Doctor Lucky Charms: A Holiday Romance (Kilts and Kisses) Read online

  “And the shelter – let’s hear about that.”

  “Well, I want to open a place where women who don’t have the means to get away from bad household situations can have a safe haven-at least for a while- where they and their children can have some peace and quiet. I owe my life to women like that, and it’s the least I can do to in the position I’m in, yeah?”

  Sidney shook his head in disbelief. “God, you’re perfect. Handsome, intense, passionate, and caring. The eighteen-to-fifty female demographic is going to eat you up. Now, anything else about the place?”

  I opened my mouth, almost saying that it was right across the street, but I stopped myself in time. The last thing I wanted to do was bring Joann into this before she was ready.

  “Nope. Not a thing.”

  The interview went on like that, Sidney asking more questions and fawning all over my answers. When a half-hour had gone by I was exhausted as all hell, ready to get out of there.

  One thing kept me going through the annoyance – thoughts of my time with Joann later.

  I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 28

  JOANN

  It was early afternoon, and I was in downtown Sandy Cove doing my shopping for the taco dinner that night.

  I couldn’t get over how much I loved the place. It was quaint and charming, the narrow cobblestone streets winding through the town, shops and restaurants and cafes and pubs clustered closed to them. People were out and about, far more friendly than were in downtown Denver.

  I was already seeing familiar faces, people who I’d noticed while out and about other days. Everyone in Sandy Cove seemed to know one another, townsfolk spotting each other on the sidewalk and stopping to have friendly chats, catching up with the local gossip.

  Strangest of all, I saw more than a few faces who seemed to recognize me.

  It was all so bizarre. I’d gotten used to my anonymous life in Denver; anyone passing me by on the street not giving me a second though as we carried on with our days. Sandy Cove wasn’t like that at all. Here, your business was everyone else’s business.

  I spotted one of the fresh grocers on the far corner of the block I was on. To my immediate right was an adorable little boutique, a place with handmade knickknacks and such that would be perfect to send back home to friends and family in Colorado.

  I ducked in, the charming shop smelling of fresh lavender from a burning candle on the register counter. A middle-aged woman was seated behind the counter, a laptop in front of her playing what looked to be an Irish soap opera.

  “Welcome!” she said as I entered. “Something I can help you find?” She spoke in the same lilting accent that I was beginning to recognize as unique to Sandy Cove, and accent that was very Irish, of course, but somehow just a little more musical.

  “Just looking around,” I said with a smile.

  Her eyes flashed, and I didn’t need to ask to know what was on her mind. “Ah, you’re the American who’s new in town, aye?”

  “I see my reputation precedes me,” I said.

  The woman laughed. “Oh, I hope you’re not worried that we’re all up your rear end. Just exciting news that Mary McCallister’s granddaughter is in town!” She waved her hand through the air. “But I won’t chat your ear off. I’ll be here if you need me.”

  I smiled at her one more time before turning my attention to the goods on the shelves. I picked out a few things, mostly some of the handmade scented candles that smelled amazing. They were so wonderful, in fact, that I grabbed a couple for myself.

  When I’d picked up enough stuff, I headed to the register and placed all my purchases on the counter.

  Once I was face-to-face with the woman, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “I don’t mean to sound rude or anything,” I asked. “But I couldn’t help but notice the way you were looking at me while I was shopping. There something wrong?”

  Her face flashed as if she’d been busted doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

  “Eh, no,” she said, her face turning a bit red. “Not exactly…”

  “Not exactly?”

  “Well, just that you said you were a McCallister, and…” she trailed off, clearly not sure how to put into words what she had on her mind.

  “What does me being a McCallister have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing! I just…Um, do you know Connor Murphy?”

  “Connor Murphy? No, why, should I?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about. Just silly business.” She turned her attention to the candles, swiping them over the scanner and quickly wrapping them before putting them in a paper bag.

  “Why don’t you tell me what it is and I’ll decide if it’s silly business or not?”

  “Oh, nothing, nothing.” She put the last candle in the big and smiled at me broadly. Whatever was going on, whoever this Connor Murphy might’ve been, it was clear she wasn’t going to tell me about it.

  I gave up, giving her my card to pay for the stuff. Moments later I was back on the street, the strange encounter with the shopkeeper behind me. I headed to the fresh grocer, picking up some vegetables and tortillas and chicken for the tacos. A half-hour later, I was done.

  My car was parked in the direction of the other shop, so I started toward it. When I passed the store one more time, I saw a man speaking to the woman.

  A man who looked exactly like my father.

  He looked so much like him, in fact, that for an instant I was sure it was him. Granted, my father had taken off when I was just a kid. But I’d seen enough pictures of the guy to recognize his fair skin, his broad shoulders, his eagle-like nose and hunter’s eyes. And he was tall, like my father, with my dad’s long arms and a thick neck. But he wasn’t my dad’s age – he was younger. I stared at him for a long moment until he and the shopkeeper looked back at me.

