Autumn started to tighten the lid on every paint bottle jammed on the shelf. “I’m not an artist, Thane. I’m just somebody who enjoys fixing things up.”
“With paint?”
“Yes, with paint, nails, screws, or whatever else is needed.” She nervously lined up a set of screwdrivers by size.
He knew her and with insight he said, “But mostly with paint.”
Exasperated, she snapped, “Paint hides a multitude of sins.”
“Why are you denying your talent?”
“What talent? I’m a doodler, Thane, nothing more. Talent is something you’re born with.” She gazed at the rocker. It was cute, but there wasn’t anything extraordinary about it. “Believe me, artistic abilities don’t run in the O’Neil blood.”
Hearing the underlying tension in her voice, he quietly asked, “What does run in the O’Neil blood?”
Autumn avoided his perceptive gaze. How could she tell him police work had run in her family for the past five generations? His next question would be why wasn’t she still on the force. She’d give up carrots before she’d admit to being a coward. She’d not only frozen up while on the job, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to save her own life. Every O’Neil, especially Uncle Liam, who died in the line of duty, must have rolled over in their graves. “Every O’Neil to date has red hair and green eyes.” She turned off the light above the work area and prodded Thane toward the patchwork curtain. “Are you hungry? There’s a little shop around the corner that sells one of the best Italian hoagies I’ve ever tasted.”
Thane frowned as she locked up the shop. She dodged his question like a pro. Except she forgot one very important fact. Being Paddy’s doctor, he knew the family history. Every O’Neil since Paddy’s grandfather, down to every one of Autumn’s four brothers, had been or was a police officer. That was the second time she had avoided the subject of police work, the first one being when she made a comment about her hair clashing with the blue uniform.
He held open the car door and waited while she slid in. A staggering thought occurred to him as he shut the door—she was hiding something! Open, straightforward, delightful Autumn was concealing a secret. The woman who could make him lose control with just a touch was holding back. The lady who had brought laughter and love into his life didn’t feel comfortable enough with him to share something from her past.
Thane started the car and headed in the direction Autumn indicated. If they had a chance at all of making it together, they needed to talk, not only about their pasts but about their present and especially their future. “I have an idea.”
Autumn breathed a sigh of relief. For a while there she thought he was going to resume the subject of her painting. “What’s that?”
“We’ll pick up lunch and drive out into the country. It will be the last chance to see the colors of fall. Winter will be upon us before we know it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Great, and when we get back, I’ll show you where I hang my clothes.”
“You mean besides my closet?”
Thane pulled up to the curb in front of a small sandwich shop. “I do have my own bed, you know.” He reached over and lightly brushed a kiss across her mouth.
Teasing, she asked, “So, why have you been sleeping in mine for the past two weeks?”
“Because” --his mouth returned to hers for a more heated kiss-- “that is where you have been.”
#
Autumn glanced up from the comics and grinned as Thane sat the loaded tray on the nightstand. “Why couldn’t I have gone into the kitchen to eat?”
Thane shucked the pair of jeans he had pulled on to fix breakfast and climbed back into his warm bed. “Now that I finally have you in my bed, you’re not leaving it.” He handed her a cup of coffee.
“Never?”
“We’ll starve to death soon.” He passed a plate to her. “I was never one for cooking to begin with, and since I’ve been staying at your place for the past two weeks, my food supply is practically nil.”
Autumn glanced down at her plate and chuckled. It was piled high with toast, crackers, and peanuts. “Interesting breakfast, Doc.”
He ran a toe up her calf and chuckled as a peanut rolled off her unsteady plate. “I wasn’t expecting company.”
“You mean the black sheets weren’t just for me?” She purposely allowed the sheet to drop a couple of inches from where she had yanked it up over her breasts.
Thane’s gaze dropped to her exposed pale skin. “Unfair.” The sheets highlighted her creamy light complexion, which in turn brought out the multitude of freckles. He took the full cup and plate from her and set them back down on the tray. “I hope you weren’t hungry.”
Her gaze ran down his chest and over the crinkled sheets covering his apparent arousal. “I seem to be insatiable where you’re concerned.”
His hands were gentle as he pulled her into his arms. “The feeling is mutual.” The heat of his kiss incinerated any response she might have made.
#
Autumn smiled into her pillow as a light kiss landed on her shoulder. She continued to fake sleep as another kiss caressed the nape of her neck. Heat followed the trail of kisses skimming her spinal column. When the warmth of his lips left, she moaned in disappointment.
“Are you up?” Thane asked.
She chuckled. “Isn’t that my question?”
He laughed and gathered her into his arms. Fiery-red curls grazed his arm; slim, smooth thighs brought added warmth to his; and round, feminine breasts singed his chest where they lay. Sunday morning was slowly turning into Sunday afternoon. The drive through the country the day before showed them that they could spend time in each other’s company without feeling they had to fill it with idle conversation. By the time evening had fallen, they were miles from home. After stopping at a roadside diner for dinner they headed home. Two miles out of Dogwood, Autumn had clicked off the radio and announced she wanted him. It had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed to not touch her until they were in his apartment. By then they were both so hot, they barely made it to the bed. Still amazed by the intensity of their passion, he asked, “You never did see the living room, did you?”
