Seamus nodded. “Yeah. Last time I saw her was at the smoothie bar.”
“We have a smoothie bar now?” Quinn frowned, unsure how that could have happened when his father had always been against it.
“Don’t ask,” Seamus grumbled. “Kieran’s idea. It was that or a tennis court.”
Quinn laughed. “Enough said.”
It took him a few minutes to find the new smoothie bar, but once he did, his mother was right where Seamus said she’d be. Heading in her direction, he took a long look around Legends. Aside from the smoothie bar, he also noticed some new training equipment and weight machines.
He spotted Kane and Rory training in the center ring, but they were way too focused on beating the shit out of each other to notice him.
“Hey, Ma,” Quinn greeted Dee.
Her head popped up from the deep freezer, a bowl of berries in her hand. “Hey, Quinny. Question—would a blackberry–peanut butter smoothie taste good?”
He grimaced. “I don’t know…doesn’t sound great. Maybe leave out the blackberry?”
“Good call.” She nodded. “What about strawberry? Strawberry and peanut butter protein powder—we could call it the PB & J Smoothie!”
Quinn laughed and shook his head. “Why not?”
“Want to taste our first one?” Dee asked, already pouring strawberries into a blender.
“Sure,” Quinn said, hoping he wouldn’t regret it.
The whirring of the machine filled the air, and several gym-goers shot them irritated glares. Quinn leaned his elbows against the counter, ignoring them. “So, Ma, I have a question.”
“WHAT?” she shouted over the blender. “I CAN’T HEAR YOU, SWEETHEART.”
Quinn waved his hands and waited for her to finish. He glanced back around at the gym, feeling a slight flush in his cheeks at the interaction. Not really the way he wanted to make an impression on people his first day back.
“Okay, try this,” Dee said, pouring the contents of the blender into a tall cup and handing it to him.
He took a sip. “Actually, not bad. I think you’ve got a hit.”
“Ha!” Dee clapped her hands. “And Kieran told me I didn’t know anything about smoothies—like he hasn’t enjoyed my cooking for his entire damn life.”
Quinn laughed. “Kieran’s certainly doing a lot around here.”
He’d barely paid attention to all the changes they were making to the gym, despite his family endlessly talking about it at every dinner. Looking around the main floor now only made him realize how much he’d checked out of this business, and how uninterested in it he was now. Not that it mattered. This was his job, and he did it well.
“Well, sure. Kieran’s the floor manager and wants the gym to thrive.” Dee shrugged. “Honestly, membership has been increasing, so he’s got some great ideas.”
“I wanted to ask you something, Ma,” Quinn started again, shifting his weight slightly as he felt a small pain in his leg.
“Anything, mo mhac, my son.” Dee leaned forward over the counter, grabbing his chin gently for a small squeeze. “What do you need?”
“Secrecy,” Quinn told her. “That’s what I need.”
“Oh, I’m not good at that one, baby boy,” Dee said with a laugh, leaning back slightly. “I’ll give it a try, but tread carefully.”
Quinn chuckled, but considered his options. He wanted his mother to attend the gallery exhibit. Kiera’s mention of his mother had gotten under his skin, and the moment he found out the exhibit was actually happening, he knew he couldn’t exclude the woman who’d given him everything. She was his biggest supporter—she was for all her sons. She would be devastated if she heard about this from anyone else, and he couldn’t do that to her. However, he definitely didn’t want his brothers and father there teasing him. They were a family of alpha males interested in sports and business and money…there’d never been any focus on arts or creativity. While no one had ever really said anything against it, it still felt like it would make him the odd man out.
“Well, I’ll chance it, I guess.” Quinn took a deep breath. “But if you can keep this between us, I’d really appreciate it. Please, Ma?”
Dee chewed her bottom lip. Then a sunny smile spread over her face. She glanced around and lowered her voice, leaning closer. “Are you going to propose to Kiera?”
