Catch Your Breath (25 page)

After she’d been there about fifteen minutes, about the same time the silence started
to get to her, Liam began humming along with the radio. It was a bubbly pop song,
and she knew he managed to release a good portion of his anger through the knife in
his hand, the same way she’d pound on her keyboard in a flurry of words.

This was why she was closest to Liam. They were a lot alike. Beyond the physical attributes
of red hair that their siblings had all dodged, Moira and Liam created. They used
different tools, different media, and produced different results.

But they understood each other.

She sat at the counter and waited, knowing the food was almost done. Liam plated the
food, chicken with some sauce and veggies, and even though it was just the two of
them, he made it look pretty. If she were in charge, the food would get slopped on
and passed around. He carried both plates to the kitchen table, so she followed.

Many discussions in their family occurred at the table over food. It somehow made
things less threatening. At least that’s what she wanted to believe. Her previous
boyfriends who had been brave enough to come to an O’Leary family dinner might disagree.

Moira tucked into her food quickly, afraid she’d lose her appetite once Liam starting
talking.

“Jimmy came to see me last night.”

“So I heard.”

“Did you send him?”

She laughed and almost choked on her chicken. “Hell no. Why would I? He didn’t even
tell me. He just said he had something to do.”

Liam went to the refrigerator and pulled out a couple bottles of water, handing one
to her. The cool liquid soothed her throat and she continued to eat.

“I told you Jimmy was a bad idea.”

She shrugged. She didn’t come here to fight with Liam.

“He’s going to hurt you.”

“How can you be so sure? I’ve spent time with him, and he’s never shown any sign of
treating me badly.”

“What the hell do you see in him that you can’t find in some other guy?”

She shot him a devious look. “Besides his smokin’ hot body?”

Liam’s face crinkled in disgust. “Don’t go there. I’ve known Jimmy long enough. I’ve
heard his stories. I don’t need to imagine you starring in any of those accounts.”

If Liam hadn’t been her brother, she totally would’ve pumped him for more information.
She’d love to know more about the mystery of Jimmy O’Malley. “Look, Liam. I know you
worry about me, and maybe it’s a little weird for me to be with your friend, but I
like him. We connect and it’s . . . wow. I haven’t felt wow in a long time.”

“You’re looking for the whole package. Jimmy’s not it. You’re wasting your time and
his.”

“There are worse ways to waste some time.”

“I’m not going to change your mind about this, am I?”

“Not unless you can offer some compelling reason I shouldn’t go out with Jimmy. You’ve
given me nothing concrete. A strange foreboding isn’t enough.”

Liam seemed to go back to his irritated self, but stopped talking long enough for
them to finish their lunch. Moira took her dish to the sink and rinsed it before filling
the dishwasher.

Liam joined her and began wiping down the counter and stove. “Jimmy is looking to
settle down with a wife who will wait on him and raise their children without having
a life of her own. He’s determined to find a wife who won’t work outside the home.”

The comments gave her pause for thought. She remembered overhearing Jimmy’s conversation
with Liam at the block party, so she kind of knew that.

Liam touched her shoulder. “Are you ready to give up your career to have Jimmy? And
even if you were, what if it doesn’t work out? Then what?”

“Then I guess I move myself and my brood of kids in here to keep you company so you
can support us all.” Her joke wasn’t met with a smile.

“I’m serious, Moira. You’ve worked hard to build your career. What happens when you
walk away from it?”

“Jimmy and I have barely started dating. We haven’t discussed the future.” But Liam’s
points crawled into her brain and took root. Would she be willing to give up her career
for the marriage and family she wanted?

“Maybe you should’ve had that conversation before sleeping with him.”

“He told you we had sex?”

“That’s why I punched him.”

“Did it make you feel better?”

“A little.” He threw the sponge in the sink at the same time she closed the dishwasher.
“I asked him to back off, and he refused. Said it was too late.”

Her heart fluttered a little. So maybe she wasn’t the only one defending their relationship.
She hugged Liam hard. “Thanks for worrying about me, but I’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words.”

She left Liam’s apartment feeling slightly less anxious. Her family would probably
never stop worrying about her and there was nothing she could do about it. Instead,
she’d focus on her career and her budding relationship. Life was good.

The entire situation was fucked up. Jimmy sat at his desk and hoped to avoid Kittner
for the remainder of the day. The man had felt the need to point out to Jimmy again
that allowing Moira access to information on the investigation would be problematic
for everyone. Jimmy took that to mean Kittner would hang him out to dry if something
went wrong with the case.

Jimmy put in a call to Griffin Walker to ask about any property he might have in the
city he might allow them to borrow. It was a long shot to even ask, but Jimmy wanted
to put in the effort to make this case.

He’d built a rapport with the mayor. High profile cases could go either way and make
or destroy a career. His father had stayed away from anything that would draw attention.
He was a nose to the grindstone, head down, and do the job kind of guy. Nothing wrong
with that, but it limited the advancement opportunities. No one would offer a hand
up if they had no idea who you were.

In that respect, Jimmy wanted to be known. He wanted to be the guy who could get things
done. If Liam wasn’t pissed at him, he would’ve asked him to call Griffin. Griffin
was tight with the O’Learys and would probably do the favor if Liam asked.

