by Dani Wyatt
“Snowflake is now my fiancée’s private horse. Don’t let any other customers ride her.”
She shrugs. “Not a problem. And the er…other thing.”
“All in hand. Just make sure that tomorrow’s schedule is clear.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out a folded sheet of paper, handing it to her. “And here’s the list of things I want prepared. Charge me as needed, for any extra time it takes you as well.”
I’d emailed John, my accountant and business guy back home, letting him know there would be some unusual charges coming through on my AMEX since he watches it for me and finally told him all the details.
I have to say, he was happier than I expected him to be, given it means he’ll be taking on most of the responsibilities back home. Of course, it means more money for him, but it’s worth it from my point of view. I gave him Riona’s full name, date of birth and other necessary info so he could set her up on all my accounts as well.
Williams nods, looking back up at me from the list I gave her. “I’ll see to everything at this end, don’t worry.”
As I leave the office, my phone starts to buzz. I look down to see John’s number and I put it to my ear.
“John? What’s up?”
His voice crackles down the line. “I’ve just had a very long and interesting conversation with our friend Mr. Jones.”
That piques my interest. “How the hell did you manage that? I’ve been trying to get hold of him since yesterday.”
“I guess I must just be more charming than you.” Something has put him in a good mood, and I’m just crossing my fingers right now. “Turns out, Graham Jones holds the purse strings to HJB, and he’s more than willing to draw them up tight as far as Harry’s Bar is concerned. One condition though, you forget HJB ever existed.”
I do a little fist pump as I switch the phone from one ear to the other, my heart soaring. “John, I could kiss you.” As soon as I’m done here, I’ll have to phone Henry and give him the good news. And get him to take down those fucking promotions that HJB insisted on.
“You’re not really my type, man. Sorry.” John’s laughter echoes down the phone. “I’ve got more news too, but you’ll never guess what it is.”
“I don’t like guessing games, John, just tell me what’s going on.”
When the next words come over the line, I start laughing too.
12
Riona
“Another pint is it?” I smile at Mr. Piper and he grins right back.
“Aye, you know I’m here for the duration.”
I nod and turn to grab a fresh glass. There are just a few regulars in tonight, which I’d normally be pleased about. But tonight, it just feels like another nail in the coffin for this place.
It wasn’t supposed to be my shift at all this evening, to tell the truth. Today was my day off. But since I asked Danny to cover for me with Mum and Dad, he decided to call in the favor right away and get me to cover his shift at The Parting Glass while he goes on yet another date with his new boyfriend. Honestly, I need to meet this boy soon or he’ll be my brother-in-law before I get the chance.
“Your friend not in tonight?” Mr. Piper winks at me as I hand him his pint, and my thoughts immediately go to Brann and the things we did together just this morning. Honestly, one of the reasons I agreed to do this shift was to try to put him out of my mind for at least a few hours. “Oh, no, don’t get all embarrassed. Good-looking young woman like you, I’m only surprised someone didn’t snap you up already.” He lowers his voice. “Ainsley gets most of the attention, but she seems more interested in her nails than working.”
I laugh. “She is at that. But she’s not so bad,” I add, thinking what Mum would say if she heard me gossiping about Ainsley behind her back. And besides, at times like this you start to appreciate family, even if it is a sister who doesn’t even acknowledge that you’re related.
Just at that, the door flies open and Ainsley comes rushing in.
“Ah, speak of the devil,” says Mr. Piper, but I can see immediately that all is not right.
“Ainsley, what is it?”
She’s clearly out of breath, and that’s not like her at all. In an instant, I’m around the side of the bar and rushing over to her.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Danny,” she says, looking into my eyes. “He’s been… Is Brann here?”
“What about Danny? Ainsley you need to slow down and—”
“Ryan and Devan, they’re…” She looks into my eyes, and I can see that there are tears forming in hers. I’ve never seen Ainsley so upset, and it’s worrying me. “I had a phone call from Calvin, the three of them were out together on the west side and they bumped into Danny and his boyfriend. Ryan and Devan…” She shakes her head like she can’t quite believe the words that are coming out of her own mouth… “…they’d been drinking a lot, I guess they knew Josh from another bar fight a few weeks ago when he kicked their asses. Then when Danny stood up for Josh—Devan and Ryan went after Danny.”
I can’t believe this. “What? Is he okay?”
“I don’t know, Ri, Calvin called just to tell me, thought things were calmed down but while we were talking and he was trying to hold them back and calm things it all went crazy again and he hung up.”
“Well, we need to call the police.”
“I already did, they’re on their way over there, but I’m scared, Ri. The lady at dispatch said it might be awhile because there’s trouble at the football game and some sort of accident on the freeway. We need to go but we need someone with us. Brann. He’s a fighter.”
I turn to Mr. Piper. “Can you hold the fort for us?”
“I can. Leave it with me.”
I grab Ainsley’s arm and pull her toward the back of the pub. “Come on, we’ll take my car. I’ll call Brann on the way.”
We scan the side of the road as we drive along slowly, looking for any sign of Danny, Josh, Calvin, Ryan or Devan. When I called Brann’s phone on the way over here, all I got was his voicemail.