“WHAT?” He shook his head adamantly. “Ma, no. Jesus, where’s that coming from?”
“My desire for more grandbabies, obviously.” Her head tilted to the side, her expression saying that should have been obvious.
“Focus, Ma.” Quinn laughed, feeling a small pang of guilt over the fact that he knew about Clare’s pregnancy and his mother didn’t yet. Still, that wasn’t his news to tell. “I’m trying to invite you to a gallery exhibit that will be showcasing one of my sculptures in a few weeks.”
Dee blinked once, twice, her head tilting to the side again. “I have questions. I have a lot of fecking questions, Quinny.”
“I knew you would.” He grinned at his mother. “You know the mechanic shop I bought and fixed up?”
“You mean the one no one is allowed to go inside?” Her nostrils flared, and she folded her arms across her chest. “No, I actually don’t know it, at all. I’m one week away from breaking in just to see what the feck you’re hiding in there.”
He grimaced, guilt tugging at him again. Damn, he felt guilty a lot…maybe Kiera had a point. He should include his family more in his life and open up. “I’m sorry, Ma. The truth is it’s because I fixed up the shop area under my apartment as a studio. I’ve been building metal sculptures from pieces of motorcycles and stuff.”
There was a pause as she stared at him, and he stared back at her. He could see the wheels turning in her brain as she tried to put together everything he’d just told her. Then suddenly, the pause was over and his mother was bouncing up and down behind the counter.
“I KNEW IT!” Dee pumped her fist in the air. “I told Seamus one of our babies would be an artist, and he said there was no way. Your grandmother was an artist, you know. My mother. And I paint some—not well, but still, I paint. Finally, I can brag I have an artist son.”
Quinn’s face twisted in confusion. “Not the reaction I was expecting. To be honest, I thought you guys might think it’s dumb.”
Dee’s mouth fell open, emitting a very loud huff of annoyance. “Don’t be an arse, son. I would never think that about anything my children love. If that’s your passion, I’ll love it, too. I’ll be at that exhibit with bells on bragging to everyone there about my son the artist.” Her voice trailed off at the end, choking slightly on her words as she began to sniff and tears welled in her eyes. “My son…the artist. Oh, Quinn, I’m so happy for you.”
He grinned as she came around the counter and wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m proud of you, Quinny. This is such an accomplishment.”
“Thanks, Ma.” Warmth spread in his heart at her acceptance. Her approval meant the world to him, and seeing not only that, but enthusiasm? It was everything he could have hoped for.
Stepping back, she gave him a big smile, then suddenly frowned. “Oh, fecking hell, this is going to be a hard one to keep quiet.”
“Ma, please!” Quinn groaned. “There’s no way my brothers are going to be as understanding as you were. Or Pops!”
“Well, I warned you I’m not good with secrets,” she said, shrugging lightly. He knew she would try, but he also knew that this might be a losing battle. Dee quickly changed topics. “Hey, what do you think about chocolate-caramel protein powder with kiwi and mango?”
He grimaced, sticking his finger in his mouth as if he was going to vomit. “No. Just no.”
“Hmm.” She tapped her lips with her index finger. “I’ll keep brainstorming.”
“Please,” Quinn agreed before saying goodbye and kissing her on the cheek.
Walking out of Legends, he felt a lightness rising within him. He was back at work, but he was still enj
oying his art, and he’d even let his mother in on his secret.
Life was changing, and he was ready for it.
Chapter 21
“I don’t understand why you’re even going back.” Kiera frowned, watching Quinn pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot she’d just brewed in his kitchen.
He shrugged. “It’s my job, Keeks.”
“But working at Legends is a very physically demanding job, and you’re still healing,” she argued. “Plus, you could be using this time to work in the studio and do what you really love.”
Quinn laughed, handing her a hot mug of coffee. “Babe, you’ve seen me in the studio. That is physically demanding work. At Legends, I’m mostly pushing papers or on the phone yelling at people.”
