A VERY UN-SHAKESPEARE ROMANCE: ‘A Fake Dad Grumpy Sunshine Romantic Comedy’

The moment they were inside the family room, Robbie pulled Tara to him again, Billie and Tim be damned.

“What happened?” Because he knew she was running scared from the way she’d started trembling the moment he wrapped his arms around her.

“The Kellys set a fire at my main nail salon this morning.” His arms tightened around her when her voice hitched, helping him suppress the rage rising inside of him. “The chairs were full. My clients had to run barefooted into the street. My ladies held up, but they looked terrified. I didn’t know what to do.”

He rocked her as Billie and Tim patted her back tenderly, their faces tense with the same combination of anger and worry battling inside him. “You did good to come here. They meant to scare you, Tara. All the way back to Boston.”

“I know!” She pressed her face into his chest before raising her troubled, mascara-smudged eyes to his. “And I knew it would be the stupidest move ever to go back. But I can’t leave my nail girls hanging like that. Or my clients. Robbie, I drove here the whole day from Cincinnati—”

“Why Cincinnati?” Billie broke in before Robbie could ask.

“Because it was over twelve hours away from Boston, like the Outer Banks, and I thought it would work in my favor that it’s not a common tourism destination. I figured it was smart to be about twelve hours from everything—including my girls. God, it was a long drive today, but I knew I finally had to meet up with you. Robbie, promise me you can look after the girls and me. Otherwise, I’ll…”

“Hey!” Billie said, punching her lightly. “Don’t you see three O’Connors here? Tara, we’ve got you and the girls. But Jesus, you scared us!”

Robbie finally pulled back to study her. She looked scared too. Her usually perfect makeup was understated, and her hair was pulled back into a serviceable ponytail. She had on a plain brown T-shirt and tan shorts along with pitifully ugly old ladies’ white sneakers. Was this Tara’s version of undercover?

“You did a really good job with everything,” he said in a soothing tone. “I mean, look at you. Nothing to make you stand out or draw attention to yourself. Exactly what you should do on the run.”

“I know!” She rubbed her nose, which was dripping. “Look, I hated scaring you, but I had to make a decision, and separating—”

“It’s fine,” Robbie said. “We work from now. Okay, let’s sit down and talk this out. I should probably check my computer—”

“Your computer!” Tara practically shouted. “But you can’t—”

“It’s encrypted and untraceable,” he assured her, taking her shoulders and looking into her wild eyes. “Now, take a few deep breaths.”

Tim handed her a tissue as she did her best to suck in air. He could see her pulse beating fiercely in her neck, a combo of shock and stress. He hated seeing normal victim behavior in her—his family. Billie started to open his mouth, but Robbie shot him a look. He glared at him but stayed quiet.

His mind started to play out various scenarios. If the Kellys were willing to start a fire, it meant they didn’t think their money was on the premises. “When did the fire happen?”

She sniffed and blew her nose. “After eight sometime. I saw the reports on the morning news online. I watch it every day and pore through The Boston Globe for info. But there wasn’t anything until today.”

“I’ll need to watch that footage and check my messages.” He kissed the top of her head. “I checked my computer before the fire, so I didn’t know about it. I need to find out who’s running point—”

“Not to butt into police work,” Tim said, wrapping an arm around Tara. “But have you eaten anything today, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. “No, I just…went to pieces and then sat down and thought things through. When I decided the best option was coming here, I packed and jumped in the car.”

“Let me fix you something,” Tim said, glancing Robbie’s way to make sure he wasn’t stepping on toes.

“That’s a good idea.” He let out the breath he’d been holding as well, but it didn’t diminish the weight pressing suddenly on his shoulders. She was here, she was scared, and the Kellys had just taken another shot at her.

“Then we should talk about when you want to see the girls,” Tim continued calmly. “Because they’ve missed you despite all the fun we’ve been having. The kids are doing great, Tara.”

“I’m so glad!” She put her face in her hands. “You have no idea how scared I was for them.”

“All right now,” Tim said, continuing to earn Robbie’s respect with his measured, thoughtful approach. “We’ve got you.”

Robbie spotted the feline before it started to weave figure eights around Tara’s feet. She bent down with a cry and scooped up the cat. “Oh, Miss Purrfect!”

