The O’Connells Books 10 - 12 E-Book

Lorhainne Eckhart

• Herausgeber: Lorhainne Eckhart, INC.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: The O’Connells Box Set #4
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 609

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Experience the pulse-pounding O’Connells Books 10 - 12 Collection: "The Fallen O'Connell," "The Return of the O'Connells," and "And Then She Was Gone." Join a broken man battling a diabolical plot, a family reconciling their past while facing a new enemy, and a fiancé's mysterious disappearance leading to an investigation into a troubled past. Dive into intrigue, suspense, and family dynamics that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

“Can Never Get Enough of the O’Connells. As with every one of the O’Connells’ stories, this one contains the unexpected as well as something or someone worth fighting for.” Catlou

“Hold on to your seats! This book is filled with so many twists, turns and surprising revelations that you won’t be able to put it down until you have read the last page.”  (Rebmay)

The Fallen O’Connell: A broken man seeking a new life. A diabolical plot that revolves around his unexpected return. Will the combination ruin a prominent family?

The Return of the O’Connells: A family reconciling their troubled past. A new enemy emerges. Will this unsettling development ruin the O’Connell’s hard-earned harmony?

And Then She Was Gone: The moment Brady told his family he was engaged, his fiancée was nowhere to be found.

Leseprobe

The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

The Fallen O’Connell

The Return of the O’Connells

And Then She Was Gone

COPYRIGHT © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2020, All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contact Information: [email protected]

Editor: Talia Leduc

THE O’CONNELLS BOOKS 10 - 12

The O’Connells Box Set

Book 4

LORHAINNE ECKHART

Contents

Keep in touch with Lorhainne

About the O’Connells

The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

The Fallen O’Connell

The Return of the O’Connells

And Then She Was Gone

What’s coming next in The O’Connells

The Stalker Chapter 1

Other Works Available

Chapter 1

About the Author

Series Available

Links to Lorhainne Eckhart’s Booklist

Keep in touch with Lorhainne

Sign-up for Lorhainne’s Newsletter & Monday Blog

Like Lorhainne on Facebook

Follow Lorhainne on Instagram

Follow Lorhainne on Twitter

Lorhainne’s Audiobooks on Audible

Follow Lorhainne on Bookbub

Connect with me on Goodreads

Check-out Lorhainne’s Pinterest Boards

Follow me on Wattpad

About the O’Connells

The O’Connells of Livingston, Montana, are not your typical family. Follow them on their journey to the dark and dangerous side of love in a series of romantic thrillers you won’t want to miss. Raised by a single mother after their father’s mysterious disappearance eighteen years ago, the six grown siblings live in a small town with all kinds of hidden secrets, lies, and deception. Much like the contemporary family romance series focusing on the Friessens, this romantic suspense series follows the lives of the O’Connell family as each of the siblings searches for love.

The O’Connells

The Neighbor

The Third Call

The Secret Husband

The Quiet Day

The Commitment, An O’Connell Novella

The Missing Father

The Hometown Hero

Justice

The Family Secret

The Fallen O’Connell

The Return of the O’Connells

And The She Was Gone

The Stalker

The O’Connell Family Christmas

The Girl Next Door

Broken Promises

The Gatekeeper

The Hunted

The O’Connells Box Set Collections

The O’Connells Books 1 - 3

The O’Connells Books 4 - 6

The O’Connells Books 7 - 9

The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

The O’Connells Books 13 - 15

The O’Connells Books 16 - 18

The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

This boxed set collection in The O’Connells series includes

The Fallen O’Connell

The Return of the O’Connells

And Then She Was Gone

The Fallen O’Connell - Book 10

A broken man seeking a new life. A diabolical plot that revolves around his unexpected return. Will the combination ruin a prominent family?

The Return of the O’Connells - Book 11

A family reconciling their troubled past. A new enemy emerges. Will this unsettling development ruin the O’Connell’s hard-earned harmony?

And Then She Was Gone - Book 12

The moment Brady told his family he was engaged, his fiancée was nowhere to be found.

About this book

Thirty-five years ago, Raymond O’Connell didn’t exist, at least not until the moment Iris walked into his life. His very existence had been a secret, a carefully cultivated lie, except for the fact that he loved Iris and the six children he’d never planned on having. He’d become careless, living a life that belonged to someone else.

Becoming Raymond O’Connell had made him forget who he really was, and when he fell in love with a fantasy he knew he couldn’t have, he put his family in danger. Ultimately, he found himself covering up a murder to protect the woman he loved, and that act forced him to walk away and return to the shadows of a secret life that he couldn’t find his way out of.

When he returns to Livingston with a son in tow, what he doesn’t expect is to be dragged from the shadows to protect a family that suddenly has a target on their backs. Soon, Raymond finds himself becoming part of a bigger, deadlier plot—one that could leave someone in his family, someone he’s sworn to stay away from, dead.

The choice he’ll have to make to protect the O’Connells could come at a heartbreaking cost. Can Raymond choose between the son he has now and the family he walked away from?

ChapterOne

Raymond stared at the old shag carpet, listening to the thump of footsteps and then the water running upstairs. How had his son suddenly found his voice of damned independence for the first time in his life?

Brady was refusing to leave a home that was never supposed to have been permanent. Where had this stubborn streak come from, this sudden determination that he wouldn’t have his life upended anymore? Yes, those had been his exact words, and now Raymond was at a loss for how to get his teenage son out the door and onto a plane. This was a dilemma he’d never thought he’d have.

Raymond had lived and breathed looking over his shoulder, but he couldn’t explain why he found himself staring at the locked front door now, knowing the deadbolt would keep out no one who really wanted to get into the dated old house. Worse yet was the secret that lay behind why they couldn’t stay in Livingston, why they had come and were now leaving. The reason, which he never planned to share with his son, was that he’d had to see in person the family he’d deserted.