“Oh, great,” she said, dripping sarcasm, before taking a sip of her coffee.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about me, Dr. Keeks. I’m still doing the exhibit, and I’m not going to push myself physically. I’ll be good.”
She snorted at that thought. Quinn had never been good—hell, it was one of the things that drew her to him when they were younger. He was the kid always in detention, always in trouble, always getting in fights. She’d certainly had her rebellious streak back then too—something he always helped her rein in—but her rebellion had always been loud and attention grabbing. Quinn was quiet and brooding. He was dangerous in his silence, and though age and recent events had dulled his sharp edges, he was still as bad as ever. And it seemed she was still the only person who could see behind his mask.
“Fine, but when you see how amazing the show is, I bet you’ll want to do your art full-time,” she said. There wasn’t a single part of her that doubted he could not only make a living from his art, but that his pieces would sell for more money than he could even imagine.
Quinn shook his head. “God, can you imagine that conversation with my dad? ‘Sorry, Pops, I quit. I want to make pretty sculptures all day and see if someone will buy them.’ ”
“You don’t give your family enough credit, Quinn. Or yourself, for that matter.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But still…my family counts on me being there. I could never up and abandon them.”
Kiera rolled her eyes at that thought. “Like pursuing your dreams is something your family would have a problem with? I know for a fact your mom would be all over it.”
“I did tell her, actually,” Quinn admitted. “She’s coming.”
Kiera clapped her hands together excitedly. “Oh, thank God. I was so dreading her wrath if she found out she’d missed this.”
“Yeah, and she was really excited about it,” he admitted, grinning sheepishly. “But I made her promise not to tell anyone else.”
“I do not understand you,” Kiera said with a sigh, returning to her mug for another long drink.
Quinn perched on the stool next to her at the kitchen counter, taking a gulp from his own mug. “When I first started working there, Pops was managing Rory’s career. He was big time—his career took off fast.”
Kiera remembered that. Rory had been one of the best fighters in the world before his injury.
“I trained under Pops and learned how to make an athlete a shit ton of money, which made us a shit ton of money. We put everything the gym had behind Rory. So when his career ended after his injury, things spiraled fast. We almost lost the gym entirely, and we almost lost Rory. My father put his hopes on Kieran—he’d be the fighter who would put us back on the map,” Quinn explained.
Kiera’s brows lifted. “Then he went to jail…”
“Exactly.” Quinn sighed. “That’s when we began branching out, convincing other fighters to take a chance on us. Signed a few and it was slow, but it was money flowing back into the business. Then Kane’s career took off, and we were back on top and he’s kept us there. I love Rory and Kieran, and they’re great assets to the business now, but our family almost lost everything because of them. I made a promise to my father that I’d be there—always.”
“Oh, Quinn,” Kiera said, a heaviness in her tone, a weight on her chest. She could understand being there for family. She could understand not wanting to hurt people as wonderful and loving as the Kavanaghs. “I didn’t know things had ever gotten that bad.”
“No one knew,” Quinn admitted. “Just me, Pops, and Ma. They never wanted it to affect the family, or take away from us kids. Hell, they even kept going and donating to charities like nothing was wrong. Nearly took everything they had saved. I was the only kid who knew the truth, and I’ve seen how hard my father has had to work to bring us the success we have now.”
They were quiet for a moment. She sipped the remainder of her coffee as she considered all the things she’d known about this family over the years. Never once had she seen them struggle. They lived plainly, in a simple house with a simple life. They were involved in more charities, scholarships, and outreach programs than she could even begin to count. Everything they had, it seemed, they gave away. To know they’d ever struggled so badly, and done everything they could to not let it affect their kids…it just made her love them more.
“When did things change?” Kiera asked, curiosity getting the better of her. “When did things begin to take a turn financially for the gym?”
“Clare,” Quinn said, a soft smile on his lips as he placed his mug down on the island counter in front of them. “The moment she stepped into Rory’s life…she changed everything for us.”