“He’s not here, Ri.” Ainsley sounds distraught. “What if they had to take him to hospital?”
“I’m sure he’s fine. Calvin was trying to stick up for him, right?”
“Yeah, but Calvin’s a fucking twink! You said it yourself. He’s not a fighter. And Danny isn’t either. He might act tough, but deep down he’s still the same little boy that used to cry at night and sneak through to your room.”
I turn in my seat. “You remember that?”
“Of course I do. You two were always thick as thieves and I was scared too. I felt left out.”
I don’t deal with her other comment now, but it tugs at my heart. “He’ll be okay, Ainsley. Try Calvin, he might be able to tell us where they are.”
“Okay.” She takes her phone out of her back pocket and starts dialing the number, then puts it to her ear. “What’s going on, is everything okay?”
I turn the corner and see the flashing green neon sign for Harry’s bar up ahead. There’s quite a crowd around outside, and a police car parked at the curb.
“They’re in Harry’s,” Ainsley says. “They ran and ended up finishing the fight on the street in front. Devan and Ryan ran off. Pull over here, sis.”
Even now, I can’t help being slightly irritated by her back seat driving. But something else strikes me as well. She called me sis, and not sarcastically.
“Is Danny all right?” I ask as I stop the car and put it into park.
Ainsley puts up a hand, keeping me quiet, so I grab my own phone off the dash and punch out a quick message to Brann. Harry’s Bar over on the west side. Get here as soon as you can.
“He’s okay,” Ainsley visibly breathes a sigh of relief. “A bit shaken, but not hurt.”
“Okay, let’s get inside.”
Pushing through the crowd isn’t easy, but right now I don’t care about that. Harry’s can take all the business in the world, I just need to see Danny. When I see Calvin’s face, I coul
d almost kiss him.
“Hey, out of the way guys, these are his sisters.” Calvin separates the crowd with his hands like he’s parting the red sea, then waves us through, and finally we see Danny, held tight in the arms of a guy I can only assume is Josh.
Ainsley doesn’t waste any time at all. Ignoring Calvin, she runs straight to Danny and throws her arms around him, encompassing Josh with the hug as well. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, you hear?”
I turn to Calvin. “What the hell happened?”
“Those guys are…” He shakes his head. “I’m never hanging around with them again, Riona. I didn’t realize they were homophobic assholes. Well, okay, I sort of knew they were assholes but not—” He shrugs before continuing. “The police are out looking for them now. Luckily, the guys here in the pub heard what was going on and came out to help. Don’t know what I would have done without them.”
The owner of the pub—the guy I met yesterday—Henry O’Connor, comes out through the crowd and turns to Calvin. “Police have caught them—” When he sees me he stops talking. “Oh, hi. What are you doing here?” His face twists in confusion.
I feel the heat rise to my face, not sure if I’m grateful to him for saving my cousin’s life or still annoyed that he’s trying to put us out of business. Right now, I decide it’s time to call a temporary ceasefire. “Hi. I’m with these guys. Thanks for, you know…”
He shakes his head. “No need. Just glad nobody got hurt. Can I get you anything to—”
We both turn at the sound of my name being called over the crowd. The booming voice couldn’t belong to anyone except…
“Brann,” we both say in unison.
13
Riona
“What? Do you two know each other?” I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I don’t like it. Brann is looking like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Brann?”
“Riona, I tried to tell you before, but it’s not—”
“Tried to tell me what?” My heart is pounding. What does he have to do with Harry’s bar? This isn’t making any sense.
“Look, when I came here I didn’t know who you were. I told you I was here to see my brother…well, sort of my brother. Henry is…my business partner. And sort of my brother.”
Suddenly, the pieces fall into place. How could I have been so stupid? I see Brann’s mouth moving, but the words fall flat.
All I hear is laughter.
Laughter from that little voice in my head.
Laughter at the idea that I could ever just have someone want me for me. That I could ever be that girl.
The one.
For someone.
Who lied to me.
“You’re a liar.” I let the words hang there. My face is hot like fire. How could he do this? I can almost feel the eyes of everyone else. Ainsley, thinking how stupid her cousin could be to fall for that. “You’re the other owner of this place, aren’t you?”
“Part owner. Yes, I am, but—”
As he tries to grab my arm, I jerk it away. “Don’t touch me. Everything you’ve told me, it was all just to get close. Sunday Brunch, St. Patrick’s Day, you were just using me. All you wanted to do was run us out of business. Double it.” Suddenly, my mind is back in the office here at Harry’s bar. “That was you on the phone the other day. You told him,” I jab my finger at Henry, “to double everything. You wanted to get rid of The Parting Glass so that you could make more money from your investment. Well, congratulations. And you got to play some game with me as a bonus.”
“What?” Ainsley’s voice cuts shrilly across mine. “What’s happening to the pub?”
