His words finally sank in. “You were a SEAL, huh? That’s pretty impressive.” It certainly explained a lot – his lean, muscular build, economy of movement, and overall quiet intensity.
Kieran shrugged modestly. “Family tradition.”
“So you’re not anymore?” Except for his hair, which was longer than standard military length, he looked like he could still be one. Faith hadn’t known too many servicemen, and none well enough to ask, but it didn’t seem like the kind of thing you could do for a couple of years and simply walk away from. Obviously, given the fact that Kieran was the same age as she was, he hadn’t made a lifetime career out of it.
“No.”
The single word hung in the air; Faith didn’t miss how he averted his eyes. Clearly it was not something he wanted to discuss. That was okay; there were plenty of things she didn’t like talking about either. She mentally catalogued that for future reference, putting it in the ‘topics to avoid’ category.
Thankfully, Matt re-entered the room at that point, stuffing the remains of last night’s pizza into his mouth. Faith looked at him, amused. “Hungry?”
“He wouldn’t let me buy him lunch,” Kieran said. Judging by the way his lips thinned when he said it, he wasn’t happy about it. Well, too bad. She was inwardly proud of her son, who she knew could scarf down half his body weight in one sitting. It showed remarkable restraint and a sense of manners she couldn’t help but feel good about. She might not be able to buy her son all the extras some kids had, but she’d do her damnedest to give him other, less tangible things like pride. Self-respect. Dignity.
“I know you mean well, Kieran,” Faith said gently. “And please don’t take this the wrong way, but we would prefer to pay our own way, if you know what I mean. You’ve done so much already.”
* * *
Kieran nodded. “I get it.” But he didn’t have to like it. His natural inclination was to want to take care of them, and it would be an effort to curb that enough so that she would not be offended.
It was bad enough to see the slight flash of hurt in her eyes when she’d asked him about being in the service. He hadn’t lied. Technically, neither he nor his brothers were part of the service any longer. Kieran wouldn’t be able to offer any more details than that, however, until she became his wife. The thought sent a rush of longing, heat and need rippling through him.
His eye caught the sketch pad laying on the edge of the covered sofa. As an artist himself, his curiosity got the best of him. He picked it up and glanced through it, sucking in his breath at the black and white sketches that looked like they had come straight out of a book.
“Did you do these?” he asked.
Faith saw what he had in his hands and a blush stole up her cheeks. “Yeah. They’re nothing. Just some ideas.”
“They’re really good,” Kieran said truthfully. Faith had a natural talent for perspective. He flipped through page after page, seeing her visions for what this tiny, run down cottage would someday become. Is this what she saw when she looked at this place? No wonder she loved it so much.
“Thanks,” she said quietly, but she looked down at her shoes as if suddenly embarrassed. She had no reason to be. Her sketches were amazing. “Are you an interior designer? Is that why Aidan hired you? To work on the new suites?”
* * *
The color in her cheeks darkened. Kieran must have known she worked for the Goddess, but not what she did. Housekeeping services was a far cry from interior designer.
Thankfully, she was spared from answering that question when Matt stood and looked over Kieran’s arm. “Looks good, mom,” he said in between mouthfuls as he polished off yet another slice of leftover pizza.
“Where did you study?” Kieran asked.
“Study?” Faith blinked.
“Yeah. For art and design.”
Whoa. “You think they’re that good?”
“Hell, yes,” he said emphatically. “If this is what you see when you look around this place, you have a gift. Show these to Shane and he’ll probably start asking you to check out properties with him for potential. And my cousin Johnny – he does some historical renovations – would hire you on the spot.”
Faith blinked again, but smiled as Kieran’s compliment rattled around inside and filled her with the strange urge to giggle in joy. She never willingly shared her sketches with anyone besides Matt, not since her parents had eschewed her for wasting her time on something as impractical as art when she was younger. Kieran was the first to openly compliment her talent, and the effects of it nearly had her bouncing on her toes. There was a good possibility he was just saying those things to be polite, but they were awfully nice to hear, just the same.
“Would you like something to drink?” she offered instead.
* * *
Kieran regarded her with fascination. The transformation that had occurred was nothing less than stunning. Her eyes sparkled, her face glowed, and she seemed ... buoyant. He tried to think of what he might have said to elicit such a powerful response, because he wanted to make a point of doing so repeatedly.
If he didn’t know any better, he might think she wasn’t used to hearing such praise. But with talent like this, she had to be. Didn’t she?
“Yeah, anything cold would be great,” he said.
He stalled as long as he could, taking his time as he unloaded his truck and showed Faith what he’d managed to find. Judging by her reaction, he might have thought he’d created an unlimited spending account at the home center for her, rather than delivered an unimpressive truckload of odds and ends. He would have gotten a hell of a lot more if he thought for one minute she would have accepted it.
“This is a lot of stuff,” she said, shifting uncomfortably as Kieran carried things into the shed. “Are you sure you don’t need it?”
“It’s all leftovers,” he assured her. “The Pub reno is complete, although after seeing your sketches, maybe you should come by and take a look.”
