Always and Forever (15 page)

You look like shit.

Chagrined at his behavior the last time he’d seen her, he picked up the home phone and dialed her number. “InPlace. Brie O’Neil. Leave a message at
the beep.”

“Brie, it’s Pat. I’m sorry we couldn’t connect last night. I have no idea where you are. Would you please call me back? I’m worried, and besides, something’s happened in the family you need to know about.”

When he disconnected, he plugged his cell into the charger on his desk, then headed upstairs to shower. When he reached the top of the steps, Sinead, sleep tossed and rumpled,
came out of his bedroom. He was bare chested and looked…manly. His kid was grown up. “Hey, son.”

“Dad. You okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Um…Mom was worried last night she hadn’t heard from you.” His gaze narrowed. “You didn’t call before she went to bed.”

He held up his hand. “Come into our room.”

When they were alone, Pat opened the window to let in air, then took a chair, and Sinead
sat on edge of the mattress. “I was at the hospital with Rachel.” He drew in a steadying breath. “She had a miscarriage.”

“That’s terrible.”

“It is. I stayed with her all night until Uncle Dylan got home from Seattle.”

“He must be bummed.”

“Very. And I did call Mom early on, then my cell died. But I borrowed a phone from a nurse and called again as soon as I could. She didn’t answer.”

“Maybe because she didn’t recognize the number.” He waited. “What did she say this morning?”

“She was gone by the time I got back.”

His son’s brow furrowed. Brie said his did the same thing, the same way, when he was concerned. “Dad, what’s going on with you two?”

Pat tried not to fidget. “Why?”

“She wasn’t herself last night. She was out of it. Quiet, which isn’t Mom.”

“We disagreed about some things yesterday, but it wasn’t serious.” He didn’t like to lie to his son, but this couldn’t be helped.

“Dad, I’m almost twenty. I know things about men and women and how hard it is.”

“Yeah, I suppose you do. But our troubles are our own to deal with.”
Even if we aren’t doing such a hot job of it.
“Neither one of us wants you to worry about us.” He stood. “I have
to shower and then go tell the family about Rachel.”

“Man, that’ll be brutal. Want me to come with you?”

His heart turned over with love for the kid. “No, I can do it alone. Go back to bed.”

Sinead rose, hugged Pat and left.

“I hope you’re right about this,” Liam said to Gale as they prepared lunch. The scent of pie crust filled the space. “Ground turkey instead
of lamb in shepherd’s pie is a risk.”

“Ten bucks the customers don’t even know the difference.”

“We’re not advertising it?” Liam was scrupulous in letting patrons know what they were eating.

“No. Make it a real contest.” Gale smiled, but Liam had noticed his face was drawn. There were lines around his eyes and mouth today.

“You okay?” Liam asked. “You look exhausted.”

Gale
averted his gaze to the dish. “Yeah, I am. I was up most of the night.”

Chuckling, Liam watched Gale. “Was that good or bad?”

“Both. Women problems.” He took a bead on Liam. “Not everybody has ideal relationships like the O’Neil siblings.”

“Ha! You should have been here when we were all getting together. There were tons of fireworks. Sometimes still are.”

Going to the counter,
Gale picked up the dough they’d made yesterday for the onion-and-cheese bread. He divided it between the two of them. “I don’t mind fireworks if they lead somewhere good. Problem is you just never know if women are worth it.”

“Speak for yourself, man.
I
know.”

The door opened and in walked Pat, looking even more tired than Gale. Aidan followed on his heels.

“Hey, you two,” Liam said.
“Why were you together this early?”

“We weren’t.” Aidan went to the pot and poured coffee for himself and Pat. When he handed the mug to his brother, he added, “We pulled in at the same time.”

Pat sipped his brew, then sighed. “I’m glad you’re here together so I don’t have to keep telling this story.”

Liam stiffened. It was obvious by the sound of his voice something bad had happened.

“Is Brie all right?” Gale asked. His hands had clenched on the dough, and it squished through his fingers.

