Killian
Glasses were in the air, eyes were expectantly on me, I had my audience in the palm of my hand.
“In light of the brouhaha we had the last time you ladies were here,” I tipped my glass toward them. “May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out.”
Dani tilted her head and gave me a nod. “Very nice, Killian.”
“I’ll be right back with you ladies. I need to check on some customers.”
When I got back, Samantha was talking about her daughter having trouble in school.
“Someone giving your wee one grief?” Broke my heart. From the pictures she had shown me, and stories she told, I could tell her Elise was a real doll.
“Yes, unfortunately. We moved here to avoid this kind of crap. Elise takes it hard.”
Kindhearted Dani was upset by the news. “I don’t know why kids have to be so mean.”
“Sadly, it’s so easy these days,” Josie said. “With social media, the kids can be hateful to someone without facing them. It’s a real problem in schools. We do what we can, but a lot of this starts in the home.”
“True.” Dani was staring over Sam’s shoulder. “Sam, don’t look now. But does the guy by the bathroom door look familiar to you.” Sam turned immediately. Dani bopped her on the head. “I said don’t look now.”
“Oww. Well, how am I going to see if he’s familiar if I can’t look at him?”
“You can look at him. Just not now. Do it subtly.”
I took a gander. Tall and skinny. Stringy brown hair.
“Has he ever been in here before, Killian?”
“Not that I know of.”
Sam twisted to look in as subtle a fashion as Sam was capable of. “Never seen him before.”
Josie shook her head, too.
“Why?” Sam asked. “Do you think you know him?”
Dani peeked over again. “I don’t know. I don’t know how I would, but yet I feel like I recognize him.” She rubbed her arms. “He was looking over here earlier. He gives me the creeps.”
I was on alert now, but I wanted to lighten the mood. I straightened and stuck my chest out. “Do you want me to throw him out?”
They laughed, which is what I was hoping they would do. “No. Put your boxing gloves away, Tiger,” Sam said. “We won’t be needing any of your muscle tonight.”
“Damn. I was looking forward to a bit of a scrap.”
Dani rotated her shoulder and turned to her drink. “Shit. He looked over here again.”
I peered in his direction. He was eyeing the women, but when I caught his gaze, he shifted and pretended to be focused in the other direction. I didn’t like the looks of him either.
Josie’s phone rang. She looked at the screen. “Excuse me a minute.” She stepped away to answer it.
Dani shivered. “I feel like…he’s stalking me or something.”
“I always feel that way about Bill.”
This made Dani laugh. “That’s because he probably is.”
“’O’s Bill?”
“The ex,” Dani explained.
“Ahh.”
Sam slammed her hand on the bar. “Did I tell you he somehow finagled things so his new territory includes Nebraska?”
Dani gasped. “No.”
Sam took another swig of her drink. “I’ll never be rid of that man.”
I spoke up. “You ladies, don’t ya be leaving here tonight without me walking you out to the car. Understand?”
“Yeah.” Sam smiled. “Thanks, Killian.”
“No bother. I have to look after my favorite customers, don’ I?”
“For sure.” She drank the last dregs of her beer. “Now why don’t you look after us with another round, on me.”
I grabbed a glass, flipped it in the air and caught it. “You’ve got it.”
Sam looked at Dani. “How’s Zoe doing with the break up?”
“Not very good. I still can’t believe it.”
“No.” Sam sighed. “They always seemed so good together.” She took a drink. “I had to talk Kyle out of stopping by and kicking Zack’s ass.”
Dani sputtered and laughed and Sam joined in. “He is prone to violence.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you.” Sam gave this funny little grin. It was the expression she had on her face whenever she spoke about that newlywed husband of hers. “Plus, you know he has a soft spot when it comes to Zoe.”
Dani nodded. “Yeah. I know. He’s such a sweetie.”
Sam stared off. “Yeah. He is. And good in the sack, too.”
“Oh, my gosh.” Dani swatted her. “Too much information.” She looked at me. “Think of poor Killian’s innocent ears.”
