Saving a Legend: A Kavanagh Legends Novel

  “Ma, that’s ugly as shit.” Kane laughed as he stood next to his twin in the kitchen, where they’d been watching Dee prepare dinner, even though it was still early in the morning.

  “Níl. It is not!” She balked. “And watch your language, Kane.”

  “I’m not going to wear it, Ma. Sorry,” Kieran confirmed, grinning at Kane as they exchanged a knowing look about how ridiculous their mother was.

  “I’ll take it back to the store. It’s fine.” She sighed and hooked the hanger over the top edge of a door. “You just don’t know how great this would have looked on you.”

  “But I do know I’m not going to wear orange and green stripes anytime soon,” Kieran informed her.

  “He’s got a new lady friend to impress, Ma. He can’t be killing his game wearing that,” Kane added.

  “Wait, what? You do?” Dee turned her attention to them as she continued working on the lasagna. She wouldn’t put it in the oven until later this afternoon, but Kieran knew she liked to have everything ready ahead of time.

  “Kane,” he groaned, glaring at his brother.

  “Don’t be mean-mugging me. You know Ma was going to find out eventually.” Kane shrugged, indifferent to the can of worms he’d just opened as well as the angry look on Kieran’s face.

  “Kieran, this is wonderful!” Dee smiled brightly. “Who is she?”

  “Her name is Fiona,” he said, offering up as little as possible.

  “She’s the flower shop girl I was telling you about,” Kane told their mother as he practically shoved a whole muffin into his mouth.

  Dee’s face became one big smile, and her eyes gleamed with excitement. “When do I get to meet her? Are you going to bring her to Sunday dinner?”

  Kieran laughed. “I’ve been out of prison a week, Ma. Don’t you think it’s a little early to be bringing women home?”

  “It’s not too early for you two to come over here and steal my breakfast,” she replied. Kane grinned mischievously as he shamelessly started on his second muffin.

  Kieran grabbed the last muffin before Kane ate them all. “Actually, Ma, I was going to ask if you could give me some of that tea you used to make when we were younger?”

  “Which one? The one for when you were sick?”

  “Yeah, Fiona’s little sister is sick. I thought maybe I’d bring some over. She seemed a bit overwhelmed about the whole thing last night,” he admitted, still worried about both Shea’s health and Fiona’s reaction.

  “She’s overwhelmed? Who’s taking care of her sister?” Dee inquired further. Kieran knew his mom was the quintessential hover mother, who had no qualms about being nosy when it came to children.

  “She is. Fiona’s been her legal guardian since their mother passed away a few years ago, but her sister’s only eight years old and has autism. I’m not sure if Shea’s ever been sick since Fiona’s been caring for her,” Kieran said, realizing there was still so much he didn’t know about this woman, and so much he wanted to learn.

  “You didn’t tell me all that about her,” Kane said. “That’s a lot to learn on a date, bro.”

  Kieran just shrugged. “She’s worth it.”

  “I’m so proud of you, Kieran. Dating a good woman like that, and with a child in the picture.” Dee sounded like she was choking up as she came over and grabbed his face in her hands, kissing both of his cheeks. “You’re such a sweet boy.”

  “Ma, come on.” He flushed in embarrassment.

  “Let me just finish making this lasagna and put it in the fridge. Then I’ll make the tea, and we’ll go see what we can do for those lovely ladies,” Dee told him as she went back to the pasta dish.

  “We?” Kieran asked, his jaw dropping slightly at the word.

  “Not a request, mo mhac. I used to be a nurse, once upon a long, long time ago, remember? A child is sick—I can help.”

  Kane stifled a laugh, his hand over his mouth, and gave Kieran an amused look.

  Kieran rubbed his hands over his face and groaned. “Ma, I’m a grown man. I think I can handle it.”

  Dee gave a nonchalant shrug. “I’m sure you can, kiddo, but you said the girl has special needs. All God’s children need attention, but a child like that needs extra people to support her. One more will do her good.”

