Her Only Hero (3 page)

He wasn’t sure whether her sympathy was for Laura or Mandy, but
it didn’t really matter. Mom had enough love to go around for any number of
people.

If it came to pitting Laura’s stubborn independence against his
mother’s determination to help, he wouldn’t want to guess at a winner.

Even as he thought it, the front door swung open, letting in a
shaft of May sunshine. Laura stood there, clasping Mandy protectively against
her.

For a moment she didn’t move. She just stood, looking around the
room as if unable to believe what she was seeing. Then she turned toward him
with what looked like an accusation in her dark eyes.

She probably intended to come straight for him, but his mother got
to her first. “Laura, it’s so good to see you.” She swept Laura into a quick
hug. “I’m Siobhan Flanagan. You remember me, don’t you?”

“Mrs. Flanagan.” Laura took a step back. “Yes, of course I do.”
She darted a glance toward Ryan. “You’re Ryan’s mother.”

It sounded as if she wanted to follow that up with, Why are you
here?

“We’re helping with the clean-up.” His mother wasn’t deterred by
any reserve on Laura’s part. She waved toward the workers. “You remember Gabe,
my oldest boy.”

“Mom, I’m not a boy,” Gabe protested automatically. He lifted
his hand toward Laura. “Hi, Laura.”

“And that’s Brendan, my nephew. He’s pastor of our church now,
you know.”

Laura nodded in Brendan’s direction, not committing herself to
any knowledge of his pastorship of Grace Church. “It’s very nice of you to want
to help out, but really, I can take care of this myself.”

Ryan had warned his mother that Laura would respond that way,
and he waited to see how she’d handle it.

She did it with a smile and a gentle touch on Mandy’s hair. The
little girl gave her a shy smile in return, and Laura put her down.

“You wouldn’t turn us away when we’re having so much fun, now
would you? That wouldn’t be kind.”

Laura opened her mouth and closed it again. Clearly she didn’t
want to be accused of being unkind by turning away kindness from others. He
tried to hide his expression.

“No,
I—well, thank you.”

She frowned at him, and he smiled blandly back. Maybe he ought
to take lessons from his mother in how to approach someone as prickly as Laura
was.

Nolie approached her. “Hi, I’m Nolie Flanagan. Gabe’s wife.” She
bent toward Mandy, her hands signing fluently. “You must be Mandy.”

Mandy nodded, giving her that shy smile.

“Would you like to go upstairs and help me make sandwiches for
lunch?” She patted the rounded bulge of baby under her sky-blue top as she
glanced at Laura. “Gabe is getting nervous about every little thing I do, but
he agrees that making sandwiches won’t hurt me.”

“I don’t know if Mandy will go with you,” Laura began, and then
stopped. Mandy was already putting her hand in Nolie’s. “Well, I guess she
will. Thank you.”

She watched her daughter start up the steps with an expression
that told Ryan clearly that she didn’t want her daughter out of her sight. That
caution was natural enough, he supposed, after what they’d been through, but
Nolie would take good care of the child, and she’d be away from the mess and
dirt.

When they’d disappeared toward the apartment, Laura swung around
and headed straight toward him. She stopped a scant two feet away and scowled.
“This is your doing, isn’t it?” She kept her voice low, apparently not wanting
everyone else to hear.

“Hey, I’m innocent.”

She raised
level dark brows. “Am I supposed to believe it’s a total coincidence that my
house is filled with Flanagans?”

“Some of them aren’t. Flanagans, I mean. There are a couple of
firefighters here, and some people from the church that Brendan recruited.”

“Don’t you mean
you
recruited?”

“Not me. All I did was mention the fire to my mother. She did
the rest.” He gave a mock shudder. “Trust me on this one. My mother may be
soft-spoken, but you don’t want to get between her and something she’s decided
to do.”

“Do you really want me to believe you’re afraid of your mother?”

He grinned. “You bet.”

Well, not afraid of her, but concerned about her opinion. Maybe
that was why he hadn’t told his mother yet about applying to the arson squad.

“I don’t believe you.” She shook her head. “And anyway, that’s
not the point.”

“Right. The point is that you want to do everything all by
yourself.”

He thought her lips twitched slightly. “Are you trying to make
me sound like a two-year-old?”

“You said it, I didn’t.” Before she could respond, he raised
both hands. “Let’s declare a truce, okay? We’re here. Is it really so hard to
let us help you?”

“No. I’m just—“

“Super-independent. I figured that one out already. What I
haven’t figured out yet is why.”

Her dark-brown eyes met his, and for an instant they held so
much pain that it took his breath away. Then her usual shield dropped into
place and she gave him

a polite, meaningless smile.

“I guess
all I can do is say thanks.”

She turned away. He stood watching as she picked up a box and
began loading debris into it.

Laura had her game face back on now. But he’d seen behind it,
and that glimpse into her shook him. A man would have to be crazy to get
involved with someone who was carrying that load of grief.

Not that he was even thinking about doing such a thing.

Laura was still wondering what she was doing when she arrived at
the Flanagan house for dinner a few evenings later. She was usually quite good
at getting out of things she didn’t want to do. Unfortunately she’d found that
Siobhan Flanagan was very difficult to keep saying no to.

Maybe it was because Siobhan had been her church-school teacher,
back when she’d still had a child’s faith, thinking that every problem could be
solved by prayer. She was swept with a sudden wave of longing to be back in
that church-school room, sitting in the child-size chair and hearing Bible
stories told in Siobhan’s soft, loving voice.

