Authors: Kate Hoffmann
"Good. Busy. But good." She hadn't taken a seat. "I told your secretary my name was McClain. I thought it might be better than...well, I wasn't sure how much she knows." She stood next to the chair, shifting uneasily from foot to foot.
"What have you been up to?"
"I went back to New York for a few days to deal with some business at the bakery. Running a business from out of town has been difficult."
Rafe had almost forgotten that, under normal circumstances, Keely Quinn lived in New York and he lived in Boston. That barrier hadn't even come up in conversation, but now that he'd thought of it, it was simply one more reason why he and Keely never would have made it.
"I'm really anxious to tell my family so that my life can get back to normal," she continued.
"You haven't told them yet?"
"No," she replied with a defensive edge. "That's why I've come back. I'm going to tell them tonight."
"Everything's getting back to normal for me, too," Rafe said, changing the subject to soothe her mood.
"Good. You got back to Boston all right, I see."
"I had a cell phone in my coat pocket. I called for a car."
Keely blinked in surprise, her mouth falling open. At first, he was sure she'd react angrily. After all, the lack of a phone had been the major reason they'd spent an extra night at the cabin. But if she was upset over his deception, she didn't show it. "Good. I'm glad. And you found your car?"
"My doorman gave me the keys." Jeez, this small talk was driving him crazy. It was as if they'd just met, fumbling to think of something to say to each other. No one would have guessed that, just a few days ago, they'd been on very intimate terms, whispering wicked things to each other in the midst of passion. "Is that all you came for? To find out if I got back all right?"
"No. I wanted to give you this." She held a small piece of paper out over his desk.
Rafe took it from her, his hand brushing hers, causing a current to race up his arm. "What's this?"
"It's the name and social security number for one of the men on the crew of my father's fishing boat. His name is Lee Franklin. According to my mother, he was there when your father died. And my mother says that he knows everything that happened. She also says that my father didn't have anything to do with your father's death." Keely shrugged. "That's all I came for. I'm going to give the information to Conor so he can give it to the authorities, but I thought you should know that there's going to be someone backing up Seamus's story. You said you wanted the truth and I hope that we'll find Lee Franklin and he'll tell us what really happened." She paused. "And you'll be satisfied."
"Thank you," Rafe said.
"Well, that's all I came for." She turned and started for the door.
"Keely, I've missed you."
She froze. "And I've missed you," Keely admitted, her back still to him.
"Can I take you to lunch?"
Keely slowly turned back to him. "It's nearly four."
"Then dinner?"
A smile curled the corners of her mouth. "Maybe we should just leave things the way they are, at least until everything is resolved with my family."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
Her smile wavered. "And maybe I'm not." She drew a deep breath, as if gathering her determination. "I have to go. I'll...see you."
A moment later she was gone. Rafe raked his fingers through his hair. This was not what he wanted--Keely breezing in and out of his life with no thought to when they'd see each other again, if ever. He'd always been happy--and even relieved--when the women in his life walked away. But, with Keely, an emptiness had settled in and he found himself missing her a few seconds after she'd gone.
"Damn it," he muttered. He hated this feeling of living in limbo. Either he'd have to do everything in his power to keep her in his life or he'd have to walk away. He couldn't stand this indecision. "So what will it be?"
He glanced down at the paper he still had in his hand. If Lee Franklin could prove Seamus's innocence then he'd have to do his best to find the guy and bring him to Boston to tell his story. He strode over to his desk and pushed his intercom button. But rather than answer, Sylvie came running through his office door.
"Yes?"
"I want you to call Stan Marks in security and have him come up here right away. I've got a job I need him to do."
"And...?" Sylvie asked, a sly grin quirking her lips.
"And what?"
"How did it go? She seems very nice. And pretty. Not your usual type."
"And what's my usual type?"
"Bitchy rich women," Sylvie said. "And that's not a curse word. That was an adjective. This one seems nice. The kind of woman you'd marry."