  “It might not be a good idea. I’m not sure how it all works, honestly,” Kieran admitted. “I think she struggles with meeting new people sometimes.”

  “You let me figure that out. I’ve been praying lately for what God wants next from me. You know I love helping people, taking care of people. I’d put all that energy into grandkids if one of you boys would hurry up already…” Dee eyed them in annoyance, no doubt at the thought of waiting even longer for grandkids. “So let me help. It’s just some tea, after all.”

  “All right, but let’s make this a really quick trip, then. Simply the tea and hello—that’s it,” Kieran relented.

  Dee wagged a finger at her son as she moved around the kitchen. “The way you talk, it sounds like you don’t want me to meet her.”

  “I’m not saying that. I just think it might be weird,” Kieran said. His twin was still trying his best to stifle his laughter, but Kane was practically blowing muffin chunks out of the corner of his mouth at this point.

  Dee nodded toward the sputtering Kane. “Look at your brother. If she wants to be part of this family one day, she’s going to need to get used to weird.”

  Kieran shook his head and laughed both with and at Kane. After how sad Fiona seemed last night, maybe a surprise meet-the-parents wouldn’t be the worst thing he could do. Maybe his mother would know what to say to ease the tension he had inadvertently created between them last night.

  Am I hoping my mom will fix my girl troubles? he thought. Just kill me now.

  Chapter 10

  “Are you sure she lives around here, Kieran?” his mother asked as he pulled his car to the curb around the block from her building. There was a roadblock sign up, so he figured this was the closest he was going to get.

  “I’m sure. I know it’s not ideal, but she can’t afford much,” he told her, knowing his mother probably wanted to help just as much as he did. It was impossible to walk into this neighborhood and not want to rescue every person living here.

  “I see,” she said uneasily.

  The duo rounded the corner to find a commotion in front of Fiona’s building, with police, firemen, and construction workers all milling around. Kieran saw a gaping hole in the front of the building where he’d been just the night before. He picked up the pace as they moved closer and realized that part of the hole was giving the world direct access to Fiona’s apartment.

  “Oh, my goodness, what happened?” his mother asked, clutching his arm.

  “I don’t know.” He looked around nervously, hoping to see Fiona and Shea in the crowd of people outside the building. Finally, he spotted a little person with braided pigtails and bright pink earmuffs, and he led his mother in that direction. “Shea!”

  A tearful little girl turned to look, glancing at him just long enough to register who he was before she dropped eye contact. She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, sniffling. Her face was red, and she looked like she still wasn’t feeling well. Kieran crouched down so he was at her level.

  “Shea, what happened?” he asked her, scanning over her shoulder for Fiona.

  “I didn’t get my eggs yet. I have eggs for breakfast.” Shea began crying, and he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away her tears. Luckily, she didn’t try to pull away from him as he had expected her to.

  “Shea, I have a lot of eggs at my house,” his mother interrupted, leaning down to greet her. “Would you like to come over and I’ll make you a big pile of eggs, taller than you!”

  Shea didn’t say anything, looking at this unfamiliar woman with distrust.

  “This is my mother, Shea, and I know for a fact she makes delicious eggs,” he confided in her, watching the tension in her face ease as she was decid
ing to trust his mother now that he’d vouched for her. “Where’s your sister?”

  Shea pointed in the direction of a police officer, and Kieran saw him interviewing Fiona. She looked even more frazzled than she had last night, if such a thing was possible.

  “Go,” his mother told him as she ushered Shea back in the direction of the car. Nodding, he went to talk to Fiona.

  “Kieran! What are you doing here?” she asked when she saw him. She glanced past him and, presumably, saw his mother walking with Shea. “Where’s Shea going? Who’s that?”

  “She’s with my mother. I wanted to get her out of this crowd. What is going on, Fi?” he asked, the stress apparent in his voice. The officer eyed him carefully, standing taller as he took in the large man in front of him.

  “They were doing construction and slammed a hole in the building,” she told him. “I’m not sure what’s going on. Is Shea okay? I should go with her, she’s not used to being around strangers.”

