Wild Devotion

by Mari Carr

  Unfortunately, his sudden movement woke Seamus, who thought it was playtime as he jumped on Padraig’s back, then initiated a game of tug-of-war with the sheets.

  They wrestled with the dog, and when they all three finally fell asleep again, Seamus was back in his place between them.

  The new lord and master of the house.

  14

  August 19

  * * *

  “Pretty sure you’re making Uncle Sean’s life right now with this damn karaoke wish of yours.”

  Mia looked toward the stage, where Sean was setting up equipment with his husband, Chad. “Really?”

  Padraig nodded. “Pat’s Pub used to have a standard karaoke night—Sean’s idea. Apparently, it was fun for about five minutes, then about three months into it, my dad put his foot down and said he wasn’t going to spend every Wednesday night of his life, listening to a bunch of drunks butcher Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Prince. It was a brief run, and I think Sean was the only one who missed it.”

  “I can’t wait to hear it.”

  Padraig gave her a funny look. “Hear it? Oh, hell no, sweetheart. You’re singing it.”

  Mia bit her lower lip. “I know I said that I wanted to do that, but—”

  Padraig cut her off. “You’re not backing out.”

  “I’m not exactly the type of person who stands up in front of people and sings. And I’m not sure it’s smart to drink the amount of alcohol required to give me that courage. I have enough headaches without adding a self-induced one.”

  “We’ll do a duet.”

  She had seriously thought there was nothing Padraig could say that would convince her to get on that stage, but remarkably enough, that changed her mind in an instant. “That would be fun. What should we sing? Does Sean have a list of song choices?”

  “Don’t need it. We’re singing the greatest love song in the history of music.”

  Mia wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Padraig thought that was. He already had thrown very questionable “greatests” at her in the past, proclaiming Jaws the greatest movie—um, hell no—declaring River Monsters the greatest television show—in what world?—and insisting “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was the greatest rock ballad ever—as if Heart’s “Alone” didn’t even exist.

  “Ooookay,” she drawled slowly. “What would that be?”

  He winked at her and simply said, “You’ll see. I’ll sign us up.”

  Mia took a sip of her beer as she shook her head. Pop Pop was sitting in his usual spot farther down the bar. He lifted his pint glass toward her in a silent cheers just before his oldest friend, Moose, sat down next to him.

  “You all starting this confounded stuff up again. Noise pollution,” Moose grumbled.

  Mia giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” Kelli asked as she claimed the stool next to her that Padraig had just vacated.

  “I think everything.”

  Kelli didn’t even blink. “In this place? Yeah, that’s pretty much always true. Whole family is bat shit and funny as fuck.”

  Mia tapped her glass against Kelli’s. “I still can’t believe you teach kindergarteners.”

  “Who do you think is responsible for my gutter mouth and alcoholism? Five-year-olds are vicious fuckers. People tend to let the adorable packaging fool them.”

  Mia had been around Kelli enough to know that she loved her job and her students quite dearly. And Padraig had set Kelli straight on multiple occasions, insisting her foul mouth and love of alcohol had always been there well before the job.

  Padraig was glancing at Sean’s music list over by the stage. She could tell by his grin he’d found the song he’d been seeking. He started to fill out one of the tiny pieces of paper.

  “Padraig going to sing?” Kelli asked, noticing where Mia’s attention lay.

  “Yeah. Apparently, we’re doing a duet. He won’t tell me what song.”

  Kelli snorted. “Twenty bucks says it’s ‘Endless Love’.”

  Mia groaned. “Oh my God. Seriously? This is worse than I thought. He thinks that’s the greatest love song in history?”

  “Hell yeah. Probably not because of the words, but because of the singer. Padraig swears he sounds just like Lionel Ritchie.”

  “Better that than Diana, I guess.”

  Kelli choked on her beer as she started laughing. “We used to play this game in ninth grade where we’d play some of Paddy’s parents’ old music to see who could come closest to imitating the singer. We were all chorus geeks in those days, me, Colm and Padraig.”

