Hope Restored (Gallagher Brothers Book 3)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Surprised at how Graham was reacting, Murphy looked over to Owen and hoped his brother could understand. “And what about you, Owen? Do you have anything else to say, or do you think I’m just going to screw it all up like I screw up everything?”

  “I think I hope you guys know what you’re doing. But I also know that you’re my baby brother, and I would do anything for you. I’ve always wanted you to be happy. Always.” Owen cleared his throat before bending over his desk and riffling through a few pieces of paper. “We have a few things to go over today before we head out to the sites. I know Tessa’s parents want to meet with us this week to go over what they want done to see if we can actually give them that.” Owen looked up and gave Murphy a look. “You going to be okay with us working with her folks?”

  Murphy blew out a breath. “It should be fine. Except I need to talk to Tessa about it first.” He held his hands out, quelling his brothers’ questioning looks. “I know, I know. I need to talk to her, but we’ve been a little busy with other things.”

  Each brother gave him a knowing look this time, and Murphy flipped them off. “That’s not exactly what I meant. But I do need to talk to Tessa before you make any other decisions. I know it’s risky mixing business with pleasure, but come on, our whole family is mixing business with pleasure at this point.”

  Graham nodded, a wide smile on his face. “Yeah, that’s pretty much our new motto now. Just make sure you talk to Tessa quickly before this becomes an actual issue. I do think we could work wonders on that home if we get the job. It would be something interesting for all of us, and the project has little pieces that are prime for each of our wheelhouses.”

  “I agree.” Owen nodded and tapped a few things into his ever-present tablet. “So, let’s see how this week goes. We’ll finish up the other projects we have slated for the week and then get through everything else.”

  The four of them talked some more about where each of them would be going for the day before breaking off to actually do more hands-on work. While Murphy was technically the lead architect for the company, they weren’t that big-time yet that he was allowed to just sit back and not do any hands-on work. He didn’t have as much energy as he used to thanks to the fact that, yes, he did have cancer, but he could at least do some things. His team and his brothers didn’t let him overwork himself. And because he wanted to get healthy and beat this sickness, he wasn’t going to let himself overdo it.

  Things are changing, Murphy thought. He just had to make sure he could find a way to keep up.

  12

  Tessa packed up her things and glanced at the clock. If she wasn’t quick, she might end up being late to her family dinner, and she had promised herself she wouldn’t be late to one of them again. It wasn’t that she tried to not make it on time; it was just that everything kept getting in the way. Even if she were late, her parents wouldn’t mind, they would just smile and say they were happy to see her. But she would still feel bad for not showing up when she should.

  She loved her parents so much, and she knew they loved her just as much as they would love any biological children they had. It had taken too long for her to realize that fact, and she had acted out because of it. She hadn’t liked the Tessa she was before she became the woman she was now. If she could have gone back to meet her teenage self, she probably would’ve slapped the kid upside the head and told her to get over herself. But since she couldn’t do that, she ended up hating herself just a little bit more every time she saw her parents. And, really, it had nothing to do with them. It was all her own guilt.

  And that was enough of that line of thinking for the moment. No wonder she hadn’t slept the night before. She and Liz had gotten home late, and Murphy had already been in bed since he’d been tired from lack of sleep the night before and treatments. He’d left her a note on her pillow that she may or may not have hidden in her nightstand so she could look at it later.

  So, now, she hadn’t been able to truly speak with Murphy. And that morning, she had practically run from him and into the bathroom so she could get ready for the day after they’d made love all night. Having sex with Murphy may have been the best experience of her life, yet she still hadn’t been able to process it all. Work was slowly sucking the life out of her and making her head hurt more and more every day, and she was trying to juggle that, this upcoming dinner with her parents, Liz, and now Murphy. Not to mention the fact that she’d recently gotten dumped by Brent and had just seen her ex in Denver.