She cuddled closer and innocently asked, “You have a living room?”
Thane lightly smacked her bottom. “I now understand where Paddy gets his attitude.”
“He’s the one who gave it to me.” Her fingers toyed with a small tuft of curls on his chest. “It’s the O’Neil curse. We have to have the last word.”
He loved the feel of her in his arms. This was where she belonged. “Tell me one of your best memories of Paddy.”
She closed her eyes and visualized her grandfather twenty years younger. “He always had peppermint candy in his pockets for me.” She smiled at the image. “The men in his precinct held him in great respect, but also fear. Paddy had a fierce temper. It’s calmed down a lot since he retired and moved to Virginia, but twenty years ago he was known as the Irish Tyrant. I remember a patrolman, Mike O’Brien, once bribed me with a shiny quarter to go visit Paddy at the station. I gladly took the quarter and every piece of peppermint candy Paddy handed me. Years later I figured out that O’Brien was being called onto the carpet for something and I was his reassurance that Paddy would be at least human with me around.”
“I’ve never given it much thought, but I guess I missed a lot not having grandparents.”
She raised her head and looked at his thoughtful expression. “When you come from a close-knit family like mine where we all lived within a block of each other, it was like having three fathers and mothers.”
“That bad?”
“Paddy ran a police check on my prom date, and my grandfather Sean had the nuns from our local parish try to recruit me. Being the only granddaughter, on both sides, I found my adolescent years were pure hell. It was just like the old saying, boys will be boys, but girls better not even think of it.”
Thane chuckled and kissed
the top of her head. “I like your family.”
“That’s because they’re hundreds of miles away. Your outlook would be different if they were here. I have four very protective older brothers, who know every trick in the book.”
“Is that why you moved to Virginia, to escape your family?”
“Are you kidding? Paddy’s the one who taught my brothers everything they know.”
“Why didn’t you place Paddy in a home in New York? That way you would have had the support of your family and you wouldn’t have had to give up your job.”
“Paddy likes it here.” Guilt washed over her. Here she was lying with nothing between her and the man she loved but halfhearted evasion. “It was time for a career change anyway.”
Thane’s hand stopped caressing her back. “Why, wasn’t law enforcement what you expected?”
She glanced up and looked into his anxious eyes. He knew something was wrong. Tears filled her eyes. She was a coward not only in the line of duty but in her private life as well. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him. With a trembling finger she silenced the question forming on his lips. Her voice was low and tear-filled as she whispered the words she felt were so inadequate, “I love you.”
Her words ripped at his heart. Why, when those three simple words brought him so much joy, did it cause her so much distress? She was still hiding something about her past career, but he didn’t care. Autumn was incapable of doing anything immoral or illegal, and anything else couldn’t possibly affect their future.
He tightened his arms and hugged her to his heart. “I have waited a lifetime to hear those words.”
She blinked back the flood threatening to fall. “Really?”
“Don’t you know by now?” He gently cupped both her cheeks and wiped a single tear that slipped from her eyes. He smiled tenderly as she shook her head. “I love you, Autumn.”
Her answering smile was slow and hesitant. “Show me.”
One brow rose in response to her unexpected request. He saw the devilish gleam in her gaze and chuckled. “You really are insatiable.”
She lightly ran her tongue over his lower lip and chuckled as his growing arousal nudged her thigh. “Speak of the devil.” With a graceful movement she straddled his hips and teased him with the flaming curls guarding her womanhood.
Thane reached up and captured a dusky nipple with his mouth. His hands were strong and confident on her hips as he lifted her up and brought her home. Her silken haven cradled his throbbing need with moist heat. He smiled against the protruding nub as his name tumbled from her lips. Everything was going to work out. She loved him.
Autumn rocked her hips and increased the pace. She clutched at his shoulders as need spiraled out of control. Her breath came in great gasps as his name was chanted to match their rhythm. Time and breath were slammed to a halt as she reached the pinnacle of desire.
Thane felt her contractions wrap around him and shuddered his release deep within her.
He grunted as her moist body collapsed on top of him. When her breathing slowed to a near normal level and his energy had a chance to rebuild, he asked, “What am I going to do with you?”
Her head laid cradled on his shoulder. Graceful fingers rested over his heart feeling the frantic pounding still within. “Love me.” A kiss as fleeting as a butterfly’s flight brushed his jaw. “Just love me.”
Thane pulled the comforter up and tucked it around their cooling bodies. He brushed a curl off her flushed cheek and kissed her closed eyelids. “Always.”
Chapter Nine
Autumn held the phone away from her ear and stared at it in pure horror. She put the receiver back up to her ear. “I’m sorry, Mom, but we must have a bad connection. What did you say?”