  The moment his eyes locked on mine, the resemblance to my father became even stronger.

  Out of instinct, I broke eye contact and hurried down the street, my heart racing as rushed to my car.

  Something strange was going on, and I was sure it had to do with whoever this Connor Murphy person was.

  Chapter 29

  RONAN

  I didn’t even make it an hour after lunch before my patience with the filming had been totally worn through. I was in one of the examination rooms, working with one of my patients. She’d agreed to be in the show, which meant that one of the cameramen was going to be in the examination room with us.

  Thankfully, she wasn’t having anything invasive done – I couldn’t imagine any woman agreeing to the filming if that were the case. Shauna had recently undergone the implantation of an IUD and was in for her post-procedure checkup.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked. She and I were in the examination room, Shauna seated on the end of the table.

  “Are you pulling me leg?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Turn down the chance to be on the TV? Are you out of your bleeding mind?” Shauna was a little over twenty, and likely more concerned with a chance at fame, however slight, more than anything else.

  “I’m just saying,” I told her. “It’s not too late to tell the producer that you’ve changed your mind.”

  “Feh,” she said, waving her hand through the air. “Personally, I can’t believe you’re not more excited about it, Dr. O’Neill.”

  “Tell you what,” I said. “How about you and I switch spots? I’ve got a red wig in the supply closet – I think if you wear that and lower your voice a bit, you can pass for me.”

  She laughed, and I flashed her a smile.

  “Your brother Aiden seems to be loving it,” she said. “It’s like the man was born to be on TV.”

  “Aiden’s a different breed.”

  Before the conversation could go on, a hard knock sounded at the door.

  “That them?” Shauna asked.

  My gut tightened in anticipation.

  “Come in!” I answered.

  The doo
r opened and a pair of crewmen blundered it, one of them carrying a big camera that was haphazardly swung in a way that knocked over a small basket of medical supplies.

  “Oh, shoot,” said one of them, a stocky American guy in his twenties. “You, uh, want me to get that?”

  “Just set up the thing and get to it,” I said.

  He and the other crewman, a trim woman with short, blonde hair, shared a look before setting to work putting the camera in the corner.

  “You mind setting that up over here, actually?” Shauna asked. “The left side’s more flattering for me.”

  “Lighting’s better on this side,” the girl replied.

  Shauna’s face fell.

  I stood there impatiently as the crew set up the camera. The thing was majorly intrusive, a giant, black piece of equipment that was impossible to ignore, and the crew kept fidgeting with it as I tried to get myself into the right frame of mind to start the appointment.

  “Can we start?” Shauna asked, still beaming.

  “Yeah,” the crewman answered. “Just pretend we’re not here.”

  Fat chance of that happening.

  I closed my eyes and went into it.

  “Alright, Shauna,” I said. “It’s been six weeks since you’ve had the Mirena IUD put in. Are you having any-”

  “Hold on a second,” the female crewperson said. “Is there any way I can get you to stop smiling like that, Miss? It’s a little distracting.”

  Shauna, who’d been in full TV-mode, wiped the big, beaming smile off her face.

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “You can keep going,” the man said. “We’ll fix it all in editing.”

  I shook my head and went on. “So, any symptoms?”

  “Not so far,” my patient answered. “It’s much more convenient than the pill, you know?”

  “Sure, sure. Plenty of women find it far less hassle to simply install the IUD and-”

  “Hold on,” the crewman interrupted. “Can I get you to say that again? Came out a little muffled.”

  I closed my eyes and spoke. “Plenty of women find it much less of a hassle than taking the pill every day. But don’t forget that the IUD doesn’t prevent sexually transmitted infections.” I felt so strange while I spoke with the camera next to me. It was impossible to be natural.

  “Oh, I know,” Shauna responded. “But thanks for the reminder.”

  As she spoke, the camera moved closer and closer until it was nearly between us.

  “Just pretend that we’re not here,” the crewman repeated. “We want to get some low-angle shots to make you look really authoritative.”

  “Now, that’s great,” I said. “But I’d still like to have you come back in another six weeks for a more thorough-”

  “Sorry, can you say that again?” the woman asked. “You had your eyes closed through most of it. And also, Shauna, is it possible that you could talk a little about your sex life, too? Whatever you feel comfortable saying.”

  Shauna’s eyes went wide with shock.

  That was it.

  I couldn’t focus. Doing my job was impossible.

  “Shauna, can you excuse me for a moment? And can the rest of you leave the room, please?”

  “Oh, we don’t need to leave,” the woman said. “If she wants, we can do a quick interview with her while you’re out.”

