Page 33 of Seamus's Basement
“To be a trailblazer, someone has to follow your trail. I’m the only person in Hope from Claddagh and I was probably already here when you came. You were eighteen, right?”
“Yes. A couple of months shy of my nineteenth birthday. It was good timing because by the time I bought the building and set up the bar, I was old enough to serve drinks.”
“I got here right before you. They let us wait for the school year to end before making us move.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“That’s weird, right? That we both ended up on the opposite side of the country in the same small town at the same time?”
“My sister called it fate.” DJ grinned.
Seamus laughed. “My parents said the same thing. I thought someone was scamming them.”
“That probably seemed more likely than them finding you a groom from the community out here.”
“It really did.”
“I laughed when Kaira said it to me too and she told me blood is thicker than water so fate made sure I’d have someone from the community to marry even if I wasn’t in Claddagh.”
“I heard that idiom a lot growing up,” Seamus said. “The full saying is the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. It means that when we share experiences,tribulations, and trials with people, when we bleed with them, we form bonds that are stronger than those that come just from a shared lineage, the water of the womb. Kind of the opposite of how they mean it.”
“That’s interesting. I’ve never heard that.”
“They never tell us the whole thing because their point is that we need to stick together and marry our blood.”
DJ considered what Seamus said. “When you think about it, the community has both blood and water though. The people in it have a shared heritage, but they also have shared experiences. They have both.”
“Hmm.” Seamus furrowed his brow in thought. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe that’s why the community is so insular, so tight, so committed.” He gazed into DJ’s eyes. “Blood and water joined together.”
Suddenly, his sister’s insistence that fate led him to Seamus didn’t seem so far-fetched.
Chapter 10
“Does DJ know when he’s coming back?” Richard Davis asked through clenched teeth.
Talking to him about what was happening to DJ had been the right decision. The sheriff was furious, and he promised he’d stop the loan shark from harassing him again.
“It could be a few days or it could be a few weeks. DJ said his visits aren’t consistent,” Seamus said tensely. Explaining the situation in detail had reminded him how mistreated, alone, and at-risk DJ had been. He was furious at the man who had taken advantage of his vulnerability, and he was committed to ensuring that DJ would never be in that position again.
Looking thoughtful, Richard nodded. “In that case, I’ll wait to deal with him in person. I won’t use the phone number you gave me, but I’ll look him up and see what background I can find. If he calls or texts, don’t respond to him. When he tells DJ he’s in town, call me. I’ll go meet him instead.”
“I want to come too.” Seamus squeezed his hands tightly, making his knuckles crack. “I’d like to have a few words with him.”
Richard’s expression turned considering. “What’s your relationship with DJ?”
“I’m his husband,” he snapped. “And I’m not letting this asshole or anyone else hurt him again.”
“Husband?” Richard said in surprise, his eyes widening. “Why didn’t I know you were married?”
Seamus took a deep breath and rubbed his palm over his beard. “Nobody knows.”
“Why would you keep your marriage a secret?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Gotcha.” Richard looked at him skeptically. “Regardless, you can’t come along with me to arrest someone. I’ll be workingin my official capacity, not acting as your backup to beat someone up. Neither of us is going to break the law here.”