Now here he was, waiting in his kitchen, knowing he was going to have to sit his son down for a talk he didn’t want to have. He listened to the footsteps upstairs and glanced at his watch. It was early for Brady to be up on a Saturday morning, even though it was close to noon.

When he heard him on the stairs, his phone dinged with another email message: an inquiry from the Barbados cottage he’d booked and paid for, the one they were supposed to have arrived at the week before.

Brady gave him only a passing glance as he stepped off the last stair, barefoot, his dark hair sticking up. His eyes were his mother’s, but his face and the way he walked… Raymond realized his son looked like Marcus, or maybe Luke.

He was staring at Brady’s back as he reached into the fridge for a jug of milk and then into the cupboard for a bowl, and he could see how deeply ready his son was, by the expression on his face, to go another round with him. Brady set the bowl down, reached for a box of corn flakes, and dumped in the cereal, then milk. Because Raymond was standing in front of the drawer that held the spoons, he wondered whether his son would keep up the silent treatment or ask him to move.

There was the standoff.

Raymond pulled in a breath and tossed a large spoon on the counter. “Saves you having to ask, since I can see you’re still doing your best to give me the silent treatment.”

His son didn’t flinch but snatched the spoon, then walked down over to the old table and pulled out a chair, still barefoot, in a pair of sweats and an old T-shirt.

“So, about Barbados,” Raymond said, “I think we need to have another conversation, because we can’t stay here.”

“I’m not leaving,” Brady said. “I told you that, so don’t think you can strongarm me, because you can’t. I told you already that I like it here. You’re the vagabond who has never been able to stay in one spot long, needing to see the world, but not me. I want roots and friends, and I’m finishing school here.” He shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth and didn’t look over to him.

Raymond had to fight the urge to yell, to demand that he get his ass upstairs and pack, because he was his father and he decided when they left and when they stayed. But he’d already done that, and it had backfired. Hence, they were still there.

What had his son said but “You can’t make me”? And so far, he’d been right. Maybe he needed to try the reasoning approach.

“Okay, I see you’re still angry…”

“You’re kidding, right?” Brady tossed down his spoon and looked up to him. “You texted Alison that we were leaving, on my phone, as if it was from me. She’s my friend! I like her, and you had no right. You crossed so many lines, Dad.”

Okay, maybe he had crossed a line, but his son had never pulled something like this before, basically refusing to listen to him. Worse, Brady had no idea the danger he was putting them in.

“Fine, I get it,” Raymond said. “You made your point, but you don’t understand. We have to leave. This was a mistake, coming here⁠—”

“You keep saying that.” Brady cut him off, not something he had done until now. “But when I ask you why, you treat me like I’m just a little kid who’s supposed to listen and fall in line without questioning anything you decide. You say it’s not my concern or that, my all-time favorite, you’re my father and you know best. Well, I hate to tell you this, Dad, but you don’t know what’s best for me. If you did, you wouldn’t be trying to rip me away yet again from a place I like and a girl I’m partial to. You seem to forget I’m eighteen…”

“Not yet, you’re not.”

Brady slapped both his hands to the tabletop, the sound ricocheting through the half-empty house. “In three weeks I will be. I’m not a kid anymore who’s going to be shuffled from one city or country to another, to places where I can’t put pictures up or have a room that’s always mine. Then there’s Alison, who I like a lot.”

All Raymond could do was stare in horror, wondering how this had spun so far out of control—out of his control. “Alison is nothing but trouble, Brady. I told you that, and her family is going through some tough times. She’s not someone you can be involved with.”

Brady inclined his head as if working out a kink. Raymond had never seen this kind of passion and readiness to fight in him. “I hear you, Dad, but I like Alison, and last I looked, this is a democracy, not a dictatorship. You don’t get to pick my friends or who I hang out with or who my girlfriend is. And Alison isn’t trouble. She makes me laugh and smile. So no, I’m not leaving.” Brady picked up his spoon again and dug into his cereal.

Raymond picked up his phone, tapping the screen. “Barbados is a great place. We’d have a cottage on the white sandy beach. We’ve talked about going for a long time. Look, it was supposed to be a surprise, and maybe I didn’t handle this right. I shouldn’t have texted Alison for you. I hear you, and I’m sorry, if that will help. I promise you, this time we’ll stay put for longer. You can make some friends, take up diving like we talked about.”

He walked over to his son, who was working a giant mouthful of milk and cereal, and held out his cell phone to show him the image of the cottage and baby-blue ocean, but Brady only looked up to him after glancing briefly at the image as if it meant nothing.

“Not right now,” he said. “I told you that. It looks nice, Dad, but I’m not going. I’m not leaving Alison right now. I’ve been dragged everywhere for years, but no more. I’m finishing school here. I have friends and Alison. I need to get ready.” He shoved in his last mouthful of cereal before grabbing his bowl and taking it to the sink to rinse it out.

“Get ready for what?” Raymond said. They had to leave Livingston, yet his kid was far too determined, far too independent for his liking. Even though he had known this day was coming, this was a side of his son he’d never expected to see.

“I have a date for a wedding,” Brady said.

“A wedding, what wedding? Who’s getting married?”

Brady left the bowl in the sink and started to leave the kitchen, but he stopped in the archway and looked back at his dad before shrugging. “Alison’s parents are, and I’m her date. I need to hurry, because I promised her I’d be there at one, and I still need to shower and dress.”

Then his son was gone, and all Raymond could do was think of what a problem this was. His son was too stubborn, and another of his sons was getting married.

He knew there was no way this Alison and Brady thing could continue, but he also knew that leaving town without Brady ever learning the truth was now completely off the table. He couldn’t stop his son from walking out the door right now and going to this wedding.

“Shit,” he said. This was just another thing he’d somehow lost control of.

ChapterTwo

The wind had picked up, and Iris took in the established trees in the neighborhood, swaying in the wind. The leaves had fallen, and the late September chill in the air had her shivering in her silky teal dress as she stepped inside Ryan and Jenny’s house.

