“Tell us all about it, little doc,” Aspen said as we climbed the porch stairs. I glanced at him, but he wasn’t making fun of me, and I almost couldn’t stand how happy I felt. Between these two, Rowen, and Cillian, my life was so good.
I rested my head on Aspen’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
He kissed the top of my head as he opened the door, then laughing, we all let go of one another so we could go inside and spend the rest of the weekend together.
“Rowen and Cillian didn’t want to come?” Aspen asked as we finally got in out of the cold.
Fallon sighed. “The boss” was all he said and didn’t need to mention anything else, because as much as we meant to one another, their work for Mr. Killough had to come first.
EPILOGUE - PART 4
ROWEN
Vail shoved a neatly wrappedpresent at me, smiling so widely it must’ve hurt his face. But since we’d taken him to see his father’s grave, he’d begun to accept everything that happened hadn’t been his fault, no matter how much he thought it was, and the last of his sadness seemed to vanish. We’d all gone to visit his mom a week ago, and to my surprise, she’d accepted every single one of us, calling us her future sons-in-law. Everything about her reminded me of Vail. They’d hugged it out and cried together, and she was another piece of the puzzle in putting Vail back together again.
Now we were home and the last few days had been quiet. Mostly. Sloan needed us every so often, but they were only small jobs that required a wee bit of threatening.
“What’s this?” I asked, sitting up straighter on the couch and holding out my hands to take the present. It was wrapped in dark blue paper with a bright green ribbon tied around each direction before it settled as a bow on top.
“It’s your birthday present.” He blinked and fell onto the couch next to me, snuggling in closer.
He’d quit the university, and while that stupid boss had begged him to stay on, he’d refused. Vail’s publisher’s main offices had burned to the ground a month ago, and while the arson investigators couldn’t work out who was involved, I had a feeling the CEO did because he’d dropped the book quickly. I had an idea he’d been threatened.
At Conall’s insistence, the boss had made sure Vail was put to good use, though. He got him a position tutoring rich college kids around the Hamptons, and while I’d thought he’d hate it, Vail loved the job. He earned way more money than he had at the university and was able to take on an assistant—Lor.
Vail bounced on the couch and nudged me. “Open it. It took me forever to find.”
I chuckled and shook my head. Tugging at the green ribbon, I glanced at him. “How did ye know it was me birthday?”
He cocked his head. “Cillian. After he told me, I asked him when everyone’s birthdays were.”
“When’s yers?” I asked as I unwrapped the ribbon from the present and tore the paper.
He watched me eagerly, brown eyes wide and excited. “May fifth.”
“Not far away, then,” I teased as I finally got the last pieces of paper off the box. Frowning, I yanked the lid off. The first thing I found was a photo in a frame down at the bottom. I grabbed it, bringing it out to have a look at the smiling faces of me, Cillian, Aspen, Fallon, and Vail. The frame was gold and twisted into an intricate design that gave it an elegant and expensive feel.
“I thought you’d like a photo of us all,” he said, shifting nervously. “Was I wrong?”
“God no. It’s perfect.” I kissed him hard, and he moaned, leaning into me.
“There’s more.” He bounced again and pointed at the present. “Look inside.”
Laughing, I did what he ordered. I grabbed a USB stick and showed him. “Okay... what’s this? Did ye record our sex?”
“No! I....” Vail’s brows scrunched together. “Actually, we should do that. How hot would that be?”
My laughter grew louder and it was getting harder to breathe. I slapped a hand to my chest, and he mock glared at me, poking me in the ribs.
“Here.” He jumped to his feet and raced over to the white armchair where he’d left his laptop while doing work last night. He came back and flipped open the lid, jamming the USB stick into the port. It took a few minutes for his laptop to boot up, and by the time it had, he was beyond excited. He couldn’t sit still. “Look.”
He played a video, and I scooched in closer, staring over his shoulder. The screen was black at first, then what appeared to be a crowd came into view. The camera panned over the heads of adults and to a stage I recognized immediately. The child version of me stood in the middle of five boys, grinning widely as I tried to keep my excitement from bubbling over. Music started, and so did we, bounding into a performance of King of the Fairies and keeping time with the fast tempo. We were top of our class, some of the best Irish dancers in Dundalk. I remembered that competition well because I’d won, and it was the first time Cillian’s parents stayed during the entire thing.
Screaming and applause came from the right of the crowd and the camera followed the sound, focusing on the Shaughnessys standing and yelling in pride at me. Cillian, Eamon, and their little sister were there.
Cillian clapped the hardest.
Words got caught in my throat and tears welled in my eyes. I missed those days when everything was easier. But since learning about what Cillian had faced with his da, I’d given him a piece of my mind, ending whatever connection we had, even as his ma begged us not to do this. When it all came down to it, Cillian was my chosen brother, and he’d protected me when I didn’t even know it.
