Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Goddamn, I should’ve said pools, as in plural. They had an actual in-ground pool for kids. This round little thing at the end of the main pool.
“Oi! Look what the cat dragged in!” Kellan smirked at me and raised his beer. He was standing by the barbecue area with Finn.
The older guy at the table was Shannon O’Shea, Finn’s old man and Kellan’s husband. And there we go. Liam Murray was just leaving the pool with two kids. I counted at least half a dozen kids, all boys. One man I didn’t recognize. Two girls catching sun—probably Nessa and Autumn.
“Okay, we’re all here!” Finn announced. “Kids, come get your hot dogs and burgers. We have ketchup and a bunch of other shit, but you only care about ketchup anyway.”
“Nuh-uh! I like relish, Daddy!” one boy shouted across the pool. It had to be Ryan. If I remembered correctly, he was five or something like that.
A lot happened at once, enough to overwhelm even me, and I wasn’t easily overwhelmed. I noticed most of the adults looking my way, including Nessa and Liam, and every kid was shouting for food and what condiments they wanted. At the same time, an older lady appeared behind me and hurried toward the barbecue area, so I guessed that was the nanny Kellan didn’t like.
The woman had to be close to seventy, but she gathered all the kids like a pro, and they seemed to listen to her.
Making sure an impatient Ellie was fed was a priority, so I ushered her and Trip over there and was quickly handed a cold beer by Finn.
“Sweet nectar.” I grinned. “Cheers.”
“Good to see you, mate.” He slapped his hand to mine and shook it firmly before he directed his attention to Ellie. “How you doin’, shortcake? You ready to bust some balls around here?”
Ellie beamed. “Daddy calls me ballbuster all the time!”
I laughed. She wasn’t wrong.
“That’s good. Those are the girls who stick around, ’cause they can take our shit,” Finn chuckled. My boy was next on his radar. Finn was seemingly completely unbothered by the mayhem around the grill just a few feet away. Ryan wanted four hot dogs, while the nanny argued in a noticeably Irish accent that he better start with one, and Cory and…Reagan…? Well, they wanted Momma to make their burgers. “And how can we make you comfortable, Trip? Kellan tells me you like to play with matches. We have plenty of those.”
I smiled and scratched Trip’s head.
“I build things with them,” my son replied. “I would like to go in the pool first if that’s okay.”
“Hey, knock yourself out,” Finn said. Just then, one of the twin boys started climbing Finn’s leg, so he picked the boy up and smooched his cheek. “What’s up, baby?”
“I’m hungwy noooww. Where’s Momma?”
“She was gonna give Auntie Luna a call,” Finn told him. “She’ll be back soon. How about I prove to you that I can make you a burger that’s as good as Momma’s, huh?”
I was fucking surrounded by mini-Finnegans. They all had darker hair than he did—so I guessed they got that from Emilia—but otherwise, no need to wonder who was the father. Then there were two more. They ran up behind me, one older, around four or five, and the other stumbling forward the way only a toddler could. One had dark hair, the other was a copperhead like Finn, but…
Correction, copperhead like Liam. He arrived on the scene and picked up the youngest, and his actions, his obvious affection for the kid, made it clear the lad was his.
Kellan draped an arm around my shoulders, at the same time as the nanny coaxed my own kids to her. So she was just gonna take care of all the kids? Seriously?
“I hope Finn pays her well,” I said for only Kellan to hear.
He laughed and nodded once. “Oh, she’s set. She’s part of the family—some uncle’s wife on Shan’s side. Finn bought her a fuckin’ house when she came over from Killarney.” He jerked his chin at the two Liam was focusing on. “That’s CJ and li’l Eddie.”
I looked at him, surprised. “Your nephews?” I’d heard him mention them before, obviously, but I’d had no idea they were Liam’s kids. “You never said your sister married Liam.”
“’Cause she didn’t,” he snorted. “That’s—hold up. Ryan!” He got the boy’s attention as he got ketchup and relish all over his face. “What do we say to Auntie Luna and Uncle Liam about their family?”
Ryan grinned goofily and held up a hand like a stop sign. “I don’t need tickets to your shitshow!”
Kellan and I cracked up, and Finn said, “Fuckin’ amen” and fist-bumped his son.
“Find something new to gossip about,” Liam bitched. He had an accent too, though it wasn’t as pronounced as the nanny’s.
“We’re not gossiping, mate,” Kellan chuckled. “We’re avoiding the topic like the plague.”