Heal Me

by Grady, D. R.

  McCully cleared her throat before responding. “Know how everyone teases us about how much we look alike?”

  “Yeah.”

  “There’s a reason for that,” Owen said calmly as he reached for Jenna with his free hand and pulled her closer. They joined Fred at the table.

  “A reason why you two look alike?” Jenna asked.

  “Yes. My Aunt Rachel started crying as soon as she met O’Maley here. Then she asked him a bunch of awkward questions before telling us she believes...” McCully broke off so he finished the statement.

  “She believes I’m her son.”

  Five sets of eyes now focused solely on him. Owen gazed at Jenna, appreciating her hand on his arm, and the gentle squeeze. He met Fred’s eyes, too, who said, “Wow, you met your mother. At the McCully family picnic. Who knew?” He shoved back his chair and headed for a cupboard. Owen watched in interest as he extracted a large bag of M & M’s and returned to the table.

  McCully swiped a large handful of the colorful candies nearly before Fred had the bag opened. She eyed him suspiciously, but remained silent. Fortunately.

  Jenna left him briefly to put coffee on, while Coulihan and Matthews sat at empty chairs around the table.

  “Your Aunt Rachel believes she’s his mother. How did she guess?” Jenna slid back into her seat beside him.

  Owen set the large photo album on the table and flipped it open. McCully had let go of his hand to snatch the chocolate, so he had a free hand to offer Jenna and turn pages in the huge tome.

  He pointed to a color picture of his father, and felt his throat close off. Jenna leaned forward to look at the photo and he heard her gasp. “He looks just like you,” she exclaimed.

  McCully nodded as she popped M & M’s into her mouth. “Except for his red hair and green eyes, which is our mothers’, that’s how Aunt Rachel knew him.”

  “So, if your Aunt Rachel is his mother, that would make the two of you first cousins,” Matthews said, staring between them.

  “My mother and Aunt Rachel are identical twins.”

  “Wow,” Fred said again, also munching on M & M’s. Owen couldn’t help but notice only he and McCully had started in on the candies.

  Jenna poured the coffee and she arranged a plate with cookies from Emmy. The table occupants accepted the sweets and coffee.

  “You didn’t know she was your mother?” Jenna finally asked.

  “No.” He shook his head. “My aunt told me she died. Aunt Isabel even had a death certificate and explained that’s why she had me instead of my mother.”

  “That’s what you’ve always told us,” Fred confirmed from the end of the table.

  “That’s all I knew. It never occurred to me to check into her story,” Owen said quietly.

  “Well, no. She had that death certificate. Why would you? I saw that document,” Fred exclaimed, his eyes going wide.

  Owen sat upright very quickly, as he stared at his friend. “Of course you did. Your mom said it looked authentic.”

  “It would have,” McCully said after she swallowed her mouthful of chocolate. The two men swerved around to stare at her.

  “Why?” Fred demanded, his eyes intense.

  “Aunt Isabel worked at the County Courthouse. She would have had access to all those documents.”

  Understanding dawned and he wanted to shout with rage. “I forgot that. So that’s how she managed to change my birth certificate.”

  McCully sat up so abruptly she nearly cracked her head. “She changed your birth certificate?”

  “Yes. I never knew my father’s name until today. She acted like she just made O’Maley up. I had no idea it was actually my father’s name because she said my mother didn’t know my father’s name.”

  “Who was your father?” Jenna asked quietly.

  “Orrin Michael O’Maley,” he answered, feeling pride and sadness saying the name he thought to never know.

  “Orrin. That’s nearly like Owen,” she remarked before sipping coffee.

  “That’s right,” McCully answered. “Aunt Rachel said she didn’t want O’Maley to be a junior, but thought it might be nice for them to have the same initials.”

  He met Fred’s eyes across the table. “We have to go see your mother.”

  “Yes. But remember, she’s going to be pretty excited. You know we’ll end up going to see your mother. Mom’s sure to have her way,” he said with a funny grin that normally spelled trouble.

  Owen chuckled. “That’s true. It’s a good thing then that my mom makes the best chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten.”