As she snuggled the cat, he caught the unblinking stare it gave him. He gestured to Tara, wishing he could say: Look, fleabag. I’m taking care of your mistress. So cut the attitude.

“An omelet okay, Tara?” Tim asked.

“I don’t think I can eat anything, but I’ll try.” She buried her face in the white fur again and then put the cat back on the floor.

Robbie stepped back when the cat settled at her feet like a little feline sentinel. Like you could shoot bad guys. God, he was being bitchy, he realized. Was it because his body was still processing all the lust stirred up by his date? He thought about the abrupt end of his evening with Summer. Up until Tara had arrived, he’d been having one of the best nights of his life. Now it would all have to come to an end.

Probably.

They’d talked about continuing to see each other, but for the foreseeable future, his entire focus had to be on Tara and the girls, especially when things with the Kellys were escalating. He needed to talk to his partner. Stat.

“Tara, sweetheart, why don’t you go into the kitchen with Tim?” Robbie suggested, trying to send her a smile. “I bet you didn’t drink much today either.”

She stroked her throat. “I am thirsty, now that you mention it.”

Robbie kissed her temple and urged her in Tim’s direction. “Totally normal. Go follow Tim. We’ll be there in a sec, sweetheart.”

Billie nudged him in the side after she had gone, Miss Purrfect giving him a final once-over before following. “I can see the smoke already,” his brother said quietly. “I’m glad you’re already working things out. But what can I do? I can’t make a fucking omelet, and right now, I’m feeling a little out of sorts about Clarice and really pissed at these Kelly assholes. Robbie, I want to break them into little pieces.”

Robbie took another deep breath, falling into that quiet place he went to after being called to a crime scene. “You can help me to check to make sure there’s no one watching the house.”

“You think someone could have followed her?” Billie asked sharply.

“I don’t think so, or they would have picked her up already,” he answered. “But I want to be sure. I’m going to check the back. Can you take the front? Pick a good place in the window with the best view of the street and give it about two minutes. Usually that’s long enough to spot someone shifting position if they’re surveilling from a car.”

Surveilling from a beach would be different, and as he let himself out of the house, he positioned himself against the end of the house at the patio’s edge. He kept his eyes scanning right to left on the beachfront, but nothing was visible other than the inky black sky and the white of the breaking tide. He noted the lights were still on next door and wondered if Summer and Clarice were still keyed up after the abrupt end of their night. He hated the thought, but there was nothing for it.

Satisfied they were still safe from the Kellys’ guys, he went back inside and locked the door behind him, pulling the curtains. Tara was picking at the omelet Tim had made for her, a half-drunk glass of water beside her. She looked ready to fall headfirst into the plate. Miss Purrfect was on her lap, purring softly. Tim’s quick glance over had a flash of worry before he bravely smiled. Robbie made the corners of his mouth lift in response.

Billie inclined his chin when he joined them in the kitchen a moment later, and Robbie heard the message loud and clear. They were good. “Tara, I’m going upstairs to check the messages on my computer, okay? I’ll be right back.”

She glanced up, her dark brown eyes unnaturally wet with tears. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. All of you guys upending your lives to protect me and the girls. I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”

His throat thickened. “You don’t owe anybody anything. We’re family. This is what we do.”

Her eyes gleamed again, slaying him. Billie’s jaw audibly popped.

“Personally, I think Billie could use a serious pedicure on those giant feet of his,” Tim said, pinching his nose for effect. “God knows we’d appreciate some treatment to cure his stinky feet. Tara, girl, help us out.”

She gave a weak smile. “Pedicures on the house for life.”

Billie’s mouth lifted to the left as he gave a feral attempt at a smile. “Baby bro, I think you’re talking about Robbie’s feet. They smell worse than bad ass.”

Everyone chuckled rather pathetically, but it was a start. He shot Tim an approving look, to which his brother nodded. As he surveyed their group, he reflected that he’d brought the perfect people along with him, not just for the girls but for Tara. Maybe even himself. “I’ll be right back.”

He was quiet on the stairs as he took them two at a time. When he logged into his account on the encrypted messaging services, he had a flurry of messages. From both his partner and Roland in Internal Affairs, the only two people with access to the message board besides himself.

There was an initial report on the fire at the nail salon, followed by a later one describing the initial fire inspector’s conclusion that it had been arson. No special signature. No fingerprints. Roland noted there had been no chatter about an arson on the streets either before or afterward from any of their CIs. Then again, the Kellys ran a tight organization.

