Keegan's Lady (63 page)

Joseph stepped closer and put a hand on Caitlin's shoulder. "Hey, there, girl. What're you crying now for? The worst part's over."

To Ace's surprise, Caitlin turned and threw her arms around Joseph's neck. "Oh, Joseph! They hanged Ace. I thought he was dead!"

Evidently, Joseph was as taken aback as Ace was, for he just stood there for a moment looking dumbfounded, his hands hovering over Caitlin's shuddering back. He was obviously leery about touching her. He shot another glance at Ace. Then he closed his arms around his sister-in-law. "He isn't dead, though," he said softly.

"I don't know what I would've done!" she wailed.

Joseph smiled and gave her a pat. "I guess I would've had to marry you. Couldn't let a catch like you get away. I like your cooking too much."

Caitlin laughed, the sound wet and choked. "You're impossible. Your brother almost died, and you're cracking jokes."

"I'm not joking. He just beat me to the draw and proposed to you first."

Ace cocked an eyebrow. "Any time you get tired of hugging my wife, Joseph, I'll be happy to take over."

Joseph chuckled. "Go find a post to lean on. I'll be a while."

David and Esa walked up just then. "How's Patrick?"

"I was just suggesting we might go see," Ace said.

Caitlin drew away from Joseph, wiped her cheeks, and then fell into David's arms to cry some more. Esa's shirt got a good soaking next. By the time Ace got his wife back, he was beginning to feel a little green around the edges. Determined not to relinquish her to one of his brothers again, he cinched an arm tightly around her waist as the five of them walked to the doctor's office.

The prognosis from Doc was good. "Patrick didn't break the wound open," he assured them. "Not all that much blood loss from moving around, which is a miracle. What with his fever breaking the way it did, I'd say he's on the road to recovery."

"Can we see him?" Caitlin asked.

"Sure, you can. He's still awake. Just don't stay long. I don't want him overtaxed. He's had a rough night as it is."

Ace moved to follow his wife to the surgery, not realizing until they reached the door that his brothers had all tagged along. "What is this, a convoy? Who invited you yahoos?"

"Nobody," Joseph replied. "We don't need an invite. He's part of the family."

The grateful look in Caitlin's eyes forestalled Ace from saying more. When the five of them entered the room en masse, however, Patrick evidently felt no such compunction. "Holy mother, the whole damn bunch of you? I'm supposed to be resting. With you fellows in here, I'll be afraid to shut my eyes."

"Be nice, Patrick." Caitlin went to sit on the edge of his cot. After gazing at her brother a moment, she flashed Ace a radiant smile that was just a little damp around the edges. "He looks better. Don't you think?"

"Absolutely."

Joseph shuffled the sole of his boot on the floor, then planted his hands on his hips. "Well, O'Shannessy, I hate to have to say it, but what you did out there tonight earned you my respect."

"Who says I want it?"

"Patrick!" Caitlin scolded. "I said be nice. Joseph is part of my family now, just like you. Someday soon when I start having babies, you'll all be uncles together.'

Patrick met Ace's gaze over the top of his sister's russet head. "You go havin' kids, and they'll all be half O'Shannessy. Redheads, probably. And ornerier than the day is long. You'd better think twice."

Ace laughed in spite of himself. "O'Shannessys are kind of like warts. They grow on you." At Caitlin' reproachful look, he added quickly, "I'm only joking Caitlin. A good measure of O'Shannessy blood stirred in with the Keegan will be a great mix. Like I told you once before, if you give me a half-dozen redheaded babies, I'll be one happy man."

Patrick smiled slightly and took his sister's hand. "Well, I guess if you're gonna go throwing babies into the bargain, I'll have to bury the hatchet."

"Deep," Caitlin stressed. "No more righting."

"No more righting," Patrick agreed. His smile broadened. "I busted up all the whiskey jugs. Swore off. I mean it this time."

Caitlin leaned over to give him a hug. "Oh, Patrick, I hope you make it."

"I will."

Joseph stepped over to the bed and extended his hand. "I don't want to tire you, Patrick, so I'll be going. First, though, I'd like to say thank you for what you did out there tonight. You saved my brother's life. I won't forget it."

Patrick stared at Joseph's outstretched palm for a long moment. Then he finally extended his own. The two men clasped hands and looked dead into each other's eyes. When Joseph moved away, David and Esa stepped forward to follow suit. Patrick was beginning to look pale by the time all the handshaking was over.

"Out of here," Ace told his brothers. "Go on, all of you. We'll be right out."

When his brothers had exited the room, Ace went to stand beside his wife, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder. He gazed down at Patrick for several seconds in solemn reflection.

Patrick lifted an eyebrow. "I look a lot like my father, don't I? You gonna hold it against me?"

Ace gave the question careful consideration. When at last he replied, he answered from the heart. "No, Patrick, I don't believe I will."

A few minutes later, when Ace and Caitlin stepped inside the doctor's office into the chill night air, she cast him a questioning glance. "You meant it, didn't you? Somewhere along the way, you've made your peace with my father and everything he did."

Ace drew her into the circle of his arms and gazed at the craggy peaks of the
Rockies
, illuminated by moon-light in the distance. For so long, he'd been consumed with hatred and anger. Now all of it was gone. It felt damned good.

He bent to press a kiss to Caitlin's forehead, then looked deeply into her eyes. "Your father gave you life," he said huskily. "And you are, without question, the sweetest thing that's ever happened to me. How can I not make my peace with him?"

Tears filled her eyes. Then she went up on her toes to hug his neck. "I used to wonder if I'd ever feel free of him, if I'd ever stop jumping with a start, thinking he was standing right behind me." Her arms tightened in a fierce hold. "A cloud of fear hanging over me, that was how I thought of him." She fell silent for a moment. "And now, guess what? The sun has finally come out and the cloud is gone. I can't remember the last time I forgot he was dead for a second and felt terrified. I think it's because, since marrying you, I feel truly safe for the first time in my whole life."

"Ah, Caitlin . . ."

"It's true," she whispered. "I don't feel afraid any more. I don't think I ever will again. He no longer has a hold on me."

She wasn't the only one who felt as though he'd been set free.

As Ace closed his arms around her again, a sense of rightness filled him. Conor O'Shannessy's daughter . .. the most precious gift he'd ever received. He buried his face against her hair and inhaled its sweet scent, remembering how he'd come here, itching to get revenge.

Holding this girl in his arms definitely settled the score.

CATHERINE ANDERSON, the award-winning author of both contemporary and historical fiction, lives with her husband and three canine friends-a mixed spaniel named Kibbles and two Rottweilers named Sam and Sassy who seem to think they are teacup poodles and that obedience training is for people.

By Catherine Anderson

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