  It was all a little much, and she needed a day off to just breathe and think things through. Unfortunately, she didn’t see an end in sight, and she still had to go figure out what to say to Murphy when they actually got time to sit down and talk about what had happened.

  Not that she’d been avoiding him.

  Much.

  She waved at others as she passed them, heading out for the day, and walked to her car. As soon as she sat down, she frowned. Something felt…off. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it was as if a few things had been moved around. Not much, but things like her phone charger were at different angles than what she remembered.

  “That’s weird…” She looked around the parking lot but didn’t see anyone. And, honestly, she couldn’t think why things felt so weird. Maybe she was just a little too tired and losing it. After all, she’d been in a fog that morning just like the previous morning when she’d fled from Murphy into her bedroom. She’d probably just moved things around and hadn’t noticed.

  Putting away those thoughts for later, she started on her way to her parents’ house. They only lived twenty minutes away from the hospital if she caught the green lights and didn’t take the highway during rush hour. That was one of the many things she loved about Denver. Most suburbs were pretty easy to get to as long as you stayed off the major roads.

  Her phone rang through her Bluetooth on her way to her parents’. She answered, not knowing whom it could be since her phone hadn’t paired fully and she didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Tessa? Hey, it’s Murphy. I just wanted to call and make sure you’re okay.” He paused, and Tessa bit her lip. She didn’t want to think about the fact that she really loved hearing his voice. “I mean, I’m sure you’re okay. I just haven’t really seen you for a bit. You’re on your way to your parents’, right?”

  Tessa nodded and changed lanes before remembering that he couldn’t actually see her. “I’m on my way there now, but I’m running late since work wouldn’t let me leave when I wanted to. But that’s what happens sometimes.” She turned onto her parents road, still unsure how tonight would go since it had been a couple of weeks since she’d seen her mom and dad and was still confused regarding what to do with Murphy. Tessa was never one to not know what she was doing or why she was doing it. But she’d never felt as lost as she did right then. But with Murphy, all rules and prior actions seemed to go out the window. “When I get back tonight after dinner, we can talk.” She winced at how that sounded, yet she wasn’t sure what else to say. She was attracted to Murphy, yes, and she really liked him. But she wasn’t sure what he wanted, nor was she sure that being with him was the best thing for either of them. And, sometimes, honestly, she just thought too much.

  “Yeah, I’ll be waiting for you when you get home.” It was weird hearing him talk about her house as his home, and yet it wasn’t as weird as it should have been. That might’ve been a warning sign; one that Tessa would just have to ignore for now. “I did call for a reason, though. I have to tell you something, do you have a few seconds?”

  Tessa frowned at the uncertainty in his voice but couldn’t comment on it because she had just pulled into her parents’ driveway. Her mother immediately walked out onto the porch as if she had been waiting for Tessa all along. Knowing her mom, that was probably the case. Tessa didn’t spend as much time with them she wanted to, and it was her fault. She just always felt so awkward and didn’t know how to act in certain situations.

  �
�I actually just pulled in. My mom’s waiting for me on the porch, so why don’t you just tell me when I get home later tonight. Got to go. Thanks for calling, Murph.” She paused. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

  Murphy was silent for a few seconds, and she was afraid she’d said the wrong thing. “Yeah, it’s good to hear your voice, too. I can’t wait to see you. All of you.” There was a growl to his voice that sent shivers over Tessa’s spine as she blushed.

  She hung up and turned off the car before getting out to greet her mom. While Tessa was all curves and some height, her adoptive parents were long and lean, with pale skin and really blond hair. Some people would’ve killed for that kind of dye job, and yet it came naturally to the two people who had raised her. There were a few strands of white starting to show in both of their hair now, but Tessa thought it just made them look more stunning. Tessa’s hair was dark, and her skin tanned a little easier than her folks’. She knew she really didn’t look anything like them. It had bothered her when she was a child because she had felt out of place when everyone had constantly commented that she didn’t look like her parents. People were so inconsiderate about the fact that yes, she’d been adopted, But her parents had loved her with every ounce of their being. They still did. Now she didn’t mind the fact that she didn’t look like them. There were just too many things on her mind for her to worry about something as silly as that. If only she could find a way to make sure the people who had loved her unconditionally understood that she appreciated them more than she could ever say. Yet, she had no idea where to begin. And because of that, she would just continue to feel as awkward as ever and a little out of place. And that was on her.

