“I’m holding you to that,” I said and tugged her towards me. “Give me a kiss.”
She granted my request, and when I tasted myself on her tongue, I hummed.
“I can’t wait to have you.”
“I know.” Alannah smiled against my lips. “You’re obsessed with me.”
“Always have been, and always will be. There is a reason you’re wearing my ring.”
She raised her head and brushed her lips against my nose.
“You’ve made me happier than I could have ever imagined,” she said. “Wakin’ up with ye’ everyday and tacklin’ our horde together ... ye’ve no idea how much that means to me. I’m still so in love with ye’, Jack Frost.”
I lifted my hands to Alannah’s face, and said, “I’ll always be madly in love with you, freckles. My life didn’t begin until I met you.”
My wife smiled and kissed me. We separated when my phone rang in my pocket. I took it out and answered it when I saw it was Dominic calling.
“Do you want to hit up a bar or ten with me?”
I winced. “What did you do?”
“Why do you automatically assume I did something?”
“Because I know you.”
Dominic sighed. “Shit has hit the fan, and it’s got nothing to do with me and Bronagh.”
I sucked in a breath. “The kids?”
“Georgie,” he said, defeated. “She has a boyfriend, and Bronagh won’t let me kill him. He’s Gavin’s boy.”
“Fuck.” I cringed. “Fuck everything. I’m on my way.”
I disconnected the call, looked at my wife, and said, “Georgie has a boyfriend, and he’s a Collins.”
Alannah widened her eyes. “Jesus Christ, go deal with ‘im before the kills the lad.”
I kissed my wife hard on the mouth, jumped up, pulled my sneakers and sweater on, then ran out of the room, and down the stairs. With one shout for my kids to behave, I grabbed my jacket, keys, and wallet, then I was out the door. I reached Dominic’s house in ten minutes flat.
“Are you okay?” I asked when he slid into my car.
He shook his head. “I will be tomorrow, but right now, I’m heartbroken.”
“I’m heartbroken, so I can only imagine how you feel.”
“Tonight my eyes were opened to Georgie being a young woman and not a little girl anymore. The thought of some excited little boy near her makes me murderous.”
“I’m itching to break the kid’s hands and his dick. You aren’t alone, brother.”
Dominic grunted. “Nothing short of his death will please me.”
“He’s a Collins kid, too?”
I didn’t see them often, and if I did, they blended in with my nephews.
I nodded. “Gavin’s boy ... You want to know the kicker?”
I bobbed my head.
“Indie is the picture of Gav.”
“He is a good-looking bastard.”
“Don’t I fucking know it!” Dominic balled his hands to fists. “I almost lost Bronagh to him once upon a time, and now I’m losing my baby to not only his blood, but his lookalike? Fuck. I want to kill him. I don’t even care that he’s a child.”
I snorted. “You’ll be hell bound for killing him.”
“I’ll explain at the gates. Don’t worry about me, I always get what I want.”
I grinned. “A certain Murphy sister is a prime example.”
A smile stretched across his face. “Can you believe I married my high school sweetheart?”
“No, considering I called dibs on her first. I’m still pissed you messed with bro code for a chick.”
Dominic laughed. “What do you think Alannah would do to you if she found out that you wanted to take Bronagh for a round of mattress dancing when we first met her?”
I shivered.
“Don’t ever tell her.” I winced. “She wouldn’t have given me five sons if she knew, that’s for damn sure.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” He laughed. “I’ll take it to my grave.”
I smiled as he pulled away from the curb and drove towards our local pub. When we got there, we settled inside an empty booth, and I ordered a pint of cider, Dominic did too. He stared at the table, then looked at me when I clapped my hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll get you through this, buddy.”
He nodded. “I’ll be good tomorrow. I’ll take one on the chin ... but now ...”
“You just want to be sad that your baby girl isn’t a baby anymore?”
He leaned his head on his forearm. “Call the others ... I need their bullshit right now.”
“I’m on it.” I chuckled, then he added, “You might regret this by the end of the night.”
I spend a few minutes calling my brothers, and both Dominic and I had drained our pint glasses by the time the three of them got there.
“Okay,” Alec said, as they took their seats around our table. “Who is okay with going to prison for murdering a child?”
Every one of us raised our hands.
“Fantastic,” Alec continued. “Now we just need to fairly pick who gets the pleasure of sending this little asshole on to be with Jesus.”