Next week was Ian Shaughnessy’s birthday and they had made plans to join his family for the celebration. Aubrey was definitely looking forward to it, and as she looked at her calendar, an idea hit her—Zoe and Anna. Maybe the key to figuring out Hugh could be found in those two. Anna had known the family for forever and Zoe was marrying into it, so there was a chance she’d get some insight from them.
Maybe she could drive down a day early under the pretense of having a girls’ day out. Lunch, mani/pedis, that sort of thing. And she could do her best to draw out some information on why Hugh felt responsible for his mother’s death.
A small pang of unease hit her.
Should she be doing this? Would it be better simply to leave it alone?
No. If Aubrey had learned one thing as of late, it was that life was too short. It wasn’t until she had met Hugh and began this fabulous new phase of her life that she’d realized everything that had been missing from hers. She’d been content to let others make her feel small and to accept the way they treated her, but after meeting Hugh, she saw there was another world out there. Another way.
And she wanted him to find his new world and his new way, one where he could relax and enjoy life and maybe, just maybe, they could move forward together.
“Might as well get the ball in motion,” she muttered to herself as she scanned through some of her files until she found Zoe’s phone number. Taking a deep breath, she dialed and crossed her fingers.
And prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
* * *
“So a bunch of us are going out tonight. You in?”
Hugh looked up from the pile of mulch he was carefully spreading out along the flower bed in front of his father’s house and stared blankly at Quinn.
“Dude? Come on. Every time you come home, you pretty much just…you know…sit. Let’s go out tonight, grab a couple of drinks, play some pool. You know, like we used to.”
“I never used to do that.” Hugh moved the rake through the mulch pile again.
Quinn rolled his eyes. “All the more reason to come out and do it tonight. Come on, Hugh. Aidan’s going, Bobby’s going, Riley and his shadow are going. Hell, I think we’re even going to get Owen to go if he gets here in time.”
Hugh chuckled. “What exactly do you think Owen’s going to do in a bar?”
“Laugh if you will, but he’s a whiz at pool. He spouts all kinds of geometry crap and he’s a little slow making his play, but when he does, it’s a thing of beauty. We made a killing last time he was in town.”
“That’s just wrong.”
“No,” Quinn corrected, “it’s fun.”
Hugh supposed some could call it that. “Thanks, but I think I’m just going to hang back. By the time I’m done here in the yard, Aubrey should be back. I figured I’d take her to dinner.”
Taking the rake from his hands, Quinn shook his head. “Uh-uh. Nope. I already took care of that too. Anna’s taking the girls—including Darcy—to her place for a continuation of girls’ day. She’s making them dinner and they’re going to watch a movie and do whatever it is girls do at those things.”
“You mean like having pillow fights in their underwear?”
“Dude. Gross. Our sister is going to be there. Don’t make me stab my own eyes out.”
Hugh shuddered. “You’re right. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Anyway, I think Dad and some of his friends may meet up with us too, so you have to go. Everyone will be there. Don’t be all…you know…you. Be like us mere mortals for a night.”
There was no way he was going to win this argument. Quinn was the most tenacious of all his siblings, and when he wanted something—or thought he was right about something—he’d keep the argument going all night. Not what Hugh was in the mood for.
But the thought of going out—especially without Aubrey—wasn’t appealing.
“Stop it. Stop it right now,” Quinn snapped.
“What? Stop what? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“God, you are so whipped! I can’t believe it. You’ve been dating Aubrey for, what? A month? Two? I can already see it. You’re standing here with a look on your face normally reserved for thirteen-year-old girls looking at the latest teen magazine and fantasizing about dating Justin Timberlake or a member of One Direction. Knock it off!”
Hugh grinned. “I think it’s adorable you know who One Direction is.”
“Screw you. You know I’m right. You’re all sad and a little depressed because you’re not going to see Aubrey tonight. Stop being such a chick! Why are you even dating anyone?” He took the rake from Hugh’s hand and tossed it aside. “You have the perfect life! You and Riley—I swear—I don’t know how you got to be so lucky.”
“You’ve lost me. Again, might I add.”
Quinn rolled his eyes and began to pace. “You travel all over the country—sometimes the world. You have no ties to any one place. Why would you tie yourself to one woman? You could literally have a girlfriend at every damn place you own and be living the sweet life! Why are you tying yourself down? And so damn fast! Hell, Hugh, you barely know this girl!”
Rage started to slowly build inside of Hugh. It wasn’t often he shared his personal life with his family. Primarily because he didn’t have much of one. But right now he really resented the fact his brother was talking like this about Aubrey.
“First off,” he began with a deadly calm, “it’s none of your damn business. If you have a problem with Aubrey—”
“That’s not it,” Quinn quickly interjected. “I just don’t get why you—careful, always has a plan—are suddenly so committed and deeply involved with a woman you just met. It doesn’t make sense.”
Hugh guessed he could understand. It didn’t fully make sense to him either. He’d never felt like this before and no matter how much he analyzed it, there weren’t any clear answers or explanations. All he knew was he and Aubrey simply fit.