She heard her kids talking over soft music in the background, voices coming from the kitchen and living room. The justice of the peace was talking with Ryan and Marcus, and Luke stood off to the side. All her sons were in suits, looking dashing, handsome.

She didn’t think she’d have been able to explain to anyone why it seemed they’d never get back to the normal they’d once had. But they were trying for her.

“Grandma!” Alison said. “Mom’s upstairs, getting dressed, and Charlotte and Eva are up with her, but Karen and Suzanne are in the kitchen, freaking out, because the caterer apparently canceled all of a sudden.”

For a minute, Iris didn’t know what to say to Alison, who had run over to her, wearing a sleeveless, low-cut deep purple dress that hugged her teenage curves and stopped mid-thigh. It was sexy, revealing, something Karen would’ve worn, she remembered.

“But the caterer was supposed to be here already…” she started.

Ryan and Jenny’s wedding was today, with just family, because it seemed the friends they’d once had were still dissecting their characters, convinced of their guilt, and had long since convicted them in the court of public opinion.

So here they were, small and quaint. She let out a sigh as she reached for her granddaughter’s wrists, lifting them, taking a closer look at her makeup and forcing a smile. Alison, too, was on edge, but Iris knew that with teenagers, it could be any of a hundred problems or none of them.

“So, first, you look gorgeous, as always,” she said. “I take it there’s a Plan B in the works? Karen is on the phone, handling the situation?”

Alison pulled away and started walking into the kitchen without answering her, and she didn’t know what that meant. When Luke glanced over, she realized something was up there, too.

She followed Alison into Ryan’s kitchen, the heels of her black wedge sandals clicking on the floor. Harold was there, unloading wine and hard liquor bottles on the kitchen island. His blond hair was in the same short cop cut as always, and he wore a white dress shirt and tie. He offered a tight smile, one she tried to return. She wondered how long the tension would linger between them, considering what he’d done, arresting her. It was a memory she’d never be able to shake.

“Mom, we’ve got a problem,” Suzanne said. Her hair was hanging long and loose over a gorgeous dress of white and black. “Jolene Harris, from the bistro, who was catering the wedding, just canceled. Actually, she didn’t even have the decency to pick up the phone and call. She intended to just leave us hanging, is all we can figure. Luckily, Karen called because she wanted to remind her to pick up the cake from the bakery. That was when she broke the news, said she was sorry to do this, but she wouldn’t be catering. When Karen pressed her, you know what that bitch said?” Suzanne glanced at Alison. “Ah, sorry…”

Alison only shrugged, looking impressed at her aunt’s dramatics.

Iris could feel her chest tightening. Across the kitchen, Jack acknowledged her by jutting his chin, then said something to Karen, his hand around her back, rubbing. She was talking on her cell phone in that way she did when she was trying to solve something. It was just the lawyer in her, and Iris was so damn proud. Her daughter looked especially gorgeous in a sexy pink low-cut dress.

Jack started around Karen, his hand sliding over her shoulder as she said something to him, and he nodded and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Yeah, he loved her. It was there in just a look before he started over to Iris.

“Jack, Suzanne just filled me in on the problem,” Iris said. “So Jolene canceled? How can she do that? I paid her already for the catering…”

Behind her, she could hear Owen and Tessa’s voices as they stepped inside. She glanced back to see her son looking dashing in a light suit, and Tessa wore a gorgeous light blue flouncy dress, her blond hair pulled up.

Iris forced herself to turn back to Jack. She never would’ve admitted before how much she trusted him—in a way she’d never trusted anyone, other than her children, for years now.

“She was planning to screw up Ryan and Jenny’s wedding and leave you hanging, is what it sounds like,” Jack said matter of factly. “But not to worry. My wife is about ready to drive over and take her down a notch, and I’m sure she’s planning a number of ways to drive her out of business. Seems the public opinion in Livingston is that this family is still guilty for something, even though, logically, they know it’s not true. Nonetheless, this is the situation.” He held up his keys, resting his hand on her shoulder, then stepped past her. He was supportive, a good man. “Seems I’m now being recruited to go and get food. Owen! You’re joining me for a trip to the supermarket. I’ll explain on the way.”

Iris didn’t miss Owen’s amused and puzzled expression, but then, he’d just walked in and wasn’t up to speed like she was.

Karen hung up her cell phone. “Hey, Mom, you’re here. Okay, cancel the grocery store trip, Jack. I just got off the phone with Tyrell Green, and he’s on his way over. You know he owns that diner at the edge of town. I defended his son, Lawrence. He’s bringing his wife with him and said they’ll cook up a feast for us, a barbecue or something. I told him whatever he comes up with is fine.” Karen pressed her hand to her chest and pulled in a breath as she strode over. “Mom, you look really nice, in case I didn’t say it.”

Jack leaned back against the island, now appearing amused, though Iris was nothing but. She remembered the Greens, how no one had wanted to defend their son. It had been a sad situation, the case her daughter had taken on. She glanced around at them, seeing that the kitchen island was already set up like a bar, courtesy of Harold.

“So it seems Jolene is screwing me,” she said. “I was just saying to Jack that I paid her in full to cater this. There was no discount. I’ve known her for years…”

Karen waved her hand in the air. “I’ll make sure she pays back every dime and then some. Don’t worry. But she’s no friend, Mom. Just so you know, I intend to get her blacklisted. If she wants to play these kinds of games, she’s going to pay the price for messing with the O’Connells. I’m done with this crap that people think they can get away with. Even if any of the rumors about us were true, what she did is inexcusable.”

Her daughter was pure fire. Iris wondered what Raymond would think if he were there. Yeah, best not to go down that road. She hadn’t thought of the man in a long time, and then he’d just had to walk into her life that night, dropping by unannounced. Now not a night passed that she didn’t see his image before she closed her eyes.

“You okay, Mom?” Karen said, then smiled. “Don’t let Jolene stress you out. I promise I’ll take her down for you and get some much-needed retribution.”

