T. a. Chase - Why I Love Bodyguards

Why I Love Bodyguards c. 2013 T.A. Chase
Part One-
Hilton Burke stood in the door of his office, staring as his head of
security, Cathal McKinley, stalked toward him. He shoved his lust for
the man deep down inside him. No point in giving the bastard an
advantage.
“Mr. Burke, we need to talk,” McKinley announced as he got close.
“I figured as much when you called to see if I could fit you into my
schedule.” Burke stepped back to allow McKinley entrance. “What
other reason would you want to see me?”
McKinley snorted, but didn’t say anything until Burke had closed the
door before walked over to sit behind his desk. Leaning back in his
chair, he steepled his fingers before his lips as he studied McKinley.
“Should I have another reason?”
Burke shook his head, knowing that neither one of them would admit
the attraction that simmered between them. He needed McKinley to
trust him before he gave anything to the man, and McKinley didn’t
think he could trust a man with Burke’s past and power.
Something had happened to McKinley before he came to work for
Burke, but he never asked because it wasn’t any of his business. He
could admit to himself, if no one else, that he wanted McKinley to tell
him himself instead of making him look for it.
Burke came from money, mostly because his father was a fucking
genius and had invented new guidance systems fro missiles and shit
like that. The military complex had scooped all of those ideas up in a
heart beat, making Ambrose Burke a very wealthy man.
Winifred Burke, his mother, had been a whizz at finances, so she’d
made sure that the money Ambrose made multiplied a hundred times
over by the time Burke had made his appearance in the world. Yet
having lived with money hadn’t made his life easy. He’d lost both of
his parents in an airplane accident-that ultimately hadn’t been an
accident.
He’d never been told the whole story, not even when he reached his
majority and took over the reins of his fortune. Just that it had been
jealous competitors who had decided to take the competition out in a
final way instead of inventing something better. Yet the knowledge
that there would always be someone out there looking to take his
money, power, or even life from him had driven Burke to build walls
around his emotions.
While he understood why trusting someone didn’t come easily to him,
he wondered what had happened to McKinley that the man wouldn’t
even acknowledge the fact that he wanted Burke. Of course, Burke
wasn’t about to put himself out there to be rejected either. A man had
to have some pride.
“I just finished talking to Dr. Davidson.” McKinley pulled a small tablet
from his pocket and tapped the screen.
Burke snorted. “You mean you just finished listening to Herb while he
talked about everything and anything that flitted through his mind
like a butterfly in a field of flowers.”
McKinley’s eyes gleamed with fondness and annoyance for Herb, and
Burke shoved the flare of jealousy down. There wasn’t any point in
feeling that way since Herb was married and madly in love with Chuck
Davidson, a New York homicide detective. Herb didn’t notice any
other man, except to harass them. Herb also had the rather
disconcerting habit of saying whatever he thought without worrying
how others would take his comments.
“That’s true. It appears that he and Davidson are having an
engagement party for Jessie, Chuck’s sister. She works with Herb.”
“I know who she is.” He might be the head of Burke Pharmaceutical
and several other research and development companies, but he still
managed to keep track of his employees, or at least the ones he
liked.
McKinley frowned at his interruption, but continued on. “He gave me
my invitation and I believe he’ll either be dropping yours off, or he
might have already sent it to you.”
Burke stared at McKinley. “Yes, I have it here. I was just about to
RSVP.”
“Are you going?”
“Yes, I am.” Burke saw surprise dance quickly over McKinley’s face.
“Why does that surprise you?”
“I don’t think you’ve ever gone to any of the other parties you’ve
been invited to,” McKinley commented.
He shrugged. “I make an appearance, but I never stay long. Most of
the time they invite me simply to have the cachet of having Hilton
Burke at their events. So I stop by for a minute or two, then
disappear. I’m not overly fond of crowds.”
“Why would you consider going to Jessie’s party then? You could just
send them a gift and they wouldn’t think anything less of you.”
McKinley studied him.
“I happen to like Jessie and her fiancé. Also, I find myself highly
entertained by Herb, Chuck, and their entire family. It’s like
immersing myself into a family. They just swallow you up without
expecting anything from you.” He bit his tongue, not wanting to say
anything else.
Being an only child then an orphan at a young age, Burke didn’t have
any family. People who wanted to use his name or his political power
to further their own careers often surrounded him and it was another
reason why he kept his personal life extremely private. His goal was
to make sure no one had a chance at blackmailing him.
McKinley nodded. “Yes, they do. I told Herb that I would be happy to
come. He told me that I should talk to you and have you come as my
plus one.”
Burke snorted. “I’m not surprised. He seems to believe we are
carrying a torch for each other. I’m shocked he didn’t tell you that we
had to come together or we weren’t invited at all.”
“Davidson probably told him he couldn’t do that. His husband does his
best to keep him under control, but I think that’s a losing battle.”
McKinley grinned and Burke shifted as his cock stiffened when
McKinley’s plump lips tipped up at the corners.


Part Two-
“Any kind of control method for Dr Davidson is a losing battle,” he
commented.
McKinley nodded, but didn’t say anything else as he studied the tablet
in front of him. Burke shuffled the papers in front of him so he
wouldn’t get caught staring like a lovesick fool at McKinley.
“Was there anything else you needed to talk to me about?”
There had to be since he didn’t really think McKinley had come up
here to discuss Jessie’s engagement party. The sound McKinley made
seemed almost like a sigh and it was a noise Burke had never heard
the man make.
“Yes, I’m going to have to take some vacation time.”
Shock caused Burke to straighten. In the five years since McKinley
came to work at Burke Pharmaceuticals, the man had never taken a
vacation day or a sick day. The only days he wasn’t supposed to be at
the labs were on the weekends since everyone else had those days off
as well. But Burke knew McKinley was often there because when he’d
come in to do work, he’d see McKinley’s truck in the parking lot.
“Is everything all right?”
The minute he asked, Burke wanted to take it back. They didn’t ask
each other personal questions. They acted like neither of them
existed outside the walls of this building. He didn’t expect to get any
kind of answer.
McKinley set his tablet on Burke’s desk then stood. He strolled to the
bank of windows looking out over the streets of New York. This time
Burke didn’t care if McKinley caught him looking.
There was something different about the man. Usually he seemed
quite focused on the world around him like he expected danger or the
enemy to come out from the shadows. Burke had read the man’s
background file and it had seemed normal up until he joined the
Navy. Once in the military, most of his file had been redacted, and
none of Burke’s considerable connections could find anything out
about him while serving.
He’d arrived at Burke’s door with impressive references and an
extensive knowledge of a wide variety of security measures. Also, he
could act as a personal bodyguard for Burke when he needed to go do
public appearances. Burke would’ve been an idiot to pass up the
opportunity of having McKinley work for him, and Burke might be
many things, but an idiot wasn’t one of them.
As Burke stared, he realized McKinley held a lot of tension in his
shoulders.How bad is the situation?
“I have to go home,” McKinley muttered.
Running through what he knew about McKinley, Burke said, “To
Montana?”
McKinley nodded then sighed again. “My father’s dying.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Cathal.” Burke stood before going to rest his hand
on McKinley’s shoulder.
He stiffened under Burke’s touch, and Burke wondered whether it was
his touch or the fact that he called him by his first name that caused
it.
“Don’t be sorry, Mr Burke. The man was a bastard and I’m glad he’s
dying.”
Burke blinked, yet he wasn’t completely shocked by the cutting tone
to McKinley’s words. While Burke had mentioned his parents from
time to time, McKinley had never said anything about his. If Burke
hadn’t known differently, he would’ve believed McKinley had been
hatched from an egg or crawled out from under a rock.
“Then I’m sorry you have to go back home to see him. Why do you
have to do that though?” Burke frowned then went back to his chair
and sat.
“Because my sister is a druggie and her children don’t have anyone
else to look after them.”
More information had been revealed in the last ten minutes than
Burke had ever found out since he first met the man.
“What about their father?”
Why do you keep asking questions? You know once he gets over the
anger of being forced home, he’s going to regret telling you anything.
Shrugging, McKinley said, “Aside from the night he got my sister
pregnant, the man hasn’t been a part of her life since then. I’m
surprised those kids aren’t anything except feral, but my father
stepped in to raise them.”
“But I thought you said he was a bastard,” Burke spoke out loud.
“He is-or was. Maybe he changed at some point after I left. I haven’t
been a part of the family for twenty-five years, so I wouldn’t know
what happened to him.” McKinley rubbed his forehead and frowned.
Burke opened his desk drawer then dug around to find his bottle of
aspirin. He shook out two pills before getting up to grab a bottle of
water from his private refrigerator.
“Here. Take these. It might help with your headache.”
McKinley opened his mouth, more than likely to argue with him, but
Burke just stared him down until the man took the pills and water.
“Now take off your jacket and lie on the couch for a little while. No
one will bother you here. Something tells me you haven’t had a lot of
sleep since you got the news about your father.” Burke gestured to
the large leather couch set against the wall of his large office. “Trust
me. It’s very comfortable.”
He really thought McKinley would argue with him, but after
swallowing the aspirin, McKinley stripped off his jacket and hung it in
the closet next to Burke’s. He kicked off his shoes then flopped onto
the couch.
Burke tried to ignore how the white dress shirt stretched over his
broad shoulders and those tailored slacks hugged the man’s hips and
ass. He turned his attention to the papers he’d been going over when
McKinley showed up.
After a few minutes of getting used to hearing McKinley breath in his
office, Burke was able to focus on the numbers and requests. He
didn’t know how much time had passed when his phone rang.
McKinley shot straight up, looking around like he’d forgotten where he
was.
“Burke,” he barked into the phone, not happy that McKinley’s nap had
been interrupted.
“I’m sorry, Mr Burke, but there’s a gentleman here for Mr McKinley
and no one seems able to get a hold of him.”
“Just a moment, Rebecca.” He put his secretary on hold to look at
McKinley. “There’s a gentleman here to see you. Would you like to go
to him or would you like to meet him in here?”
McKinley shoved his feet into his shoes then stood. “I’ll meet him
here.”
Part Three-
“Do you want me to leave? I can go do my usual daily check in with
the scientists.” Burke offered, even though his curiosity was killing
him. He wouldn’t be rude enough to hang around if McKinley didn’t
want him to.
“No. You can stay. I don’t know who it is and I want a witness if it’s
something bad.” McKinley threw his shoulders back and Burke
couldn’t help thinking that he looked like he was going to face a firing
squad.
“All right.” He pressed the intercom and said, “You can send him in,
Rebecca.”
“Yes, sir.”
Burke moved to stand in front of his desk and he was surprised when
McKinley stalked over to join him. It seemed obvious that McKinley
wanted to provide a united front against the stranger, though Burke
couldn’t understand why. Was there something else going on that he
didn’t know about? Was McKinley in danger from something other
than having to go back home and confront his family?
No matter what was going on, Burke vowed he would have McKinley’s
back. They might have banged heads over the five years they’d
worked together, but nothing had ever made Burke believe McKinley
would turn his back on Burke if he needed help. So he would do
whatever he had to do to make things go smoothly for McKinley.
The door opened and a slender man walked in. McKinley stiffened
next to Burke and he studied the new arrival, wondering what it was
about the man that put McKinley on edge.
The new man wasn’t very tall and he seemed unremarkable in every
way. He definitely wasn’t a person Burke would look twice at if they’d
passed on the street. Then the man got closer, and Burke tensed
himself. Unremarkable though the man might be, there was the look
of a predator in his eyes and he was staring right at McKinley.
Burke stepped in front of McKinley, forcing the man to look at him.
“I’m Hilton Burke.”
The man studied his hand for a moment, but Burke wasn’t going to be
intimidated or made to feel uncomfortable. He could stand there all
day if the man wanted to play that kind of game.
“Mr. Burke, it is nice to meet you. I’ve read a lot about you in the
business magazines.” He shook Burke’s hand, but failed to introduce
himself.
“All of that stuff is bloody shite anyway,” Burke said. “Would you like
some coffee or tea?”
“I would like some coffee, please, with cream and two sugars.”
Obviously thinking he’d put Burke in his place, he turned to McKinley.
“Cathal, it is marvelous to see you after so many years.”
McKinley just glared and Burke went to his phone to ask Rebecca to
bring them coffee. When he was done, he sat in his chair.
“You both may sit.” He gestured to the chairs facing his desk. “I’m
sure you want to conduct your business in a speedy manner, and
McKinley is quite busy doing his job for me that I’d like this meeting
to be over with as soon as possible.”
McKinley sat. “Sit down, Jonas, and tell me what the fuck you’re doing
here. I thought I’d never see your pathetic face again.”
Jonas’ eyebrows went up, which was his only change in expression,
though Burke could tell he wasn’t happy about being ordered around.
“I’d like to talk to you in private, Cathal. I’m sure your boss would
understand.”
“I never gave you leave to call me by my first name, and I want him
here. Nothing you say needs to be a secret from him.” McKinley
leaned back in the chair, his hands resting lightly on his thighs.
“Are you sure about that, McKinley? I’m sure there are some things
your lover doesn’t know about that you would prefer not to tell him.”
Jonas shot Burke a rather nasty glance.
Keeping his own face expressionless, Burke said, “We don’t keep
secrets from each other, Mr. Jonas. It’s the surest way to make
someone hate you.”
Rebecca knocked on the door before coming in with the tray. She set
it on the desk, but Burke stopped her from pouring it out.
“Thank you, Rebecca. We’ll serve ourselves.”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled at him and McKinley then left. She didn’t seem
to like Jonas and that was another knock against the man. Burke
considered his personal assistant a wonderful judge of character and
if she didn’t like someone, it didn’t take long for Burke to discover he
didn’t either.
Burke poured out coffee for McKinley, fixing it exactly the way the
man liked it. McKinley nodded at him when he took the cup, but he
didn’t remove his gaze from Jonas’ face. As much as Burke wanted to
be a complete asshole and make Jonas serve himself, he figured it
wouldn’t hurt to be polite, even if he wanted to pitch the guy out of
his twenty-first floor window.
“How do you take your coffee?”
“Two sugars and a little cream.”
He put it together then handed it to Jonas, making sure their fingers
didn’t touch. Something about the man was totally off putting and it
had nothing to do with McKinley’s overt loathing of him.
Rebecca had brought him tea, so he got his ready then sat back.
“Proceed, Mr. Jonas. None of us have all day.”
Jonas curled his upper lip at Burke’s order, but he took a sip of his
coffee before saying, “We have a job for you.”
“No.”
Burke hid his laugh under a cough. That was simple enough.
“I’m not sure you understand, McKinley. You can’t say no to this.”
“I’m not part of your team any more, Jonas. I can say no.” McKinley
set his cup on Burke’s desk then stood. “We’re done here. Nothing
you can say will make me change my mind.”
“What if I were to say that certain contracts might come under review
by certain parties if you don’t help us?”
Part Four-
Jonas stood, meeting McKinley’s aggression with some of his own.
Burke shot to his feet before stalking around the desk. He got right
into Jonas’ personal space then poked the man in the chest. “Are you
threatening me?”
Jonas stared up at Burke and he saw how he resented Burke touching
him. “I can’t stop you from taking it that way. I was just making
conversation.”
“Your conversation just got your ass tossed out of here.” Burke
reached back to hit the intercom.
“Yes, Mr. Burke?”
“Rebecca, please have two guards come up here. They’ll be escorting
Mr. Jonas off the property.”
“Certainly, sir.”
“I can do it,” McKinley spoke up.
Burke shook his head. “No. Mr. Jonas doesn’t warrant you doing the
job. I have more important things for you to do than to throw some
jumped up jackass out of my building.”
“You can’t do that,” Jonas protested.
He took one step then another, forcing Jonas to back away from him.
“First you come in here and threaten my business and employees.
Now you’re trying to tell me what I can and can’t do. Let me tell you
something, Mr. Jonas. I have more powerful contacts than whatever
alphabet agency you work for. Don’t think I won’t be talking to them
about this little pissing contest you seem to think we’re having.”
Burke punctuated each word with a poke of his finger to Jonas’ chest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Burke,” he stammered,
resentment growing in his gaze with each inch of ground Burke forced
him to give up.
McKinley stayed silent, which shocked Burke since he was pretty sure
the man wasn’t happy about how Burke had taken over the meeting.
He didn’t care. No one was going to threaten him or one of his
employees. There were very few people Burke was afraid of, but a
middle-level bastard from a federal agency wasn’t one of them.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You run back to whichever
agency you work for and tell your boss that threats won’t work. He
can try to cancel my governmental contracts all he wants, but they’re
ironclad and he won’t be able to do. Then tell him he better have
another job lined up after he does so, because I’ll take him apart and
the agency he runs.” Burke took one last step that caused Jonas to
slam into the door behind him. “I will have the jobs of everyone who
worked at that agency as well.”
The door opened and Jonas tumbled out of the office, barely
managing to catch his balance before he landed on the floor. The two
guards Burke had requested took him by the arms.
“You’ll regret doing this,” Jonas called as they dragged him out.
Burke laughed and shook his head. “You didn’t do your research
before you came, Jonas. If you come back or if your superiors do as
they’ve threaten, then it will be all of you who regret this. I don’t take
threats idly and I will be talking to my contacts and trust me, they
have more power than you could ever dream of. I don’t want to see
you or anyone else who might think that they’d be welcome here.
This place is now officially off-limits to your little alphabet agency.”
As Burke whirled around, he said to Rebecca, “Get me the director of
the CIA on the phone.”
“Yes, sir.”
He glimpsed Rebecca’s smirk while walking past her. Pointing at
McKinley, he ordered, “Get your ass back in my office. We have some
business to finish.”
“Yes, sir.” McKinley followed behind him.
Burke threw himself into his chair then jumped back to his feet, too
angry to sit still. He paced while McKinley watched him from where
the man had sat on the couch. While trying to get his rage under
control, Burke picked up McKinley’s coffee cup then took it to him.
“Here. Drink this. You’re dead on your feet and you didn’t get a
chance to rest while you were here. I’d suggest you go home for the
day and relax, but I know better than that.” Burke spun around,
pacing again. “How long did you work for the CIA?”
“I didn’t…”
He didn’t let McKinley finish. “Don’t hand me that line of shite,
McKinley. I know a spook when I see one. I’ve dealt with more than
my fair share of them for my businesses. How long?”
McKinley coughed. “Ten years. I served ten years as a SEAL, then
they recruited me and I thought it would be fun. Something different
than I had been doing.”
“Was it?”
“For the first couple of years then I got fed up with all the politics and
shit we could and couldn’t do. I can’t tell you about my missions.”
McKinley took a sip and grimaced. “It’s gotten cold.”
“There’s a microwave over by the refrigerator in the other room. Go
heat it up.” Burke motioned toward a door leading from his office into
a small kitchen he’d had stocked for nights he ended up spending at
the company.
He watched McKinley walk away, and acknowledged that he could see
the military influence in his straight back and thrown back shoulders.
Cathal McKinley was a man secure in his ability to take on the world
and win against any battle.
“Mr. Burke, the director is in a meeting with the President. He’ll call
you back as soon as he’s done,” Rebecca informed him over the
phone.
“Thank you, Rebecca.”
“Why am I not surprised you can just call the head of the CIA and
he’ll call you back ASAP?” McKinley came back and took his spot
again.
“We play golf once a month in Virginia at Greenbriar,” Burke
mumbled. “You know that since you’ve gone with me before.”
“Right, but I guess I never realized that you probably do have
connections that go beyond representatives and senators. Some of
those articles calling you the most powerful businessman in the world
were telling the truth, huh?” McKinley studied him closer than he’d
ever done before.
Part Five-
Cathal McKinley was man enough to admit when he was wrong-at
least to himself. And he’d been wrong about his boss. He’d always
had the thought in the back of his head that Hilton Burke was a
spoiled rich kid who traded on his father’s credentials and memory,
and those were the reasons people kept working with Burke
Pharmaceuticals and the other companies Burke owned.
He never really considered it was the man himself that kept those
contracts and contacts viable. He’d misjudged Burke, which irritated
him. Also, for some reason, Cathal never thought Burke would stand
up to Jonas. Most people would worry about getting on the wrong side
of the CIA or any of the other alphabet agencies, yet he should’ve
known nothing much scared Burke.
Burke made and lost millions of dollars in business deals, patents, and
research a day and never even blinked or panicked. It shouldn’t have
surprised Cathal that Jonas wouldn’t be able to do anything except
make Burke angry.
Shrugging his shoulders, Burke dropped his glare to the desk in front
of him and Cathl thought he saw a hint of red on Burke’s cheeks. Is
he blushing?
“I’m sorry you were brought into this,” he said, not sure if he should
apologize or not, but he needed to acknowledge that this wouldn’t
have happened if he wasn’t working there.
“For what?” Burke looked up at him and frowned.
He cleared his throat then stared down at the cup in his hand. “I kind
of feeling like none of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for me.
Jonas would never have come here if I didn’t work here.”
Burke waved his hand in dismissal. “That might be true, but you don’t
have to apologize for that man being a prick. He obviously didn’t
realize who he was dealing with. Neither of us are the kind to be
intimidated by a limp dick bastard like Jonas.”
Snorting softly, Cathal agreed. “I think he was a little surprised, but
he’ll be back with reinforcements.”
“No, he won’t. First of all, he won’t be allowed back on the property.
Second of all, the director will call him off. I’m sure they have other
spooks who can do your job just as well. Besides, you won’t be here.
You’ll be in Montana, trying to sort though the pile of shite your family
seems to have fallen into.”
Anger surged in Cathal again and he clenched one hand to keep it
under control He hated being forced into going home when he’d
vowed never to go back. He hadn’t even gone when his mother died.
Of course, he had a valid excuse then. He was stationed at a forward
operating base in Afghanistan at the time and couldn’t get home no
matter what.
“I must ask you this and of course, you don’t have to answer if you
don’t want.” Pausing, Burke took a deep breath before continuing,
“how do you know about your father and sister if you haven’t been in
contact with them?”
A smile crossed his face as he thought about Zinnia Lubowski, his
high school sweetheart and the only one he cared about in the whole
fucking town he grew up in.
“I have a friend I stay in contact with and she lets me know what’s
happening. Just in case I might be needed. Each time my sister had a
kid, Zinnia somehow managed to convince her to name me as
guardian in case something happened to her.”
“Judging by the smile on your face, Zinnia must be a good friend,”
Burke commented.
Is that jealousy I hear in his voice? Cathal gave a mental shake of his
head. It couldn’t be. While they might be attracted to each other,
there was no way Burke cared enough about him to be jealous of
anyone Cathal became involved with.
“She is. We were high school sweethearts, then I went off to the Navy
and she settled down with a husband. Has a couple kids now and
perfectly happy living the small town dream.” He shook his head.
“Not your dream then?”
Cathal stood up to make his way back to the window. He rested his
hand on the glass as he stared out at the buildings around them. “No.
By the time I left, I’d realized I was gay and couldn’t be what she
wanted. I know there are a lot of people who can live happily in that
kind of town without ever saying out loud who they love, but I can’t
do that. I’m not good at being subtle about things like that.”
“And you shouldn’t have to be, but how do you know that the people
who lived there wouldn’t have accepted you with open arms or at
least a live and let live attitude?” Burke asked from where he sat.
“I don’t, but I wasn’t interested in staying even if they had. I wanted
to see the world and do things I wouldn’t be able to do in Montana.”
He grinned. “And I got to see and do a lot of different things while I
was a SEAL and with the CIA.”
“I bet.” Burke inhaled sharply. “How long do you plan on being gone?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I have to get there and assess the
situation before I can make a decision. I have a month’s worth of
vacation time.”
Burke must have stood because Cathal heard the swish of the chair
wheels’ on the carpet. “That’s not important. I know you wouldn’t ask
for the time off if you didn’t feel it was important. You’re approved for
it and just call me if you need more.”
Cathal turned to look at his boss who only stood an inch or two
shorter than him. He tried not to think of Burke’s plump lips or broad
shoulders. It didn’t pay to lust after his boss. He wasn’t in Burke’s
league, intelligence or money wise, and while he was pretty sure
Burke would say it didn’t matter, it did matter to Cathal to feel like he
was equal to his lover.
Part Six-
“When do you leave?” Burke simply lifted his eyebrow at the way
Cathal stared at him.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” he admitted. He’d been flustered at
the thought of returning to Sunburst and seeing his father again. So
he hadn’t planned anything else out at the moment. The only thought
was to make sure Burke knew he had to have time off.
“Don’t worry about it then. You’re going to Montana. Which big city is
closest to your town?”
Burke turned away, and Cathal couldn’t help but smile. It was obvious
his boss was going into planning mode.
“Helena’s a little over two hours from Sunburst, heading north on I-
15,” he informed him.
“Hmm…they have an airport, I assume?” Burke didn’t wait for him to
answer before he picked up the phone. “Rebecca, get Marcel for me.”
“Marcel?” Why would Burke want to talk to his head pilot? “And yes,
Helena is big enough to have an airport. It is the capital of Montana
after all.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten. I haven’t had much reason to visit
Montana, I’m afraid. You’ll take one of the company jets. No point in
being uncomfortable flying commercial.” Burke brought something up
on the screen of his computer. “There’s one Gulfstream G200 at
LaGuardia. Marcel-or one of the other pilots-can meet you out there
and you can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“I can’t use one of the jets for none company business,” Cathal
protested.
Burke shot him an incredulous look. “Why shouldn’t you? It’s not like
the corporation doesn’t have several other planes in the fleet to use.
If I need one, I can have one flown in.”
And there was one of the many differences between the two of them.
Burke thought nothing of flying in private jets all over the world,
especially at the drop of a hat. Plus having a fleet of them didn’t
strike Burke as excessive either. Though Cathal could admit that it
wasn’t just Burke who used the planes. A lot of the executives of
Burke’s different companies did along with his scientists as they
traveled for research.
Cathal thought about arguing, but decided it wouldn’t make a
difference. Burke would let him talk himself blue in the face then do
what he wanted anyway. He might as well accept the help graciously.
“Thank you. I appreciate. I really wasn’t looking forward to spending
seven hours in coach.” He wasn’t built for the seats in any commercial
jet, even the ones in first class.
“Why would you fly coach anyway?” Burke frowned like he couldn’t
conceive of flying anything but first class.
“Some of us regular folk can’t afford first class,” he reminded Burke.
“Are you fishing for a raise?” Burke grinned. “Remember I know how
much I’m paying you. You could fly first class if you want.”
“Why waste my money on first class? Just to board first and get free
drinks.” He shook his head. “I can find better things to waste my
money on.”
“Well from now on, you’ll take one of the jets when you need to fly
somewhere. They mostly just sit at the airport waiting to be used.”
Burke typed something in. “There. Now you have full access to the
fleet.”
“Mr. Burke, you didn’t have to do that,” Cathal protested.
Burke shrugged. “I know, but they are my planes and I can do with
them as I wish. Anyway, do you need someone to go with you?
Organize things or help out?”
Sighing, Cathal ran his hand through his hair, wishing he could say
the things that were boiling in his heart, but knowing it wasn’t the
time or the place for them. Hell, there might never be the right time.
“No. Once I get to the hospital in Helena, and to Sunburst, I should
have a handle on things.” He gathered his suit coat then slipped it on.
“Thank you for being understanding about this whole thing.”
“Cathal.”
He looked up to find Burke standing only inches away from him. He
stared into the man’s eyes and found himself wondering what Burke
was thinking. His boss had the poker face down pat. Probably came
from dealing with businessmen and government people who would
use every advantage they could find to get the upper hand. Cathal
tensed slightly when Burke rested his hand on Cathal’s arm. He didn’t
like being touched, not because of anything that had been done to
him. He just didn’t like his personal space being invaded, yet none of
his alarms went off when Burke stood so close to him.
“Yes?” He was glad he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt.
“You will call if you need help. I don’t expect you to do go through
this on your own. Not when you have friends who wish to help you.”
Burke squeezed his arm once before letting him go.
Cathal stood there, studying every line and wrinkle on Burke’s face.
The man was stunning, but it was his eyes that caught Cathal’s
attention every time they were together. On the surface, they seemed
cold and calculating, but once he delved deeper, he could see
loneliness and strength in them. He had a feeling that he and Burke
were more alike than he thought.
“I will,” he promised and he was surprised to realize he meant it. His
years as a SEAL had taught him how to be self-sufficient if he needed
to be. While in the CIA, he had never worked with anyone, always
doing his assignments on his own. Yet he’d also learned how to
accept his limitations and understand that there were times when he
needed others to help him accomplish his goals.
Burke had access to resources Cathal could only dream of, so if the
time came when he needed them, he wouldn’t hesitate to ask. Not for
himself, but for his nieces and nephews. They were children and
didn’t deserve to suffer simply because their mother couldn’t stay
away from meth.
Part Seven-
“Then go and pack. Rebecca will reserve a vehicle for you at the
Helena airport and send you the information for when you land. Just
send me a text when you get there, so I know you arrived all right.”
Burke slapped him on the shoulder before walking back to the other
side of the office. “I’ll inform Dr. Davidson that you won’t be able to
come to the engagement party because of family obligations.”
Cathal frowned as disappointment coursed through him. He was a
little amazed that he had such a strong reaction to not being able to
go. He hadn’t realized he’d been looking forward to the event.
“Thank you. I’ll make sure to send them a present though.” As he
walked from Burke’s office, he nodded at Rebecca.
“Have a safe flight, Mr. McKinley. I’ll make sure you have a car
waiting. Or would you rather have a truck?”
“A truck would be fine, Rebecca, and thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir. I hope you find everything is fine when you get
there.” She turned to reach for the phone and he knew she was
making arrangements for him.
He took the private elevator down to the garage level where he’d
parked his Lexus just a few hours earlier, never knowing that his life
would take a 180-degree turn before lunch.
Before he left the garage, he called Marcel and they set up a time to
meet at the airport. He nodded to the guard at the gate as he pulled
out into the street. He wasn’t worried about security at Burke
Pharmaceutical while he was gone.
After the incident with Dr Davidson, he’d gone through and revamped
the entire system, upgrading everything and installing new
procedures. He’d even had some of his old SEAL buddies try to break
into the building and they failed. Burke had been happy with the
results, and while there were one or two little things he’d like to
tweak, Cathal had been happy as well.
Getting through traffic was always a bit of a challenge in New York,
but Cathal took his time, reminding himself again and again not to get
angry with stupid drivers. Most of it was just his own unhappiness at
having to leave the city and return to a place he had thought was
long behind him.
