“Nope, I’m with ‘er. Alannah too.”
Why does she sound so weird?
“What’s the problem?” I questioned.
“Ask me where I am,” Keela said in a huffed breath.
I blinked. “Okay, where are you?”
“In Crough’s Pub.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, everythin’ about this is fuck.”
Bollocks.
“So,” Keela continued.
I groaned. “So?”
“Alannah and Bronagh,” she began.
“What about them?”
“They’re... well... they’re... drunk.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I paled. “Not again.”
“Yep, again.”
The gates of Hell have reopened.
I closed my eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” Keela snorted. “Alannah is twerkin’, and Bronagh is strippin’ off. You might wanna call the lads ‘cause they won’t listen to me—ah fuck, they’re gettin’ up to sing karaoke. I need backup!”
“I’ll be there ASAP.”
I hung up on Keela, dialled Dominic’s number, and was glad when he answered on the third ring.
“Houston.” I sighed. “We have a big arse problem.”
“Am I supposed to know what that means?” Dominic questioned.
Yes.
“What’re you doin’?”
“I’m at Gravity with Damien and Georgie. They added an infant and toddler section with these cute as fuck walls that are no taller than I am. We put a harness on her and let her ‘climb’ it. She screamed and laughed the entire time. We got it on video—wait till you see it, it’s fucking adorable.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see it... so listen, I’ve somethin’ to tell you.”
Things got quiet on Dominic’s end.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Bronagh and Alannah.” I exhaled as I looked up at the ceiling. “They’re causin’ Keela problems.”
“How?” he quizzed. “Are they still telling her they won’t pose for a nude photo shoot to be on the cover of her book?”
My lips twitched. “She was messin’ with them about that.”
“Then what’re they doing?” he asked before quickly saying, “Ah-ah, baby. No. Daddy is talking on the phone; you can’t play with it. No. Ah-ah. Georgie. No hitting, baby. I said no!”
A loud cry came from the receiver of my phone, and it caused me to wince.
“Damien!” Dominic called. “Take her for a second; I can’t hear what Branna is saying over her fussing.”
I heard Damien’s voice as he cooed and spoke to Georgie in a soft tone; both his voice and my niece’s shouting faded away, and I heard Dominic’s deep sigh.
“This breast weaning thing is giving me a headache, and it’s only starting.”
I laughed. “Imagine how Bronagh feels.”
“Speaking of my future wife, what has she and Alannah done to grind Keela’s gears?”
Here we go.
“Do you want it straight or watered down?”
“Like you even have to ask.” He snorted. “Straight all day every day, baby.”
You asked for it.
“They’re both drunk in Crough’s pub,” I blurted. “Keela can only do so much to contain them when they’re together like this. Karaoke is involved and alcohol is involved, which means—”
“Horrible dancing and stripping are involved,” Dominic finished.
“Pretty much.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” he angrily stated then shouted, “Dame, you aren’t goin’ to believe this shit. Get the baby ready. We’re leaving. Now.”
I pulled my phone away from my ear and looked at the screen when silence dragged on, indicating Dominic hung up. He sounded pissed, and I didn’t blame him. Drunk Bronagh, was... crazy. Crazier than sober Bronagh, which was saying something.
With a shake of my head, I left my sister’s house and got into my car. I backed out of the garden and headed in the direction of Crough’s pub. I needed to get there before Dominic and Damien did to act as a barricade to protect Bronagh. Dominic would never hurt her, but he’d give her a right talking to, and even that could be too intense for public.
Ten minutes later, as I pulled up to the pub and parked, my phone rang. I fumbled with my bag to grab my device, and when I saw it was my husband calling me, I winced, realising I forgot to call him to let him know I was okay.
“Hey,” I said in a rushed breath when I answered. “Sorry, I didn’t ring. I’ve a—”
“Big ass problem,” Ryder said, cutting me off. “I heard all ‘bout it. Dominic just dropped Georgie off with me and told me where he and Dame were heading and why. Just giving you a heads-up that he’s pissed. Really pissed. Damien isn’t faring better either. You know how he gets when it comes to Alannah.”
Shite.
“Brilliant,” I grumbled as I climbed out of the car and locked it up. “I’ll be home when I square everything away here.”
“Good luck.” Ryder laughed.
I hung up on him, shook my head, and entered the pub. It wasn’t hard to find my sister and friend. In fact, it was quite possibly the easiest task ever bestowed upon me. On a cramped stage in the corner of the pub, both girls jammed out to some God-awful music with no lyrics, just horribly loud siren sounds.
I spotted Keela sitting at the bar, watching the girls with a shake of her head. I moved towards her and took up the vacant stool next to her, gaining her attention. She leaned over and gave me a hug in greeting.