Iris had to force herself to shake off Raymond. If her kids only knew what she’d been thinking… She cleared her throat. “So how’s Jenny? I wonder if I should head up and talk to her.”

Karen lifted her gaze toward the stairs. “I hope she has no idea that some folks are still messing with us and trying to ruin her day.”

“Right, so let’s make sure it stays that way,” Iris said. “This is Ryan and Jenny’s day, and I, for one, would prefer if no more problems came up.”

She didn’t know why, but everyone had hesitated as if she’d said the one thing she shouldn’t have said. Then there was a timely knock at the front door, and she found herself holding her breath for a second.

Alison’s face suddenly lit up, and she hurried out of the kitchen.

“I’ll go up and check on Jenny, see if she needs anything,” Iris said. “I take it you all have everything covered here.” She gestured toward them and shrugged off her light black coat, which Owen reached for.

Her kids hesitated for only a second more, their expressions amused. Karen shook her head, and Jack was chuckling softly.

Suzanne sighed, walking over to Harold and resting her arm over his shoulder. “Yes, Mom, we’ve got this,” she said—but then she pulled away from Harold, and her brow knit as she stared past Iris to the front door. “I didn’t know Alison’s friend was coming. Didn’t someone say he’d left town?”

It took her a second to understand what her daughter was saying. Then she glanced back at the door, seeing Alison and a boy she’d never seen before. He was tall, lanky, cute—and holding Alison’s hand. Her granddaughter was dragging him right her way with a big smile pasted to her lips, and for a minute, she could hear nothing but the loud and long thump of her heart in her ears.

“Grandma, this is Brady,” Alison said, beaming. “Brady, this is my grandma.”

Iris could hear her kids talking behind her. The young man had familiar features, and as he held out his hand, all Iris could do was stare at her granddaughter, who was still holding his other hand. She saw how much Alison liked him, and in that moment, she realized that Raymond O’Connell, or whoever he really was, had just lied to her again.

ChapterThree

Iris’s phone was buzzing, and she took in the caller ID, a private number. She considered it for only a second before answering as she pulled open the back door.

In the kitchen, Ryan was all smiles, a groom ready to marry his bride. Jenny was still upstairs, but the moment for her to come down was likely anytime. Iris had finally had to force herself away from Brady and Alison, realizing her granddaughter was head over heels for a young man it was impossible for her to have those feelings for.

“Hello?” was all she got out.

“Iris, it’s Raymond. I understand Ryan is getting married today, and I have to warn you that⁠—”

“Brady’s here,” she said, cutting him off, feeling the bite in her words as she pulled the door closed behind her. “I presume that’s why you’re calling. Why are you still here? You told me you were leaving. This is my son’s wedding day. Do you have any idea what you’ve done, what you’re doing to those kids, my granddaughter…?”

Then she spotted him. He was walking up the side of the house just as she stepped around the corner. He looked way too good for a man she was furious with. He pulled his cell phone away from his ear and hung up.

She strode toward him, glancing at the side window of the dining room and hoping no one was looking out. “You can’t be here,” she whispered loudly. “Why are you here?”

He let his gaze linger for a moment on her before he reached for her arm and had her walking back into the yard, out of sight. She didn’t miss the way he glanced back over his shoulder, still holding her. She yanked her bare arm away, lifting her hands and brushing back strands of her dark hair from her forehead. It had been freshly cut at a salon in Bozeman, not a far drive, but at least no one had known who she was.

“I’m here because Brady refuses to listen,” he said. “I tried to leave, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He actually put his foot down because he wants roots all of a sudden.”

She just stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You had no trouble walking away from me and my children.”

“Our children,” he said.

She found herself pulling back further, not sure what to make of his expression. She thought she hissed, and she had to fist her hands. “You may have fathered them, but that’s all you did, Raymond. You left. Remember, you have a new life, a son with someone else—a son who’s here right now. Do you know my granddaughter has romantic notions about your son? I’ve never seen her so head over heels, and let me be really clear: This isn’t a childhood crush. Right now, they’re in there holding hands, and she’s probably looking for a way to sneak off with him to make out and do the kinds of things they can’t be doing, considering they’re related. Him being in there only confirms what I already suspected. Brady has no idea, because you didn’t tell him. Now, how do you think he’s going to react when he finds out? Alison is going to be devastated. You really have messed this up, Raymond, but then, isn’t that what you do?”

She’d expected something from him: anger, annoyance. She was holding nothing back, but there was no way she was using kid gloves now, considering her granddaughter was involved.

Raymond glanced into the distance and said nothing, then lifted his gaze over her head to the house. This man she’d thought she’d known well at one time was in fact a stranger she knew nothing about. Maybe that was why she felt the need to pull her arms over her chest. She shivered, welcoming the chill, then heard a car door in front and voices. It had to be Tyrell Green and his wife, who were saving their asses.

“You need to take him home now,” Iris started, but then, behind her, she heard the door slap closed.

“Hey, Mom, the Greens are here. I could…”

Iris turned to see Karen stepping out of the house. Her expression was amused as she made her way over.

“There you are,” Karen said. “I didn’t know you were out here talking with…”

She could feel the way Raymond gave everything to her, and her daughter suddenly hesitated. Maybe she had now realized or had some idea.

“Hello,” was all she said, and Iris couldn’t pull her gaze from her, seeing the way her brow knit as she took in the two of them as if trying to figure out a puzzle. Iris couldn’t get her tongue to move. She couldn’t get one word out of her mouth, which had suddenly gone so dry.

“You look gorgeous, Karen,” Raymond said. Now, why did he have to say that?

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Karen said.

Iris lifted her gaze to Raymond, wishing so many things, one of which was for him to leave before he could ruin Jenny and Ryan’s day.

“Mom, say something,” Karen said. “Who is this?”