After parking his car in his garage, he slipped in the back door of his
brownstone. He was glad he paid the extra price to have a private
parking area. That way he didn’t have to worry about anyone messing
with his vehicle while he was gone.
Roscoe greeted him at the door and he sighed. He’d forgotten all
about the pitbull while trying to figure out the logistics of flying out.
Cathal crouched to rub Roscoe’s ears.
“What am I going to do with you,” he muttered.
Roscoe whined and wiggled his butt, so happy that his human was
home earlier than usual. Cathal grabbed his phone to call Marcel
again.
“Bonjour, Mr. McKinley.”
“Hey Marcel. I have a question. Do you think Mr. Burke would mind if
I brought my dog on board?” He didn’t really want to put Roscoe in a
crate. He’d find someone to take care of him if it wasn’t possible to
take him.
“It’ll be fine. Mr. Burke brings his dogs on the planes all the time. It’s
one of the reasons why he owns jets in the first place. Well, that and
he gets to fly them once in a while.”
Why am I not surprised that Burke has a pilot license? Relief raced
through Cathal. “Good. I’d hate to leave my dog behind.”
“I’m sure you could’ve found someone to take him. Mr. Burke
would’ve been happy to do so,” Marcel informed him.
“I guess I never knew he had dogs. What kind?” After patting Roscoe
on the head one last time, Cathal stalked down the narrow hallway to
the stairs then bounded up them to his bedroom.
“He has a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a Yorkshire Terrier.”
Cathal snorted. The Ridgeback he could see because they were tough
athletic dogs that would be perfect for a man like Burke. The Yorkie
was a little difficult to picture. “Really? That’s quite a pair.”
He jerked his suitcase out of the closet then began packing. Since he
wasn’t completely sure how long he’d be there, he packed for a week,
figuring he’d buy more clothes if he ended up staying longer.
“Hmm…I guess it could be considered unusual. So I’ll meet you and
your dog at the hanger soon.” Marcel hung up without waiting for
Cathal to say yes or no.
Shaking his head, Cathal shoved his phone in his back pocket before
he finished packing. Once that was done, he changed into well-worn
jeans and a long sleeve Henley. He carried his bag downstairs where
he pulled his battered leather jacket out of the closet to toss over the
top of the suitcase. Then he packed another smaller duffle with
Roscoe’s bowls, toys and blanket.
He’d called the car company right after he arrived home, knowing
they could be there quickly. A horn honked outside and Cathal
glanced around his place, wondering if there was anything he’d
forgotten. He’d brought his briefcase in from his car with him, so he’d
have stuff to do on the flight.
Cathal clipped the leash to Roscoe’s collar before gathering all his
other stuff up. Then he went outside to the car. Bags were put in the
trunk while he and Roscoe settled into the back seat.
“LaGuardia Airport, Burke Pharmaceutical’s private hanger,” he
informed the driver.
“Yes, sir.”
They pulled out into traffic and Cathal relaxed a little. He wasn’t
happy about going home, but he would and deal with the problem as
quickly as possible. Yet what if the problem meant he was suddenly in
charge of four kids? He didn’t know anything about children and
wasn’t sure he wanted to learn about them at his age anyway.
Part Eight-
After they reached the airport, he and Roscoe settled onto the plane
and just waited for Marcel to go through his pre-flight check. Marcel
had pointed out where Burke usually kept the dogs during take-off
and landing. So Cathal put Roscoe in the crate and his dog laid down,
seemingly unconcerned about what was going on.
Marcel walked by Cathal. “We’ll be in the air in about twenty minutes.
Once we level over, I’ll let you know and you can make some coffee
or whatever. Plus you can let your dog out.”
“Thanks. If I make some coffee, do you want some?”
“Sure. Got in late last night. Boss woke me when he called to see
about the plane.” Marcel stretched.
Cathal ran his gaze over the slender pilot’s body and when he looked
back up, Marcel smiled at him. There was invitation in Marcel’s eyes,
but Cathal wasn’t going to tap that. Not when he knew Marcel had
lovers in just about every city that had a major airport, and some that
had smaller airports. Pretty much wherever Marcel could land a plane,
he’d slept with someone. Plus Marcel wasn’t picky about who shared
his bed. Men or women or both at the same time. The pilot had the
discrimination of an alley cat and Cathal wasn’t interested in
becoming a notch in Marcel’s bedpost.
Maybe when Cathal was younger, he’d take Marcel up on what he
offered, but not any more. He’d learned to be more picky about who
he slept with. Maybe it came with maturity or simply from finding the
perfect man for him five years ago and not wanting to settled for less.
A slight shake of Cathal’s head brought a grin to the pilot’s face, but
nothing was said and really no words were needed. Cathal passed up
a chance to get laid because he was in love with his boss. Doesn’t
that just suck? You’re in love with Burke, but you’re too chicken to
say anything to him.
He let his head drop back against the seat while Marcel made his way
up to the front cabin. Cathal’s inability to talk to Burke about how he
felt drove him crazy. It was stupid. Why would a former SEAL and CIA
agent be afraid of admitting out loud that he loved someone? It
wasn’t that he thought Burke would deny him.
Fuck it was obvious Burke was just as attracted to him as he was to
the man. Yet was lust the only thing they felt for each other? If they
gave in to desire and it burnt out, would it ruin the friendship and
working relationship they were building?
Cathal didn’t have a lot of friends and he couldn’t really afford to lose
one. Exhaling loudly, he admitted to himself that was just an excuse
for not manning up and doing something. Maybe it was that his ego
was too fragile to deal with the possibility that what he felt for Burke
might not be returned as strongly as he wanted.
His phone buzzed and he reached over to his jacket to pull it out of
the pocket. It was a text message from Burke.
On the plane?
Chuckling, Cathal brought the keyboard up to type.
Yes. Roscoe is enjoying the dog crate.
Roscoe?
Had he really never mentioned having a dog to Burke? He thought
about it for a moment and realized that for all the time they spent
together at work, only Burke shared tidbits of his personal life.
Though Cathal hadn’t known about his dogs either.
My pitbull. Didn’t want to leave him behind. Marcel said you brought
your dogs on the plane all the time.
Roscoe whined like he knew Cathal was talking about him. After
standing, Cathal took out one of the dog toys he’d packed and gave it
to Roscoe, who happily started chewing on it.
He sat then checked his phone.
Glad to know you took him. I could’ve watched him for you. My dogs
are friendly…for the most part. Gollum, the Yorkie, has a bit of a
complex.
With a name like Gollum, can you blame him?
True. Well, make sure to text me when you land. Rebecca should’ve
sent you the info on your rental. Have a safe flight.
Thanks.
Marcel came over the intercom to tell him to buckle up. After he did
so, he turned off his phone then put it away. Their take-off was
smooth and soon Marcel came on to tell him he could move about the
cabin if he wanted. He started the coffee before letting Roscoe out.
His dog went directly to the leather couch along one side of the plane,
jumped up on it and stretched out. It was obvious that flying in the
lap of luxury suited Roscoe just fine. Cathal laughed as he pulled
some files out to work on while in the air.
After the coffee was done, he filled a travel mug for Marcel and took it
up to him. They chatted about the weather and all of that. When
Cathal returned to his seat, he got a pillow and a blanket out and
shifted around until he was comfortable. Might as well try to get some
sleep because he didn’t know when he’d be getting to bed after he
got to Helena.
He’d have to go to the hospital first to check on his father, even
though he wasn’t sure his dad would want to see him. But he had to
make sure the man was hanging in there before he went on to do
something about his sister and her children.
Zinnia hadn’t told him what was wrong with his dad, just that he’d
been taken to the hospital two days ago and wasn’t going to be
released any time soon. Of course, he wouldn’t have been contacted
since his family didn’t have his most recent address or phone number.
Roscoe snorted in his sleep and Cathal smiled. At least he’d have
Roscoe with him to keep him entertained during the upcoming trials
and tribulations of the McKinley clan.
Part Nine-
Burke glared at his phone. He knew the stupid thing worked since
he’d placed a call on it just a few minutes ago to his driver, setting up
a time for him to come and pick him up at the company. He was
going into Manhattan for a charity dinner that night, and he didn’t
want to have to contend with the traffic himself. It was much more
relaxing to have someone else worry about that.
“He should’ve texted me by now to let me know he got there okay,”
he muttered.
“Who should’ve?”
He jerked, straightening from where he slumped in his chair. Staring
at his office door, he saw Dr. Davidson standing just inside staring
back at him. God, I really don’t want to have to put up with him right
now.
“What can I do for you, Davidson?” Burke stood then walked around
to the front of his desk before resting his ass on the edge.
“Who are you waiting to text you? It’s kind of rude of him to make
you wait. Chuck gets angry when I don’t text him back right away. I
try telling him that sometimes I’m in the middle of an experiment or a
meeting and I can’t get back to him, but he pouts anyway.” Herb
strolled closer, carrying several files in his arms. “Maybe you should
text him. Make sure he has your number in his phone. That’s what I
did for Chuck because he hates cell phones, so I couldn’t trust that he
wouldn’t delete the number by accident.”
Burke blinked, but Herb continued before he could say anything in
response.
“It would have to be an accident because Chuck loves me and he
wouldn’t delete my number out of his phone for any other reason.”
Herb held out the files. “I’m bringing you the updated files on the
cancer research Jessie and I are working on. The rats in the cancer
group are responding well to the treatment. I’m not ready to say this
is a break through, but it’s got possibilities.”
And coming from Dr. Davidson, that statement was tantamount to a
ringing endorsement. He took the files then set them on his desk.
He’d look them over later.
“Davidson, I wanted to let you know that Mr. McKinley might not be
able to come to Jessie’s engagement party.”
Herb looked disappointed. “Really? I’m sorry to hear that. I was
looking forward to the two of you coming together. Chuck said I
shouldn’t push but I can tell you like each other and it seems silly to
me that you won’t do anything. You’re both very unhappy about the
situation, so why not come to a party? It would be fun and maybe
something else could happen.”
“McKinley isn’t coming because he’s gone home on family business
and he’s not sure when he’ll be getting back.” Burke was going to
ignore what Herb had said. “But I’ll be coming. Now on the invitation,
there wasn’t a list of places the couple was registered at. Do you
think you could have Jessie email me those? I’d like to get them an
engagement present.”
“Engagement present? Do people give those? Oh shit! I better talk to
Chuck about what to get them. I’m pretty sure we didn’t think about
that when we planned the party.” Herb turned then walked out of
Burke’s office, mumbling under his breath.
Chuckling, Burke returned to his seat before sending off a quick email
to Jessie about where she and her fiancé were registered. He’d pick
something out and put both his and McKinley’s name on it. Cathal
would have too many things on his plate to remember to do that, so
Burke would take care of it for him.
Just as he thought of the man, his phone buzzed. Instead of a text,
Cathal was calling him. He swiped his finger over the screen to
answer.
“Hello.”
“I made to the house in Sunburst,” McKinley said.
“I’m glad. Obviously you found the rental Rebecca arranged for you.
Were you able to see your father?” He wanted to demand to know
why McKinley hadn’t called him the minute the jet touched down, but
he bit his tongue. Cathal wasn’t used to having anyone worry about
him, so he might not have thought about it.
McKinley sighed, and his weariness came over the phone in that
sound. “Yes. He’s actually not doing well at all. I thought it was his
heart, but I guess he had cancer and the doctors aren’t giving him
much of a hopeful outlook.”
Burke breathed in sharply. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s not like he and I are close or anything like that, you
know.”
“I know, Cathal, but he’s still your father and there will be a void
there when he’s gone.”
He knew what he was talking about, having gone through the loss of
his parents. Even at as young an age as he had been, Burke had felt
their lost keenly.
McKinley grunted. “I guess. I just got here and I’m ready to get back
on the plane and return home. This is going to be far more difficult
than I thought.”
Burke didn’t examine why his heart gave a little leap at the
knowledge that McKinley considered New York home. It wasn’t like
he’d said he couldn’t wait to get back to Burke or anything like that.
“I understand. Oh I told Herb that you wouldn’t be able to make
Jessie’s party. He babbled about something, but didn’t argue too
much over you not being there.” Burke chuckled. “I’m not sure how
Davidson does it. I would have to buy ear plugs if I lived with that
man.”
“Love makes you forgive a lot of faults,” McKinley said. Then he
paused for a moment and Burke wondered what he was about to ask.
“I was wondering if you could get me the name of a good lawyer out
here in Montana. I’m thinking if Dad dies, this could get ugly.”
Thrilled McKinley was asking for his help, Burke replied, “Of course.
I’ll call my lawyers and see if they can send someone out to you.”
“You don’t have to send one of yours. I can pay for my own. I just
thought you might have connections to get me a good one out here,”
McKinley protested.
“Cathal, let me do this. Yes, I have connections to some of the best
lawyers. I’ll give you a call when I know how long it’ll be before one
can come to you. Get some sleep.”
He hung up before McKinley could refuse. Burke buzzed Rebecca to
get him the number for the law firm he kept on retainer.
Part Ten-
What was the point of paying all that money for good lawyers if he
couldn’t use them for friends when they needed them?
After making sure someone would be on their way to Helena within
the hour, Burke called McKinley back.
“Yeah?” McKinley answered and Burke could hear annoyance in his
voice.
“Did you check the number before you answered?”
McKinley cleared his throat. “No.”
“I didn’t think so. I’m calling to give you a heads up. The firm is
sending someone out to Helena within the hour. I gave them your
number, so they’ll call when they land. You can give them directions
to Sunburst or set up a time to meet them in the city.”
McKinley chuckled. “It’ll have to be in Helena. There isn’t anywhere to
stay in Sunburst and I’m crashing on the couch at my father’s
because the kids have the bedrooms.”
Burke hesitated before asking, “Is your sister there?”
“No. She seems to have skipped out when Dad went into the hospital.
Thank God, Zinnia is here, plus Randy and Elisa, my sister’s oldest
two are pretty responsible kids. They managed to keep the two
youngest in line until I could get here.”
“What’s your sister’s name?” Burke picked up his pen before pulling a
piece of paper closer to him.
“Margaret McKinley. Yeah, she never married the asshole father of
her children,” McKinley muttered, his opinion of the guy very evident
in his voice.
Burke nodded. Not surprising, especially if they’re both addicts. He
made a note to have a background check done on Cathal’s sister. He
had no doubt that Cathal had done that all ready, but Burke had
access to agencies Cathal didn’t any more. “You have four nieces and
nephews?”
“One niece and three nephews. Randy is seventeen and Elisa is
sixteen. Then there’s Bucky and Buddy, six-year-old twins. Those two
might be the death of me.” McKinley chuckled.
“Doesn’t sound like you mind too much,” Burke pointed out.
“Not really. I haven’t had much experience with kids, but for all their
problems, these kids have turned out okay.” McKinley sighed. “I
guess I should admit that my father has done a good job with them.”
“Maybe he learned his lesson with how he treated you, and he didn’t
want to repeat the mistakes.” Burke shifted in his chair then checked
his watch. “I hate to have to go, McKinley, but I have to go get ready
for an event tonight.”
“Black tie?”
“Aren’t they all? A thousand dollar a plate dinner. All for a good
cause.” Burke pinched his nose. “I wish I wasn’t such a soft touch for
these.”
McKinley snorted. “You aren’t that soft a touch. You have a lot of
money and if it can be used to help other people, why not give it? It’s
not like you’d be able to spend it all in your life time.”
That was true, and he was just continuing the philanthropic example
his parents had set when they were alive.
“They’re just so boring and the same people come to them. I hate
listening to yet another person whining about the taxes he has to pay
to import his newest sports car.” He shook his head. “Seriously? If
you can bloody buy a million dollar car, then you can fucking pay the
taxes.”
“Must be rough.” McKinley’s words dripped with sarcasm.
Burke grinned. “I know, but you won’t catch me whining about
taxes.”
“I wouldn’t catch you buy an expensive sports car either,” McKinley
pointed out.
“True.” Expensive toys weren’t his vice. He spent his money on
traveling and that was about it. Many people might have thought he
lived a lavish lifestyle because of all the millions he had, but Burke
made sure to live well within his means. He didn’t need to throw his
money around to prove that he was wealthy or powerful.
“Are you taking someone to the event with you?”
Frowning, Burke wondered why McKinley would ask him that. He’d
never seemed to care before when Burke went out on the town with
anyone.
“No. I forgot about having to go. I hate calling someone up on such
short notice. I’ll go by myself and the paparazzi will speculate about
me.” He rolled his eyes, hating how his personal life could get
splashed all over the pages of the society section of the paper.
“That’s nice of you, I guess, though you had to have wasted the
money. Just a second.” McKinley’s voice was muffled like he’d covered
the phone as he talked to someone else. “I have to go as well.
Apparently it’s time for the kids to eat.”
“Who knew you’d have to feed them as well?” Burke joked.
“Shut up. Have a good night and take Lee with you tonight,” McKinley
ordered.
Burke huffed in annoyance. “It’s just a dinner, Cathal. There’s nothing
sinister or dangerous about it.”
“Please, Hilton. Just do it.” McKinley sounded tired and Burke didn’t
have the heart to argue with him. Hearing Cathal say his first name
caused Burke’s heart to skip a beat.
It wasn’t going to cramp or hurt his night if he had a bodyguard
following him. Lee was unobtrusive and very good at his job. Of
course, Burke would’ve rather had McKinley with him, but that wasn’t
going to happen. Even if McKinley were in town, he never went
anywhere with Burke.
“Fine. I’ll call Lee when we get off the phone and have him meet me
here. At least someone will get to eat the dinner I paid for.” Burke
sighed, rubbing his forehead. “If I could get away with it, I’d give the
tickets away. Maybe Rebecca and her boyfriend would like to go.”
“Good night, Mr. Burke. Have a good evening.” McKinley hung up.
Burke called Lee, asking him to meet him at the company at six. He
didn’t care about the cocktail hour or anything like that. He just
wanted to eat then go home. For some reason, he wasn’t interested
in being sociable that night.
Part Eleven-
Burke shut the door behind him and sighed. Thank God for being
home after such a long night. The food at the event wasn’t so bad
that he had to make his driver stop to pick up take-out on the way
home. He’d done that on more than one occasion and McKinley had
laughed at him for it.
Without checking his watch, Burke pulled out his phone and dialed
McKinley, holding his phone between his shoulder and his ear while
bending to get his shoes off.
“Hello?” McKinley’s rough voice came over the phone and Burke
swore.
“Shite! Sorry, Cathal. I forgot that you might actually be sleeping. It’s
midnight there, isn’t it? And you’ve been busy all day.” He picked up
his shoes before wandering into his bedroom. Returning them to their
spot in his closet, he then proceeded to remove his pants.
“It’s all right, though I had just fallen asleep,” McKinley murmured.
“I’ll let you go then. I am sorry about this.” He started to bring the
phone down to hang up when he heard McKinley call his name. “Yes?”
“Don’t hang up. What did you want? Why didn’t you call Lee if you
needed anything?”
“Just a second. I’m going to put you on speaker.” He hit the right
button then set the phone on the bed while he stripped off the rest of
his clothes. “It’s nothing important. I just returned home from this
charity thing and thought about the food.”
“The food made you think of me?” McKinley sounded skeptical.
He chuckled. “When you say it that way, it does sound ridiculous. I
thought about how good the dinner was and how I didn’t have to
have Roger stop for take-out. I remembered how you joke when I do
that and I decided to call. But I’d forgotten you weren’t in New York
because if you were, you’d have been with me and not Lee.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I’m sorting my clothes for the maid to take to the dry cleaners. I
need the tux I wore tonight cleaned. Some drunk red-head dumped a
glass of merlot on it.” He frowned. “Maybe I should just get rid of it
and buy a new one. This one’s about five years old.”
“What happens to the clothes you don’t want any more?”
Blinking, Burke paused in the middle of tugging a pair of sweats out
of his dresser. McKinley had never asked him anything personal like
that. In fact, he’d never made a comment about anything Burke did in
his private life. At least not very often.
“I let my maid take them. I have no idea what she does with them
after that. I guess she either gives them away or sells them.” Burke
tossed his shirt in the dry cleaning basket then walked out to his
dining room where he hung his pants over the back of the chair. He’d
leave her a note in the morning about the wine stain and to let her
know she could do what she wanted with them after they were
cleaned.
“How often do you do things like that?” McKinley grunted like he was
moving.
“Give her my clothes?” Burke pursed his lips as he thought and
finished dressing. He snatched up the phone and took it off speaker.
“Yes. I’ve seen your closets, Burke, and you’re a clotheshorse. It’s a
good thing you have several large storage areas for your suits,”
McKinley joked.
“Are you making fun of me?” Burke was shocked. Again, it was
something McKinley hadn’t ever done before.
McKinley hummed for a second then said, “I guess I am. I must still
be half asleep.”
“Must be.” Burke flopped onto his couch, staring at the large screen
TV in front of him. He wasn’t really tired, but he wasn’t interested in
doing anything else either. “Did the lawyer get there?”
“Yeah. He’s staying in Helena and after I get the kids off to school in
the morning, I’m going to meet him. We’re going over my dad’s will
and see what will happen with the kids once he’s gone.” McKinley
sighed.
“Has your sister called or made an appearance yet?” Burke couldn’t
imagine a mother who would abandon her children and her father that
way, though he understood what the lure of drugs could make people
do.
“No and the kids said she hasn’t called since she left. I’m going to call
some friends and have them look for her.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already got someone on it,” Burke
admitted then waited to hear McKinley protest his actions.
“Thanks.” McKinley cleared his throat. “I seriously don’t have a clue,
Hilton. If she doesn’t come back, I’ll have four kids to take care of.
What do I do with them?”
Burke rubbed his chin and laughed. “Sorry, Cathal. I have no idea
how to deal with kids. I don’t have any and none of my friends do
either. At least not yet. I think what happens first is you leave them
in school until summer break, even if it means you stay out in
Montana the rest of the year.”
“I can’t stay here that long,” McKinley argued. “I have a life in New
York and work to do for you. I can’t do my work from here.”
“Yes, you can. You have reliable men and women working for you
who can do the legwork here while you’re taking care of your nieces
and nephews. There are things we can do to make it easier for you.”
Burke made a decision right then. “I’ll fly out tomorrow and we’ll talk
about everything.”
McKinley started to say something but Burke didn’t want to hear it.
He knew what he had to do and standing beside Cathal while he
worked his way through the mess his family had left him was the
most important thing.
“I’m going to hang up and I’ll call you from the airport in the morning
to let you know when I’ll be in Helena. You can either come and pick
me up or I’ll rent a car so you don’t have to drive me around.”
Silence filled the space between them for a minute or two and Burke
thought maybe McKinley had already hung up. Then he heard a
sharply inhaled breath before McKinley said, “Thank you, Hilton.”
Part Twelve-
“You’re welcome, Cathal.” Burke’s chest ached from those softly
spoken words. “I need to pack, so I’ll let you go.”
“Hey, don’t bring any of your thousand dollars suits, Burke. This isn’t
New York. Trust me. Wearing your usual clothes will make you stick
out more than you’re already going to.”
“What should I wear?” He couldn’t believe he was having this
conversation with McKinley. “I do have casual clothes you know.”
“I’ve seen your idea of casual and those aren’t going to work either.
Tell you what. Just get here and I’ll take you to the Walmart in
Helena. We’ll get you some things to wear while you’re here.”
Burke frowned. “Walmart? I don’t think I’ve ever been in one of those
in my entire life.”
McKinley chuckled. “I’m not surprised by that. I have to get some
sleep. The kids get up early for school and I have to make sure they
have everything before they go.”
“You sound so domestic,” he joked then continued, not letting
McKinley reply to that. “I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know when
I’ll be landing in Helena.”
“Thanks again for coming. It’ll be nice to have someone else here, not
including the lawyer.” McKinley hung up.
Burke sent Marcel a text then text Rebecca to see if she could come
into the office earlier than her usual seven o’clock. He wanted to
make sure to that there was nothing critical that needed his presence
for the rest of the week and see what he could push off until later in
the month.
He wandered into his bedroom to pull out a carryon. After setting it
on the bed, he packed some underwear, socks, and some sweats. He
could deal with buying things when he got to Montana, but he wasn’t
willing to buy a whole new wardrobe. Burke was sure the things he
wore around his penthouse would be fine.
Once that was done, he climbed under the blankets to get some
sleep. It would only be a few hours, but he’d gotten used to going
without a full eight hours a long time ago. As he closed his eyes, he
thought about seeing McKinley tomorrow and what his going to
Montana to help him would mean for their relationship. Burke
would’ve liked to believe he’d do that for anyone he considered a
friend, yet he knew better. McKinley was the only one Burke would
drop everything for. Guess it proves where he ranks in the list of most
important people in my life.

“You can deplane now, Mr. Burke,” Marcel told him the next day after
taxiing to the private hangers at Helena Regional Airport.
Burke grabbed his briefcase and carryon before heading to the door.
When he got to the tarmac, Marcel was waiting for him.
“Thanks for the smooth flight, Marcel. You can take the plane back to
New York. We won’t be heading back any time soon, I’m sure.”
“Yes, sir.” Marcel touched the brim of his hat.
As Burke walked to the terminal, he glanced around. It was
September and the fall colors were out. He could see mountains in
the distance, causing him to admit that Montana might be a nice
place to visit, though he knew he couldn’t stay there. His entire base
of operations was on the east coast.
“Mr. Burke.”
Looking back toward the front of the building, he saw McKinley
standing there. He smiled at the sight of McKinley standing there in
faded jeans and leather jacket over a plaid shirt. Burke glanced down
to check. Sure enough, McKinley wore cowboy boots.
“All you need is a Setson, and you’d be the perfect image of a cowboy
or rancher.” He frowned. “What do you call people who keep cattle?”
“Keep? You mean raise? The people who own the land are ranchers.
The men who work for them are cowboys.” McKinley held out his
hand. “Thanks for coming.”
Burke shook it, though he wanted to throw his arms around McKinley
and hug him close. He doubted that would go over well with McKinley
or the other people milling around outside. “I thought it would be
easier if you have someone to bounce ideas off of and while I might
not be an expert when it comes to family matters, at least you can
trust me to give you an honest answer.”
“True.” McKinley gestured in the direction of the parking lot. “I’m over
here. Is that all you brought with you?”
“Yes. You told me we’d pick up the appropriate attire when I got here.
I didn’t see the need to bring much more than this.” He hefted his
carryon. “I packed underwear, socks, and sweats to wear around the
house.”
McKinley shot him a skeptical glance. “You own sweats?”
“I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not. Of course, I own sweats.
What do you think I wear around my place to be comfortable? I might
wear those thousand dollar suits you like to rag me about every
where else, but they wrinkle far too easy to wear while lounging on
the couch watching TV.” Burke glared at him.
“You lounge?” McKinley blinked, but the grin he wore told Burke he
was teasing him.
“Of course, I lounge. How else are the boys dressed in loincloths
supposed to hand feed me grapes and cool me with their fans?” He
rolled his eyes.
McKinley led the way to a big black SUV and Burke climbed into the
passenger seat. He watched as McKinley stalked around the front of
the vehicle. As much as he enjoyed seeing the man dressed in a
designer suit and silk tie, Burke had to admit the jeans and leather
jacket fit him as well if not better.He grew up as a cowboy, so of
course he’d wear those items as if born to them. Now you just have
to make sure you don’t look too ridiculous in whatever he picks out
for you. Burke didn’t have much hope of that happening.
Part Thirteen-
The man would make a burlap sack look good. It’s not fair. Cathal
stood there as Burke walked out of the dressing room in a pair of
Wranglers and a flannel shirt. He shook his head when Burke turned
around and Cathal saw how the jeans lovingly covered the man’s ass.
“How is it you look just as good in thirty dollars jeans as you do in
thousand dollars suits?” Cathal asked.
Burke smirked. “You think I look good in these?”
“Don’t let your head swell too much, Burke. You have to know how
good you fucking look.” Cathal turned away to grab a couple more
pairs of jeans and shirts before heading towards the shoe
department. “We’ll get you some boots then head out to grab the kids
from school.”
“Do they know I’m coming?” Burke followed behind him.
Cathal grinned. “Yeah. I told them my boss was coming. Randy didn’t
care. He’s focused on getting through his junior year without any
distractions. I plan on doing my best to help him out with that. He’s a
bright kid with a lot of potential. God knows how my sister managed
to give birth to a kid like him. Well, like any of them really. All of
them are good kids.” He checked out the boots then asked, “What
size are you?”
“Eleven.” Burke stood next to him facing the shelves. “Are you sure I
should get boots here? Aren’t there shoe stores in the area?”
“You’re right. We’ll stop at a store on the way out of town. Oh, Elisa is
going to love you.” Cathal ran his gaze over the pile of clothes they
both carried. “We’re done here. Let’s pay then get out of here.”
“Certainly, and why will she love me?” There was a hint of panic in
Burke’s voice.
“Because of your accent, man. She’s crazy about anything British. The
twins will probably want to climb all over you, which they do me, so
you’ll be a jungle gym for them.”
He led the way to the checkout lanes and stood. Burke grabbed a
couple candy bars from the racks next to them. Eyeing him, Cathal
chose to stay silent. He had the feeling those snacks weren’t for
Burke, but were going to be used as bribes for the kids. He didn’t let
them eat a lot of candy, yet it wouldn’t hurt for them to have one
today.
“I pulled out some steaks for us to have for dinner. The kids are
getting hamburgers, though Randy might want a steak.” Cathal put
his stuff on the counter before stepping back to let Burke put his
armful down.
The lady smiled at Cathal, then her eyes widened when she saw
Burke.
“Ma’am.” Burke tipped his head to her and she shot Cathal a glance.
Cathal simply nodded, amused by the way she seemed in disbelief.
He’d seen a lot of women-and men-react that way to Burke. He was
never really sure whether Burke noticed or not.
Burke didn’t wince at the total, just handed over his black credit card.
The cashier studied it then met Burke’s gaze.
“Just run it. It’ll go through.”
She did so and within a minute, Burke received a phone call. “Yes, it’s
me and I’m in Montana buying some things at Walmart. I’ll be buying
some other things at different places in the state, so just approve any
charges.” He hung up and the charge was approved.
Once it was paid for and bagged, they headed out to the truck. “Do
they always call you?”
Burke shook his head. “Not for small purchases like this one, but
because it’s from a store in Montana and I’ve never been known to
travel to Montana, they had to be cautious. I’m happy that they did
it.”
