy. I’d like to hold one of your babes before I pass.” Grandpa Paddy winked, but Daniel didn’t miss the sheen of glossy tears in his grandfather’s eyes.
The thought of Grandpa Paddy dying made Daniel sober up and go silent, as well as the rest of the table. The man wasn’t getting any younger, but to imagine him gone made Daniel’s heart ache.
***
He was nervous. He shouldn’t be, but he was. The last Sunday dinner he had brought a Belsky girl to had not ended well.
“Daniel, it’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to getting to know your family.” Hannah sat next to him as he drove.
“They’re going to love you. It’s just, well, you know…”
“I do,” she said, but then added with a little less confidence, “but I’m not Nina, and as you and her have both said, it never really was anything, right?”
“True. I just feel a little bad, is all.” Daniel did; it was as simple as that. He worried that Hannah possibly felt like she was second best. Little did she know, that when Daniel picked her up from her home and saw her in that sundress, his heart skipped a beat. She looked delicate and incredibly feminine in her pale pink dress which was dotted with the tiniest flowers. Hannah wore a thin white sweater over it, looking every bit respectable and proper. Daniel knew the moment his mother saw her, she was going to love her.
They pulled into the driveway of the O’Brien home. He spotted his sibling’s cars
and knew everyone was inside. He inhaled deeply as he shut off his truck’s engine.
“It’s going to be fine. Trust me.” Hannah leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. Daniel felt his anxiety evaporate as they both got out of the truck.
Once they got inside the home, the smells of a roasted chicken dinner hung heavy in the air. Daniel led Hannah into the kitchen. There, all the O’Brien women waited. He couldn’t help but feel like this time it would be different. He had felt like he had tossed Nina to the wolves, but now, as Hannah stood beside him carrying a dish wrapped in foil, he couldn’t dismiss the feeling that he was bringing them one of their own.
“Hi, everyone.” Hannah smiled as she moved past Daniel, entering the kitchen further. Daniel watched his mother’s reaction first.
“Hello, Hannah. Oh my, what have you brought?” Mary eyed the dish that Hannah lifted up for inspection.
“Cheesecake.”
“Bless your heart. My favorite.”
Daniel released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He looked quickly at Maggie and Rachel, who were both grinning from ear to ear. These were all good signs, nothing at all like when he had brought Nina. As he stood there, almost waiting to be excused, he heard Amber compliment her dress.
“Thanks, I actually made it.” Hannah then went on to explain her love of sewing. The women all gathered around listening intently. Mary glanced over at him.
“Sweetie, the guys are all in the basement.” She gave him a kind smile and a slight nod that basically told him to beat it.
Daniel slowly retreated out of the kitchen with one solid thought: They loved her.
***
Hannah
She had lied. She was terribly nervous. Who wouldn’t be? Especially considering they had already met her sister, and God only knew how that went. As Hannah stood there, in the beautiful kitchen in the lovely O’Brien house surrounded by O’Brien women, she tried her best to smile through her nervousness.
Mary’s kind smile warmed her and eased her anxiety somewhat, but it was the genuinely happy looks from Maggie and Rachel which made her feel welcomed.
“Also, Maggie, I brought those curtains for you.”
“Really? Perfect. We just finished setting up the baby’s room yesterday.” Maggie looked relieved and started to laugh. “Let me get my purse before I forget. Pregnancy brain, I swear.”
“Oh no, please, think of it like a baby shower gift,” Hannah said, quickly refusing. “I was happy to make them and I hope you like they way they turned out.”
“Um, if they are anything like that fabulous dress, they will be wonderful.” Amber kept staring at her dress. “Okay, I love it. You need to teach me how to make one,” Amber finally said as she ran her hands along her own sun dress. It was a soft, buttercup yellow and was beautiful against her tan skin.
“I’d love to. I have been sewing since I was little. My mother used to sew dresses and, well, everything really.”
“Well, I appreciate you making those curtain for the baby’s room.” Maggie walked up to Hannah and hugged her, her large belly rubbing up against her. “Sorry, this thing gets in the way.”
“You mean my grandson,” Mary teased. “Hannah, can I get you something to drink?”
“Yeah, dinner’s almost ready, but we can visit for a little bit.” Maggie led Hannah to the enormous dining table. Hannah could only imagine how wonderfully loud that room must get when the whole family was together. Her home was quite the opposite, especially after her mother had passed away.
The ladies all sat as Mary poured tea for everyone.
“Thank you, Mrs. O’Brien. This is lovely. Your kitchen is incredible. The whole house is,” Hannah stated as she gazed at the ample counter space, easily envisioning herself rolling out dough on that flat surface. To have all that room to work with? She was a tad envious.
“Call me Mary, dear. Thank you, I do love my kitchen,” Mary responded as she offered Hannah a slim-looking cookie.
Hannah accepted it, smelling it first. Once she bit into it, the flavor of lemon exploded into her mouth. The cookie was delicious, light and buttery. “Oh my, this is fantastic.”
“Says the woman who makes amazing shortbread and pies,” Maggie commented as she grabbed a cookie. “These are really good though.”
