Having Faith: Callaghan Brothers, Book 7

by Zanders, Abbie

  Faith took another step back when David got a little closer than was socially acceptable. He was not a large man, not by Callaghan standards, but he was a good deal bigger than Faith. Faith’s shoulders stiffened. With a slightly defiant tilt to her chin, she held her ground. For his part, Kieran did not like the way the guy was openly appreciating her assets.

  “You know, tomorrow’s my day off,” the little rat bastard was saying. “I’d be glad to stop by and give you a hand. Looks like you could definitely use some help.” His attempted sexy grin only managed to look smarmy. Faith opened her mouth, presumably to decline his offer, but before she could say a word, Kieran spoke up.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Kieran crossed his massive arms over his equally massive chest, allowing his form to fill the archway, his deep voice booming throughout the small space as he set his laser-like stare upon the would-be do-gooder.

  Matt, who had also been following the exchange, squeezed thru and stood beside him with a smirk. “Yeah, we got it covered, man.”

  David looked like he was about to say something else, but upon seeing Kieran, changed his mind. Apparently the guy had some brains after all. “Maybe another time,” the delivery guy muttered before the two of them glanced once again at Kieran and made their exit. Faith’s expression was a little harder to read. She looked relieved, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “Thanks,” she said somewhat shyly.

  Without another word, Kieran nodded, then turned on his heel and stalked back outside, fighting his own powerful urge to get close up in Faith’s personal space. Matt followed closely behind.

  “That happen a lot?” Kieran asked, once he was sure they were out of earshot.

  “Yeah,” Matt frowned. “Guys are hitting on my mom all the time. Most of them are pretty cool when she shuts them down, but some get kind of pushy.”

  “Turns down a lot, does she?” he asked casually.

  “No,” Matt said with a grin. “She turns down them all,” he clarified.

  Kieran’s dark mood took a definite upswing.

  * * *

  “I think we’re in the way,” Lacie observed as Shane, Kieran, and Matt progressed through the house, patching and fixing as they went. She pulled off her cleaning gloves. “I’m ready for a break anyway. How about we head into town for a bit? You said you needed some supplies, right?”

  Faith pulled off her gloves, too, and wiped the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead. Everything about her felt grimy. “I do, but I can’t go looking like this.”

  Lacie regarded her. “This is Pine Ridge, not Paris,” she chuckled. “Although I think I could make good use of a wet washcloth and a hairbrush.”

  With some gentle prodding, Lacie persuaded Faith to accompany her into town, if for no other reason than to have something to offer her hard-working guests. She was from the South, after all, and Southern hospitality was more than just a catch-phrase; it was a part of her heritage.

  “What about Matt? Maybe he should come too.”

  Lacie looked doubtfully over to where the three men were working. “Guys, Faith and I are going to head into town for supplies.” She received a few grunts in return and laughed.

  “Matt, you want to come with?” Faith called out.

  Matt shot her a suitably horrified glance. Kieran paused what he was doing long enough to turn around. “Matt’s a great help here if you can spare him.”

  Faith was pretty sure Kieran Callaghan officially became her son’s hero in that moment. While he dutifully helped her when necessary, one of Matt’s least favorite things to do was shopping. So much so, in fact, that she occasionally threatened it as a punishment when he was being particularly surly. The only thing that was more effective was taking his phone away for a few days, but she hated doing that in case he needed to get in touch with her.

  “They’ll be fine,” Lacie assured her as they made their way out to the car. “Matt couldn’t be safer with those two.”

  For whatever reason, Faith believed her. She liked Lacie, a lot. And every instinct she had said the brothers were good, decent men. She took a deep breath to settle her maternal nerves and changed the subject. “So you and Shane are engaged?”

  “Yeah,” Lacie said, positively glowing with happiness. “We’re getting married in August.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. I can’t wait!” Lacie got a particularly bright look on her face. “Hey! You could come! I’ll send an invitation to you and Matt.”