Iris had to breathe, very aware that Raymond hadn’t pulled his gaze from Karen. She could see he wasn’t going to make this easy. “Someone who shouldn’t be here,” she finally said. “I’m sorry, Karen, but this is⁠—”

“Dad…” Karen said. From the way she breathed his name out, Iris could feel her emotion, her heartache. She pressed her hand over her heart and didn’t pull her gaze from Raymond.

“Hi there, darlin’,” he said. Of course, she remembered what he’d called her, and she could feel her nails digging into her palms over the fondness in his voice.

“Look, he was just leaving,” she said quite abruptly. “He just needs to fix a situation here.”

Karen shook her head and then seemed to gather herself as she looked between her parents. “I thought you left,” she said. “I heard you were here. Luke and Marcus saw you. I just have so many questions to ask you, why you left, why you came back, why you’re here now…” She dragged her gaze over to Iris. “Did you know he was still here?” she said, sounding so accusatory.

“No, your mother didn’t know I was here,” Raymond said. “I just showed up because my son is here.”

Of course, Karen was confused. Iris could see it in her expression as she dragged her gaze back and forth between them. “Well, of course, all your sons are inside, and one of them is getting married today. Did you know about the wedding? Is that why you’re here?”

Raymond glanced over her head to the back door, and she hoped no one else would come out. “Only just found out, which is why I’m here—but I’m talking about my other son, who’s here right now but shouldn’t be.”

“Brady is who he’s talking about, Karen,” Iris finally said, cutting in, mainly because Karen was looking at this man as if considering inviting him in.

Karen glanced over to her so quickly. The shock, the horror, the alarm… Yeah, she could see the moment she got it. “Brady…Alison’s Brady, inside, is your son?” Her expression seemed completely rocked, her voice filled with the kind of passion only she had.

“Yes, afraid so,” Iris said. “Seems Brady is Raymond’s son, so you can see the problem, considering that makes him your half-brother, and neither he nor Alison has any idea.”

Karen hissed and pressed her hand over her chest again. “No…!” She whispered loudly, then pulled in another breath. “No, that’s not fair.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Iris said. “So now we need to get Brady out of that house and away from Alison. Raymond is having trouble leaving, as it seems his son also has feelings for Alison and is refusing to move. Raymond has never told him anything about us, or we wouldn’t be in the situation we are now.”

When Iris dragged her gaze back to Raymond, she could see he had a few things he likely wanted to say to her, by the way he stared at her long and hard. But then, she had no idea where exactly she and her children ranked against his other family, Brady.

“You seriously think he can just walk in and ask Brady to leave without everyone wondering why?” Karen said. “Then there’s Alison. There’s no way she’ll take that lying down. This just isn’t okay, another problem… How the hell are we going to fix this? Ryan and Jenny are getting married. This is their day and Alison’s. No, no, no…we’re not ruining this for them.” She lifted her hands and tapped her fingers to her forehead, just something she did when getting ready to really dig in her heels.

“No, I agree,” Iris said. “This is my son’s wedding day, and I will not have Alison upset right now.”

“I agree it’s not the right time,” Raymond replied, crossing his arms over his jacket. His dark jeans fit better than they should, she thought.

“So then you’ll leave, and we’ll make sure the kids don’t get a moment alone, and then…”

“No, I’ll stay,” Raymond said, cutting her off.

Karen was as thrown as she was, she thought, but Raymond kept glancing around. What the hell was he looking for? She found herself looking over her shoulder and then back to him.

“That’s impossible,” she said. “You can’t stay.”

Then the door squeaked open again, and this time she turned to see Alison in the doorway, looking out. “Grandma, the wedding’s going to start,” she called, then stopped and took in Raymond. “Oh, hey there, Ray. Didn’t know you were coming to my parents’ wedding. Brady didn’t say anything.”

Iris thought she made a strangled noise.

“Hi, Alison, great to see you,” Raymond said. He forced a smile that seemed far too relaxed, then gave everything to Iris. “Your grandma was just mentioning the wedding. Didn’t mean to intrude. I just had something important to discuss with Brady.”

“Oh, but the wedding is going to start,” Alison said. “You can stay. I’m sure my mom and dad would like to meet you. Grandma, Aunt Karen, Dad said to tell you to come in, because Mom’s ready to come down the stairs. Everyone else is in the living room.”

“Right,” Karen whispered to her and wrapped her hand around Iris’s arm.

“Okay, we’ll be right there,” Iris called.

As her granddaughter went back inside, Raymond dragged his hand over his face.

“You need to go,” she said quite forcefully, but all he did was shake his head.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s a little late for that,” he replied, then turned to Karen, who she knew was on the fence with all of this.

“Dad?” The door squeaked again. “What are you doing here?”

Okay, this really wasn’t the time. Iris could feel this spiraling into something way out of her control. Raymond lifted his gaze to Brady, who looked dashing. Seeing the two of them together, she could see the resemblance, and the resemblance to Luke, Marcus, Ryan, and Owen. How much longer before everyone else figured it out, too?

“I told your dad to stay for the wedding,” Alison said, appearing behind him. “Come on, Grandma…”

She felt Karen touch her arm, could feel the ground not quite as solid as it had been before. She glanced in horror at her daughter, who just patted her arm as she stood beside her.

“Maybe this won’t be as bad as you think,” Karen whispered, forcing a smile for Alison, who was still standing in the doorway with Brady. From the expression on her face, Iris knew her granddaughter was expecting some kind of disaster.

“Okay, let’s go in. Save me a seat,” she said to Alison as she headed up and reached for the open door, and Brady and Alison started into the house. She turned, taking in the horror that had crept back into Karen’s expression. Raymond was standing at the bottom of the porch steps. “Let me be very clear: You will not ruin my son’s wedding day. So help me… As soon as Ryan and Jenny are married, I want you out of here with Brady. Do I make myself clear?”

Karen said nothing as she stood between them, and Raymond’s eyes, the color she had always thought of as O’Connell blue, flickered with something she hadn’t seen in a long time.