“Daniel tells us you do enjoy cooking and baking,” Mary said, naturally leading the conversation. Hannah didn’t feel as though she were being interviewed so she could date this woman’s son. Mary’s inquiry came from the fact that she a fellow cook who shared a passion for food.
“I love it. I always have. It became a necessity once my mother passed away. Who else was going to feed my father and Nina?” Hannah released an awkward laugh and grabbed her tea quickly.
“Bless your heart, love. Your mother would be very pleased that you’ve taken care of them as well as you have.” Mary reached across the table and patted her hand.
Hannah could sense the kindness from Mary and instantly realized this was who Daniel took after. They shared the same coloring, but their eyes were certainly different. Mary’s were a darker, almost hazel color, but they shared a reddish hue in their hair and a sweetness which seemed to emit from them like a light. This woman was responsible for Daniel being the wonderful soul he was.
As the ladies continued to chat, Hannah heard loud laughter as the men started to file into the kitchen. They made their way into the adjoining dining room.
“Hannah, let me introduce you to the rest of the family,” Daniel said as he pointed at the small herd of O’Brien men. As she looked at them, she noticed how different they all appeared, which made the fact that Daniel took after Mary stand out even more. The oldest of the group was a tall older man with white hair and piercing green eyes—Daniel’s eyes. So that’s where he got them.
“This is Grandpa Paddy.” Daniel pointed to the old man.
“Pleased to meet you, lass.” Hannah felt herself falling in love with his Irish accent; she was a sucker for them. The simple words sounded far more romantic, and she was pretty certain Grandpa Paddy knew he had this effect, as he winked at her. Maybe that’s where Daniel had gotten his playfulness from after all.
“This is my dad, Pat.” The man was a younger version of Grandpa Paddy, tall and lean, his hair not quite white but a mixture of gray and black. One thing she didn’t miss was he too had those sparkling eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Hannah.” Pat’s voice was rough. She felt slightly disappointed, as though she expected to hear an accent as well.
“You remember Patrick, of course,” Daniel continued the introductions. She remembered meeting Patrick when he was helping with the job her father had hired them for. He had seemed moody before, but now he appeared happy. Patrick was devilishly handsome, and that was not a fact that was lost by her sister or anyone in town, but Hannah wasn’t quite as impressed by his dark looks. She rather enjoyed Daniel’s lighter coloring, but Patrick also bore those green gems.
“Hello, Hannah,” Patrick offered politely as he stood next to Daniel. He was noticeably taller.
“Okay, so this guy is Liam.” Daniel patted another man’s shoulder. This brother was taller as well, but looked more like Daniel. He didn’t have dark hair like Patrick. It was a sandy brown that was missing the red Daniel’s had. Again, he looked at her with the O’Brien eyes that seem to smile all on their own.
“Great to meet you.” Liam moved away from Daniel and headed toward Rachel.
“Last, but definitely not least, my favorite brother-in-law in the world,” Daniel exaggerated loudly. “Michael.”
“Thanks, Daniel.” Michael playfully smirked. The first thought that passed through Hannah’s mind was that this man was most definitely not an O’Brien. He was incredibly good-looking, but in a shiny and luxurious way. Hannah doubted he spent much time outdoors. He seemed far too polished and fancy for that. “Hannah, very lovely to meet you.” Michael walked toward her, extending his hand politely, which she accepted
nervously. Then he went to Maggie, placing a soft kiss on top of her head.
Wow, the O’Briens were certainly not a small family. One thing which stood out to Hannah was the deep, obvious love these people displayed openly for one another. As Hannah took in the names and faces of the people she had just met, the sound of loud giggles and running feet echoed in the room. A little girl with red, bobbed hair came full speed at Maggie. She wrapped her small arms around Maggie’s large waist. That must be Melanie, the niece Daniel adored. Then Hannah spied two identical boys who were quite young and had springy, blonde curls. They looked at her with the most brilliant blue eyes. Hannah was confused as to who these darlings belonged to.
“Those are Patrick’s boys, Finn and Connor,” Daniel announced, almost as if he sensed her confusion.
Hannah looked over at Amber, who smiled as the boys clung to her and Patrick. A taller, older boy entered the kitchen and said, “Gosh, they are so fast.” He had brown hair which was a little too long and partially covered his gorgeous sea-colored eyes—Amber’s eyes. Hannah tried putting all the pieces together of who was whose child and spouse.
Daniel sat down next to her and took her hand. “I know. There’s a lot of us. It’s okay if you forget names. It’s probably overwhelming.”
Hannah shook her head and decided to play it off. Leaning in toward Daniel, she whispered, “Nope. That is Grandpa Paddy, your father, Pat, your lovely mother, Mary.” Carefully nodding in the direction of his parents, Hannah continued to name the rest of the family.
Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m impressed. Not everyone can do that.”
“Well, I must be special then,” Hannah teased.
Daniel leaned in and kissed her lightly, shocking her. As gentle and quick as the kiss was, she felt it to her core. “Yes, you are.”
***
Daniel
“Thank you again for a lovely dinner. It was really wonderful meeting you all.” Hannah waved as they started to walk out the front door.
Dating Daniel (Cloverleaf #4) Page 11