He wasn’t going to ask about a spending limit because he’d seen
those black credit cards before and knew there wasn’t a limit on
them. He didn’t think many of them showed up at a Walmart in
Montana. After tossing the bags in the back seat, he climbed behind
the wheel. Burke sat in the passenger seat and stared out the
window.
“It’s beautiful country,” Burke commented. “I noticed it as we flew
over. Mountains and plains combine to make rather stunning vistas.
Did you miss any of it when you left?”
Cathal thought for a minute, then nodded. “I did miss being able to
ride for hours and not run into another human being. I’ve liked being
outdoors.”
“Then why are you living in the city? Why take the security job when
you’d prefer to outside? There are other jobs you could work.” Burke
turned his attention to Cathal. “Not that I want you to quit or
anything. I’m simply curious.”
“I do get out of the city on weekends when I’m not working. I head
up to Maine or down the coast to the Outer Banks. I had been
planning on taking some vacation time and go backpacking in
Alaska.” He grimaced. “I guess that’s not going to work out now. I’ll
be using up my vacation time figuring out what’s happening here.”
Burke reached out to rest his hand on Cathal’s arm. “Don’t worry. Do
you really think I wouldn’t let you take extra time if you needed it?
Sometimes we need to get away. I understand that and I won’t
begrudge you those moments.”
“When was the last time you took time off work to relax?” He didn’t
remember the last time one of his men had to travel with Burke
anywhere that might be considered relaxing for him.
Chuckling, Burke confessed, “I don’t take bodyguards with me when I
go on vacation. I might go to my house in England, but then I ditch
them and go up to my hunting lodge in Scotland or my villa in the
South of France.”
Cathal stiffened and shot a glare in Burke’s direction. “You’re not
supposed to go anywhere without your security, Hilton. You’re worth
too much to risk getting kidnapped.”
“I won’t get kidnapped, Cathal. No one knows where I’m going until
I’m an hour out. Then I call my caretakers to get the house opened
for me. You know I’m going to have to come up with a different name
for the hunting lodge. I don’t hunt and that’s not what I use it for any
more. It’s been quite some time since my ancestors last used it for
that purpose.” Burke pursed his lips.
Anger welled up in Cathal, but he knew it wasn’t the right time to talk
to his boss about his safety.
Part Fourteen-
But he couldn’t resist. “Why haven’t my men reported this to me?”
Burke glanced at him quickly. “Because after being alone for a couple
days, I always call them up and have them flown to wherever I
happen to be. I never go more than two or three days alone. Your
men understand this and are willing to let me take off as long as I call
them.”
He still wasn’t happy about Hilton being alone even for that short a
time. Kidnappers didn’t need a lot of minutes to snatch someone from
their home or off the street even. He’d worked a few international
kidnappings while in the CIA, so he knew how things could go bad
very quickly.
“I ask that you don’t yell at any of them. If at any time, I’d felt I was
in danger, I would’ve returned to them.”
“You have no idea what qualifies as danger. Lee told me after the last
trip you took that you went rock climbing with one of the presidents
of your subsidiaries. Also, that at times you weren’t using any ropes
or anchor pins. What the hell were you thinking?” His knuckles were
white from how hard he clenched the steering wheel.
Burke snorted. “I was thinking that I’m capable of taking care of
myself and that I’ve been rocking climbing for several years now. I
have been injured doing it, but I learn each time that happens. I’ll
keep climbing until I can’t anymore. More than likely, I’ll get hurt
again. You can’t keep me safe in a box, Cathal. I won’t let you.”
He took a deep breath. “I know that and you don’t know how often I
bite my tongue to keep from telling you not to do something or go
somewhere. All those trips to South America and Africa scare me silly.
I know how easily things can get out of hand if you don’t have anyone
watching your back.”
Burke didn’t say anything, just reached to put his hand on Cathal’s
thigh and squeezed. Cathal flexed his muscle, but didn’t mention it
because he didn’t want Burke to remove his hand. He liked the
warmth of his touch. Of course, it might not have been a good thing,
considering how his cock was stiffening at the thought of Burke
moving his hand just an inch or two higher. His pinkie would end up
brushing against Cathal’s zipper.
It was all he could to keep from begging Burke to press his palm
against him. This wasn’t the place or the time for that. He needed to
get boots for Burke then they needed to grab the kids. He had to
make sure they had dinner before homework.
“We’ll talk more about my activities later. Let’s get me some boots.
Are you going to take me horseback riding?” Burke asked, seeming to
have no idea what was going on in Cathal’s mind.
“I can. My father has a few horses. He sold off the cattle because he
just couldn’t take care of them on his own. Not even with Randy and
Elisa to help him.”
“I guess that makes sense, though I have no real idea how much
work goes into raising cattle or horses. I’ve only had dogs.”
The mention of Burke’s pets made Cathal pause for a second. “Where
are yours? You could’ve brought them with you. Roscoe doesn’t have
any problem with other dogs.”
“Gollum has a cold and I didn’t want to drag him across country. I left
them with Rebecca. She’s taken care of them for me before, so
they’re used to her. Frodo would worry about Gollum if I brought him
along without the little one.” Burke shook his head. “They’re very
close. Probably because I adopted them and they came from bad
conditions before I got them.”
“They are an unusual pairing to have, I must admit,” Cathal
commented as he pulled into a parking lot. “We’re here.”
“A tack store? They have boots here?” Burke asked before climbing
out.
Cathal chuckled. “Yes. They have all the equipment you need for
riding, so why not boots as well?”
Burke wiggled his head back and forth to show he’d heard Cathal, but
moved toward the store. Following, Cathal thought about how people
would react when Burke walked in dressed in linen slacks and his
cotton dress shirt. He hadn’t changed into his jeans or a lightweight
Henley yet.
When he got inside, Burke was already chatting with the sales ladies,
though Cathal knew he didn’t have a clue about what he was looking
for. But he stayed back and watched as Burke charmed them. Soon
his boss was seated, trying on boots.
“You know, you need to tell me what kind I should get. I have no clue
and I could buy all of these just to make these ladies happy.” Burke
motioned to the women giggling a few feet away.
“If those fit, get them.” He nodded toward the pair of paddock boots
Burke was trying on at the moment. “They’ll work when we go riding
and to just walk around in.”
“Okay.” Burke took them off before sliding his loafers back on. “I’ll
take these.” He boxed them up then handed them to the sales
person. “Is there anything else I should get? Maybe a hat.”
Cathal shook his head while trying to hide his smile. “No. You don’t
need to buy one. Randy has one you can borrow while you’re here.”
Disappointment flashed in Burke’s eyes before he turned away and
Cathal laughed. After Burke paid, they went back to the truck to
leave.
“It’ll be about two hours to Sunburst. We have just enough time to
get back to pick up the kids.” Cathal pulled out and headed for the
highway. “We’ll have dinner, then while the kids do their homework,
I’ll go and feed the horses.”
“I can help you with that,” Burke offered.
Again, tossing hay, filling water and feed buckets wasn’t something
Cathal could imagine Burke doing.
Part Fifteen-
“If you want, but you don’t have to. I can handle it on my own.” He
felt like he had to say that so Burke wouldn’t feel like he had to help
out. Though seeing his aristocratic boss tossing hay into the stalls
might be fun.
“I didn’t come for you to do all the work, Cathal. Besides I have taken
care of horses before. Do you know what I did for an entire year
before I took over Burke Enterprises?” Burke ginned.
He shook his head. This was the most they’d ever talked about
personal things since Cathal had started working for Burke. It had
been a calculated move on his part. As attracted as he was to the
man, Cathal wasn’t going to risk his job by getting involved with
Burke then have to quit if something went wrong between them. You
know Burke wouldn’t treat you differently if a relationship between
you didn’t work. He’s not petty or vindictive that way.
“The men who were in charge of the companies while I was growing
up thought I needed to take a year off between finishing university
and taking official control. Not that I hadn’t kept an eye on what
they’d been doing since I was sixteen. There was one of my father’s
closest friends on the board and he kept me in the loop as much as
he could. He taught me how to run an international business.” Burke
smiled and Cathal assumed he was thinking of his friend.
“Sounds like a good idea, especially if they didn’t want you running
off later on when you were older to do all the things you hadn’t done
in your youth.” Cathal had seen the world while he was in the Navy,
so he had tasted adventure.
“I didn’t tell anyone who I was. I used my mother’s maiden name and
traveled the world, doing all kinds of odd jobs to pay my way. I fished
on crabbing boats in the Bering Sea. I worked on a cattle station in
Australia and did some shepherding in New Zealand.”
Cathal shot Burke a look that he knew was full of surprise. He
shouldn’t be shocked. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Burke would be a
hard worker.
“Why do you look so shocked? Do I look like the kind of person who
wouldn’t get my hands dirty?” Burke chuckled. “It’s my accent. Too
upper crust British.”
“It could be that,” Cathal agreed. “Tell me what’s been going on at
the labs. Are there any new research contracts coming in that will
need me to get extra security?”
Burke glanced at him. “It’s only been a day since you left. I don’t
work that fast.”
“Yes, you do.”
Laughing, Burke nodded. “You’re right, but not this time. Though Dr.
Davidson stopped yesterday to let me know that the cancer research
he and Jessie are working on is going well. He seemed to think they
were in the beginning stages of a breakthrough.”
A thrill raced through Cathal. As much as he didn’t completely
understand all the science shit, he did grasp that a breakthrough was
a big deal. It didn’t necessarily mean the drug would end up working
out in the end, but it would help for the next generation of the
research.
“I wish they were in the human testing phase,” he muttered, thinking
of his father.
Burke reached over to pat his leg again. “I know, but I don’t think this
particular drug would help your father, though since I don’t know the
exact type of cancer he has, I might be wrong.”
Cathal shook his head. “It wouldn’t matter. Father is too far gone for
anything other then pain meds to keep him comfortable. He waited
too long.”
“It’s not your fault,” Burke told him softly, somehow grasping what he
was thinking. “He chose not to contact you or do anything about his
illness until there was no way to save him. At any point when he
found out about it, he could’ve called you. Cathal, you made sure he
knew how to get a hold of you even though you didn’t talk to him.”
“Yes. I would give Zinnia my information and she’d give it to my dad.
She said he’d put it in his desk drawer. So I guess that meant he
didn’t throw it away at least.” Cathal wiped his hand over his mouth.
“Why do you think he never called me when he found out?”
Burke shrugged. “I can’t pretend to know what your father was
thinking, my friend, but could it be possible that he didn’t want to
make you feel forced to return to a place he knew you hated?”
“I never thought my dad cared about me that much,” he admitted.
“Have you actually talked to him since you got here?” Burke held up
his hand and Cathal bit back what he was about to say. “He’s dying,
Cathal. Both of you need to sit and talk about everything that’s
happened in your lives together. Need to clear the air. Tell each other
that you do love each other, even if you couldn’t be in the same place
without fighting. If you don’t, you’ll always regret not saying those
words after he’s gone.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” He knew Burke’s parents died
when he was young, but had never heard the whole story.
“I am in a way. The last words I spoke to my parents weren’t in anger
or anything like that. I told them I loved them and would see them
when they returned from their trip. I was being left behind because
I’d come down with a cold. If I hadn’t been sick, I would’ve been on
that plane with them.” Burke paused for a moment then continued,
“The change in plans wasn’t announced, so whoever caused the plane
to crash had planned on killing all of us that day.”
Cathal jerked and the truck swerved slightly before he got it back
under control. “Your parents were murdered?”
Burke nodded. “Yes and I was supposed to die as well. I never figured
out who did it, though I know it must have been someone very close
to them. Their trip was last minute as well. Only a few people knew
they were going.”
Part Sixteen-
“It was someone close to you,” Cathal repeated what Burke had said,
his heart skipping a beat at the thought that if things had been
different, Burke wouldn’t be sitting in the cab of his truck with him.
“How can you be sure it wasn’t the guy who took over the company
while you were a kid?”
“When I turned sixteen, he set me down and explained what was
going to happen. He was going to be a figurehead for the board until I
graduated from university. Over three months, he took me through all
the files and financials for all the companies. I spend my holiday
studying to make sure, even at sixteen, that I knew everything about
my parents’ legacy.” Burke lifted one shoulder. “Also, when I had a
chance, I hired a private investigator to dig into his life. I learnt all I
ever could find out about the man my father trusted to take care of
me in the event of their deaths.”
Cathal flicked on his turn signal as they got into Sunburst. He checked
the clock in the dash of his truck and was happy to see they would be
on time to get the kids. “What did you find out?”
Burke chuckled. “He wasn’t a perfect man and had some skeletons in
his closet, but he wasn’t cheating me or my company out of money. I
had the other board members investigated as well and there were a
few that I didn’t distrust at all, so when I took over as CEO and
President, I got rid of them.”
He’d see how Burke could take over a boardroom and command fear
from some of the most powerful men and women in the world. He
could just imagine what those people thought when a younger Burke
walked in and dismissed them all.
“I bet they fought that,” he commented as he pulled into a parking lot
across from the schools. He rolled down the windows before turning
the truck off. He glanced over to Burke. “Randy and Elisa will walk
over here before we go over to the elementary school to get the
twins.”
“Okay.” Burke undid his seat belt and twisted to lean against the door
to look at him. “Yeah. I actually got rid of the entire board when I
took over, even the guy who was my mentor. He was the only one
who didn’t fight. He retired then headed to Switzerland to enjoy all
the money he’d made while working for my parents.”
Cathal pursed his lips as he watched teenagers stream from the high
school. “Did you find any clues about who might have killed your
parents?”
“I have a few, but nothing concrete for me to be able to charge
anyone with. I have files full of information and facts.” Burke shook
his head.
Reaching out, Cathal took Burke’s hand in his then entwined their
fingers. Burke jerked at his touch, but didn’t pull away from the
intimate connection between them. Cathal admitted he wanted to
wrap his arms around Burke and hold the man close. This wasn’t the
place for that. Not that his older nephew and niece cared that he was
gay, but he figured there might be a few adults who’d pitch a fit if he
was seen hugging another man.
“Would you be willing to let me take a look at those files?” He played
with Burke’s fingers, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles and just
staring at the long elegant fingers. They were so different from his
thicker rougher hands, though there were scars that spoke of doing
hard labor at some point.
“Of course. If you want to go through them while you’re out here, I
can have Rebecca ship them. It’s close to the anniversary of their
death. I usually go over everything on that night.” Burke brought
their hands up to his mouth then brushed a kiss over the back of
Cathal’s hand. “Thank you for offering.”
It was a quick caress and Cathal knew no one noticed it. Burke might
not be from a small town, but he did seem to understand how
attitudes might be different. He tightened his grip on Burke.
“A new set of eyes might uncover something,” he commented.
“True.” Burke shot a glance out of the front windshield. “Are those
your kids?”
Cathal looked up to see Randy and Elisa approaching. “Yep. Those are
mine.”
He tried not to think about how weird saying that felt. They were his
kids now. It didn’t matter if his sister came back or not. All four
children were his responsibility and he wouldn’t turn his back on
them.
“Hey Uncle Cathal,” Randy called as they walked up to the vehicle.
“Randy. Elisa. How was school?” he asked as they slid into the
backseat. “Oh, guys, this is my boss, Hilton Burke.”
“Mr. Burke.” Randy nodded. “Classes were okay today. I have physics
homework tonight.”
Wincing, Cathal drew a deep breath. “I’ll do what I can to help you,
Randy, but advanced math really isn’t my strong suit.”
“Lucky for both of you, I’m good at math, so if you’d like, I’m willing
to help.” Burke smiled at Cathal’s oldest nephew. “It’s nice to finally
meet you both. Your uncle has told me a lot about you. And before
you ask, yes it was all good.”
Elisa’s eyes lit up at the sound of Burke’s accent. “You’re from
England.”
Burke nodded. “Yes. My family estate is in the Lake District and I
have a hunting lodge in the Highlands of Scotland. I’ve been living in
New York for the last ten years.”
“We’re studying English History this semester. I wish I could go to
London and see all those places I’m learning about.” Elisa sounded
wistful.
“Maybe you’ll be able to go as a graduation present. I know you have
a few years left before that, but still it’s a thought,” Burke suggested.
“That’s a good idea. You could get a part time job and save some
money to help pay for it,” Randy suggested.
Elisa nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. Cathal was grateful that
Burke hadn’t just automatically offered to pay for the trip, even
though he could afford it without even blinking.
Part Seventeen-
As much as Burke wanted to offer to send Elisa to London, he knew
better. Not everyone appreciated his willingness to share his wealth.
Some saw it as throwing his money around, but Burke saw it as
sharing the fortune that fate had seen fit to give him. He had more
than he would ever spend in his lifetime, even if he were given to
expensive toys and travels.
“While I’m here, we can talk about my home and all of the things you
might want to know about it. I also spend a great deal of time in
Scotland, so I can answer questions about that country as well,”
Burke offered.
“Great. Would you be interested in coming to my school? Maybe talk
to my English History class. I’m sure my teacher wouldn’t care.” Elisa
bounced in her seat.
Burke shot Cathal a look and his friend shrugged, leaving the decision
up to him. He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here,
but if you can work something out in the next couple of days, I’ll be
happy to come visit your class.”
“Yay!” Elisa shouted and clapped her hands together.
“Calm down, you goof.” Randy poked his sister. “You’re acting like a
weird-o.”
“No. She’s acting like a teenager, which is good.” Cathal touched
Burke’s hand. And when he met Cathal’s gaze, he mouthed, “Thank
you.”
Nodding, Burke turned to look at Randy. “Physics, huh? Is it just for
credits or are you interested in math and science?”
Randy studied Burke for a second like he was gauging his sincerity. It
made sense since Randy hadn’t been able to rely on his mother and
now his life was turned upside down with his grandfather being in the
hospital. An uncle that he really didn’t know had returned to take care
of him, yet how was he to know whether he should trust Cathal or
not?
Burke wished he could convince the kid that Cathal would never
abandon him or his siblings. No matter how they turned his world
upside down, Cathal would do whatever he had to do to make sure
they were safe. Burke could say it, but Cathal would have to prove it
with his actions.
“I like both math and science. I’m trying to decide what I want to do
when I go to college,” Randy admitted.
“One of the businesses I own is a research and development lab and
company. Some of my researchers are physicists and biologists. I
even have a couple rocket scientists on my payroll. If you ever
wanted to see what they do, you’re more than welcome to come to
New York and visit the lab. The Burke Laboratories is the closest one.
The rest are in other countries.” Burke bit his tongue, not wanting to
say anything else because he didn’t want overstep his bounds by
saying anything else.
“God, can you imagine him meeting Herb?” Cathal shook his head
while chuckling.
“Who’s Herb?”
“Dr. Herbert Davidson is one of those scientists I told you about. He’s
talked about going back to get his doctorate in astrophysics, so he
could become a rocket scientist, but his husband isn’t going to let him
do that.” Burke grinned. “Herb is too smart for his own good, and it’s
always an adventure when you talk to him.”
“His husband?” Randy asked.
“Yes. Herb’s husband is a homicide detective. Chuck’s perfect for him.
I’ve never seen a man more in love with his partner, even when that
partner could drive a nun to swear.” Burke rolled his eyes. “Herb has
a problem of saying everything that goes on in his head, and trust
me, there’s a lot happening in there.”
“Hmm…” Randy was silent for a few minutes, then he said, “You’d let
me come and check out the labs?”
“Sure. Maybe you could come over your Christmas vacation. That
might help you make a choice on universities.”
Burke made a mental note to talk to Cathal about bringing all the kids
to New York. It would give Randy a chance to look over the labs and
chat with the scientists. He’d take Elisa to the museums and a play.
Burke wasn’t sure what to do with the twins, but he was sure he could
ask Rebecca or maybe Jessie would know what to do with them.
“We’ll discuss it when it gets closer.” Cathal shot Burke a quelling look
and he ducked his head.
He hadn’t meant to get ahead of their plans. They had no way to
know what was going to be happening when Christmas came around.
Burke kept quiet as they drove over to the elementary school. He
waited in the truck while Cathal and Elisa went to get the twins.
“It’s all right, you know.”
Burke looked at Randy. “What’s all right?”
“That you and Uncle Cathal are together,” Randy said.
“Oh no. Cathal and I aren’t together. I really am his boss and we’re
just friends.” Burke shook his head. Hell, he didn’t even know if
Cathal had said anything to the kids about being gay and now he just
outed him. Damn!
Randy eyed him like he wasn’t convinced, but fell silent as the boys
climbed into the back as well.
“Shouldn’t they be in car seats?” He said as everyone got buckled in.
“Yeah, but we don’t have room for everyone in the truck. If we go
anywhere, we’ll have to take the SUV next time. I didn’t think about it
before I left this morning.” Cathal grimaced.
Elisa reached over the seat to pat his shoulder. “That’s all right, Uncle
Cathal. Poppa forgot sometimes too. Just be careful driving home and
it’ll be okay.”
Burke turned his head to look out the window to hide his smile. It was
cute to see Cathal’s niece trying to make him feel better about things.
Though he wasn’t sure Cathal was happy about being compared to his
father.
“Can we go see Poppa tonight?” One of the twins asked.
Part Eighteen-
“Not tonight, Buddy,” Cathal told him. “Poppa wasn’t feeling too good
when I saw him this morning. We’ll let him get a good night’s sleep,
then we’ll go visit him tomorrow after school. You and Bucky can
make him some get well cards tonight. All right?”
Buddy didn’t look particularly happy about it, but he didn’t say
anything. Burke smiled when Bucky reached over to pat his brother
on the arm.
“It’s all right, Buddy. Poppa said to listen to Unca Cathal. Poppa don’t
feel good.” Bucky sighed and Burke noticed that the only difference
between the twins was Buddy had blue eyes and Bucky had green.
Which seemed weird that they wouldn’t have the same eye color. He
wondered what the odds were that something like that would happen.
He’d have to talk to one of the genetic scientists at the lab about it.
“What would you like for dinner tonight?” Cathal asked as they
headed north out of town.
“Unca Cathal, who’s this guy?”
Burke saw Bucky point at him and he smiled, hoping he didn’t look
scary or anything. He gave a mental snort. If the kids weren’t scared
of Cathal, they’d definitely not be afraid of Burke.
“He’s Uncle Cathal’s boyfriend,” Elisa said casually.
Both Cathal and Burke jerked like they’d been hit with an electrical
shock.
“Oh no, honey. Mr. Burke and I aren’t dating,” Cathal said, almost
stumbling over his words. “We’re just friends.”
“That’s what Mr. Burke said, but come on. We’re not stupid you know.
Poppa said you were gay and I see how you look at each other.”
Randy shrugged. “There are gay kids at school. It’s no big deal.”
How they looked at each other? Burke wasn’t sure what Randy meant
by that, but there didn’t seem to be any kind of disgust or anger in
the kid’s voice as he spoke.
“Poppa told you about me?”
Burke caught the glance Cathal shot at him, and he shrugged, having
no idea what could’ve been said. Though it did seem like whatever
had been talked about hadn’t soured the kids against their uncle.
“Yeah.” Elisa didn’t look up from the book she was reading. “I asked
why you didn’t come to see us, and Poppa said it was because you
were gay and that the people in Sunburst might not be nice to you.
Also, he said that while you loved the ranch and stuff, you needed to
broaden your horizons. See the world before you could make up your
mind whether you were coming back or not.”
“He said you’d be here if any of us ever needed you though.” Randy
picked up the conversation. “We might not be able to trust Ma to
come back, but you’d be here when we called you. And you came.”
Burke couldn’t help it when he reached over to rest his hand on
Cathal’s thigh then squeezed it. He could see how shocked Cathal was
at Randy’s words. Something must have changed Cathal’s father’s
attitude over the years if he’d been willing to tell his grandchildren
they could count on their uncle. Or maybe Mr. McKinley had always
known Cathal had to leave Montana and he’d made the choice easier
by driving his son away.
The twins started chattering about what they did in school and Burke
leaned over closer to Cathal. “Maybe you should go see your father
after you drop the kids off at school. I think you have some
revelations to discuss.”
Cathal nodded. “I guess you’re right. How did I not know he felt that
way?”
Burke shrugged. “There are a thousand different reasons people don’t
reveal all they feel. I’m sure you’ll find out.”
“Right.” Cathal took a deep breath then said, “All right, you four. You
didn’t tell me what you wanted for dinner.”
All of them had their own request, and Burke blocked out the
discussion. Cathal had said he had steak for the two of them, and that
was fine with him. A sad twinge raced through his heart as he listened
to the happy arguing. He’d only experienced a little of that familial
interaction before his parents died.
Children weren’t in the cards for him. Not because he was gay since
he knew with his money, he wouldn’t have any problem adopting. He
didn’t think he’d ever have a family because he believed children
should have a strong support system, and while he had friends, he
didn’t have close ones he could count to help him raise kids.
“Hilton, are you coming?”
Blinking, he turned to look at Cathal then glanced around to see they
were parked in front of a one level ranch house. It had a porch that
looked like it wrapped around the entire outside, plus flower beds full
of roses in front.
“Yes.” He opened the door before climbing out of the truck.
The kids had already gone inside and he continued to look around,
memorizing as much as he could see of the place where Cathal had
grown up. Cathal walked around the front of the vehicle, carrying
some of Burke’s bags. Burke went to the back to grab his carryon.
“It’s nice,” he told Cathal.
Shrugging, Cathal studied the house. “It’s home. Not quite the same
as I remember it, but still there are a lot of good memories here.”
Again, he didn’t fight his urge to touch the man. He laid his hand on
Cathal’s shoulder. “I’m glad. Having memories that make you smile is
a wonderful thing.”
“Is that why you’ve never sold your estate in England or the one in
Scotland?” Cathal asked as he led the way to the front door.
“Those are the only places where my family lived when I was little. I
sit in the workshop and remember watching my father as he worked
on his invention. Spending time in the flower gardens brings back
days spent with my mother as we planted roses and lilies.” Burke
tried to smile.
Cathal stopped so suddenly that Burke wasn’t ready for it and he ran
into him. He watched as Cathal set the bags on the porch before
cradling Burke’s face in his hands. Shock raced through him when
Cathal leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss over his lips. Just one
quick kiss then he moved away.
“I’m sorry, Hilton. I bet they were amazing parents,” Cathal said
quietly before disappearing in the house, leaving Burke speechless.
Part Nineteen-
He didn’t know how long he stood on the porch before Buddy shoved
the door open and looked at him.
“Are you staying out there? You don’t have to. We got room.”
Burke chuckled. “Thank you, Buddy. I’m glad to know you have a
bedroom for me. I’d hate to have to sleep outside the entire time I’m
here.”
“Why? Camping’s fun.” Buddy led the way into the living room where
the other kids were gathered.
Cathal came from the back of the house, carrying a tray of glasses
and plates. His smirk told Burke he knew exactly what he’d done
when he kissed him. “Would you like a snack? I let them have a treat
and watch some TV while I make dinner then afterwards, they do
homework while I take care of the horses.”
“No. I’m fine. Can you show me where my room is? I’d like to check
in with Rebecca before she leaves the office.”
“Sure. Randy, can you pour some milk for the twins?” Cathal set the
tray down on the coffee table before motioning for Burke to follow
him. “I put you in the room closest to me.”
Burke studied the firm ass flexing in front of him as they walked down
the hall. He was paying enough attention to stop when Cathal did.
After Cathal pushed open the door to the bedroom, Burke gripped his
elbow to drag him along as he stepped in. He didn’t shut the door all
the way, but shoved Cathal against the wall beside it.
He didn’t give the man a chance to speak or argue. Cathal started it
and Burke was more than willing to take up the gauntlet. He crushed
their lips together then slid his hand into Cathal’s hair, holding him
still. He plundered Cathal’s mouth, tasting coffee and sweetness. He
must have eaten a cookie while he was getting the kids’ snacks.
Cathal didn’t fight him, just opened to him like he’d been waiting for
their kiss all of his life. Burke groaned when Cathal grabbed two
handfuls of his ass to pull him tight against him. It was nice to be
embraced by a man who was close to his own size, though Cathal was
an inch or two taller than Burke.
While he did tend to sleep with men who were slender and younger,
that didn’t mean that was the only body type he was attracted to.
Hell, he’d wanted Cathal from the moment he’d met the man. Burke
rocked into Cathal, loving the feel of their erections rubbing on each
other.
A shout from the living room broke them apart. Burke licked his lips
as he stared at Cathal who touched his own lips for a second.
“Why?”
Burke blinked. “Why what?”
“Why did you kiss me?” Cathal seemed confused.
“Because you kissed me first. I’ve wanted to do that for five years
and I’m going to take advantage of any opening you give me to get a
kiss or two from you before you come to your senses and punch me.”
Burke grinned.
Cathal chuckled. “I won’t be hitting you any time soon, Hilton. Trust
me, it’s taken all my strength not to grab you and kiss you before
this.” He reached out to cup Burke’s face. “I guess you dropping
everything to come out here and help me has made me realize some
things.”
Before he could ask what those things were, another shout came from
the front of the house and Cathal sighed. “I have to check and make
sure the twins aren’t beating the shit out of each other. God, those
boys love each other, but they fight non-stop sometimes. I don’t
know how my pop dealt with them on his own.”
Burke kissed the palm of Cathal’s hand then stepped back. “I’ll call
Rebecca then come out to help with dinner.”
After nodding, Cathal left and Burke had to adjust himself to make
sure there was enough room in his slacks. He saw his packages from
shopping earlier on his bed, so he decided to change out of his
wrinkled clothes into some jeans and a T-shirt. Once that was done,
he picked up his phone from the comforter where he’d tossed it.
Hitting Rebecca’s number, he sat on the edge of the mattress while
he waited for her to answer.
“Hello Mr. Burke. I’m glad to see you arrived at Mr. McKinley’s all
right,” Rebecca said.
“Yes, we’re at his father’s place. The children might take a little while
to get used to, though they don’t seem like bad kids.” He rubbed his
chin. “I was just checking in to make sure there wasn’t anything you
needed me for.”
“Everything was quiet today, sir, but you do have a phone conference
tomorrow that I could move.” There was clicking in the background
like she was typing. “I’ve sent you the times. If you call me, I can set
up the call to include Mr. Rondason from accounting.”
“Thanks, Rebecca. I’ll make sure to call you beforehand and we can
discuss my plans. I’m glad to hear there aren’t any emergencies yet.