He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to follow her into the house and spend a few hours removing the paint from specific parts of her anatomy before crawling into bed with her and claiming that which he now knew was exclusively his. He knew from his brothers’ experiences that now that he had discovered his croie, it would be impossible to find satisfaction with any other woman, not that he’d want to. He was officially off the market. And so was she.
“Thanks for dinner,” he said, grasping desperately for a few extra moments any way he could get them. A cold drink had turned into a meal. The vegetable stew she’d had simmering in the crock pot and the crusty loaf of homemade bread had been mouthwateringly good.
“You’re welcome.”
“You’ll let me know? About Matt?” He and Matt had presented a thorough and well-executed offensive at dinner. The kid was a natural. Plus he knew how to capitalize on Faith’s weaknesses – her unease of leaving Matt alone for the entire day while she worked, the allure of having him under watchful eyes and knowing that he was doing something constructive with his time.
Oh yeah. She didn’t stand a chance against the two of them when they joined forces. It was a heady feeling.
She exhaled and furrowed her brows, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorframe. Kieran found himself envious of the door frame.
* * *
“It’s a very tempting offer, Kieran,” she said slowly. “But I worry that we are taking advantage of your kindness.”
“Oh, well, yeah,” he grinned mischievously. “There’s that, of course.”
Faith looked up but saw the teasing in his eyes and bit back a smile. It was impossible not to like Kieran. He had this force about him that just drew her in, made her want to lose herself in it and absorb it all in. No wonder so many hopeful females had set their sights on him. Whoever captured Kieran’s heart would be a lucky woman, indeed. The thought shouldn’t have been as depressing as it was.
“But it benefits us, too,” he added. “Matt’s
a responsible, hard-working kid with a good head on his shoulders. They’re not that easy to find these days.”
“I can understand why you want him to do yard work and stuff,” she said, subconsciously biting her lip. “But what about the classes?”
Kieran shrugged. “The kid’s a natural, lots of potential. With a little direction and self-discipline, he can be amazing.” Faith’s eyes glowed with pride. “Plus he’s going to make me look good. Other kids see him, what he can do, and I’ll have them lining up to join. Gets them away from their computers and keeps them off the streets, plus it’s good for business.”
Faith saw the masses of people at the open house and didn’t think he was having any kind of trouble getting business, but she understood what he was saying. Still, she hesitated.
“How about we give it a trial period?” he prompted. “One month. If anyone’s not completely satisfied with the situation – for any reason – we chalk it up as a learning experience and move on.”
One month. That would put them halfway through the summer. Four weeks where she wouldn’t constantly be worrying about where Matt was or what he was doing while she was at work.
Not that Matt was a bad kid, but he was a teenage boy. It wasn’t in his nature to sit around idly all day and twiddle his thumbs. He would definitely benefit from an outlet for all his youthful energy. And if he earned a little pocket money in the process? It might be a good motivator, a real-world way to enforce the lessons of responsibility she was forever bombarding him with in voice and deeds.
“Okay,” she agreed, making her decision. “One month.”
From inside the house, she heard Matt’s excited whoop and laughed.
* * *
Kieran wasn’t quite sure what came over him in that moment. Maybe it was the sound of her heartfelt, genuine laugh. Maybe it was the way her eyes sparkled when they lit up. Whatever the reason, Kieran impulsively stepped forward and brushed a kiss across Faith’s cheek.
It only lasted a moment; a split-second at most. A friendly, purely chaste kiss as kisses went. But it was enough to nearly bring him to his knees. That excruciatingly brief contact was more than enough for each of his highly acute senses to process it. From the unbelievable softness of her skin to the light, clean, natural fragrance that simmered beneath the lingering aromas of paint and wood soap. Nor was it possible for him to ignore the soft feminine murmur of surprise.
“Thanks, Faith,” he said softly, forcing himself to walk away before he did something else. But nothing could stop him from glancing back and seeing her silhouetted against the inside lights, her hand poised at her cheek where his lips had touched her.
Chapter Eight
The few doubts Faith had about the situation faded a little more with each passing day. It didn’t take long for them to settle into a comfortable routine. She left for work early in the morning. Kieran, or sometimes Shane, would drive out to the cottage to pick up Matt and take him to whatever properties required attention that day. Matt learned a lot about the area that way. Both brothers seemed pleased with the quality of Matt’s work as well, increasing his responsibilities as he proved himself.
After the day’s jobs were complete, Matt would go to BodyWorks, where he and Kieran would grab some lunch and Matt could shower and change. Kieran would spend some time teaching Matt the basics and then would leave him to practice or spar with some of the other instructors while he attended to business.
Faith would pick him up from there on her way home. Each night, over dinner or while working on the house, Matt would recount the highlights of his day to her: where he’d gone, what he’d done. She’d never seen her son happier; he was adjusting well, and the smile on his face at the end of each day went a long way in reassuring her that she’d made the right decision.
