Page 23 of Sam
His gaze softens, and he replies, “Yeah, lad, she is.”
Walking next to Colm, I’m a little sad to see how he’s aged. I know that our older generation are all showing their age, and I dread thinking that one day none of them will be in our lives anymore. Slowing my steps down, I walk with Colm towards their veranda and up the stairs, trying not to make it obvious that I’m hovering because he’s not that steady on them. Whenwe get to the top, I notice that they’ve all waited for us, watching their dad slowly climb the stairs.
“Sit,” Colm waves me to a chair. Sitting down, we all stare at each other until Colm chuckles, picks up the teapot, and pours out tea. “God’s sake. I’m fecking glad I only had boys.”
Tommy and Liam snigger, but Adam and Johnny continue to stare at me. I’m assuming because they’re the only ones with girls. Colm hands out mugs of tea and sits back, relaxing in his chair as he watches everything unfold.
I know it’s up to me to break the standoff, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Finally, I can’t take any more of the silence. I put my mug down and look Adam in the eye.
“I’m going to marry Ally,” I baldly state, taking note of the winces from the other men, but I’m done beating around the bush. “I understand to some extent that news probably doesn’t fill you with joy and fucking rainbows.”
Gathering my thoughts, I pick up my mug and take another sip of tea, my gaze never leaving Adam’s while I continue, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with Alec and now it seems like Beau too being with either of my sisters, and Dad sure as fuck isn’t happy with anybody defiling his little girls, so yeah, I get it.
“But Adam.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “Ally, well, she’s special. I know I don’t need to tell you that because you already know. I love her,” I hold up my hand when he starts to interrupt me, smirking a little when he glares at me.
I also ignore Tommy when he says, “Got major balls, Sam.”
Focusing my attention on Adam because I don’t want to be distracted. The smothered chuckles are bad enough.
“I understand you’re worried about Ally and me. I never made it a secret that I had a thing for Bella. I’d always thought we’dget married, have babies, and life would continue on in the nice, smooth way I’d got used to. When it all went to shit, well, let’s just say I didn’t take it well,” I pause and take another sip of my tea. Colm catches my eye and nods as if to say hurry up, especially as Adam is looking a little murderous.
“But if I’m brutally honest with myself, that relationship was never going to happen. I was young and stupid, chasing a fantasy I’d built up in my head. Being with Ally has made me realise that what I thought I had with Bella was nothing compared to what I have with her.”
Adam still looks like he wants to kill me, and I realise that I’m not explaining myself very well. It’s hard to put into words how differently I feel for Ally to what I felt for Bella because my feelings for Ally don’t compare. They are on a completely different level.
Hastily, I continue, “And then one morning I walked into my work kitchen, and there she was. So fucking brave, even though she was shaking so much she could barely speak to me. I wasn’t around when everything went down, so I can only imagine how fucking awful it was for all of you, but especially you,” I tell Adam.
“What I will tell you is that what I feel for Ally is nothing like what I felt for Bella. Ally...” I hesitate, tilting my head up to look at the roof of the veranda. Gathering my thoughts because I’m not sure how to tell her father that she’s my very reason for living. She’s my forever.
A smile breaks out when I realise that’s it. That’s exactly what she is. Again, I look at Adam, “She’s my forever,” I tell him. “Or she will be as soon as you give me your blessing to marry her; either way, she’s going to be my Old Lady, and I’ll work on you until you give us your blessing, or we have babies, whichevercomes first. But I’m warning you now that I’m tying her to me in all the ways I can.”
Colm chuckles at my words, Johnny looks impressed, and Liam and Tommy are watching Adam. They both look like they're ready to pounce, should Adam decide to go for me.
Adam says nothing for a minute. I’m not backing down, though. Ally is worth whatever he has to say.
He’s silent for a long time, and I’m starting to sweat again. Eventually, he speaks.
“What makes you think you’re good enough for her?” he wants to know.
“Oh, I know I’m not,” I assure him. “But what I will do is make sure she knows every day what she means to me. I’ll make sure she sleeps easy and that she knows she’s loved. You know me, you know what I come from and who my family is and how we treat our women.”
Adam sighs, sits back, and looks me in the eye. “I do, and it’s the only reason I haven’t made more of a fuss about her spending weekends away from home. I know she’s an adult, and I don’t really have a say.
“That you came to me and didn’t back down when the peanut gallery got in on trying to intimidate you means more than any pretty words you say. I suppose if it had to be anyone, I’m glad it’s you. Seems the Crows and the O’Sheas are bound to be tied together somehow.”
He’s quiet for a minute, then bursts out, “Fuck me, my baby’s going to be an Old Lady. I hope Jeanie takes pity on her dad and stays single for a long time. I’m not sure I’m ready to lose both my girls just yet.”
Johnny slaps Adam’s shoulder, “Fuck’s sake, man, it’s not like she’s going to another country. She’s only in the village next door, and if the two of them move to the manor, the girl’s going to be safer than houses.”
“True,” Adam nods. “I’ll speak to Reaper about upgrading their systems again.”
Breathing a silent sigh of relief, I relax into my chair. Colm winks at me with a smug grin on his face, and I have to stifle another laugh at the wily old man.
I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to say anything to jeopardise this or jinx the status quo we have going on. The rest of the morning is spent getting to know the men of Ally’s family and bonding. I like them. I always have. They have their own way of doing shit, but underneath it all we have the same values. Fuck with our families at your peril.
It was around lunchtime when Tilly comes out, followed by Jeanie, who smirks at me and gives me a wink. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m assuming that she’s spoken to Ally. Sera and Maya are last out the door.
“We’re meeting Ally for lunch over in Feannag. The kids are staying over at various friends and won’t need picking up until tomorrow,” Tilly says, kissing Adam, then looks at Tommy, “Lana’s joining us.”
