Saving a Legend(58)

“Sunday dinners are not optional, but Jimmy’s stuck at work,” Dee countered, tossing a salad in a large decorative bowl.

“It was optional for you for two years.” Rory grinned at Kieran, prodding him with his elbow before dropping his hand back down to pet Ace’s head. The two were literally never apart.

“Shut up,” Kieran replied with a harder prod to Rory’s ribs.

“Maybe I should become a cop. Then I can use the work excuse on a Sunday, too,” Quinn chimed in, picking a grape tomato out of the salad bowl and popping it in his mouth. Dee smacked his hand away.

“Yeah, right,” Rory and Kieran said in unison.

“What? You don’t think I can be a cop? Jimmy’s younger than all of us, and he made it through academy,” Quinn postured, standing defensively with his hands on his hips.

Kieran laughed. “Because he’s straight-laced, a rule follower, and kind of a stick in the mud. You’re covered in so many piercings and tattoos that a bad guy would only need a magnet to beat you.”

Rory and Dee both joined in laughing as Quinn rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He’d gotten even more tattoos since Kieran had been gone, his arms now completely covered by tattoo sleeves. A few crept up his neck, and Kieran figured there were more on his chest and back, although he hadn’t personally checked and wasn’t planning to.



“What’s so funny?” Seamus walked into the room and kissed Dee on her temple, hugging her sideways as he, too, reached into the salad and stole a tomato.

“Quinn wants to be a cop.” Dee tried to conceal the smirk on her face. She was never one to cut her kids down, always telling them that they could do whatever they wanted. However, Kieran could tell that the thought of Quinn as a cop was a little hard even for her to wrap her head around.

“Ace has a better chance of making K-9 than Quinn does of making cop.” Seamus nodded to his son’s big black-and-white dog.

“Ace would make a kickass K-9.” Quinn dropped his tough stance and laughed in agreement.

Kieran admired him for that, his ability to take everything in stride. He was always lighthearted, easy to please. It was one of the reasons he did so well managing Legends with their dad: his customer service skills were the best. He enjoyed the business aspect of it more than the fighting, although he did have some wicked moves in the ring.

“I can hear you fools laughing from upstairs.” Casey walked into the room with Clare trailing behind her.

“Hey, Case.” Rory hugged Casey tightly, kissing the top of her head before finding his way to Clare.



Kieran envied Casey and Rory’s closeness, even though he was probably the second closest to her after him. Casey was like a little sister to them, and she was easily the favorite. All the brothers, himself included, wanted nothing more than to shield her from every bad thing in the world, especially after everything she’d been through.

“K, good to see you at these. I’ve missed you!” Casey smiled at him, hugging him next as Clare and Rory wrapped an arm around each other, looking happier together than he’d ever felt alone.

“I was here last week, Case.”

“I know, it’s just nice seeing you around again.” She moved on to hug Quinn.

“I found some stragglers!” Kane announced, suddenly appearing in the kitchen and bringing Fiona and Shea along with him. Both hovered in the entryway, not fully committing. Kieran smiled when he saw Fiona and immediately walked over to usher them in.

Hellos and greetings echoed around the room as everyone welcomed his girls. He winked at Fiona but spoke to Shea first, kneeling down to be at her level and then pointing around the room. “Shea, this is my brother Rory and his girlfriend, Clare,” Kieran told the little girl, pointing to his burly brother and Rory’s miniature blond girlfriend.

“Hi, Shea, it’s great to meet you!” Clare squatted down to shake her hand. Shea just looked at her hand but didn’t take it. “That’s okay, we don’t have to shake.”

“How about a wave?” Rory joined them lower to the ground and gave Shea a small wave. Shea smiled, liking that, and waved back to them both. “Oh, and this is our dog, Ace. You can pet him if you want.”



Rory motioned for Ace to come over from where he was sitting comfortably at Dee’s feet. The dog stood and plodded over to them, pushing his nose up against Shea’s hand. She giggled and pulled back, but the dog insisted, so she finally petted him gently. The look on Ace’s face said he’d made a new friend for life.

“And this is my brother Quinn.” Kieran pointed next to the heavily marked man. Shea’s eyes widened as he leaned down and waved at her. She shrank away from him and stepped back into Fiona’s legs. Fiona put a hand on each of her shoulders to comfort her.