He thought I was grimacin’? Fuckin’ great. Maybe the muscles in my face were broken from not usin’ them. I moved them around some. A little stiff, but they worked. They weren’t petrified like wood or anythin’.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Keenan asked, watchin’ me.
“I think my face is broken.”
“You think—Holy Mary, Mother of…” He crossed himself and scooted so close to the open door, he was about to fall out.
I went to grab for him, but gravity was quicker than me. He fell out and rolled. I slammed on the brakes, puttin’ Thing in park, and ran toward Keenen, who was on his back, hands on his chest, starin’ up at the sky. Fiona ran toward us, her boots poundin’ against the ground, Henry probably chokin’ on her dust.
Fiona stared over Keenan. Henry was a good minute behind, and he took out his handkerchief, moppin’ his head with it while he stared at him too. He smelled like onions and red meat and had a mashed potato stain on his shirt.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” Fiona screeched.
I’d never heard panic in Fiona’s voice before. It was more foreign than aliens. Henry and I glanced at each other before we turned back to Keenan.
“He fell out of theThing.”
“That’s what’s goin’ on.” Keenan pointed up at me.
Fiona slowly lifted her head. Henry looked at me, looked at Keenan, and then looked at me again. Fiona took a few steps back, and Henry smiled at me.
“’Bout time, lad. ’Bout time.”
I met Fiona’s eyes.
She stopped movin’, took a step forward, and shook her head. “No wonder you almost killed him. You scared the shat out of him!”
“Aye.” Keenan lifted his hand, and Henry helped him to a sitting position. “That he did.” He wiped some of the road off the palms of his hands. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I just did.”
Fiona rolled her eyes, but after they settled on me again, they softened some. “When?”
“My weddin’ night.” I offered Keenan my hand, and he took it. I hauled him to his feet. “Time was right.”
Keenan and Fiona exchanged a look. Henry was still grinnin’ from ear to ear.
“I suppose it was.” Keenan looked around for his cap. He spotted it some distance away and went for it. He returned, punchin’ it a bit to get the dirt out, then set it on his head. “Will this be a normal thing for you then?”
“You will still speak for me,” I said. “I’m not a people person. That’ll never change.”
Keenan nodded, but whatever had been on his mind when I’d first picked him up still weighed on it. He paced a bit while the three of us watched.
“I know you as well I knew your father, Cian O'Callaghan. What’s on your mind?” He stopped and looked right into my eyes.
“I’m takin’ my bride on a honeymoon.”
Even though Fiona and Henry had been quiet, it seemed like the entire world went silent after I spoke. Henry wiped his face with his handkerchief, and Fiona squeezed her black skirt. Keenan stared at me with no expression on his face.
“You plan on takin’ us with you?” Keenan finally asked.
“No.”
“Cillian—”
Sometimes they still called me that, but I held a hand up when Henry went to lecture me. I looked at Keenan. I’d known him for as long as I’d been alive. His concern sounded like a racin’ pulse to me. He was anxious.
“I know the dangers,” I said. “I’ll take care of them.”
