“Some of them just run their mouths and pick fights, acting like punks and bullies for no reason. I don’t like it.”
“I get it, these kids are not easy to be around. That’s why they’re here, but even I can tell you’re a bit on edge today.”
He liked how direct and open Nora was. He felt as if he could be himself around her and not have to censor his thoughts and words. He’d noticed that she had an innate understanding about people that made her take everything in stride, seeming to figure out easily what made people tick.
“Yeah, maybe,” he conceded after a pause between them. “Sorry.”
“I’m headed to O’Leary’s tonight for a pint and to watch the game. Want to join? I know drinking is probably a parole violation, but you could still have a soda and just relax. It seems like you need it.” Nora slid some files into her oversize purse. Pulling on a cardigan, she stretched her arms and then let her hair down from the bun it had been confined to.
Kieran watched, not blind to how beautiful this woman was. For some reason, though, her looks did nothing for him. It’s not that she wasn’t his type, because a woman like Nora with a body like that…she was everyone’s type. Still, he just wasn’t interested. Twice in the last two days he’d felt that way around women. He was starting to worry something was wrong with him.
“Yeah, that actually sounds perfect.” He hoped a night out watching the game and socializing would reassure him that he hadn’t suddenly lost his masculinity.
“Awesome. You drive, because I’m going to drink,” she said. “Wait, can you drive with your record?”
“My conviction had nothing to do with cars, so yes,” Kieran told her, glad for small mercies. He would be devastated if his license had been revoked because of his record. His parole also didn’t stipulate that he couldn’t drink, but he’d rather not tempt fate. If he was going to have alcohol, it’d be a drink or two at home, not in a rowdy bar where he could get himself in trouble.
He had zero desire to go back to prison thanks to a bar brawl, or to the partying lifestyle he’d led before. He’d never been a huge drinker, but he’d used both alcohol and drugs recreationally, when others had pressured him in the past. He definitely didn’t want to go back down that road, even if only for a night.
About twenty minutes later, he and Nora walked into a gritty, hole-in-the-wall Irish pub. Longer than it was wide, the bar lined one side of the place, with booths on the other. Small cocktail tables were in one line down the middle, and people were already filling most of the seats watching a football game on the wall-mounted television screens.
A few faces turned in their direction, their eyes going huge as they recognized him. Holding his head high, Kieran ignored the whispering as people moved out of his way and more eyes turned to him. The room seemed to shrink away from him, an undercurrent of fear throughout.
“Jeez, I feel so unpopular,” Nora whispered as they crossed the room and headed toward the bar.
“Sorry, that’s my fault.” He shrugged, not really caring what anyone thought. Everyone in Woodlawn knew who he was, and who his family was; therefore, they all knew what he had done. This was a reaction he’d become quite familiar with over the last few days.
“Oh, good. I was starting to think I smelled or something.” Nora seemed more at ease now that she felt the pressure was off. “Wait, is this because of your record?”
Kieran nodded. Word had traveled fast about what he’d done, and news of his conviction even faster. He was used to the stares at this point—he’d been encountering them everywhere since he’d gotten back in town.
Nora shook her head, one corner of her mouth tilted down. “That’s stupid. Why do people get so hung up on labels and all that? It happened, it’s over, why talk about it?”
Kieran nodded again before pointing to some open seats at the end of the bar. “Let’s sit there.” He preferred sitting at the end, where he had the extra room he needed for his large frame. Old habits die hard for a fighter.
She nodded, and they sat, then waved down the bartender. Kieran immediately recognized the beautiful, wavy-haired blonde as she walked over to them. She wore a simple black tee and pants, with a small waitress apron tied around her waist. The contrast between her all-black outfit and her bubbly yellow hair and dark green eyes was mesmerizing.
“Hey, it’s Clare, right?” Kieran greeted her with a smile that reached his eyes. Rory’s girlfriend was clearly not as judgmental as some of his family members, and he appreciated how a total stranger had stuck out her neck for him at Sunday’s dinner.