His partner reported that there still was no trace of Tara’s ex or his new side piece from the nail salon despite the time he’d put in off-hours checking highway and other police cameras around the city. But now they had a crime that the Southie PD could legitimately go after.

Except there were rumblings by the officer in charge about Tara being on vacation and not being accessible by phone. Him too, for that matter. Johnny O’Malley had strolled into Mickey’s office before his shift had ended to inquire whether Robbie might be at the same vacation spot with his cousin, something Mickey had been able to truthfully deny.

Everyone in the department was stirred up now, thinking Robbie’s family issue, leading to his very rare vacation, had something to do with his cousin. With the arson involved, no one in the department would be thinking their sudden vacations were solely about her marriage ending. His boss was going to want to talk to him, and so would the rest of his police brothers. Usually they looked out for each other, but he’d gone off alone. There were questions flying. Especially ones surrounding whether the Kellys had dirty cops on the payroll, which was why Robbie had gone AWOL to protect family.

Mickey and Roland’s final message to him was pretty much the same. Has Tara contacted you yet? And what do you want to do now?

Robbie sat against the headboard and tipped his head back. What was the best move? He could bring Tara back to Boston alone and leave Billie and Tim here to watch over the girls. But his protective side started to itch when he considered it. Sure, Billie could handle himself, but he didn’t want to leave him in charge like that. He wasn’t trained, for one.

He needed another professional, but that was going to be tricky. He’d slipped out of Boston before anyone had time to watch him, but the situation had changed. He couldn’t just ask Mickey to come down. Someone would be tracking his every movement, especially now.

“I told Tara to look in on the girls tonight so she could assure herself they were okay, but to let them get some rest and see them in the morning.”

Robbie looked over. Tim had cracked his bedroom door open. He waved him inside. His brother entered and shut the door quietly behind him, his face fully grave, showing his every emotion.

“I’m bunking on the couch so Tara can get some sleep,” his baby brother continued, looking at him, unblinking. “From the look of you, I imagine you’re feeling the weight of Sisyphus on your shoulders.”

“He’s the guy who carried the rock, right?” he asked dryly. “Sounds about right.”

Tim walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “I figure the O’Connors are like tandem runners, handing off the rock to one another when it gets too heavy. Why don’t you give it over to Billie and let your mind settle for a while? He’s drinking coffee in the kitchen now and playing solitaire. Like he’s preparing to keep watch all night.”

That knotted up his throat hard. “Shit.”

“I won’t call you on the language.” Tim waggled his brows with effort. “Tara’s in the house now.”

“Yeah, she is.” Thank God. “We’re in a whole new ballpark, Tim.”

“I know.” His brother folded his hands. “Billie told me the house is still safe—”

“Which is why I don’t think he needs to stay up on guard duty.”

“He needs something to do, Robbie.” Tim clenched his hands. “This is his way of handling his anger and his worry. And his lust. Hope it’s okay to call that out.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around,” he mumbled, the feeling of Summer’s soft blond hair suddenly on his fingertips.

“I take it your date went as good as Billie’s?” Tim asked, his lean face knitted with concern.

“Might have been the best ever,” he admitted to his baby brother with a hefty sigh. “But Tara arriving—”

“Shifts everything.” Tim studied him. “I did my best to explain to Summer why you were worried about Tara. I made up a whole story—”

“You did?” Robbie sunk back and regarded his brother. “You lied for me?”

“For us,” his brother corrected. “And to preserve a relationship I think is coming to mean quite a bit to you. In a very short stretch, I might add. Not that time is the best barometer. We’re Irish. We know when we know.”

God, he didn’t need to be reminded of his Irish genes, so he said nothing in response. “Thank you, Tim. For thinking fast on your feet.”

“That’s what people who can quote Shakespeare do,” he quipped, making Robbie reluctantly smile. “Why don’t you get some rest too? You’ll know what the best course is when you know it.”

Robbie closed the laptop on his lap and set it aside. “That’s not what Mickey or Roland Thomas are saying exactly.”

“Are they instructing you to come back to Boston?” he asked, his blue eyes pinched with concern.

“No, but the officer in charge of the arson at Tara’s salon knows my absence is linked to hers. He visited Mickey today.”

