Exhaling: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection Book 3) Read online

  Vince stood, offering his arm to Fallyn. “Careful. A slow walk. And it’s getting dark out. Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

  “Who’s going to snatch me up? Raccoons? Squirrels? I’ll walk slow, promise. You can start wrapping the unicorn you bought me. You’re going to need lots of wrapping paper.”

  Smirking, Vince led his wife to the backdoor and opened it for her and Kara. “You’re not getting the surprise out of me, but I will say it’s only slightly smaller than a unicorn, weight-wise at least.”

  “A tiger? But where would we put it?” Fallyn kissed her husband and walked with Kara down toward the pond, where the boys wouldn’t chime in every other sentence. The air was crisp and had the faint trace of pine in it. There were crickets just starting up their evening song, singing the sun to sleep as it set on the horizon. The pond was unrippled and peaceful, lulling them both to relax as they started walking the perimeter of the water. “So how long have you been dating Carrigan?”

  “Oh, about four months. How long have you been married? Seems pretty new the way your husband looks at you.”

  Fallyn smiled, ducking her chin. “Well, the baby’s at thirty-five weeks, so we’ve been married maybe a few days longer than that.”

  “Ho! That’s a nice souvenir to bring back from… Where did you go on your honeymoon?”

  “Vince surprised me with a trip to Italy. We were gone a month, and I miss it a little every day. It was perfect.”

  “Wow! I’ve never been out of the United States.”

  “One day,” Fallyn assured her.

  Kara started biting her nails as they walked. “I’ve got to admit, I was scared out of my mind to come here tonight. Almost turned around twice.”

  “The guys can be a little overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it. Plus, you’re the new addition, so once they see you can’t be rattled, they’ll calm down eventually.”

  “Not them. They were exactly what I expected. I was afraid to meet you.”

  Fallyn stopped short. “Me? I’m the least scary one! What did Carrigan tell you?” Flashes of all the violent escapades she’d participated in with her families popped up like gophers, but Fallyn smacked them back down, trying to appear like a normal girl who didn’t go on under the table drug raids or steal the starter from her brother’s car to be her “something borrowed” at her impromptu wedding.

  “Carrigan plays it cool about most things, but he lights up when he talks about his family. Gushes when he talks about you. I half-expected moonbeams to shoot out of your fingertips, the way he talks about how great you are.”

  Fallyn held up her innocent fingers to display the non-magic in them. “No moonbeams. Just fingers. He really talks about me like that?”

  Kara’s nose scrunched in surprise. “Serious? He loves you. It’s almost reverent. Made me nervous because if you decide you don’t like me, I’m not sure how much of a future we’ll have.” She turned to face Fallyn head-on. “And I really like your brother. I want a future with him.”

  Fallyn gulped, nodding slowly. “Then you should come around as often as you like. Be a familiar face around the table.” They started walking again with Fallyn deep in thought. “Carri and I had a falling out not too long ago. Did he tell you about it?”

  Kara shook her head as she bit at her nails. “No. What about?”

  She debated whether or not to tell Kara the details, and decided on the brief version. “He didn’t like Vince. Like, hated him and was pretty vicious about it. It’s only been the last few months we’ve all been able to hang out like this. It was tense for a long time. I love Carrigan, but man, he sure hated me when I was dating Vince. Even a little after I got married. It was messy, the whole thing.” She tapped her heart. “That he loves me still? That’s good to know.”

  “Really? I never would’ve guessed. I mean, he mentioned he’s not terribly fond of your husband, but nothing more than that. Whatever animosity was there on his side just isn’t anymore, or at least he doesn’t talk about it to me.”

  The girls walked a few paces in amicable silence. “Thanks for that. It fixes a lot for me. It makes me glad to see Carrigan happy. In fact, if all my brothers could find girls as nice as you, it’d solve a lot of problems for me, so if you have any sisters or awesome girlfriends, send them our way.”

  “Will do.” A mischievous spark shone in Kara’s eyes, endearing Fallyn to her. “I’m thinking Seamus will want a hunchback.”

