A Bad Bit Nice (20 page)

Mick kissed her mound again, and then moved her legs from his shoulders and dragged her back up the bed with him. He held her close to him, nestled into his chest. She placed a kiss on his left pec, her hand drifting down to his erection, meaning to reciprocate. He moved her hand away, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m fine, Em. I don’t need anything except you.” Mick hoped Em would understand what he was saying.

“I don’t need anything other than you, either, Mick,” Em said, understanding completely.

“Are you sure this contraption is safe to use?” Mick looked at the vintage roaster with skepticism. “This thing looks straight out of ‘I Love Lucy’.”

“It
is
from the 1950s, yes, but it works perfectly and produces the best roasted turkey you’ll ever taste,” Em said as she placed the uncooked bird in the roaster. “I’ve used this roaster for years with Ashley’s family and they always rave about the results.” Mick made a noncommittal noise and Em grinned at him.

“Rory and I usually just buy a turkey already cooked,” Mick said. “There’s no need to go to all this trouble.”

Em blew a raspberry. “It’s no trouble. Put the bird in, set the timer, take the bird out. Easy peasy.”

“You’ve gone all out, Em. I’m supposed to be hosting this year, not you.”

“You’re hosting. Everyone will be in your home; that’s hosting. I’m just cooking.”

Mick surveyed the dishes Em had prepped. He was in awe. They had been at the rec center the day before, putting together turkey dinners for the program participants. There was a full kitchen at the center but they had never really taken advantage of it for a large scale hot meal. Em, armed with an Army recipe book and some industrial-sized cookware, whipped up 300 dinners, with the help of Trey and Dre. She was a maniac in the kitchen.

“What are you grinning at?” Em asked as she added things to a big stand mixer that looked about the same age as the roaster. She had some flour on her forehead and was adorably flushed from the heat of the kitchen.

Mick came up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. He kissed the top of her head, murmuring into her hair.

“You’re something else. You work full-time, then make a million turkey dinners and box them up so people can have a Thanksgiving they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to enjoy, and now you’re doing the whole thing over again for us.” He placed a smacking kiss on her cheek. “Thank you.”

Em fiddled with a piece of plastic wrap. “I love doing it. There’s just something about feeding people that makes me feel really fulfilled. And besides, I’m not working full-time right now, thanks to stupid Tripp, so I might as well do something else I love to fill my time.”

She finished covering the mixing bowl and wiped her hands on the front of her apron. “Whew. I need to let the dough rise for an hour, and then we can start on the rolls.” She arched her back like a cat, twisting her torso side to side. “Let’s sit on the couch for a bit, hm?”

She loved her couch. The giant Victorian camelback couch had high arms so she could lean back, and it was so long that even Mick could stretch out to his full length. Mick settled into the corner of the couch and Em curled up next to him, nestling into his side. He ran his fingers in soft circles over her upper arm.

“Did your family have a big to-do for Thanksgiving when you were growing up?” Mick asked. “You don’t talk a lot about them.”

Em sighed. “Mother and Daddy weren’t the most affectionate of people. I mean, they loved me, I know, but they weren’t demonstrative at all. I suspect they weren’t really heartbroken that they never had children, and then when I came along, they were really quite flummoxed. I was always kind of treated like a little adult. There was no whimsy in the household, that’s for sure. But yeah, we had a big Thanksgiving, even though there were only the three of us in the actual biological family. Mother and Daddy had a big group of friends that didn’t have a lot of family or their families were far away, so it was very much an orphan Thanksgiving. Lots of people. It was nice, but very formal. Totally different from Ashley’s crazy family, with a different football game on in every room and people yelling and whooping and eating on the couch.”

“Which do you prefer?” Mick asked, settling down further on the couch and pulling her with him.

“I like somewhere in the middle. I enjoy sitting down at the table and using the nice dishes, but having some fun and being relaxed and not wearing stupid pantyhose and a skirt and heels.” Em shuddered as a laugh rumbled through Mick’s chest.

“Well, we can break out the good dishes if you want to, Em, but we’ll have dessert on the porch. We’re not watching football, though, and I’m absolutely not wearing heels and pantyhose, no matter how much you beg.”

