The Heat Is On (Boston Five Book 1)

by Anderson, Poppy J.

  “And I love my peaceful coexistence with my neighbors,” Hayden replied, shaking her head and slipping out of her shoes. She walked barefoot into the kitchen, shooing her friend away from the fridge and grabbing a small bottle of water from it. Though she had scrubbed the entire kitchen this morning and done all the dishes, it now looked as if a tornado had blown through. A tornado called Kayleigh, who was now sitting placidly on a chair eating a cup of Hayden’s yogurt.

  Kayleigh must have come directly from her night shift at the hospital. Not only had she missed Sunday Mass, she was also still wearing her work clothes, minus the white lab coat and stethoscope. The young ER doctor had dark circles under her eyes, but she appeared wide awake, which may have been due to the fact that she appeared to have eaten half the contents of Hayden’s refrigerator while she was gone.

  “Where have you been?” Kayleigh’s green eyes flashed from underneath her dark brown bangs, and it reminded Hayden of Kayleigh’s brother, older by two years. All the Fitzpatricks looked very much alike, but it was especially the three oldest—Heath, Shane and Kayleigh, who had each been born within a year of the previous—that looked strikingly similar. They all had their father’s dark brown hair, but Heath and Kayleigh also possessed the same green eyes they’d inherited from their dad, too. No wonder Hayden couldn’t stop thinking of Heath when she looked into Kayleigh’s face.

  “I went to see Heath,” she admitted in a throaty voice.

  Her friend raised both her eyebrows, but otherwise, her expression didn’t give away what she was feeling or thinking. “How is he doing?”

  “Not well.” Hayden sat down at the table with a lump in her throat, absently smoothing a crease in the tablecloth and staring at the polished hardwood floor.

  “You know him well enough,” Kayleigh said soothingly. “He’ll be okay eventually. He’ll get back on track.”

  Hayden shook her head, looking depressed.

  “He just needs a little time.”

  “That’s what I thought, too, but now …” She paused, cleared her throat, and then blurted helplessly, “He looks like hell, Kayleigh, and I mean it. If he goes on like this, he’ll be dead and buried soon.”

  “Heath is not an idiot,” Kayleigh said resolutely, but her concern about her brother’s well-being was clear in her voice. In the preceding months, Hayden had learned that neither Kayleigh nor her three brothers ever really talked about Heath’s problems. They obviously thought he was better off dealing with them on his own. Only Ellen, their mother, openly confessed to being worried about the condition her eldest son was in.

  “He was badly hungover, his apartment looked like a dump, and there was garbage everywhere. I don’t know how many empty bottles of alcohol he had lying around—”

  Kayleigh interrupted her with a comical face but didn’t sound as carefree as she intended when she joked, “Well, he’s Irish, after all.”

  “That isn’t funny,” Hayden replied softly.

  “I know.” Kayleigh sighed. “But what am I supposed to do about it? He won’t talk to me.”

  “He sleeps with other women.” Hayden forced out the words, her whole body trembling, and she was shocked by her confession. When she said it out loud, it became unbearably true.

  Even though she didn’t look at her directly, she sensed Kayleigh stiffen and heard her gasp. “Hayden …”

  “He … That’s what he told me himself.”

  “But that is baloney! Heath is crazy about you. He loves you.”

  It felt good to hear Kayleigh say that, but Hayden could no longer be sure it was true. She didn’t want to believe that Heath didn’t love her anymore, but his behavior and his abrasive tone were enough to convince her that was the case.

  “Kayleigh, your brother broke off our engagement and canceled the wedding.”

  “But only because he’s so thoroughly rattled! This will pass, Hayden, trust me. Soon he’s going to realize he made a huge mistake.”

  “No.” Hayden interlaced her trembling fingers in her lap. “He was completely serious. What am I supposed to do? I love him, and I’m out of my mind with worry, but he broke up with me, and … and he has sex with other women …” She broke off, unable to continue.

  “If he’d slept with other women, I’d know about it.”

  “How would you know?” Hayden pleaded, her voice now thick with tears.

  Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “Because I’m his sister, and someone would have told me if Heath had been seen with other women. Have you forgotten where we live? Everyone in Charlestown knows us.”

  It was true. In the heavily Irish district of Charlestown, the Fitzpatrick family was known all over the place. But it was cold comfort to Hayden.

  “He could have gone out elsewhere to meet women,” she pointed out, her voice still trembling and weak.

  “Heath is not the type to sleep around, Hayden. He was in love with you when he was six years old, and he still is.”

  “Then why would he tell me something like that? To hurt me on purpose?” It was a difficult question to voice and consider. Heath had never been thoughtless or cruel. So Hayden had no idea how to deal with him telling her a lie or trying to hurt her now.

  She had always believed she knew him better than any other person in the world. But now her world was upside down, with brutal, sharp edges everywhere.

  “Heath would never hurt you, Hayden.”

  “But he did.” She swallowed the lump in her throat und sat up straight. “For months he’s been evading me, and now he suddenly tells me he’s seeing other women. It’s … it’s just … over.”

  Kayleigh hesitated. “It’s just … He’s still suffering because—”

  “I know that,” Hayden cut in sharply. “We all know that. But Heath is not the only person grieving, Kayleigh. How is your mom supposed to feel? Or you, for that matter? And do you think I don’t grieve for Joseph at all?” She started to cry. She bit her lip hard to keep herself from sobbing and soon tasted the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. “I wanted to be there for him, but he wouldn’t let me.”

  Her friend stood and put her used cereal bowl in the sink. Then she came over and put a hand on Hayden’s shoulder. She smelled of yogurt and disinfectant. Hayden briefly closed her burning eyes.

  “I don’t know what it is that’s wrong with my brother right now,” Kayleigh said softly. “And I am so sorry that his behavior is causing you pain, but I know he doesn’t mean to. You and him, you belong together like peanut butter and jelly.”

  Hayden uttered a sound that was part snort, part laugh, and part strangled sob. “Kayleigh …”

  “Seriously. If the two of you can’t be happy together, who can?”

  She shook her head weakly. “Your brother no longer wants to marry me.”

  “My brother is off the rails right now, but he will get back on track. Don’t give up yet.”

  Hayden had been telling herself the same thing for weeks, but she finally felt she had to be realistic. Mustering a strength she didn’t quite feel, she said, “I’ll have to speak to him about the house.”

  “The house?” Kayleigh froze and looked at her, nonplussed.

  Hayden nodded. “About the car, as well. And his furniture is all over this place, too. We’re going to have to separate our belongings.”

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little rash now?”

  “No.” Hayden lowered her eyes, avoiding the obstinate Fitzpatrick face of her friend. “If he wants us to be history, we’re going to have to sort these things out.”

  “Heath wants you to live in this house and drive that car. That means he cares about you.”

  “It only means he doesn’t care about his own life. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

  Sunday dinner was a fixed event in the Fitzpatrick family. Hayden would have preferred to stay home tonight, but she couldn’t refuse Ellen’s invitation or withhold her bread pudding from the twins, who loved her food. So here she was, entering the house
with a casserole dish in her hands, nodding at Kayleigh, who was lounging on the living room sofa in shorts and a t-shirt, watching some sports show. Hayden walked down the corridor of their typical working-class home built in the early 1920s. The smells were familiar, and the wooden floor creaked at all the usual places. It was all too familiar.

  There were the pencil markings on the wooden doorframe. A long time ago, Ellen had recorded her children’s growth there every year. And Hayden’s name was right there among the names of all five Fitzpatrick kids. She had a vague memory of getting in line to step onto the threshold, head against the wall, and then staring at the new markings afterwards. Hayden had always been shorter than Heath, Shane, and Kayleigh, and even the twins, who were five years younger than her, had quickly passed her by. All Fitzpatricks were very tall. Even Kayleigh, the only girl among four brothers, was five-foot-ten, much taller than your average girl, and yet she had to look up at all her brothers. Among the family, Hayden had always felt like a midget, and often still did today.