  “Does she have both her eyes?”

  “Yes. Darn it. She was almost perfect. I’ll go back to the drawing board.” Kara and Fallyn shared a giggle and plenty more back and forths as they walked around the pond. Kara smiled at Vince when they moved back into the cabin. “I’m returning her safe and sound.”

  “I appreciate that.” Vince took his wife’s hand and led her to the couch, sitting her carefully down while Killian handed her a bottle of water.

  Kara stayed another half an hour just to get a few more precious and embarrassing stories about Carrigan out of the group. When she went to leave, the guys made obnoxious kissing noises and a few offered themselves as a joke in case Kara ever wanted to “trade up.”

  The moment Carrigan came back in from walking her to her car, Vince stood in the center of the den to garner everyone’s attention. “Now that it’s just us, I’ve got some news.” He ignored the few obnoxious guesses as he bit back an uncontainable smile he knew just wouldn’t suit him. “Now don’t get too excited, because the good part of the news comes with a lot of stipulations that aren’t so great.”

  Seamus rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t undersell it too much.”

  Vince’s red t-shirt and gym shorts were wrinkled and had grass stains from all the outdoor sports he’d participated in that day – each mark a testament that the division between the two sides was coming down in a permanent fashion.

  Vince pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought on how best to start. “Before we left for the cabin, we stopped by for our monthly visit to Keenan. He had a black eye and a fat lip and looked, well, not his usual self.”

  At this, the questions flooded and the brothers postured, demanding to know who had laid a finger on their own.

  Vince held up his hand. “You have to let me get through my story.” He waited until they quieted before continuing. “Papa D used to know the warden.” He touched the side of his nose with dark insinuations. “Used to do business with him. I had a little chat with the warden. If all goes well with the parole board, and if I do a few favors for his mom’s struggling business, Keenan will be released into Fallyn’s custody.”

  The shouts and unintelligible noises of shock echoed throughout the cabin, the brothers practically pushing at each other to get closer to Vince so they could ask their questions first. The question with the most voices shouting it was “when”, so Vince stuck with that subject.

  “If you all don’t shut up so I can answer you, I’ll knock up your sister all over again right now.” Vince grinned like a mischievous boy when the brothers backed down with grimaces and glowers.

  Killian voiced the thing they all wanted to know. “When?”

  “I’m waiting on the call from the warden. But I’ve held up my end, so it’s just a matter of a vote and then some paperwork. I don’t want you to get overexcited though. Keenan’s still on lockdown, and when he’s in Fallyn’s custody, he stays within two miles of Fallyn’s house, which is my house, too.” He held up his hands to stave off their protests. “Keenan will have to wear an anklet for a year, and he can’t go to your territory because it’s outside his radius. But it’s a far sight better than him never knowing when he’s going to get jumped. When we saw him all beat up, he looked scared. I trust you don’t want that for him.”

  Killian’s look of serious determination made everyone wary when he stomped toward Vince. He stared his former enemy down before engulfing him in a giant hug, clutching with his gentle ferocity the man who restored his brother to him. “You’ll keep th
e territory borders down so we can come see him as often as we like?”

  “Of course.” Vince wasn’t accustomed to hugging grown men, so there was a four second delay before his arms returned the gesture. “Our house is your house. Same as it’s been for the last couple months. I think it’ll be good to have an extra person in the house to look after the baby. Built-in babysitter. Keenan can help out around the property and keep Fallyn company when she goes on bedrest. At the rate she’s ignoring her doctor these days, that’ll probably happen tomorrow.”

  Killian tried to fish through any possible holes in the gift. “But you don’t own my brother. He doesn’t work for you.”

  Vince postured. “I’ve got enough people working for me to where I don’t need to buy them from the enemy territory. I did this for Fallyn, nothing else.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t mind a little help clearing the hookers off the street near the warden’s mother’s laundromat, though. I can handle it, but if you wanted to help with that whole problem in general, I’d be grateful. Step three in cleaning up our territory.”