As Karen slipped past her inside, she could hear voices, music. Raymond lifted his hand and reached for the door, holding it, angling his head and really looking long and hard at her. He was a man who didn’t cower under anyone.

“I hear you, Iris, but let me be very clear, as well: I’m not leaving here without Brady. I’m not here to ruin my son’s wedding, but if we keep standing out here, discussing this, who else do you think is going to come outside?”

She stepped in, feeling Raymond right behind her.

In the kitchen, the Greens were already cooking. She took in Tyrell, whose short dark hair was tinged with more white than she remembered. His wife was curvy, her dark hair pulled back, and she tossed an easy smile Iris’s way, with dimples in her plump dark cheeks, just as she put a large tin roaster covered with foil in the oven.

Iris dreaded what else was going to happen, so she turned to Raymond and said, “Help Tyrell in the kitchen. Stay out of sight. As soon as they’re married, I’ll send Brady in, and you figure out a way to get him out of here. Then you’ll both leave.” She kept her voice low and stood right in front of him, having to look way up.

All he did was look past her and jut his chin toward the living room. “You’d better go,” he said.

When she turned to see who he was looking at, she realized it was Marcus, standing there with Karen, and the expression on his face, the way he looked past her, straight at Raymond, was anything but friendly.

ChapterFour

“Just so you know, we like these folks,” said Tyrell Green’s wife, Michelle, as she stepped over to Raymond, who had offered to help by shucking corn from, evidently, a late fall harvest. “Karen is a saint. If it hadn’t been for her, our son would be in a supermax in another state, and we’d never get to see him. He’d be doing more time than he is.”

There was just something about the way she said it, the way she looked at him. He realized she was giving him a warning, even though he knew she had no idea who he was.

“So Karen was your son’s lawyer?” he said, though he suspected there was more to the story.

He could hear the wedding in the next room, and he didn’t think he’d ever forget the way Marcus and Karen had stood in that hallway, staring him down as they waited for Iris to walk into the living room. It was as if they thought he was there to ruin something, which was the one thing he wasn’t about to do.

There was just something about being here, knowing all his kids were under this roof at the same time. He could feel everything he’d firmly held in his control slipping, and that was something he never allowed to happen.

“Karen took on his case when no one else would,” Michelle said. “She didn’t take much, either, though we gave her all we could. She’s still fighting for him, too. When she called because Jolene Harris screwed them over after promising to cater this, we closed up the diner and came, because that’s what you do for people you care about.”

By the way she said it, he figured she wasn’t done making her point, but he took some comfort in knowing that there were people in this town who had his kids’ backs. “What, you mean another caterer was supposed to be here and canceled?”

Tyrell cleared his throat, pouring marinade over potatoes that had been cut up in a roasting pan, then covered it with tinfoil. “Michelle, it don’t matter what happened, so let’s not talk badly about folks,” he said.

Michelle’s expression turned heated, and she rested her hands on her hips, giving him everything. “It does matter! The folks here treated this family horrible, and you even said that we should reach out and see if we could do something for them. When Karen called, we dropped everything to come. You and I both know that Jolene Harris is a loud, mouthy bitch who has trash-talked this family. She should be ashamed of what she did. Yes, she was supposed to be here, catering Ryan’s wedding. Iris paid her, from what Karen said, and it sounds like she had no intention of even showing up. I’ve seen a lot of nastiness from people, growing up. Some people do it because they think someone’s done something to deserve it, but we know, from going through what we did with Lawrence, seeing people we knew turn on us… We understand how friends disappear and suddenly see you as guilty even though you didn’t do anything.”

Raymond sensed this woman could go on and on, and he continued to shuck the corn in the sink.

“Michelle, put the potatoes in the oven and check the ribs,” Tyrell said, interrupting. “We need to get the slaw done, and those meatballs, did you get them on yet?”

“Oh, I put them on in the slow cooker…” She started across the kitchen to the table, where the slow cooker was plugged in along with another heated serving dish, alongside some bottles of liquor.

“Don’t pay Michelle no mind,” Tyrell said. “She’s just in the O’Connells’ corner. You know, when Lawrence went away, it was Iris who showed up on our doorstep with a casserole. Didn’t expect it, but she just wanted us to know there were people in our corner, too. We never forgot that. He was arrested over in Bozeman. Even Marcus tried to step in for him. Lawrence was in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know. Not that this is any of my business, but I seen the way Marcus looked at you, not too friendly. So thank you for helping, but if you’re thinking of causing any problems here, don’t.”

Okay, he’d been duly warned.

He could hear laughter and cheering and knew that his son was now married. Though he’d stayed out of sight and out of the way, he wished he could’ve watched. He wiped his hands and took in his jacket, which was resting over the back of the chair, then glanced back over to Tyrell, who was a few inches shorter than him, staring at him with those dark eyes, as if he knew his secrets.

“Sounds like they’re married now,” Raymond said, stepping away from the sink. “In case I didn’t say it, thank you for showing up. I think now would be a good time for me to grab my son and slip out.”

Tyrell nodded, then stepped in to finishing shucking the rest of the corn.

Raymond reached for his coat, but just then, he spotted Owen and a gorgeous blonde, whom he knew had to be Tessa, coming his way. Owen said something to her, and she hung back as Owen strode right over to him. The way his firstborn looked at him was anything but friendly.

“Just what the hell are you doing here?” Owen said. “I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up.” His voice was low, and he pulled his hand over the back of his dark hair, which had the same slight wave it had always had. He was tall, just like Raymond. All his boys were. He spotted Brady with Alison, lingering, laughing, talking, and there was Iris, watching them closely.

“Didn’t have a choice,” Raymond said. “Did you talk to your mother?”

Owen glanced over his shoulder, and he spotted Marcus coming their way, and Luke too. Everyone was dressed to the nines. Great, it seemed he was about to be cornered, and the possibility of slipping out quietly was slipping away.