  Inwardly, Faith grimaced. She liked Lacie. The two had hit it off immediately, and that was something very rare; Faith didn’t usually feel as naturally drawn to someone as she was to Lacie. In some ways, she felt a kindred spirit in the mild-mannered Kindergarten teacher. But weddings meant dressing up and buying gifts, and she couldn’t afford either of those things right now. She mentally searched her limited wardrobe in vain for something even remotely suitable to wear and came up empty.

  “It’s going to be very small and informal,” Lacie went on, then caught herself and laughed. “Though I guess when the Callaghans are involved, nothing can ever truly be considered small.”

  Faith had to grin at that. They did seem to have a huge presence that extended beyond their large physiques. It brought to Faith’s mind the irrational thought that the wedding would be another excuse to see Kieran again, but she pushed that thought away as quickly as it came. She had no business thinking anything of the kind.

  Lacie rummaged around in her purse for a bit, extracted a small notepad, removed the attached pen, and jotted something down. “I tend to be a bit disorganized, sometimes,” she explained apologetically. “I find that if I don’t write it down, I sometimes don’t remember until it’s too late.”

  That was something with which Faith could empathize. She had a similar notebook in her bag, though hers was filled with as many sketches as it was enumerated lists and notes. Sometimes an idea struck at the oddest times and if she didn’t capture the gist while it was fresh in her mind, it was harder to reproduce later on.

  “Shane is so organized, poor guy. My disjointed brain drives him crazy sometimes.”

  Faith chuckled at that. Shane did seem to be the type to be exceptionally well-prepared for any situation, but in a competent, good way. She hadn’t detected any of the less desirable anal retentiveness so many control freaks had.

  Faith didn’t realize she’d voiced her inner thoughts out loud until Lacie bellowed a laugh. She felt the heat rushing into her cheeks when the men’s heads snapped up suspiciously with the instinctive knowledge that such a full-hearted sound could only come at their expense.

  Thankfully, they hadn’t heard exactly what she’d said and Lacie didn’t seem at all offended.

  “Thanks. Shane is... well, let’s just say he’s everything I could have hoped for and then some.”

  Faith smiled, feeling genuinely happy for her. She couldn’t find it in herself to begrudge the other woman a happy ending, not when they were so obviously in love.

  “Kieran’s a good guy, too,” Lacie pointed out.

  “They both seem very nice,” Faith said carefully. As much as she liked Lacie, she didn’t know her well enough to sense if there was any hidden meaning in that last statement. She’d been on the fix-up list so many times she’d become a bit paranoid. People generally meant well, but once they found out she was young and single they felt obligated to “help”. Sometimes she felt like she had a bulls-eye tattooed on her forehead. So far Lacie had not shown any signs of gossipy nosiness, just natural curiosity. And she had been nothing but kind and helpful, so Faith decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and take the statement at face value.

  “I still can’t believe how much you’re doing for us. With your help, we’ve already accomplished more in one morning than Matt and I could have in a whole week.”

  More like several, Faith added silently, given how long it would have taken to be able to afford all those supplies. The shingles and lumber alone
would have put her back several hundred dollars, not to mention all the nails and screws and tools they would have had to buy or borrow to get the job done. She had her trusty collection of secondhand tools that she’d managed to collect over the years out of necessity, but it sure as heck didn’t contain portable laser miter saws.

  “I’m glad you’re letting us help,” Lacie countered. “Most people wouldn’t appreciate us barging in and taking over like that. You must think we’re terribly pushy.”

  “Not at all,” Faith was quick to reply, but an inner part of her squirmed. If it had been anyone besides Lacie, Shane, and Kieran, she probably would have been a bit more bothered than she was. She was normally a very private person, and did not accept help easily. It was nearly impossible not to like Lacie, however. And the appearance of the two men who seemed to know what they were doing was just too good to pass up.

  “And we do appreciate it,” Faith said sincerely. “Matt’s been in seventh heaven all day.”