“That’s fine with me,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning into him. They sat in companionable silence, Mick holding Em in his arms, while Em absent-mindedly ran her fingers over his neck and jaw.

A loud clatter from the kitchen jolted both of them from their quiet reverie.

“Beauregard, no! Bad kitty!” Em screeched.

“What’s going on?” Mick turned around on the couch to see Em’s big tabby cat on the counter by the roaster, pulling on a drumstick as hard as he could.

“I must not have latched the roaster lid securely,” Em said, shooing the pudgy cat away from the roasting turkey. “Mick, remind me that this leg is Beauregard’s. Good grief,” she laughed. “There will still be plenty of food for Rory to take home.”

“Food for Rory? What about me?” Mick asked with mock offense. “Why does he get to take food home? I’m the one hosting.”             

“You, my man, have ready access to all the goods,” Em said, leaning over the back of the huge divan and draping her arms around Mick’s neck. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“I’m your man?” he said, teasing, but not. Mick’s look grew serious.

“Of course you’re my man.” Em returned Mick’s serious look, trying to gauge his reaction to her confession.

“Well, good.” He placed his hand on the back of her head, drawing her face down to him and kissing her deeply. “And I like having access to all the goods.”

Another clatter came from the kitchen, this time accompanied by Beauregard’s angry yowl. “Dammit, Beauregard, stop messing with the mixer!”

******

Mick looked at the kitchen island, still completely awestruck at the number of desserts Em had whipped up at the last minute. More amusing was the fact that she had all sorts of different plates and pedestals on which to display all these desserts. She was really a regular Suzy Homemaker, he thought with a smile.

Mick admired Em’s behind as she bent over to rearrange the contents of the oven. He really liked the way those jeans fit her. That prissy apron was pretty cute, too. The noisy arrival of the Doyle clan pulled Mick’s attention from further inspection of her figure.

“Leave it off, Mam. There’s not much more to say about her,” Rory was saying as he came through the door.

“Not much more to say about who?” inquired Mick, curiously. He didn’t realize Rory was seeing someone.

“Yes, who, Rory? Are you hiding a lady friend from us?” Em frowned. As much as they worked together, she figured she would notice if he was dating someone. Actually, she’d suspected for a while that something was going on between Rory and Ashley, but neither of them would admit anything. That in itself was suspicious, at least on Ashley’s part. Ashley wasn’t known for her discretion, to say the least.

“Oh, thanks Mam. Now you’ve done it,” Rory groaned while Mick burst out laughing. “Now you’ve got Nosy Nelly and his girlfriend curious.” Mick’s scowl at Rory’s nickname made Em giggle.

Mick pulled Sheila Doyle into his arms in a big hug. “Hello, Sheila. I’m so glad you’re here.” He kissed her on the cheek.

Mick took the bags from Paddy and caught him in a side hug. “Sheila, Paddy, I’d like you to meet Em.”

Em stood at the back of the kitchen, smiling shyly, and gave a little wave. “It’s nice to meet y’all. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She chewed her lip anxiously and looked back and forth from Paddy to Sheila.

“Well, love, come give us a hug,” exclaimed Sheila, holding out her open arms. “It’s not often we meet friends of our Michael. We wilna bite.”

Em quickly crossed the kitchen and embraced Sheila warmly. The older woman held her tightly and whispered in her ear, “I’m so glad Michael has met you.”

Em whispered back to her, “I’m so very lucky I met him.” She kissed Sheila’s cheek and discovered it was wet with tears, though Em didn’t know if the tears came from her eyes or Sheila’s.

“Come on, don’t hog the girlie, Sheila,” grumbled Paddy as he held his arms open for his own embrace, his eyes twinkling. Em tearfully laughed and stepped into the older man’s arms.

Mick looked at the three sniffling and laughing people and grinned broadly, blinking tears from his own eyes.

“Good lord, you all are a bunch of sentimental eejits,” grumbled Rory good-naturedly, but he squeezed Em’s shoulder anyway.

