Patrick's Destiny (16 page)

“I’m sure,” he said with conviction. “That doesn’t mean you all can’t get together with them while you’re here. I’m sure Daniel will set it up.” In fact, if he knew anything at all about his twin, Daniel would be eager to do it. It was probably taking every ounce of restraint he possessed not to call them right now.

“We’ll play it by ear,” Ryan said. “We’ve waited this long for an explanation of why they abandoned us. A few weeks or even months longer won’t make any difference. It’s a big decision, and we all need to be agreed that the timing’s right.”

Patrick gave his brother a grateful smile. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Trust me, we all understand what a mixed bag of emotions are getting stirred up here. And none of us are all that anxious to hear why we were left behind. It’s enough for now that we’ve seen Daniel again.”

Patrick’s gaze drifted to where his twin was laughing
with Sean and Michael and felt his heart fill to bursting. “Yeah,” he told Ryan. “That’s enough for now.”

Alice was staring out her classroom window at the turbulent June sky. It was going to storm any minute now. She ought to pack up her papers and head for home before the clouds opened up, but the prospect of going back to that empty house held no appeal. At least here at school there were other teachers in the building.

She’d been expecting Patrick to turn up ever since the end of the graduation ceremony, but there’d been no sign of him. Apparently, it was a promise he didn’t intend to keep. She shouldn’t be disappointed, but she was, especially after the scene she’d witnessed on his boat the day before. It had reduced her to tears and stirred hope in her heart once more.

A tap on the door startled her. When she turned, she was even more stunned to see Patrick in the doorway.

“You busy?” he asked.

Unable to find her tongue, she simply shook her head. He looked fabulous. Overnight it seemed as if his tan had deepened, so that his eyes seemed even bluer. He looked more carefree, too, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It took every ounce of restraint she possessed not to race across the room and throw herself into his arms.

He came in, glanced around at the small chairs meant for five-year-olds and settled for perching on the corner of her desk. That put him close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him and smell his familiar masculine scent. She wanted desperately to reach out and rest her hand on the hard muscle of his thigh. Instead she sat perfectly still and waited impatiently to hear what was on his mind.

“You look beautiful,” he said quietly.

“Thank you.”

“I meant to be here right after graduation, but Ricky caught up with me and asked if I’d come to his party over at Jess’s. I broke away as soon as I could.”

“I see.”

He held her gaze. “I’ve missed you.”

“I saw you on Friday,” she reminded him.

“But it’s been longer than that since we were together, since we were on the same wavelength.”

“True.”

“I’ve been using the time to do some thinking.”

“That’s always good,” she said, since he seemed to be waiting for a response.

“I saw my brothers yesterday. Daniel was there, too.”

Alice blinked back tears. “I know. I saw.”

He grinned. “I thought I saw you. I should have guessed you’d figure out something was up and poke around until you found out what it was.”

She shrugged. “I care. Sue me.” She studied him intently. “How did it go?”

“Awkwardly at first, but then it was like it was when they came here to meet me, almost as if we’d never been apart. I guess the bond between brothers is more powerful than I ever realized.”

“And the bond between parent and child?”

“I’m still thinking about that one.”

“With an open mind?”

He grinned. “At least as open a mind as any hardheaded man can have.”

“Was there some other reason you wanted to see me today?” she asked.

He swallowed, then glanced toward the blackboard.
“Do teachers still make kids write on the blackboard when they’ve misbehaved?”

“Sometimes,” she said. “It’s a little hard with kindergarten kids. They can’t print or spell that well.”

He grinned and stood up. “I can’t say much for my handwriting, but my spelling’s pretty good.” He walked over, picked up a piece of chalk and began to write.

Alice held her breath as the words began to form.

Patrick Devaney loves Alice Newberry.

He turned to face her, a hopeful expression in his eyes. “How many times do you want me to write it?”

Her own eyes swimming with tears, she stood up. “Just say it.”

Eyes locked with hers, he took a step toward her. “I love you, Alice Newberry,” he said softly.

Alice tilted her head at the sound of the sweet words she’d wondered if she would ever hear. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” he repeated dutifully. “How many more times?”

“A million will do,” she said.

“That could take forever,” he pointed out.

She grinned at him. “I have the time. How about you?”

“Only if you’ll marry me. And in case the fact that I love you is not enough incentive, I have it on good authority that I can get my brothers to come to the wedding.”

“All of them?” she asked cautiously.

He nodded. “All of them.”

“And your parents?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to invite them to the wedding, but I promise that I’m working on forgiving them,” he said, his expression neutral. “There’s a lot
of water under the bridge. Is the promise that I’ll try good enough for now?”

Alice threw her arms around him. “Trying is the most I’ll ever ask of you.” She met his gaze. “That and that you’ll never stop loving me.”

He brushed a stray curl away from her cheek, then gave her one of those devastating Devaney smiles. “Darlin’, that one’s easy.”

A
lice had drawn on every bit of persuasive skill she possessed to try to convince Molly to be the maid of honor at her wedding. She’d even gotten Patrick into the act, hoping he could charm Molly into reconsidering the firm “No” she’d uttered each time Alice had asked.

“I wish you all the luck and happiness in the world. You know I do,” Molly told Alice when she made one last plea. “But I can’t do it, not if Daniel’s going to be there, and especially not if he’s going to be Patrick’s best man.”

“But how can I possibly get married without you as my maid of honor?” Alice asked. She could see the stubborn light shining in Molly’s eyes and knew she was defeated.

