Protector (The Brannock Siblings Book 4)

by Jessica Wilde

  "I can be anything she wants."

  Colin moved quickly this time, avoiding another smack on the head and snickering as he moved to stand in front of Isabelle.

  Liam had to admit, a small part of him worried that Colin was right. Liam could charm a lot of women, but Colin had a gift.

  His young brother slapped his hand over his chest dramatically, gripping the material of his shirt directly over his heart. "I've died, Ma. I've died and gone to heaven. I know it now."

  Izzy looked up with a bemused expression. She had no clue what was happening but Liam already told her all about Colin. There was no expecting anything less.

  Liam's mother shook her head, glancing his way with a shrug. Colin was about to lay it on thick.

  "Me heart's stopped beatin' and I can nah breathe," Colin added, exaggerating his speech just a bit too much for Liam's liking. It was another thing Colin always said the girls loved. The accent was his shoe in for anyone visiting from another country.

  Izzy looked back and forth between the two of them and Liam simply shrugged. People who didn't know Colin were always a little nervous about his warped sense of humor until they realized that it was just... him.

  Izzy stood slowly and grinned at Colin, holding her hand out for him to shake. "You must be Colin. I'm Isabelle. Your brother has told me a lot about you."

  Colin took her hand and dropped to his knees in front of her. "Aye, beauty. I am Colin. The one and only. Are you ready to marry me then, my love?"

  Izzy threw her head back with a laugh while Colin pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Liam shook his head and decided that his little brother was a little too close for comfort, especially since he started to place quick kisses up her wrist.

  "Hey now!" He tugged his brother up by the collar of his shirt. "Keep your kisser off her, we don't know where that thing has been."

  "You jammy bastard," Colin smiled without the slightest hint of shame. "I'm actually jealous of you, brother. She's beautiful."

  Liam playfully shoved Colin towards their mother, who was ready to smack him on the back of the head. "Watch your language in front of the ladies, Colin. Isabelle does not need your foosterin' at the moment."

  She pulled Colin away and started asking him about Cara and Jerry. Liam wanted to listen in to see if Colin had already made a mess of things, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Isabelle who was still laughing. His father was even gawking at her with awe.

  She was a sight when she laughed like that. Her shoulders shook and her slender throat tensed magnificently. That neck was a place he could burrow into for ages.

  "Your brother is something else."

  "Aye, he's warped. But he seems to enjoy the reactions he gets."

  "I'm going to go make sure your mother doesn't eat the boy's head off," his father said before patting Liam on the back. He gave his son a wink and walked away.

  "Your mother is wonderful and your father is a charmer," Izzy said.

  Liam nodded in agreement and with a straight face asked, "Where do you think I got it from?"

  She rolled her eyes, but before she could argue with him, Liam took her hand and lead the way through the crowd.

  "Where are we going?"

  "I want to show ye something. Finny will be waiting for us."

  He pulled her through the booths and groups of people, steadying her when she stumbled and stopping on occasion to say hello and introduce her to those who were curious enough to ask. She took it all in stride. Isabelle was not the type of woman to flaunt herself in a crowd and her clumsiness only endeared her more to those around her.

  When he lead her into the forest of trees on the other side of the field, Isabelle hesitated.

  "I promise I'll not kidnap you, Izzy," he said with a reassuring smile. "My sister spends her time at a grove along the river. She'll be there with her friends."

  Isabelle continued to follow him, tightening her hold on his hand as the path became narrower. Suddenly, the trees opened up and she looked up to see the small world he knew she would love.

  "It's beautiful, Liam."

  He moved his hand to the small of her back and guided her over to a circle of several young girls with his sister in the middle.

  "Liam!" Fiona shouted and sprung up to give him a hug.

  "Finny, I see you've started without me."

  "You are late," she scolded him. Her blue eyes shifted to Isabelle and widened. "Is this her?"

  He nodded.

