Beers, Lies and Alibis (Warblers Point Series Book 2) (11 page)

“I know, Booker. I will be fine. I’ll see you this weekend,” Fiona was able to say, as she swallowed down the emotions that wanted to boil over.
 

“Okay.” Booker looked around the plane as if he was seeing if there was any way he could stow himself away instead of going back to their house. “Call me when you land, okay? And let me know when you get to the hospital so I know how everyone is.”

“Okay.”

Booker stood up and kissed Fiona on the forehead, while cupping both sides of her face. The warmth that was pouring off of his hands was almost unbearable for Fiona to handle because she knew that warmth was going to be left behind in California.

“I love you, baby. So damn much and I promise the fastest I can get to you, I will.”

“I love you, too,” Fiona said, while looking up at him.
 

Slowly, Booker leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The sweet caress was just what she needed to be pushed over the edge into sob-ville. Her emotions were unmanageable at the moment, which only made Booker look at her with great concern.
 

“I’m okay, just go.” Fiona waved him off.
 

Slowly, Booker backed off as he eyed her carefully. Not wanting to look at him anymore, Fiona turned her body to look out the window.
 

In the background of her thoughts, she heard Booker call out to the pilots, “Take care of my girl. She is precious cargo.”
 

The door of the plane was locked up and she could see Booker’s figure in the dark of the night as he watched the plan prepare for takeoff. The flight attendant made sure Fiona’s seat belt was on and then gave the pilots the go ahead.
 

As they started to taxi down the runway, Fiona thought about how an empty feeling settled over her body. She wondered why she had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach about her relationship with Booker. It almost felt like her flying back to Warblers Point was the end of their relationship. She tried to push back the tainted feelings of Booker and tried to focus on her father and sending him good vibes, but it was impossible. Her gut twisted as she thought about how that might be the last time she kissed Booker James.
 

Chapter 6

Sophie felt like her knuckles were going to bleed from the brutal attack she was giving Murphy’s front door. The minute she heard Carlin O’Leary was in the hospital, thanks to Marge calling everyone in Warblers Point at the ass-crack of dawn, Sophie threw on whatever clothes she could find and rushed over to Murphy’s house.
 

What the hell happened? Carlin O’Leary ending up in the hospital was so not a part of their plan, not even close. No one was supposed to get hurt. Murphy even made sure no one was in the cabin that had a “malfunctioning electrical box.”
 

Sophie continued to pound on Murphy’s door until it flung open, nearly startling Sophie off of his porch from the abrupt movement. If she didn’t fall off his porch from the shock of the door opening, then she definitely was about to fall off from the sight in front of her.
 

Murphy stood in his doorway, shirtless, with jeans on that were completely unbuttoned, giving her a mouthwatering view of the little patch of hair that led down to his…Irish potatoes. His hair was sticking up in every direction, total bed-head, and he was rubbing his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
 

“Jesus, lass. If I knew ya were goin’ to try to blow down me door with that canon of an arm ya have, I would have given ya a damn key.”

Not even able to speak, Sophie stormed through his front door, wanting to remove herself from the eerie chill of the night. Warblers Point was always peaceful and serene, not much noise filtering through the air because it was a small town, but the night almost felt…unnerving, in a way, since Carlin O’Leary had gone to the hospital, as if everyone was in mourning. The feeling didn’t sit well with Sophie.
 

“Whatcha doin’ here, lass?” Murphy said, as he headed to his kitchen and started a pot of coffee. “Everythin’ went fine; no need to get all paranoid on me.”

“NO! Everything did not go fine,” Sophie practically shouted. She was about to lay into him when someone cleared their voice from the entryway.
 

Sophie turned around and saw the blonde slut that was in Murphy’s store the other day standing by his bedroom door, wearing one of his dress shirts, leggings and those ridiculous furry, white boots.
 

“Excuse me,” Murphy said, as he smirked and walked the ski slut out his door. She watched him slip his tongue in her mouth, slap her ass, and send her out the door.
 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Sophie said, after the furry-legged lady was gone. “Why…I just…” Sophie didn’t even know what to say. She was completely taken aback. Didn’t Murphy want Fiona back?

Murphy shrugged his shoulders. “Got to get it somewhere, lass, and me own hand isn’t really doin’ it for me.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Nah, I’m just a healthy man. So why isn’t everything okay?” Murphy asked casually, as he filled a mug with coffee.
 

“You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Carlin O’Leary is in the hospital…in a coma!”

Pure and utter shock ran through Murphy’s face as he hovered the mug full of coffee just below his lips.
 

Carefully setting the mug down, Murphy said, “What? Since when? What the hell happened?”

Pacing the floor of Murphy’s kitchen, Sophie replied, “He had a heart attack from the fire and when he went into the hospital, they had to do emergency surgery to unblock his clogged arteries and, apparently, there were complications which put him in a coma.” Sophie was beside herself. This was all because of them. “I don’t know what to do,” Sophie said, as a tear escaped her eye.
 

Murphy quickly pulled her into his warm chest and held her tight. “It will be okay, lass. We should go over there and show our support.”

Sophie immediately pulled away. “What?! No, I can’t go over there, not after what we did. They’ll know, they’ll know we’re the reason their dad is fighting for his life.”

“They won’t know unless we tell them. We’re covered; I told ya that. Put ye game face on, lass. We have to go over there; we don’t have a choice. Pour ye’self a cup of coffee as I go get changed.”

