My eyes widened exaggeratedly, and I held my free hand to my chest. “Oh my! Think of the kids.” My bag buzzed again, and I reached down to open it. “Sorry, Maureen. I just want to check that DJ and Gabby are okay.”
“Of course, love,” she murmured, watching as I took my cell from my purse.
My son’s name flashed across the call display before it rang off again.
“Yo!” a familiar voice called out.
Craning my neck, I saw Atlas holding up his phone. “DJ’s tryin’ to call you. They’ve had some trouble at Evan’s, and he made the call to come home early. His truck’s broken down outside town. Gonna call the club now and arrange a tow.”
My stomach dropped, and I muttered, “Shit. I’ve been drinking.”
He walked toward us. “Same, but Lucie will sort ‘em.”
“What’s going on, Rosie, love?” Maureen asked gently.
“Gabby and DJ have been to their dad’s place in Idaho. Things are contentious between them and his girlfriend.”
Maureen nodded understandingly, her eyes falling somewhere over my shoulder. “Donovan!” she called.
I glanced behind me to see Donny prowl toward us. As he approached, his hand went to the small of my back, and he asked, “What’s the problem?”
“DJ’s car has broken down on the way home from their father’s house,” Maureen relayed.
His eyes came straight to mine. “You know where they are?”
“Just outside Granger,” Atlas confirmed.
“I’ve been drinking,” I murmured, suddenly feeling helpless.
“I’ve nursed one beer all day,” Donny explained. “I’ll drive you to get them.”
“But it’s your brother’s wedding day,” I protested.
“We’ll come back and bring the kids with us. Callum won’t care if I duck out for an hour. The best man speech isn’t for a while yet, and we won’t be long.”
Raising the phone to my ear, I waited. After a couple of rings, the call clicked in and DJ barked, “Mom?”
“Where are you, Son?” I was so intent on speaking to my boy that I hardly noticed Donny take my elbow and lead me out to the patio, with Maureen following behind.
“We’re just outside Granger on Highway 30, just before exit 66.”
I clicked the cell phone onto loudspeaker and asked, “Are you safe?”
“Yeah, Mom. I managed to pull off into an old gas station at the side of the road. It’s closed, but we’re in the car with the doors locked. Gabby’s here, and I did as you said and made sure I had a blanket in the trunk and spare water.”
I smiled to myself.
It was just like my boy to play the macho alpha and make sure his sister was okay. DJ could have icicles hanging from his ears, and he’d still swear up and down that he wasn’t cold just so Gabby could have the blanket. He didn’t have much of a role model in his dad, but luckily, Atlas picked up the slack, and DJ had taken notice.
Donovan leaned down and said, “DJ, it’s Donovan O’Shea. I’m driving your mom over to get you.”
There was a brief silence before Deej replied, “Oh. Hi, Mr. O’Shea.”
I bit back a smile at the reverence in DJ’s voice.
Like most of the boys in town, my son was in awe of the O’Shea brothers. I mean, they were Irish and handsome. Between them, they owned a bar; one was ex-military and ran a gym, and another was a racecar driver. Their reputations with the ladies preceded them, and they boxed, did Martial Arts, andwere well-liked. The O’Sheas were what every teenage man-boy aspired to be, and my teenage man-boy was no exception.
Donovan pulled out his phone and fired some questions off at DJ to pinpoint his location. When he was happy, he jerked his chin toward his truck. “We’ll let you go now, DJ. Stay off your cell to preserve your battery. Call your mom if you need us, but we should be there in about thirty minutes. If the tow truck beats us, make them wait with you until we arrive.”