“What? No. Why would you ask that?” Now Pat sounded irritated.

“You look worried.”

“I am, but not about her.”

“What is it, Paddy?” Liam crossed to stand next to Aidan.

“Rachel had a miscarriage last night. Dylan couldn’t get home, and I spent the night at the hospital
with her. Dylan got there at dawn.”

Aidan’s face darkened. “Poor Rachel. When things went so right for us.”

“Damn it.” Liam’s first thought was of his own wife. “Sophie’s not out of the three-month danger time, either.”

“Remember, this wasn’t totally unexpected.” Pat must have noticed his concern.

“Did he break down when he got to the hospital?” Aidan shook his head. “I would have.”

“Cried like a baby. I didn’t blame him.” Patrick sipped his coffee. “I shed a few tears goin’ through this with her.”

Aidan’s brow rose.

“Dylan called me from Seattle to be with her. Aidan, she’s a good person who just had something rotten happen to her. We gotta be nicer to her.”

“Agreed. I hate being mad at people anyway.”

Pat turned to Liam. “I need coverage today for my
shift. I’ve been up all night and have yet to tell Ma and Pa and call Bailey.”

“I’ll call Bailey.” This from Aidan. “It’s the least I can do.”

Liam removed his apron. “I’m going to find Dylan. Lunch is almost ready, and Gale can handle the rest.”

He glanced at Gale, who seemed even more upset than when he came in. “Of course.”

“I’ll call Joe Sweeney on the way to sub for you,”
Liam offered. “Are Dyl and Rachel still at the hospital?”

“She was released this morning. They’re home. I’m not sure they need to be disturbed.”

“I won’t disturb them.” He turned to Gale. “Could you pack up some soup and bread for them, Gale? I gotta call Sophie. She’ll want to come.”

“You got it.”

Liam faced Pat. “You should go home and get some sleep.”

“I will, after I tell
Ma and Pa.”

“We’ll get them through this,” Liam assured him.

“I know we will. If there’s one thing the O’Neils are good at, it’s helping each other over the rough spots.”

Pat walked down a long straight road. At the end of it, he saw a figure and knew it was Brie. He hadn’t seen her in such a long time. But as he reached her, she continued to walk. “Brie, wait, we
need to talk.”

When she turned around, her face was obscured
.
“It’s too late for that, Patrick. Way too late.”

“No, a ghrá. It’s never too late to work things out.”

“This time it is, Pat. It’s way too late…”

Pat woke up, calling her name. He was covered in sweat and was shaking so hard, he had to grip the bedcovers to get control of himself. He was home; he’d gone to bed about
ten a.m. And dreamed of Brie going away for good.

Stupid. She’d never leave him over a fight. And she’d never, ever abandon her children. He glanced at the clock. One p.m. He reached for his cell, but then remembered it was charging. He threw back the covers, got out of bed and put on his swim trunks. Then he headed downstairs. The house was quiet. Isabella had a play date for lunch, and the
boys had plans. Kathleen was spending the day with Mikey, Liam’s kid. Sophie was taking them to the movies later this afternoon.

He turned on his cell and waited for messages. When the ping sounded, he said, “Oh, thank God.” He clicked into them. One from Bailey. One from Jamie. And one from Rachel.

None from Brie. What the hell?

He listened to Rachel’s. “Patrick, it’s Rachel. I wanted
to thank you again for being there for me. Dylan and I are okay. It’s better now that we’re together. I…I’m glad it was you who helped me, Pat.”

That made him smile. Nine months ago he never would have thought Rachel Scott would say anything nice to him. Brie called it the vagaries of life.

Brie. Though none had been signaled, he checked his texts. One from Sophie, saying she was keeping
the kids for supper. Another from Sinead, worriedly asking about Brie.

Heading to the kitchen, Pat poured coffee and went to sit outside on the patio with it. In the bright sunlight, he stared at the pool and wondered where the hell his wife was.