Is there anything Mr. McKinley should be worried about?” He knew
Rebecca would’ve contacted Cathal if there was, but he liked to keep
his fingers on the pulse of everything going on in his companies.
She laughed. “No, sir. We’re all doing okay here while you’re gone.”
She paused then continued, “Though Dr. Davidson would like you to
call him when you get a chance. He didn’t sound like it was an
emergency. I think it might have something to do with Jessie’s party
rather than any of his research.”
Rolling his eyes, Burke shook his head. “All right. Thanks, Rebecca.
I’ll call you tomorrow for the meeting. Go home and give Frodo and
Gollum hugs from me.”
“Yes sir. Tell Mr. McKinley we’re praying for his father.”
“I will.” He hung up then stood, tugging his phone in his back pocket
before heading out to find the kitchen.
When he got there, he saw Cathal bent over, putting something in the
stove. He clenched his hands to keep from grabbing one of those
cheeks, perfectly filling out those faded jeans. He cleared his throat
and Cathal shot him a glance from over his shoulder.
“You can grab the vegetables from the refrigerator and cut them up
for salad,” Cathal ordered him without seeming to have the slightest
idea what Burke was thinking.
Part Twenty-
Burke did as Cathal told him, trying very hard not to think about how
domestic the whole situation was. There they were in the kitchen,
making dinner for the kids sitting in the living room arguing. He
couldn’t help smiling and Cathal glanced at him.
“What are you smiling about?” Cathal bumped their shoulders
together as he walked by to get to the stove.
Shrugging, he said, “Just glad to be here, I guess.”
He wasn’t about to share how much he enjoyed the feeling of being a
family he was experiencing at the moment. It was something he’d lost
when his parents died. While he did have a guardian, he never spent
much time with the man. Most of their contact had been over the
phone, through emails and letters. Most school holidays he spent with
friends and their families, ensuring he always felt like a third wheel.
Yet here in Cathal’s father’s kitchen, Burke felt accepted like all of
them were glad to have him there. It was an odd but heartwarming
feeling for an orphan who’d learned how to get along without anyone.
Cathal paused, studying Burke for a moment then he smiled. As he
went past again, he brushed a quick kiss over Burke’s cheek. “We’re
glad to have you here. It’s nice to have someone I trust as back-up.”
“What happened?” Burke couldn’t help but ask.
“What do you mean?” Cathal checked the burgers he was cooking for
the kids.
“Why are you touching and kissing me all of a sudden after the stand-
off we’ve had since you started working for me?” Burke held up his
hands. “I like it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely not complaining,
but it’s just thrown me off.”
Cathal set his spatula on the counter before approaching Burke. He
took him by the hips to pull him close. He gave him another kiss then
leaned back a little. “I guess I realized something when I stood there,
staring at my dad in the hospital. As much as I’d love to believe
otherwise, life is short and if I don’t get out of my own way, I just
might miss out on some pretty wonderful things. Then you flew out
here, even though you really can’t take the time away from the office,
simply because I was over my head with all of this.”
Burke cradled Cathal’s face in his hands. Smiling, he said, “I’m not
indispensible at my companies and it’s not like I’m in the Outback
here. I still get cell service and everything. There was no way I was
going to let you deal with all of this on your own. No matter what you
thought when you flew out here.”
He wrapped his arms around the bigger man then hugged him.
Sighing, Cathal rested his cheek on Burke’s head for a moment. The
sound of Buddy yelling broke them apart. Cathal glanced towards the
living room, but Burke shook his head.
“You finish up in here. I’ll go see what the animals are getting into.”
“Thanks.”
Burke strolled down the hallway back to the front of the house. He
found Buddy and Bucky wrestled on the couch, yelling their fool heads
off while Randy and Elisa were battling it out on some video game.
“Exactly what the bloody hell is going on?” He didn’t raise his voice,
but all activity ceased as they turned to look at him.
The dog that had been barking stopped as well. Burke held out his
hand as the animal approached, letting him sniff it while Burke
studied the twins. He wasn’t concerned about the older kids. They
hadn’t been screaming or fighting.
“Bucky. Buddy. Come here please.”
The twins slid off the couch before shuffling over to stand in front of
him. Their heads were down and they looked pitiful.
“Why were you fighting?”
“No reason,” Buddy spoke up after shooting Bucky a quelling look.
“Just letting off steam.”
Where had he learned that phrase? Burke shook his head. “Do you do
that often?”
Bucky nodded. “All the time. Poppa said we acted like heathens.” He
screwed up his face. “I’m not sure what that means.”
“It means you behave badly,” Elisa said from where she sat in front of
the TV.
Burke wasn’t going to get into that discussion with any of them.
“What did he usually do when you acted this way?”
“Well, he’d either swat our butts or send us outside to play.” Buddy
grinned. “Can we go outside?”
“Unfortunately, no. No one can go out to keep an eye on you and I
think dinner is almost ready. Why don’t you two go and get cleaned
up before going to ask your uncle if he wants you to set the table?”
Burke motioned in the direction of the kitchen.
“All right.” Buddy grabbed Bucky’s hand then dragged him off.
Burke glanced over at Randy and Elisa. “Finish up your game then
wash up as well.”
“Yes, sir.” Randy nodded and Elisa smiled at him.
Crouching down, Burke scratched the dog’s ears. “You must be
Roscoe. Your owner has good taste if he adopted you. You’re quite a
handsome dog.”
Roscoe smiled that famous ‘pittie’ smile and Burke chuckled as he
straightened.
“Dinner’s ready, everyone,” Cathal hollered and there was a rush as
the older kids went to wash their hands while the twins did their best
to set the table.
They all pitched in to get the food on the table then they settled in
their places with Burke at one end and Cathal at the other. Dinner
was loud as the kids all tried to tell Cathal what they did during school
and at recess. At times, Cathal had to remind the twins to use their
indoor voices after wincing from an overly loud shout. Burke listened
and ate, loving how natural Cathal seemed dealing with all of them.
Cathal might not believe in his own ability to raise his niece and
nephews, but nothing Burke had seen so far made him think the man
wouldn’t be great at it.
Part Twenty-One-
Cathal hung the towel from the front of the stove to dry then turned
to see Burke sitting next to Randy at the table.
After dinner, while Elisa and the twins helped Cathal with the dishes,
Randy had grabbed his physics homework. Burke had joined him and
they were talking quietly while Burke wrote something down on the
paper in front of them.
“Do you have any homework, Elisa?” Cathal glanced at his niece.
She nodded. “I have some reading to do. I’ll grab my book and sit out
here with them.”
“Great. Bucky. Buddy. Put your boots on. You can come help me bed
the horses down for the night,” he called, figuring the twins would like
to be outside blowing off some steam before bed.
“Yay!”
They ran through the kitchen, screaming their fool heads off as they
went to the mudroom to get their boots. Chuckling, he met Burke’s
gaze and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the happiness shining
in those usually cool blue eyes. He tried to remember the last time
he’d seen a look like that on Burke’s face. It wasn’t that the man was
sad or dour all the time. He was very serious and Cathal doubted he
had many opportunities to laugh in his life.
“Sounds like they’re happy about doing it,” Burke remarked as the
noise level went down a little as the boys struggled to get dressed.
“They will until they’re big enough to actually help out,” Randy
commented, shooting Cathal an amused look. “Then it’ll become a
chore like everything else.”
“That’s what happens when you grow up, Randy,” Burke said,
clapping the teenager’s shoulder. “You find out so many things you
thought were fun when you’re younger, aren’t really fun when you’re
older.”
Cathal laughed. “But there are things you can do as an adult that you
can’t do as a kid, and those things are usually a lot more fun than you
thought.”
When Burke looked at him, he wiggled his eyebrows and Burke
snorted. The slamming of the back door caught his attention, causing
him to swear.
“Shit! I better get outside or they’ll burn down the barn or have
Roscoe riding one of the horses around the corral.” He dashed into
the mudroom before stomping into his boots.
When he got outside, the boys were running around the backyard,
yelling and chasing each other with Roscoe barking beside them. He
let them keep playing since he didn’t need their help. It was just an
excuse to get them outside playing. They slept better afterwards.
He cleaned out the stalls then filled the water buckets. After that, he
put a scoop of oats in each feed pail before bringing the horses.
Humming softly, Cathal returned each one to the appropriate stall
after he groomed them. Once the sounds of the animals eating their
dinner filled the air, he turned off the overhead lights, leaving two
lights at the ends of the aisle on.
When he shut the barn door behind him, he looked around and
groaned when he spotted the twins standing in the middle of his
father’s koi pond. Cathal shook his head.
“Didn’t Poppa tell you two to stay out of there?” Stalking over, he
glared at them.
“But Unca Cathal, Roscoe falled in and we had to save him.” Bucky
blinked innocently at him.
Cathal shot a glance at his dog, sitting perfectly dry on the edge of
the pond. “Roscoe’s scared to death of water. There’s no way he’d
somehow end up in it. Get out of there and get inside. Strip off your
wet clothes by the washer. It’s time for a bath then bed.”
They protested the entire way into the house and continued while
they tossed their clothes in every direction. He gathered the soggy
mess before throwing it all into the washer.
As he entered the kitchen, he found Randy, Burke and Elisa talking.
There were mugs of hot chocolate in front of them.
“There’s some left on the stove,” Burke said when he saw where
Cathal’s gaze landed. “There’s even enough for the twins if you’ll let
them have some.”
Cathal shook his head. “Not tonight. They were in the koi pond and
they know they aren’t supposed to play in there. So no hot chocolate
for them tonight. I’m going to get them in the bath.”
By the time he got the twins bathed then in bed, he was ready to put
his feet up and pass out from exhaustion. Thank God the other two
kids were able to do everything on their own and didn’t need him to
help. He’d gained a lot of respect for parents after dealing with these
four even though it had only been a few days.
When he got back to the kitchen, Randy and Elisa were in their
bedrooms, reading or playing video games, and Burke was pouring
out some chocolate for him.
“Sit,” Burke ordered and Cathal wasn’t inclined to argue with him.
He wrapped his hands around the mug, breathing in the enticing
scent of warm chocolate and cinnamon. “This smells great.”
“Do you want some marshmallows?” Burke held up the bag of mini
ones Cathal had bought the other day.
“Sure.” He leaned back to give Burke access to his cup. “Aren’t you
having some?”
Burke shook his head. “I drank with the kids. I’m making a pot of
coffee though.”
“How did you know how to make homemade chocolate? I can make
the pre-packaged kind without a problem, but that’s not the same as
this stuff.” Taking a sip, he sighed at the marvelous dark flavor
dancing on his tongue.
“My mum used to make us some every night when I was little. It was
our ritual as we talked about our day. Hell, even Father joined us and
though I was little, I didn’t realize all the things I absorbed during
those family gatherings.” Burke fixed himself a cup of coffee then
joined Cathal at the table.
Part Twenty-Two-
Cathal took a sip of his chocolate then moaned low in his throat at the
rich taste. “Christ! This is good. Hell, I might keep you here just for
this alone.”
Burke chuckled. “I’m here until my actual presence is needed back in
New York. I have a phone conference tomorrow morning, but no
other meetings for a couple of weeks that I have to be there for.”
Reaching over, he covered Burke’s hand with his. “I know I’ve said
this before, but I really do appreciate you coming out here to help
me. It means a lot to know you’d drop everything to do it.”
Burke turned his hand over to entangle their fingers. “We’ve been
dancing around our attraction to each other for years, Cathal. You’ve
never fully trusted me and I must admit I didn’t trust you either.
Which I know sounds odd to say considering I hired you as my chief
of security.”
“I understand. It’s one thing to trust a person to keep you safe, but
another to trust him with your heart and all your deepest secrets.”
Cathal rubbed his thumb over Burke’s knuckles. “I knew I could trust
you to listen to me about security stuff, but I didn’t know if you’d
have my back if shit hit the fan. In the SEALs, I learned to trust that
no matter what, there would always been someone there to help me
out of any crappy situation I got into. You weren’t a SEAL, so how
could I believe you’d do that for me?”
He took another sip before continuing, “I’ve only had one serious
relationship in my entire life and he stabbed me in the back while I
was deployed.”
“Did he cheat on you?” Burke tightened his grip.
Cathal shook his head. “I might have been a little more understanding
if he did. To be honest, I don’t know if he had or not. When I got back
after being in Afghanistan for ten months, he was gone. The house
we’d shared was empty of everything. The only things he left me
were my clothes.”
“Bloody hell!” Anger caused Burke’s accent to strengthen. “Did you
find the bastard and kick his arse?”
“No. I didn’t even try to look for him. I’d stored all my really
important items before I left and he didn’t have access to that. Every
thing else was stuff I could buy again. It was so fucking difficult to get
past the fact that he took everything and didn’t even leave me a note
or something to explain why.” He shook his head.
Burke brought Cathal’s hand up to his lips before brushing a kiss over
his fingers. “I would never do that to you. Not that I’d ever need to
steal your stuff and sell it. It’s not like I can’t afford my own shit.”
Standing up, Cathal carried his mug and Burke’s cup to the sink
where he rinsed them. He then dumped out the coffee Burke had
made.
“What are you doing,” Burke asked from his seat.
“Setting the coffee maker to turn out first thing tomorrow morning, so
it’ll be ready when we get up.”
After he finished that, he shut off all the lights except the one over
the sink. He turned to hold out his hand to Burke. “Come with me.”
Without hesitance, Burke took his hand and let him pull him to his
feet. “Are you sure we should be doing this with the kids in the
house?”
“They all sleep like the dead. Since I’ve been here, none of them get
up until I roust them out of bed. Plus our rooms are at the back of the
house away from theirs. Just keep your shouts down when I fuck you
and there shouldn’t be any problem.”
Burke shot him an incredulous glance. “When you fuck me? What
makes you think I won’t be fucking you?”
He dragged Burke down the hall toward their bedrooms. “Oh, I’m sure
you’ll be doing that eventually, but I want to be in you right now.”
Cathal shoved Burke into his bedroom then shut the door behind him.
He grabbed Burke by the arms before swinging him around to slam
him against the wall. Burke’s mouth opened in a gasp and Cathal took
advantage of that. He pressed his lips to Burke’s, sweeping his tongue
in.
Burke slid his fingers into Cathal’s hair, gripping his head tight to
keep him from moving away. There wasn’t any way Cathal was going
to stop what he was doing until he needed to fill his lungs again. He
stroked his tongue along Burke’s then groaned when Burke sucked on
it.
When they finally broke apart, Cathal stared into Burke’s dazed eyes
while they tried to catch their breath. He pressed his hips into
Burke’s, smiling as Burke’s eyes widened when their erections rubbed
together.
“Are we really going to do this?” Burke whispered to him, then rubbed
his fingers over Cathal’s swollen lips.
“Only if you want to. I’m not going to force you into it.”
Burke smirked. “I know you’re a tough guy, but I don’t think you can
really make me have sex with you if I didn’t want to.”
He wasn’t going to argue, even though he was pretty sure he could
take Burke down if he had to, but none of that was important right
then. He stepped back before turning to gesturing toward the
bathroom.
“Why don’t you go get ready for bed while I check on the kids?”
Burke blinked. “I thought we were going to do this?”
“We are, but I want to take my time with you. We’ve been dancing
around for a long time, honey, and I’m going to enjoy this.” Cathal
leaned over to kiss Burke softly. “I don’t plan on this being a one-off.
As long as you let me, I’ll be sharing your bed.”
He wasn’t ready when Burke slammed into his arms, embracing
Cathal tight.
“It’s not just here either,” Burke whispered in his ear. “When we get
back to New York, you and I are going to continue this relationship.”
Part Twenty-Three-
Cathal’s stomach flip-flopped and he nodded. It didn’t matter if Burke
changed his mind when they got back to the city. What mattered was
what happened while they were in Montana. He eased back to give
them a little space and he met Burke’s eyes.
“Let’s not think about what’s going to happen later. We’ll focus on
right now.” He crushed their lips together, but broke away after a
minute. “I have to check on the kids.”
Burke let him go, and Cathal wandered along the hallway, opening
doors to check and make sure the kids were in bed. He wasn’t entirely
sure they’d be sleeping. Both Randy and Elisa were reading, so he
told them they could stay up for another half hour then they needed
to turn their lights off.
The twins were asleep, but instead of being in separate beds, they
were curled together on Bucky’s. He knew better than to move
Buddy. He’d done it the first night he stayed there and by the next
morning, Buddy was back in bed with Bucky. He figured it was a twin
thing.
When he got back to his room, he shut and locked the door behind
him, not wanting the kids to burst in on him and Burke. Didn’t want
to scar them for life or anything like that.
He looked over at his bed and almost swallowed his tongue. A naked
Burke sprawled across his mattress, stroking his cock while fingering
his hole. Cathal thought he would end up fabric burns on his ass
that’s how fast he undressed.
Crawling onto the bed, he settled between Burke’s legs, batting his
hand away before swooping in to swallow Burke down. He buried his
nose in the trimmed curls at the base of Burke’s length. After
wrapping one of his hands around its girth, he began to bob up and
down, applying pressure with both his fingers and his mouth.
“Oh my God, I’ve fucking fantasized about your mouth on me for
years,” Burke muttered, scrambling his fingers in the sheets under
him.
Cathal would’ve said he had the same dreams, but he didn’t want to
let go of him. He loved the feel of Burke’s dick on his tongue and the
pre-cum leaking from his slit. Slipping the fingers of his other hand
down over Burke’s balls to his puckered opening, Cathal pressed them
in.
Burke arched, but it was like his body couldn’t wait for Cathal to touch
him. It took him in without any kind of trouble. Of course, Burke had
started stretching himself while Cathal was gone. He managed to
twist his fingers enough to bump Burke’s gland and the man jumped.
“Cathal, please. I’m getting close and I want to come on your cock,”
Burke begged.
He wasn’t going to say no to that. Relaxing his grip, he allowed Burke
to slide out. He rocked back on his knees, trying to remember if he
had condoms in his kit in the bathroom.
“I took the liberty of getting the supplies from your bag.” Burke
gestured towards the nightstand where a packet and Cathal’s
battered bottle of lube sat.
Cathal lunged to snatch up both objects then took his place again. He
tore open the foil before getting the rubber out. He rolled it over his
erection while Burke poured some slick onto his palm.
“Let me get you lubed,” Burke ordered, wiggling his eyebrows in a
leer.
“Go right ahead,” he said motioning to his latex-covered dick then
regretted it as Burke pumped it hard and fast several times. He
grabbed Burke’s wrist. “You need to stop if you want me to fuck you.”
Burke dropped him before flopping back on the pillows. “Come on. I
want you now.”
“Kind of pushy, aren’t you?” Cathal grinned as he positioned himself
then began to press in.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Cathal. I don’t want to wait
any more.”
He watched as Burke braced his hands against the headboard then
lifted his hip as he pushed back towards Cathal. Glancing down,
Cathal watched as his cock disappeared into Burke’s ass.
Once he was seated as deep inside as he could go, Cathal paused for
a second. Partly to make sure Burke had adjusted to being filled with
his cock. Also he needed a second to mark the moment. Like Burke
had told him, Cathal had been thinking about this happening since the
first time he looked into Hilton Burke’s eyes.
“It’s a little weird, isn’t it?”
He looked back up to see Burke staring at him. Cathal inclined his
head slightly. “Just strange to have a dream come true,” he admitted
while gripping Burke’s thighs.
“My entire fantasy hasn’t come true yet,” Burke said, poking him. “I
want you to fuck me hard.”
Cathal pulled almost all the way out then slammed back in. “I can do
that.”
Burke shuddered and shouted, but he rocked into each thrust with as
much enthusiasm as Cathal. It was amazing and Burke was so tight,
almost vise-like grip on his cock. Holy fuck!
Without even really thinking about it, Cathal started speeding up,
taking Burke harder and faster with each stroke until the sound of
skin hitting skin filled the air around them along with the scents of
sex and sweat.
“Cathal, touch me,” Burke begged.
He peeled his hand away from Burke’s thigh to wrap around Burke’s
cock. He kept his grip firm to give Burke something to fuck.
“Shit!” Burke yelled as he spilled over Cathal’s hand.
Burke’s climax waving through him caused his inner muscles to
massage Cathal’s dick and there was no way Cathal could resist
falling over the edge with him. Cathal let his head fall back as he
shoved in deep then froze, filling the condom until there wasn’t a drop
left in him.
All his muscles and his cock went limp as his climax left him. He
collapsed on top of Burke, burying his face in the crook of the man’s
neck.
Part Twenty-Four-
Burke ran his hands up and down Cathal’s back, soothing him as he
tried to catch his breath.
“God, I hope you’re right about those kids sleeping through
anything,” Burke muttered. “I’m not sure I can face them if they
knew what we were doing in here.”
Cathal chuckled as he pushed away from Burke then grimaced at the
sticky mess on their stomachs. “I’m sure if they heard us, the older
ones know what’s going on. Trust me, kids understand a lot more
than I ever did when I was their age.”
He rolled to the side of the bed before reaching for the T-shirt he’d
tossed to the floor earlier. When he got it, he wiped them both off,
tossing it back down after he finished.
Settling next to Burke, he looked down at the man. “You do realize
Herb is going to have a field day when he figures out we slept
together.”
Burke rolled his eyes. “He’s never going to let us live this down. How
long do you think we could get away with not telling him?”
Cathal snorted and trailed his hand over Burke’s chest. “You’re talking
about Herbert Davidson, arguably the greatest mind of his
generation. There’s no way to keep a secret from him. Hell, he’d
probably work out some scientific equation to figure out how long
we’d been fucking.”
“True. There are other things he’d try to discover as well, but maybe
we can get Chuck to rein him in.” Burke rubbed his thumb over
Cathal’s bottom lip. “Though to be honest, I don’t care who knows
we’re together. I’m not going to hide this, Cathal.”
“I know that, Hilton, and I appreciate it. You do realize the people you
socialize with aren’t going to be impressed with me.”
He wasn’t fishing for compliments or anything like that. Cathal knew
exactly what he was, and a blue blood aristocrat wasn’t it. He was
brawn more than brains and that’s what he looked like, no matter
what kind of designer suits he wore.
Burke shrugged. “None of those people matter to me. I only hang out
with them because it’s good for business, not because I like them or
anything. You know that most of my friends are in England, and trust
me, while they might be blue bloods, they aren’t snobby. Most of
them already know and like you. They’ve accepted you in my life, not
only as my head of security but as my friend as well.”
He wasn’t entirely sure about that, but he also knew that Burke would
fashion the world to his liking and those who had a problem with
them being more than friends would find out whom Burke cared about
more.
A knock on the door got them scrambling to get out of bed and
dressed.
“Just a second,” he called as he tugged on a pair of sweats. He went
to the door then glanced behind him to make sure Burke was
covered. His lover winked at him and he grinned.
When Cathal opened the door, he found Bucky and Buddy standing
there, holding hands and tears streaming down their cheeks. After
dropping to his knees, he held out his arms.
“What’s wrong, kiddos?” He swept them up before carrying them to
his bed.
Burke scooted over to make room for the twins and Cathal was
shocked when Bucky abandoned him to throw himself against Burke.
The twins tended to be stand-offish with people, especially those
they’d just met. Maybe because they knew Cathal trusted Burke, they
were willing to accept him into the family.
He rubbed Buddy’s back. “Did you have a bad dream?”
Both boys nodded, and while that seemed odd, he wasn’t quite
surprised by it. Sometimes he thought they shared the same brain, so
it wouldn’t have been shocking to find out they really did have the
same dream.
“Do you want to tell us what it was about?” Burke hugged Bucky close
to his chest.
“Poppa died,” Buddy whispered.
“And Ma came back. She took us away from you and Elisa and Randy.
She didn’t want them. Only us.” Bucky had a strangle hold on Burke’s
neck. “Don’t let her take us.”
“We don’t want to go with Ma. She’s mean,” Buddy said.
Cathal met Burke’s concerned gaze over the boys’ heads. He
shrugged slightly. He always thought Margaret had pretty much
abandoned the children as soon as she could get away with it.
“Has your mother visited you?” Cathal didn’t like the idea of his sister
sneaking around to see her children. It wasn’t as though he’d keep
her from talking to them. He just wasn’t going to let them live with
her or allow her to take them anywhere.
He didn’t trust his sister as far as he could throw her. Margaret hadn’t
contacted him since he’d left Sunburst, and she never tried to
convince him not to let Poppa take her children. It was like she didn’t
care about any of them unless they could get something for her.
Buddy nodded. “She came to school and talked to us at lunch time.”
“She said she didn’t want us living with you. She’s going to steal us
away when Poppa dies.” Bucky leaned over to meet Cathal’s eyes.
“You won’t let that happen, Unca Cathal. You’ll protect us.”
“You’re right, Bucky. Your uncle will keep all of you safe. Your mother
isn’t going to take you away from us.” Burke hugged the little boy
tight.
Cathal liked the sound of ‘us’ coming from Burke’s mouth. It was yet
another sign that the man was in it for the long haul, and the fact
that Cathal now had a ready-made family didn’t matter in the least to
Burke.
“Do you want to stay here with us?” Cathal asked and the twins
nodded. He glanced at Burke. “It’s going to be a little crowded, I’m
afraid.”
Burke looked around the room then back at Cathal. “I’ll get us a king-
sized bed tomorrow while you’re at the hospital. This room is big
enough for one. That way the twins can camp out with us whenever
they have a nightmare.”
He held out his hand and Burke took it in his for a moment. He could
see that Burke could see his ‘thank you’ in his eyes. It was going to
be a long night, but they would get through it. Tomorrow was going
to be another rough one.
Part Twenty-Four
“Are you going to drop us off at school?”
Burke glanced up from his laptop as Elisa and Randy walked into the
kitchen. He looked over at Cathal then nodded. “Yes actually, I am.
Your uncle needs to talk to the people at the twins’ school then he has
to go to Helena to check on your grandfather. I’ll drop you off before
coming back here for a phone conference I can’t get out of.”
Cathal blinked as though he hadn’t expected Burke to be willing to do
that, but Burke wanted to be part of this family and he’d do what he
had to in order to be thought important to them all.
“That way you don’t have to worry about having enough room for
everyone,” Burke pointed out to Cathal as he set plates of eggs and
bacon in front of the older kids.
The twins were digging into their bowls of Lucky Charms. Burke
cringed at the thought of all the sugar they were ingesting. Their
teacher must go crazy with them.
“Are you going to talk to them about Ma seeing the twins at school?”
Randy asked before taking a bite of his breakfast.
Cathal nodded. “Do you know when she started showing up there?
She hasn’t stopped by here, has she?”
Randy shrugged. “She might be coming here while everyone’s gone
since Ma still has a key. Not sure the first time she talked to the
twins. Probably about a month or two ago, when we found out how
sick Poppa was. She’s come to the high school, but both Elisa and I
refuse to see her.”
“Okay. I’ll have to arrange for the locks to get changed,” Catahl
muttered.
“Is there a hardware store here or would I have to go into Helena to
find one?” Burke made a note on his phone.
“There’s one just down from the high school. Why?” Elisa asked.
“How many doors would we need to replace them on? I can get them
and change them out when I’m done with my meeting.” He studied
the numbers in one of the finance reports, not registering the quiet
for a moment. Raising his gaze, he noticed they were all looking at
him. Well all but the twins. “What?”
Cathal eyed him with a skeptical expression on his face. “You know
how to change locks?”
Rolling his eyes, Burke nodded. “Yes. I’m not completely helpless and
I told you that before I took over running Burke Industries, I did a lot
of things. I’m perfectly capable of changing locks and the oil in my car
if I chose. Most of the time I don’t because I don’t have time to do it
myself.”
“Sorry. I keep underestimating you.” Cathal dropped his hand to
Burke’s shoulder and squeezed. “There are three doors that need to
be changed.”
Burke added that to his list. “I think you guys need to get moving.”
He gestured toward the clock while meeting Randy’s eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
The oldest kids gathered their plates to take to the sink before they
grabbed their backpacks. He shut his computer then stood. After
putting his plate in the sink, he turned to brush a kiss over Cathal’s
cheek.
“If you need me for anything, just call. I can drive into Helena once
my meeting is over.”
Cathal handed him the keys. “Take my truck. Maybe you could drive
in and we’ll get some lunch.”
“Works for me.” Burke turned to smile at the twins. “Can I have hugs
and kisses before I leave?”
Bucky and Buddy raced to him, wrapping little arms around his neck
and placing wet kisses on his checks. He chuckled because he was
pretty sure he was going to have milk stains on his shirt from them,
but he didn’t care. There wasn’t anything in the world more happiness
inducing than sloppy kisses from little children.
“Have fun at school, boys, and we’ll be there to pick you up when
you’re done,” he told them.
When he got to the high school, he waved as Randy and Elisa headed
into the building then he followed the directions Elisa had given him
to the hardware store. She said it opened quite early in the morning,
so he should be able to get what he needed there.
Once he’d purchased the locks, he went back to the house. He had
enough time to replace two of them before he had to go over financial
reports with Rondason. It wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but it did
need to be done and he wasn’t going to let any of money-or research-
go out of his businesses without going over it himself.
Lots of people would say he totally micro-managed the whole thing,
but it was important he kept his finger in every department. If
something happened, he was the one who would get blamed for it
and he wanted to make sure he knew what was going on.
After signing off with Rondason and Rebecca, Burke changed out the
last lock before he sent Cathal a text.
Still want to get lunch?
He cleaned up then checked his phone when it buzzed.
Come to the hospital. My father wants to meet you.
Wow. Okay. On my way.
He looked up directions to the hospital on his phone then climbed into
the truck. Burke glanced around the inside of the vehicle and laughed.
No one who knew him in New York would ever imagine he’d be driving
a truck in the middle of the country.
There were a lot of things people didn’t know about him. He kept his
personal life as private as possible, doing all he could to stay out of
the limelight. But if anyone asked him about Cathal, Burke would
shout it from the rooftops that they were together.
When he got to the hospital, Burke made his way to Cathal’s father’s
room. He stood in the doorway, watching as Cathal sat next to his
father’s bed, holding his hand while they talked.
Part Twenty-Five-
In the elder McKinley, Burke could see where Cathal got his build and
looks, though Mr McKinley was a pale shadow of his son.
He cleared his throat, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation
anymore. Both men turned to look at him and he smiled.
“This is Hilton Burke, my boss. Hilton, this is my pop, Ross McKinley.”
