away happy with the experience. He wasn't a man to take the act of love as a casual matter. Which he supposed, was why he hadn't participated in that rare wonder for some months now.
And that, he imagined, was most likely why the O'Toole had set his glands to stirring.
Not that he was at all certain, as yet, if he intended to do anything about it. No, Brenna was a puzzle, and one he thought it might be best to leave unsolved. A little time, he decided, a little care, and the two of them would be back on their old familiar ground, if they could just let things be.
His mind would be quiet again, and life would slide along the way it was meant to.
All he had to do was forget how stimulating it was to have his mouth on hers.
He checked on the crubeens he was boiling with cabbage and jacketed potatoes. He added a bit more marjoram to the broth to flavor it up, a trick he'd learned by experimentation.
He particularly liked to present the dish when there were Yanks in the pub. Their varying reactions to being served pigs' trotters was always an amusement to him. Jude was doing the waitressing tonight, and he didn't think she'd disappoint him.
Meanwhile, he had fish to fry for the two hikers from Wexford. He slid the haddock into the oil, then glanced up as the back door opened.
Instantly his spine stiffened, his eyes narrowed, and a prickly ball bounced around in his gut.
'Smells good,' Brenna said easily and sniffed the air. 'Would that be crubeens you're doing there? I doubt we'll have such fare in Waterford City.'
She was wearing paint, and sparkly things at her ears. And for God's sake a dress-one that didn't leave the matter of curves to a man's imagination and showed a great deal of slim, well muscled leg.
'What are you doing, done up like that?'
'Having dinner with Darcy and her Dubliners.' She'd rather, much rather pull up a chair at the table, snag a portion and tuck into the crubeens, but she'd given her word. And that was that.
'You're going out with a man you've never laid eyes on.'
'Darcy has, and I'd best go up and drag her away from her mirror or she'll primp another hour and I'll never get my dinner.'
'Just a damn minute.'
His tone alone would have stopped her, it was very sharp and un-Shawnlike. But even before she could turn back, he had her arm. 'Well, what's lit into you, then?'
'Perfume, too,' he said in disgust, as he got a good, heady whiff of her scent. 'I should've known it. Well, you can just turn straight around and go back home. I'm not having you go off dressed like this.'
Temper would have snapped out, would have bitten him on the neck, but it couldn't get through the thick wall of shock. 'You're not having it? Dressed like what?'
'I'm not, no. And you know very well dressed like what. It's surprised I am that your mother let you out of the house this way.'
'I'm twenty-four, if you've forgotten. My mother stopped approving my choice of attire some years ago. And it's surely no business of yours what I'm wearing.'
'I'm making it my business. Now go home and wash that stuff off your face.'
'I'll do nothing of the sort.' The fact was, she'd used the lipstick and so forth only because she knew Darcy would have slathered twice as much on her if she'd shown up without it. But there was no reason to mention that, especially since that temper was busily gnawing through the shock.
'Fine, then, I'll do for you here and now.' He hauled her up under one arm, ignoring her shrieked curse and the fist that swiped at his temple, and carted her toward the sink. He had a vision through the black haze of his fury of dumping her in headfirst and turning the water on full and ice cold.
He had his hand on the tap when Jude rushed in. 'Shawn!'
The stunned and somehow maternal tone stopped him, but barely.
'What in the world are you doing? Put Brenna down this minute!'
'I'm doing what needs to be done. Look how she's flaunted herself up, Jude, and all to go out with some strange man. 'Tisn't right.'
Between curses, Brenna managed to turn her head and try for a good chomp out of his torso, but she only got a mouthful of flannel. She threatened to do something so particularly vile and vicious to his manhood that Shawn cautiously tightened his grip.
Well, well, Jude thought and struggled not to be amused. 'Put her down,' she said quietly. 'You should be ashamed of yourself.'
'I should? She might as well be naked as wearing this dress, and I should be ashamed?'
'Brenna looks lovely.' Seeing no other choice, Jude walked up to him, carefully avoiding Brenna's kicking feet and snagged him by the ear. 'Put her down.'
'Ouch! Bloody hell.' The last woman to pinch his ear in such a manner had been his own mother-and he'd been every bit as unable to defend himself. 'I'm only looking out for her. All right, leave off,' he said when Jude ruthlessly twisted.
He dumped Brenna back on her feet, then took the deep breath of the aggrieved. 'You don't understand the situation,' he began, then staggered when Brenna snatched up a pan and rapped it smartly over his head.
'Bastard. I'm not your dog in the manger, and don't you forget it.'
He gripped the edge of the sink and watched triple Brennas march to the back stairs. 'She coshed me.'
'You deserved it.' But Jude took him gently by the hand. 'You should sit down. It's lucky for you she didn't grab the cast iron, or you'd be flat on your back.'
'I don't want her going out with some Dubliner.' Dizzy, he let Jude nudge him into a chair. 'I don't want her going 'round looking that way.'
'Why?'
'Because I don't.'
Patient, and more sympathetic than she let him know, Jude ran her fingers delicately through his hair. 'You don't always get what you want. It didn't break the skin, but you're going to have a bump, a good one.' Jude tipped his face up to hers, and touched by the stubborn and miserable look in his eyes, kissed him lightly. 'I never realized you had such a hard head. If you don't want Brenna going out with someone else, why haven't you asked her to go out with you?'
He shifted in his chair. 'It's not that way.'
This time she cupped his cheek. 'Isn't it?' Leaving him stewing over that, she walked over to turn off the fish that was already burned beyond redemption.
'I don't want it to be that way.'
Her mouth tipped up at the corners. Keeping her back to him for now, Jude got out fresh portions of fish. 'I'll have to repeat, you don't always get what you want.'
'I do.' He got to his feet, gave himself a moment for the room to settle. 'I'm careful about what I want.'
'So was I once. Wanting more's what got me here.'
'Well, I'm already where I want to be, so I can afford to be careful.'
Still holding the fish, she gave him a bland stare. 'Hard head, indeed.'
'And that's the way I like it as well. No, don't trouble yourself there, I'll do it.' He shoved the entire pan aside, and got out another to heat fresh oil. 'Ask Aidan to serve the hikers another pint on me, with apologies for the delay in the meal, would you, darling?'
'All right.' She started out, then turned back. This family business was still so new. 'Shawn, maybe you do like where you are, maybe it's the right spot for you. But there are times when you have to make certain. Take a step forward or take one back. You're not being fair to Brenna or to yourself by running in place.'
'Is that the psychologist talking?' He glanced back in time to see her wince, then lower her eyes. 'I didn't mean that in a hard way, Jude. And you're right. I just haven't figured which direction to take.' Brooding over it, he coated the fish. 'The fact is, she gave me a push. I don't care to be pushed. It makes me want to dig in my heels.'
'I can understand that, just as I can understand Brenna's the type who needs to move things along. One way or the other.'
'Aye.' Scowling, he touched fingers cautiously to the bump on his head. 'One way or the other.'
'If you can stand one more piece of advice, make yourself busy in the storeroom when you hear Brenna coming
