Passion Restored

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Liz shook her head as she took off her gown. “I don’t know them. I’ve seen him around town once. That’s it.” She had to be at least that honest since Owen had known her name, but she wasn’t about to let Lisa know she’d met Owen and his brother at a bar with a very drunken Tessa. There was only so much she’d share, after all. “You know we don’t work on family members or friends, Lisa. I wouldn’t do that. Now, if that’s all, I need to go meet with Dr. Wilder and the patient’s family.”

  She turned on her heel and left Lisa behind her, smirking like the cat that got the canary. Liz ground her back molars, annoyed that she was the center of attention. Nurses with a shred of gossip to pass along were nothing to mess with, and now that they’d caught something on the wind, they would be hounding her forever. Liz had never been one of the inside clique, always focusing on her job instead of the politics that came with it, but now she was afraid she’d made a mistake by not taking more care with that.

  She hurried after Dr. Wilder, aware that Lisa had probably already b-lined her way to the nurses’ station to talk about how a patient seemed to know her and wanted only Liz to talk to his family.

  Because that wasn’t weird at all or anything.

  She caught up to Dr. Wilder and matched her pace with his, though his legs were far longer and she was just about running. However, she was a nurse, and this was what she did on a daily basis so it was nothing new.

  What was new, however, was what had just occurred.

  “So, how do you know Mr. Gallagher?” Dr. Wilder asked. They were almost to the waiting room doors so, thankfully, Liz didn’t have long to deal with how to answer.

  “I don’t,” she said honestly.

  Dr. Wilder turned his head to her and cocked a brow. “Since he specifically asked you to talk to his family, I’m going to have to disagree with you there.”

  Liz sighed. Of all the doctors in the ER, she liked Dr. Wilder the best, even if he was the coldest. He was honest about the type of man he was, and she appreciated that. However, that didn’t mean she wanted to get into this with him right then.

  “I met him and his brother, Murphy, tonight while picking up Tessa.” She didn’t say where, as that wasn’t any of his business. “I spoke maybe four or five words to him before Tessa and I left to go home. I had a long day today, and planned to go to bed before I got called back into work.”

  She tried not to blush as she thought of what she had actually been planning to do before bed. Way too much information.

  “Seems weird if that’s all it was. We aren’t exactly a small town.”

  “I know,” she answered honestly. “But that’s just how some things work. And we are the closest ER to where I live, so it’s bound to happen that I’ll see someone I’ve met at the grocery store or something.”

  Or something.

  Not quite a lie, but close enough.

  Thankfully, they’d made it to the swinging doors at that point, and she didn’t have to say anything else. As soon as they entered the room, Liz didn’t have to wonder who was waiting for Owen.

  Hell, even if she hadn’t met Murphy that night, she’d have known Owen’s family anywhere.

  Four men and two women stood up or quit pacing as soon as Liz and Dr. Wilder stepped into the room. Three of the men looked a lot like Owen, and since one was Murphy, she was going to assume that they were the Gallagher brothers. They each had dark hair, beards of various lengths, and ink peaking out in places. The fourth man had a buzz cut and looked dangerous as hell as he hovered by the one Gallagher with the most ink, and a woman with dark hair and full sleeve tattoos.

  The other woman in the group stood next to the largest Gallagher with the longest beard. She too had ink and looked just as dangerous as the men.

  Hell, the whole crew looked like an ad for a biker gang or something equally as dark and mysterious. Of course, she was doing the one thing she hated: judging them on appearances alone.

  Murphy and Owen had been the only two decent guys in a bar filled with idiots and drunken mistakes tonight. Though they were the ones with the most ink, and Owen even had a hoop in his brow, they’d been nice and polite.

  Even with the hunger in their eyes.

  “They’re over there,” Liz said softly.

  “I could have guessed that,” Dr. Wilder said just as softly, and Liz almost tripped. The man never joked around, but she was pretty sure she caught the hint of humor in that dry statement.

  Tonight was turning even weirder.