“I said we are all coming for Thanksgiving. Your brothers, their wives and kids, your father, and I will all be there sometime Thanksgiving morning. Now I know we’re asking a lot of you, dear, but if you could just put the turkey in the oven, we’ll do the rest. I could bring the--”
“Mom, stop.” She heard her mother pause. “How did my father and all of my brothers manage to get the day off? Ever since the boys joined the department, we have never sat down as a whole family during a holiday meal. For the past ten years all you’ve ever done was complain about eating in shifts.”
“Well, Autumn, darling. . .”
Autumn gripped the phone harder. “Mom?”
“We’re not coming just for Thanksgiving. Everyone has the four-day weekend off.”
“Four days!” Autumn felt herself begin to hyperventilate. This couldn’t be happening. “How did that happen? Cops don’t get four-day weekends.”
“Your father pulled rank, I’m afraid. He’s still upset he couldn’t have come down to help you settle Paddy in the home. Bain’s in between assignments and growing the most horrible beard imaginable. Half the time I don’t even recognize him as my own child. Rory had worked a couple of shifts for another officer and was due the time. Colin, the poor dear, had to swap for the four-to-twelve shift on Christmas Day.”
“What about Donald? Did he trade his firstborn?”
“That wasn’t funny, dear. You know how Donald dotes on his girls. Believe it or not, Donald was the only one who actually had the long weekend officially off.”
Autumn closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the wall. “Where will you all sleep?”
“I have it all figured out already. Your father and I will take Paddy’s old room. Donald and Colleen will take one of the guest rooms upstairs, while Colin and Sharon have the other. Bain said hell sleep on the floor with the kids, and you get the couch.”
“What about Rory and Erin?”
“Can you make reservations in a nearby hotel for them? I thought it would be a nice idea if they have some time alone. The boys, of course, will be staying with us. . . .”
Autumn tuned out the words as her mother rambled on about who would sleep where, who liked what to eat, and how Colleen was still suffering through morning sickness carrying her fourth child. She loved her family dearly, but their visit couldn’t have come at a worse time. There was no way her entire family could be in the same room without someone bringing up the department. They all lived and breathed the penal code. Thane would be pulled into the conversation, and if he should ask them the same questions she had been dodging for weeks concerning her career change . . . A shudder shook her shoulders at the mere thought of what her brothers would say. Every one of them was a hero, in his own right.
“Autumn? Are you still there?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and asked, “Mom, are the plans all finalized?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Mom. I thought maybe it would be easier if I came to New York.” She didn’t want to leave Thane for four days, but the options weren’t looking very good.
“Don’t you worry about inconveniencing us, dear. Everyone is looking forward to the trip. Your nieces and nephews are so excited.”
Autumn bit her lip to keep a groan of frustration from escaping. They were coming. When her mother set her sight on something, nothing could sway her from it. And her sight was set on a family Thanksgiving in Virginia. “Mom, don’t worry about the food, I’ll have everything under control by the time you all get here. Just give me a call later as to what time to expect you.”
“Give Paddy our love and tell him we’ll see him next week.”
“Will do. Oh, and Mom . . .”
“Yes, dear?”
Autumn knew her mother must be trying to make some sense out of the peculiar phone call. Normally she would have been as excited as her nieces and nephews, asking questions and demanding to know everything that had been going on in her brothers’ lives. Summoning up as much enthusiasm as possible, she said, “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.”
Autumn quickly ended the call and sat down at the small kitchen table. In eight days there would be twenty people crammed into this house, eating, watching
television, and debating such subjects as the death penalty. The thought of having her family underfoot didn’t faze her in the least. She had been brought up in a large family, where the general rule of thumb was “The more the merrier.”
Everything was happening all at once. She nervously ran her fingers through her thick curls and wondered what she was going to do if she lost Thane. It had taken her twenty-seven years to fall in love. The fantastic part was he loved her back, at least for the time being. Thanksgiving weekend was going to change her life.
She glanced at the kitchen clock. She was late. Second Chances should have opened five minutes before. With a dejected sigh she headed for the door, wondering if Thane could be convinced to visit his parents for the holiday.
#
Thane looked up from the wooden eggs he was helping Autumn paint. “Why would I want to go visit my parents when your family will be in town?”
Autumn cautiously laid down the yellow egg in her hand. She had promised the residents a little something at Thanksgiving, and passing out brightly decorated eggs was the best she could come up with. It was safe, orderly, and Thane had volunteered to help. “My house will be jammed with wall-to-wall people. We won’t be able to” --a blush swept up her cheeks-- “you know.”
“Is that all you think I’m interested in?”
“Of course not.” She was going about this all wrong. “I was just trying to save you from a dreadful four days.” Since he hadn’t brought up their future, she figured it was a taboo subject. “My brothers tend to be protective.”
Thane resumed painting. “Brothers should be protective.”
He wasn’t taking the hint. “My father, the captain of one of the toughest precincts in the Bronx, will probably ask you what your intentions are.” That should put the fear of God into him, she thought.
Thane hid his smile. He knew what she was trying to tell him, and thought it was cute. She was nervous that her family would scare him off. There wasn’t a chance of that happening. He had very honorable intentions where she was concerned. “Do you think I should tell him?”
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