  Finny dropped out of his hold and set her feet firmly on the ground in front of Izzy. "I'm Fiona Brannock," she said shyly.

  Isabelle crouched down in front of her and took Fiona's outstretched hand. "I feel like I've been waiting a lifetime to meet you, Fiona. Your brother talks about you a lot."

  Finny's cheeks reddened and she smiled up at her brother proudly. "He does?"

  "Yes. And he told me you were taking care of some puppies. I would love to see them one day."

  Finny nodded her head enthusiastically. "You must. Can we go now?"

  Liam chuckled and playfully rubbed the top of Fiona's head. "We will tomorrow, Finny."

  She only pouted for a moment before taking Isabelle's hand and pulling her to the group of girls who had been watching the whole encounter. They stared at Isabelle with wide eyes and whispered to each other until she was standing directly in front of them.

  Fiona introduced Izzy to her friends. It was when they all stood to shake her hand that Isabelle noticed what had been in the center of all of them. Liam rubbed his hand over that tight spot inside his chest when he saw her face light up. That tautness was happening more and more.

  A blanket, covered with all kinds of food, was laid out and a bouquet of flowers sat in the middle of it all. Finny did a wonderful job and Liam would have to make sure he gave her a little extra money for her hard work.

  "Liam wanted the flowers to be all different colors. He said you loved them all, so we picked them all."

  The pressure in his chest released when Isabelle looked his way. Their eyes locked and he almost told her right then and there how much he wanted her to stay.

  "Thank you," she whispered, looking back down at Finny. "I love them. It's all so perfect."

  "It was my brother's idea. He planned all of this and asked us to pick the flowers and put it all together. Does it look nice?"

  "Yes," Izzy answered immediately. "It's wonderful." She turned to Liam and rose up to her tip toes to place a light, hesitant kiss on his cheek.

  Worth every second!

  "Can we eat with you?" Finny pleaded. "We don't want to go back to the festival. It's so boring."

  Izzy laughed and let Fiona pull her down to the blanket. "I don't mind at all. I think I could spend all day here."

  He couldn't take his eyes off of Isabelle and his little sister. Fiona smiled and giggled whenever Isabelle asked her a question. It wasn't long before he could pretty much guarantee his role as his sister's hero had been taken over.

  They sat in that grove for the next couple of hours, young girls coming and going often, all of them asking Isabelle an endless amount of questions.

  His mother finally came through the trees with Brian on her heels. "I didn't think you would be here this long girls. Your mother's are searchin' for you."

  Fiona's friends pouted and said their goodbyes to Isabelle, giggling as they passed Liam. He usually avoided these kinds of situations since he could only take the giggling for so long, but Izzy seemed to be enjoying his discomfort so he'd let them stay.

  Liam introduced Izzy to Brian who looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

  "Colin wasn't lyin'. You are a jammy bastard!"

  His mother moved to smack Brian in the back of the head, but he moved quickly and hid behind Isabelle. "You boys will be the death of me, I just know it," she said to her sons. "Brian, get your arse back here before I tell Izzy to clatter you for me."

  Isabelle laughed when Brian started to run away, his mother chasi
ng after him with a big smile on her face. "You're coming to Dublin with us, Izzy," he shouted to them before disappearing through the trees.

  Mary turned back to them and waved, "Bring her for supper tomorrow, Liam." Then she disappeared through the trees, too.

  "I'm going to tell Ma you're coming to see the puppies tomorrow," Fiona said and took off after them.

  Liam let out a long sigh. His family was something else.

  Looking more than a little anxious, Izzy sat back down on the blanket. She tugged on her ear and chewed on her bottom lip. Watching that pink lip plump even more was like a bolt of lightning to his stomach and down even further.

  "What's in Dublin?"

  "Brian's birthday is the day after tomorrow. We are taking him to a pub in Dublin to celebrate. They have music and dancing. It's a lot of fun. Would you like to go?"