“What is this about?” Owen said. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on? So Mom knows you’re here and she just let you stay?”

Marcus and Luke were right there now, and Raymond just nodded to them, never expecting this kind of hate to be staring back at him from his kids. He wished it could be so different.

“Why are you still here?” Marcus said. “You were leaving town, remember?”

Luke said nothing, just studying him as if he were a puzzle he needed to figure out.

“I’m here for my son, who insisted on coming,” Raymond said. “The plan was to leave, but Brady wouldn’t agree.”

Ryan was there in the background, and Jenny, his bride in a white dress, and Alison, who seemed over the moon. He knew the minute Ryan saw him.

“Brady is your son?” Luke said in a low voice. “Right, of course he is. Wow, you really screwed the pooch big time on this one, Pops. He’s here with our Alison, so you’re going to destroy two more kids’ lives.”

Ryan stepped over. The expression on his face was murderous, and could he blame him? No.

“Congratulations, Ryan,” he forced himself to say.

He expected his son to yell at him to get out, but Ryan only nodded.

In the living room, Brady was lingering, and Raymond knew he was starting to pick up on something. He didn’t remember ever seeing him appear so confused, but he didn’t have a clue how to get him out of this house without telling him the truth, because he had to be wondering now. Raymond would be left with no choice but to tell him why nothing could ever happen between him and Alison, and then Brady would be angry—no, furious.

“This is my wedding day,” Ryan said. “I can’t believe you’d show up here. Why? No, don’t say it. I know why. Brady is your son, right? You didn’t even think of what this would do.”

Raymond pulled in a breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “I need to have a word with Brady, Ryan, and then we’ll be out of here. Again, I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

It was Luke who stepped back and walked over to Brady. Whatever he said to him had him walking over, and the expression on his face was one Raymond had never seen before.

“Dad, what the hell are you doing here?” Brady said. “Mr. O’Connell, I’m so sorry for this…”

Ryan only rested his hand on Brady’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it, Brady. You need to go talk to your dad.” Then he patted his shoulder again and stepped away.

Raymond gestured to the back door, then pulled it open, because this conversation was one he wasn’t going to have in front of everyone.

Brady glanced back and called out, “Alison, I’ll be right back.”

Raymond looked over to a family he was trying to figure out how to make things right with, and he saw a girl who was about to be devastated because of this secret he’d kept. His granddaughter. He fought the urge to say he was sorry.

As they stepped out, Tyrell looked over to him, and for just that one moment, Raymond swore the man knew exactly who he was and what he was about to do. He forced himself to pull the door closed behind them.

Brady turned on him. “Seriously, Dad, this is too much. You can’t just show up here like this. This is Alison’s parents’ wedding. You’re interfering with their day and mine. Is this because I’ve stood my ground and won’t leave? Like, are you seriously trying to ruin my life?”

He lifted his hand to calm his son, who had every right to be angry and was going to be a whole lot more. “No, the last thing I want to do is ruin your life,” he said. “It’s quite the opposite. I’m here so you won’t ruin your life and do something stupid because of something I should have told you.”

Brady dragged both his hands over his head in the way he did when he was frustrated. Raymond remembered it was something Owen had done, too, when he was young. Why he thought of that now, he didn’t know.

“This is about Alison again?” Brady said. “I cannot believe you, Dad. You have no say in who I date or see, and you don’t get an opinion on Alison⁠—”

“She’s my granddaughter,” Raymond said, cutting him off. He couldn’t figure out how to explain this, so he went right to ripping the bandage off. There was no way to tell him nicely.

“Excuse me?” Brady said, and Raymond wasn’t sure whether his expression was shock or if he actually hadn’t heard him.

“Eighteen years ago, I had another family,” Raymond said. “I walked away from them, and I never told you about them. I had a wife and six kids, whom you’ve just met. I never planned on telling you, and I wish now I had, because the last thing I ever wanted was to see the hurt I can see now in you. That’s why I pushed. That’s why I wanted to leave. It’s not because I didn’t like Alison; it’s because she’s family. Ryan, Marcus, Luke, and Owen are your brothers, and Karen and Suzanne are your sisters.”

Brady just stood there.

“I’m so sorry,” Raymond finally said. “Say something.”

Brady opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He dropped his gaze to the ground, and it seemed as if time stood still. When he slowly lifted his gaze back up to him, staring at him, it was with an expression he’d never expected to see on his son’s face. Instead of saying anything, Brady started to walk away. Raymond reached for his arm only to have Brady snatch it away as if he were going to hit him.

“Brady!” he called out.

“No! Stay the fuck away from me. Are you kidding? How could you do this to me? Just stay away from me, because right now, I hate you.”

Instead of going back into the house, Brady started running around front to the sidewalk, and then he was gone up the street. Raymond figured he’d find him locked in his room at home.

When he looked to the back door, feeling like the worst person ever, he spotted Ryan stepping out of the house and walking his way.

“I’m so sorry, Ryan, for bringing this here, for ruining this day for you,” he said.

“Stop,” Ryan said, sounding so calm, though there was an edge to his voice. “You ruined our lives years ago. But this… Just go, please.”

Instead of saying anything else or apologizing to a son who would likely never forgive him, Raymond only nodded. The O’Connells would never be part of his life again.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking, and this time, he didn’t look back.

ChapterFive

It had been a really long day. Alison had cried her eyes out, and the wedding had been somewhat subdued after Raymond and Brady’s hasty departure. The food Tyrell and Michelle had cooked up had been amazing, though Iris had spent what should have been an enjoyable feast picking at her food and sitting with her granddaughter, who was nursing a broken heart.

She stood with her, her arm around her shoulders, after Ryan told her who Raymond and Brady really were. She’d been unable to answer the one question Alison had asked her while everyone was eating: Why was Raymond there now with Brady, anyway, if he’d walked away all those years ago? Why had he come back?