  When she entered the kitchen and saw Ellen and Kyle standing together, preparing the salad, she couldn’t help noticing once again how tall Kyle was. At the age of twenty-three, Kyle could easily see the top of his mom’s head. He and his twin, Ryan, were both blond, but the family likeness was still striking. Unlike Kayleigh, all the brothers had faces with distinctive, sharp features, the same obstinate chin, and a wide mouth. The sun always started shining when any one of them chose to smile.

  Hayden’s mom had prophesied years ago that the Fitzpatrick bunch would drive the Boston girls crazy one day, and she hadn’t been completely wrong. For years now, Hayden had watched various female heads turn when one of the brothers entered a room. All four of them at once often meant mayhem and chaos. Handsome men that wore uniforms and could be very charming if they chose to were real magnets for the female sex. Bostonians of Irish descent, the Fitzpatricks had been raised good Catholics and still went to church and confession on a regular basis, but that didn’t mean they were all goody-goodies. The twins had practiced flirting from an early age, Kayleigh was known for her filthy mouth and many male conquests, Shane had more ex-girlfriends than Hugh Hefner, much to his parents’ chagrin, and Heath …

  Well, Hayden had to admit that Heath had never caused his parents any trouble in that respect. He’d only ever had one girlfriend—and that was her.

  Hayden and her parents moved to Boston when she was five. Her dad had become Joseph’s new colleague at the station, and the whole family had been invited to dinner at the Fitzpatricks’ the very first weekend. That’s when Hayden met Heath, who was her age, and they had become instant bosom buddies. There was not one day in all those years they had been apart, not even when Hayden started college, because she chose the local community college in order to stay close to him. Despite their Catholic upbringings, they had moved in together before they were married, first in a tiny rented apartment, and then they’d bought the old house. Even though he’d never said so directly, Hayden knew he’d wanted to wait to get married until he could afford to own a real home for the two of them. And she’d been completely satisfied as long as they could be together. He loved her; she loved him—and that had been enough. And about a year ago, he’d finally asked her the big question.

  She quickly shook off these thoughts before they could darken her mood too much, slapped a smile on her face, and hoped it looked convincing.

  Then she cleared her throat. “Hello! Am I too early?”

  Kyle grinned. “Maybe you are, but your bread pudding is always right on time.” He took the dish from her and placed a kiss on her forehead.

  “Shut up, you rascal.” Ellen Fitzpatrick wrinkled her nose at him before welcoming Hayden with a warm look. “Great to see you, love. You didn’t have to bring anything, though.”

  “But I like seeing my food devoured by hungry wolves.” Her smile became more genuine as she placed her car keys down on the table and grabbed a spoon to get a taste of Ellen’s fantastic rosemary gravy.

  At the same time, someone snorted loudly behind her back. “Mom, don’t you give her weird ideas! I love her bread pudding.”

  She turned around and met Kyle’s glance. “Thanks.”

  He gave her an encouraging nod, which made her feel all warm inside. Kayleigh had probably told her younger brother about Hayden’s encounter with Heath. Nothing ever remained secret for long in this family. She could still vividly remember the barbecue at which Ellen had told everyone that Kayleigh had just started her first period. She could still hear the righteous anger of her thirteen-year-old friend, as well as Shane’s inappropriate comments. Yep, everything was discussed by the whole family, whether it was one member’s chosen vacation destination, someone’s new shower curtain, or the only daughter’s first period. The boys should’ve counted themselves lucky that none of them had ever been caught masturbating, for that would surely have become a conversation topic at the dinner table, too.

  “Darling, would you mind seeing to the carrots?”

  Hayden patted Ellen’s back and realized that the older woman had gotten far too thin. She had been eating like a bird for the last three months, and she must have lost too much weight in that time. While checking on the simmering carrots, Hayden decided she would speak to Kayleigh about it. She was a physician, after all, so she ought to be more vigilant about her own mother’s health.

  Trying to distract herself from all the worries, Hayden asked in a forcedly calm tone, “Where are Ryan and Shane?”