“You pick someone else and walk down that aisle with your head held high and your eyes focused on your
handsome groom, that’s how,” Molly said. “I’ll be thinking of you every second.”

“You won’t even come to the wedding?” Alice asked.

“I can’t,” Molly said. “I wish I could, but it’s not possible. If that’s being selfish, I’m sorry.”

“You’re not being selfish,” Alice insisted, giving her a fierce hug. “And I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to put you in that position, knowing it would make you miserable.”

Molly gave her a halfhearted smile. “It was nice to be asked,” she said, then added wistfully, “I love weddings.”

“You’ll have your own, one of these days, and you’ll be the most beautiful bride Widow’s Cove has ever seen,” Alice assured her.

“A pretty thought, but you don’t have to butter me up. I’ll still do all the cooking for the rehearsal dinner.”

Alice regarded her with surprise. “You agreed to have it here?”

“As if Patrick would give me a choice in the matter,” Molly said. “But I’ve brought in help for the night. I’ll be far away.”

“Licking your wounds,” Alice said.

“So what if I am? Believe me, I’m entitled.”

“I just wish the wounds had healed by now. If they run that deep, they could infect the rest of your life. If you’d only talk about what happened between you and Daniel, maybe you could move on.”

Molly frowned at her. “I have moved on. I just don’t care to set eyes on that weasel ever again.”

Alice grinned at the heat in her voice. “Yes, you’ve moved on all right. I can hear it in your tone.”

“I have,” Molly insisted.

“Then you could catch a glimpse of Daniel and not have it turn you inside out?”

“Of course.”

Alice regarded her with a speculative look. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Don’t go getting any wild ideas,” Molly said, alarm in her eyes. “Concentrate on your wedding and leave my life to me.”

“Oh, I have plenty of time for both,” Alice assured her.

“Not if you expect to live to see your wedding day,” Molly said, her expression grim.

It was the heartfelt sincerity behind her words that told Alice everything she needed to know. Molly wasn’t over Daniel. Not by a long shot. Maybe their relationship couldn’t be fixed, but Alice had never let long odds stop her from trying. Besides, she was deep in the throes of her own bridal joy. She couldn’t be totally content until everyone around her was just as happy. Unfortunately, in this instance, she might have to wait till after her own wedding to pull it off.

Patrick’s nerves had been pretty much shot by the time Alice finally walked down the aisle and stood next to him. He hadn’t believed they were going to pull it off until he actually heard her say, “I do,” and the priest pronounced them man and wife. Then he let out a whoop of joy that could be heard in the next county.

Alice grinned at him. “I hope I always make you this happy,” she said, her tone dry.

“No question about that,” he said as he took her hand and marched her out of the church. Outside on the steps, he pulled her into his arms and gave her the kind
of kiss he’d feared would send the priest into heart failure.

When he finally released her, he tucked a finger under her chin and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Alice Devaney.”

She rested her hand against his cheek. Her fingers were trembling. “I love you, Patrick Devaney. And all your brothers.”

He gave her a searching look. “Even Daniel?”

“Why wouldn’t I love Daniel?”

“Because he hurt Molly. Even I have a hard time with that one.”

“We’re going to fix it,” she said with confidence.

“Maybe we should concentrate on us,” he said, regarding her worriedly. “Molly and Daniel are adults. They can fix their own problems, assuming they even want to.”

“But I want everyone to be as happy as we are.”

“Not possible,” he told her, pulling her close for another kiss. “No one on earth could ever be as happy as we are.”

“Speak for yourself,” Ryan said, coming up to slap him on the back and give Alice a kiss. “Maggie and I are doing okay.”

“So are Deanna and I,” Sean said, joining them.

“And Kelly and I aren’t doing so bad in the joy department, either,” Michael chimed in.

They all turned to look at Daniel, who simply stared. “What?”

“There’s something missing from your life, little brother,” Ryan said.

Patrick gave him a sympathetic look. “You might as well go with the flow, Daniel. Besides, they’ll be back in Boston soon. That’s too far away for any meddling.”

“But I’m here,” Alice said, regarding her new brother-in-law speculatively.

Daniel frowned at her. “Meddle at your own peril. I’m a hard case.”

“So was I,” Patrick pointed out, tightening his arm around Alice’s waist. “Look at me now.”

“See,” Alice said. “Look at all these fine examples your brothers have set for you.”

Patrick saw the fire in Daniel’s eyes and knew Alice was about to push him too far. He wanted nothing to spoil this day, so he cut off her words with another kiss.

“I think we should be getting to the reception,” he said. “I want to dance with my bride.”

Alice looked up at him, a question in her eyes, but then she sighed with understanding. “I guess I only get to fix one thing in this family at a time.”

He grinned at her. “You’ve done more than your share with me. Let Daniel take care of himself.”

“I suppose,” she agreed with obvious reluctance.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he teased.

Immediately her eyes lit up. “How?”

“I’ll show you tonight.”

“Why not now? I’m told there’s a room at the Widow’s Cove Hotel with our name on it.”

“And a room downstairs filled with guests waiting to toast to our happiness,” he said, fighting temptation.

“Just think how much happier we’ll be if we take a little detour,” she said.

“You have a very wicked mind,” he told her.

“Does that bother you?”

“Not as long as I’m the only one in those wild fantasies of yours.”

“The only one,” she assured him. “Always and forever.”

Forever,
Patrick thought, and waited for the first twinge of panic. It never came. Instead, all he felt was contentment and anticipation. Their life was going to be one hell of a ride.