Sherryl Woods - The Devaney Brothers - Michael and Patrick - Michael's Discovery

She regarded him blankly. “Excuse me?”

“Is Sean coming by to take over when you take the peanut here home for her nap? Or maybe his wife? Then, again, Deanna has already called in today, so maybe it’s Ryan’s turn.”

Color bloomed in Maggie’s cheeks.

Michael sighed. “I thought so. You all divvied up the assignment so I wouldn’t be alone for more than an hour or so at a time, didn’t you? I’m amazed nobody took the night shift, or is somebody that I don’t know about sitting in the hallway from midnight to seven in the morning?”

Maggie’s chin rose, eyes flashing. “Your brothers are concerned about you. It’s perfectly natural.”

“Where was that concern twenty years ago? Or even five years ago?” he demanded heatedly. “Hovering now won’t make up for all those years they didn’t do a damn thing to find me.”

Maggie regarded him in silence.

“No answer for that?” he pushed, even though he knew he was being totally unreasonable by taking years of pent-up anger out on her. “I didn’t think so.”

Before he could wheel himself away from the table, Maggie rested her hand on his. “They were hurt, too, you know.”

“Not by me, dammit!”

“No, of course not. But you were all kids,” she reminded him with gentle censure. “None of you could have been expected to fight the system to find your way back to the others.”

“We’ve all been adults for a long time now,” he retorted.

She regarded him with an unflinching stare. “Then I’ll ask you this—did you look for Ryan or Sean?”

Michael’s heart throbbed dully as he thought of how hard he’d worked to block out all memories of his big brothers. He’d substituted the loving Havilceks for his family. They would never have turned their backs on one of their kids, not even him, though he’d spent a lot of years with his heart in his throat expecting the worst.

“No,” he admitted, “but—”

“Can’t you let it be enough that your brothers are back in your life now? We’re family, Michael. It may be late, but let’s not waste any more time by tossing around a lot of useless recriminations.”

Gazing into his sister-in-law’s troubled green eyes, Michael fought off the desire to prolong the argument. Maggie was right. There was nothing to be gained by holding grudges, and maybe quite a lot to be gained by forgiveness.

“Okay, then,” he said at last. “I’ll work on putting aside the past, if you’ll do something for me in return.”

“Anything,” she agreed readily.

“Can the hovering,” he said bluntly. “I have to learn to do things for myself. And if there’s something I can’t manage, I’ll call and ask for help.”

She studied him skeptically. “You promise that you won’t shut us out completely?”

He grinned at that. “As if you’d let me. No, Maggie, I won’t shut any of you out. You’re welcome here anytime...just not all the time.”

She laughed. “Okay, I get it. I’ll speak to Ryan, Sean and Deanna.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Of course, that puts you in my debt, at least a little, doesn’t it?”

He eyed her warily. “A little, I suppose. Why?”

“Will you come to the pub on Friday night? There will be Irish music, and the special’s fish and chips. Ryan can come by to pick you up.”

Michael was surprised to find that the prospect held some appeal. “You’re a tough negotiator, Maggie Devaney.”

“I know,” she said with unmistakable pride. “I had to be to win your brother’s heart. You may find this hard to believe, but he was even less trusting than you are.”

“You’re right. I do find that hard to believe.”

“Well, it’s true.” She smiled at him. “Will you come?”

“I’ll come,” he agreed. “But I’ll get there on my own.”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could protest. “If I can’t manage it, I’ll call.”

“Fair enough, then. I’ll do these dishes and get out of your hair.”

Michael glanced at his niece and saw that she was nodding off in her booster seat at the table. “I think maybe you ought to get Caitlyn home for her nap, instead. I can clear things away in here.”

“But—”

He deliberately scowled at her. “Go, Maggie, before you undo all the warm and fuzzy feelings I’m developing toward you.”

She laughed at that, picked up her daughter, then bent and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad to have you as part of our family. You’ll get to meet the rest of the O’Briens on Friday night. You might want to brace yourself. My family can be a little overwhelming. Ryan and I have been married for nearly two years now, and they still make him nervous.”

“Now there’s a fine recommendation,” Michael responded dryly. “I’m really looking forward to Friday night, after that.”

“The music will compensate for the chaos. I promise.”

Michael believed her, which was a bit of a miracle in and of itself. Other than the men on his SEAL team, he’d long ago lost his faith in promises.

* * *

Kelly wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived for her second therapy session with Michael. Even though during her last visit he’d agreed to continue with his rehabilitation, he wouldn’t be the first patient to have a change of heart between sessions, especially if he’d spent the intervening hours brooding.

She rang the bell at his apartment promptly at 10:00 a.m., then waited to see what sort of greeting she got. She counted it a positive sign when nothing crashed against the door. Nor were there any cries of pain from inside. So far, it was going better than either of her earlier visits.

When another full minute had passed, she rang the bell again. “Michael, it’s me. Is everything okay? Should I come on in?”

More silence. She frowned at the door. Had he bailed on her, after all? Or was he inside, simply ignoring her, hoping she would go away? She was about to put her key in the lock, when the front door of the building crashed open. Kelly whirled around and found herself staring straight into Michael’s very blue eyes.

“Sorry,” he said as he awkwardly tried to manipulate the chair into the foyer. “I had to go out. I thought I’d be back before you got here, but everything took longer than I expected.”

Kelly stared at him. “You went out?” she said blankly. Where? How? She resisted the urge to ask questions he would no doubt find intrusive, if not downright insulting.

“To the store,” he said, holding up two small plastic bags crammed with groceries. He looked astonishingly pleased with himself.

“How did you manage?” she asked. “Did you call a taxi?”

“Of course not. The store’s only a few blocks away.”

Her incredulity grew. “You went in your wheelchair?”

“I sure as hell didn’t walk,” he retorted, his good mood evaporating.

Kelly immediately felt guilty for spoiling his moment of triumph. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting it. It’s terrific that you were able to manage on your own.”

His scowl stayed firmly in place. “You’re not out of a job just yet, if that’s what’s worrying you.”

“No, of course not. You caught me off guard, that’s all.” She gestured toward the apartment. “And I was worried when you didn’t answer the door.”

“Well, I’m here now, and that clock of yours is no doubt ticking, so let’s get started.”

Filled with regret about the tension she’d managed to cause, she merely nodded and stepped aside. “Go on in. I’ll be right behind you.”

He wheeled past without comment. Kelly leaned against the wall for a second and drew in a deep breath. Why was it that she couldn’t manage to have one single encounter with this man without some sort of misunderstanding? She’d never had problems making herself clear before, but Michael managed to keep her off-kilter and tongue-tied. When she finally did speak, everything kept coming out wrong. Sure, he was understandably prickly, but she seemed to have a special knack for setting him off.