Guardian Angel: Callaghan Brothers, Book 5

by Abbie Zanders

  It took a moment for Kane’s words to completely register. His eyes widened in disbelief. “The one Ian’s been looking for all this time? No shit?”

  “No shit,” Kane confirmed.

  “Jesus.” Michael leaned back against the counter, stunned. “Are you sure?”

  Kane shot him an irritated glance that told him he should have known better. Kane wouldn’t have wasted his breath otherwise.

  It just seemed so... convenient. Given the strange events he’d been privy to over the last few years, it shouldn’t have been as much of a shock as it was, but Michael couldn’t help but marvel at the raw wonder of it. First Jake, then Ian, then him, then Sean. Each had met his destined soul mate through some bizarre twist of events that defied rational logic. Was Kane to be next in the line of Callaghan men to meet their ultimate challenge? It was a delightful thought.

  “So let me get this straight,” Michael said, clearing his throat and trying to keep a straight face. “Aidan’s sister saves your ass in the jungle, then winds up here in your hometown during a natural disaster.” He let the grin grow slowly. “Sounds like Fate, bro.”

  A low, rumbling sound came from deep within Kane’s chest, obviously meant as a warning, but it only succeeded in making Michael laugh. Kane narrowed his eyes, causing Michael to laugh even harder. The old adage really was turning out to be true: the bigger they were, the harder they fell. And Kane was looking at about a mile-high drop without a backup chute.

  With a withering glance, Kane turned and stalked out of the room. Michael’s laughter echoed the entire length of the hallway.

  * * *

  It was so busy for the next several hours that Rebecca didn’t have time to dwell on the large man with the stark features and the hauntingly beautiful eyes. She did not have time to think about how absolutely solid he’d felt when she’d thrown herself against him. Nor did she have even a second to feel the rush of embarrassment over his reaction or the subsequent anger that radiated from him in waves, but over what, she had no idea.

  And there was no way she would ever admit – not even to herself – the tingling warmth of electrical current that ran throughout the length of her body when he leaned in close and inhaled. If the subject ever came up she would claim some sort of delayed post-traumatic stress reaction brought forth by his sudden and unexpected reappearance, and coming off a triple shift of triage after going on nearly thirty-six hours without sleep.

  Yeah, that would definitely work.

  * * *

  One thing about being a natural tracker – Kane learned how to observe without being observed. Over the next few days Kane did exactly that. He watched Rebecca from a distance, though in actuality he was never far away. Especially when whatever she was doing placed her in the vicinity of other men.

  He wasn’t being territorial, he told himself. He was doing what he did best – assessing a situation, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, and then doing what needed to be done. It wasn’t stalking. He was just looking out for her from afar.

  Because Lord knows she didn’t seem all that likely to do it herself, and no one – with the possible exception of her brother – was stepping up to the plate.

  Kane learned a lot about her that way. He learned that while she always had a friendly smile and an encouraging word, she was basically a very quiet person, and tended to listen a lot more than she spoke. She also possessed great skills in the art of distraction; whenever anyone started asking her personal questions, she deftly managed to turn the conversation back to the other person. It was something he could understand quite well, though he was more likely to simply ignore people than divert their attention elsewhere. He simply didn’t care enough to put forth the effort.

  There also didn’t seem to be any job she wouldn’t do. She helped Michael. Served food. Unpacked and sorted clothing donations. Cleaned toilets. And not once, in any of that time, did he hear her complain, whine, moan, bitch, or, for that matter, sigh heavily.

  Her clothing was simple: jeans and comfortable, cotton tops. She’d taken to wearing soft, casual hoodies as well, especially when evening came and the temperature dipped into the seventies; he’d overheard Michael comment that she was having a little trouble adjusting to the climate after spending so much time in much hotter countries.

  She wore very little, if any, makeup, but Kane saw that as a plus. She had a natural beauty, and cosmetics would have only tampered with that. For the most part, she kept her hair secured, but sometimes, when she thought she was alone, she’d release the clips and let her hair tumble down over her shoulders, shaking it free and running her fingers through it. It was during those moments that Kane sometimes felt a pang of longing; whether the feeling was hers or his he wasn’t sure, but it never lasted long enough to analyze. After a few quick finger combs, it would inevitably be up again.

  The only jewelry he saw was a small silver cross that she usually kept tucked into her shirt, but it sometimes managed to work free when she was doing a lot of bending and lifting. Like everything else, it was simple; no adornments or jewels or etchings. He eventually found out that one of the Sisters had given it to her in her early days of travelling with the convent.

  On those few occasions when she did take time to eat, she did so alone, finding a quiet corner somewhere and sinking into the shadows. Once he even saw her disappear into a broom closet with a sandwich and a Coke. He couldn’t blame her. People flocked to her, wanted to be around her.

  It was not something he’d ever experienced personally – people tended to do just the opposite in his presence – but it was easy to see how it could become tiresome after a while. Hell, he found himself walking outside at least once an hour just to get away from it all, and he wasn’t actively interacting with any of them, preferring instead to simply do the jobs that allowed him to keep an eye on Rebecca and avoid any unnecessary socialization.

