“But they said—”
He met her gaze. “Trust me. There won’t be a problem.”
A relieved smile spread across her face. “Mr. Devaney, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“There’s no need,” he insisted, casting a look toward the boy who was giggling softly at something Father Francis had said. “Let’s just make sure Lamar is back on his feet soon. I’m looking forward to going to that ball game with him.”
Before he knew it, he was enveloped in a fierce hug.
“You’ll be in my prayers every night of my life,” she told him.
“I’d return the favor, but I think you’ll have better luck letting Father Francis do the honors,” he said wryly. “I’ve got to get back to work now, but I’ll be in touch. You can count on it.”
Ryan slipped out of the shelter before Father Francis could waylay him with some other mission of mercy. Outside, he shivered, though it was less a reaction to the temperature than to the sad plight of the Monroe family.
He was still thinking about them when he walked into the pub and headed for the bar, where Maureen had been filling in while he was gone.
“Everything okay?” she asked, regarding him with concern.
“It will be,” he said with grim determination. “Has Jack Reilly been in tonight?”
“Haven’t seen him,” she said. “But there is a familiar face in that booth by the stage.”
“Oh?” he said, puzzled by the mysterious glint of amusement in her eyes. One glance at the booth was explanation enough. Maggie was seated there with her parents. They each had the night’s fish-and-chips special and a pint of ale. He glanced at Maureen. “Cover for me a few more minutes?”
“Of course,” she said at once.
He walked across the room, greeting several regulars along the way, then paused beside Maggie. “Good evening. Welcome to Ryan’s Place,” he said, his gaze directed first at Nell O’Brien, then at her husband. He nodded at Maggie.
“Ryan, I love your pub,” Nell said with enthusiasm. “It reminds me of a place in Dublin that Garrett and I visited on our honeymoon.”
“The Swan,” Garrett said at once. He regarded his wife with a warm expression. “I believe we can credit a night there for our firstborn son.”
Nell blushed. “Garrett O’Brien, what a thing to be saying in front of a stranger.”
“Ryan’s no stranger. He’s a friend of our Maggie’s. Isn’t that right, Maggie, me girl?”
Maggie grinned at her father. “He still might prefer not to know all the intimate details of John’s conception.”
Ryan chuckled. “Actually I’m fascinated,” he said, just to keep the color high in her cheeks. “And what about Maggie’s? Is there a story behind that, as well?”
Maggie shot a warning look at her father. “If you tell it, I will never forgive you.”
“Now I really am intrigued,” Ryan said. “Make room, Maggie.” He settled in the booth beside her, thigh-to-thigh, in a way that had his blood heating. “Come on, Mr. O’Brien. Tell the story.”
Garrett O’Brien opened his mouth, then grunted, apparently when Maggie’s foot made contact with his shin. “Sorry, lad. I’ve been persuaded to keep silent. Even in today’s tell-all society, I imagine there are some things that are best kept private.”
Ryan turned to Maggie. “I suppose I’ll just have to pester you until you tell all,” he said. “Right now, though, I’d better get behind the bar before Maureen rebels.” And before he gave in to the urge to spend the entire evening right here with Maggie so close he could feel her breath on his cheek when she spoke.
“Join us again if you can spare the time,” Nell invited.
“I’ll do that,” Ryan promised, casting a last, lingering look at Maggie before striding across the room and trying to block her presence from his thoughts.
He didn’t get to keep his promise. Instead, it turned into an impossibly long night. Fridays were always busy because of the popularity of the band, but this was busier than most. It didn’t help that his new waiter was struggling a bit to keep up with the unfamiliar orders, but Ryan had to give Juan credit for trying. Still, it meant that Maureen was carrying more than her fair share of the load and that Ryan was spending extra time soothing ruffled feathers and keeping an eye out for Jack Reilly so he could ask for his help in tracking down Lamar’s father.
Suddenly Maggie was beside him. “It looks as if you could use an extra pair of hands behind the bar,” she said, already donning an apron.
He stopped filling an order for ale from the tap and stared. “What are you doing?”
“Pitching in,” she said, moving away to smile at a new arrival. She’d taken the man’s order and placed a pint of ale in front of him before Ryan could blink. She came back to him with a satisfied smile on her face. “Any objections?”
Ryan weighed uneasiness against pragmatism. Pragmatism won. “Not a one,” he said. “I can use the help.”
Just then he spotted her parents heading toward the door. They gave him a cheery wave as they exited. Gaze narrowed, he turned to Maggie. “Wasn’t that your ride home that just walked out of here?”
She grinned at him. “Not if I’m lucky,” she said, then vanished to take another order.
“Meaning what?” he said when she reappeared.
“I figure you’ll owe me,” she said. “A drive home’s not too much for a volunteer waitress to expect, is it?”
Ryan shook his head, aware that he’d just fallen into a tidy trap. “No, I suppose not, but I ought to make Rory take you.”
Her smile faltered at the suggestion, and Ryan grinned despite himself. “Not what you had in mind, hmm?”
She met his gaze evenly. “Definitely not.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to be the one, if only to see exactly where this plan of yours is headed.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” she promised.
She said it with a look that had his temperature soaring.
And a lifetime’s worth of defense mechanisms slamming