He scrubbed a hand across his face and sighed. “I didn’t expect it either,” he finally said after a minute. “If anyone had told me the woman breaking into my office was going to turn my world upside down, I wouldn’t have believed them. But she did. And I’m not sorry for it either.”
“Well, shit,” Quinn muttered. “You’re gonna do it too, aren’t you? You and Aubrey are going to be trailing along just like Aidan and Zoe. It’s just wrong.”
“Why is this bothering you so much? Maybe you need to find someone and settle down a bit. You know, stop hanging out at bars till all hours of the night, still trying to act like you’re twenty.”
“I don’t do that,” he pouted.
“I think you do,” Hugh chuckled, walking over to pick up the rake. “Or maybe you’re just running from what’s right in front of your face, figuring if all of us keep running, no one will notice how much you’re screwing up a great thing.”
Quinn looked at him as if he’d started speaking a foreign language. “I have no idea what you just said. What the hell are you talking about?”
Hugh shrugged. “It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”
Hugh continued to rake, and Quinn walked around the yard picking up stray twigs and branches and hauling them off to the yard waste pile. They worked like that for several long, silent minutes, and when there was nothing left to do, Quinn finally stopped and looked at Hugh.
“So? Are you in for tonight or not?”
“Sure.”
* * *
It wasn’t that Aubrey wasn’t a social person, because she was.
She just hadn’t realized how boring all of her relationships with her friends were until right now.
Sitting in Anna’s living room with a fruity virgin cocktail in her hand, she was laughing so hard she thought she might pee. “Oh my goodness!” she cried through the laughter. “I can’t believe you did that!�
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“It’s true!” Anna yelled from across the room, laughing hysterically. “I’m sure if I dug through my closet right now, I’d still have the picture!”
“Oh, come on, you guys,” Darcy finally said. “Stop! Those are my brothers. Can’t we talk about other guys?”
“Sorry, doll,” Zoe said as she plopped down on the sofa beside her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “You wanted a night out with the girls, and we’re all girls who are involved with your brothers.”
“Yeah, but…gross.”
“Gross or not,” Anna said, walking across the room and taking her own seat on the floor, “all of your brothers have very fine butts.”
“Please, you don’t think I hear that at school all the time about Riley?” Darcy said with a hint of annoyance. “I guess I didn’t realize how lucky I was growing up around here. Everyone knew us—knew Riley—and it wasn’t a big deal. But at school now? As soon as people find out I’m related to the great Riley Shaughnessy, suddenly I’m bombarded with questions and requests for autographs, pictures, and private concerts.”
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll find the picture of his naked butt,” Anna said with a laugh.
Darcy made a gagging sound and Zoe finally took pity on her. “All right, all right, all right. No more talk of Shaughnessy butts, okay? Why don’t you pick the next topic, Darce?”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I get it. You’re all into my brothers. I still don’t get why—they’re all jerks most of the time—but I suppose it’s okay.” She turned toward Aubrey. “You got the most normal one.”
“Oh really?” Aubrey asked. “How do you figure?”
“Hugh’s like an old man in a young guy’s body.”
“That’s not true,” Aubrey tried to argue, but her three friends immediately cut her off. “What? I don’t see it.”
“Oh, come on,” Zoe said with a grin. “You mean you haven’t noticed how careful Hugh is? How stable and calm and…”
“Boring,” Darcy supplied.
“Yeah, boring,” Zoe said, but with love. “Hugh’s great, but for a guy who travels the world, he’s really stuck in his own little rut. We’re all hoping you’ll break him out of it.”
Here was her opening—the perfect opportunity to get it all out in the open. But one look at Darcy and Aubrey wasn’t sure if this was really the time or the place.
Well, in for a penny…
“I’ve been trying. But every time I try something new, he balks at it.”
“Have you gotten him to do anything new?”
Aubrey told them about the parasailing, the zip-lining, the jet skiing… “He never goes with me.” She shrugged. “So I go without him.”
“Good for you!”
“I really wish he’d come with me at least once and try…something. Anything! I always have fun and I’ve met some great people, but it’s not the same. I want to experience these new things with him.” She sighed. “I have no idea how to get him to engage, you know?”
Aubrey had to hand it to herself—it was the perfect segue to get the conversation going.
Darcy straightened beside her. “Okay, here’s something you have to know about my brother—he’s been like this his whole life. He just doesn’t know how to have fun.”
“No, no, no,” Anna interrupted. “That’s not true.”
“It’s how he’s been my whole life!” Darcy argued.
“Yeah, well…believe it or not, he was the rebel of the family at one time,” Anna said, and if Aubrey wasn’t mistaken, she looked a little uncomfortable with sharing the information.
“How is that possible? Did he get hurt? Did something happen to him to make him so straitlaced?” Darcy asked.
Anna looked at the youngest Shaughnessy and then to Aubrey and Zoe.
“It’s okay,” Aubrey said, unwilling to make Anna break a confidence. “We don’t have to talk about it right now.”