  He stretched out on the blanket beside her and waited for her answer. She seemed to be deciding what to say and it was making a line appear between her brows.

  "I don't know."

  "It really is just a bunch of friends sitting around a table trying to talk over each other. Cara was supposed to come with us, but I imagine she'll be spending that time with Jerry."

  She still didn't look convinced.

  "I'll not leave your side the entire time we're there."

  She sighed and shrugged. "Okay then. That sounds wonderful."

  He shook his head with a soft laugh.

  They stayed in that grove for another hour, talking and relaxing. The crackle in the air whenever she looked his way was the only sign he had that she was feeling the same pull as he was.

  Izzy pointed out that they were missing the festival completely and he reluctantly gathered the blanket and basket of food before leading her back through the trees and into the thinning crowd.

  Finny came running up to them only to pull Izzy away from him to show her the ducklings wandering around the tree line. It was as he watched them fawn over the small babies that Maggie walked up to him with a grim expression.

  "What is it?"

  She sighed and watched Finny pass one of the ducklings to Izzy. "Your family will get attached, lad. Already have."

  "And?"

  "You think it will be easy to say goodbye to the bird? She'll leave and what then? Will you pick yourself back up or will you question what could have been?"

  "We're friends, Maggie."

  "Aye, you are. Friends. But more. You care for her and it shows in all you do. Your mother thinks there's a wedding coming and your father isn't talking her out of it. Finny looks at her like she hung the moon."

  Liam shook his head and tried to keep his voice level. "What are you saying, woman?"

  Maggie raised an eyebrow and stared back at him. "I'm saying that if you don't discover why Isabelle looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, then you'll never know and you'll wonder if you could have done something differently. I'm saying that we all see the love you have for that girl. Are you prepared to fight for it?"

  Liam looked back at Isabelle. She was saying something to Finny that made the small child smile like she'd just been told Christmas was more than once a year. Maggie's words echoed in his mind and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was right.

  "Aye, I'm always right, Liam," she sighed, reading his mind. "Doesn't mean I necessarily enjoy it." She patted him on the shoulder and walked away, leaving Liam to wonder what he was going to do next.

  He was in love with Isabelle.

  So deeply in love that he couldn't see past her. In just ten days he'd discovered so little about her life back in America, but so much about her. He knew she was compassionate and patient. She loved to laugh and he'd taken every opportunity to make her laugh. She wanted her independence so much that she risked coming to a country of strangers just so she could take a breath.

  She loved flowers that weren't necessarily beautiful and a simple gesture of chivalry made her breath catch. She loved that yellow sundress she wore and she never put on the makeup so many girls plastered on their faces these days.

  In such a small amount of time, he'd found a woman that was worth the trouble of losing his heart.

  And she wasn't going to stay much longer.

  "You look like you're about to vomit, brother."

  Colin sidled up to him with his hands in his pockets. He smiled when he watched Finny start chasing the ducklings to get a hold of one. Isabelle was laughing as she watched his little sister squeal with excitement when one finally stopped long enough for her to pick it up.

  "Be honest with me, Colin. Do you think I could make her stay? Do you think she... feels something more than friendship for me?"

  Colin turned to face Liam and frowned. This wasn't a normal conversation that he would have with his brothers, but if Colin was as observant as he claimed to be, Liam needed to ask.

  "I see the way she looks at you and I see the way you look at her. What other answers do you need?"

  Liam sighed, knowing that was just not enough. Not when he still didn't know everything about her.

  "If you want to be sure," Colin continued, "find a way to make her see that you're a wanted man."

  Liam shook his head. "I've no need to play games, Colin. I'm not like you one bit."

  "You don't have to be and it doesn't have to be a game. Help her see the light, brother. Otherwise, you'll never know." Colin started toward Finny, effectively ending the conversation.

  It was the very last bit of advice Liam needed and coming from Colin, he knew it would not be rational at all.