The task force was split up, tackling different aspects of the case. Some built victim
profiles they would use to incorporate into James Buchanan’s life. Some worked diligently
on discovering what they could about the escort services Stan Decker had alerted him
to.

Jimmy was the only one without a specific job. He didn’t want to sit around pretending
to be James Buchanan. He left the station after a quick good-bye to Gabby. He needed
to go home and talk to Norah. The girl hadn’t told anyone what she planned. She was
obviously having the baby at this point, but she sat in his room every day, leaving
only to eat.

Waiting in his personal life didn’t sit any better than in his professional life.
He walked into the house and froze. The living room was clean, smelling of pine cleaner.
The hockey equipment that usually piled in front of the door was stacked neatly. He
crept into the living room, unsure what to expect.

There was Norah, checking Dad’s blood. Without seeing the number, Jimmy knew it wasn’t
good based on the look Norah gave him. Then she swiped the bottle of beer from their
father. “If you can’t take your meds and monitor your shit, you can’t have beer.”

“Give me my beer, girl. You can’t tell me what to do.”

Norah straightened, planted one hand on her hip, and pointed at him. “I might not
have been around much, but I know what I’m talking about. If you don’t start doing
what you’re supposed to, I will dump every beer in this house. I grew up without a
mother. I’m not about to lose you too because of stupidity.”

Their dad grumbled but stopped arguing.

Jimmy stood dumbfounded. He’d gotten so used to Norah slouching around, in near tears,
not really speaking, that he’d forgotten how bossy she could be. With the exception
of her bulging belly, she looked like she did as a toddler when she would stomp her
foot and demand the world revolve around her.

“Hey.”

Norah spun and threw her hands up. “You need to deal with him. He doesn’t listen to
anything.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” He looked around the living room. “The house
looks good.”

“Well, someone had to clean it. Men are pigs.”

As much as he wanted to argue, he couldn’t because he hadn’t had time to clean and
Sean and Tommy never lifted a finger. “Thanks.”

She shook her head and walked into the kitchen.

He followed, digging into his pocket for the information he’d gotten from Gabby. “Here,”
he said, thrusting the paper at her.

“What?”

“I found a doctor for you. You have an appointment tomorrow morning. Luckily, they
had a cancellation.”

“I don’t need you to make doctor appointments for me. I’m not a child.” She scrubbed
the table as she talked.

“You’re pregnant. You’ve been here for a couple of weeks and have barely left the
house. Have you ever seen a doctor?”

She nodded. “Back in Boston.”

“You’re here now, and you didn’t seem like you were moving forward. Go to the appointment.”

She nodded. He was surprised she gave in so easily.

“Do you know what you’re going to do once you have the baby?” He leaned against the
refrigerator to stay out of her way while she cleaned.

“I don’t know. It’s just so overwhelming. I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mom.”

“What about the father? Have you called him yet?”

“No. But I will. Soon. As soon as I figure out what I want.”

The strength he’d heard in her voice when she yelled at Dad had disappeared. Jimmy
wondered what it was about her ex-boyfriend that made Norah shrink back.

She dried her hands on a towel and leaned against the table. “I appreciate you giving
up your room. I was thinking that if I sort through the crap in the spare room, I
could buy a bed and move in there.”

“No hurry. The couch isn’t so bad.” Plus, he planned on spending some nights at Moira’s.
He liked the thought of waking with her in his arms.

“Where did your mind go just now?” Norah prodded.

“Nowhere.”

“I call bullshit. You were all stern and serious and then it kind of melted away.
I don’t believe for a second that it was because you want to give up your bed for
me. Who were you thinking about? The hot redhead?”

“None of your business, squirt. I’m going to shower and change. Then I’m going out.
Thanks for keeping an eye on Dad.”

She smiled and the whole room brightened. Jimmy smiled back. He didn’t know how not
to. His baby sister was finally on the mend.

Moira straightened up her apartment and hoped Jimmy planned to spend the night. He’d
texted earlier to make sure everything had gone okay with Liam and to make plans for
dinner. She’d changed the sheets on her bed and put on a cute summer dress. Then she
tucked all of her research notes into drawers so the chaos wasn’t quite as noticeable.

Jenny had called her with the details for the party they were attending on Friday.
It was the same one she was supposed to report on, and she thought she might be able
to do double duty. She definitely had to change her appearance because if people recognized
her as a reporter, it would ruin her chances for getting the scoop. Plus, she didn’t
really want people she knew to think of her as an escort, even if it was just for
a story.

Pushing work from her mind, she lit a couple of candles and waited for Jimmy. She
knew she didn’t need a whole seduction scene, but she hoped to convince him to eat
in and hang out at her place. She wanted to have him all to herself.

When the knock sounded at the door, she reminded herself to check the peephole instead
of ripping the door open, even though she knew it was him. She opened the door and
he handed her a bouquet of mixed flowers. Hmmm . . . a guy who brought flowers. Jimmy
was checking off items on her keeper list without even trying.

“Thanks. This is a nice surprise. In my world, a guy only brings flowers when he’s
fucked up and needs to apologize.”