  “Owen Gallagher’s family?” Dr. Wilder asked.

  “That’s us,” the largest said. “We’re his family.”

  “Liz?” Murphy asked, his voice a little hoarse. “You work here?”

  She could feel Dr. Wilder’s gaze on her, as well as that of the rest of the Gallaghers, and she felt like crawling under the table to avoid their stares. This was so not what she needed right now.

  “Hello, Murphy. Small world, I know.” She tried to keep her voice light, but she knew there would be questions upon questions.

  “I’m Dr. Wilder,” the man at her side continued. “You seem to know Liz. We worked on your brother.”

  “Is he okay?” the woman standing between the two men asked.

  “He’s in surgery now, but we have no reason to believe he won’t be up to a hundred percent soon,” Dr. Wilder explained.

  “Surgery?” the brother with the most ink asked.

  “We believe he has a lacerated spleen from the impact of the vehicle, and the surgeons are working diligently on it now. They will be able to tell you more once they finish. In addition to Mr. Gallagher’s spleen, he also has a fractured clavicle but it is only a hairline fracture so that is not as bad as it could have been. He also has a mild concussion and two broken ribs, as well as three bruised ones. His recovery will take a bit, but we have no reason to think he won’t be back to his normal self, possibly minus a spleen, in no time.”

  The family let out a breath.

  Dr. Wilder’s phone beeped, and he frowned as he read the screen. “I’m going to leave Nurse McKinley with you now to answer any questions you may have. You’re in good hands with her.” He gave Liz a nod and hurried out, leaving her alone with a group of very large men and seemingly even more dangerous women.

  How on earth had she ended up in this situation?

  “Liz?” Murphy asked.

  “How do you know her?” the biggest one asked.

  “We met Liz and her friend Tessa tonight,” Murphy explained.

  “In the bar?” one of the women asked.

  “Yes, Blake, in the bar. But Liz didn’t drink. Hell, I didn’t even finish my beer, and Owen didn’t have one at all. We were all just there,” Murphy explained. “Liz, this is my brother Graham and his wife, Blake.” He pointed to the biggest Gallagher and the woman at his side and then to the next group. “This is Jake and his wife Maya, and their husband, Border.” Murphy gave her a look that dared her to make anything of the triad, and she just raised a brow. She worked in a freaking ER; seeing three people who clearly loved and cared about each other didn’t even faze her.

  “I’d say nice to meet you, but that’s never the case in an ER waiting room,” she said, and the family relaxed a fraction more. Apparently, she’d passed some kind of test because Graham’s eyes held a little bit of respect. She had a feeling this was the eldest brother, and his opinion held sway. Where, she wondered, did Owen fall in the lineup?

  “Why don’t you guys take a seat?” she asked. “I’m here to answer as many questions as I can before I get called back.”

  They reluctantly took their seats, and Liz sat next to Blake. Both women studied her, but Liz didn’t feel like they were judging in the way some women did. It was more that they were curious but protective. She actually admired that, and was a little jealous that Owen had so many people who cared about him.

  Liz had Tessa.

  But damn it, that was all she needed.

  “I need to check on the baby,
” Border said. He nodded at Graham and Blake. “I’ll make sure Rowan is good, too, though I’m sure they’re all still sleeping with Harry and Marie watching over them. I’ll be right back.”

  The family asked Liz a few questions, and she did her best to answer them fully. With Owen still in surgery, she didn’t have all the answers, but she could at least talk about recovery time with regards to his other injuries. When her phone buzzed her back, she stood up and took her leave, but not before two detectives came over to talk with the family.

  Now she was really curious as to what had happened after she’d left the bar with Tessa, but it wasn’t her business. She’d make sure Owen was okay after he got out of surgery because she always checked in on her patients, and then she’d push him from her mind.

  After all, he was just a man in a bar. Just a patient.

  Nothing more. Nothing less.

  And unless she went upstairs to the surgical floor to physically check on him, she’d never see him again.