Sophie nodded her head as she thought about what the hell she was going to say to the O’Leary boys. Could she really show up at the hospital and act like everything was okay, as if she and Murphy didn’t have a part in their father being in the hospital?

Murphy drove them over to the hospital and schooled Sophie on what she was going to say. They sat in the parking lot, talking through all the different kinds of scenarios that might pop up before they walked in. Murphy wouldn’t let them go into the waiting room until he was fully satisfied with Sophie’s composure. She understood his intentions, if they showed the slightest sign that they had any part in the fire, they were royally screwed.
 

They walked up to the front desk, knowing it wasn’t visiting hours, but also aware that they were in a town where everyone knew each other. Murphy had a lot of pull, so he asked what room the O’Learys were in.
 

“Room 314. The O’Learys are in the waiting room, only Mary Margaret is in the room with Carlin right now.”

Murphy thanked the receptionist and escorted Sophie to the elevators where the tension between the two of them was incredibly thick. All Sophie wanted to do was confess her sins, but Murphy had other ideas. Apparently, he didn’t want to go to jail for arson. Neither did Sophie, but could she really live with herself, knowing that a man’s possible death was written all over her hands? She didn’t think she could.
 

Nerves were gathering in the pit of Sophie’s stomach as they rapidly approached the waiting room. What the hell was she going to say? She had no clue what to do when she even saw the O’Learys. Did she give them a hug?

All thoughts ran from her mind the minute she saw Finn and Liam huddled together while Bradon looked out the window. They looked so helpless and, instantly, at that moment, no matter how much they had hurt her, her heart reached out to them. She wanted to help them in any way possible because she was the reason they were in this mess.
 

“Hey lads,” Murphy said, as he stepped forward. Sophie followed softly behind, trying to gauge the boys’ reactions.
 

Finn looked honestly surprised when Murphy pulled Finn into a giant hug. Liam stood up and waited for his turn. The camaraderie between the men was not lost on Sophie. No wonder Murphy wanted to be with Fiona, he fit in perfectly with her brothers. It was as if Murphy was born to be part of the O’Leary family.
 

“You didn’t have to come down here,” Liam said, as he patted Murphy on the back.
 

“We wanted to make sure ya guys were okay.”

“We?” Finn asked, confused.
 

That was when Sophie stepped forward. Both Finn and Liam had a weird look on their faces when she stepped forward. Not wanting to look too much into it, she said, “I’m so sorry about what happened to your dad. If there is anything we can do, please let us know.”

Liam just nodded as he turned his attention back to Murphy. That was weird, Sophie thought.
 

“Can I get ya some coffee?” Murphy asked.
 

“That would be awesome,” replied Finn.
 

“I’ll help him,” Bradon said, a little too eagerly. It was well known in town that Bradon had a man crush on Murphy. He had always looked up to the man and took it the hardest when Fiona broke things off with Murphy. He was, in fact, still in denial.
 

Liam and Finn shook their heads at their brother as they sat back down, completely ignoring Sophie.
 

Feeling beyond awkward, Sophie asked, “Is Fiona flying in?”

“Yeah, why, do you think she would miss her father being in the hospital?” Liam asked with a snarky tone that shocked the hell out of Sophie. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought both Finn and Liam knew she had a part in their father’s hospitalization.
 

“No, I just, I don’t know. I just wanted to make sure you would all be together,” Sophie said, while rubbing Liam’s arm.
 

That small touch sent Liam flying out of his seat. He was inches from Sophie’s face when he said, “Don’t touch me.”

Instinctively, Sophie backed up from the raging man.
 

Finn sidled up next to Liam and said, “I think you should go, Sophie.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay…”

“No, you were trying to get all…friendly. Take advantage of us.”

Shock was not even a good enough word for what Sophie was feeling. Liam’s accusation came out of left field. She had barely talked to Finn or Liam since the front yard incident, so why the hell would she think it would be okay to visit them in the hospital and “take advantage” of them? That was completely asinine.
 

“Are you losing your mind?” Sophie said, before she could stop herself.
 

“No, I’m finally seeing clearly,” Liam said, as Finn kept a firm grasp on his shoulder. “We don’t need your ‘assistance’,” Liam said, while using air quotes. “I think it’s time you move on Sophie. Both Finn and I are trying to move on with our lives and we don’t need you showing up at the hospital while our dad is in a coma, putting on a show for all the nurses and staff to see so they can spread the word about Sophie and the O’Leary boys; we’re still trying to get you out of our life, we don’t need you poking your head in again.”

“Fuck you both,” Sophie said, as she turned on her heel and walked towards the elevator. She knew that must have done it because she never swore, never, and they knew that.
 

Humiliation once again filled Sophie’s body as she was stared down by every hospital worker on the third floor on her walk of shame. Whispering followed her departure as she headed toward the elevators. She briefly turned around and saw everyone looking at her with a mixture of pity and disgust in their eyes.
 

That was it, Sophie thought as she pushed the down button. She was done with the O’Learys. No matter what happened, she was still going through with her plans. They clearly didn’t care about her, so why the hell would she care about them?

“Soph, ya okay?” Murphy said, as he hopped in the elevator right before it closed on him.
 

She turned toward the brawny Irishman and said, “We are going to crush them. They are dead to me.”

***

“How are you adjusting to your new surroundings?”

Neala sat in a chair that was, by far, the most uncomfortable chair on the planet. She thought about tossing it through the window, but considered a different alternative since that would probably guarantee her a couple more weeks in the looney bin she was currently holed up in.