Cathal introduced them.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Burke shook Ross’ hand gently, not
wanting to bruise the man’s fragile body.
“And you, Mr Burke. My son has been telling me about you coming to
help out while I’m laid up.” Ross coughed as he waved for Burke to
pull up a chair. “I appreciate you coming out here to back up my
son.”
“It’s what friends do for each other, sir. And please call me Hilton.”
Ross eyed him then looked over at Cathal. “But you are more than
just friends with my son, aren’t you, Hilton?”
Burke glanced over at Cathal to see if his lover would give him any
clue as to what tell Ross. He didn’t want to cause any more problems
between father and son if he could help it.
“You know he is, Pop. Quit teasing him.” Cathal rested his hand on
Burke’s shoulder then squeezed. “I told him you were more than my
boss, Hilton. I wanted him to know the truth, even if he doesn’t like
it.”
Cathal’s father shook his head. “Doesn’t matter what I like. I won’t be
here to see it or deal with it. I know you’ll take care of the kids.”
“Of course we will. Nothing will happen to them. That’s why I made
sure Margaret gave me guardianship.” Cathal didn’t remove his hand
as he leaned forward to meet his father’s gaze.
“You’re strong, Cathal. You always have been, even when you were
younger and knew who you really were. You left here because you
wanted more.” Ross cleared his throat. “That takes courage. You built
yourself a good life in New York, and you have to decide if the kids
will fit into it or if you’ll have to change things. Kids can throw
wrenches into plans.”
“We’ll do whatever we have to do to keep the kids happy and safe,
Ross.” Burke patted the older man’s arm. “You have our promise, plus
we’ll make sure they always have a say in what’s going on. If moving
them to New York isn’t feasible, we’ll see what can be done. Nothing
is written in stone.”
Ross nodded. “I never hated you, Cathal. You need to know that. I
don’t know how you can like men instead of women, but it’s none of
my business. You must live the life you were destined to have, and I
can’t stand in your way. I’m your father though, and I never wanted
you to risk being beat up or even killed.”
Cathal chuckled. “Then I went and joined the Navy, risking my life in
other ways.”
“True. Yet I always knew you would come back when you were
needed.”
“You never called me. I always believed you were happy I left
because you didn’t want me around you or the kids.” Cathal sighed
and Burke reached up to cover his lover’s hand.
He wanted Cathal to remember he was there for him to lean on, and
he meant what he’d told Ross. If taking care of the kids meant Cathal
moving somewhere, Burke would ensure that it happens and he
would make sure Cathal had a job doing whatever the man wanted,
even if that meant he couldn’t be Burke’s head of security any more.
Burke understood how important family was. He knew it came from
losing his at such a young age. Cathal’s niece and nephews had lost
their mother, and now they were coming to terms with the fact that
they’ll be burying their grandfather. Burke was going to do his best to
make sure they didn’t lose their uncle.
“Has Margaret stopped in, Pop?”
Ross shook his head. “She wouldn’t dare show her face to me.
Margaret isn’t a mother. She loves the drugs and the men who will
give them to her for sex instead of her children. She knows I’ve
washed my hands of her.”
“But what don’t you want to say your good-byes?” Burke frowned, not
quite understanding why Ross wouldn’t want to tell his only daughter
he loved her before he died.
“I’m not sure how it is in your family, Hilton, but in this one, we’ve
already said good-bye to Margaret the first time she chose drugs over
her children. I’ll never forgive her for that.” Ross shook his head. “You
never turn your back on family.”
Burke smiled and he knew that there was a touch of sadness in it.
“My parents died when I was ten, so I don’t have a lot of experience
with family dynamics.”
Ross shot him a compassionate look. “I’m sorry, Hilton. I didn’t
know.”
“It’s something that happened long ago. For the most part, I’m over
it, but there are moments. I think they would’ve liked Cathal and your
grandchildren. Hell, they’d probably even like you.” He grinned at the
older man.
Snorting his laughter, Ross started hacking and wheezing. Burke was
afraid they’d have to call the nurse, but he slowly got his breathing
under control.
“Sorry.” Burke touched Ross’s hand.
Waving his other hand, Ross inhaled sharply. “It’s not your fault, son,
but I know what you saying. I’ve lived my life, Hilton. It’s time for me
to move on.”
“But not quite yet, Pop. I’m bringing the kids up to see you tonight.
The twins were asking about you yesterday.” Cathal rubbed Burke’s
shoulder. “They said that Margaret has come to see them at their
school. They were afraid she was going to take them away when you
died.”
“You talked to the principal, right? I’ve told them before she’s not to
have any contact with any of the kids.” Ross clenched his jaw.
Cathal nodded. “I told them that the next time I hear she talked to
the twins, I was going to pull them from school and sue the school
district.”
Part Twenty-Six
Ross grunted. “Good call, son.”
“They had a nightmare last night that Margaret came and took them
away,” Burke told Ross. “I changed the locks on all the doors. I’ll stop
back at the hardware to get copies made of the keys for you and the
kids. Is there anyone else you want to have one?”
“Zinnia should probably have one as well,” Cathal said as he glanced
at his father, obviously waiting to see what Ross had to say.
“Zinnia and make one for the Prides next door. Remind them that
Margaret isn’t allowed in the house.”
“All right, Pops.”
A nurse walked in and Burke could see that Ross’s energy was
seeping from him. After standing, Burke smiled at Cathal’s father.
“It was nice meeting you, sir.” He offered Ross his hand. “I’m sure I’ll
see you tonight when we bring the kids in to visit.”
Ross shook his hand, but didn’t say anything. Burke strolled to the
doorway and waited for Cathal to join him. When he felt the touch of
Cathal’s hand at the small of his back, he moved into the hallway.
“Your father seems like a nice guy,” he commented as they headed
toward the elevator.
Cathal hummed as he pushed the call button. “I guess I should’ve
known he wasn’t the horrid man I thought he was. Maybe I should’ve
come home before this and actually talked to him. Always imagined
he’d beat my ass if I did.”
“When we’re younger, our parents take on an almost mythical
presence in our lives. We’re so afraid of disappointing them that we
sometimes imagine things that are true, simply because we’re afraid
we’ll lose their love.” Burke gripped Cathal’s arm while they stepped
into the car. “And your father knew you wouldn’t have been happy in
Montana and he let you go without protesting.”
“Now I’m home and he’s dying. I won’t have a chance to get to know
him. It’s not fair.”
He saw Cathal clench his hands and slid his own around to entwine
their fingers. “You do have some time, Cathal. He might be dying, but
he’s not dead yet. Spend as much time here as you want. I can keep
an eye on the kids. I mean, I’ve managed to handle Herb all these
years and he makes Bucky and Buddy look like angels.”
Cathal laughed, which is what Burke had been trying for. His lover’s
smile touched Burke’s heart and he tightened his grip on Cathal’s
hand. They stood close enough for their shoulders to brush as they
rode down to the first floor. As the doors opened, he let go, not
wanting to upset things at the hospital.
“Herb can try a man’s patience.” Cathal stopped just inside the lobby
entrance then put his sunglasses on. “Why don’t you follow me to a
diner I know near here? We’ll make some plans for the next couple of
days. If you really do mean it, I’ll take you up on watching the kids
for me while I spend some time with my father.”
Burke smiled then headed to the truck while Cathal went to the SUV.
He let Cathal pull out before following him to the diner. After parking,
he joined Cathal to walk in.
“Mr. McKinley, it’s nice to see you again,” one of the waitresses said
as she motioned to the tables. “Take a seat wherever you want.
Would you like coffee?”
“Yes please.” Cathal threw himself into a booth then propped his
elbows on the table to stare at Burke. “All of this has become so
complicated. When I was in New York, all I had to worry about was
keeping your ass safe. Oh and making sure Herb didn’t get kidnapped
by Russians again. Now I have four kids to take care of and a sister to
keep away from them.”
Burke took his seat across from him and chuckled. “It’ll be okay.
Margaret will find that it’s difficult to get to the kids because we’ll
keep them away from her. If she comes around, she’ll learn that it
won’t be as easy as it used to be. The locks are different, so she can’t
come into the house without us being there. You warned the school
about her seeing the kids, though you might want to stop by the high
school to let them know as well.”
“I’m pretty sure Randy and Elisa won’t go to see her if she stops by.
She’s done nothing to endear herself to them. Margaret abandoned all
four of them without looking back. The twins might forgive her if she
were to change, but the older ones are going to be harder sells.”
Cathal paused while the waitress set down two coffee mugs then filled
them. “We’ll take the special, honey.”
Burke nodded when she looked at him. He wasn’t particularly
interested in what the special was. He’d eat it because Cathal was.
While they waited for their food to show up, they discussed what roles
they were going to take on so Cathal could spend as much time with
Ross as possible.
Their lunch showed up and as Burke picked up his napkin, a voice
came from behind him.
“Cathal, you didn’t tell me you were coming into town today.”
Burke watched as a pretty blonde lady walked over then brushed a
kiss over Cathal’s cheek. She turned to flash Burke a look that he
couldn’t really figure out.
“Hilton, this is my friend, Zinnia. This is my boss and friend, Zinnia.
Remember I told you he was flying out to help me with the kids.”
Standing, Burke offered his hand to her. “It’s nice meeting you,
ma’am. Cathal has told me you’ve been a very good friend to him
through the years.”
She shook his hand, but didn’t seem thrilled that he was there. Zinnia
sat next to Cathal, who hadn’t invited her to sit, but he didn’t say
anything and Burke knew it wasn’t his place to comment on just how
bloody close she was sitting to his man.
Part Twenty-Seven-
“If I had known, we could’ve had lunch together.” She rested her
hand on Cathal’s arm and Burke barely restrained himself from
growling.
Being this possessive of a lover was something new of him. Burke had
never been the jealous type, figuring if his lover cheated on him or
ended up wanting someone else, then it wasn’t meant to be. Yet with
Cathal, he didn’t want anyone touching him or even thinking that the
man might be available.
“That’s all right, Zinnia. Burke came in to meet Pops and help me deal
with some stuff.” Cathal shot Burke an amused glance, and he
realized Cathal could tell what he was thinking. “Have you seen
Margaret around Sunburst lately?”
Zinnia didn’t remove her hand from Cathal’s arm. She shook her
head. “No. I thought she was in Butte or not even in the state any
more. Why? Has she been around to the house?”
“Bucky and Buddy told us that she’s been stopping by the school to
talk to them,” Burke spoke up, inserting himself in the conversation.
“Also, we think she’s been in the house when no one else is there.”
She didn’t look at him. “Oh then you need to change the locks. I’ll
stop by the hardware store on my way home and let Simon know to
go to your place.”
“I’ve already taken care of the locks,” Burke informed her, nudging
Cathal’s leg with his foot.
Cathal eased his arm away from Zinnia while putting a few inches
between them. Zinnia frowned, but didn’t do anything else except sit
there and show no signs of leaving. Irritation was making Burke very
unhappy and he could feel his usual charming calm desert him the
longer she was there. The waitress returned with their food and a
glass of iced tea for Zinnia.
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?” Cathal asked before taking a
bite of his burger.
“Tim won’t mind if I’m a little late getting back. When I tell him I ran
into you, he’ll understand.” She looked at Burke. “Tim’s my husband
and his family owns the biggest car dealership in Montana.”
Cathal coughed and Burke knew he was covering up his laughter.
Burke raised his eyebrows, wanting so badly to be snarky and mean,
but he couldn’t do it. His mother might not have been around for long
in his life, but she’d managed to instill some manners in him before
she died.
“That must be very nice for you,” he commented as he shook salt on
his fries. “Cathal, we’ll have to stop and order a bigger bed to be
delivered in the next day or so. Sharing your childhood bed is all well
and good, but there’s really not a lot of room there unless we start
sleeping on top of each other.”
Zinnia gasped and Cathal chuckled.
“Be nice,” Cathal mouthed to him, making Burke purse his lips. He
didn’t want to be nice. Not when Zinnia obviously hadn’t understood
the message when Cathal left to join the Navy. He’d thought his lover
had explained to Zinnia why they’d never be anything but friends, yet
Zinnia seemed under the delusion that there was the possibility of
more.
Cathal’s phone rang right before Burke could say anything else and
while he answered it, Zinnia glared at Burke.
“Did Cathal tell you that he and I are dating? It is quite sudden, but
the attraction has been there since we met five years ago when he
came to work as head of security for my company.” Burke dipped one
of his fries in ketchup then ate it before he continued, “I was quite
happy to come out here to help him with his family. My parents were
killed when I was ten, so I have no one except friends.”
“Doctor Davidson, does this have anything to do with the security at
the labs or with your own personal safety?” Cathal sounded
frustrated.
Burke laughed as he motioned for Cathal to hand him his phone.
When he got it, he put it to his ear to hear Herb rattling on about
something.
“Herb,” he said softly but sternly, trying hard to imitate Chuck from
the many times he’d heard the homicide detective handle the brilliant
scientist.
The chatter stopped.
“Take a breath.”
Herb breathed in and exhaled.
“All right. Tell me why you called McKinley.”
Some complicated description of a reception hall that should’ve been
reserved, but wasn’t and security guards that should’ve been
scheduled but weren’t.
“You know he can’t do anything about the hall, don’t you?”
“I know that. I don’t expect him to do anything about that. Chuck’s
mom is taking care of that.” Herb huffed. “I wanted to know if I could
borrow some of the guards from the labs. Would he be mad if they
moonlighted?”
Burke chuckled. “You didn’t have to ask him. What they do during
their off-time is none of his business.”
“Oh thank God. I was starting to panic because I don’t know anyone
else and I couldn’t get Chuck to ask any of his friends at the precint.
He seemed to think they wouldn’t want to do that. I mean who
wouldn’t want to stand around keeping an eye on a bunch of drunk
people. I’m getting the feeling that this engagement party is going to
be quite interesting. Just between Chuck’s family and Petrovic’s, I
think I might have bitten off more than I can chew.” Herb paused
then went on. “That’s such an odd saying, don’t you think? I wonder
where that originated at and why people used it.”
The absent sound in Herb’s voice told Burke he was tangenting on to
a different topic, and Burke could expect to get hung up on any
minute. “Ask as many men as you want to see who might want to
work the party. I’ll make sure it’s okay with McKinley.”
“Thanks.” Herb hung up.
Burke handed the phone back to Cathal. “I got it taken care of,
though you might be getting a phone call later about the origin of a
well-known saying.”
Cathal eyed him and he made a vague gesture. “I’ll explain later.”
Part Twenty-Eight-
“Off topic tangent?” Cathal asked.
Nodding, Burke glanced over at Zinnia who was frowning at them. He
chose to ignore her as he looked back at Cathal. “He wanted to know
if he could ask some of the security guards if they’d be willing to
moonlight at the reception he’s giving for Jessie and Petrovic.”
“I don’t care. If they want to, I can’t stop them. It’s not in their
contract.”
“I know and that’s why I told Herb that. He’ll take care of it, or I
might call Chuck later to let him know that it’s okay to ask them.”
Burke grinned. “Have you picked out an engagement gift for Jessie
yet?”
Cathal shook his head. “No. I don’t understand the whole purpose of
having an engagement party/bridal shower that people have to buy
gifts for, then having a wedding where people have to buy more
gifts.”
“Women love presents, and it helps when they’re starting out
together in a new home,” Zinnia spoke up. “I can help you shop for
their gifts if you want.”
“Thanks, Zinnia, but I’m pretty sure Hilton has an idea of what to get
them, so I’ll just throw my money in with his for their gifts. We can
put both our names on the cards, which will throw Jessie and Herb.”
Cathal laughed as he motioned to Rhonda. When she arrived, he said,
“Can we get the check? We have some shopping to do before we
gather up the kids.”
“Sure, Cathal.” She winked at Burke then glared at Zinnia. “Shouldn’t
you be getting back to work?”
Zinnia blushed slightly at the rebuke. “I’m going. I just wanted to say
hello to Cathal.”
“You just wanted to flirt with the man, you mean. You should know
better, girl. You ain’t got nothing he’s interested in, and even if you
did, you’re married and Cathal doesn’t date married women.”
Rhonda stomped off, leaving Burke to duck his head to hide his smile.
Thank God she said all that instead of him. He didn’t think Cathal
would be too happy if Burke lit into his high school friend. Zinnia shot
daggers into the older lady’s back with her gaze then her expression
brightened.
“Now that your friend is here, maybe he could watch the kids for you.
We could go out for dinner and catch up on old times. It’s been a
while since we got to talk alone.” She put her hand on Cathal’s arm
and Burke gritted his teeth.
Oh hell no! Before Cathal could say anything, Burke reached over to
take a hold of Zinnia’s wrist. He lifted her hand off of Cathal before
letting it drop to the table as though he were dropping a dirty rag.
“I suggest you go back to your husband, ma’am, and forget about
having a private intimate dinner with my lover,” Burke said, keeping
his voice low. “I don’t share and something tells me you don’t have
the right equipment to make Cathal happy. I do and I’m rather
possessive about people touching him. Your husband’s family might
have the biggest car dealership in the state, but I can buy and sell a
thousand of his dealerships without blinking an eye.”
Zinnia looked stunned and Burke felt a twinge of guilt for snipping at
her, but he really couldn’t take any more of her snobbish ways.
Cathal stared at him as though he’d never seen Burke before, and to
be honest, he’d never seen this side of him. Burke had never ever
been so willing to destroy someone who hit on his lovers. None of
them had ever meant what Cathal meant to him.
“It’s rather shabbily done to treat your husband like you are,” he
pointed out. “I’m sure he loves you very much, but why do I think
you feel like you settled?”
She gasped then shot to her feet, propping her fists on her hips. “You
are being horribly rude, Mr. Burke. What have I ever done to you?
And you know nothing about my relationship with my husband or
Cathal for that matter. How do you know he prefers you over me?”
Burke stood as well then leaned in so he could whisper, “Because I’m
the one sharing his bed while you’re standing here wishing you could
know what it’s like to kiss his lips.”
“Oh!” Zinnia turned beet red and ran from the diner.
After dropping back to his seat, Burke covered his face with his hands
and shook his head.
“Well done, Burke. You’ve managed to horrify and fascinate her at the
same time,” Cathal quipped from across the table. “Did you really
have to light into her like that?”
Sighing, Burke met Cathal’s amused gaze. “The gentleman in me says
no. That I should’ve overlooked her behavior while being polite to her.
The man in me says there was no way in hell I was going to let you
have dinner alone with her. I needed to make sure she understood
that you were mine and I wasn’t about to let you go without a fight.”
“Good for you.”
They both jumped when Rhonda spoke from where she stood next to
the booth.
“Someone needed to let her know she can’t always get her way. Just
because her husband’s family is one of the richest in Montana doesn’t
give her the right to treat others like dirt under her feet.” She folded
her arms over her ample chest. “Lunch is on me, boys. Have a good
day and I hope to see you again soon, Mr. Burke.”
Cathal seemed about to protest and Burke nudged his ankle with his
foot as he smiled at the older lady.
“Thank you so much, Rhonda. We’ll definitely be stopping by again.
This has been some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.”
Once Rhonda moved out of earshot, Cathal glared at him. “She can’t
afford to be buying us lunch, Burke.”
“I know that, jackass, but you have to let her retain her pride. She
pays for our lunch and we leave her a tip that will cover it and more.”
Burke pulled out his wallet then tugged a fifty from it before tossing it
on the table. “That should do it.”
Part Twenty-Nine
Shaking his head at Burke, Cathal sighed. He should’ve known the
man wouldn’t have any problem leaving a big tip for Rhonda. Hell,
Burke was richer than most people in the entire state, so dropping a
fifty as a tip was no problem. Why does that seem to bother me? It’s
not like I couldn’t do that if I wanted. I get a pretty good salary and
have the extra money.
Yet it was the casual way Burke did it that always threw Cathal off.
The way the man never seemed to think about what he spends drove
him crazy at times, but he knew it was his own assumption because
he had a feeling that Burke knew—down to the last penny—how much
money he had in every account.
“You shouldn’t throw your money around like that,” he commented as
they left the diner.
“Throw my money around?” Burke frowned. “I’m not sure what you
mean by that.”
“Okay…throw wasn’t the right word. Maybe flash how much money
you have is what I was trying to say.” Cathal stood next to his SUV.
Burke glanced at him. “Do you think someone’s going to rob me or
something like that?”
He took off his hat then scrubbed his hand over his hair. “No. I don’t
think that. Just ignore me. I’m not sure what’s got me worked up.”
Cathal wanted to embrace Burke. He wanted to feel his arms wrapped
tight around his body, but there were people coming and going from
the diner, most of whom wouldn’t be thrilled to see two men hugging.
“You don’t mind that I said those things to Zinnia, did you?” Burke
touched his arm quickly, obviously not wanting to linger for too long.
“No. I thought she had a clue when I left after high school, but I
guess she’s been holding out hope that I might change my mind.” He
shrugged then grinned. “I never knew you had such a possessive
streak in you, Mr. Burke.”
Laughing, Burke held his hands up. “I didn’t know either. It came as a
complete shock to me as well. It’s not like I haven’t had relationships
before, but when she touched you, I wanted to slap her. Strange
since I’m not a violent person and especially not with women.”
Cathal leaned closer and whispered, “It was kind of sexy the way you
put her in her place. Made me hard.”
Lust flared in Burke’s eyes. “You’re mean. Now I’m going to have to
drive home with a hard-on and you’re not going to be able to do
anything for me until after the kids go to bed.”
“You’re just going to have deal with frustration, my friend. Now we
have a bed to buy and kids to pick up.” Cathal opened the door on his
vehicle before saying, “But I’ll let you give me a blow job when we’re
done being responsible adults for the night.”
Not giving Burke a chance to answer, he climbed into the driver’s
seat. He glanced out the window to see Burke glaring at him. After
winking, he gestured for Burke to get in his truck.
“You’re a bastard,” Burke mouthed and Cathal chuckled.
He watched as Burke got in then he pulled out of his parking spot.
Cathal knew they had enough time to go buy a bed before he had to
go pick up the kids. A thrill raced through him when he thought of
them buying a piece of furniture together. God, why am I so excited
about this? It’s not like we’re purchasing a house or anything like
that. It’s just a fucking bed, and we’ll have to leave it behind when all
of this is finished.
Leading the way to the furniture store, he thought about what was
going on between them. It was as though they were playing house,
but would that continue once Pops died? When they got back to New
York, would Burke want him to move in with him or would Burke be
willing to give up his place to make Cathal’s his home?
He snorted, not able to see that because he’d been at Burke’s
penthouse and it was way bigger and far more upscale than Cathal’s
smaller but still nice apartment. Cathal shrugged. It wouldn’t be
difficult to give up his place as long as Burke was wherever he moved
to.
When had his fascination with Burke turn into love? He shook his
head. Fuck! Did I just use the ‘L’ word? No way can it be love.
Cathal drove into the parking lot of the store and waited until Burke
parked next to him before he got out. He propped his hip against the
hood of the SUV, appreciating the way Burke strolled toward him. His
lover walked like he owned the world, shoulders back and head held
high. Confidence oozed from Burke and Cathal knew it was well
earned.
“How about you pick the mattress and stuff? It would make more
sense and shouldn’t raise any warning bells that there’s another
reason why you want a bigger bed,” Burke suggested. “It won’t go
over well if they knew it was for us.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Cathal sighed. “Do you think we might
be taking the whole ‘rural small-mind mentality’ thing too far? People
might surprise us.”
“They might, or they might beat the shit out of us and dump us in the
woods somewhere.”
Laughing as he headed into the store, he said, “You might be right
about that.”
Burke grunted but stayed silent.
It didn’t take long to find a mattress and a bed frame. He paid for
them, even adding extra to ensure it would be delivered the next day.
Once that was taken care of, they left to head back to Sunburst.
Cathal was going to pick up Randy and Elisa while Burke went to the
grocery store to get food for dinner and lunches the next day.
He wanted to brush a kiss over Burke’s cheek to say good-bye, but
settled for a quick slap on his shoulder.
Part Thirty-One-
“We should probably head out,” he said, stepping away from Burke,
but Burke kissed him quick before he got too far.
“We’ll face this new problem together. I’m not going to run away just
because of your sister.” Burke shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she’s
been arrested or left the state.”
“We could only be that lucky,” Elisa said as she wandered into the
kitchen. She didn’t react to how close Burke and Cathal were.
As much as Cathal wanted to tell Elisa she shouldn’t say things like
that about her mother, he couldn’t because he completely understood
how she felt about Margaret.
“Elisa, can you keep an eye on dinner for me? It’s in the oven right
now and needs to be taken out in an hour. I set the timer just in
case.” Burke motioned to the stove.
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll make sure the twins get their snack and let
them play around outside with Roscoe for a little while. I don’t have
any homework tonight. Got it done in study hall.”
“Thank you.” Burke hugged her then turned to look at him. “Let’s go.”
He walked back out to his vehicle and once Burke climbed in, he
headed to the diner. There was a sheriff’s car in the parking lot, so he
knew Mitchell was waiting for him.
Mitchell waved to them as they entered and they made their way to
the booth where he sat. When they got there, Mitchell stood up to
shake his hand.
“Hilton Burke, this is Sam Mitchell. He’s an old teammate of mine
from high school.”
“Nice to meet you, Deputy.” Burke nodded.
The waitress brought over two cups of coffee then refilled Mitchell’s.
“Do you two want menus?”
“No thank you. Coffee’s fine.” Burke smiled at her and Cathal saw her
melt.
He shook his head when Burke looked back at him. “Man, it’s such a
waste.”
“What’s a waste?”
“You charm the panties off them and could take any one of them to
bed, but you don’t want what they’re offering.” Cathal chuckled.
Burke shrugged. “I can’t help how women react to me.”
Glancing over to Mitchell, he saw the deputy frown, but he wasn’t
interested in explaining why Burke wouldn’t want any of the women
who lusted after him.
“All right, Mitchell. I’m here. What has my sister done now?”
Mitchell grimaced. “Well, I’m not sure any of what I have to say is
good news. First of all, Margaret’s pregnant again.”
“Fuck!” He slammed his fist on the table. “Why can’t some doctor just
fix her so this doesn’t happen? Do you know how far along she is?”
“Not yet. I’ll ask or you can go to see her in the jail in Helena.”
“Jail?” Burke sighed. “Why am I not surprised to hear she’s been
arrested? Can you tell us what for?”
Cathal watched as Mitchell pulled a notebook out from his coat then
flipped through the pages, looking for the information. Tension filled
him and it was only when he felt Burke’s hand on his knee that he
relaxed slightly. Taking a deep breath, he reined his anger in. They
could deal with whatever happened. If that meant they would have a
baby to take care of, then that’s what they would do.
“She got picked up for prostitution, dealing and robbery.
Unfortunately, this is her fourth arrest on both and she had a lot of
meth on her. She’s going to go away for several years, I’m afraid.”
Mitchell didn’t look happy either.
“I wish I could say I’m upset by that, but I can’t find it in myself to be
sad. It means she’ll leave the children alone now.” Cathal slid his
hand under the table to entwine his fingers with Burke’s. “I guess I
should probably go visit her and make sure she knows we’ll be taking
the baby when she gives birth.”
“What if she decides to give it up for adoption instead of allowing you
to become its guardian?” Mitchell asked.
Cathal shrugged. “Then we adopt it. I’m the guardian for all of her
children now since my pop is dying. One more to add to the family.”
“Your apartment back in New York isn’t going to be big enough for all
of you. I could have Rebecca start looking for a home in one of the
close suburbs.” Burke shifted on the bench.
Turning to look at him, Cathal inquired, “You think I should move
them all to New York?”
“Not right now. Wait until the school year is over then ask Randy and
Elisa if they’d like to move. The twins will go wherever you go, and
the baby really isn’t going to have a preference.” Burke bumped their
shoulders together. “I should have Rebecca also look for nannies.”
“Nannies?”
“Unless you decide you want to stay home with the baby.” Burke
pursed his lips and Cathal could almost see the thoughts running
through his lover’s mind. “That could work. You could still be the head
of my security, but work from home.”
Cathal held up his hand. “Wait a minute. I can’t think.”
Burke grimaced. “I’m sorry. I’m rambling and running off at the
mouth like Herb does. You need to process all of this and make your
own decisions.”
“I do.” He looked back at Mitchell. “Thanks for letting me know all
this, Sam. Why haven’t I been notified before this?”
“I think she’s told everyone that she doesn’t have any family. So no
one looked for you, but when I heard about her arrest, I knew you’d
come back home. I thought you’d want to know.” Mitchell didn’t look
happy. “I’m sorry about your father, Cathal. He’s a good guy.”
Cathal took a sip of his lukewarm coffee to have a moment to collect
his thoughts. “I appreciate it. He’s more than I gave him credit for
being.”
Burke’s phone rang at that moment, so Cathal watched as his lover
stood up then walked out of the diner to answer it.
Part Thirty-Two-
Knowing that Burke would tell him about the call if it was something
he needed to know, Cathal turned back to Mitchell who was watching
Burke leave as well.
“Your friend’s a little different then our usual crowd,” Mitchell
commented.
He chuckled. “No, he’s not, but he’s a good guy to have at your back
when you need him. Burke has a slightly different mentality than
most people because he’s always had money. It doesn’t make him
snobby or an asshole.” Pausing, Cathal thought for a moment. “It
does make him arrogant at times.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t have to work for your money,”
Mitchell said.
“Oh Burke works his ass off. He’s usually in the office before I get in
and many times he doesn’t leave until I force him at night. He doesn’t
run just the research lab where his headquarters are. He runs a multi-
million dollar corporation that has several hundred companies under
its umbrella and he keeps his eye on all of them. Burke isn’t a micro-
manager, but he knows what’s going on in each company.”
Mitchell studied Cathal silently for a few minutes then asked, “Are you
two more than friends?”
“And if I said yes?” Cathal was cautious. He wasn’t going to lie about
him and Burke, but he wasn’t interested in ticking off the local law
either.
His old friend dropped his gaze to his coffee mug. “I’d say live and let
live, man. I don’t care who you share your bed with at night as long
as they’re legal and consenting. I was just wondering because of the
way you talk about him.”
Cathal didn’t react to that. He probably sounded like he was bragging
on the man and he was. He had nothing but respect for Burke, even
more so once he realized just how much of Burke’s success had been
on his own.
Burke returned, but didn’t look happy. He rested his hand on Cathal’s
shoulder before saying, “We need to get to the hospital.”