A person could never go back, although the Flanagans seemed to
be doing a good job of keeping their lives just the way they’d been.

She held Mandy’s hand as they started up the walk to the
welcoming brick house. Everything about the neighborhood—the mature trees, the
old-fashioned flowerbeds brimming with tulips and irises, the comfortable old
two-story homes—said that here was a place where people found safety and
serenity.

She smiled at her daughter as they reached the steps that led to
the wide front porch. Pansies crowded pots on either side of the stairs, and a
cushion-piled porch swing creaked a little in the breeze.

“Mrs. Flanagan has pretty flowers, doesn’t she?”

Mandy nodded, her small face tense, and Laura’s throat clenched.
She was taking her daughter into the sort of situation she usually avoided,
just because she couldn’t say no to Siobhan.

“We don’t have to stay long, okay? We can go home right after
supper if you want to.”

“Okay.”

She smiled, touching Mandy’s cheek. “Good talking, Mandy.” Mandy
didn’t verbalize very often since her hearing had worsened, so it was an
occasion for praise when she did.

She squeezed her daughter’s hand, and together they approached
the door. It was flung open before she could knock. Three children crowded
around them, making Mandy shrink against her.

“They’re here, they’re here!” The oldest, a girl who must be
about six or so, caught Mandy’s hand and pulled her inside. “Grammy, they’re
here.”

Flanagans. Obviously they were all three Flanagans, with the
same reddish-gold hair and blue eyes. If only they weren’t quite so friendly—it
was like being surrounded by a bunch of puppies, all trying to jump on her.

“Enough shouting.” Siobhan grabbed the smallest boy and held him
close. “You sound like a bunch of hooligans. Welcome, Laura. Mandy. We’re glad
you’re here.”

“Thank you for inviting us.” How soon would it be polite to
leave?

“These two monsters are Mary Kate’s.” She touched the oldest
girl and the boy who looked about Mandy’s age. “Shawna and Michael.” She
squeezed the smaller boy. “And this is Seth’s little boy, Davy.”

The front door opened into a large, comfortable, slightly shabby
living room. The adults all seemed to be gathered around the fireplace. All of
them were looking at her.

Siobhan led her forward and began introducing them. Mandy stayed
close behind her, clutching her hand tightly. Most of them she knew already,
but she hadn’t met Brendan’s wife or Seth’s fiancée. She nodded, smiled, and
decided that there were way too many Flanagans.

One was missing, though. She’d recognized the moment she entered
the room that Ryan wasn’t here. On duty, maybe? Before she could be sure
whether she felt relief or disappointment, he came striding in from what was
probably the kitchen.

She absolutely would not feel pleasure at the sight of him.
Still, when his smile lit his deep-blue eyes, it was hard not to, especially
when he came directly to her.

“Laura, hi. Well, what do you think?” He waved toward his
family. “If you can stand all these people talking at once, you might be able
to get through a Sunday supper at the Flanagan house.”

“Stop teasing, Ryan.” Siobhan swatted at him affectionately.
“You make Laura feel welcome, now. I’ve got to get back to the roast.”

“Can I do something—” she began, but Siobhan was already gone.

“This is your first time here,” Ryan said. “Relax and enjoy
yourself. It’s Mary Kate’s family’s turn to help this week, anyway.”

“You do this every Sunday?”

“Terrifying, isn’t it?” His grin negated the words. “If the
weather’s nice, we go out to Gabe and Nolie’s farm instead, where the kids can
run. Mandy would like seeing the place. Lots of animals.”

Was that an invitation? She wasn’t sure, and maybe it was safer
to ignore it.

“I thought maybe you were working tonight.” That suggested she’d
been looking for him, and she wanted the words back.

“We all try to get off Sunday when we can. These get-togethers
are important to Mom. Besides, Pastor Brendan would get after us if we missed
church.” His eyebrows lifted. “I thought maybe we’d see you there this morning.”

Apparently the Flanagans didn’t intend to let her forget that
she’d once belonged to their church. A little flicker of annoyance went through
her. “I’m not sure Mandy would feel comfortable there.”

“Why not?” His eyes were fixed on hers, seeming to demand an
answer.

“It’s difficult when she can’t understand what’s going on.” And
why won’t you leave it alone?

“Nolie’s always in church school. I know she’d be glad to sign
for Mandy.”

He was crowding her on the subject, and she frowned at him. “It’s
hard for her to interact with hearing children.”

“Really?” He nodded toward the corner of the room. “She seems to
be doing fine at the moment.”

She’d thought Mandy was still at her side. Instead she was clear
across the room, sitting in front of a tower of blocks with the other children.

She made an instinctive movement toward them. “I’ll just go
and—”

Ryan stopped her with a touch on her arm. “Why don’t you let
them play? They’re okay.”

Irritation scraped along her nerves. Ryan didn’t know anything
about raising a hearing-impaired child. But she watched as Shawna handed Mandy
a block, clapping when she put it on top of the tower. Mandy’s solemn little
face broke into a smile.

Laura’s throat tightened. That was what she wanted for Mandy—to
see her playing normally with other children instead of being trapped and
isolated in her silent world.

“Laura, it’s grand to have you back in Suffolk.” Ryan’s father
approached with an outstretched hand. She probably would have known Joe
Flanagan any-where—he still had that square, bulldog face and friendly smile,
although only a few tinges of red showed in his now-white hair.