Page 14 of Sam's Forever
Bren grins, reaching out and touching Mikayla’s foot. “You’re welcome, sweetheart, but it was Ally who arranged it all. She wanted to make sure you’d be happy while you visit us.”
“Who Ally?” Mikayla demands, not nearly as shy now as she looks at all of us.
“I’m Ally,” Ally smiles at her and holds up her hand. “I’m glad you like your bear, but your dad is right; make sure you ask your mum before you eat the sweets.”
“I will,” she nods vigorously, her curls bouncing around her face. She’s fucking cute, and I’m sure a handful because who could say no to all that cuteness?
“Where’s your mam, baby?” Andy wants to know.
“She said she had to go pee again,” Mikayla answers matter-of-factly, as if this is a regular occurrence.
Andy’s entire body tightens as he looks around before asking his daughter, “And were you meant to stay with your mam, Mikayla?”
The little girl lowers her eyes and plays with a button on his shirt until, in a firm voice, he asks again, “Mikayla Jane, were you meant to stay with Mammy?”
Mikayla nods her head before looking at her father, “I sowwy, Butch,” she whispers, “I excited to show you my bear.”
“Fuck,” he whispers. “Here,” he hands me his daughter, “I need to find my wife. She’ll be panicking. Don’t take your eyes off that one, no matter what. Where’s the nearest ladies?”
Bren goes into owner mode and strides away saying, “Follow me, I’ll show you. Don’t worry, my brother won’t let anything happen to Mikayla, plus Ally and Jeanie are used to wild kids. Wait until you meet their brothers.”
We watch them go, and I’m wondering if we should offer to help, but I decide we’ll be best off waiting here for them all to come back. My attention is brought back to the little girl in my arms who says, “Oh, oh, I in big twouble now.”
Ally and I share a glance, and I have to bite my lip as I try not to laugh. Jeanie’s shoulders are shaking as she turns away from us until finally, she has to walk away.
It’s not long before Andy and Bren come back with a woman who can only be this tot’s mother with how much they look alike. Although by the looks of it, she’s about to breathe fire as she waddles towards us, her pregnant belly leading the way.
I nearly lose it when Mikayla mumbles, “Shite, my mammy looks angry. I better say I sowwy fast.”
“Mikayla Jane, what did I tell you?” her mother demands, coming to a stop and tapping her foot, hands on her hips.
“To stay next to you,” Mikayla mutters a little sulkily, then brightens, “I sowwy, Mammy, but you were taking ages andages. And I wanted to show Daddy Butch my bear. Look,” she holds it out, “it’s got my name on it.”
I’m bloody confused by the fact that she seems to call Andy different names, making me wonder what the hell is going on there.
Her mother huffs out a breath, rolls her eyes, and pleads to the heavens, “You couldn’t give me an easy one. I hope to hell this next one is.”
When she doesn’t get the answer she’s looking for, she huffs another breath and then relaxes against Andy as he encircles her with his arm, taking her weight. “Easy, baby.”
She pats his arm and turns towards us, “I’m sorry that wasn’t how I wanted to meet Andy’s family. We’re not always this wild,” she tells us, holding out a hand. I enfold it in mine and can’t help but smile as she starts to talk a mile a minute, “I’m Moira O’Shea, that wild child’s mammy and Andy’s wife. Thank you so much for inviting us. We’ve been looking forward to it. Sean and the rest of the family send their regards and apologies for not being able to make it.”
When she runs out of steam, she bites her lips and then confesses, “I’m sorry, I’m just really nervous. And I don’t want Andy to be hurt.”
At her whispered words, Andy wraps both his arms around his wife, and his voice is filled with concern when he says, “Moira, baby, I’ll be okay.”
Ally steps forward and wraps her arms around Moira, hugging her, “I promise, it’s going to be okay.”
“Damn right it will be,” Jeanie informs them as she re-joins us, “And if it’s not, I’ll kick their arses myself. For fuck’s sake, we’ve always been family before anything. Well, it’s about time to puttheir money where their mouth is. I’m not missing out on any more years of this cuteness.” She waves her hands at Mikayla, who still seems perfectly happy with me. “Especially as it seems there’s more to come.”
Andy grins at Jeanie, and it’s like a different man.
“That’s our Jeanie,” Ally tells Moira, stepping back so that Jeanie can hug and welcome Moira. “She doesn’t have a filter.”
Moira laughs and embraces Jeanie. “It’s so lovely to meet you.”
I hand Mikayla back to her dad, and we chat a bit before Ally and Jeanie take them up to their room. It will be good for them to get to know each other before the rest of the family descends.
Taking out my phone, I find Adam’s contact details.