  “Told you so,” McCully said complacently around another mouthful of M & M’s.

  “What happened to your father?” Jenna asked.

  Owen’s eyes locked with hers and he enjoyed how her hand tightened on his arm. “He was killed in the war.”

  “That’s why Aunt Isabel was able to take him,” McCully said, indicating him with her head.

  “Why?” Coulihan asked, a frown between her blonde brows.

  “Aunt Rachel was grieving and depressed after hearing that her fiancé was killed, but my mom also believes she was experiencing some postpartum depression as well. With that combination, she was a mess, apparently. Aunt Isabel was always a bit strange, she’s actually a great aunt, and would have been in her fifties when she took you?” McCully asked, quirking a brow at him.

  “I remember her as not being a young woman. She died of a heart attack when I was seven. Fortunately, Fred’s mom wanted me.”

  Fred snorted. “Went on a rampage for you, more like.”

  “She did move a few mountains,” he answered, grinning at his friend.

  “And a few buildings,” Fred continued.

  “A few careers maybe.” Owen laughed with his friend at their memories.

  “So, Mrs. Savage took you in?” Jenna questioned, seemingly trying to piece together the puzzle.

  “That’s right. She campaigned for me, anyway. I lived with the Savages for the rest of my school years.”

  “The authorities weren’t going to let Mom have him, but she’s a force to be reckoned with, so they did give her custody of O.”

  “O?” Jenna echoed.

  “Sure, Owen O’Maley. O for short,” Fred answered easily.

  “He’s been calling me that since first grade,” Owen explained.

  “O. I like it,” Jenna said with a warm smile.

  “O. A little name for a big geek,” McCully added her two cents, nodding at him in mock seriousness. He curled an arm around her neck and hauled her against him. He gave her a noogie before letting her go. She twisted easily out of his grasp but not before poking him.

  “I’m not at all surprised the two of you are related. You do look alike, and Thursday night I noticed you lay the same way, you think alike, and you’ve got very similar mannerisms,” Jenna stated.

  “That’s odd, isn’t it?” Fred put in contemplatively. “I mean, O didn’t grow up with his clan, but with me and my mom.”

  “You and he are certain to have some shared mannerisms, because some are learned. But others are innate. They’re genetic, and those are the ones I’ve noticed between you.”

  “We lay the same way?” McCully questioned suspiciously.

  “Absolutely. You were both lounging exactly the same way. It was amazing. I thought the reason was because you spend so much time together, but now it’s probably more so because you share the same genes.”

  McCully wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m not certain I want to share the same genes as this nerd.”

  “Too bad. You already do,” he answered complacently. “Look on the bright side, now your mom won’t try to pair us up.”

  “She stopped that before she met you, remember? After I told her you had the hots for Jenna here.” McCully-the-absolute-troublemaker inserted expertly.

  “Thank goodness,” he replied. He turned to Jenna. “Want to go visit the other two McCullys with me tomorrow?”

  “I’m havin
g a hard time believing there’re two more of them,” Fred said with a frown. “I don’t think the world is quite ready for that.”

  “Too bad. We’re already here,” McCully answered, apparently still intent on causing as much trouble as possible.

  “I’d love to go with you,” Jenna answered his question, examining his face in a way he really liked. As though she enjoyed her perusal very much. The look was nearly a caress. He didn’t have the hots for this woman. Not any longer. It had gone far deeper than that now.

  “Excellent. You really should try my mom’s,” he nearly choked over the name, one he never thought to say before, “chocolate cake.”

  “I’ll look forward to trying a piece,” she answered in her lady-like way. But her eyes told him she didn’t care about the cake. She just wanted to be with him. Warmth swept through him, engulfing him in a tidal wave of some emotion he wasn’t familiar with.

  He couldn’t answer her, but he did reach out and tug her close. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. His throat closed up again.

  Clearing it, he looked at Fred. “Should we plan to take your mom to church in the morning?”

  “Sounds good to me. I already planned to go pick her up. We can all ride together so long as the ladies don’t mind squishing in the back?”