She was pretty happy, too. She liked her job. Most of the staff at the Pine Ridge branch of the Goddess had been friendly and welcoming. She’d had far worse jobs in her time; catering to the upscale and wealthy guests who stayed there certainly had its perks, especially since she did her job so well. Tips alone surpassed the salary of some of the jobs she’d had.
At night, she and Matt would work side by side, transforming their cottage into a real home. Even with the leftovers Kieran had supplied it was a challenge, given their meager budget, but they were both determined and creative. Faith had learned the invaluable skill of sewing early on, and was able to create curtains and decorative slip covers using bargain-table materials for minimal cost. Since they were doing nearly all the work themselves, progress was slow, but there was something to be said for the pride that came from their efforts.
Twice, Lacie had driven up to chat and putter. Faith appreciated her visits. Lacie was the first and only female friend she’d managed to make since relocating, and she enjoyed their hour or two of “girl time”. So much so, in fact, that they agreed to make it a regular, weekly event.
* * *
Kieran didn’t get to see Faith nearly often enough during the first couple of weeks, having to rely on only those few minutes each day when she came to pick up Matt. It was hard; he had to keep himself busy so he would not drive up there each night like he wanted to and take their relationship past the friend stage to the next level.
Faith wasn’t ready. She became skittish whenever he got too close. It wasn’t ideal, but he was a patient man. He understood that Faith needed some time to get herself situated, to find her place in Pine Ridge, and to accept him as something more. He and Shane had several discussions on the topic, and Shane agreed that slow and steady was the way to go.
In the interim, Kieran made good use of his time. Matt, while not overly talkative, was a wealth of information on all things Faith.
For instance, Kieran discovered that Faith’s birthday was approaching, and that Matt was saving up his earnings, thrilled that this year he would be able to get his mother something nice. He also learned, with very little effort, that Faith loved flowers, cried easily at especially sad or romantic movies (a trait that horrified her son), and preferred thoughtful gifts to expensive ones.
What Kieran had not been able to unearth had been anything substantial about life prior to Pine Ridge, or, more importantly, Matt’s father. Matt tended to clam up if asked either directly or indirectly about either.
Some things Matt didn’t seem to mind talking about, though. He told Kieran they had never had a “real” house before, having lived mostly in trailer parks. He also occasionally made mention of an older man that had taken him fishing once in a while and had taught him how to shoot, but Kieran didn’t get the impression the man had been a relative.
Kieran couldn’t help but wonder who and what they had left behind. Instinctively, he knew the basis for Faith’s reticence lie there, and until he knew what that was, he had to tread carefully. So far, he had managed to restrain himself from asking his older brother Ian to run a bio on her. Ian had a knack for anything digital. With a few keystrokes and a bit of time, Ian could create a comprehensive dossier on anyone, living or dead.
He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t asked Ian for the information. Maybe on some level he was afraid of what they might find. Or maybe, he wanted the information to come from Faith. He hoped that eventually, she would trust him enough to confide in him.
* * *
“So can we go?” Matt asked, shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to the other.
“You got ants in your pants or something?” Faith teased, the ancient phrase bubbling up from her childhood. It was something her father would say when he’d look down from the pulpit and see her squirming on the hardwood pew.
Matt scowled as only a teenager could. “Come on, Mom. You said we could go if we got everything done and we did.”
Surely not, Faith thought as she wrapped the paint brush in aluminum foil and placed it in the fridge. It was a handy trick, one that kept the brush soft in between coats without requiring her to clean it each time. But a quick glance around told her that Matt wasn
’t kidding. He’d mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedges, and built several of the flower bed boxes she’d requested out of old scrap lumber they’d found in the shed.
She’d spent the entire morning painting the outside trim and shutters that Kieran and Shane had repaired, greatly improving the exterior appearance of the place.
“I still need to clean the bathroom and do the dishes,” she told him, wiping the back of her hand over her sweat-covered brow.
“Done,” Matt informed her.
She raised her eyebrows and glanced at the counter, now conspicuously empty of the morning’s breakfast dishes. Then she walked into the first floor bathroom. It wasn’t that her son was in the habit of lying to her, but some things needed to be seen to be believed. The clean scent of lemons and bleach tickled her nostrils, and the old fixtures literally gleamed.
“Wow. You must really want to go to this, huh?”
“Yes, Mom,” Matt said, infusing the words with as much “duh” as he could safely get away with. “Kieran says it’s awesome.”
And if Kieran said it, Faith thought with a smirk, it must be true. According to Matt, the sun rose and fell based on Kieran Callaghan and his brothers. It wasn’t a bad thing, not really. She had hoped that Matt would find some positive male role models, and he had. All week he had been polite, accommodating, and suspiciously obeisant.
“They’ve got rides and games and food,” Matt said, launching into excruciating detail of each. “Come on, Mom. I’ll even pay.” Matt proudly reached into his pocket and extracted his week’s earnings.
She sighed, sensing defeat. And the Tusquannock County Fair did sound like fun. “Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. But I need a shower first.”
Matt looked like he wanted to argue, but wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded before walking back outside, cell phone in hand, obviously texting Kieran to tell him the good news.
Having Faith: Callaghan Brothers, Book 7 Page 8