  For the most part, he remained in the background, finding things to do while quietly observing. But every now and then he couldn’t keep his distance. Once he deliberately positioned himself outside the doorway knowing she was headed that way, just so he could discreetly catch a whiff of her scent.

  Another time he just happened to be nearby when the shipment of provisions came in and he was able to easily lift the boxes she couldn’t budge. It was then that he caught her discreet little glances at his flexing, rippling biceps when she thought he wasn’t looking. Kane wasn’t a vain man by nature, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he did not take some pleasure in the way she seemed to like what she saw.

  He didn’t understand it, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe it was because they had formed some bizarre kind of bond between them in the jungle. Life and death situations had a tendency to result in that kind of thing. For whatever reason, Kane felt the need to look out for her, as if he was responsible for her in some way. It didn’t help that she seemed incapable – or unwilling – to take care of herself like she should.

  So what if sometimes food mysteriously appeared when she’d neglected to take time out for lunch or dinner? Or if, when she took an occasional foray into the ladies room, she returned to find whatever task she’d been working on, had been completed in her absence so she might actually sit down and rest for five minutes?

  What Kane also found particularly frustrating was her apparent lack of fear. Not just of him, but of everyone. The woman seemed to be totally lacking a sense of self preservation. She had no qualms working with anyone, even some of the rougher types that looked at her with barely disguised hunger in their eyes. Either she ignored it, or chose not to see it, but Kane saw it. He felt the tension coil in his belly every time she was near them, and made sure that he stayed within range.

  Just one wrong move – that’s all it would take – and it would be someone’s last.

  At least there seemed to be lots of people around most of the time. It didn’t ensure her safety, but it did ease him somewhat. It was her occasional sojourns outside the shelter at night th
at bothered him the most. There always seemed to be a gang of punks skulking around, lighting up in the shadows. Goth types, bedecked in black, thriving in the misery that came with something as unfortunate as a flood, feeding their obsession for depression.

  Unsurprisingly, Rebecca had befriended them, and for some reason, that bothered Kane. A lot. Obviously, she was drawn to those who needed help the most. But these kids didn’t need her. They wanted to be miserable, or at least pretend they were.

  Maybe they were only doing it for the attention; maybe they really were decent underneath all the black clothes, piercings, and makeup; but he couldn’t help the unease he felt whenever she was around them. Maybe that’s why he always made sure that they saw him, knew he was around, even when Rebecca didn’t.

  * * *

  “I still can’t believe you’re here,” Aidan said, hugging her for the third time in the last hour. He had finally managed to pull her away from the shelter with a little extra help from Michael, who told her flat out to go home and get some rest. Now, after her hot bath and late dinner, it was just the two of them in Aidan’s townhouse. Rebecca was comfortably ensconced on the plush sofa, dressed in fleecy, warm sweats, a hot cup of tea held between her palms.

  Rebecca laughed. “If I’d known you’d be this happy to see me I would have visited earlier.”

  Aidan pulled away, but left his hand on her shoulder. “I really wish you would have.”

  She averted her eyes, but not before he caught the doubt that must have shown there. He curled his index finger under her chin and gently forced her to look at him. “I know you probably don’t believe that, but it’s true. I’ve regretted that day ever since. I was afraid I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you - ”

  “Aidan, stop,” she commanded softly. “I’m here now, and nothing else matters.”

  “It does matter. You need to know how sorry I am – for the things I said, for not being there for you, for - ”

  “Aidan,” she said, more firmly. “It’s alright. What happened was not your fault. It had been building for a long time. You know that. All you would have accomplished is getting yourself disinherited as well.”

  “They disinherited you?” he said, stunned.

  Rebecca shrugged. She assumed they had made good on the repeated threat. An overabundance of pride kept her from confirming it, though. There was no way she would attempt to touch a penny of the massive trust that had been set up in her name since birth. Whether or not her father had actually frozen the assets was irrelevant. She kept her end of the bargain, choosing to no longer be a part of the Harrison family, and in her mind, that included Harrison money as well.

  “There is very little I regret,” Aidan said somberly, “but my silence that day is a glaring exception.”

  Rebecca knew exactly what day he was talking about – the day their father gave her the ultimatum: conform or be cast out. Rebecca left and never looked back. It had probably stunned them all; not one of them believed she would actually follow through, but she did.

  “Do they know you’re back?”

  Rebecca shook her head. “No. And before you say anything, I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “But Becca - ”

  “No buts, Aidan. They made it very clear that I had to make a choice, and I did. I don’t regret it.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She’d missed them, especially Aidan, though she knew she’d make the same choices over and over again.

  “You are still their daughter.”

  Aidan didn’t understand. He was barely sixteen when she’d left, just coming into his manhood.

  “Not in their eyes, Aidan. I’m not like you. I cannot be who they want me to be.”

  She’d tried. For years she’d let them dress her up and put her on display, the perfect Southern belle debutante. But it wasn’t enough. Rebecca wasn’t content to sit back and look pretty. She desired more than a life of luxury and a wealthy husband. She wanted to live life, make a difference, get her hands dirty. On her eighteenth birthday she’d had enough and announced that she wanted to attend college for her teaching degree. She might as well have announced she wanted to open up a whorehouse on the family estate for the sudden and vehement reaction she received.

