Page 10 of Book and Ladder
Maeve: Me. I know you.
Patrick: It’s football season.
Maeve: I know. I’ll try to run interference if Dad gets out of hand.
Patrick: Nice football reference.
Maeve: What can I say, I was raised by an O'Connell. You may not know this, but my brother plays for the Thunder.
Patrick: The Thunder? As in the NFL? Wow. Impressive.
Maeve: [laughing emoji] You sound deeply impressed.
Patrick: I should be.
Patrick: No. I am. I really am proud of Declan.
Maeve: It’s complicated. I get it.
Patrick: Understatement.
Maeve: Go get some sleep, or whatever you firefighters do when your head hits a pillow.
Patrick: Not exactly sleep, but something close.
Maeve: Well, go get that. I’ll see you tonight. If it’s any consolation, the girls have been playing firefighter more than they play football player this week.
Patrick: I’ll take it. Favorite uncle status is a life goal of mine.
Maeve: Well, you win hands down. Living in town gives you an advantage.
Patrick: It’s my personality, not my proximity that does it.
Maeve: Keep telling yourself that.
I chuckle. I love my nieces and they seem to think the world of me for now. I know that can change when they hit the teen years, but we’ve got a while to go until I have to figure out what to do when being a fun firefighter isn’t enough to put stars in their eyes.
Patrick: Love you, sis. See you at dinner.
Maeve: Love you.
I toss my phone onto the seat and push the ignition.
Family dinners I can survive.
Living next door to Daisy Clark? That’s an entirely different story.
Chapter 4
Daisy
It is not time or opportunity
that is to determine intimacy;
—it is disposition alone.
~ Jane Austen