  Faith had given Lacie the perfect opportunity to ask about Matt’s father, but she didn’t. That raised her yet another notch in Faith’s opinion.

  “I think the guys are enjoying it, too. They can’t wait till their nieces and nephews get a little older.”

  “Big family?” Faith guessed as Lacie directed her toward the town proper.

  “You could say that. There are seven Callaghan brothers. Five of them are married with kids, but the oldest isn’t close to being ready to use a power saw just yet.”

  Faith performed a few mental gymnastics. Seven brothers, five married, and one engaged. Lacie spared her the embarrassment of asking. “Kieran’s the only remaining eligible bachelor.”

  Faith hated the little flutter she felt beneath her ribcage at that disclosure. She was not interested. And she was glad she wasn’t interested, because she knew she had the equivalent of a snowball’s chance in hell of catching the eye of someone like Kieran. Even her uninterested, don’t-need-a-man self couldn’t help but admit the man was a walking, talking fantasy. Gorgeous, strong, kind, good with kids ...

  Giving herself a mental shake, Faith forced herself away from those thoughts. She couldn’t afford to think things like that just because a man was nice to her. Yet she still found herself asking, “And how’s that going for him?”

  Lacie laughed. “Honestly? I think he’s seriously considering joining the priesthood.” Faith looked over at her and caught her twinkling eyes. “Not really,” Lacie admitted, “but I wouldn’t blame him. He’s got women throwing themselves at him all the time.”

  “And he doesn’t like that?” Faith gave her a sideways glance. That didn’t sound like any man she had ever known.

  Lacie thought a few moments before answering. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t think he does. Callaghan men aren’t like other men,” she added carefully.

  “How so?”

  Lacie gave her a devilish grin. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  Faith wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, so she remained silent.

  With Lacie’s help, Faith managed to procure nearly everything on her “first-run” list, as she called it. Food, paper products, additional cleaning supplies. Faith carefully considered each purchase before it went into her cart. She had to count every penny.

  Thankfully, Lacie seemed to understand. Faith didn’t know much about the local school system, but as a young, elementary school teacher who most likely hadn’t been vested yet, Lacie was probably on a fixed budget herself and could relate. She seemed to know where to find the best deals, and willingly shared her knowledge with Faith.

  Chapter Five

  When Faith and Lacie returned a few hours later, the men were just cleaning up, which involved dousing themselves with water from an outdoor spigot.

  Faith had to concentrate on her steps when she saw a shirtless, wet Kieran laughing with his brother and her son. The sight made her stumble at least once. Dear Lord, she thought, catching her balance, if she looked closely enough she was pretty sure she could see an eight-pack in those abs.

  It did not improve her concentration any when they slipped on clean white T-shirts and helped the women carry things into the kitchen. The thin white cotton clung to Kieran’s skin, still damp from the hose, and tiny prismatic droplets of water dangled teasingly from the ends of his blue-black hair.

  “Will you stay for dinner?” Faith asked, once she swallowed past the huge lump in her throat and found her voice again. She figured it was the least she could do. They had spent nearly an entire Saturday making her and Matt’s new house livable.

  “Thanks,” said Shane with a friendly smile, “but Lacie and I have dinner plans.”

  Kieran didn’t say anything right away. “What about it, Kieran?” asked Matt hopefully. “My mom’s an awesome cook.” Faith was surprised. Not because Matt was praising her culinary skills, but because he rarely warmed up to anyone as quickly as he had to Kieran.

  Kieran’s eyes met Faith’s, and her heart stuttered. They were at once tremendously powerful and completely unreadable.

  “I think your mom’s done enough for one day. How about I take you guys out for pizza instead?” Matt turned hopefully to Faith. Pizza was one of his favorites, but eating out was something they usually reserved for special occasions.

  “That’s very thoughtful of you,” Faith said hesitantly, “but you’ve done so much already.”

  “It’s no problem. You’d be helping me out, actually.”