Shooting to his feet, he met Burke’s sympathetic blue gaze. “Pops?”
“Yes. We should collect the children, so they can say good-bye as
well.” Burke glanced at Mitchell. “It was nice meeting you, Deputy
Mitchell. Thank you for informing us about Cathal’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Burke. Cathal, call if you need
anything.” Mitchell gestured to the waitress. “I’ll get your coffee.”
“Thanks, Mitchell.”
Cathal dashed out of the diner with Burke close at his heels. “Can you
call Elisa and give her a heads-up about us coming to get them?”
“I will.” Burke pulled out his phone and dialed Elisa.
He didn’t pay attention to the conversation between them, finding he
needed all of his focus on driving safely. As much as he wanted to
speed to the hospital, he knew he needed to be careful so all of them
didn’t end up there as patients.
“She and Randy will have the twins ready by the time we get there,”
Burke said once he hung up. “I didn’t explain what was wrong, though
she’s intelligent. I’m sure she knows why we’re heading to the
hospital in a rush.”
“I didn’t have enough time,” he muttered as he turned onto his
father’s street. “I don’t really know him that well.”
Burke rested his hand on Cathal’s leg. “I’m sorry. I wish there was
some way I could heal your father, but unfortunately, Dr. Davidson
hasn’t found that particular cure yet.”
“If anyone can, it’d be him and Jessie.” He pulled up at the house and
the kids were waiting on the porch.
Once they got everyone arranged in the SUV, Cathal took the time to
breath and look each kid in the face. The twins looked confused and a
little scared. They didn’t know what was going on. Only that the
people they counted on were upset.
“Unca Cathal? What’s wrong?” Buddy asked, laying his hand on
Bucky’s arm. “We were good.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Buddy. I just want you all to go see
Pops before he goes to sleep tonight.” Cathal didn’t have the heart to
tell his nephews their beloved grandfather was dying and wouldn’t
make it through the night. When he faced Randy and Elisa, he could
see the sad knowledge in their eyes. They knew what was going on.
“Okay. We made cards for Pops. Elisa has them.” Buddy pointed at
the papers his sister held.
“He’ll love them,” Cathal murmured before linking gazes with Burke.
His hands shook and he wondered how he was going to hold it
together.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a person die before. Hell, he’d killed a
few over his years in the SEAL team. But this was his father and he’d
finally gotten his head out of his ass long enough to see the man
really did love him and wasn’t the complete bastard he thought he
was.
Burke cupped the back of Cathal’s head and brought it forward until
their foreheads touched. He closed his eyes, letting his breathing calm
to match Burke’s.
“We’ll get through this together,” Burke said. “I’ll be here through it
all and whatever you need me to do, I’ll do. Now we need to go.”
Cathal took one more deep breath then nodded. “Right.” He put the
SUV in gear then backed out of the driveway. As they drove toward
the highway, he thought of something.
“Why did the hospital call you instead of me?”
“They said they couldn’t reach you and I’d given them my number
just in case.”
Couldn’t reach him? He reached for his phone then pulled it out of his
pocket. After handing it to Burke, he waited.
“The battery’s dead,” Burke announced.
Shaking his head, Cathal said, “I must have forgotten to charge it last
night. The battery’s getting old. I meant to get it replaced this week,
but other things distracted me.”
“I’ll have Rebecca order one and sending it out here. That way you
don’t have to worry about it while doing other things.” Burke tucked
the phone in the console between them.
Part Thirty-Three-
Burke stood outside in the hallway, watching Cathal and his family
gathered around Pops’ bed. Sadness welled in him. He’d been young
when his parents had died, but he still remembered how painful it was
to know they would never be coming back to him. There wouldn’t be
any more late night snacks in the kitchen, talking about the things
they did earlier that day. No surprise trips to exotic locations where
he could mingle with the natives.
He’d learned so many strange customs and languages before he was
ten. Almost every country in the world had stamped his passport
because his parents always took him with them except for their last
trip.
A nurse strolled past him and he shifted to make room. What do I
need to do to help him? I don’t know if Pops had his funeral planned
or anything like that taken care of. All I can do is hold Cathal after the
kids go to bed and let him know he isn’t alone.
His phone buzzed, drawing his attention away from the poignant
image in front of him. The twins were on either side of Pops with their
heads on his shoulders. Cathal, Elisa and Randy surrounded the bed,
holding the older man’s hands or touching him in some way. Blinking
away the tears, Burke pulled out his phone and checked the screen.
Cathal glanced over to where he stood and he gestured that he was
going down to the lobby, so he return the call. Cathal nodded. It was
only a matter of time now, but Burke didn’t need to be in the room for
that.
Once he stepped outside, he hit the redial button then waited for Herb
to answer.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Davidson, this is Hilton Burke. You called me?”
“I did?” Herb hummed.
Burke waited, knowing Herb needed a few minutes to shift through all
the thoughts that had flashed through his mind in the short time since
he’d called Burke. It had happened so many times since he hired the
brilliant man. He tapped his foot against the ground until finally he
couldn’t take it any more. He had to get back upstairs.
“Herb, I need you to tell me why you called me. Cathal’s father is
dying and I don’t want to leave him alone right now.”
“Oh no. Is it that bad? I’ll have to send him flowers and a card…or
maybe I should just send a card. Cathal doesn’t strike me as a
flowers guy. Should I send him a casserole? Of course, I’m not sure
how I’d do that.” Herb hummed again. “I need to look that up
because really, there should be some way to send casseroles to
people who have lost loved ones, like sending flowers or a card.”
Burke took a deep breath, doing his best not to yell at Herb. It wasn’t
like he hadn’t experienced this before whenever he talked to the man.
“Herb, please. What did you want to talk to me about?”
Pausing, Herb took a deep breath to calm down. “Right. It seems silly
right now considering what Cathal is going through. I wanted to know
if you two would be back in time for Jessie’s engagement party, but
don’t worry about that now. It’s not important.”
“Right. We’ll have to pass on the party, Herb. Not only will there be a
funeral at some point, but Cathal has his niece and nephews to worry
about, Also, we just found out that his sister is pregnant, so there’s
another baby on the way.” He scrubbed his hand over his face at the
thought of adding another child to the mix, but he knew they would
do whatever they had to do.
“Another baby? Holy crap. Has no one explained to her how babies
are made? I mean I won’t be having a baby myself, but even I know
what goes into making a baby. Who keeps knocking her up? Oh
wait…is she on drugs? The baby might be born addicted to whatever
she’s using. You need to make sure she gets the best doctor you can
afford. She might not care about it, but I’m sure Cathal won’t turn his
back on the babe.”
Burke heard rustling over the phone and frowned.
“I’ll look up some friends who are now medical doctors. One of them
might know a good one. You can either fly him out there or take
Cathal’s sister to him. It’s important the baby gets the best care from
the very beginning.”
“Herb, I would appreciate any help you can give me, but I really need
to go,” Burke interrupted.
“Of course. Go, but please call me if you need anything at all. We’ll do
whatever we can do and we’ll come out for the funeral.”
“I’ll call as soon as I know anything,” Burke promised. “Thanks for
calling, Herb. Have a good day.”
“Bye, Mr. Burke.”
After ending the call, Burke stuffed his phone in his pocket then
strolled back into the hospital. When he got back to Pops’ room, he
stepped inside and Cathal met his gaze, tears streaming down his
cheeks. Burke didn’t stop to think. He simply went to Cathal and
wrapped his arms around the man.
Cathal hugged him tightly for a moment before stepping back to wipe
his eyes. Burke turned to look at the kids. Randy and Elisa each held
one of the twins, and Burke could see they were fighting not to break
down.
He sat then gestured for them to hand him both boys. “Let me have
them.”
Bucky and Buddy practically jumped into his arms. Holding them
close, he whispered, “It’s okay. Pops isn’t in pain any more. He’s in a
better place now.”
They burst into tears and he rocked them as they cried. He looked up
to see Cathal consoling Randy and Elisa. When the nurse came in,
Burke had a feeling she wanted to do something with the body, so he
stood, carrying the boys with him.
“Cathal, we should let the nurses do their job and see about
contacting the funeral home,” he said softly.
He watched as Cathal inhaled deeply and straightened his shoulders.
“You’re right. Come on, kids. We’ll go to the waiting room. Is it all
right if Burke sits with you? I’ll just be out in the hallway,” Cathal
asked.
Randy and Elisa nodded while the twins clung to Burke.
Part Thirty-Four-
They all moved to the waiting room where Burke sat, letting all the
kids huddle around him. He didn’t say anything, just held them close.
There wasn’t much he could say. Sorry didn’t cover the destruction of
their nice safe world. The one person they had always counted on was
gone, and now they had to learn to trust a man they’d only heard of.
It was painfully obvious Cathal loved his niece and nephews, but just
because he loved them didn’t mean they would automatically trust
him, now that their grandfather was dead.
“What’s going to happen to us?” Randy asked him, voice low as he
leaned into Burke’s side.
“You’ll mourn and once the sadness fades a little, you’ll begin
remembering the good times you had with your grandfather. That
was how it was for me when my parents died.” Burke paused,
realizing that really wasn’t what Randy was asking about. “For now,
you all will stay here and continue school. There’s no rush to move
you anywhere. Maybe after the school year is over, you’ll wish to
move to New York—or maybe you’ll decide staying in Montana is best
for all of you.”
“But you and Uncle Cathal can’t stay here forever. You have jobs
waiting for you back home,” Elisa spoke up.
Burke smiled at her. “You partly right, Elisa. Unfortunately, I can’t
stay here forever. My businesses keep me very busy and while I can
leave my people alone for a certain amount of time, I can’t let them
run amuck without some kind of supervision. So yes, I will have to
return to New York at some point.”
“But Uncle Cathal?”
He could hear the hope in her voice.
“Cathal can stay here as long as he wants, Elisa. His job will be
waiting for him when—or if—he comes back. His main concern will be
you and your brothers from now on. He loves you very much and isn’t
about to turn his back on you.”Like your mother. But he left that part
unsaid. They didn’t need to be reminded that the only other family
member left had abandoned them when they were young.
Thank God, Cathal and his father had been there to step in. Burke
shuddered to think what might have happened to the children if they
hadn’t been taken away from Margaret.
The kids fell silent and Burke knew the older two were still worried,
but he could only do so much to reassure them. Cathal was going to
have to do that job when they all got back home tonight.
He heard footsteps and glanced up to see Cathal walking toward him.
Stopping a few feet away, Cathal gazed at all five of them and Burke
caught a flare of joy flashing through the sorrow. Something about
seeing them huddling together like a mom duck and her ducklings
obviously made Cathal happy. He held out his hand.
Cathal walked closer and Elisa edged to one side so Cathal could sit
next to Burke. Bucky went into his uncle’s arms and once more they
cuddled together, including Cathal this time.
“I made all the calls. I’ll have to stop by the funeral home tomorrow.
The guy I talked to said Pops had made all the arrangements a year
or two ago. So there’s nothing for me to do except sign off on them.”
Cathal leaned against Burke’s shoulder. “I’m going to have to go to
the jail tonight.”
“When are visiting hours?” Burke asked softly.
“I called the station. They said that since it’s considered a family
emergency, they’d let me see her whenever I get there.” Cathal
shook his head. “This is a clusterfuck, Hilton. How am I supposed to
deal with her and all of her shit while trying to keep things together
for the kids?”
“You said bad words,” Buddy pointed out.
Cathal managed a chuckle, and Burke fell a little more in love with
him.
“I know, little man, and I’m sorry, but it’s been that kind of day. Do
you know what I mean?”
Nodding, Buddy said, “If I was a big boy, I’d swear too.”
Burke laughed. “But you’re not, so it’s best you don’t say any bad
words. Why don’t we all head home now? We still have dinner to eat,
though maybe we should stop and grab something quick. I’m not sure
how edible what I put in the oven will be.”
“It just finished up when Uncle Cathal called to tell us to get ready,”
Elisa told him. “We can warm it up.”
“That’s good to know.” Burke met Cathal’s gaze. “Help me get the
children home. I think you should eat before you go to the jail. It’s
going to be a long night for you.”
“You don’t mind watching them while I’m gone?” Cathal inquired.
Burke smiled. “You have to ask? Of course I don’t. Let’s go.”
He got everyone moving out of the waiting room. Once down in the
lobby, they headed out toward the parking lot. Burke growled low in
his throat when he saw Zannia come rushing across the asphalt, her
arms spread wide almost like she was going to throw them around
Cathal.
“Oh my God, Cathal. I heard the news and just had to rush over. Are
you all right?” She frowned, seemingly confounded in her efforts to
get closer to Cathal by the fact that he still held Bucky. “Do you need
me to help you with the children?”
Cathal stared at her then looked over at Burke. “No. Hilton and I have
it taken care of. Thank you for being concerned, but I don’t need your
help right now, Zannia. Go back home. I’ll call if I need you for
anything.”
She glared at Burke. “What does he know about taking care of
children? He’s a man.” With a sniff, she tried to take Buddy from him.
Burke wasn’t about to play tug-a-war with the child, but he also knew
Bucky wanted nothing to do with the woman. Nothing at all if how he
tightened his grip around Burke’s neck was any indication.
Part Thirty-Five-
He glanced over at Cathal who looked angry, but tired.
None of them should have to deal with Zinnia at that moment. Not
when Cathal still had to go to tell his sister about their father. He
couldn’t imagine how that was going to work out.
“Zinnia.” His low voice caught her attention and the look on his face
must have given her some kind of warning. “I suggest you go back
home. If we need you for anything, we’ll call. The children don’t want
you. They want me.”
“That’s right. You’re a married woman and you should be ashamed of
yourself.” Elisa glared at her. “Throwing yourself at a man who
doesn’t want you and will never want you. Uncle Cathal is in love with
Mr. Burke.”
“If Uncle Cathal had wanted you, he would’ve taken you with him
when he left all those years ago, but he didn’t. So you need to get a
clue and leave him and us alone.” Randy folded his arms over his
chest to stare at her.
Cathal opened his mouth and Burke figured he was probably going to
yell at the kids for being rude to Zinnia. Burke knew they were telling
the truth, but maybe Catha was right about the way they said it.
“What rude children. They weren’t like this before he showed up.”
Zinnia tipped her chin in Burke’s direction.
“Yes we were,” Buddy spoke up from where he snuggled close to
Burke’s chest.
Not being able to help himself, Burke chuckled. “You’re not rude,
Buddy, and neither is your brother or sister. Now why don’t you let
Elisa take you out to the truck?”
Buddy didn’t protest when Burke handed him off to Elisa then
gestured for them to go on to the vehicle. He glanced over at Cathal,
who let Randy take Bucky before moving to stand next to him. Cathal
took his hand, causing Burke to smirk at Zinnia.
“I want to thank you for all the help you’ve given me over the years
while I was gone, Zinnia. You’ve been a good friend to me and my
family, but you need to know that what ever you’re hoping for will
never happen.” Cathal let go of Burke’s hand then encircled his waist
to pull him close.
Burke chose to stay quiet. Obviously Zinnia wasn’t willing to listen to
anyone else, so maybe hearing Cathal say it will hit her upside the
head with the knowledge that she was never going to get Cathal. If
she didn’t understand that and came around again, Burke just might
forget he should be polite and smack her down.
Tears welled in Zinnia’s eyes and Burke did feel a little bit of pity for
her. It had to be hard to realize a dream wasn’t going to come true,
but it wasn’t fair to her husband.
“Do you even love your husband?” Burke asked then shook his head.
“Never mind. Your relationship with him is none of my business, but
when you start pushing yourself into my relationship, you’re stepping
over lines. I’ve been raised to be a gentleman and I’ve tried to keep
my mouth shut—for the most part—so far.”
“Zinnia, I love this man and I’ll love him until he either tosses me to
the curb or I die. You need to go back to Tim and give him your heart
or you’re going to find yourself alone.” Cathal squeezed Burke’s waist.
“Tim knows I love him,” Zinnia protested weakly.
“Does he? How do you think he feels when you rush away from him to
get to Cathal’s side as soon as possible? When you spend your lunch
hour eating with Cathal? When you visit his house all the time?”
Burke shook his head. “You need to go and fix your own house,
Zinnia, because I’m pretty sure it’s crumbling around you without you
even knowing.”
He turned away from her to meet Cathal’s gaze. “We need to get the
kids home before you come back.”
Sighing, Cathal pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “I can’t
even imagine how Margaret is going to react to the news of Pops’
death.”
Burke cupped Cathal’s face and brushed a quick kiss over his lips, not
caring who might see them. Then he stepped back as he motioned to
where the children waited for them. “Don’t be surprised by whatever
way she chooses to react. I’m pretty sure she’ll try to do her best to
upset you in some way. You’ll want to see if she has a lawyer. If not—
and if you want—we can find her a lawyer to help with the charges.”
Cathal lead the way to the truck. “She’s not going to get out of going
to jail, Hilton. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have any more ‘get out of
jail free’ cards left.”
“No, but we can make sure that if she decides to have this new child,
you’re listed as the guardian and that she signs over all rights to it.
She won’t be able to use the baby as a pawn to get anyone to feel
sorry for her.” Burke paused before opening the truck door. “It’s up to
you if you want to tell the kids or not about the newest addition to the
family. I won’t say anything until you’re ready to sit down with them
to explain what is going on.”
“I don’t know if there’s any time that’s better than another to tell
them their mother has gotten knocked up again and is in jail. She’s
facing quite a few years in prison. How do you explain that to them?”
Cathal clenched his hands.
“Love, they don’t have any expectations of their mother. Randy and
Elisa won’t be shocked and the twins have no real connection to her.
It’ll just be information, but nothing that’ll affect them or their lives.”
He halted for a second then sighed. “Well, the new baby will, but I’m
sure they’ll open their hearts to him—or her—once she’s born.”
Part Thirty-Six-
Cathal cringed inside as he walked into the county jail where Mitchell
had said Margaret was being held. He hated anything that spoke of
confinement and imprisonment, stemming from his days as a SEAL.
He approached the front desk then waited for the uniformed officer
there to acknowledge him.
“How can I help you?”
“I’m here to visit Margaret McKinley.”
The officer frowned. “Visiting hours are over with.”
“I understand, but our father just passed away a few hours ago and I
need to let her know. I didn’t think this news should wait until
tomorrow.” Cathal pulled out his wallet to get his driver’s license out.
“I know Deputy Sam Mitchell.”
He didn’t like name dropping, but if it got him in to see his sister, he’d
do it as often as he had to. The officer checked his license then
nodded.
“Sam stopped by to inform us about the situation, so you’ve been
cleared to go back and meet with her.” The man shook his head. “I
have to tell you, she’s a bit of a mess. Going through withdraws isn’t
pretty and with being pregnant, it’s twice as worse.”
“I wouldn’t want to go through it,” he muttered as he put his wallet
away. “Thank you, Officer Bowie. Trust me, if it wasn’t for my father
dying, I wouldn’t be here tonight. I’d come at the regular time
tomorrow.”
Bowie stood then gestured for Cathal to follow him. Taking a deep
breath, he let the officer escort him down the corridor towards the
visiting rooms.
“You know she might not want to see you,” Bowie said over his
shoulder. “I can’t make her do it if she doesn’t want to.”
“I know and if she doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess
you’ll have to tell her. Does Margaret have a lawyer?”
“No, she doesn’t. Didn’t want a count appointed one either from what
I gather, looking at her file.” Bowie shook his head. “She knows the
score, Mr. McKinley. She’s going to prison and her child is going to be
taken from her.”
Cathal nodded, not surprised by that information. “She has four older
ones who she gave up when she had them. My father and I took over
responsibility for them. What’s one more?”
“I guess that’s one way to look at it.” Bowie grunted. “So you’re going
to give the baby a home if she has it?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t have a choice, and if he was honest with himself, he would
stay give the children a place in his world even if there had been
another option. He hadn’t been looking to add kids to his life in New
York, expecting his father would live for a long enough time to raise
the kids without Cathal having to upset his own world.
But fate had a way of throwing things off track and suddenly, Cathal
was faced with four—soon to be five—children and admitting his love
to Hilton. It had been a whirlwind change for him, yet as confused,
worried, and heartbroken as he was, he was kind of happy that it
happened. Cathal wouldn’t go back to the person he used to be. Hell,
he was finding that he enjoyed taking care of his niece and nephews.
The way he and Burke worked together, it was almost like they’d
been a couple for years rather than the week it had been. Does Hilton
really want to be a part of my family like he says? Will he be able to
deal with having a baby? Once we get back to New York—if I go
back—will he continue to want to be with me or will he find a reason
to end our relationship?
“Here we go. I’ll get one of the guards to bring your sister in.” Bowie
motioned to the room where there was a chair with a glass partition
that separated him from the next room.
He took a seat then waited. When the door opened, he looked up and
cringed when he saw Margaret lead in. His sister had been beautiful
when he went away, bright and exburant, but his father had tried to
tell him how far she’d fallen while he was gone. Cathal hadn’t wanted
to think about his baby sister destroying her life like that with drugs,
alcohol, and getting involved with the wrong people.
Margaret’s hair was stringy and greasy. Her skin was a sallow yellow
with an odd tinge of green that spoke of her nausea. It was also
pitted and had open sores. She wrapped her arms around her
stomach, but he could still see them shaking. The guard guided her to
a seat by touching her elbow lightly.
She raised her gaze then jerked when she saw it was Cathal waiting
for her. He watched as she blinked and he could see the realization
hit her.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
Cathal nodded, not sure he could speak at the moment. Margaret
curled her upper lip and he saw the damage to her teeth the meth
had caused.
“I’m not surprised. The bastard was sick for a long time, but wouldn’t
accept help from anyone. I stopped by and told him I’d take the kids
while he went into the hospital. He wouldn’t let me anywhere near
them.” Margaret flopped into the chair, letting her head drop forward
and rested her chin on her chest.
“You know why he wouldn’t let you, Margaret. You have no right to
those children and they don’t want anything to do with you. You
turned your back on them for drugs and men.” Cathal inhaled sharply,
not really wanting to get into a discussion about her parenting
failures.
“Bull shit. You took them from me when I couldn’t fight you then he
poisoned their minds against me. That won’t happen with this one.”
She smoothed her hand over the bulge covered by her jumpsuit. “I
won’t give this one up.”
Part Thirty-Seven-
He shook his head. “You know it’s not up to you what happens to your
baby, Margaret. I doubt they’ll let you keep it once you give birth.
You’re going to be in jail and there aren’t any day care facilities in
prison.”
She glared at him. “They can’t take my child from me. That’s not
right.”
“Margaret, do you really think you’ll be able to provide any kind of
normal home for this baby? You’re going to jail. You’re a drug addict
and who knows if you don’t have some of disease from all the
unprotected sex you’ve had or the dirty needles you’ve use. I doubt
there will be any debate about this child.” He took a deep breath.
“Pops died earlier today. I wanted to let you know.”
“Thanks I guess.” She snorted. “It doesn’t really matter. He’d been
dead to me for a long time. Ever since he took Randy from me.”
“No one took your children from you. You gave them up at the
hospital when you realized how they were going to interfere with your
lifestyle. You couldn’t do drugs or fuck strange men whenever you
wanted because of those kids.” He clenched his hands where she
couldn’t see them.
Rage swelled in him at her whining and lack of grief about their
father. While he hadn’t had much contact with his father, Cathal still
loved the man. He’d misjudged Pops by thinking the man would hate
the fact that he was gay. He’d been surprised when Pops had told him
he’d always known and hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want
Cathal to come back to Montana.
“There was nothing here for you, son. That’s why I didn’t say a thing
when you enlisted. I also knew that when the time came for us to
need you, you’d come back. You’re loyal to your family.”
Margaret snarled at him. “You stole my kids from me and poisoned
them against me. I’ve tried to talk to them and they act like I’m a
monster. I’m not going to let it happen with this one.”
Sighing, Cathal knew it was pointless to talk to her. “Do you need a
lawyer?”
“Are you really going to provide one for me? Do you think they’d be
able to get these charges dropped?” She leaned forward, eagerness in
her gaze.
“No. They won’t be able to talk the prosecutor out of charging you
with everything you were arrested for. Trust me, Margaret. You used
up all your good will with these people. They know you aren’t
interested in getting better, so the court isn’t going to let you go to be
a hazard to society any more.” Cathal tapped his fingers on the table
while he studied her. “A lawyer might get your sentence shortened,
but not dropped.”
Margaret flopped back with a huff. “Then what good is a lawyer? If
I’m going to jail either way, then why waste money on one of them
that isn’t even interested in helping me?”
She had a point and Cathal again wasn’t going to argue with her. He
would talk to Burke when he got home to see if they could send their
lawyer to talk to the prosecutors to see what could be done about the
unborn child. He wanted to make sure everyone in charge knew that
there was someone who would take the baby when—if—she had it.
And that was the problem. With the way Margaret looked, he wasn’t
sure her body would be able to handle the withdrawals and protecting
the baby while it grew. He feared that nature might decide that to
live, Margaret must abort the child. He hated the idea that the child
might die simply because its mother was a drug addict.
“I guess I’m done here.” He stood then braced his hands on the edge
of the table. “If you change your mind about the lawyer, you can tell
the guards and they’ll get a hold of me. I don’t think they’ll let you
out for Pops’ funeral, but don’t worry. He had it all worked out before
he died. Your children will be living with me from now on and I’ll take
care of them as though they were mine own.”
Margaret turned her head away from his gaze and didn’t say a word
as Cathal left. He went in search of Bowie. He found the officer back
at the front desk.
“Officer Bowie, can you tell me who I need to contact about a lawyer
for my sister?” He paused for a moment then said, “She doesn’t want
a lawyer, but I want to make sure the right people know there’s
someone willing to take the baby if she has it.”
Bowie ripped a piece of paper off a pad then dug out a pen. “I ran out
of cards for the DA, but here’s his office number. You can call him
tomorrow and see what you have to do about that.”
“Thanks.” He took the number before shoving it in his pocket. He
started to leave, but Bowie called to him.
“Is it true that you already have your sister’s other kids?”
Cathal nodded. “Yeah. I made sure that I got guardian ship of the
kids and they’ve lived with my father since then. We’ve known for a
long time that she wasn’t stable enough to keep her children. I’ll take
this one as well.”
“Even if it might be born with birth defects,” Bowie asked.
“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. Cathal understood all the issues that could
come from Margaret being pregnant and having done drugs. Thank
God, the other kids had been born without any problems that they
knew of. “It doesn’t matter. The baby is a member of my family and,
even if he—or she—has challenges, we’ll all handle it as best we can.”
“That’s impressive, man. Good luck.” Bowie motioned that he could
leave.
All Cathal could think about as he slid behind the wheel of his truck
was getting home and wrapping his arms around Burke. He wanted to
hold his lover close while he dealt with the knowledge that the sister
he’d loved had turned into someone he hated and the father he loved
was no longer alive to help him deal with who she’d become.
Part Thirty-Eight-
When he got home, he sat in the truck for a few moments, rebuilding
his strength to face the kids inside. As he paused, the front door
opened and Burke stepped out. Cathal watched as Roscoe jumped off
the porch to race toward the vehicle.
He climbed out then squatted to greet his dog. “Have you been
comforting the kids, boy?”
“He’s been very attentive to them all. The only time he’s left the
twins’ sides has been just now when he came out here to greet you,”
Burke said from his spot by the door. “He knows there’s something
wrong even if he doesn’t know exactly what. Animals are good at
sensing things like that.”
“Go on inside.” Cathal motioned towards the house and Roscoe
dashed back up the steps then waited for Burke to open the door for
him.
He joined his lover on the porch, but didn’t move to go inside. Staying
silent, he slid his arms around Burke’s waist, pulling him tight against
his body. He buried his face against Burke’s chest and sighed.
“I know, love,” Burke murmured, holding him close. “So much to deal
with in such a short time. I bet your sister was a bit of a bitch as
well.”
“She thinks they’ll let her keep the baby while she’s in prison and she
doesn’t want a lawyer unless he can help her get out of having to
serve time.” His voice was muffled by Burke’s shirt. “I have the name
of the DA, so our lawyer can go and talk to him about the baby.”
“Hmm…” Burke nuzzled his temple. “Let’s go in. There’s leftovers if
you’re interested.”
Cathal shook his head. “Food doesn’t sound good.”
“Then what does?”
“Crawling into bed and holding you,” he admitted.
Burke chuckled softly before stepping away from him. He saw Burke
hold out his hand. “I’ll clean up while you check on the kids. Buddy
and Bucky might end up sleeping with us later on tonight. They were
pretty quiet before they went to bed.”
“I guess that means there won’t be any sex tonight.” He couldn’t help
but pout.
“Honey, that’s what happens when you have kids. Maybe we can find
some time tomorrow if they decide to go to school.”
“Don’t you think we should keep them home?”
They wandered through the house. Cathal double checked doors and
windows to make sure everything was locked before he went to the
kids’ bedrooms. Burke had gone into the master bath to get ready for
bed.
Elisa glanced up at him when he poked his head around the
doorframe. She was curled under blankets with a book on her lap.
“Can I come in?”
Nodding, she pointed at the end of her bed. “Sure. How did Mom
look?”
He shook his head as he took his spot. “She didn’t look good. Being
pregnant and going through withdrawals is enough to destroy
anyone’s looks.”
“Is she going to give up the baby?”
Shrugging, he said, “I don’t know, honey, but unfortunately, it
doesn’t matter what she wants. The legal system isn’t going to allow
her to keep it. I’m going to do what I can to make sure we get a
chance to welcome the child into our family. She—or he—is blood
related, so the baby is already a member of ours even without us
having ever met him.”
She smiled. “I know. Bucky and Buddy are going to be holy terrors
when the baby joins us. They won’t know what to do when they aren’t
the youngest any more.”
“I’ll be happy to deal with that when it happens.” Cathal patted Elisa’s
knee before standing. “You have ten more minutes then lights out.”
“Okay. Good night, Uncle Cathal.” She hugged him.
He checked on Randy who was finishing up his homework and gave
him the same timetable as Elisa. When he checked on the twins, he
found them in the same bed, holding hands while they slept. He
tucked the blankets back around them, kissed their foreheads then
wandered back to his bedroom where he found Burke already settled
under the covers.
“How are the kids?” Burke asked when he looked up from his laptop.
“They’re all settled. Randy and Elisa will turn out their lights in ten
minutes. The twins are asleep.” He stripped before tugging on the
pair of sweats Burke had left out for him.