  Good.

  Because nothing good could come from seeing Owen Gallagher again.

  Nothing.

  3

  Owen knew strangling his sisters-in-law would only make matters worse, but that didn’t mean the thought hadn’t floated through his mind. Repeatedly. They might be trying to help, but there was only so much a man could take before he started to lose it. It had been over two weeks since that damn car had hit him, and his family was only now letting him come home. He’d never missed his bed as much as he did right then.

  His incision didn’t ache quite as much as it had before, but he still felt like the rest of his internal organs would shift if he moved too fast. Completely insane, he knew, but that didn’t stop his imagination from running wild. He still had his arm in a sling so he wouldn’t jostle his shoulder, but since the hairline fraction on his collarbone had been minimal, he hadn’t needed a cast or something totally binding. In fact, the doctor had said he’d be fine in a couple of weeks as long as he did his physical therapy and didn’t lift drywall—something that had actually been on his list of things to do prior to the accident. His doctor had given him the same advice for his ribs regarding movement with time being the key factor in healing. Since he’d been incapacitated thanks to the surgery, his ribs were well on their way to mending themselves.

  It had only taken two weeks of constant hovering by his family, and being poked and prodded until his brain felt like it was going to pound right out of his head to get him to this point.

  And if his overly loving family didn’t leave him the hell alone, he might actually start strangling people with his good hand. It might set back his recovery a few weeks, but it would be worth it.

  “Let me get that pillow out of the car,” Blake said as she tapped her fingers on her hip, studying him. “I don’t think you have enough pillows. I mean you have some decorative ones on the bed, but not enough good ones to keep you steady here on the couch.”

  “I’m surprised the darn things aren’t numbered,” Maya mumbled. He was slightly surprised to hear the word darn and not damn coming from Maya’s mouth, but as she held her son, Noah, in her arms, he couldn’t really blame her. The whole family was trying to keep from cursing so much in front of Noah and Blake’s daughter, Rowan, but so far, they hadn’t really achieved it. Not surprising since before Jake and Graham had married their significant others, they’d all just been a bunch of bachelors who worked on construction sites or in studios like Jake. Cursing was a way of life.

  “I don’t number my pillows,” Owen growled. “I like things to be organized and labeled, but I don’t actually use my label maker for throw pillows.”

  “So you say,” Maya said with a snort. “I might have just missed the tiny numbers hand-sewn into the fabric.”

  Owen barely held himself back from flipping her off. Lovingly, of course.

  Rowan, Blake and Graham’s ten-year-old, ran up to them at that moment and held out her arms, a wide smile on her face. “Can I hold Noah? I promise to be careful.”

  Maya’s face softened even as Blake turned to help the exchange. Rowan sat down on the floor next to Owen’s overlarge armchair, and Maya handed Noah over. The boy was just big enough to sit up on his own, and he absolutely adored his cousin, Rowan. And though Owen didn’t have kids, as soon as Jake had announced that the triad was having a baby, Owen had made sure his home was safe enough for a toddler to run around. Rowan had come along right before then when Graham had married Blake, and now each of the Gallagher homes had toys and games for the kids to play with.

  Somehow, the Gallaghers were becoming domesticated, and Owen was just fine with that. It was about time, after all. If his parents had still been alive, they would have joined in on the fun.

  His chest ached, and he knew it wasn’t from the impact of the car, but from old wounds he knew would never heal. Some things just didn’t settle no matter how much time passed, and for that he was grateful. Because without the pain, he was afraid he’d lose the memory of his parents. They’d been everything to him, even though they had spent most of their time with his younger brother since Murphy had been sick more often than not.

  And now they weren’t around to watch his other brothers find their happiness, and that ate at Owen day by day. He let out a sigh and winced as a dull pain radiated up his side. Hell, broken ribs hurt more than broken bones and surgical incisions. How that was possible, he didn’t know, but he was damn tired of it.

  “What’s wrong?” Murphy asked as he came into the house carrying a walker.