I turn to find her staring at me, tears in her eyes, and I can’t take it. Without another word, I’m running. I’ve never run so fast in my life. The next thing I know, I’m out in the street, and Brann’s voice is right behind but the police are there. I turn and scream, I don’t even recognize the words coming out of my mouth. Something about not wanting him to follow me. And the police are stepping between us, and then I’m in my car.
As I drive, tears blur my vision. I almost run a red light because I can’t see or I don’t want to stop. Don’t want to feel that pull and give in.
I rev the engine hard, too hard, and I hear a horn behind me as I cut through traffic. I don’t care. I need to hide.
“He’s done what?” My mum’s eyes are wide with shock. She’s put aside the special china that she was cleaning, the dishes she keeps safe and dusted in the hope chest at the end of her bed. It’s the china she had at her wedding, same as her own parents had it at theirs, and their parents before that. She hugs me in close and I cry into her bosom like I’m a little girl again. I can’t even form words to respond. “Hey, there, there. Wait, why were you there in the first place, Riona?”
“Because Danny was in a fight. Him and his boyfriend. Anyway, that doesn’t matter.”
“What?” She sounds distressed. “It does matter. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Just a little shaken, the police arrested…” I shake my head. “He’s fine.”
She puts her arms around me and pulls me in tight. “Oh, my poor baby. That man had us all fooled, don’t you worry about that. It wasn’t just you.”
“Well, if I ever get my hands on him, he’ll wish he’d stayed in Cork, that’s for sure.” My dad’s face is red, his hands balled into fists by his side. “Wait, who’s minding the pub?”
“Mr. Piper. Me and Ainsley had to get to Danny. But he went to Josh’s apartment. They’re fine and needed the time after the nonsense. Boys will still be boys even when they like other boys.” I turn to my mum. “How could Brann do that?”
“People can fool you. Men can play with you. It doesn’t mean they all are bad, just look at me and your fath—”
“Mr. Piper, you say? Jesus Christ, we’ll have no liquor left!” My dad turns and grabs his coat off the hook, then just as he’s going out the door he looks right at my mum. “If that Brann Maguire shows his face around here, you tell him to come see me, all right? I’ll give him more than just a piece of my mind, that’s for sure.”
My mum nods, pulling me into a tighter hug. “Okay, dear. You get on.”
14
Brann
Never has time moved so slowly.
I drove by Riona’s house, but when I saw that her father’s car was gone, and hers was in the driveway, I somehow knew that I was in the wrong place. There was no way that she was going to agree to speak to me, not in the state she was in.
But her father? That might be a different story.
I understand him. He’s a smart man. We are cut from the same rough cloth, and even if his daughter is hurting, I think he’ll hear me out. I hope so. Because I need to explain what’s going on before I lose her forever.
As I walk through the door of The Parting Glass, the faces of the few regulars still left at this late hour turn my way. And by the expressions on those faces, I’m public enemy number one. News travels fast.
“Well, you’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here, Brann Maguire.” Riona’s father sets his jaw, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re not welcome, so sling your hook before I start reminiscing about my boxing days.”
I hold my hands up. “Give me ten minutes of your time. Man to man you should hear me out.”
He snorts out a breath through his nose. He cares about Riona, and in that we both agree.
“Through here,” he says, nodding to the back of the pub.
“I’ll watch the bar—”
“No you won’t.” Mr. Farrell glares at one of the regulars, who retakes his seat, clearly crestfallen. “Everybody can wait ten minutes while I speak to Mr. Maguire. And don’t think I won’t know if you’ve been helping yourselves.”
I follow him through to the back of the pub, and into a small office barely big enough for two chairs and a desk. He takes a seat, then nods. “Well?”
“You have my word.” I nod as Mr. Farrell scowls.
“Those are both impossibilities, Sir.”
He twists his lips and then snaps them together, eyeing me. On a cough, he nods and we both know our business here is finished. It’s taken a lot longer than ten minutes, and he is a man of few words, but I understand everything he says in the silences between them.
“Well, we’ve nothing more to say then.”
On a grunt of agreement I’m on my feet.
As we come out of the office, Mrs. Farrell glances our way from the bar. She shakes her head, but there’s a tiny smile on her lips as well.
“You two have things sorted I see.” She hands a pint glass to one of the customers. “Took your time over it. Mr. Piper had to telephone me to come down here and start serving drinks, thought he was going to die of thirst.”
“That I did.” Mr. Piper grins widely and takes his drink back to his table.
I give Mr. Farrell a glance and see his terse nod as he walks over to the missus and kisses her square on the mouth, then lays a quick smack on her behind.
“Afraid it was sorted the day he walked in that front door. Nothing any of us could do to change that. Everything else was just details.” Mr. Farrell moves on and disappears around the corner and out into the bar, leaving me there with Riona’s mum.
“You best get on now.” She holds out a set of keys. “Poor girl’s curled up like a sick cat on the floor of her bedroom.”
“I’m on my way right now.” I reach out to clasp her hand in mine. “I’m sorry about what happened. I should have told you all who I was the moment I arrived, but, well, there were things I had to do before I could make it right. Mr. Farrell and I, we worked out some things…I do hope it will all sit right with you. If you’d like to talk or—”