  “Tessa! I’m so glad you’re here.” Grace Stone opened her arms wide, and Tessa moved in to hug her mom. She didn’t remember calling Grace anything but “Mom,” but she’d been young when she was adopted. Sometimes, there were flashes of memory or dreams where she’d think of Grace as Grace and not her mom, but she wasn’t sure those were even real. She was afraid it had always been her subconscious trying to actively ruin the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  The Stones had been the best parents in the world to her, and Tessa had acted out because she’d felt as if she weren’t good enough. That had all been on her, though. Grace and Chris had never once made her feel unloved or unwanted. Yet, somehow, Tessa had twisted that into something else. As if she had been trying to force them into proving their love when she was a teenager. It had been horrid and cowardly, and Tessa had never been more ashamed. She’d ended up in the back of a police car more than once because of it, and she could only blame herself.

  And while she knew they never blamed her, she’d never been able to find her way back to not feeling like she’d disappointed them. It might be in been in her head, but she had no idea how to fix it.

  “I’m glad I’m here too, Mom.” Tessa held Grace close and sighed, closing her eyes to inhale that sugar and floral scent that told her that her mom had been baking after she’d put on her perfume that morning.

  “Let’s get you inside. Your dad is firing up the grill because we’re having kebobs. I’ve been letting them marinate for a couple hours now.”

  Tessa’s stomach growled, and she laughed as Grace patted her tummy like she had when she was a little girl. “I think I’ve become so spoiled by your food that it’s hard for me to want to cook at home.”

  “I like spoiling you, baby. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.” Her mom led her through the entryway and the foyer, then past the family room and the living room and into the large kitchen. Much of the house had remained the same from when Tessa was a little girl. They had remodeled some of it but not everything over the years. The place was a three-story mini mansion with lots of history, just not as much as others in the US. Considering they were in Colorado and the homes just weren’t as old as those out east. Her family had money, that was for sure, but they were also pretty frugal about what they spent their hard-earned dollars on. Tessa credited them with teaching her how to save her pennies even if she had more than nickels and dimes in the bank. And though she hadn’t let them help her buy her first home, their lessons in how to spend and save money had helped her save her down payment in the first place.

  It had always been a little weird to her how much money her parents actually had. She’d gone from living in a rat hole apartment with a drugged out mom and an absent father, straight to living with possibly the best foster, soon-to-be adoptive parents in the world. When she had been younger, she couldn’t quite handle that. She’d ended up living up to her birth parents’ expectations by having sex far too young, drinking when she shouldn’t, and taking up smoking even though she never got the inhaling part down. She’d tried to be the bad girl when she truly had no reason to be.

  She’d been an idiot teenager who hurt the two people that cared for her the most. And because of that, she was still a little distant. Tessa wanted to change that and was slowly working her way up to it, but it wasn’t easy when she had no idea what she was doing.

  “Tessa-bean, you’re here.” Chris Stone, her father and all around great man beamed at her from the grill on the back deck. Tessa squeezed her mother’s hand before going over to her father and giving him a hug. He hugged her back with both arms, squeezing her tightly. Her dad gave some of the best hugs, and before she’d met the Gallaghers, she’d assumed they were the best in the world.

  The Gallaghers gave great hugs, too.

  “Something smells amazing,” Tessa said, her stomach growling once again.

  “Your mom is the best cook I know,” her dad said with a wink. “I just stand over the grill and pretend I know what I’m doing while she directs me. I’m one lucky man.”