Kiera warmed at the thought of her friend, one of the purest hearts she’d ever known. “Is that why you two are so close?”
Quinn nodded. “I owe her everything. Our whole family does. She brought us back…she made us all a family again.”
“Is that why you’re afraid to quit? You think you’ll break up the family?” Kiera asked, knowing she was prying. She wanted to understand. She wanted to understand Quinn’s fears and what made him tick. She wanted to know who he was and how he thought, and what she could do to help him get everything he ever wanted out of life.
He looked at her slowly, bringing his hand up to her cheek and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Our family is that gym.”
Kiera shook her head. “Your family is the people in that gym.”
—
“Look who’s back!” Kane roared across Legends gym from where he stood inside the main octagon, leaning against the siding. “Quinny, welcome home!”
Quinn waved at his brother, but didn’t head in his direction. Instead, he headed in the direction of the back office where he knew his father would be and where Quinn’s desk had always been. Several people greeted him along the way, and he embraced their warm welcomes with hearty handshakes.
Finally reaching the back, he walked into the office to find it empty. Placing his messenger bag down on the desk, he began rearranging the papers and supplies back to the way he liked things.
“Um, what are you doing?” A voice behind him caused Quinn to turn around. Flynn stood in the doorway, one blond brow raised. “That’s my desk, man.”
“What?” Quinn pointed to the desk he was just rearranging. “This is your desk? This has been my desk for years. In case you forgot, I work here.”
Flynn rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Maybe we should find your father, ask him about sorting all this out and getting you a desk now that you’re back.”
“I have a desk.” Quinn’s voice was rising, irritation prickling his skin at this giant coming in and taking over his life. Okay, that might be a little dramatic, but damn it, this was his desk. This was his home. Interlopers need not apply.
“What’s with the yelling?” Casey, his gorgeous redheaded cousin, poked her head into the office. You couldn’t throw a stone around here without hitting a Kavanagh. “I can hear you guys from the front desk.”
“Sorry, Casey,” Flynn said, his voice softening as he addressed her. “Everything’s fine.”
A shy smile spread across her face
, her freckles prominent on her lifted cheeks. “Hi, Flynn.”
“Um, hello,” Flynn replied, oblivious.
Quinn rolled his eyes. This was awkward as hell—his little cousin was flirting with the man he despised, who was, he assumed, almost ten years older than her. “Casey, please leave us alone. We’re fine.”
She shot him an annoyed look. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth, before turning back to Flynn. “I’ll be at the front desk if you need anything, Flynn. Anything.”
“Thanks, Casey,” Flynn replied simply.
Quinn was relieved that at least Flynn didn’t seem to be flirting back, or even noticing Casey. If he had, Quinn’s fist would be through Flynn’s face right now. Casey was practically a little sister to Quinn, and that meant she’d have to be a nun or spinster for the rest of her life. Anything else was off the table.
Casey sauntered out of the back office with a longing look toward Flynn. Almost as soon as she disappeared through the doorway, shrieking came from the main part of the gym.
Flynn’s eyes widened as he and Quinn traded a confused look, then immediately rushed out of the office and toward the sound. Flynn was faster than Quinn, who still had to use his cane. He wasn’t sure which annoyed him more—having to use the cane or Flynn being faster than him because of it.
They both found the source of the screaming a minute later in the front of the gym, but it was only intensifying with each passing second as more and more people began joining in the shouting. Clare was shrieking, scooped up in Rory’s arms as he spun her around in circles. He was still in his training gear, and she was wearing the biggest smile Quinn had ever seen. Dee was standing in front of them, clapping and bouncing up and down as she shrieked along with them. Casey was quickly joining in and other gym members and family poured toward the commotion to find out what was going on.
“We’re having another baby!” Rory was shouting, his scruffy face hosting a wide smile. “We’re having a baby!”
“Rory, put me down!” Clare’s blond curls bounced around her face as she shrieked in response. “I’ve got a baby in here! Put us down!”
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