  “I don’t mind,” Jenna offered quickly.

  They all turned to stare at McCully, who looked as though she’d swallowed something live and fuzzy. “I do have my own vehicle. I’ll just meet you at Aunt Rachel’s,” she decided, looking triumphant.

  Fred and he began shaking their heads before she even finished her statement.

  “Sorry babe, but if we don’t take you, O and I aren’t likely to live to see the sunset,” Fred replied calmly, taking a sip of his coffee.

  “Amen,” Owen seconded. He shuddered. “It’s probably not a good idea to have McCully and your mother meet.”

  Fred didn’t quite shudder, but he went pale. He stared morosely into his coffee mug. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

  “What’s the problem here?” Coulihan asked curiously.

  “They’re from identical molds,” Fred answered, still looking like someone just told him his dog died.

  “Getting the McCully women and Fred’s mom together is going to be...” he searched for the correct word.

  “Insane, chaotic, wrong,” Fred supplied, as he hefted another handful of chocolate.

  Owen just groaned.

  Chapter 8

  The next day Owen, Fred, McCully, and she all arrived at the table around the same time. Fred and McCully didn’t bicker, but probably only because she and Owen kept between them. They all settled for bowls of cereal and fruit for breakfast and two pots of coffee before trooping out to Fred’s vehicle since it was parked on the street.

  “How far away are we going?” Jenna asked, curious.

  “Just across town,” Fred answered. He was the most awake of the four. That wasn’t saying much.

  Everyone was tired. The six of them had spent the evening in the basement putting up drywall. While not the most difficult of tasks, it was still backbreaking work, but they wanted each of the men to have his own room, so they all pitched in to help. With the six of them, two had paired up to hang the dry wall, while two more patched the seams. The third pair worked at sanding and finishing. The walls were ready to be painted in two of the rooms. Fred took the last room and said he’d finish up the prep work so whoever had a chance to paint could get started.

  On the ride Jenna brought up the subject again. “Fred, promise you won’t start the painting by yourself.”

  “I’m involved in a big project right now, so I’ll be busy. But finishing the prep work will give me a chance to think, so I’ll just use that as my exercise time.” His shrug was casual; like he really didn’t see it as a big deal.

  “Exercise time?” she asked, curious.

  “Yeah. I always get in about an hour or two of workout time every day. Except I skip Sunday, which means Monday morning I’ll go for two hours.”

  “Why?” McCully asked. Jenna was fairly certain it was her first word of the day.

  “Have to keep in shape. My job requires it,” Fred answered, glancing at McCully in his rearview mirror as he easily negotiated the fairly empty streets.

  “You’re a computer nerd,” McCully reminded him brusquely.

  “Yes, among other things,” he replied sagely and while McCully scowled, she didn’t answer. She turned instead to look out the window as though she lost interest in the subject.

  “Here we are,” Fred announced, pulling into the driveway of a duplex that looked lovingly cared for. Flowers spilled from window boxes and crawled up lattice work. Pots brimming with yet more flowers marched up the stairs and were scattered around the small lawn. A small flag stand displayed the American flag that flapped gently in the scented breeze.

  “How sweet,” McCully breathed, and Jenna agreed.

  As they spoke the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman of obvious Native American heritage and possibly the Jewish and Caucasian that had contributed to Fred’s genes. Her silver streaked black hair fell to her hips in a long, thick braid and her face was creased in a welcoming smile as she noticed the occupants of the car.

  “Mom,” Fred yelled as he hurried out of the car and loped across the ground between them. He cleared the porch steps in a bound and grabbed the woman, twirling her around and around. She fluttered at him until Owen took her from Fred.

  “Ah, O, thank you for the save, yet again. What would I do without you, love?” she spoke in a husky, kind voice, laughter and love evident in the cadence. “Come in, come in,” she invited before catching sight of her and TJ. “Women? You brought women to meet me? Oh, how wonderful.” She spilled down the steps to catch first TJ, and then Jenna in a lavender scented hug.