  Tessa grinned, feeling more relaxed than she’d been in a while. “That you are.”

  “Anything new going on?” her mom asked as she handed over an iced tea with fresh lemon on the rim of the glass. “How is Brent?”

  Tessa winced. She’d told her parents about Brent in passing, shortly before he’d dumped her. Since she hadn’t dated anyone seriously since her disaster of a relationship with her ex, she was careful about whom she mentioned. “We aren’t going out anymore, sadly.”

  Her dad shook his head. “Do you want me to beat him up for you? Now that you aren’t a minor, it makes it a little easier for me to do things like that, you know.”

  Tessa laughed. “Thanks for the offer. Murphy actually already said he’d beat him up for me. And I’m sure the other Gallaghers would join in.”

  Her mom smiled wide. “Of course, they would. They’re good boys. Liz talks about Owen all the time when I get her on the phone, you know. That’s why we’re using them.”

  Tessa frowned. “Huh? Using who.”

  “Grace,” her dad chided gently. “I thought that was going to be a surprise for after dinner.”

  Her mom waved him off. “Oh, drat. I can never keep a secret.” She clasped her hands together in front of her and bounced like a schoolgirl, her eyes dancing. “We’re remodeling the house, Tessa-bean, and having the Gallaghers do it. We haven’t signed the paperwork yet, but it’s as good as done. We figured it was time to update a few things structurally that would help us as we get older, but also just make the place a little more open. Then we get to decorate, as well; though the Gallaghers said they can help there, too.”

  Tessa blinked, shock running through her body. “You’ve met with them?” She tried to act casual, but she was anything but. No one had mentioned this to her. Not Liz, or hell, not Murphy. She lived with the man, had slept with him, and he hadn’t commented on the fact that he’d met with her parents about updating her childhood home.

  “We have, though we were waiting to talk to you tonight about it and surprise you before we went through with it all,” Grace said with a grin. “Surprise! We’re working with Liz’s new family! And now that you’re living with Murphy, it’s like we’re all one big, happy family.”

&nbs
p; Tessa smiled and hoped it reached her eyes. Everyone had kept her in the dark, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Hell, she wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Murphy would be working with her parents at all. Not only didn’t she like secrets, but it was also weird to her how her worlds kept colliding. It shouldn’t matter, she told herself. And yet, somehow, it did. And Murphy hadn’t told her.

  Murphy Gallagher was in for it when she got home, that much she knew.

  13

  “He’s sleeping right now, I’m sorry,” Abby said into the phone, her voice hushed. “He’s almost done with treatment, but he’s been so tired lately. I’ll let him know you called, though.” Max’s fiancée sounded worried, and Murphy did his best to reassure her. Abby would know more about Max’s health than he would, but he still didn’t like knowing that his friend’s girl was upset.

  “No worries,” Murphy said, keeping his tone light. “I was just going to see if he wanted to catch a game or something at the pub near me.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he’d love that, just not tonight, you know?”

  “Give him my best,” Murphy said. “And take care of yourself, as well, okay?”

  “I am. Max doesn’t let me overdo it. He’s a good man like that.

  “The best,” Murphy agreed before ending the call. While he waited for Tessa to get home, Murphy had thought to hang out with Max out of the treatment center since he didn’t have any other plans. His brothers were off doing things with their significant others, and Murphy didn’t want to spend the evening at home making himself worry and stress. He wasn’t into the bar scene anymore, but his local pub had decent food and always had the best games on TV no matter the sport. He figured he’d eat his way through nachos and chicken wings and wait for Tessa to come home. He’d spent the earlier part of the day feeling like crap and throwing up everything he’d had to eat the night before. But his appetite was back, and he didn’t want to think about what he should be eating instead of junk food. Some days, cancers sucked all the life out of him, and all he wanted to do was forget about that fact that his body was trying to kill him and act normally. That wasn’t easy most days.