I stuck my thumbs through the braces I was wearing. “Shocked to the core, I am.”
They laughed. “Yeah, right,” Sam said as Josie walked over, wearing a frown.
Dani put a hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh. This day keeps getting worse and worse. First a bus broke down and I had freaked out parents calling me. They acted like I should hop in my car and go…jump start it or something. Then, one of our students had an allergic reaction to peanuts and his teacher accidentally held his Epi-pen the wrong way and injected herself. We had to send both of them to the hospital. Now my contractor calls and tells me—” She held up a finger. “After he’s ripped my bathroom apart, mind you—it’s too small a job for him, and I’ll need to find someone else to handle it.”
Sam summed it up succinctly. “That stinks.”
I interjected. “I could help you out with that.”
All three of the women turned to look at me. “What?” Sam queried. “You a bartender, bouncer, and now a plumber, too?”
I smiled. “Plumber, electrician, carpenter. I’m a man of many trades, Mrs. Scofield. Boxer….” I pointed to my eye.
“Yeah. Yeah.”
I looked at Jo. “I’ve got time tomorrow. I could stop by and fix ya right up.”
She blinked. “You’re serious?”
“As serious as me own funeral. What time would you like me to come?”
She bit her lip. “I’d have to pay you.”
I brushed it away. “Nah.”
“No. That’s part of the deal. I have to pay you.”
“We can figure that out later.” A customer called me over. “Write your address down for me,” I called over my shoulder as I moved off.
We had a small rush, and I wasn’t able to get back to them for a while. When I did, Josie was sitting by herself.
“What happened to Sam and Dani?”
“They left.”
I frowned. “I told them to let me walk them out.”
“They had to go,” she said quickly. “Their ride was here. And I walked them out. And anyway, that guy’s still here.” She looked toward the bathroom where he was standing, but he was nowhere in sight. “He was here a minute ago….”
“Where were Sam and Dani going?”
“They had a concert to go to.”
My eyes widened. “And they didn’t ask their chum along?”
She shrugged. “Said they’ve had the tickets for a while.”
I noticed a cocktail napkin with an address scribbled on it. I snatched it off the bar. “This yours?”
“Yes.” She squinted her eyes, rubbing at something on the bar. “Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to you know? I can call around and—”
“I know I don’t have to Josephine. I want to.”
She looked doubtful. “If you’re sure….”
“That I am. Eight o’clock too early?”
“You’re up at eight?”
“Oh, I’ll be awake before that. I’ll go for a run and—”
“You’re a runner?”
I acted offended. “Don’t I look it?”
“Well, yes, but…you work so late here. I would think you’d want to sleep in some.”
“As me Uncle Seamus used to say—”
“Do you even have an Uncle Seamus?”
I chuckled. “I do. And he said, ‘Lose an hour in the morning and you’ll be looking for it all day.’”
“That’s true.”
“And ’e taught me everything he knew about running from his experiences being chased by the guards.”
She smiled.
Some new people approached the bar. “Be back in a sec.”
When I turned around a few minutes later and began walking back toward Josie, she had her chin on the bar and was spinning a cocktail napkin around and watching it. I approached slowly, observing her.
“I’m sorry I had to run off.”
She shrugged. “’S okay.” She lifted her head and gave me a goofy smile. “You’re always so polite. I like that.”
“Thank you,” I said slowly. “My Uncle Seamus said—”
She waved an arm at me. “You don’t have an Uncle Seamus.”
I laughed. “I do,” I insisted. “And he always said, ‘Better good manners than good looks.’”
She giggled. “And you’ve got both.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You did.” I put my hands on my hips. “Why, Miss Josephine. I do believe you are snockered.”
She pointed a finger at me and made circles in the air. “I like the way you say my name.”
“Uh-huh. I only served you two drinks.” I leaned in, planting my elbows close to her. “How, pray tell, did you get this ossified?”
“Ossified?”
I nodded. “Ossified.”