"Yeah," Rafe murmured.
"Yeah?" A grin broke across Sylvie's face. "You are smitten. I've never seen you smitten before. It looks good on you."
With that, she turned and walked out of the office, leaving Rafe to ponder the true meaning of
smitten.
At one time he would have considered Sylvie's comment an insult, but now he took it as a forgone conclusion. Somehow he'd managed to fall in love with the one woman in the world that he shouldn't have.
K
EELY STARED UP
at the facade of the District Four Police Station. She'd called nearly every station house in Boston until she'd located Conor's, then managed to find out when his shift ended. If she just hung around the front door, Keely was certain she'd see him as he left. She glanced at her watch. His shift was over at six and it was nearly six-thirty. Maybe she'd missed him. Maybe he'd parked in the back. Maybe he'd--
"Keely?"
She spun around to find Conor standing on the sidewalk just a few feet away. He always seemed so serious and intimidating. Keely swallowed hard. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for. "Hi. How are you?"
Conor frowned. "I'm fine. What are you doing here? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No trouble. I'm fine." She shook her head. "I--I have something for you. Actually, for Seamus. Liam told me what was going on my last night at the pub. I know the police are investigating Seamus for a murder and I know he's innocent. And I thought you might be able to use this to prove it."
"I don't understand."
"Lee Franklin was one of the crew members on the boat. That's Lee Franklin's social security number. From what I understand, you can trace a person's whereabouts by their social security number, right?"
Conor stared at her in disbelief and snatched the paper from her fingers. "How do you know about Lee Franklin?"
She forced a smile. "I know a lot of things."
"How did you get this?"
Keely took a deep breath and tried to stop her heart from hammering. It was time. She'd waited so long but now it was finally time. "My mother."
"All right, how does your mother know?"
"She used to do the bookkeeping for your father's fishing boat." Keely bit her bottom lip.
Just say it!
He was ready to hear it--she just had to get it out. "And--and she was also married to your father." Keely waited for the impact of her claim to sink in.
Conor shook his head. "My father was only ever married to my mother."
"Yes, I know," Keely said. "Your father is my father. And my mother is your mother. My name is Keely Quinn and I was born six months after Fiona Quinn walked out of your life." That last came out in an unbroken string of words. But once it was out there, Keely wished that she could take it back. That she could have said it with more patience.
For a long moment, he simply stared at her, his expression filled with astonishment. Then he turned and walked five or six steps down the sidewalk. Keely held her breath and waited for him to stop, to say something--anything--that would give her a clue to his real feelings.
Conor spun around. "This is crazy. It can't be. My mother is dead and I don't have a sister."
Keely reached for the claddagh pendant, pulling it out from beneath her sweater. The emerald sparkled in the light from the streetlamps. "My mother gave me this. She said Seamus would recognize it. Do you recognize it?"
Conor gasped, then hurried back to her. He reached out and held the pendant between his fingers, rubbing the emerald with his thumb. "I do. My mother used to have a necklace just like this. She never took it off." He let the pendant drop. "He told us she was dead. We didn't want to believe it, but after a while it made sense. She never tried to contact us."
"She's not dead," Keely said. "She's living in New York City. She moved there after she left your--I mean, my...
our
father. That's where I was born."
"She's alive?" Conor asked, his voice filled with amazement. "My mother is alive?"
Keely felt tears press at the corners of her eyes. She knew what Conor was going through right now--to be told he had a sibling and then to be told that the parent he thought was dead wasn't. "I took the job at the bar so I could get to know you all. I didn't mean to deceive you, but I wasn't sure how you would react to the news. At first, I was going to tell you as a group, but then I got scared. Besides, now that the bar is closed, I wasn't sure when you'd all get together again."
Conor grabbed her arm. "You have to come with me," he said, pulling her along the sidewalk.
"Where are we going?"