  “All three of you were in choir in school?”

  Kelli nodded. “Yep. Even had parts in the school musicals even though none of us was talented enough for a lead. One year, Colm had a nasty head cold during auditions and didn’t even get a part. So he took over as stage manager, which he ended up liking more than being in the play. Fed into his massive control-freak nature.”

  Mia always enjoyed listening to Kelli talk about the past. She was a walking, talking encyclopedia when it came to Padraig’s childhood, and Mia loved it. It wasn’t that Padraig didn’t share. It was just fun to get someone else’s perspective on it all. Kelli never skimped on details and she never seemed to forget anything.

  “Hey, would you want to do lunch tomorrow?” Mia asked. “I know school starts back next week.”

  “Sure. Just you and me? Girl date?”

  Mia smiled. “Yeah. That’s the plan. Thought maybe we could swap old stories. I like hearing about Paddy.” She hoped to share a few of her own stories with Kelli. She knew that Padraig would lean on Kelli heavily after she was gone. Mia sort of liked the idea of giving Kelli some of her history. It wasn’t the same thing, but it would be nice to think there was someone holding on to a few little pieces of her past for her.

  “That would be awesome. I know this Mexican place that makes killer margaritas. But if we’re swapping stories, you better come ready to do some talking too. I want to hear about your wild high school days, your sex regrets, and any other sordid stuff you’ve got. Need me to make a list so you can prepare?”

  Mia picked up her phone and pretended to type a note. “Hang on a second. One-night stands, drunken brawls, what else?”

  They laughed together even as Kelli said, “I’m totally not joking.”

  “I know,” Mia said, as she glanced back at Padraig. He’d gotten shanghaied into helping Sean and Chad set up the sound system.

  “You’re going to take care of him, right?” Mia asked, the question popping out before she could think about it.

  Kelli turned to face her. “Yeah. I’ve always had his back. I always will.”

  “Don’t let him be sad for too long. You’re good at making him laugh.”

  Kelli rubbed her forehead. “I fucking hate this conversation.”

  Mia reached out and grasped her hand. “Promise me?”

  Kelli held on to her hand. “I promise, Mia. But…just don’t be in a hurry to go anywhere, okay? I’ve already started working on the wedding ceremony and I’ve paid for the officiant’s license. The entire thing is going to be stellar. I need you to live a whole lot longer.”

  Kelli had been thrilled when Padraig and Mia had returned from the beach with her wearing his engagement ring.

  Originally, Mia had demanded that they wait for her birthday because she thought it was her way of protecting Padraig. However, the more time that passed, the more she realized that date was giving her something to live for. For weeks, she’d been immersed in wedding plans with Padraig’s family. None of them seemed to question for a minute that the event wouldn’t truly happen. Or if they did, they were doing a damn fine job of hiding those doubts from her.

  She, Yvonne and Sunnie had gone dress shopping twice, Riley had at least three different running lists as the two of them planned the food for the reception, and Pop Pop had quickly requested the right to walk her down the aisle—she cried when he asked, so thrilled and touched that he wanted to.


  Kelli patted her hand as she released it. And then quickly, smoothly, she took a heavy moment back to light. Padraig would definitely be in good hands when she was gone.

  “So, how’s your Diana?”

  Mia winced. “Poor. Probably nonexistent. Don’t suppose she was one of the voices you perfected back in high school?”

  Kelli crinkled her nose. “Hell no. You’re singing the damn love song with him. Besides, I’ve got my own shtick.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  “I sing Joni Mitchell better than Joni Mitchell. Which reminds me, I need to go sign up. Don’t want too many people to get in ahead of me because if this goes south and my ears start bleeding, I want to be able to skip out fast.”

  Kelli and Padraig said a few words as they passed each other.

  “All set up?” Mia asked, sort of hoping the system didn’t work.

  “Yep. We’re third.”

  Mia took a long chug of her beer, deciding to hell with it. She’d just suffer the damn hangover.

  Padraig laughed at her. “Chicken shit,” he teased.