“Were they in the same bed?” Burke typed in one last thing then shut
his computer down. After setting it on the stand next to his side of
the bed, he lifted the comforter. “Come and join me.”
Cathal slid in beside Burke and sighed when his lover wrapped his
arms around him. Burke brushed a kiss over his cheek, drawing a
shudder from Cathal then a soft sob.
“Hush. I know it’s hard,” Burke whispered.
“I thought I would see some kind of sadness or mourning in her eyes,
but she didn’t care about Pops’ death. I guess I’m not surprised there
weren’t any tears since she doesn’t have the energy to be upset abut
anything except what’s happening to her.”
“But she’s your sister and you thought she would be upset that your
father died,” Burke muttered. “It’s how normal people would feel and
react when they heard that news, but love, Margaret isn’t your sister
anymore. She’s become a different creature because of the meth and
other drugs. Whoever she is now, the person she used to be is gone.
You have to mourn the loss of your sister and your father at the same
time.”
Cathal sobbed again, but the feel of Burke’s hands smoothing up and
down his back eased him. Tears tracked down his cheeks yet he didn’t
give into the sadness. It wasn’t in his make-up to cry when his heart
broke.
“You lost two important members of your family, but you still have
the kids and me. You even have Herb and Chuck back in New York.
Oh…umm…speaking of Herb.” Burke paused and Cathal leaned back a
little to meet Burke’s gaze. “He and Chuck will be out here in three
days for the funeral.”
Oh shit!
Part Thirty-Nine-
Burke must have felt him tense because he started laughing. “I’m
sure Chuck will keep him under wraps, but did you really think he
wouldn’t come out? He considers us both friends more than
colleagues. He doesn’t have a lot of friends, or he didn’t before he
hooked up with Chuck. God, Chuck’s family could count for a herd
right there.”
Cathal nodded, having met a majority of Chuck’s family by accident
when they came to visit Jessie and Herb at the labs. No one had
warned him before he walked into Herb’s office to discuss some
security issue with a new research project. He’d opened the door and
had been hit by a wall of noise. Everyone seemed to be talking at
once. Herb had been in the middle of the madness, talking and
gesturing wildly, yet Cathal had been able to tell that he loved the
chaos.
“I guess we should be thankful it’s just Chuck and Herb. If it was in
New York, Chuck’s whole family would show up.” He shuddered.
“They can be a little overwhelming all together, but they mean well
and I think it’s marvelous how they’ve taken Herb under their wing.”
There was a hint of wistfulness in Burke’s voice.
Cathal brushed a kiss over Burke’s lips. “It must have been hard
growing up without family, but you do know, you’re part of mine now
and we’re not letting you go.”
Smiling, Burke slid his hand around the back of Cathal’s head, holding
him there as he claimed Cathal’s lips. Opening for him, Cathal
moaned softly while rocking his groin against Burke’s thigh.
He started tugging at Burke’s T-shirt and whined when Burke broke
off the kiss to move away from him. But his heart skipped a beat as
Burke stripped out of his shirt and shorts.
“Come on, love. You’re falling behind,” Burke teased then rolled out of
bed.
“Wait. Where are you going,” Cathal asked, tossing his clothes on the
floor.
“I have to get the supplies. We can’t have them out where the kids
can see them. I don’t want to have that conversation with the twins
yet though you should probably talk to Randy and Elisa at some point
soon.”
Cathal’s cock softened at the thought of having any kind of ‘sex’
conversation with Elisa. “Maybe we could get Rebecca or Jessie to talk
to Elisa. I’m not sure I want to think about her having sex.”
“Hell, Cathal. All you have to do is tell her to never have sex without
a condom and if she wants, you’ll get her birth control. It’s not like
you need to explain how sex works. I’m pretty sure she already
knows all that.” Burke snorted.
“If you’re such an expert, you get to have that talk with her,” he said.
Burke shrugged. “Fine.” He held up the tube of slick and a foil packet.
“Got it.”
Cathal caught the lube Burke tossed at him then popped it open to
squirt some onto his fingers. After setting the bottle down, he rocked
up on his knees then reached around to rub his fingers over his hole.
“I was going to do that,” Burke complained.
“I can d it faster. You’d want to play and I want to get fucked fast and
hard. Plus I don’t want to be in the middle of sex if someone knocks.”
“I locked the door, so no one will be bursting in on us,” Burke
reassured him.
Groaning, Cathal sunk two of his fingers in and he savored the burn of
the intrusion. He let his head fall forward as he stroked in and out,
doing everything he enjoyed to stretch his hole. When another set of
fingers joined his, making it four inside him, he jumped.
“Easy, love.” Burke caressed his lower back. “I didn’t want to miss out
on all the fun. I love your ass. I’ve dreamt about it for years.”
“I fantasized about your cock and your mouth for years as well,” he
admitted, though it was difficult for him to form thoughts.
Burke nibbled along Cathal’s spine then said, “Turn over.”
He flopped back on his back, pulled his knees to his chest before
grinning at Burke. “Come on and fuck me, honey. I’d rather have you
inside me than my fingers any day.”
“So romantic.” Burke shook his head while tearing open the rubber
packet.
“At the moment, I’m not interested in romantic. I’m interested in
getting your cock in my ass as fast as possible.”
Burke rolled the condom over his shaft then coated his entire length
with lube. He settled between Cathal’s legs before positioning the
head of his cock at Cathal’s opening. They both held their breath as
Burke pushed in, invading his body an inch at a time. Cathal let his
breath out once his lover was seated deep.
Looking up, he met Burke’s eyes, seeing the love shining in them and
he shuddered which drew a moan from Burke.
“I love you,” Cathal whispered.
“I love you as well,” Burke replied before he started to thrust in and
out, building in speed and force until he was practically slamming into
Cathal.
Letting go of his legs, Cathal braced his hands against the headboard
to keep from getting his head driven into the wall from the force of
Burke’s thrusts. God, he loved how full he felt from the girth and
length of Burke’s cock.
“Christ,” he groaned when Burke angled his hips just right to nail his
gland each time. “Keep that up and I’m going to come.”
“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?” Burke panted, sweat starting to
drip from his chin.
Cathal wrapped his legs around Burke’s waist, hooking his ankles
together. After that, it only took one more shove in to push Cathal
over the edge. He covered his mouth to muffle his shout as he came.
Hot cum spilled onto his stomach and he shivered, trembled and
clenched.
“Fuck,” Burke grunted as he climaxed, filling the condom before
collapsing onto Cathal
Part Forty-
Burke smiled when he heard the twins laughing outside in the yard
where they were playing with Roscoe. Both Randy and Elisa had
chosen to go to school, even though Cathal had given them the option
to stay home. He’d explained to Cathal that the older kids had friends
who would help them deal with their grief. Plus they both knew that
he or Cathal would come to get them if they wanted to come home.
“Unca Burke?” Bucky called from the back yard.
“Yes, Bucky,” he replied as he hung the dishtowel up before heading
out to see what the twins wanted. When he got outside, he noticed
that the barn door was open, and it looked like the boys had gone in
there. Shaking his head, he wondered what he was going to find
when he joined them. “You know you shouldn’t be in here without an
adult to help you.”
“We know, but we wanted to do something for Pops.”
He walked in to see Ross McKinley’s horse standing in the aisle way,
halter hooked to cross-ties. “Oh my,” he whispered then laughed as
the gelding gave him a long-suffering look.
The twins had pulled crates over and must have tried to braid the
horse’s mane and tail, tying multi-colored ribbons amongst the
braids. Somehow they’d gotten a hold of a clipper and had started
shaving the horse’s coat.
“Oh I’m sorry,” he muttered to the roan gelding as he patted him on
the shoulder. “Boys, he looks great. Umm…maybe we should wait for
your uncle to come back before you finish. He’ll be able to tell you
what else you need to do to make Gypsum here look even better.”
The boys looked at each other, seeming to communicate without
words. Then they grinned at Burke.
“Do you think Unca Cathal will help?” Bucky came over to lean against
Burke’s legs.
He ran his hand over the boy’s hair as he nodded. “I’m sure Cathal
will be more than happy to help make Pops’ horse look great. Maybe
we can bring him to the cemetery when it’s time to bury your
grandfather.”
“Oh do you think we could? Gypsum misses Pops too.” Buddy joined
them, leaning on the other side of Burke.
Kneeling, he wrapped his arms around the twins, lifting them as he
stood. The boys encircled his neck then rested their heads on his
shoulders.
“I didn’t know your grandfather for very long, but he seemed like an
awesome guy. I understand why you and Gypsum would miss him.”
He nuzzled their hair as he set them on top of a hay bale. “Why don’t
you let me put him back in his stall? Then when Cathal and your
siblings get home, we’ll all come out here and decide what to do for
Gypsum.”
“All right.”
They kicked their heels against the bale while Burke took all the
ribbons out then brushed all the loose hair from the horse’s back. He
returned the gelding to his stall where he gave him a handful of
carrots as a treat for having dealt with the twins.
“Let’s go in and get lunch ready. Cathal’s on his way home.” He held
out his hands and the twins jumped down to take them. “What do you
want to eat?”
“Mac ‘n Cheese,” Bucky crowed.
“Hot dogs,” Buddy said at the same time.
“Yum. How about both?” Burke knew they had the supplies for that
lunch, even though he didn’t think either one was particularly healthy.
“Yay!” The twins shouted and Burke laughed.
They took off, racing around the yard with Roscoe chasing them.
Burke watched them for a little while until he heard a vehicle pull into
the driveway. He wandered around the side of the house then strolled
over to where Cathal still sat in the truck. After tapping on the
window, he inhaled when Cathal looked over at him and he saw the
tears streaking down his lover’s cheeks.
“Oh honey,” he murmured as he opened the door then caught Cathal
tight to him as he left the cab. “I can only imagine how difficult it
was. I didn’t have to do any of it when my parents died. Hell, there
wasn’t anything left of mine to bury.”
Burke rolled his eyes, wanting to slap himself after he said it. He
didn’t have the right to compare his parents’ deaths to Cathal’s dad’s.
There wasn’t any kind of comparison really.
“He’d had everything planned for a while. The funeral home director
said everything was picked out and the service planned. I didn’t have
to do anything except pick the days, but it was still the hardest thing
I’ve ever done.” Cathal inhaled deeply, encircling Burke’s waist.
“When we lost guys in our unit, someone else took care of it.”
“I know.” He ran his hands up and down Cathal’s back. “Are you
hungry? We’re going to make Mac ‘n Cheese and hot dogs.”
Cathal’s chuckle was a little rough. “I see the twins are picking the
menu today.”
Burke let Cathal step back then smiled when he met his gaze. “What
can it hurt? A little junk food might help them get through the day.
Oh by the way, they’re going to ask you something and I think it
might be a good idea.”
“Okay.” Cathal shot him a quick glance then turned as he heard
yelling and barking heading their way.
“Brace yourself,” Burke warned as the twins and the dog dashed from
the backyard toward Cathal.
Bending down, Cathal snatched the boys off the ground then swung
them around in the air. “How are my boys doing? I see you’ve been
running Roscoe into the ground. He’s going to be ready to take a nap
after lunch.”
“Do you think he’d want to lay down with us?” Bucky asked as Cathal
carried them into the house.
Burke followed behind him and closed the door. “I’ll get lunch started.
Why don’t you go change and clean up?”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. I want to get out of this monkey
suit,” Cathal said as he walked down the hallway to the bedrooms.
Part Forty-One-
After making his way back to the kitchen, Burke pulled out the box of
mac and cheese. Then he took the hot dogs out of the refrigerator. As
he put their lunch together, he smiled, having never imagined he’d be
making a meal for six year old boys who weren’t interested in
anything gourmet.
He glanced up as Cathal and the twins walked in. “Just need a few
more minutes. Boys, why don’t you tell your uncle what you want to
do with Gypsum for your grandfather’s funeral?”
Cathal shot him a quick look and he grinned. You have no idea what’s
coming, love.
“We want to take Gypsum to the cemetery to say good-bye to Pops.”
Bucky spoke up.
“We already started to get him cleaned up and pretty.” Buddy grinned
as they helped Cathal set the table.
“Really?” Cathal shot Burke another look.
Burke nodded. “Oh yes. I think you should go out and check on
Gypsum after we eat. I did my best to minimize the damage.”
“Damage?”
“Let’s just say that Gypsum’s coat isn’t nearly as smooth as it used to
be.” He chuckled then said, “I’m sorry. I left them alone outside for a
little while so I could clean up after breakfast. I should’ve known
better than to think they wouldn’t stay out of trouble.”
Cathal poured out four glasses of milk then gestured for the boys to
sit. “All right. Let’s eat.”
Burke dished out the mac and cheese then a hot dog on each plate.
He set them down before grabbing the condiments and buns. When
he got back, Cathal had settled the boys in their seats while they
babbled about braiding Gypsum’s mane and tail, then shaving him to
get his heavy coat smooth.
“You shaved Gypsum and he stood for that?” Cathal looked shocked.
“He was standing quite calmly in the cross ties when I got to the
barn, though I must admit he had a rather long suffering expression
in his eyes. I do believe the gelding was quite happy to see me when
I got there.” Burke smirked. “They did do a good job with the braiding
and ribbons.”
“That’s good to hear.” Cathal rolled his eyes. “You want to take
Gypsum to the cemetery where Pops will be buried, so he can say
good-bye.”
The boys nodded so fast, Burke worried they might break their necks.
“Yeah. Gyps misses Pops. He should say good-bye.” Buddy took a
huge bite of his hot dog.
“Just because he’s a horse don’t mean he isn’t feeling sad,” Bucky
informed them before he dug into his Mac and Cheese.
“I told the boys it was a good idea. I don’t see why we couldn’t clean
Gypsum up and take him to the cemetery. Something tells me your
father would like that.” Burke took a bite of his meal.
Cathal nodded. “You’re right, Burke.” He reached over to touch each
of the boys on the head. “It’s a really good idea, guys. Maybe Elisa
and Randy would like to help us do it?”
Bucky bumped Buddy’s shoulder and grinned. “See told ya.”
Buddy shrugged, more interested in eating then talking about it
anymore. Burke scooped out another serving for him when Buddy
cleaned his plate. “I’ll admit that if someone told me I’d be enjoying
Mac and Cheese and hot dogs while taking care of kids, I’d have
laughed at them.”
“Don’t you want children?” Cathal leaned back in his chair and studied
Burke.
“I never thought about it,” he confessed. “My life didn’t lend itself to
kids.”
Cathal raised one eyebrow. “Didn’t?”
Looking at the boys who were poking at each other, Burke smiled. “I
think rearranging my life to include certain kids. If I’m allowed to be
part of their lives.”
“We’re done. Can we go watch TV now?” Bucky asked as he shoved
his plate away.
“Go wash up then you can watch cartoons for a little bit. I want to
talk to Hilton.” Cathal motioned for the boys to go to the sink.
They watched the twins clean their hands before racing out of the
kitchen toward the living room. Burke went to the coffee pot and got
mugs for him and Cathal.
“What do you want to talk about?” He asked as he set the coffee in
front of Cathal. Sitting next to Cathal, Burke covered his hand.
“You’d let me and the kids complicate your well-ordered life? You
seemed happy with what you’ve been doing.” Cathal stared down at
their hands.
“I was happy, but lonely. None of the men I dated turned out to be a
guy I wanted to settle down with. To be honest, meeting the right guy
would’ve meant I would’ve started thinking about kids. I probably
wouldn’t have adopted any if I didn’t fall in love. Raising kids on my
own wasn’t something that interested me.” He sighed then continued,
“Not after growing up without my parents. There are a lot of single
parents out there who do a wonderful job, but I don’t think I would’ve
been one of them.”
“I come with a ready made family that is about to grow by one.”
Cathal laughed. “Are you sure you can deal with a baby?”
Burke rolled his eyes. “We’re both intelligent men. I’m sure together
we can figure it out. Plus we’ll also have Randy and Elisa. They’ll help
out if we need it.”
Cathal leaned forward, crushing their lips together. Burke slid his
hand around Cathal’s neck to hold him while he took the kiss deeper.
Cathal braced his hands on Burke’s thighs and moaned.
“Eww…Unca Cathal’s kissing Unca Hil.”
They broke apart and Burke turned to see Bucky and Buddy peeking
around the doorframe into the kitchen. He laughed as he waved for
them to come in.
“Yes we were. Now what are you two doing spying on us?” He
snagged Buddy around the waist to lift him on to the table.
“We wants some water,” Bucky said.
“Can we go outside?” Buddy asked.
Burke eyed them both. “I know what kind of trouble you can get into
when no one’s out there watching you. How about you help me clean
up then we can all go out and play for a while?”
“Yay!” Buddy jumped off the table and the twins ran to the sink.
Part Forty-Two-
Later on that night, Burke and Cathal slid into bed after getting the
kids all tucked in. Cathal settled into Burke’s embrace with a sigh.
Burke smiled and brushed a kiss over Cathal’s temple.
“They can make you feel old, can’t they?”
Cathal snorted. “Even Randy and Elisa have more energy than I can
muster at the moment.”
“That’s because while they are sad about your father’s passing, they
can find joy in the little things in life. As adults, we have to focus on
the bad things because we want to make them happy.” Burke
smoothed his hands over Cathal’s shoulder. “I spoke to Chuck earlier.
He said that he and Herb would be here tomorrow.”
Cathal groaned and Burke laughed.
“It isn’t funny, Hilton. Can you imagine the chaos that’s to come when
Herb meets the twins? He’s just as bad as they are.”
Burke hummed softly then said, “I’m sure Chuck will keep Herb in
check and we can hope that he won’t lead the twins astray.”
“Lead the twins astray? Are you kidding me? What we have to worry
about is the twins convincing Herb to do an experiment or something.
Then we’ll have the barn blown up or the horses will be dyed bright
blue or something.” Cathal shuddered.
“There is that possibility,” he agreed. “But come on, you know Herb
doesn’t mean anything by the strange things he does. He’s a genius
who has never had a chance to hang out with normal people.”
Cathal pushed away from him to meet his gaze. “And we’re normal?”
Burke shrugged. “There’s no such thing as normal, dear, but he’s
getting a little more socialized. I think Chuck’s family is helping with
that. I’m glad he’s coming.”
“So am I. I never thought I’d be happy to see him or his husband, but
it’ll be nice to have friends here.” Cathal shifted closer to Burke,
resting his head on his shoulder again. “I’m not sure what I would’ve
done if you weren’t here for me and the kids. Knowing you were
watching the twins while I dealt with the funeral home made things a
little easier for me.”
“I’m sure Zinnia would’ve been willing to take care of the kids for
you.” He smirked at the rather annoyed noise Cathal made. “Of
course, she might not have handled the horse situation as well as I
did.”
“So true.” Cathal tapped his fingers on Burke’s chest. “I couldn’t sleep
last night, so I took a look at those files you gave me about your
parents’ murder.”
“Really? I didn’t realize you weren’t in bed,” Burke murmured. Cathal
had been beside him under the blankets when he’d woken that
morning.
“I didn’t get out of bed. You were sleeping so hard, not even the light
bothered you.” Cathal gestured toward the small lamp next to the
mattress. “I think you should have your investigator go back and talk
to the mechanics who worked on the plane before your parents’ flight.
Something about their testimony didn’t sit right with me.”
“Do you have any specific questions he needs to ask them?”
“Yes. I’ll write them down and you can send it to him. I believe they’ll
give you the lead to find out what happened and who caused it.”
Cathal lifted one of his shoulders. “I’m not sure what you can do with
the information though. Hasn’t too much time passed to convict
someone?”
Burke grimaced, even though he knew Cathal couldn’t see him. He
wouldn’t be able to go through law enforcement channels when/if he
found out who had killed his father and mother, but that didn’t mean
the person wouldn’t be punished.
“You’re right. It’s been too long to be able to convict them. I’ll have to
deal with that knowledge.” Cathal’s laughter surprised him and he
frowned. “Why are you laughing?”
“I know you’ll figure out some way to punish the person. Hell, you
have so much money, you could hire someone to kill them to even
the score.”
He could, yet he knew that his parents wouldn’t want that guilt on his
conscious. “That’s not going to happen.”
Cathal flicked one of Burke’s nipples. “I know that, asshole. You’re not
about to kill anyone, unless it’s Zinnia out of jealousy. You’re too
good a man to visit the same pain you felt on someone else, even if
they didn’t know what their loved one had done.”
“Ow!” He rubbed the wound bit of flesh. “I wouldn’t kill her, even if
she does make me want to slap her silly. Have you met her husband?
How does he feel about the fact that she’s in love with you?”
“I don’t think he’s ever noticed because I never did until I saw how
she acted around you. I always thought she was just being my
friend,” Cathal stated.
He wasn’t sure how Cathal could’ve missed her feelings, but he didn’t
want to dwell on it. He rolled Cathal onto his back so he could lean
over him. Staring down in Cathal’s eyes, Burke smiled then kissed
him. There was no hidden agenda to the kiss. All Burke wanted was
to feel his lips against Cathal’s, along with their bodies aligned
together.
Cathal wrapped his arms around Burke’s shoulders while spreading
his legs to allow Burke to settle between them. Burke broke their kiss
before trailing his lips over Cathal’s chin and throat to the tender
triangle at the base of his neck. Pressing his tongue to the soft skin,
he felt the racing pulse there.
“Oh God, Hilton. Why did we waste all those years when we could’ve
been doing this for all that time?”
Burke sucked on Cathal, leaving a mark before he eased away to
answer, “You didn’t test that I’d stick around because you aren’t rich
like me. You don’t think you’d fit into my world when all I want is to
build our own world where we can be together. That’s all that matters
to me. Neither one of us has to fit in with the other’s world because
as long as we love each other, the world around us doesn’t matter.”
Part Forty-Two-
Cathal tugged at the tie around his neck before letting his hand drop
to his side. He stood in the living room, staring out the front window
while Burke finished getting dressed. The kids had all gone to school,
even the twins were happy to go. He didn’t mind since he didn’t see
why they needed to be at the funeral home for the afternoon showing
anyway. He’d send Burke to pick them up, and they’d have dinner out
before going back to the evening showing.
“Thank God, Pops only wanted one day of showing before burial,” he
muttered. “I’m not sure how much standing around, chatting with
people I don’t remember, I can take.”
“You’ll do all right, Cathal. I’ll be there to help out.” Burke rested his
hand on Cathal’s shoulder after entering the room. “If there’s one
thing I’m good at, it’s small talk.”
Cathal turned to look at Burke. “I know and being surrounded by
strangers doesn’t bother you, so you’ll be fine with this whole thing.”
Before Burke could reply, a car pulled into the driveway and Cathal
inhaled sharply. He twisted slightly to watch Chuck and Herb emerge
from the vehicle.I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with Herb at the
moment.
They watched as Chuck and Herb met in front of the car and Chuck
bent down to kiss Herb quickly before heading toward the house.
Cathal couldn’t help but smile at the rather disgruntled pout on Herb’s
face.
“I think he was hoping for something more than a peck on the lips,”
Burke said.
“Certainly looks like it.” He walked to the door, opening it before
Chuck had a chance to knock. “Thanks for coming.”
Chuck gave him an one arm hug then stepped aside to let Herb wrap
his arms around Cathal to give him a tight embrace. It surprised him,
but he accepted it. Herb had never been a touchy-feely guy. At least
not with any of them except Chuck.
“I’m so sorry,” Herb said as he stepped back.
“Thanks. At least he’s not in pain any more.” Cathal uttered the usual
lame comment.
“He might be, but that doesn’t mean you and the kids aren’t hurting.
You’re going to miss him, though over time, it will fade a little bit.”
Chuck shook Burke’s hand. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Burke.”
“Please call me Hilton or Burke. You don’t have to be formal. Your
husband isn’t.” Burke smiled.
Herb dashed over to him and hugged him, which again surprised
Cathal and Burke as well, judging from the expression on Burke’s
face. Burke patted Herb’s shoulder.
“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling. This must bring up memories
from when your parents died. Though did you have a funeral for
them? Were their bodies ever found?” Herb asked.
“Honey, we don’t ask questions like that. Burke might not want to
relive those memories.” Chuck took Herb by the arm to pull him away
from Burke. “Now apologize.”
Herb frowned, obviously not entirely sure why he needed to
apologize.
Burke laughed softly. “It’s all right, Chuck. He didn’t mean anything
by it and he’s right. I have been thinking about my parents a lot more
lately.”
Cathal encircled Burke’s waist then pulled him tight to him. “I’m
sorry. I should’ve known it would be hard on you.”
Nuzzling against his chin, Burke said, “It’s all right. I’ve dealt with the
pain. I’ve just been remembering them, not the way they died.”
“Good.” He brushed a kiss over Burke’s temple before turning to look
at their friends. “We have to head over to the funeral home. The
showing will start soon.”
“We’ll follow you over. We got a hotel in Helena since I didn’t think
there would be a lot of options here.” Chuck didn’t comment on the
kiss or embrace, though Cathal could see that Herb wanted to say
something. Chuck shook his head when Herb shot him a glance.
They left and Cathal drove to the funeral parlor. Once they got there,
Cathal and Burke went in, then he paused at the entrance of the room
where his father’s coffin was. Burke placed his hand at the small of
Cathal’s back.
“Do you want me to wait here while you look?”
Shaking his head, Cathal grabbed Burke’s other hand. “No. I want you
to come with me.”
He was glad that Burke didn’t argue with him, just walked to the front
of the room where they stood. Cathal sighed as he stared down at his
father. He wasn’t the robust virile man he remembered when he left
home to join the Navy. The cancer had eaten away that strength until
there was just a shell of the man.
“I’m going to miss him,” he whispered.
Burke wound his arms around Cathal, letting him lean against him. “I
know. Unfortunately you didn’t have enough time to get to know him
man to man instead of father to son. But you did learn that he was
proud of you and knew you would be there for the kids when they
needed you.”
“You’re right. At least I had that.” He reached out to touch his father’s
hand. “I’ll take care of them, Pops. You don’t have to worry about
that. Go have fun with Mom.”
A throat being cleared brought his attention back to the people near
him. He spotted Chuck and Herb sitting in the back of the room and
Herb was chattering away while Chuck smiled at him with an
indulgent expression. The funeral home director was standing near
them.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to make sure everything was okay for now, Mr. McKinley.”
Cathal nodded. “It’s fine. You did a good job on Pops.”
“Your father was a good man, and he’ll be missed in town.” The
director gave him a slight tilt of his head before moving off.
“Are you ready for this?” Burke cradled his face in his hands, meeting
his gaze.
“I don’t have a choice.” He leaned forward to place a kiss on Burke’s
mouth. “I love you.”
Part Forty-Three-
He positioned himself close to the casket so he could talk to each
person who came for the visitation. It seemed like the whole town
came out to say good-bye to his father. Guilt surged through him
when he realized he didn’t know his father and how far apart they had
grown. Simply because he thought his father had hated him. When
the truth was, his father had known there was no chance of true
happiness for Cathal in Sunburst and he was willing to let his only son
go then have him go the way his daughter had.
“Oh Cathal.”
He winced as Zinnia threw herself in his arms. Burke growled low in
his throat and Cathal couldn’t help but smile over at his lover. He
patted her back once then gently shoved her away from him, not
caring how she seemed to cling to him.
“I’m so sorry about your father. He was a good man. And now you
have all those children to take care of. You’re going to need a woman
to help you, especially since your sister is in jail.” Zinnia fluttered her
eyelashes up at him and rested her hand on his chest.
“Zinnia, give him some space.”
Glancing up while stepping closer to Burke, he watched a slender
blond haired man take a hold of Zinnia’s arm and ease her from
Cathal. There actually was a look of sympathy in the man’s eyes like
he understood what Cathal thought and felt about the woman.
“I’m Tim, Zinnia’s husband. It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it
wasn’t under these circumstances.” Tim held out his hand and Cathal
shook it. “Your father was a good man.”
“I appreciate that and everything that Zinnia and you have done for
me over the years.” Cathal waved his hand vaguely to encompass
something, though he wasn’t sure what.
Tim nodded. “Of course. You and Zinnia were friends. It makes sense
that we’d do what we could while you were gone. I understand that
you and your friend will be taking over care of the children now that
your father is gone.”
Cathal looked over to Burke whose narrow-eyed glare pinned Zinnia
where she stood. He reached out to lay his hand on Burke’s arm.
“Yes. We’ll have to figure out whether we’re moving back to New York
or staying here, but I’m not going to dump them with strangers.”
“Certainly not.” Burke covered Cathal’s hand with his. “No matter
what it takes, we’ll do it. Those children have had a rough life, though
they were lucky to have their grandfather and uncle to be there for
them. They deserve the best we have to offer, even if we have to
change our lives to do it.”
Tim smiled. “Mr. Burke, I’m glad to meet you. Zinnia doesn’t realize
who you are, but I do and the fact that you’re willing to move out to
Sunburst for Cathal and the kids is very impressive.”
Burke shrugged, but Cathal could see his lover thaw a little. At least
toward Tim. “We all do whatever we must for the people we love,
right?”
“Right.” Tim grimaced as he shot a quick glance at Zinnia. “Well, we’ll
move on. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Cathal inclined his head then stepped a little closer to Burke. “It’s
kind of hard to hate him, huh?”
Burke grunted. “Damn. I really wanted to find something about him
that would piss me off, but I can’t. I feel sorry for him with her as a
wife.”
“She’ll get over her fascination with me once we’re gone.” He bit his
lip.
Before Burke could ask him about that, more people approached them
to talk about his father. He was pleasantly surprised when each
person took the time to stop and chat with Burke as well. Cathal knew
they wouldn’t be rude to Burke, but he never expected them to act
like they were really interested in what Burke had to say.
After a while, Burke looked at his watch. “I’m going to have to leave
to pick the kids up.”
“We can do it.”
They both turned to see Herb and Chuck approach them. Cathal hid
his smile when he saw the exasperated look on Chuck’s face.
“Herb, I don’t think Burke or McKinley would want a stranger to pick
up their kids.” Chuck rested his hand on Herb’s shoulder while
flashing a grin at Cathal.
“Why not? We’ve taken care of your cousin’s kids once. I’ve got like
two PH.Ds and you’re a detective. How hard can it be to take care of
four kids?”
“We watched them while their parents were in the next room. That
doesn’t count as babysitting.” Chuck shook his head. “Being
intelligent has nothing to do with it.”
Burke gave Cathal an evil wink. “Maybe we should have Herb and
Chuck pick them up.”