“So what? That doesn’t mean you need to make a move. Besides, while I hate saying this out loud—and I never would in front of Tara—isn’t the arson a blessing in disguise? Before, it looked like she could be part of a money laundering scheme. But doesn’t she look more innocent now that the Kellys are going after her?”

He lifted his shoulder. “It doesn’t exactly clear her. Someone could say they were sending her a message about taking their money.”

“But why would she take a stand against the Kellys if she was working with them and benefitting?” Tim shot back. “I would think a junior prosecutor could make that kind of argument easily.”

“I’m impressed. All those Law and Order reruns are paying off for you.”

Tim shot him an uncharacteristic bird. “Is there anything else I can do? I know I’m not sentinel material, but I’ll hear something on the couch. I’ll have the baseball bat with me.”

His brother suddenly looked vulnerable and fierce all at once. Robbie scooted over until he could put a hand on his shoulder, suddenly feeling very much like an older brother. “Honestly, Tim, right now I’m thinking my smartest decision was bringing you. Not discounting what Billie brings to the table, but Danny, Riley, Caden, and Brennan would have brought the same things. You took care of Tara tonight. You helped her settle down. You fed her, and you probably even changed the sheets on your bed so she’d have fresh ones. Then you helped her see her babies in the best way possible given her current state.”

Tim’s blue eyes swam with emotion. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. It means a lot.”

Robbie’s chest tightened. “I know you don’t think I have as much respect for you as our other brothers, but why don’t we stop that shit right now? Because it’s not true. You bring something really special to the table, and I respect that. Tim, I admire you.”

When Tim hugged him, he hugged him back, feeling that bond of blood and brotherhood with him in a way he never had before this trip. “Now, get out of here and let me rest this frenetic brain of mine because I do need to figure out our next steps. And soon.”

Tim was smiling when he pushed back and stood. “I have one more thing to say since you’re looking at me like I’m a cute little puppy.”

Robbie groaned. “I kick puppies, Tim. Kidding. God, you’d better not be about to lay a Shakespeare quote on me.”

Grimacing, he pointed to his lips. “I’ll hold it in, but I’m going to step on a ledge.”

“Don’t fall,” Robbie warned, bracing himself.

“I think you can take it.” His brother stepped exaggeratedly toward the door, however, making Robbie’s mouth twitch. “I’ve seen you with plenty of girls since you went out on your first date with Katie O’Sullivan. And I stood by your side on your wedding day.”

Robbie knew where this was going. “Run, brother.”

He shook his head, setting his weight. “I’ve never seen you look at a woman like you do Summer.”

“Tim—”

“I want you to be happy, dammit. I heard you laughing with her last night—in this house. Do you have any idea how rare that sound is? You stopped laughing like that after Mom died.”

His heart tore in two. “Jesus, Tim. Just stop!”

“I won’t. You admire me, remember, so I’m saying what I see. And I see that. What if coming here wasn’t just about you seeing me differently but yourself? What if meeting Summer turned out to be fate’s gift to you for being the kind of man you are? Because you aren’t just tough and hard, you’re loyal and caring and as straight as an arrow.”

He wanted to put his hands over his ears. “You might as well run off to Ireland, talking like that.”

“If I could tell Kathleen about all of this,” he said, lifting his chin, “she’d be on the next plane over to see for herself, and then she’d knock you in the back of the head about passing up a woman like this. Since I can’t call her, I’m doing the knocking my way. So, knock knock.”

“My life isn’t a damn—”

“I’m not letting you finish that sentence.” He held his hand out like he had the power to stop his older brother from speaking, when they both knew he didn’t. “I’ll get out of your hair now and say, I love you. You’re my brother. I’ve looked up to you my whole life. I admire the hell out of you. And whatever you’re planning, I’m with you. All the way.”

He nodded, swallowing a whole lot of love for his baby brother. “I know you are. Good night, Tim.”

“Night, Robbie.”

He let himself fall back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Images of a stricken Tara filled his mind. On the tail end of his cousin was Summer, standing in front of him on the beach in the soft light of the moon. He could still feel her hands cupping his jaw, hear her softly confess she wished they didn’t have to end. Tim was right, God help him.

He closed his eyes, searching for answers. He didn’t have just one plan to figure out, he realized. His second was what he was really going to do about Summer.

Because, in the quiet of the night, he could finally admit to himself that he didn’t want to let her go.