  “Shane’s in the garage, looking at Mom’s car, and Ryan is due back any minute,” Kyle replied. “He just got off duty.”

  Ellen pushed a strand of graying blond hair from her face and turned to her son. “Kyle, could you and your sister please set the table now?”

  The happy-go-lucky youngster had spent most of his life complaining about chores, but this time he immediately did what his mother asked. For the last three months, all the Fitzpatrick kids had done everything they could to help their mom, always being nice and considerate to her and each other. No more fights or loud, heated discussions. Instead, they strove to anticipate her every wish. Ryan had even subleased his room close to the station and moved back in with his mom.

  Of course, this newfound harmony was nice, but it couldn’t override the pervasive and oppressive feeling of grief, which heavily weighed down on all of them and kept them from going back to normal—boisterous and happy. Hayden often caught herself walking on eggshells around Ellen, going to great lengths to keep all worries and cares from her. That was also the reason she didn’t bring up Heath to her former mother-in-law-to-be.

  Ellen seemed to see right through her, however, and as soon as Kyle left the kitchen, she sighed, giving Hayden a sharp look. “Your eyes are swollen, darling.”

  Hayden swallowed and shrugged helplessly.

  “Don’t you think you should start telling me what’s going on between you and Heath?”

  “You already know that he moved out,” Hayden answered quietly.

  Ellen sighed even louder. “None of you told me a word of what was going on. I had to hear it weeks later from Ms. Murphy, when I met her at the post office. Even Kayleigh didn’t tell me, and she couldn’t keep a secret for the pope!”

  “We didn’t want to tell you,” Hayden admitted. She was unsure what to say next. “We just … we didn’t want to cause you any more pain.”

  “I know that, darling, but I still want to know what’s going on within the family.”

  The last word almost made Hayden flinch. She had always been part of this family, but her separation from Heath meant she didn’t belong to the Fitzpatrick clan any longer … Didn’t it?

  “You shouldn’t worry too much about us, Ellen.”

  “When my own son is making you cry and hardly ever shows his face in this house, I can’t help but worry.”

  Hayden suddenly wished she had stayed home, after all. She took a deep breath. “Kayleigh thinks Heath just needs more
time.”

  “And what do you think?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, Ellen.”

  “Don’t you want to tell me what’s behind his decision to move out?”

  She suddenly felt an itch on her ring finger, below the smooth silver of the engagement ring Heath had given her more than a year ago. She didn’t want to bother Ellen with her problems, but she couldn’t lie to her either.

  “Heath doesn’t want to get married anymore,” she explained, sounding calmer than she felt. Her insides were trembling. “At first I thought it was just a brooding thought that would pass, but now I know it isn’t.”

  “Oh, darling …”

  “It’s okay.” Hayden gave her a shaky smile. “I just need a little time to process that.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?”

  Ellen meant well, but Hayden didn’t think it was a good idea to pull her into this any more than necessary. Heath’s decision seemed irrevocable, like even a hundred talks with his mother wouldn’t change anything. “I’m afraid that wouldn’t help, Ellen, but thank you for the suggestion.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  That was a good question. Outwardly calm, but with a pounding heart, Hayden wet her lips. “We need to sell the house, and I need to look for an apartment.”

  Ellen heaved another loud sigh. “I don’t even want to think about a thing like that. Whatever got into the boy?”

  Hayden felt like saying she’d like to know the answer to that question, too, but she just silently wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and then opened the door to the backyard. “I’m going to tell Shane dinner’s ready.”

  “You do that, darling. Thank you.”

  Hayden crossed the yard and went over to the garage, taking a deep breath and hoping nobody would think of broaching the subject at the dinner table. Her soul ached when she realized that, once again, Heath would not be sitting at said table with the rest of his family. It simply wasn’t like him to stay away so much. He had always been the model son, the responsible eldest who dropped by to help his dad with work around the house, who carried the groceries inside for his mom and never missed Sunday Mass, because he knew how much it meant to her. His current behavior was out of character, and everyone knew that.