Em tried to shoo everyone from the kitchen, but Sheila insisted on helping her get the last bits of the dinner together, the men wandering into the living room with their drinks, arguing about the latest football match. Mick’s eyes wandered back to the kitchen every few minutes. When he happened to catch Em’s eye, he winked and quietly toasted her.

Sheila looked at these small interactions with great interest. Even as a child, Mick had always been a caregiver, and when Grace was alive, he’d had to share her with the children. He took great care of them, sacrificing his own needs for those of his family. It was time for someone to take care of Mick, and Sheila thought this Em might just be that person.

Sheila felt the tears threaten again, and Em quietly said to her, “I know.” Sheila patted Em’s upper arm affectionately. “Let’s get the food on the table, okay?”

When Em called them to the table, Rory eyed the chairs, remembering that morning encounter with Mick and Em. “Don’t worry,” Mick said, conspiratorially, “We’ve christened
all
the chairs, and perhaps the table, too. And maybe the couch and the club chairs, and I can’t forget the porch furniture, either.” Rory looked ill, prompting more laughter from Mick.

They had a lovely meal, Sheila and Paddy regaling Em with stories of the antics of a younger Rory and Mick. Em took advantage of the story time to examine Rory’s parents more closely. Rory had his father’s height, but was built more like his mother, who was a sturdy sort of woman. He had his mother’s coppery hair as well, but, like his sister and father, had a head of unruly curls.

Em considered Mick as well. He smiled more with Paddy and Sheila, his big body both relaxed and animated at the same time. Mick caught Em studying him and winked at her.

Now this is what a family Thanksgiving should be
, Em thought.

Dinner finished, Mick and Rory banished Em and Rory’s parents to the living room while the two younger men put the leftovers away and washed the dishes. Sheila and Paddy shared more of Rory and Mick’s teenage adventures with Em, and Em told a few tales of her own youth.

Mick sat down next to Em and put his arm around her. Em rested her head on his shoulder, basking in the warmth of his embrace. She was almost asleep, lulled by quiet conversation and the melody of Irish accents, when her phone buzzed in her pocket. Expecting it to be Ashley, Em ignored it, meaning to call her back in the evening to give her the full details of their dinner. When the phone buzzed again, Mick nudged her to answer it. Em excused herself, moving to Mick’s office for some privacy.

Em glanced around his messy office, grinning as she glanced at the phone. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Oh Em, I’m so glad you answered. I hope I’m not interrupting your Thanksgiving dinner, but I had to call while Tripp was at his parents’ house.” Bailey spoke quickly, sounding almost hysterical.

“Bailey, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, Em, it’s not okay at all,” Bailey sobbed. “Tripp’s gone off the deep end. I was in complete denial. I know it’s awful, but after you called, I checked all his call logs, both from his cell and the house, and he lied, Em. He totally lied! He said YOU had been calling HIM, begging him to take you back and give you your old job back at the Holbrook Firm. He’s a big, fat, lying liar!”

Em was both furious and relieved. Furious at Tripp’s duplicity, relieved that Bailey was still really the sweet woman she had befriended. “Bailey, has he hurt you? How has he been treating you? Other than lying, I mean.”

“He hasn’t hurt me physically, Em. You know he’s too big a chicken for a physical confrontation. But since I’ve started actually looking pregnant, he’s totally lost interest in me, and not just sexually. He totally ignores me, doesn’t come home for days, and doesn’t acknowledge me the few times he
is
home. I just don’t know what to do!”

“Is there anywhere you can go? Is there a girlfriend you can stay with?” Em knew that Bailey’s situation was very similar to her own–an only child with both parents deceased.

“No, not really. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone over the holidays,” Bailey sniffed.

Em chewed her lip. “Bailey, I want you to hang in there for a few hours. I’m going to talk to Mick and I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Okay?”

“Mick, that’s the man you were with at the restaurant?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re still seeing him! He didn’t even know me, and he defended me. What a gentleman!”

“He
is
wonderful, and he’s going to help us figure something out, okay?”