  She picked up a peanut from the bowl in front of her and lobbed it at his head. He dodged it. “Who’s going first?”

  “Sean insisted on an encore performance. Apparently, the last time they did karaoke, Ewan managed to get Natalie on stage to sing.”

  Mia was surprised to hear that. “Natalie doesn’t strike me as the karaoke type.”

  “You’re not kidding. And according to Sean, she’s the world’s worst singer.”

  That fact was proven when Padraig’s aunt took to the stage to sing an old Wilson Phillips song. Mia bit her lip hard in an attempt not to laugh, even though Ewan was standing near the stage, cracking up. Mia realized Natalie was perfectly aware of her lacking ability, and not too bothered by it, when she flipped her husband the middle finger and kept going, her smile growing bigger by the minute as she swayed in time with the music.

  Kelli came back over. “I changed my mind. Wild horses couldn’t drag me out of here. This shit is epic.”

  Sean overheard her and made certain Tris, who was tending bar, had too. “Hear that, bro? Epic. I think it’s time to bring back karaoke night.”

  Tris didn’t even look up from the drink he was mixing. “Never gonna happen.”

  The next act, a regular at the pub, proved exactly why Tris had put his foot down all those years ago. The man had chosen to sing the oddest version of “America the Beautiful” Mia had ever heard in her life. It had actually taken her a minute to figure out what he was singing.

  Moose shook his head and ordered another beer. “Noise pollution,” he repeated.

  Then, too soon for her comfort, Sean announced that it was time for her duet with Padraig. And as Kelli had predicted, it was “Endless Love.” While Sean scrolled through to find the words on the screen, Kelli yelled out that Mia owed her twenty dollars.

  Mia rolled her eyes, but she was too self-conscious and nervous to joke back. She hadn’t realized how many people were in the pub until she’d stepped up onto the stage.

  “Mia,” Padraig said as he handed her a mic. “Just look at me. This is all in fun. No one’s expecting to hear Teagan- or Sky- or Hunter-level talent. Besides,” he leaned closer, “Sean put us in a great spot. There’s no way we’re going to suck as bad as Aunt Nat and the Lee Greenwood wannabe.

  “Did Natalie throw her performance on purpose?” Mia asked, realizing Padraig had a point. Mia wasn’t a great singer, but she was capable of carrying a tune.

  “God, no. I wish. That’s actually her real singing voice. She’s called me every single year of my life to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ over the phone. It’s brutal. Hilarious. But brutal.”

  “Are you two ready?” Sean asked.

  Padraig gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned and nodded to his uncle.

  The first few strands of the piano played, and then Padraig took her hand, cheesing it up big time as he performed a seriously great Lionel Ritchie impersonation.

  She joined in just a beat behind where she was supposed, but soon caught up. Padraig had the song memorized and never once looked at the monitor. If she’d been home alone, she suspected she would have known the whole thing by heart too. However, nerves had jarred all the words loose, so she had to keep glancing at the screen for help.

  By the end of the first chorus, though, her anxieties had melted away. Probably because Padraig was making her laugh with his over-the-top, eyes-closed-as-if-in-pain, Stevie-Wonder style head swaying. Everyone was laughing, Mia included, and somewhere in the midst of it all, he managed to convince her that “Endless Love” was indeed the greatest love song in history.

  They received the first standing ovation of the night when the song ended, and then, to everyone’s delight, he dipped her in a very dramatic, old-fashioned kiss that would have made Rhett Butler proud.

  The two of them returned to the bar, wetting their whistles as another regular took a turn, belting out a great version of John Denver’s “For Baby.”

  “Glad we didn’t have to follow her,” Mia said, seriously impressed with the woman’s voice.

  “Told you. Sean set us up perfectly.”

  They spent another hour at the bar, chatting with family and friends and enjoying the karaoke. Kelli hadn’t exaggerated her Joni Mitchell chops. She belted out a version of “Big Yellow Taxi” that brought the house down.