“Oh. Well, it may have been…Sam and Dani’s drinks. They had to leave suddenly, so I finished their drinks for them.”
“What a pal you are.”
She grinned. “Ain’t I?” She was kicking her feet in front of her like a little girl on her da’s lap. “Killian?”
I have to admit. I was tickled by her. “Yes, dear.”
“Did you know it’s my birthday?”
I jumped back. “It’s your birthday?”
“Yup. But I didn’t tell anyone.”
“You didn’t tell anyone all day long?”
“My mom didn’t even call.” She sighed, stirring ice around her cup with the straw.
My heart stung for her. “Well I’m glad you told me.”
She looked at me with wide eyes, continuing to stir and knocking a few cubes out onto the bar, which she didn’t seem to notice. “You are?”
“I am.”
“You’re nice.”
“Thank you.”
She sighed again. “But, and here’s the thing…it’s my birthday, and I’m all alone.” She rested her chin on the bar, staring at the ice in her glass.
“Oh. Now, that is a sad state. But you know what? In fifteen minutes I’m off and I can join you.”
Her shoulders straightened and she beamed at me. “You can?”
“I can.”
“Oh, goodie. Let’s have a shot to celebrate.”
I studied her. “I don’t know….”
“Oh, come on. I’m not really ostrichfied. I’ve only had four drinks. I’ve seen you drink twice that much.”
“Yes. But I’m twice your size and have twice as much experience drinking. Probably more than that.”
She pouted. “But I’m the Birthday Girl.”
I hesitated and she looked on hopefully. “All right. But only one.” I retrieved the glasses.
“Two.”
“One,” I said sternly. “Then you need to stay around a while to get yourself sober.”
“You’re bossy.”
I ignored that, handed her the shot and bent my head a little, resting my glass against hers.
“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.” I started jovially, but got more serious as I continued. The fact she was alone on her birthday fair ripped me apart. “May your heart be as light as a song.” I found myself falling into those beautiful green eyes of hers. “May each day bring you bright, happy hours that stay with you all the year long.”
“That’s beautiful.” She clinked, a mite too hard, sloshing liquid out of both our cups. She downed hers. “Oh. That one rhymed.”
I laughed. “Yes.” Quinn arrived and cozied in at the bar on his favorite stool. I poured a Guinness without asking. I didn’t have to. “I’m going to go clock out,” I told her.
She clapped her hands together. “Good.”
I looked at Quinn. “Watch her, would ya?” I tipped my head in her direction. “It’s her birthday.”
“Oh,” he said happily, turning to her. I left, but heard some of their conversation as I walked away. “Celebrating another year, are ya?”
“Yes. I’m way too old.”
He chuckled. “If you are, what the hell am I then? Besides, the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune.”
“Aww. You’re so sweet.”
I guess everybody’s a sweetheart tonight.
When I came back out, half the Guinness I’d poured for meself was gone. I eyed Quinn as I took the stool next to Josephine.
“You drink my pint, old man?”
He didn’t look at me, but he smiled. “Not I.”
I turned my head slowly. “Is that a Guinness mustache you’re sportin’?”
Josie made a swipe at her mouth.
“Aha.”
“You tricked me.”
I thought for a moment then pulled a scratch-off lottery ticket from my back pocket. “Does anybody have a key I can use?”
“Aye.” Quinn began rummaging through his pockets. I stared at him and gave my head a shake. “Oh, aye. I thought they were here….”
I heard the jingle I was looking for and turned to find Josie holding hers up with a smile.
“Thank you very much.” I scratched away. “Darn. I lost.” I pocketed the keys. When I twisted to her, I found Josie staring at me.
“I want to know more about you.” The alcohol-related directness was tickling me.
“All right. But I’m not sure you’ll remember any of it on the morrow. What do you want to know?”
She bit her bottom lip and squinted her eyes. “Where are you from?” she came out with at last. She slid off her stool until her feet hit the floor. Our two stools were so close she winded up pretty much between my legs.