  Faith didn’t see how taking them out for pizza could be helpful in any way, but Matt took Kieran at his word without question. “Come on, Mom. Please?”

  The word “no” hovered on her lips. Going out in public looking and feeling the way she did – tired and in need of a good shower – was the last thing Faith wanted to do at that moment. Shopping at the farmer’s market was one thing, but a restaurant?

  There was also the issue of money – or, more accurately, her shameful lack of it. The trip north and today’s purchases had all but obliterated their petty cash.

  As if reading her mind, Kieran turned those amazing blue eyes back to her and said, “I need to head back to my place and get cleaned up first, but then I’ll come back to pick you up. It’ll be my treat.”

  When Faith worried her bottom lip with her teeth, he turned to Matt, and added slyly, “Did I mention I have a Porsche?”

  Matt’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He regarded Faith with a look of such longing she felt the pull on her heartstrings. “A Porsche, Mom.”

  Faith felt herself weakening. She really should say no, but it was next to impossible when Matt looked at her like that. It wasn’t like he was asking for anything extravagant, either, just some pizza. He had been working hard all day, and this was kind of a special occasion.

  Besides, spending a few more hours with Kieran wasn’t exactly a hardship. He had been so patient and kind with Matt. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she had enjoyed his company, too. It was nice to be with someone so easy going and pleasant.

  As a general rule, she avoided that kind of thing – especially with single men. She had neither the time nor the inclination to get involved with anyone. But this wasn’t really a date, she rationalized. It was more like a friendly, welcome-to-the-neighborhood kind of thing. She could handle that.

  Maybe.

  “Okay, but only on the condition that you let us treat you.”

  Kieran frowned. “I asked you. You can’t treat.”

  His downcast expression was so boyishly adorable that she found her fingernails digging into her palms to keep from touching him. That was enough to startle her into cognizant thought again. Faith had never had such a strong reaction to anyone before, and it set off blaring alarms in her head. She quietly turned them off with a mental note to examine them further later on.

  “Technically, I asked you first when I asked you to stay for dinner. And I’m afraid it’s the only way we can go.”

  He looked li
ke he wanted to argue, but apparently he thought better of it. “Okay. I guess I can leave my man card at home for one night.” He grinned and winked at Matt, who laughed. “See you in about an hour?”

  Faith nodded, unable to completely stop the smile from curving her lips.

  Guiseppe’s was everything a traditional Italian pizza parlor should be. Along the side of the building, a red and green striped awning hung over a patio dotted with tables. Inside, dangling lights were suspended over high-backed booths and red and white striped tablecloths. Huge framed posters of Italian cities, buildings, and maps hung on the walls, and the delicious mix of spicy aromas had Faith’s mouth watering within minutes.

  “I think I gained ten pounds from the aroma alone,” Faith murmured, making Kieran laugh. She didn’t miss the appreciative glance he gave her, feeling it all the way down to her open-toed sandals.

  “I like a woman who can appreciate good food.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she muttered, attempting to hide her blush behind the menu and internally racked up a substantial calorie count. “You have what, about two percent body fat?” She looked longingly at the tray the waitress carried past filled with thick, Sicilian style pan-fried crust. “You could probably eat one of those and burn it off before we leave.”

  Kieran flicked his eyes over her in such a way that heat blossomed in places that had no business being that warm. “Nothing you need to worry about either,” he said with an enigmatic smile before turning to his own menu. Faith wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was it a compliment? Or was he politely telling her to mind her own business?

  Faith deferred to Matt to order on their behalf, then sat back and looked around. There was a decent crowd, fun but not overly rowdy. It was a nice place, and the prices were reasonable. Anything was more than she had budgeted for, though, so she’d have to get extra creative for a week or two, but it was worth it to see the smile on Matt’s face.

  Matt and Kieran handled most of the conversation. When Matt found out Kieran was a seventh degree black belt, Faith swore she saw stars in the boy’s eyes. For a while they talked about the programs offered at BodyWorks, and Kieran invited them to attend the free demo on the following day.