  A damned walker. It wasn’t as if anyone had let him use it, however. Since he had one arm in a sling and broken ribs down that side, as well, he’d been forced in a wheelchair when he wasn’t slowly walking on his own two feet. But some orderly had put a walker on the list of things he might need for recovery, so his brothers had gotten it for him. While Owen appreciated lists—hell, loved them like they were his children—he wasn’t a fan of his recovery list.

  In fact, that list could go straight to hell along with the driver of the truck that had hit him.

  “I’m fine,” Owen bit out, angry all over again about what had happened in the parking lot.

  “You winced,” Murphy accused.

  “I was just thinking about the damn truck that hit me.” Not quite a lie now, but he wasn’t about to let the rest of them act like mother hens. Thankfully, Border, Jake, and Graham were at work, and the others would soon be heading off in that direction also. They’d built a nursery at the tattoo shop where Maya worked so Noah would be going with her, and Rowan was off school thanks to a parent-teacher day and would be accompanying Blake to the shop, as well. Maya co-owned Montgomery Ink, while Blake was the piercer at the shop, though she did some ink on the side. How his brothers had been lucky enough to get the women, Owen didn’t now. But right now, he just wanted them out of his damn house.

  “Are you okay?” Rowan asked from the floor, Noah in her arms.

  Owen had forgotten she was down there when he’d spoken, and now he felt like an ass. While they hadn’t hidden what had happened from her since she was too old to keep in the dark, they’d done their best to not scare her.

  Good going, Uncle Owen.

  “I’m okay,” he said with a small smile he hoped reached his eyes. “I promise. I’ll be good as new in no time.”

  Rowan nodded. “Good. But if you need a Band-Aid, let me know. Daddy got me extra pink ones with sparkles because he said you might need some.”

  Murphy snorted as Owen did his best to not grit his teeth. While his family was worried about the fact that someone had hit him and driven off, and that there were no leads, they also loved giving him shit. Of course, had it been the other way around, he’d be right with them, doing his best to give everyone shit, as well.

  He was a Gallagher, after all.

  “Okay, I think you have everything you need,” Blake said after a moment. “I really wish you’d stay with us a bit longer.”

  Owen shook h
is head. He’d been staying at Graham and Blake’s because they had a spare bedroom, and Rowan was old enough to deal with him around. He could have stayed at any of his brothers’ places, but they all knew he needed to stay at Graham’s. His eldest brother needed to make sure all his ducklings were okay, even if Graham would never admit it.

  “I’m fine,” Owen bit out. “I need to be in my own house, Blake. But I hope you know I’ll always be grateful for how much you all helped me. Okay?”

  Blake narrowed her eyes. “You’re placating me, but I’ll take it. Just know that we’ll all be stopping by daily because we’re mother hens, and you just need to deal with it.”

  “And you guys thought I was the honest and blunt one,” Maya put in.

  “There are two of you now,” Murphy said with a grin. “God help us all.”

  Maya punched Murphy’s left arm, while Blake punched his right. From the look on Murphy’s face, neither woman had held back. Good.

  “Dude, I bruise like a peach, be careful with my delicate self,” Murphy complained with a shit-eating grin.

  “Get out,” Owen growled. “I love you, but get out. I have my computer and can finally get some work done, but I just want to breathe.”

  Murphy shook his head and reached for Owen’s computer. Owen clutched it to his chest and tried not to bash his ribs. “You aren’t working, Owen.”

  “Touch my computer and face my wrath. This is my precious. You don’t touch my precious.”

  The girls snickered and shook their heads. “Owen, you can’t work right now,” Blake insisted.

  “You need to heal,” Maya added. “The company isn’t going to fall apart without you.”

  Well, that just wasn’t true. He was the manager of the entire company, the one who organized everything. The only reason things were working at all was because Owen had laid everything out for them in color-coded lists and spreadsheets. He’d been working ahead as always, but soon, his brothers would catch up to where he’d left off and go off on their own.