Sinead wandered out onto the front porch of their house and sat in the spot his mother loved to lounge on. His dad had surprised her with the wicker swing one Mother’s Day, complete
with padded cushions in her favorite color—yellow. He looked out over the neighborhood. Sean had recently cut the grass and its sweet scent filled the air. Sinead remembered playing in the streets, going to the big parks in Rockaway and spending time on the boardwalk with his parents. He was worried about one of those parents tonight. His mom was supposed to be home at six, and he’d canceled his plans
with Laurie because her not calling anybody all day was out of character.

“What are you doin’ out here?” His father was at the screen door. “Waitin’ for your mother?"

“Yeah. Come on out.” When his father came onto the porch, Sinead’s heart clenched. His dad’s face was lined with worry. One thing was for certain, no matter how different his parents were, his father adored his mother.

His dad leaned against the railing. “What’s going on, Sinead? You said you had plans tonight.”

“I canceled them because I’m concerned about Mom. She’s never been out of contact like this. Don’t tell me you’re not upset, Dad.”

“I am. So I’m waitin’ for her to pull up and laugh at our worrying. Then we’ll find out where’s she been and why she didn’t return our calls.”

Sinead bit his lip.
“What if she doesn’t come home?”

“Then we’ll call around to the family and her friends. If no one’s heard from her, we’ll go to the police.”

“I wanna be in on this, Dad.”

“You can, if there’s any need.” He waited. “I made a list of who to call if she doesn’t come home.”

Sinead’s mind whirled. He was closest to his dad, but he loved his mother in a different way. “You think she’s
okay?”

His father took a seat next to him. “You’re a man now, Sinead. I’m not going to lie to you. For as long as we’ve been together, your mother’s never been out of touch all day.” He squeezed his son’s arm. “So, let’s just wait together. As I said, maybe we’ll be laughin’ about it later.”

Sinead didn’t think so.

Six-thirty passed.

Seven…seven thirty. Someone else came to the
door inside the house “Patrick?”

His dad turned. “Irene, I was just about to come in.”

Their nanny came outside. She glanced at Sinead, her eyes full of concern, then back to his dad. “Where do you think Brie is?”

“We honestly don’t know.”

“Then I’ll be staying the night.” She’d done that before, and had left some clothes in a closet in the spare room Grandma and Grandpa slept
in.

“That would be a big help. Thanks, Irene.”

Sinead swallowed hard. This wasn’t good.

Pat and Sinead started the calls at eight p.m. Pat phoned his brothers first. He needed to hear their voices in addition to asking if they’d talked to his wife. She was close to their spouses, too, so the girls might have information.

“Liam here.” Pat knew his brother would
still be at the pub.

“Liam, it’s Pat.”

“What’s wrong? I can hear it in your voice.”

“Brie’s been missing all day. Not answering calls. No note this morning about where she was going. She’s always home by six. We’re worried. Have you seen or heard from her?”

“No. Wait a sec. I’ll ask Sophie. They talk during the day sometimes.”

As he held the phone, Pat couldn’t believe he had
to do this. His stomach hurt from anxiety over Brie. Finally Liam came back on. “Sophie hasn’t heard from her. Neither has Aidan. He’s calling C.J. right now.” Liam hesitated. “What can I do?”

“Maybe ask Ma and Pa. If they say no, I’ll start on her work people.”

In the background, he heard, “Is something wrong, Liam?” Gale’s voice.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you later.” To Pat, Liam added, “Aidan’s
back.”

Again Pat heard in the background, “C.J. hasn’t been in touch with her, either.”

“Tell him to run upstairs and ask Ma and Pa. I’ll wait.”

In few minutes, which crawled by, Liam told him their parents hadn’t talked to Brie in a couple of days.

Pat’s heart sank like an anchor. “I hate to call Dylan now, to find out if she contacted them.”

“You don’t have to,” Liam told
him. “We were with them up until five. Dylan commented that it was odd they hadn’t heard from Brie.” Liam waited. “Have you called her parents?”

“They’re next. I’m bracin’ myself for it.”

“Surely they won’t blame you.”

“I don’t ever know what they’ll do. But right now all I care about is finding Brie.”