  Killian glanced over his shoulder to his brothers, confirming they were all on board. “It’s the least we can do.”

  Vince waited for Fallyn to protest that she was never going on bedrest, but her mouth was hanging open in utter astonishment. “This? This is the good news you’ve been giggling about? You got my brother back for us?”

  Vince shook his head. “Not for everyone. For you. You think I’d pull that many strings for these stronzos?” The slight was met with a slew of middle fingers, but the brothers still bore expressions in various shades of shock and glee. Vince looked down on Fallyn where she was seated on the couch next to Carrigan and smiled, not bothering to hide in his face or his words how much he adored every bit of her. “I know how upset you were seeing Keenan like that. I don’t like to see you upset. Not when you’re so good at being happy.”

  Fallyn’s tears fell easily these days. The slightest thing made her well up. Vince had done his best to keep her away from emotional movies, shows and even commercials, but even the smallest thing, like when he’d bent down to help her put her shoes on, often earned a waterfall of gratitude in the form of incoherent sobbing. Getting off the couch was a task, so she scooted and rolled forward until Vince took her hands and lifted her up. “You gave me my brother? You got Keenan back for us?”

  “If everything goes as planned, yes. There are still some hiccups that might happen, but I’ll stay on top of it as best I can.”

  Public kissing was not a thing Fallyn’s brothers appreciated, but they were in such a state of shock that no one said anything about it when Fallyn held her husband’s face and kissed him so passionately, he nearly forgot his audience. His hand wrapped around her pregnant form to grip the small of her back, bringing her tighter to him so he could relish every bit of her she offered up for his enjoyment.

  That night when everyone dozed off with night-before-Christmas joy in their hearts, Vince spooned his wife on the mattress they’d pulled off the futon to lay on the floor. He lightly rubbed her back until she drifted off to sleep, laughing to himself about the quiet snore she’d acquired in her third trimester that she denied was there. While she dreamt, he palmed her belly, stroking from top to bottom as he made plans for their family and said silent prayers for a healthy child.

  Vince watched Fallyn sleep until the irksome itch that someone was watching him pried his eyes away from the prize he’d stolen fair and square. “What?” Vince whispered to Carrigan, who studied the two with his eyebrows pushed together in frustration.

  “You love her,” Carrigan answered, stating with confusion the thing he’d taken far too long to understand. “What you did for Keenan? I won’t forget it.”

  Vince kept a solemn expression and answered Carrigan with a solitary nod.

  “When I found out about you two? I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry I…” Carrigan didn’t know how to apologize for beating Vince so harshly. He didn’t have much practice with contrition.

  Vince pried his hand off Fallyn’s belly and used it to stop Carrigan. “It’s done with.” Vince turned back to his wife, holding her while she slept and counting his lucky stars that finally the heavenly bodies in the sky above were all aligning for them.

  21

  The Second Office

  The baby was turning somersaults when Vince left to bring Keenan home. Of course, there were hearings and paperwork to deal with, but at the end of the process, Vince had come out on top, which meant Keenan would be on house arrest instead of lockdown for the next year of his sentence.

  Fallyn remained in the bed until she knew Vince was gone, and then she got up just to be able to move around. The bedrest she tried to avoid had become inevitable once again, confining her to their bedroom for a week straight. Fallyn wobbled down the steps, reveling in the rebellion that came with such freedom. She poked around in the kitchen and pulled out ingredients to make chicken and cauliflower enchiladas – Keenan’s favorite. Deducing that her brothers would most likely come the second they got the call Keenan was free, she made five casseroles.

  She turned on the Italian opera, not bothering to reduce it to a reasonable volume. The soprano’s bell-like voice rang through the large home, declaring such heightened emotions that, though Fallyn did not understand everything about the opera’s story, she finished assembling the pans with tears in her eyes. The opera turned off her internal clock that might distract her. She wanted to stay near the moment, live in it and be moved, so she started peeling potatoes and dumped them in a large pot. She couldn’t remember if it was Keenan or Killian who liked their mashed potatoes with celery bits, roasted garlic and far too much butter, but she made a giant pot full of them anyways. She assembled a salad in the biggest bowl they owned, knowing that when everyone showed up, it still wouldn’t be enough.