  Fi’s words became increasingly panicked as she watched her younger sister. She seemed so flustered she didn’t know what to do. She was wearing the same sweatpants and tank top from last night, her messy bun decidedly messier than it had been when he’d seen her then.

  “Officer, what happened?” He bypassed her and spoke to the police officer, who was now scribbling in a notepad. Fiona’s shoulders drooped, and she looked relieved not to have to explain.

  “Irish restaurant downstairs was trying to put up a big new sign on the front of the building. The crane smashed it into the building instead, creating a big hole in the exterior. Now they’re saying the damage accidentally revealed potential toxins growing in the walls, so everyone’s been evacuated while it’s being tested. This place is most likely going to be condemned. Everything was barely held together with duct tape before this happened,” he told him before walking off to talk to another resident.

  “Holy shit, Fi.” He gaped, shocked at the strange news, but not at all surprised the building was likely being condemned. He’d thought it should be the first time he’d seen it. “This is fucked up.”

  “Welcome to my life,” she said with a languished sigh and a poor attempt at smiling. “Now aren’t you glad you didn’t want to sleep with me?”

  Kieran took her hand with his and pulled her out of the crowd toward his car. He could see his mother and Shea had already rounded the corner; they were probably buckled in already. Once they reached the corner, instead of turning, he came to a stop and stared at her.

  “What are you doing? Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.

  “We’re going back to my parent’s house so Shea can get her breakfast, but right now we’re stopping here until you understand something.” He positioned her between himself and the building’s brick wall. He lowered a hand to either side of her shoulders, enclosing her against him.

  “What?” She gulped nervously, but her darkened blue eyes and reddened cheeks told him she was also feeling something else. Something more, something he’d been feeling since the day he’d met her.

  “I want to sleep with you,” he said, watching her mouth fall open in surprise. “I want to curl up with you against my chest, dreaming, and I want to wake you up and fuck you until we both can’t walk, Fi.”

  “Kieran,” she whispered, and her eyes darted around to ensure they were alone as her cheeks flushed even more. “You can’t say stuff like that.”

  “I can and I will. I should have said it last night. I let you dismiss me without even trying to change your mind, and that was wrong. I should have fought for you last night, so instead, I’m fighting for you now.” He leaned down and brushed his lips slowly against hers.

  She whimpered against him, her fingers fisted into his shirt.

  When he pulled away, she leaned forward as if to follow him, but he kept her pressed against the wall. “I want to taste every inch of you, Fiona, slowly and fully. I want to make it so you come just by remembering the things I’ve done to your body the night before. But most of all, I don’t want to hear ever again that you think I don’t want you, because there’s nothing further from the truth.”

  As he spoke, he knew he’d reached a point of no return. He’d decided that he wanted this woman, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him from having her. Not even Fiona herself. After wasting the last two years of his life, he’d vowed never to allow himself to do that again. He wanted Fiona in his life, and he refused to wait any longer to make that a reality.

  Tears formed in her sparkling eyes, and he smiled wickedly at her. “Are we clear, Fi?”

  “Crystal.”

  Twirling a stray strand of her messy, brown hair, he trailed his finger down her jawline to her chin. Clasping it between his thumb and index finger, he lifted her face to his and kissed her. This kiss was different than the one last night, or the whisper of a kiss a moment ago. There wasn’t heat or burning desire, even though he wanted her more than any woman he’d ever been with before.

  This kiss was intimate in a way only lovers know. It screamed pain and heartache and affection all wrapped in a bundle of silky lips and wandering tongues. It was sweet and heartbreaking all at once—it was everything that they were.

  Finally pulling apart after a long moment that still felt too short, Kieran leaned back and took her hand, leading her to the car. “Let’s go eat some eggs, flower girl.”

  —

  “Fi, Mrs. Dee is going to make us the biggest pile of eggs I’ve ever seen!” Shea told her sister excitedly.