I put my hands on the sides of her thighs. Mostly to steady her, as she seemed a pinch wobbly, but also because I wanted to be close to her. “Ireland.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I know that. Where in Ireland?”
“Cork.”
“How long have you been in Lincoln?”
“Umm…about two and a half years. No, wait. It’s been almost three years now.”
“What brought you here?”
“Uhh….” I debated not tellin’ her the truth. But she looked at me with such an open, expectant expression, I felt the need to skip the malarkey and just reveal the reason. I didn’t speak about it much. I gave her a pat, and created some distance so I could turn to the bar. “Too many memories.” I took a long drink of me beer. She waited. “My parents were killed in a factory explosion.” The words still tasted the same flavor of bitter in my mouth.
She gasped. “Oh.” She spun to face the bar, too. Taking her cocktail napkin, she turned it around from corner to corner, working the edges. “Both of them?”
I nodded.
She put a hand on my arm. “Killian?”
I looked at her.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. Thank you.” I was a wee bit surprised by how it still weighed on my heart. I pushed back on the melancholy. It was her birthday. We should be celebrating. “It happens.” I took a breath and studied her. “When do I get a crack at asking the questions?”
She tilted her head and nodded, putting one hand out, palm up, as if inviting me to ask.
I rubbed my hands together, playin’ the devil. “Hmm…. Do you have brothers and sisters?”
She dipped her head. “Four brothers, four sisters.”
“Whoa. Ya must have some Irish in ya. Four brothers and four sisters!”
“Yes. I’m in the middle.”
“Will you be getting together for your birthday, then?”
Her smile faded. She took a drink of the water I’d left for her, staring off for a moment. “We’re…not exactly a normal family. The nine of us came within a twelve-year period. It was always chaotic at our house, and a good day was a day you made it through. Wasn’t an ideal situation for becoming close.” She deflected. “You?”
I stared.
“Brothers or sisters?”
“Oh. No. Just me. It was quite the scandal in town, me parents only havin’ the one.”
She laughed. “I’m sure it was.” A regular entered from the door behind her.
“Killian. You’re on the wrong side of the bar, Spud.”
“Hey. Even I deserve some time off. Dooly’ll take care of ya.”
“Oh, no. Not Dooly.”
Brendon Doolittle was given the right name. A lazier cuss I’d never met. “’Fraid so.”
He smiled at Josie. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
He was a charmer and good-looking. “No.” But to be honest, the bleedin’ pope could ’ave sallied over at this point and I’da told him to take a number.
He laughed and pointed at me as he walked away. “I see how ya are.”
I looked at Josie. “Not tryin’ to be rude. He’s a…well, he’s a speck too good looking for his own good.”
She smiled at me and grabbed hold of my braces, reeling me toward her. “Was he?” She batted her eyelashes. “I didn’t notice.”
I was certain she wouldn’t be acting this…friendly, if she weren’t plastered. Her gaze fell to my mouth and her lips parted. By Gawd, the things she was doing to me. Every inch of me wanted her savagely. She leaned in, and I slowly bent my head toward her, closer, closer, until only a veil of air separated us.
And damned if my conscience didn’t rear its ugly puss. Her eyes were closed. A perfect angel she was. I brushed my lips over hers, and even as I told myself not to, I kissed her. Just a soft, wee nip of a thing, which would have been followed by me swallowing her whole had not me mam’s voice thundered in my head, “Killian, dear. Never take advantage of a gal who’s not possessed of her full faculties. If you do, you’re a cad and morally reprehensible, and you’d be no son of mine.”
Shite.
“Uhh….” I chased the cobwebs in my mind and couldn’t find one word to speak. The blood was busy pulsing to other parts of my body. I put my hand on her face and swept my thumb over her lush, waiting lips, and groaned. “I think—”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Don’t think, Killian.” She slid her hands behind my neck and drew me closer, nipping on my bottom lip, urging me to her. I’m not ashamed to say it, I’m a weak man. And, strangely, her kiss was not the sloppy kiss of someone who’s been on the tear. It was skillful and sense-robbing. She angled her head and opened her mouth wider and…dammit all, I responded. But briefly. Only briefly.
