Page 62 of Wild Irish

That small spark of hope is completely extinguished now.

“He didn’t send the passes?” Which means he didn’t want to see me.

My chest squeezes painfully.

God, I’m so stupid.

“No. But I’ve never seen him like this. My brother’s a stubborn bastard, but he has a good heart.”

I’ve never doubted that. Until maybe now. Now, I wonder if anything between us had been real. Or if it had all been a game to him.

“Did he ever tell ye about our mom?” Owen asks, leaning against the wall, and shoving his hands in his pockets.

He looks so much like Cillian, and it hurts to look at him.

“Not much. I know she left when you were both young.”

He nods. “Cillian was twelve when she took off. Met some guy down at the pub. An Englishman.” His lip rolls up in a sneer at the word. “Our dad knew about it, but he was too much of a coward to fight for her. So, he let her go off and do what she wanted.” He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “One day, she didn’t come home. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we found out she’d moved to England. Started a new family there.”

“I’m sorry.” I am. But I also don’t know why he’s telling me all this.

“Cillian took it the hardest. I wonder sometimes if he doesn’t blame himself for her leaving.”

“He was just a kid.”

“A bad one.” Owen’s lips twitch, and a small hint of humor reaches his eyes. “We both were. We were always getting into trouble.”

“It doesn’t matter how bad you were. It’s no reason for a mom to abandon her children.”

“Maybe not. But ye don’t know the trouble we got into.” He chuckles. “The week before she left, we got caught gluing the pages of the church’s hymn books together. Cillian took the blame for it. Said it’d been his idea and I was only there to stop him. Our mom gave him a good beating for that one. But it was nothing compared to the time he filled Mrs. O’Brien’s gas tank with mud. Or when he dumped a box of instant rice and boiling water down Mr. Murphy’s sink. Busted the pipes and flooded his whole kitchen.”

“Oh my God.”

“Like I said, we weren’t saints.”

We stand in silence for a few moments, and I can feel Owen studying me.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want ye to understand. After our mom left, Cillian pulled into himself. Pushed people away. He still does. Even with me. Trust me when I tell ye that my brother cares a great deal about ye.”

God, I want to believe him.

“Even if you’re right, and he does…care about me, I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me.” Fresh tears sting my eyes, and I blink them away. “I deserve better than that. No matter how much I want to be with him.”

With a heavy sigh, Owen removes the distance between us and wraps his large arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Cillian’s going to wake up one day and realize what an idiot he’s been. I just hope it’s not too late when he does.”

Chapter 28

Cillian

The womenhere are like bleedin’ leaches. They can’t keep their damn hands off me, and it’s driving me insane.

This used to be my life. And I loved it. Now all I can think about is Delaney.

I cringe when a blonde runs her claw-like nails across the back of my neck, whispering dirty little promises in my ear.

In a way, I wish I could take her up on her offer, and maybe I’d finally get Delaney out of my head. But I know it won’t do any good.

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