The fact was that he lived not even a block away and had been there for months. Even Iris had to wonder what that was about. Despite everything she didn’t know about Raymond, she did know when something was up.

It seemed her granddaughter knew more than she did, yet all Iris could do as she sat with her and swallowed her own misery was tell her she had no idea what went on in the mind of Raymond O’Connell or why he did the things he did.

Her heart went out to Brady, too, who hadn’t chosen any of this. She couldn’t help wondering who his mother was, the other woman—and there it was, another moment of fury and jealousy she’d never expected to feel.

“Well, that was just a shit-kicker of a day, wasn’t it?” Luke said as he came into the kitchen, where she’d just filled the kettle and plugged it in. It was nearly midnight, and it was pitch black outside. She should get some sleep, but she was too unsettled and needed some time to quiet her thoughts before bed.

She lifted her hand, taking in Luke as he pulled at his tie. Her heels had been dumped at the door, so she wore just her stockings on the cold floor. She wasn’t sure what it was about him that was different. Maybe she expected him to be as angry as Marcus and Ryan or even Owen, who hadn’t wanted to have a conversation about his dad. Suzanne and Karen, too, had been in a constant huddle, likely talking about Raymond in ways she would rather not know.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I had no idea he was still in town,” Iris said. “He told me very clearly that he was leaving.”

Luke leaned against the island, his brow furrowed. He wasn’t smiling. “You talked to him and saw him before today?”

She inhaled. Right, she hadn’t told her kids about that night he’d shown up in the backyard in the dark while she was home alone. “Once,” she said. “He showed up the night after the charges were dropped, when you were at Ryan’s. I’m not sure why he came by, maybe to say goodbye, to say he was sorry. I have no idea, Luke, but he told me then about Brady. I was so furious at what he’d done. So yes, I knew, but I never expected this to happen. He was supposed to leave. When I saw Brady today at Ryan’s, and I saw that Alison had invited him as her date, I swear I wanted to kill your father for a moment. I knew Brady didn’t know. Today was unavoidable, but it seems that with Raymond, there’s a trail of repercussions, of lives destroyed. At least it’s out in the open now, and maybe he’ll leave us, and we can get back to…” She paused. Back to what? “I suppose whatever our new normal is,” she finished, then gestured as the kettle whistled. She pulled the plug.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“You expecting someone?” she said to Luke, who instantly went on alert, pushing his hand out to her.

“Stay here,” he said and walked into the living room.

She realized he had a gun in his hand. Geez, had he been carrying it all day? He flicked on the outside light and then let out a breath, and she didn’t miss the way he relaxed. She strode into the living room carefully, her hand on her chest.

“It’s Brady,” he tossed out over his shoulder after tucking his gun in the waistband of the back of his dress pants. As he pulled open the door, she took in the young man standing there, still in his dress pants and nice shirt, with no coat. He looked cold and miserable.

“I’m sorry to just show up here,” Brady said.

“Nonsense. Come on in,” Luke replied.

Iris took in the tall gangly boy, whom she could see Luke was trying to make sense of. “You have no coat?” she said. “It’s freezing out there. Where’s your dad?”

Brady stood so awkwardly in the entryway, and she thought for a moment that he was too embarrassed to look at her. “I didn’t know where to go. I remembered Alison showing me that her grandma lived here. I thought it would be okay if I stopped by?” His hands were in his pockets, and she thought he was shivering. As he stepped down into the living room, she could see by his face that he’d been crying. Maybe he was waiting for her to tell him to leave.

“You know what, Brady? Come on in,” she said. “You look cold. Luke, can you grab a sweater for Brady?”

Luke pulled a hoodie from the closet and strode down and handed it to him. Brady shrugged it on.

Iris lifted her gaze to her son, unsure of what to do. “Come on, Brady, sit down. Does your dad know where you are?” She rested her hand over his shoulder, rubbing it.

He sat on the sofa, hunched over, and shook his head. He put his hand over his face for a second and then pulled it away. There was such misery there, and she took in his eyes, not the same O’Connell blue as her children’s.

“No, I don’t want to talk to him,” he said. “I’m so angry at him. How could he have lied to me? I really liked Alison, and now I don’t know what to feel. I didn’t know he had a family before me. He just told me today that he walked away from you all eighteen years ago. Did he do it because of me? I never knew any of this. I’m almost eighteen. That’s all I can think of…”

Okay, this wasn’t good. She sat down on the sofa beside him and reached over, then gently squeezed his arm. It was the only thing she could think of doing. “Look, this is kind of a mess, this situation, but this isn’t your fault. At the same time, you have to call your dad and tell him you’re here. He has to be worried.”

“My mom’s right,” Luke said. “Look, kid, it’s a shitty situation, but how about you give me your dad’s number, and I’ll call him and tell him you’re here, and then everyone can stop worrying?”

From the way Brady looked up to Luke, she didn’t think he’d tell him. “So you’re my brother,” was all he said. Iris looked over to Luke and wasn’t sure if there was amusement behind the way he winced.

“It seems I am, kid,” Luke said. She knew he was waiting as he pulled out his cell phone.

Brady dragged his gaze over to her. “And you were married to my dad?”

Wow, that was a question she didn’t know how to answer, considering she gathered Brady knew nothing about his dad’s exploits or who he really was. She suspected Raymond had kept many other secrets.

“Yes, and he left one night, walked out on us,” she said, and the boy just nodded. “But that’s between your dad and me. It has nothing to do with you.”

Brady shrugged and then gestured toward her. “How can you say that? You should be angry with me. You have every right to be angry with me. So, my mom, did you know her?”

The way he said it had her shaking her head and then looking up to Luke, who was watching the boy in a way that seemed conflicted.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t,” Iris said. “In fact, I didn’t know about you. This has been a big surprise for all of us.”

“Come on, kid,” Luke said. “What’s Raymond’s number? No matter how angry you are at him, I need to call him and tell him you’re all right.”