“Oh, thank you, Em! But before I hang up, I think Tripp’s going to try to do something to you! I heard him talking to Jack Beecham about some legal papers and he mentioned your name.”

“Fucking Jack Beecham. I should have known he’d be the one to push the non-compete through. He was always up Tripp’s ass,” Em muttered.

“So he’s already done something to you,” Bailey’s voice fell. “Em, I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine, Bailey. Really. He served me with papers earlier in the week that claimed I was in violation of a non-compete clause with the Holbrook Firm.”

“But you’re not even doing the same kind of stuff, are you?” Bailey asked. “And you’ve worked with Tara Security for almost a year!”

“Well, exactly, and Rory has things moving along to take care of the situation. Don’t worry about me. Let me talk to Mick and I’ll call you back. How long has Tripp been gone?”

“He was gone for three days before he came and took a shower and changed clothes to go to Ed’s. I pretended like I wasn’t feeling well, like I was sick with the baby, to get out of going over to the house.”

“That was smart, Bailey. Okay, if worse comes to worst, you know you can always talk to Ed. He’s reasonable and I truly believe he has his eyes wide open when it comes to Tripp’s shortcomings.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for your call, Em. And again, I’m so, so sorry.” Bailey sounded like she was crying again.

“Bailey, we’ll figure something out. I promise.”

“Did you have a good talk with Ashley?” Mick asked when Em walked back in the living room.

“That wasn’t Ashley, Mick. That was Bailey. She said that Tripp’s really lost it. I’m worried about her.”

Em relayed her conversation with Bailey. Mick grew more agitated the more she revealed. “What the actual fuck?” he exploded. “You don’t just leave a woman, especially one in a family way, alone for days at a time, just because!”

Em was worried that Mick was going to shatter the glass he held in his hand, so she went to him and lightly tugged on the tumbler. He let her remove it from his grip. “And there’s no one she can stay with?”

“She can stay with me,” Rory said. “She doesn’t need to be around him. He’s unstable and erratic. She doesn’t need this at all.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea, Rory?” Em sounded skeptical. “I don’t know about this. Tripp already hates you. Won’t this just be adding fuel to the fire?”

“I have to agree with Em, Rory,” Mick said. “This situation doesn’t need to get any more intense. And don’t you have an appointment with Ed on Monday? When Tripp sees you at the Holbrook Firm offices, he’s going to lose his fucking mind. If he somehow finds out Bailey is with you, who knows what he’ll do, but I don’t think I want to find out.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Em said. “Let me call Ashley and see if she knows of a short-term rental Bailey can stay in for the time being.”

Mick and Rory agreed that this was a great plan, so Em went back to Mick’s office to call Ashley. She quickly relayed Bailey’s situation to Ashley and made arrangements for her to stay in a duplex nearby.

“Okay, Ashley has the keys to the duplex at her house so I can go pick them up this afternoon,” Em said, emerging from the office. “I’ll call Bailey and tell her to get her stuff together and I’ll go pick her up.”

“You’re not going alone, Em.” Mick’s face and voice were hard. “I’m going with you and waiting in the car.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “Em. I’m not budging on this. I
am
going with you.”

Paddy piped up. “Why don’t I go with her? If this Tripp person has such a problem with you, Mick, you don’t want to make a bad situation worse by showing up to take his pregnant girl away.”

“Now that is a great idea,” Em agreed. “Mick?”

“I suppose that’ll work. I still don’t really like it.”

*****

Em called Bailey back on the way to pick up the keys from Ashley’s house, telling her to pack everything she could and that they would be there shortly.

Paddy patted Em’s hand as they drove to the condo. “You’re a good girlie, Em. We’ll get everyone sorted appropriately.” Paddy’s face was serious. Only then could Em see the former boxer in Paddy’s visage. She could also see where Rory got his fierceness.

Bailey met them at the door with a large suitcase and two small bags. “I don’t need to come back,” she said, sounding brave but her eyes betraying her fear. Em pulled her into a hug and held her tightly.

“Bailey, this is Rory’s father, Paddy. He’s coming with us to the duplex,” Em explained.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Bailey said.