  He didn't need to make Izzy jealous to find out how she felt. He could just ask her.

  "Bloody hell," he mumbled to himself. "You know you'll never do it."

  "Do what?"

  Liam turned to see his mother at his side. He didn't want to talk about it anymore so he put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Nothing, Ma. I'm just blatherin' nonsense these days."

  She leveled him with a pointed look, but eventually let it go. "You'll invite her for supper tomorrow, won't you?" she asked with a hopeful smile. It wasn't really a question more than it was a polite command.

  "Aye, Ma. I will."

  "Good."

  When his mother joined Finny, Colin, and Izzy, he knew that what Maggie said was inevitable if he didn't do something about it now.

  Fighting for her wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it.

  ***

  "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

  Liam had driven Izzy back to the house and walked her inside with the intention of finding out exactly why she was in Ireland and what was going on that made her run. Now that he had the opportunity, he was losing his nerve.

  "I would," he smiled.

  You're a coward!

  "I don't really have much right now. I can make us some sandwiches. If you wouldn't mind getting a fire started, I'll go make them."

  I've already started a fire and I don't know if I can put it out, Liam thought to himself as he watched her walk into the kitchen.

  He took his time placing the wood, listening carefully to her movements in the kitchen. It wasn't long before they were both sitting at the dining table eating in silence.

  "Your family is wonderful, Liam. You must really love them."

  "Aye, they are crazy but I do. Never a dull moment with them."

  "Do you think Cara will like me?" she suddenly asked.

  Liam swallowed his bit of food and nodded. "Cara does not have many friends. The girls she spends time with are snobby. I think she'll take to you quite easily." He shrugged and added, "Plus, if Finny likes you, everyone will."

  They finished eating in silence and moved to sit in front of the fireplace. Liam had plenty of opportunities to ask her whatever he wanted, but the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth. The room was silent and neither of them really even felt the need to speak as they sat together. Isabelle seemed to be deep in thought.

  "Are you alright?"

&nbs
p; She shrugged and leaned back on the sofa, her eyes moving to the ceiling. "It's been a long day, but I had a wonderful time. I think I'm just tired."

  Liam slipped his arm behind her neck and pulled her to his side. "Here's a good spot to relax, then."

  He heard her let out a long sigh before she melted against him. He couldn't stop himself from pressing his lips to the top of her head. It was when her entire body went rigid that he knew he had messed things up.

  "I, um, I should probably go to bed, Liam."

  He let her pull away and pushed back the disappointment when she stood. That pressure in his chest felt like it was moving down to his lungs and it was almost difficult to breathe.

  "Alright, Izzy."

  Her expression fell when she heard that disappointment so evident in his voice. "It's just that, I need to think about things. I need to figure out what I'm going to do. I don't want you to go, but..."

  "I understand. It's no problem."

  He pulled her in for a brief hug and made his way to the front door. "I'll come for you early before dinner. Finny wanted to show you the puppies before we meet with the family."

  She nodded, giving him a weak smile that made him want to run for the hills. He shouldn't feel so strongly about this woman. Not this soon and not when she didn't belong to him.

  Not another word was said and she slowly closed the door behind him. He dropped his head and took a deep breath. It shouldn't be this difficult. He never thought he would find himself so lost over a woman.

  Dropping down to sit on the porch, he told himself he would leave in just a moment. Then he heard Isabelle's voice coming through the open window and he strained his ears to listen. She seemed irritated, but her shaky tenor betrayed her anxiety. She was speaking to someone on the phone and he felt like an arse for eavesdropping, but he couldn't help it.

  "No, Christopher. I'm going to be having supper with Maggie's family tomorrow night and I don't know when I will be able to call."

  A pause, then a huff from her. She was getting upset.

  "No. I told you I'm not going to cooperate if you don't-"

  Another pause.

  "You may think you will be able to control me, Christopher, but I can guarantee that is a mistake you will suffer from."