  Mia told her how amazing she was after it ended, while Padraig simply ruffled her hair and called her a “show-off.”

  After a couple of really bad renditions of Michael Jackson, Padraig said, “I don’t think it’s going to get much better at this point. Want to go home?”

  She nodded as they said their goodbyes, then walked to her apartment hand in hand.

  “Good night?”

  “Oh yeah. I’m glad you encouraged me to sing. It was fun.”

  “Everything is fun with you, Mia.”

  She grinned. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only person to ever think that.”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. “I’m pretty sure I’m not. My family loves you. And there’s not a doubt in my mind Kelli prefers you to me.”

  “We’re going out to lunch together tomorrow.”

  “She told me. Don’t let her talk you into more than two of the margaritas. I know that Mexican place where she’s taking you, and they are potent. Two of those and you’ll be singing without the karaoke machine.”

  She nuzzled closer to him. “So noted.”

  Seamus was more than ready for them when they returned, so Padraig put on his leash and they walked back downstairs and around the block with him a couple of times.

  While both of them were starting to wind down, the same couldn’t be said of Seamus, who was bouncing happily between them. Padraig joked they would have been better off naming him Yoyo, because that was what he looked like whenever they put the leash on him.

  Once they were back in the apartment, Padraig turned on some music, searching until he found what he was looking for.

  “More Lionel Ritchie?” she asked.

  He pulled her into his arms for a slow dance, softly singing “Truly” along with Lionel. They swayed together as Seamus circled their feet.

  Mia loved the feeling of his cheek pressed against hers, the way his beard tickled. His hands stroked her back as they moved. Every now and then, one would drift lower to cup her ass. She ran her fingers through his thick hair. When the song ended, he touched his forehead to hers.

  “I love you, Mia.”

  She lifted her face, initiating the soft kiss. It would have lasted longer, would have turned into something much more, if Seamus hadn’t jumped up against Padraig’s legs and started barking.

  “Someone is getting jealous,” he joked.

  Mia bent down to pick up the squirming puppy. “Aw, baby. Are you feeling neglected?” Seamus licked her face, then twisted his head and added some to Padraig’s cheeks and
chin.

  “I love our little family,” Padraig said as he turned toward the bedroom. “Let’s get that boy to bed.”

  It took Mia a second or two to move as his words washed through her.

  Family.

  Padraig had given her the perfect family, offering not only himself, but his own large, crazy, boisterous Collins clan and Seamus.

  She had a family.

  15

  September 20

  * * *

  Padraig dragged himself into the bedroom well after midnight. He was looking forward to falling face down on the soft pillow and catching some serious zzz’s. Mia was already way ahead of him on that. She had remained at the pub until about ten, and she probably would have stayed longer if he hadn’t seen the dark circles under her eyes and insisted she go home and go to bed.

  Surprisingly, while she was sound asleep, Seamus wasn’t. The dog was wide awake and anxious, standing next to Mia on the bed. When he saw Padraig enter the room, the dog started to whine.

  The cry and his high-alert demeanor sent a shot of adrenaline through Padraig, chasing away all traces of the exhaustion he’d been feeling.

  They’d gotten Seamus from a rescue shelter. The brown and white pup was a Sheltie-Spitz mix and he had just turned eight months old. Padraig had jokingly proclaimed he and Seamus were kindred spirits, both one hundred percent under Mia’s spell, devoted and in love with the sweet woman.

  Although lately, he was starting to think the dog viewed him more as competition than owner. Padraig harbored no illusion that the dog was his. Seamus had chosen his “human” and there was no winning the puppy’s affections with Mia around.

  Mia had suffered a seizure a few days after they’d gotten Seamus back in July and since then, the dog seemed to have developed some sort of sixth sense about them.

  Colm had been the first to notice. He and Kelli had come over for dinner a few weeks earlier and Seamus, who was typically running amok, as only a badly trained puppy could do, had been uncharacteristically subdued. He had planted himself at Mia’s feet and would not be moved, even by the food Kelli kept trying to sneak him under the table.