“Oh love, I’m not a sir by any means,” Paddy laughed. “Let’s get you settled, yeah?”

Em sat with Bailey in the backseat, holding the other woman’s hand. Bailey was emotionally wrung out. She must have fallen asleep on the quick ride to the duplex Em had secured for her because she jumped when Em squeezed her hand to indicate that they arrived.

Paddy insisted on carrying all of Bailey’s bags into her temporary home. Bailey felt relief as soon as they stepped inside the small unit. It was comfortably furnished and she could see a tidy woman putting containers of food into the refrigerator. Em squeezed Bailey’s shoulder and pushed her toward the couch, indicating she should have a seat. Bailey wordlessly sank down on the couch, overwhelmed with the generosity of these people. Before long, she felt a soft touch on her shoulder. It was the woman from the kitchen.

“I’m Sheila, love, Rory’s Mam,” the woman said by way of introduction. “We’ve put food in the refrigerator for later. Would you like something to drink? Some ginger ale?”

“Yes, please, that sounds really good,” Bailey replied, smiling weakly. “Thank you.”

Sheila patted Bailey’s arm and went to the kitchen. Bailey started when there was a knock on the door, shortly followed by the entrance of Rory and Mick. She hadn’t realized how big they both were. Mick was tall, so very tall, and leanly muscled. Rory was bulkier and shorter, but still a very substantial man. Mick’s eyes were murderous when he walked in the room, but softened immediately upon seeing Bailey’s worried face.

“Bailey,” Mick said, crossing the small living room in a few strides, “I’m glad you called Em. We’ll get everything sorted.” He patted her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. Em slipped under his arm and he wrapped it protectively around her and kissed the top of her head. “Paddy and Sheila are going to stay with you tonight, okay?”

Bailey got ready to protest, but was quickly shut down by a look from Sheila. “It’s no use fussin’, missy. You’re stuck with us. Why don’t you change and I’ll fix you a spot of food, yeah?” Sheila guided Bailey gently to the bedroom where she sat her down on the bed and efficiently started to unpack, asking Bailey where she wanted things. Sitting on the soft bed with Sheila fussing over her caused her will to finally break. Sheila turned to Bailey to ask her preference about hanging versus folding her sweaters and saw Bailey’s lip quivering.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Bailey whispered. “I don’t deserve it. I treated Em horribly. I don’t understand.”

“I think you’ll find that Michael and Rory go out of their way to help people,” Sheila replied. “I don’t know Em too well, but she seems to be cut from the same cloth. She’ll be a good friend to have, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Bailey smiled weakly. “I think I’ll get my pajamas on now.” Sheila patted her arm again and left Bailey to change.

Sheila went back to the living and found the others talking quietly but intensely.

“You know she can’t continue to work with Holbrook,” Em was saying. “He’ll make her life hell, just like he made mine when I told him I was leaving the firm and going to work with you.”

Bailey spoke from the hallway. “I didn’t even think about what I’m going to do for a job.” Tears threatened to break through again. “Nobody’s going to hire me at almost six months pregnant! Maybe this was a bad idea. I can stay with Tripp until the baby comes and then I’ll leave.”

“No, Bailey, you’ll just come and work with us,” Rory said. “We need an office manager.” Rory steered Bailey toward the couch and pushed her gently to sit. “I’ve been trying to interview someone to hire but it’s been a slog. You’ll be doing us a favor.” Rory gave her a look that brooked no argument.

“You’re not just doing this to be nice?” Bailey asked, searching each face.

“Rory is many things, but he’s not especially nice,” Em laughed. “We desperately need a manager, Bailey. It really is a perfect solution.”

“I’m a nice guy,” Rory said, miffed. At Mick’s look, he quickly added, “or I can be, if I want to. I just don’t want to very often.” Rory shot Bailey one of his killer smiles.

“I don’t know how to thank you, all of you,” Bailey sniffled.

“Oh Lord, why am I surrounded by sobbing saps?” Rory threw up his hands.

“See, not necessarily a nice guy,” Mick said with a smile toward Bailey, who laughed through her tears.

Yes
, she thought,
everything is going to be okay.