"I'm supposed to meet my brothers at the pub. The contractors are starting work in a few days and we've got to clear everything out. Sean and Liam are probably already there. I want you to tell them what you told me."
Keely dug in her heels, pulling him to a stop. "I'm not sure that would be the best--"
"What are you talking about?" He laughed. "You're our sister. And it's sure as hell time everyone knew."
She shook her head. "Why don't I meet you there?" Keely countered. "I have my car and I need a little time alone to work up my courage." She drew a deep breath. "I have to say, this went pretty well but who knows how they'll react?"
Conor smiled. Then his smile faded slightly as he stared at her. "My God. I remember that first time we met on the sidewalk outside the pub. There was something about you that looked so familiar. It was your eyes." He hooked his finger beneath her chin and turned her face up to the streetlights.
"They're the same color as yours," Keely said.
"That shows you what a great detective I am. I didn't even notice." He stared at her for a long moment. "I just can't believe you're real. And that you're here after all these years."
"I can't either." She laughed softly. "If you only knew the time it took me to work up the courage to tell you this."
"Well, I can assure you that the rest of my brothers are going to be happy to hear what you have to say."
Keely winced. "Maybe you should break the news to them."
He took her hand in his and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "No. I think it's better coming from you. My car is parked just down the street. I'll meet you at the pub and we'll tell them together. How's that?"
She never could have imagined that it would go so well. Telling Conor had seemed so easy--too easy. Perhaps there was trouble yet to come. But if there was, she'd have to face it. "That would be good. I'll meet you at the pub."
Keely was almost reluctant to leave him, but she needed time to herself, time to regroup and gather her courage again. At least she had Conor behind her. From what she could tell, he seemed to be the unofficial head of the family, the brother whom the others turned to when a disagreement needed to be settled. If he wanted her in the family, then he'd find a way to convince the others she belonged.
Keely hurried to her car and climbed inside, then clutched the steering wheel. So many emotions whirled inside her. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. "Hello, I'm Keely Quinn." For the first time, she could actually say the words and have them mean something. It was no longer a dream. She
was
Keely Quinn. As she started the car, she drew a deep breath. By the end of the night, she'd have a family.
The drive to the pub passed in a blur, her mind occupied with thoughts of what was to come. She felt a little dizzy and light-headed and wondered if she should have accepted Conor's offer of a ride. But then Keely opened a window and let the cold air rush inside, clearing her head. Once she met her brothers, she'd have to call her mother. And then she'd call--
Keely stopped herself. She couldn't call Rafe. Though she longed to hear his voice, he wasn't a part of this. Drawing him back into her life for her own selfish motives wouldn't be fair. Once she straightened out her family life
and
Seamus's legal problems, then maybe she could turn her attention back to her love life.
When she pulled up to the pub, the street was nearly empty. She saw Conor sitting on the steps, his shoulders hunched against the cold. He really was a nice guy, so solid and dependable. It was good to have him on her side. Keely regretted that she hadn't had the chance to grow up knowing him. She imagined she could have learned a lot from her oldest brother.
But then maybe she'd always had a part of him with her. She'd been a Quinn since the moment she was born. No matter how hard she tried to be her mother's daughter, Keely suspected that she'd been her brothers' sister first--emotional and impulsive, stubborn and determined, a Quinn to the bone. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she fit somewhere.
She stepped out of the car and slowly approached Conor. He stood and smiled. "Are you all set?"
Keely nodded. "I guess now is as good a time as any."
Conor took the front steps two at a time, then pulled open the front door. Keely stepped inside the brightly lit pub, a tight smile pasted on her face. The jukebox blared a raucous Irish tune and no one noticed her arrival. But when Conor shouted, they all turned.
"You want to shut that thing off?" he yelled.
Liam reached for the volume control behind the bar and turned the music down. "Hey, Keely! What are you doing back here? I figured by now you'd have a job at another joint."