“We do, though.” Fiona put down her coffee cup slightly harder than she meant to. “He’s an ex-con, and he never told me. I let my little sister around him, and he still didn’t tell me. I told him that I was afraid, that I wasn’t used to trusting people, and he still didn’t tell me. And is he an addict? Has he been hiding that, too? I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around that possibility.”
“Kieran is not an addict.” Casey jumped in immediately, crossing her hands in front of her. “Not even close.”
“I agree. I don’t know Kieran all that well, but I do know addicts. From what I’ve heard about him, and what I’ve seen, he’s not some hard-core drug user,” Clare said, her voice turning sad and quiet as she put the muffin tray into the preheated oven. “Believe me, I’d know.”
“I’m sorry, Clare.” Fiona squeezed her arm gently. She’d heard about Rory’s background and everything he and Clare had gone through when they met.
“It’s okay.” Clare waved her hand to squash the topic. “This is a tough situation.”
“It really is.” Fiona sighed, then stole a blueberry from Nora’s bowl and popped it into her mouth. “Ever since he went back to jail, Shea has been devastated, and she is convinced it’s all her fault for some reason. I feel so lost, so…broken. I have to do what’s best for my sister.” Fiona tried to speak with assurance, but her confidence cracked with each broken seam of her heart. “And letting this kind of pain into her life is definitely not for the best.”
“Plus, he made you miss the gala, so that on its own is heartbreaking.” Clare tried to bring humor back to the defeated mood in the room. “Think of that poor dress still in your closet! The man must suffer!”
It worked, because they all chuckled and shook their heads at her comment, even though their laughter was still heavy and tired. Casey clapped a hand on Clare’s shoulder. “Damn, Clare. Ice cold.”
“I’m teasing, of course,” Clare said with a smile. They all knew, because Clare was sweet to her very core.
“I’m not trying to make him suffer…Do you think he’s that upset?” Fiona finally asked.
“Um, yeah.” Casey put a now-empty juice glass in the sink. “If you’re not trying to hurt him, then what are you doing?”
“I’m just trying to process everything. He lied to me. That’s what bothers me the most,” Fiona tried to explain, her hands clasped around her mug tightly. “I told him how important trust is to me, how much it took for me to allow him into Shea’s life. How do I know anything he tells me over the phone while he’s in prison is going to be the truth?”
The women paused and looked at each other. None looked as if she knew the answer to that question.
“Maybe he had a good reason? I don’t know.” Nora stared down at her cup of coffee. Fiona knew that her best friend had built a friendship with Kieran based on working together these last few weeks, but even she was surprised that Nora continued to give him the benefit of the doubt when the evidence was so clearly against him.
“You could go visit him on Monday if they let you. Harder to lie face-to-face,” Clare suggested, checking on her muffins.
“Except that he’s been doing that ever since the day they met,” Casey answered for her.
The women sat in silence, contemplating the situation. The house was silent: Shea was in the next room reading, and both Seamus and Dee were at Legends, as they were most days. None of the brothers were here, and they weren’t expected to start showing up until Sunday dinner in a few hours.
The phone rang, causing them all to jump.
“Fucking hell,” Casey grumbled as she walked over to the wall phone. The parents, as they were affectionately called, were still pretty old school, and had one of those old-timey phones with a long, coiled cord. “Hello?”
“I bet that’s him again.” Clare eyed Casey nervously. He’d already called twice this morning when he’d been able to find a phone; she doubted he’d be able to manage it a third time.
“I’ll ask, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Casey said into the phone receiver, before turning to look at her. “Fiona?”
Fiona’s stomach dropped as Casey held the phone out to her with an uncomfortable look on her face. She contemplated her choices. She could continue to push off the confrontation another few weeks until he was out…Or she could talk to him now.
“Okay, okay. I can do this.” She exhaled and stood, walking over and taking the phone from Casey. “Hello?”