I drew back, closing my eyes to try to stop thinking about that kiss, and explain myself. “Josie.” I opened my eyes, and she was staring at me.
“Oh. Umm….” She put her hand over her lips. “Yeah. I….” She began fumbling around for her purse. “I guess…I shouldn’t have. I….” She made a move to leave, but I gently put my arm out and took her shoulder.
“No, Josie. It’s no—”
She was mumbling to herself in a frantic manner. “What was I—oh, God, I need to—”
“Wait, honey. You don’t have to leave. I—”
“Oh, yes, I do. I definitely do.”
“Josie, please stop. Listen to me.”
She froze. “Okay.” She seemed resigned to the fact she had to listen, but in her mind she was bolting out the door.
The bar room was noisy, and I wanted to make sure she understood me. “Let’s go outside.”
“Okay.”
I grabbed my cap and jacket from the bar. “Good night, all.”
There were mumbled responses but Jo was headed to the door, and I hustled to follow her. Once she hit the outside door, she really put on speed.
“Josie. Josie. Wait.”
“No. It’s okay, Killian. I just need to get out of here.” She’d apparently gotten to her car as she plopped her bag on the hood of a sedan. “Thanks for everything.” She wasn’t looking at me at all and was rummaging around her purse. “Where are my damned keys?”
I held them in the air and jingled them. She slowly turned around. “How did you…?”
Without a word, I walked around her and unlocked the passenger side door, opening it for her.
“What are you doing?”
“Driving you home. Get in.”
She tried to reach for the keys. “No. That’s all right. I’ll be fine.”
I put the keys out of reach behind my back. “This is non-negotiable.”
She stared at me with her mouth open, then tried one of her principal hard looks I’m sure crushed most fifth graders, and it was doing a middling job on me, too, but I didn’t flinch. We stood like that for several seconds.
If she thinks she’s stubborn, then she should go a round against me Irish.
Finally, she caved. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
I sighed as she walked behind me to get into the car, but she made a play for the keys. I wasn’t expecting it, and she snatched them away.
“No. No. No.” I tried to get them back, but she leaned away from me, half in, half out of the car. I scrambled around with her and she giggled. “Josie. Give me those keys. Josie!” I snagged them, but by now I was practically lying on top of her. She tried to lunge at them again and I grabbed her wrist. “Stop, now. Be good.”
“Okay,” she said contritely.
I exhaled. “Okay.” I pushed away from her and she dove for the keys again. I held them out of reach.
She pouted.
“You are naughty. Am I going to have to lock you in the boot?”
Her brow wrinkled. “The boot?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I gestured. “The—back there.”
“Oh. The trunk. No, no. I’ll be good.” She stopped flailing around. Her sudden change of behavior made me suspicious, though, and I watched her carefully as I extracted myself, rather ungracefully, from her front seat.
I got to my feet, and tucked my shirt back in. I looked at her pointedly. “Feet in.”
She complied.
I closed the door and walked around the front of the car, feeling quite proud of myself, until I got in. She was bent in half, covering her face with her hands and crying. That caught me off guard.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Killian. I shouldn’t have—and now you’re going to be all awkward around me and I’ve ruined everything.” She sobbed.
“Oh, Josie, darlin’.” I stretched over clumsily, with the gearshift between us. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss you, honey. It’s just that…well, you’re practically paralytic, and I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”
She looked at me and the bar’s outdoor lights illuminated the tears still clinging to her face. “You’re…not mad.”
“What? Mad at you? Hell, no.” I leaned in. “I’ll only be mad if you don’t try it again.”
She laughed through her tears.
I wiped them away. “There, now. That’s better.” I started the engine and took out my phone. “I left the napkin inside. You’re going to have to tell me your addy again.”