  “Oh yeah? Sounds yummy.” Fiona gently stroked her sister’s head as she stood behind Shea at the kitchen table, watching Dee fuss around preparing a late breakfast for them. She’d already offered to help several times to no avail.

  “Fiona, you want some coffee, honey?” Dee asked, turning off the machine as she picked up the freshly brewed pot.

  “I’d love some.” Caffeine sounded perfect right about now. “Thank you for doing this, for feeding us. We were standing out there for at least two hours, and I didn’t know what we were going to do.”

  “I wish I’d known earlier, you poor girls.” Dee frowned. “You’re welcome here anytime, day or night. All my kids know that, and the way my Kieran looks at you means you’re part of this family now. I’m always just a phone call away.”

  A warm, fuzzy feeling swept over Fiona at Dee’s words. To be accepted as a part of the family just like that…it was unheard of to her, but she was realizing she’d been craving it more than she’d known. She needed the support, the structure, but mostly, she needed love.

  It wasn’t about her, though. It was about giving Shea everything possible, which might mean more of the Kavanaghs. Shea had already warmed up to Dee in a way Fiona had rarely seen her do before, even rivaling the way she used to be with their mother. Fiona knew she would want to encourage the relationship between them, anything to keep Shea smiling like she was now as she munched on a greasy piece of bacon, dipping it into a glass of chocolate milk.

  Fiona grimaced. “Gross, Shea.”

  “It’s not gross, it’s yummy.” She dropped another piece of bacon into her chocolaty drink. “Mrs. Dee said Kieran does it, too.”

  “That’s true, all my boys did. Well, except Jimmy.” Dee grinned over at them. “He’s too much of a rule follower for all that.”

  “I’m surprised you got her to eat it to begin with. Her routine is normally eggs every morning, and nothing else,” Fiona admitted quietly.

  “I think her routine was already disrupted this morning, honey.” Dee chuckled, handing Fiona a mug of hot coffee.

  Fiona nodded in agreement. That was definitely true.

  “Plus, it’s about making it appealing to them. I told her Kieran ate it that way, and she was all about it after that. She’s bonded to my son quite a bit. Does she do that with everyone?”

  “Not often, no. There are some people she meets, though, who she takes to inexplicably. I’ve only ever seen it a handful of times, and never sin
ce our mother died.”

  “Until Kieran?”

  “Yes.” Fiona bit her lip, thinking about that. Before, she hadn’t really considered how unusual that was, or why she’d kept trying to push Kieran away when clearly he was one of the few people to get through to Shea after everything they had gone through over the last three years.

  “So you take care of her all by yourself?” Dee’s face showed clear concern.

  “Pretty much, with some help. My friend Nora watches her while I’m at work.”

  “What about in school? Does she have any help there, or therapists?”

  “No, I’m working on that. She used to, but when my mother died, so did her health insurance. I’m trying to save up to have her go to a private school next year, which will provide all of those, but I’m nowhere near that yet.”

  “That must be so frustrating for you,” Dee sympathized, reaching out a hand to squeeze Fiona’s arm. “Wanting to give her everything she had before.”

  “It is, and I really want to. I just don’t have the money, and I’m trying to be a mother to her, or at least a guardian, but I know I’m making mistakes all over the place.” Fiona frowned at what she was saying. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m even telling you all this. I’m not complaining, really. I love having my sister with me and wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “You’re not complaining, darling, and don’t worry about me. I’ve raised five boys of our own, and we also adopted my husband’s niece when she was very young. I definitely know what it’s like to mother and love someone who isn’t biologically yours, and it’s no different than if they were. You will love your sister like a sister, but also like a daughter. God put her in your life to be your child just the way He brought Casey into ours to be our daughter. And God doesn’t make mistakes, honey. Everything I do is with His Will in mind, and there isn’t anything He puts on your plate that He thinks you can’t handle,” Dee explained as if it were a no-brainer. “You’re supposed to be worried—that’s how you know you’re a mother, because you’re terrified you’re doing everything wrong. We all worry about that, and it’s only because we want the best for our children. You want the best for Shea.”