  “Won’t you at least try? It’s been a long time. We’re family...”

  “You’re my family.”

  “But - ”

  “Enough. It is what it is, Aidan. No more talk of the parents, or I’m on the first bus out of here once the waters recede.”

  “Alright,” he agreed, but his grimace let her know he wasn’t happy about it.

  “Good. Now tell me all about what you’ve been up to.”

  Aidan sighed, but relented as she had hoped. He told her all about his business partner and master chef – Lexi Callaghan - and the creation of the Celtic Goddess restaurant line, including the story of how he had left their southern family stronghold and based himself in this little corner of northeastern Pennsylvania.

  “So Lexi’s husband, Ian, is one of the infamous Callaghans?” Even in her short time in Pine Ridge it became clear that the family was well-known by the locals. More than a few women had confided their envy that she was working so closely with the gorgeous doc Michael, even though he was very obviously devoted to his wife and son.

  “Afraid so.”

  Rebecca laughed softly. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

  “No, not really. I wasn’t too sure at first, but I have to say, Ian’s entire world revolves around Lexi. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her. And to be truthful, they do kind of grow on you after a while. Not to mention they’re definitely good men to have on your side. You already know Michael from the shelter.”

  “Yes. I’ve met a few of the others, too. Sean, Kieran, and Kane.”

  Aidan looked up in wary surprise. “You’ve met Kane? Actually spoken to him?”

  “Yes. On several occasions, actually. You seemed surprised. Why?”

  Aidan hesitated. “Kane isn’t really all that social. Even as much as I’ve been around the family I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him speak, just growl occasionally. When he is around – and that’s not all that often – he just tends to stand back in the shadows glowering at everyone.”

  Rebecca had no trouble imagining the eldest Callaghan doing just that – standing back against the wall, watching and being acutely aware of everything around him, with that sexy hard-assed look about him and those penetrating eyes that made her insides go all soft when they locked on her. The thought made her smile slightly.

  “He’s been very nice to me.”

  “Well, then you’re the first as far as I know. The others – they all seem to lead fairly regular lives, but him? Not so much.”

  “Tell me.” Rebecca tucked her legs up beneath her and sipped from the cup of hot tea. Hearing about the Callaghans was preferable to talking about their own dysfunctional family dynamics.

  “Well, you already know Michael, the doctor. He’s probably the nicest among them. He’s married to Maggie. They have a cute little guy named Ryan and live out on Maggie’s family farm. She provides all the organics for the Goddess, by the way, and makes the best damn cookies you’ve ever had.”

  Rebecca nodded. She liked Michael very much. In addition to being highly skilled, he had a very soothing way with his patients, and an excellent bedside manner. Yet there was nothing stuffy or arrogant in his manner. And his wife, Maggie, had been very friendly and welcoming.

  “Then there’s Jake. He’s probably the second scariest next to Kane. He runs the family Pub with Ian. He’s married to Taryn, and they’ve got a little girl named Riley.”

  She remembered meeting him once or twice. He seemed remarkably like Kane, in fact. He was on the quiet side, and reminded her of an advancing storm when he moved. She’d spent a good deal more time with his wife, Taryn, at the shelter. She’d been a little shocked by Taryn at first – the woman could hold her own with any of the Callaghans – but she had grown quite
fond of her contagious smile and irreverent attitude. But what Rebecca liked most about Taryn was her passionate soul and kick-ass attitude. Rebecca wished she had the fortitude to tell people what was on her mind once in a while.

  “Sean runs the garage in town – honestly there’s not an engine that guy can’t fix. He’s married to Nicki, who now runs the Teen Reach program for Taughannock County. You met her down at the shelter too, I believe.”

  It was hard not to remember Nicki – jet black hair, amazing super-light crystal eyes. She and her twin brother, Nick, had been instrumental in assembling the teens and keeping them busy with helpful tasks. Nicki was another one she had become quite fond of. Though she looked like something straight out of a heavy metal video with her jet black hair, piercing light silver eyes and a penchant for leather, she was the perfect match for her equally bad-ass husband, and she really cared for the kids.

  “His twin, Shane, is a lawyer and lives above the Pub. He was a Godsend in getting us everything we needed to get the Goddess up and running. He’s relatively soft-spoken, smart as hell, and he’s still single. Stay away from him,” he warned, making Rebecca chuckle.

  “And Kieran, the youngest. He runs BodyWorks, the fitness place in town. He’s single, too, but he’s too young for you.”

  “Relax, Aidan. I’m not looking for a hook-up. What about Kane? What does he do?”

  “You definitely want to stay away from him; the guy’s like a walking thundercloud. I’m not sure exactly what he does, though. Like I said, he’s not around much. Lex says he’s got a place up in the mountains somewhere, likes to keep to himself. The only reason he’s been hanging around Pine Ridge is because he’s been doing rehab at BodyWorks.”

  “For his hip?”

  “How did you know about that?”

  Rebecca had the good sense to blush a little. “I was with him when he, uh, got shot.”