She rattled it off and I entered it, then backed out and waited for instructions from my app. Looking over, I realized I’d forgotten to buckle her in.
“Let’s get you tied away.” I reached over her and stretched it around, latching it into place. She was leaning on her side, facing me. “You okay?”
She nodded, but furrowed her brow. “My stomach’s a touch…chancy, though.”
I had to smile. “Mmm. A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.”
She nodded. Within a few blocks, she was out.
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of a tiny, but neat little house, and cut the engine.
I shook her gently. “Josie. Josie, honey.”
She opened her eyes slowly and looked around as if getting her bearings. She sprang forward, peering out the windshield. “That’s my house.”
“Well, of course it is. You didn’t think I was spiriting you away? Abducting you while you were unaware?”
She thought about this. “No. I guess not.”
I got out of the car and went around to open her door. She stepped out and I handed her the keys.
“But…how are you going to get home?”
“I’ll call an Uber and he can take me back to Paddy’s to get me car.”
“Why didn’t you call an Uber for me?”
I shrugged. “This way you have your car. And I wouldn’t want any Uber driver to take advantage of you.” I slowly placed my hands on her hips. “I’m the only one I want taking advantage of you.”
She placed her hand on my cheek, running her palm along my stubble, and studying me. Raising her gaze to my eyes she said, “Kiss me, Killian.”
The simplicity and forthrightness of the request moved me. I put my hand on her face and my fingers slid behind her neck. I was going to control the kiss this time. I tilted my head, bringing my lips to her upturned mouth and drank her in. First, a sweet kiss, though full of longing, then I opened my mouth wider and pushed into her more. Her hands strayed to the back of my head and she played with my hair before digging her fingers in and taking hold of it. With each kiss, I sought to bring more and more of her into me, and she matched me step for step. Same heat, same intensity, and to a rhythm that was beautifully synched and uniquely ours. I couldn’t compare her kisses to any of the others I’d shared with different women, because hers were in another realm altogether.
I don’t know how long we went at it like that. Not long enough. It took everything I had in me to separate from her.
“Come in with me,” she said in a throaty voice.
I looked over at the house. A light was on by the front door, and on each side of the garage. I could see a section of the living room through the parted curtains. It looked so inviting. I shifted my gaze and let it roam over her. She was so inviting. I closed my eyes and laid my forehead on hers. Squeezing her close, I brought my head lower to nuzzle her neck, taking in the sweet fragrance of her skin and hair.
“Well, now, Miss Josie…. You know I can’t do that.”
“Mmm.”
I found a spot that aroused her. I filed that teeny nugget of information away for later and drew back, though still holding her hips. I didn’t want to let her go. The war within me between the gentleman, and the carnal beast, was being waged at a savage intensity.
“I’ll stay and wait for your Uber with you, then,” she murmured.
I withdrew my phone from my pocket and requested a ride. “She’ll be here in two minutes, see?” I showed her the screen.
She frowned. “She’ll?”
I pointed to it. “Yes, she’ll. Eighty-year-old—” I checked it again “—Tilda, will be here in two minutes.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Oh.”
“Now,” I brushed some hair away from her face. “You go inside, drink some water, take a couple of pain relievers, and get some sleep.” I knew in two minutes I might lose control of my willpower and cancel my ride and join her in bed. Then I couldn’t get the image out of my head.
She looped her fingers around my braces and slid them along their length while watching them, her head dipped. “Okay.” But she didn’t move.
I ran my hand over her cheek. One more kiss. Just one more. My lips landed softly on hers. It was strange how her kisses were not, as others had been, strictly a precursor to something else. They were a destination all their own. A thrilling, compelling destination.
My voice was deep when I spoke. “You should go in.” I released her and stepped back. She gave me one last, lingering, sizzling look, then moved toward the garage. Halfway up the drive she glanced over her shoulder.
I smiled. “Get along now.” I watched her all the way in, then continued to stare at the house until the Uber pulled in behind me.
Too bad you won’t remember tonight, because, for me, it was unforgettable.