Chuck glared at Burke, but Herb got such an excited look on his face
that Cathal didn’t have the heart to say no.
“All right. I send Randy a text to let him know that you’re going to be
picking him and Elisa up from school. Here’s the keys to our SUV. It
has the twins’ car seats in them.”
“Twins?” Herb was practically jumping up and down. “I’ve always
wanted to study twins. Do they read each other’s mind? Or answer
each other’s sentences?”
“You can ask Bucky and Buddy when you see them.” Cathal tossed his
keys to Chuck. “Ask them if they’re hungry. If they say yes, take
them back to the house and feed them. You can bring them back here
when they’re done.”
Chuck caught the keys then growled low. “I don’t appreciate this. You
know he’ll be bugging me to have our own kids after this.”
“Hey, if he wants his own after spending time with the twins, then
he’s ready to be a dad.” Cathal laughed. “I can’t say I can see it
though. He’s a little more absent-minded than a parent should be. I
would love to meet any child that could survive being brought up by
Herb.”
“I’ll have you know I’ve managed to keep several plants alive at my
office. I water them every day.” Herb lifted his chin with a huff.
“Oh well…there you go. You’ll have no problem with the kids. They’re
very much like plants.” Burke snickered.
Part Forty-Three:
Cathal and Chuck burst into laughter while Herb glared at Burke.
Chuck wrapped his arm around Herb’s waist.
“Come on, honey. Let’s go get the kids. We’ll get them fed and
settled. I figure you’ll be back to the house in another hour or so.
Here’s our keys. We’ll see you back at your place.” Chuck handed
Cathal the keys to their rental before he dragged Herb out of the
funeral home.
“You shouldn’t tease him like that,” Cathal told Burke who shrugged.
“I wasn’t the one who compared taking care of kids to keeping plants
alive.” Burke grinned. “God, I wish we could be there when the twins
meet Herb. I’m almost afraid it might be like gas and fire.”
Cathal shook his head. “I guess we’ll find out when we get home.”
More people approached, so he greeted them, letting Burke get a hold
of Randy about sending Herb and Chuck to pick them up. Burke told
him that he’d told Randy not to let the twins run roughshod over
Herb.
By the time the hour was over, Cathal was exhausted. All he wanted
to do was go home, climb into bed and curl up under the covers.
Sleeping until the funeral was over sounded like a great idea, though
he knew he couldn’t do that. The kids needed him to be strong, in
case they couldn’t make it through.
“Let’s go see the kids,” Burke said as he cupped Cathal’s elbow to
escort him outside. “Why don’t you give me the keys and I’ll drive us
home?”
“Do you know how much I love when you say that?” He leaned into
Burke’s side for a second before he climbed into the passenger seat.
Once Burke slid behind the steering wheel, he twisted to look at
Cathal. “You love when I say home?”
Cathal nodded. “It makes me feel good that you consider my family
home yours.”
“Of course I do. I love you, Cathal, and that means loving wherever
you live, whether it’s here in Montana or in New York.” Burke touched
his cheek lightly before starting the car. “I think you need to lay down
for a little bit before we head back.”
“Hmm…” Cathal closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the
seat.
He didn’t know if he dozed off or not, but he didn’t remember any of
the trip to the house. He did remember waking up to the feel of lips
on his and a hand on his leg. Blinking, he looked up into Burke’s eyes
and smiled.
“I could really get used to be awaken like that,” he murmured.
Burke winked. “Come on, honey. Let’s go inside. The kids are waiting
and I don’t hear any screams so the twins haven’t tied Herb to a chair
to shoot their Nerf guns at him.”
“How do we know he hasn’t tied them to chairs and is experimenting
on them?” Burke took his hand as they walked up to the door.
The laughter that greeted them when they entered surprised Cathal.
“Hello,” he called out.
“We’re in the kitchen,” Elisa yelled.
Burke took his jacket and Cathal’s to hang up while Cathal headed
back to see what was going on in his house. When he got to the
kitchen, he found the kids and Chuck standing on one side of the
table while Herb stood on the other. He frowned when he saw how
dirty Herb was.
“What happened?”
“Herb offered to go collect the eggs,” Elisa told him.
“And?”
“Apparently he didn’t realize that there would be chickens in the coop
with the eggs.” Randy shook his head.
Cathal shot a glance at Chuck who was biting his bottom lip and
shaking his head. “Herb, where did you think eggs came from?”
“Don’t act like I’m an idiot, Cathal. I know eggs come from chickens. I
just didn’t know you owned the chickens. I was expecting to be able
to collect them without having to fight a herd of them off.” Herb
waved his hand at his dirty clothes. “Those birds are aggressive and
dangerous. I can’t believe you let children gather those eggs.”
Burke snorted then grunted when Cathal elbowed him in the stomach.
He walked around the table to touch one of the scratches on Herb’s
cheek.
“Thank you for risking your life to get the eggs, even though the
twins should’ve done it. They get paid an allowance to gather them.”
He glanced over at Bucky and Buddy. “What do you two have to say
to Dr. Davidson?”
The twins dropped their chins and whispered, “We’re sorry.”
Herb patted Cathal’s hand then chuckled. “I accept your apology and
maybe now you can show me how I should’ve handled those fowl.”
“All right, boys. Now go do what you’re supposed to do. We’ll get
dinner finished.” Cathal smiled as the boys each took one of Herb’s
hands and led him out into the back yard. He looked at the other
three. “That wasn’t very nice of you. I would expect it from the boys,
but you are all old enough to know better.”
Randy and Elisa ducked their heads, but Chuck burst out laughing.
“Man, he was so eager to go and get them. I couldn’t ruin his
enthusiasm.” Chuck shrugged. “I’ll baby him tonight at the hotel and
he’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Fun’s over. Let’s get dinner done while they’re out back. We don’t
need them trying to help out.” Burke had rolled up the sleeves of his
shirt then wandered to the refrigerator. “We’ll have hamburgers. I
made sure we’d have some thawed by the time we got back.”
All of them working together got their meal almost finished when
Herb strolled in, holding a basket of eggs. He was still dirty, but the
smile on his face told him how proud he was. Cathal took them from
him then thanked him.
“Where are the boys?”
“They wanted to stay out and play with Roscoe. I didn’t see the
problem.”
“I’ll go check on them,” Elisa muttered, slipping past them toward the
back.
Part Forty-Four-
“You know I never really thought about how eggs came to be in the
grocery store,” Herb said as he stood near Chuck.
“Where did you think they came from?” Burke started washing the
eggs off while Cathal grabbed an empty carton to put them in.
Herb shrugged. “I didn’t think about it. They just showed up there. It
wasn’t important to me how they got there but now that I’ve seen the
chickens, it makes me think.”
“Uh-oh!” chorused through the kitchen from three different mouths.
Cathal could just imagine what Herb was thinking.
“I want chickens.”
“We can’t raise chickens in the city, love.” Chuck patted Herb’s ass.
“Why don’t you go get cleaned up? Dinner’s ready.”
Once everyone settled at the table, Cathal and Burke helped the twins
get their burgers just right. When the boys were eating, Cathal leaned
back in his chair to stare down at his plate. He wasn’t really hungry.
Burke covered his hand, drawing his attention. “You need to eat
something. It’s going to be a long day, plus you need to set an
example for the kids.”
He glanced over to where Randy and Elisa sat, who were pushing
around their food. Meeting Burke’s gaze, he nodded. He picked up the
burger and took a bite. After he ate a little bit, he noticed that the
older kids were eating.
“Hey would I be able to ride one of the horses before we leave?” Herb
asked, and Cathal wanted to give him a hug for breaking the silence.
“You’ve never been on a horse,” Chuck pointed out. “I’m not sure it’s
a good idea.”
“I’m not an idiot. I’m sure I can figure out how to ride without too
much instruction.” Herb glared at his husband.
“Umm…it takes more than an hour to learn how to ride, but I think we
could probably get you hooked up after the service tomorrow.” Cathal
looked around the table. “Maybe we could all go out for a ride after
we get home. I think Pops would like that.”
“Yay!” Bucky yelled.
Elisa and Randy nodded. Chuck rolled his eyes, and Cathal could tell it
wasn’t something the detective really wanted to do, but when he saw
how excited Herb was about the ride, Chuck sighed and agreed.
“You know, Herb, if you enjoy riding and would like to continue when
you get back to New York, I own a farm in Upstate New York. I keep a
few horses up there for the weekends I want to get away.” Burke
smiled.
“Why haven’t I ever been up there?” Cathal questioned.
Burke shrugged. “I never made you work the weekends. Usually, one
of the other guards is with me.”
“You have bodyguards?” Randy’s eyes were huge.
Cathal chuckled. “I’m head of security for him. He’s a billionaire,
Randy. The man could buy and sell pretty much the entire state of
Montana and not miss the money.”
He grunted when Burke kicked him.
“Don’t exaggerate, Cathal. I’m sure I could only afford half the state.
It is one of the biggest in the country.” Burke winked at Elisa who
giggled.
“How many homes do you own?” Herb took a huge bite of his burger.
Scrunching up his face, which caused the twins to laugh, Burke
thought then said, “I’m not entirely sure. I own quite a few rental
properties along with my private houses. I’d have to talk to my
financial lady to know for sure.”
“Which one is the one you consider your home?” Cathal had to ask.
He had an idea of how many estates Burke owned, but he wasn’t sure
which one Burke would hang on to if he had to sell them.
“There are two. The family estate in England and the farm upstate. I
find that it reminds me of my childhood home in many ways, so when
I’m not able to fly over there, I head to the farm.” Burke reached out
to cover Cathal’s hand. “Maybe once we have everything worked out
here, you and the kids would like to come visit there.”
“Yes. Can we, Unca Cathal?” Buddy yelled.
Herb frowned. “I’ve never been on a working farm.”
Chuck cupped Herb’s chin, turning his face toward him. “You really
need to work on not inviting yourself places, honey.”
“What do you mean? I was just saying that I haven’t ever been on a
working farm. I’d love to go visit Mr. Burke’s and see what it’s like to
have chickens and horses. Oh, wait. Do you have cows? Mr.
McKinley’s father didn’t have cows. I’d love to milk a cow. Wouldn’t
that be interesting? I’ve seen shows on that sort of thing.”
“Herb.” Chuck’s voice held a tone of warning.
“Don’t worry, Chuck. You and Herb are welcome to visit the farm
whenever you want. I’m usually up there on the weekends when I
don’t have meetings or engagements in the city.” Burke looked at
Herb. “Any time you wish to come. I must admit I don’t have a lot of
friends visiting me there. Most of my acquaintances want to go to
Italy or the French Rivera. Some place far more romantic and exotic
than Upstate New York.”
“You’d let us come and stay?” Bucky climbed down from his chair and
walked over to Burke, holding his arms up in the air.
Cathal’s heart skipping a beat as he watched Burke pick the little boy
up and settle him on his lap. Bucky wrapped his arms around Burke’s
neck then rested his head on his chest. Burke rubbed Bucky’s back.
“Yes, sir. You and your brothers and sister are more than welcome to
come to my farm anytime you want. If necessary, all of your horses
and animals can come to stay as well. I have more than enough
room.” Burke met Cathal’s gaze. “There’s room for all of you in my
home.”
He understood that Burke was really saying there was space in his
heart for Cathal and his family. Cathal got that and he would have to
sit Randy and Elisa down once school was over and find out what they
wanted to do. Though his heart said to grab on to Burke and never let
him go.
Part Forty-Five-
Four months later-

Cathal dropped on to the couch then let his head drop back to rest on
the cushions. God, how had his father taken care of four kids by
himself. Hilton had to return to New York after the funeral because of
business meetings and the information his private detective had
discovered about his parents’ murder.
They talked every night and text often during the day while Cathal
managed to keep the security parts of Hilton’s world on track. He’d
hired good men and his second in command was capable, but Cathal
didn’t like being away from Hilton for so long.
“Are you thinking about Hilton?”
He opened his eyes to see Elisa standing next to the couch. Holding
out his hand, he smiled as she took it before curling up against him.
“Yeah. I am. I miss him.” He laid his cheek on the top of her head.
“So do I. I know he wasn’t around long, but he was still pretty great.
We only have one more month before school’s out. Randy’s already
got some acceptance letters for colleges. Once he decides where he
wants to go, we’ll figure out how long it’ll take us to pack up this
place and move.”
Easing Elisa away from him, he looked down at her. “What do you
mean move?”
She shrugged. “We don’t really have a reason to stay here, plus your
job isn’t here. I’ll miss my friends, but I can fly back to visit them
during the summer or they can come visit me. The twins might
complain for a little while, though they’ll be too interested in exploring
the farm. We’ll have our horses as well.”
“Are you sure? Why would you want to leave the place you grew up in
and move to a different state where you wouldn’t know anyone?”
Cathal asked.
“Why wouldn’t I? Without Pops, this isn’t really home anymore. This
certainly isn’t your home and you left here because it wasn’t where
you wanted to stay for the rest of your life. I don’t see why you
should be forced to come back here when your entire life and the man
you love is in New York.”
“We talked about it and decided that we should all move. Of course
we’ll have to wait until Mom has the baby and you get custody of it.”
Randy sat on the other side of him. “I’ve been accepted at some East
Coast universities. I can pick one of them to stay close to all of you.”
Glancing between his niece and nephew, he grunted. “You talked
about it?”
“Yep. Even discussed it with the twins. They were very interested in
the farm and seeing a cow being milked among other things. Once we
reassured them that their ponies would be coming with us, they were
more than happy to move.” Randy paused for a moment then said,
“Hilton will let us bring the animals, won’t he?”
Cathal didn’t have to check with Burke because he knew exactly what
his lover would say. “Yes, he will. If there’s not enough room on his
farm, he’ll just buy a bigger one so that you can keep your pets.”
“He’d really do that?” Randy’s eyes widened.
Laughing, Cathal nodded. “You have no idea just how rich Burke is.
The man really can buy most of Montana without blinking. Buying
another farm or land to add to his farm is no big deal for him.”
Randy and Elisa fell silent, obviously trying to grasp the idea of
Burke’s worth. Cathal admitted to himself that he didn’t even have a
clue how much Burke had. All he knew was that the man didn’t spend
hardly any of his money. Mostly because Burke didn’t have anyone to
spend it on. He was going to have to be careful that Burke didn’t spoil
the kids.
“Thank you both for being willing to leave your home.” Cathal hugged
both of them. “Now go on to bed.”
“Tell Hilton we said hi,” Elisa said as she left the living room with
Randy right behind her.
“I will,” Cathal promised.
He waited until he heard their doors closed before he picked up his
phone and dialed Burke’s number.
“Hello,” Burke answered. “Have a long day?”
“Not necessarily long, just busy. Why are you still at the office?” He
scrunched down on the couch, closing his eyes again as he listened to
Burke laugh.
“How did you know I was here?”
He chuckled. “Because no one but me has the guts to tell you to go
home when it’s time to quit for the day. I might have to break out the
big guns and call Herb. He’ll take my request seriously and bug you
until you leave.”
Burke moaned. “Please don’t encourage him. He’s been in my office
every day since I returned, asking when the kids will be at the farm
so he and Chuck can go up there to see them. He wants to feed the
cows and ride the horses again.”
“Darling, I knew we created a monster when they were here.” Yet he
couldn’t help be glad about that. Herb tended to get too caught up in
his experiments and Chuck did his best to get him to relax, but it
didn’t always work. If being out at the farm helped with that, then
Cathal would drive the man up there himself.
“Yes. Actually I told Chuck to drive him up there this weekend. Gave
them keys to the house and the code to the gate. Herb will be in
heaven with all the chickens, pigs, sheep and goats.” Burke hummed
and Cathal imagined his lover stretching, all that gorgeous skin
glowing in the low light. Of course, he wouldn’t be naked in the office.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I have some news.”
“Do tell.”
“The kids have discussed it and come to a decision.” He stopped.
“What kind of decision?” Burke sounded worried.
Cathal took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Would you like five
kids and me living in your farm house in upstate New York?”
“Yes.”
Part Forty-Six-
The fact there wasn’t any hesitation in Burke’s voice when he said yes
warmed Cathal’s heart. He never thought Burke would deny them,
but it was nice to hear him say they were welcomed to come live at
his place.
“Are you bringing the animals as well? I’ll have them start building a
new stable for your horses since mine is pretty much full. But that’s
all right. There’s more than enough land to build whatever we need.”
Burke sounded happy. “When would you be coming?”
“Not for another three months or so. Have to wait until Margaret has
the baby. I’ve already let her lawyer and the state know that I’ll take
it when it’s born.”
“Right. I talked to my lawyer and he said that since you have
guardianship of the other children, it shouldn’t be hard to get her to
turn over this child. If she gives you problems, offer her money. I’ll
pay whatever you want.”
“I’m not going to buy the baby. It will be part of my family, Hilton,
and shouldn’t be treated like an object.”
“Hush, love.”

The endearment said with just the hint of Burke’s British accent,
caused Cathal to shiver.
“I know you don’t want to buy the child, but if it’s the only way she’ll
sign away her parental rights, then we have to do what we can to
insure the child comes to us.” Burke sighed. “Money doesn’t mean
anything to me, but I know what that baby means to you.”
Cathal closed his eyes, rubbing his chin. “You’re right about it all. Just
the thought of it makes me angry. That she would consider getting
money for her children breaks my heart.”
Burke hummed in agreement. “So I have three months to get another
stable built for your animals. Maybe once the kids are out of school,
you can all come to the farm and we can see if there’s anything else
that needs to be done to make it just right for you. Did you want to
keep your apartment in the city or will we be using mine when we
have to come in?”
He thought about his place and how it had been his home for five
years, yet in many ways it had become a place for him to sleep and
not live. “We can move all my stuff to the farm and just use your
penthouse when we come to the city. It makes sense because it’s
bigger, so there’ll be room if we bring the kids with us.”
“Last time I talked to Randy, he hadn’t picked a university. Has he
decided now?”
“He’s narrowed it down to schools on the east coast, but not which
one yet. Randy said he wants to go to one of those because he’d be
closer to us.” Cathal smiled.
“Your father did a good job raising those kids,” Burke said. “Of
course, that doesn’t surprise me. You turned out pretty good
yourself.”
Chuckling, Cathal shook his head, knowing Burke couldn’t see him do
that. “I’m not sure about that. He’ll make a decision about school in a
month or two. At least we don’t have to worry about money for that. I
started putting a little bit away from the moment Randy was born. I
had a feeling my sister wasn’t going to be able to take care of it for
him.”
“I’m willing to help out if you need me to, and don’t say it’s not my
responsibility. If you and I are a couple, then your family is my
family. And I have the money to pay for their schooling. I’ve got more
money than I can spend in my lifetime. Let me use it to help the kids
out.”
The sincerity in Burke’s voice made Cathal pause when he was about
to tell Burke ‘thanks but no thanks’. It was true. They were a family
already and families helped each other. He didn’t have the right to
deny Burke the chance to use his wealth to do things for them.
“I won’t argue. I’ll tell Randy he can pick any university he wants and
not to worry about the cost.”
“Thanks.” Burke groaned.
Cathal shifted on the couch. That sound made him hard, but he
wasn’t going to do anything about it while he sat in the living room.
The twins had a habit of waking up and wandering around a few
hours after they went to bed. He usually stayed up until after he put
them to bed the second time. So there wasn’t going to be any phone
sex tonight.
“You should head home, Hilton. Get some sleep,” he ordered.
“I will in a few minutes. Have some last minute contracts to look over
and sign for Rebecca to get out in the mail first thing in the morning.”
He could hear paper rustling in the background. If he had been in
New York, he would’ve been at Burke Pharmaceutical headquarters, in
his own office, waiting for Burke to leave for the night. Yet as he sat
on his father’s sagging old couch in sweats and a stained T-shirt,
Cathal realized he didn’t miss the city all that much. Well, he missed
his job and Hilton, but he didn’t pine after the rather lonely life he’d
lead there.
It was nice having the kids around him throughout the day. Getting
them breakfast in the morning before dropping them off at school.
Making sure they had dinner, did their homework and chores before
they went to bed at night. He absorbed their unconditional love and it
showed him how much he had been missing all those years by
isolating himself from his family.
“I miss you,” he said, his voice deep and harsh.
“I miss you too,” Burke admitted. “Let me know when Randy’s
graduation ceremony is and I’ll make sure to fly out for that, though I
do plan on visiting sooner. I have a few business trips that I have to
take in the next month, but I’m having Rebecca clear a week next
month and I’ll be out to see you.”
“I can’t wait.”


Part Forty-Seven-
Five months later-

Burke paced along the front porch of the farmhouse, wiping his sweaty
palms against his thighs. It was silly to be nervous about seeing Cathal
and the kids especially since he’d visited them in Montana two weeks
ago shortly after Margret had her baby. The state took custody of the
baby girl then the social worker helped with getting Cathal named as
guardian.
They were still going through the adoption process to make it official,
but their lawyers said it was pretty much a done deal. Just had to wait
for the meeting with the judge who would sign the papers. It was set up
for a month from now, so they would all go back to Helena for the
meeting.
He was nervous because this would be the first time they came and saw
all the changes he had made while they were gone. There was another
barn down by the stables for the horses Cathal was bringing with him.
He’d had another wing added to the old house so that the kids would
each have their own room, though he knew that Bucky and Buddy would
probably share one until they were older.
A nursery had been put in right next to the master suite where
Jacqueline would sleep until she was old enough to have her own room.
And hadn’t that been a shock when Cathal had told him that he was
going to name the baby after Burke’s mother. Burke had been so
choked up, he couldn’t do anything except nod. He waited until they got
back to Cathal’s place to show how happy that had made him.
“Is there anything else you need before I leave, sir?”
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his foreman standing at the end of
the porch. “No, Mason. I’m good. Thanks for everything you’ve done to
get everything ready in time. I know it wasn’t easy.”
Mason shrugged. “When you told me you were bringing your family
here, and I met Mr. McKinley and the kids, I was more than happy to do
it. It’ll be nice to have kids at the farm again.”
Burke studied the sadness that seemed to edge Mason’s expression. As
much as he wanted to know what caused it, he wasn’t sure it was his
place to ask. All he knew was Mason had come looking for a job shortly
after Burke had bought the farm and once he saw how well the man
knew his job, Burke had to hire him. Mason hadn’t disappointed him yet.
“You don’t mind that Cathal is my partner, not just the head of my
security?” He didn’t know why he asked when Mason hadn’t commented
about it at all.
“Do you love each other and those kids?”
Burke nodded, though he stayed silent because he couldn’t find the
words to explain exactly how much he loved Cathal and the kids.
Mason shrugged. “Then I have no problem with you. My parents were
run out of their hometown down South because Mom was black and Dad
was white. When I listened to them talk about all the trouble they had
because they were different races, I swore to myself that I’d never treat
anyone like their choices are wrong. Hell, as long as no one is being hurt
or forced, why the heck should I care who you’re living with? My job is
to take care of the farm for you and that’s what matters to me.”
Burke nodded, happy that he wouldn’t have to deal with Mason not
accepting what Cathal meant to him. He wasn’t the type of guy who
believed that everyone else had to be supportive of his life. But Mason
hadn’t been willing to deal with them then Burke would’ve fired the
man, no matter how good a foreman he was.
“I appreciate it, Mason. You can head home. They should be here soon
and we’ll get the animals settled. The kids will be responsible for their
horses, but if you want, you can have them help you with the chickens,
cows and goats.” Burke held out his hand and Mason strolled closer to
shake it.
“I’m willing to take their help,” Mason said before he moved away. “I’ll
see you tomorrow for breakfast?”
“Yes. Jessica will have it ready by six for you and I. Unfortunately, I
have to go to the city for the day.”
He wasn’t happy about that, wanting to be able to stay until the kids
were settled, but he was in the middle of a major acquisition and
needed to keep an eye on the lawyers working the deal.
“All right.”
As Mason left, Burke caught sight of a truck pulling into the driveway.
He tensed for a moment then forced himself to relax. There was another
truck behind the first one and he remembered that Randy was driving
the second truck. He jumped off the porch then walked to where he
could direct Cathal to the new barn.
Once the truck and trailer was parked just the right angle to get the
animals out without too much problem, he went to the driver’s side and
tugged open the door. Cathal tumbled out into his arms. Burke
embraced the man, crushing him against his chest then taking his
mouth like he needed to taste Cathal to breath.
Cathal buried his hands in Burke’s hair while whimpering, but he opened
to Burke’s demand and Burke swept his tongue in. As much as he
wanted to lose himself in the taste and sound of Cathal, he couldn’t.
They still had animals and kids to move in.
They broke apart and Burke stepped back, only to find himself mobbed
by Randy, Elisa and the twins. He hugged each of them then took
Jacqueline out of her car seat.
“Hello, little lady. Are you ready to see your new home?” He glanced up
to look at the rest of his family. “Elisa, why don’t you take her and the
twins inside? I’ll help Randy and Cathal get the horses bedded down for
the night.”
Part Forty-Eight-
Elisa giggled as she took the baby then herded the twins up to the
house.
“There are snacks in the kitchen if you want. When we get in, I’ll show
you your rooms.” Burke smiled as the twins took off, screaming and
flailing their arms.
“There’s a room for me, right?” Randy looked a little unsure.
Burke patted Randy’s back. “Of course, Randy. You will always have a
room here, even while you’re away at college. For as long as you want
it, this will be your home.”
Randy nodded then moved to the back of the trailer. Cathal gripped
Burke’s arm before joining his nephew. Burke stood out of the way while
they unloaded the horses. He gestured for them to follow him as he
opened the barn door for them.
“This is gorgeous,” Cathal said as he led his father’s gelding to the first
stall.
“Brand new. I had the builder try to stick to what he did when he
restored the original barn. I wanted to make it look like it should’ve
been here from the beginning.” He motioned to Randy to put his horse
in the stall across from them. “I also have a chicken coop for your
chickens. Mason said we could worry about mingling mine and yours
later. When are the cattle arriving?”
Cathal chuckled. “I sold the chickens and the cattle before we left. We
only brought the horses and Roscoe.”
“Oh okay.” Burke frowned. “Where’s Roscoe?”
“He had been in the truck with me, but when I got out, he dashed
around the side of the house.” Randy shrugged.
“Gollum and Frodo are in the back yard, so he’s probably saying hello to
them.” He’d been happy to see that their dogs got along. “Jessica left us
a casserole to warm up tonight and she’ll be back at six to cook
breakfast. Mason will be joining us. I have to go into the city tomorrow
to complete some deals, but I’ll be back in the evening and won’t have
to go back for the next week.”
Cathal hugged him. “That’s great. It’ll give us time to get settled in and
show Elisa and the twins their new schools.”
“Let’s get the other horses in and bedded down. We can talk about the
rest of it when we get back to the house.”
He started filling the water buckets and throwing hay into the stalls
while Cathal and Randy got the other horses from the trailer. Once they
were finished, they locked up the barn then headed to the house.
Elisa had the boys sitting at the large kitchen table, eating some
bananas and oranges. She’d taken the casserole from the refrigerator
and put it in the oven to warm up. She’d set Jacqueline in her car seat
on the table, allowing the baby to watch the rest of them.
“I have to say, Cathal, your sister certainly makes beautiful children.”
Burke ran his hand over Jacqueline’s fuzzy head.
“It’s in the genes.” Cathal winked at him.
“So true.” Burke leaned over to brush a kiss over Cathal’s cheek. “Let’s
eat then we’ll get your bags brought in.”
Randy went to the back door and let the dogs in. Gollum and Frodo
raced over to all the kids, sniffing around to see where they’d been and
reminding them of their scents. The twins dropped to the floor to roll
around with Frodo and Roscoe. Gollum jumped into Elisa’s lap where she
curled up and watched the rambunctious group.
Jacqueline started to wiggle, so Cathal got her out and held her while
Burke pulled out the plates, silverware and glasses. Randy grabbed milk
from the refrigerator. Burke dished out their meal then when he sat at
the table, he looked around to see them all sitting there with him. He bit
his lip, trying to keep the tears from falling as they welled up.
Cathal bumped their shoulders together. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, Burke swallowed. “Just enjoying having my family with me. I
never really thought this would happen to me. I’d always hoped I’d find
someone who loved me and would want to have children, but I guess I
kind of started to lose hope as the years went by.”
“I know.” Cathal rested his hand on Burke’s knee. “I was the same way,
even though I knew I had family in Montana, but I figured it was going
to be a long time before I saw them.”
Burke covered Cathal’s hand with his. “I’m not happy that your father
died, but I am thrilled you got to know your nieces and nephews. And
now we’ll be making a home here for all of us.”
Bucky and Buddy jumped out of their chairs and ran, screaming from
the kitchen. Burke winced while Cathal laughed.
“Are you sure you’re happy about having us move in with you,” he
teased.
“Boys, get back in here and take your plates to the sink, please.” Burke
raised his voice to be heard of the yells.
“Yes, sir.”
He helped them get the plates rinsed and in the dishwasher while Cathal
got Jacqueline fed. They all finished cleaning up the kitchen then pulled
out the stuff they would need for the night.
“We’ll start unloading what we brought tomorrow and the rest of our
stuff arrives later in the week,” Cathal told Burke after they’d shown the
kids their rooms.
Everyone was duly impressed and Burke was happy that they liked what
he’d done. It hadn’t been easy to coordinate everything between New
York and Montana, but he had. Or actually Rebecca had done the
biggest part of it. He’d mostly just paid for the decorating and furniture.
Later that night, after all the children had finally gone to bed and were
asleep, he stood in the bedroom, staring out over the back yard. He
braced his hands on the top of the window frame, and sighed.
Cathal slid his arms around his waist, resting his forehead between
Burke’s shoulder blades. “God, I missed you.”
Burke turned to take Cathal in his arms. “I missed you too, but now with
you here, we’ll only be apart for a night or two if one of us has to go
into the city.”
“It’ll still be too long,” Cathal muttered.
Smiling, Burke placed a soft kiss on Cathal’s lips. “How about I give you
a nicer welcome home than you got this evening?”
“Sounds great to me.”
As Burke let Cathal drag him to the bed, he couldn’t help but think of his
parents. A little hint of sorrow raced through his heart at the thought
they would never get to meet the marvelous man he’d fallen in love and
the amazing children Cathal had brought into his life.
Yet he had a feeling they would be thrilled to know he finally had a
family and a home. People he could love and cherish forever.