Aftershocks

Briana didn’t answer.

Behind her, Sha

“Patrick and I aren’t-”

“Save it. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. I’m not stupid.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “You didn’t know Patrick when Janie was alive.”

This got Briana’s attention. She turned and gazed at Sha

Sha

“Tell me about it,” Briana suggested gently. It was obvious this was tough on Sha

The usually tough firefighter rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Janie woke up that morning and said she wasn’t feeling well. She had a headache. So Patrick told her to stay in bed. He got the kids up and gave them their breakfast. Dylan was in first grade. Fiona was only two. Patrick dropped Dylan off at school, and to give Janie a break, he took Fiona to our mom’s for a few hours.”

Sha

“But she only said she had a headache.” Briana shrugged. “Most people would take a pill and not think anything of it. Why would he worry? I mean, it’s a terrible, terrible tragedy, but I don’t see how Patrick can blame himself.”

Sha

“Oh, no.”

“She was only three months along, but Patrick blames himself for that, too. He was the one who wanted more kids. I don’t think Janie minded either way, but he’d come from this big loud family, and that’s what he wanted. And he ended up losing his wife, as well as the baby she carried.”

“But that wasn’t his fault!” Briana cried, moved almost to tears by the story.

“Tell him that.”

She drained the potatoes and filled the pot with cold water, letting this new information seep in. “Of course he blames himself. I guess I would in the same situation.”

“So maybe now you can see why I won’t have him hurt. I’ll tell you right now, and it’s not to minister to your vanity, but in the three years since Janie’s been gone, I’ve never seen him look at another woman the way he looks at you. And that scares me.”

“I don’t want to hurt him,” Briana said softly. And it was the truth, but not the whole truth. She’d come to Courage Bay to hurt him. To revenge her family. She felt sick inside.

“If you do, if you hurt him or those kids, I promise I will take you apart.”

This was not a promise Briana took lightly. One glance at those fierce blue eyes, and she knew she’d never want to cross Patrick’s sister.

She nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’m not stupid, you know. He won’t tell me anything, but I know you two weren’t playing charades inside that elevator. He’s got it bad.” She shook her head, hair falling around her face. “Besides, you look at him the same way he looks at you.”

Briana blinked, startled. She did? She thought her feelings for Patrick were her secret, and here she was broadcasting them every time she looked his way?

Not good.

“Don’t worry,” Sha

“This is a very inappropriate conversation,” Briana said, trying hard not to blush. Since she knew she was going a deeper red by the second, she stuck her head over the pot and started taking out potatoes. She shoved a couple Sha

“Ow,” her companion said. “They’re hot.”

“You’re a firefighter. You’re supposed to be able to take the heat.”

“Not in the kitchen,” Sha

The sliding door opened and a huge man entered. The way he and Sha

“Now that’s a sight for sore eyes-you being domestic,” he teased Sha

She laughed and introduced John and Briana.

“What are you doing in here?” Sha

“I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry. The food will be up in a minute. Go help Sean with the barbecue or something.”

With some good-natured muttering, John left and the two women went back to their potato salad.

Briana once more found herself raiding Patrick’s fridge and pantry for the ingredients she needed. There was lots of mayo

“At least you’re a good cook,” Sha

Sha

“Wow. The family will miss you.”

“I know. Anyhow, I guess that’s why I was hard on you. I won’t be around to keep an eye on Patrick and the kids, so I have to get my licks in now.”

“I understand.” And she did. Family loyalty could make a person do some crazy things.

Now that Sha

Briana wanted a chance to get to know this man her body craved, who he really was, without the rest of the world looking on.

In a crowd of O’Sheas, that wasn’t likely to happen.

Surprisingly, as it turned out, Briana did get to know more about him that afternoon. She saw him with his family, relaxed in a su

They were a gregarious lot, the O’Sheas, and those she didn’t know, she soon met. Sha

“Mom,” Sha

Mary O’Shea was as tall as her daughter. She looked about fifty, when Briana knew she had to be at least ten years older. She wasn’t a beautiful woman, but she was a striking one, with the most amazing cloud of long, white curly hair that floated around her head and shoulders in a way that was far too angelic for the expression in her twinkling hazel eyes. She looked like a woman who enjoyed a good joke and could keep her crew of men in line with no trouble at all.