  “Don’t get your hopes up, Mom. We’ve got a story for you. The short one is McCully, O’s partner on the police force. The taller one is Dr. Jenna Fields, and she’s O’s love interest,” he added with a twisted grin.

  Owen clapped Fred upside the head, and Mrs. Savage offered a pure, tinkling laugh. She looked Jenna up and down before sending her an approving smile. “O has always liked intelligent women. It’s wonderful to meet you. Welcome.”

  He sent her a sweet smile and stayed silent. Jenna smiled back at him before turning her attention to Fred’s mother. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’ve been wondering what Fred’s mother would be like,” Jenna said quite honestly as their hostess led them into the house and waved for them to seat themselves in a comfortable living room.

  “Me too,” TJ chirped and sent a death glare at the man. Who responded with a sick smile.

  Jenna figured Fred had to have inherited his genius status from somewhere, so she wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Savage watched the byplay between the feisty cop and her son with interest. The woman didn’t appear to miss much. Fred would be well aware of this fact.

  Mrs. Savage and TJ eyed each other and appeared to come to some sort of agreement. A mutually satisfying one, because they grinned at each other as though conspirators in a game Jenna was fairly confident the men weren’t interested in playing.

  Soon the two women were chattering happily, and Fred kept sinking lower and lower into the couch. Even Owen looked a little green around the edges. The men kept darting worried looks at one another, which Jenna found more amusing than pathetic.

  Mrs. Savage finally jumped to her feet, alarmed that she forgot to offer refreshments.

  “Follow me, dear, and I’ll tell you all of my sons’ weaknesses,” Marion Savage invited, and TJ willingly complied. She eagerly popped to her feet to follow. Except that Fred, especially, didn’t seem to appreciate the offer. He grabbed TJ’s hand and tugged her back toward the living room. TJ resisted. When he noticed, Fred simply picked her up and deposited her on the sofa. He promptly sat on her. Jenna could hear her vigorously protesting and before long, Fred leaped off the sof
a as if he’d sat on fire. In retrospect, he probably had, since he tried sitting on TJ McCully.

  His mother returned to see what the delay was, and frowned at her son, who now had TJ under one arm, and looked like a caged animal. “Love, you can’t stop us from talking, you know. It’s far better to simply give in gracefully.”

  Fred glared at her over the top of his glasses. With a wriggling TJ in one arm, he used his free hand to push the glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “This woman is trouble, Mom. Just like you. I’m insane.” He turned to Owen. “So are you, by the way. What were we thinking?”

  Owen didn’t answer the question, but did reach his hands out for his partner. “I’ll take her. You go help your mother. I can at least do that much.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t be afraid to sit on her if you have to,” Fred stated emphatically.

  One of Owen’s red eyebrows arched. “Since I saw where that got you, I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

  “True. What were we thinking?” Fred repeated under his breath as he handed over the wriggling TJ as though she were a child.

  Owen clamped a firm hand around her wrist and held her with alarming ease. “Settle down, Squirt. Give Fred a minute with his mom. He hasn’t seen her for two days,” he said mildly and Jenna suppressed a grin.

  TJ, busy trying to unclasp his hand from around her wrist, ignored him. “I am not spending another minute with that odious man. Not another second. I’m going to ask his mother for every weakness he’s got and then I’m sending him to the moon.”

  Owen met her eyes from overtop TJ’s shining red head, his expression wry. Jenna sent him a commiserating smile. “It could be worse,” she mouthed.

  He looked skeptical.

  They decided they didn’t have time for a refreshment if they wanted to be on time and finally wrestled TJ into the car. Fred seated his mother on the other side of Jenna, who got the middle. He also threatened to muzzle his mother if she gave up his secrets, but she seemed more amused by his threats than alarmed. Jenna realized she liked the lady very much. She also saw the lady and TJ had taken to one another right away, and Jenna wondered if Fred’s mother had seen the same thing Owen had observed. He was certain Fred and TJ were perfectly matched. Jenna didn’t believe she knew either of them well enough to determine this yet, but understood how he and Fred’s mom would probably be better judges of the affair.