tinkling bell on the door of the hardware store.
She pressed another wet kiss to my mouth. “Tell me you love me,” she said.
I knew I could lie and she’d never know, but my mouth refused to form the words.
“No more talking,” I said instead and bent to kiss her again.
My brain registered the scraping sound again an instant before something slammed into my side with enough force to knock us both to the ground. Rosie yelped and tried to scramble out of the way, but she couldn’t get far with her legs tangled in the unwieldy dress. Pain exploded in my shoulder as it slammed into the sun- hardened dirt. I lifted my head in time to see Judd Sheedy pull back his arm. Instinct took over. His fist hurled toward my face, but I rolled out of the way and it slammed into the ground instead. Dark splotches of blood from his broken knuckles stained the soil, but the injury didn’t seem to slow him down. He lunged at me again. I fell backward, and all the air in my lungs erupted in one breath as my back hit the ground and his full weight crashed into my chest.
“You little shit. I’ll kill you.” Judd thrust his bloody fist into my ribs.
I pressed my forearm into his throat, trying to force him off. The smell of alcohol oozed from every part of him, and his eyes refused to focus. Rosie shrieked again, though I had no idea if she was worried for her brother or for me. I braced myself for another wild punch, but before he made contact, his head snapped back and his weight was lifted off of me.
“Easy now, Prince,” Jimmy Boy said. He set Judd on his feet and used his bulk to keep the thrashing drunk trapped against the trailer.
“Get the fuck off me, Reilly. I’m going to kill him, and you’ll be next if you don’t let me go.”
Jimmy Boy laughed, although there was no way he found any of this funny. “All right. You’ve made your point, and Shay’s learned his lesson.” He glared at me over his shoulder. “Haven’t you?”
“Sure,” I said. I got up and held out a hand to Rosie. She stared at it for a second, but then let me pull her back to her feet. “Are you okay?”
Rosie bobbed her head but pulled her hands away and wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
“I’m going to let you go now,” Jimmy Boy said. “But no more scrapping, you hear? I can’t imagine Pop’ll look kindly on you fighting at your sister’s wedding.”
“Fuck you,” Judd said and spat in my brother’s face.
Jimmy Boy’s mouth clenched into a hard line. He moved with more speed than I would’ve thought him capable. Grabbing Judd by the throat, he lifted him an inch off the ground and held him against the trailer. Judd sputtered and clawed in vain at Jimmy Boy’s hand.
“I’m trying to be polite, Prince, but you’re pushing me to my limits. Now take your sister back to the party and go find a place to sleep it off. Yeah?”
“Let’s go, Judd,” Rosie said. She put her hand on Jimmy Boy’s shoulder, and he opened his fist. Judd crumpled to his knees, gagging as air rushed back into his lungs.
Jimmy Boy stepped back to give Rosie room to drag her brother back to his feet. When they’d disappeared around the side of the trailer, Jimmy Boy turned to me, and for a second, I thought I might have to fight him next. Instead, he shook his head as if I were a disappointing child.
“Listen, I know I promised—”
“Whatever you have to say, save it for Pop. There’s no way he’s not going to hear about this. And when he does, you’re gonna wish I’d let Judd kill you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“WAIT RIGHT HERE,” Judd said. He glared at me, though the greenish tint to his skin and his puffy eyes made him considerably less threatening than he meant to be. A purple bruise roped around his throat, and his hand was bandaged.
“Right here, Prince?” I asked, pointing to my feet. “So here isn’t okay?” I slid several inches across the thick Oriental rug that carpeted the Sheedy’s foyer.
Judd pursed his lips, and his nostrils flared. “Real funny, smartass. Stay here in the hall.”
“What’s a matter, Prince? Not feeling so good this morning?” I knew goading him would only get me in more trouble, but since I’d been summoned by Pop this morning, I figured this might be the last chance I’d ever get to mess with him.
“My hangover will be gone in a few hours, and with any luck, you’ll be gone a few minutes after my dad gets his hands on you. So, all in all, I’d say I’m feeling pretty good.” He turned to walk away but then apparently decided taunting me was too fun to abandon. “And don’t touch anything, Buffer. I know you’re not used to having all this expensive stuff around. We don’t need your filthy handprints all over everything.” A malicious grin spread across his face. He turned his back again and disappeared down the long corridor.
“What an ass,” I said under my breath, then pressed my palm against a framed mirror that hung on the wall beside me. When I pulled it back, a smudged handprint appeared on its otherwise impeccably clean surface. I knew it was juvenile, that I might as well have stuck my tongue out at Judd’s retreating form, but the act of disobedience felt good anyway.
I scanned my surroundings. I’d never been invited to the Sheedy home before, and this wasn’t how I’d imagined it happening. Best case scenario, I was in for one hell of a lecture, but Pop had always been a man of few words. More likely, his three other sons would get a chance to finish the fight their youngest brother had started last night. I cursed my own stupidity for the hundredth time and vowed again to both drink less at parties and start listening to my brother’s advice where women were concerned.
Despite Judd’s admonishment to stay put, I wandered down the hall a ways, cautiously looking around at the ostentatious decor of the Sheedy mansion. Religious icons abounded, displayed in the form of paintings; wall- mounted crucifixes; and a side table where the Holy Mother stood on a white lace doily, flanked by St. Bridget and St. Jude, each on their own clouds of lace.
On one side of the hall was a set of double doors, which were closed, muffling the voices of the people behind them. I paused in my exploration, convinced I’d heard my name spoken from inside the room. The voices fell silent, and I moved away from the door quickly, afraid I’d be caught eavesdropping.
The double doors swung open, and Rosie stepped out. When she saw me waiting in the hall, she stopped abruptly. We stared at each other for a moment.
She smiled, and after a second, I grinned back. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She glanced into the room she’d just stepped from, then without a word, sprinted up the stairs. I stared after her, debating whether her smile had been a positive sign or if she’d just heaped all the blame for last night on me and was happy she’d gotten away without punishment.
“Come in here and have a seat, Shay.”
My heart thudded in my ears at the sound of Pop’s voice coming from inside the room. I could only guess what he’d been told already. If I was here for a scolding, I’d apologize and ask what I could do to make it up to the clan. If I was here for a beating, I’d take it like a man and maybe get in a few good licks myself. I squared my shoulders and attempted to look a lot calmer than I felt, then walked into the office with as much confidence as I could muster.
“Close the doors behind you,” Pop said.
He sat behind a huge mahogany desk that filled the center of the room, and I got the feeling this was what appearing before a judge would feel like. I pulled the doors shut and slid into the seat across from him. I glanced around, still trying to decide how to begin. My eyes landed on a framed picture mounted on the wall. It wasn’t the clumsily painted watercolor seascape that had caught my attention, but the fact that one side of the gilt frame had separated from the wall several inches. Pop followed my gaze to the wall behind him, then reached out and pushed the painting back into place. He cleared his throat and turned back to me.
Showtime. “I know my brother and I behaved badly last night,” I said, but Pop put up a hand to stop me.
“Shay, I didn’t send for you to get an apology. No one was hurt, and nothing was damaged. I know you boys were letting off a little steam.” He flashed a patriarchal smile. “