“No,” Darcy demanded. “I’m curious.”
“Maybe now’s not the time,” Zoe said as she stood and walked over to the kitchen. “Do you want me to light the grill? I’m getting hungry.”
“Anna…?” All three women looked over at Darcy as she whined.
Aubrey held her breath as she waited to see what Anna was going to do. While she would completely understand if Anna opted to change the subject—and possibly spare Darcy’s feelings on what was probably a very sensitive topic—she hoped they were going to get to the heart of the matter.
“Okay, but just remember you asked,” Anna warned, her gaze firmly set on Darcy. “What we talk about here, Darce? It stays here.”
“Fine, fine, fine. My lips are sealed.” She made a zipping motion over her lips and got comfortable on the couch.
Zoe slowly made her way back to the sofa and sat down close to Darcy in a silent show of support.
Anna sighed and sat down on the floor. She looked up at three pairs of wide, curious eyes. “Just so you all know, I’ve known those guys since I was six. I spent almost every day growing up hanging out with them, but that doesn’t mean I know everything about them. So all I’m saying here is what I’ve heard or talked about with either my mom or Quinn.”
“Oh, for the love of it, Anna,” Darcy said, “no one’s going to hold you to anything.” Then she smiled. “My brothers don’t share anything with me and they’re all so much older, it’s hard to imagine them as kids or different than who they are now.”
“Aidan was always serious,” Anna began. “He was the sweetest and most polite boy I’d ever met. He made sure everyone was taken care of and all games were played fairly.”
Zoe smiled. “Sounds like Aidan. Some things never change.”
Anna nodded. “And I’m not just saying it because you’re sitting right here and he’s your fiancé, he was just always a great guy. Never got into trouble, good student, and willing to help out anyone who needed it.”
“And that’s why I love him,” Zoe said and took a sip of her drink.
“Now, Hugh was a completely different story.”
Aubrey perked up—they all did—and leaned a little forward as if Anna was about to reveal the secrets of the universe.
“He was a lot rougher than Aidan. He played harder, talked tougher, and I know Lillian was exhausted from keeping up with him.”
“So he was like…bad?” Darcy asked. “Like, a problem?”
Anna shook her head. “No, sorry. That wasn’t what I meant. He was just the opposite of Aidan. Hugh would be the one making the bike ramp in the yard or taking things apart to build something bigger and better. He was always on the move. He played a bunch of different sports.”
“So what happened?” Zoe asked. “That’s a far cry from the man he is now.”
“It is. By the time he hit high school he was hanging out with a group of guys who weren’t the best influence. He was staying out late, got caught drinking a time or two, and even though he was maintaining good grades, he was butting heads with Ian and Lillian at home.”
“I can’t imagine my dad tolerating that sort of thing. All of my brothers have an almost scary respect for him. It’s hard to picture Hugh being the one to disrespect him.”
Anna gave a slight shrug. “It goes with the age, and believe me, they all did it to some extent. It changed after your mom passed away but they all had a bit of a rebellious period.”
“Even Owen?” Zoe asked.
“In his quiet way, yes.” She chuckled. “But his rebellion was about wanting to go to the museum on a Saturday when there was yard work to do.” They all laughed.
“I can’t imagine Aidan being rebellious,” Zoe said.
“Yeah, well… He was a bit older so I don’t know much, but I do know he fought hard to drop out of college after Lillian died. He wanted to be there for everyone. Ian held firm, though.”
S
ilently, they all nodded.
“So…what do you think changed for Hugh? Why such a drastic change?” Aubrey asked, unable to help herself. “I know losing a parent is completely devastating, but from what you’re saying, he did a complete one-eighty. Why?”
Anna looked around uncomfortably. “I can’t say with any great certainty…”
“But…” they all prompted.
Anna sighed. “Hugh got in trouble a few days before the accident. He broke curfew a couple of times, gave Lillian a bunch of attitude.” She looked over at Darcy sadly. “I remember her having tea with my mom and saying she didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t understand why he was being so difficult and why he couldn’t accept the rules she and Ian gave them.”
“I imagine it’s frustrating for any parent when your child breaks the rules or lashes out,” Zoe said.
“My mom said the same thing and shared how frustrated she got with me and Bobby and how much we always fought with one another. They used to get together and talk a lot. They were really good friends.”
Darcy looked around the room and then back at Anna. “I feel like there’s something you’re trying not to say.” She gave a little huff of annoyance. “You don’t have to be afraid to say anything in front of me, Anna. I don’t remember anything about my mom. I wish I did, but I don’t. So if you’re trying to spare my feelings, don’t. I love my mom. I always will, but…I don’t have a connection to her other than what other people tell me about her.”
“I wish you could, sweetie. I really do. She was an amazing woman.”
“I know,” Darcy said with a hint of wistfulness.
“Well, Hugh was giving her the cold shoulder with his punishment. She said he would barely talk to her and when he did, he was belligerent.” She paused. “She died the next day. I think Hugh knew he was being a brat and it’s always been there—like he knows the last time they talked, he was rude to her.”
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