  Once she was out of bed with no one telling her to lie back down, she was on fire. She pounded dough to make fresh pizza the way Vince liked it, tossing it just as they’d been taught in the kitchen of their favorite restaurant in Italy. When that task was done and the pizzas assembled, her fingers itched to do more, so she started in on dessert. They always made passionate love the nights Fallyn made Vince a cannoli cream cake with a caramel cayenne drizzle. Though the doctor had taken sex off the table for them to reduce her chance of having the baby early, she made it anyway just to remind him she would not always be so pregnant.

  When the cake was finished, she still had too much energy, so she started baking oatmeal butterscotch cookies. They weren’t pretty enough to sell in her bakery, but they tasted heavenly. Keenan had taught her how to make them when she was too young to use measuring tools in the kitchen without supervision. The house began to smell so delicious, Fallyn stuck her spoon into the mashed potatoes to satisfy a craving.

  She took the opportunity to walk around her house – a thing Vince did not like her to do since her doctor had really cracked down. Their cleaning lady did an immaculate job, so there was precious little to do around the house as far as upkeep. She waddled into the room that would soon be Keenan’s on the opposite end of the house on the ground floor. That room had been chosen specifically because, try as he might, Vince had never learned to keep a reasonable volume during sex.

  When her phone rang in her pocket, Fallyn turned off the opera booming through the house to answer. “Hey, honey. Are you on your way home?”

  “Yeah. Killian called your brothers, and they’re on their way over. They know not to ring the bell or knock, since you’re in bed and the house is locked up. They’ll wait outside till I get there.”

  “Oh, right. Okay.” Fallyn knew there would be no hiding her excursion once he came home and saw the works of her busy hands.

  “A cop is dropping us off at home to fit Keenan with an anklet and check the house for anything fishy.”

  “‘Anything’ like the second office we don’t talk about?” Fallyn thought through all the notes and recor
ds of very fishy things Vince was trying to work through to bring his family’s legacy more toward the legal end of things than they had been under Papa D’s rule. It was a long journey, though, and there were several businesses that still required upkeep and backdoor deals to keep things afloat.

  Vince’s reply came back quiet. “When we get home, Angelo and Killian are going to run upstairs and take care of that before the cop gets up there. Hopefully they can work quickly.”

  “Okay. Sounds good. I know you’ve got everything under control.”

  “I do. I love you for saying that. Be home in twenty.”

  Fallyn waddled as fast as she could up the steps. She passed her bedroom and the first office, moving down the hallway to the office at the end. Vince kept it locked now, but picking locks had been sort of a rite of passage for the O’Keefes, and was an art form Fallyn only needed a pin from her hair to take care of.

  She drew in a deep breath as she entered and tried not to take in too much information, knowing plausible deniability was a thing her husband worked hard to give her. She brought the laundry basket in from the bedroom, laid a blanket in the bottom and started taking things off the desk to lay inside. Words like “hit” and “collect on” were quickly dismissed as she cleared off the desk, making sure to keep everything in the order she’d found it in until the desktop was cleared completely. The laundry basket was hastily put away inside of her closet, with dirty clothes laid atop it.

  Fallyn went downstairs to the kitchen and threw four of the pizzas in the oven. She put both leaves in the table to make sure there was enough room for everyone. She was debating whether or not she should bring up more chairs from the basement when the key rattled the front door.

  Angelo’s face was grim when his eyes fell on Fallyn, but Killian found his words first. “You’re supposed to be on bedrest. What do you think you’re doing?” He inhaled a deep whiff of the dinner that made his mouth water. “Tell me the housekeeper’s been working on her day off. Tell me you didn’t do all this.”