  “That’d be grand!” Shauna answered. “But, uh, I don’t want to talk about the sex stuff, if that’s alright.”

  Without another word, I hurried out and made my way to the break room. Once there, I spotted Sidney in the middle of a chat with some of the other crew workers.

  “I need to speak to you alone,” I said.

  “Something wrong, Doc?” he asked.

  “Yes, something’s wrong. Come to my office, please.”

  I didn’t wait for him to say anything before turning and striding out of the break room and making my way down the hall to my office. Once there, I took a seat on the edge of the desk and tucked my hands into my pockets.

  I was pissed. And while I wanted to make sure Sidney knew how pissed I was, I knew I needed to keep my anger in check.

  He strolled into the room as calm and casual as ever.

  “What’s up, Dr. Charms?”

  Part of me wanted to ream him on the spot for that stupid bleeding nickname, but I had bigger matters to sort out.

  “When I agreed to have the camera crew poking about around here, I was told they’d be unobtrusive and out of the way. I was in the middle of yet another appointment where the crew kept poking their camera into the middle of the conversation, not able to keep their mouths shut. And more than that, they asked the damn girl I was speaking about her bleeding sex life!”

  “Sounds like good material for the show,” he said with a shrug. “What’s the harm? If she wants to offer up the info, then she can. If she doesn’t, all she has to do is say no.”

  “You’re telling me you don’t see any problem asking women about their sex life with a camera pointed in front of their face?”

  “Nothing happens without the consent of the person,” he said. “That’s in the contract.”

  “And you know what else is in the contract? Me being able to kick the cameramen out whenever I feel like they’re compromising my ability to do my job.”

  “Compromising your ability?” he asked. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means, stay out of the fucking way while I’m trying to take care of my patients.”

  I normally didn’t like to talk that way, but when it came to the women I took care of, they came first.

  He sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll talk to the crew and tell them not to speak unless spoken to. But…jeez, you really read the whole contract?”

  “Had my lawyer look it over top to bottom.”

  I could tell he was a little surprised by that. Perhaps he’d been expecting to take advantage of my ignorance.

  “Now, I’ve got a patient to get back to. Spread the word to your crew.”

  He nodded, clearly feeling a little overwhelmed. Moments later, he was gone.

  Good. The more order around there the better.

  I took a deep breath and checked my watch. It was a little after two. Only a few more hours until I saw Joann.

  In spite of wanting to play it cool, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it.

  Chapter 30

  JOANN

  I was making salsa, I was listening to salsa, and hell, I was eating salsa too. It was a little after five, and Ronan was set to come by in less than an hour. The seasoned chicken was cooking on the stove, the chips were set out, and everything was set up for my south-of-the-border night in Ireland, prepared by an American.

  I couldn’t wait to see Ronan. Before too long he’d be knocking on the door, and just the thought of wrapping my arms around him, of feeling his lips on mine, was enough to make my heart beat fast – not to mention how it made me feel down below.

  In spite of all that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the man I’d seen at the shop. He’d looked so much like my dad that it was impossible not to get to thinking about whether or not he was related to him. From the looks of him, I’d guessed he couldn’t have been older than thirty.

  When I’d gotten home, I’d done an internet search, but nothing useful had come up on that front. Back in the States I would’ve been able to really dig around, using my credentials as a DA to perform a more thorough background check. Here in Ireland, no such luck.

  There was one more option, but just the thought of it was enough to make me sick to my stomach.

  I could call Mom.

  As I chopped the tomatoes for the salsa, I went back and forth on the idea of calling Mom. I was dying of curiosity, but how the hell was I supposed to ask her about it without suggesting the idea that he’d cheated on her before taking off for good?

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no other explanation for this Connor guy – if that was indeed who he w
as. How else could there be a guy around my age, who looked exactly like my dad? Part of me wanted to chalk it up to coincidence, but I’d spent enough time as a DA to know that there was no such thing as coincidences. If something fit, there was usually a damn good reason for it.

  I needed to call Mom and see what I could find out. If I had some half-brother running around, I needed to know.

  I took the phone off the counter, pressed pause on the music, and took one more deep breath before calling Mom.

  The phone rang and rang on speaker, and part of me hoped that she wasn’t going to pick up.

  “Hey, baby!” she said, total exuberance in her voice. “Long time to talk!”

  I winced, keeping in mind how carefully I needed to word the conversation to not accidentally ask the real question that was on my mind. Mom and I spent a little time catching up, me telling her about my time in Ireland, how much I loved it here, and she told me about all she’d been up to in Denver, which seemed to consist of her usual schedule of shopping and brunching with her little group of girlfriends.

  “So, I wanted to ask you something kind of strange.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I was talking to a few people in town about Grandma and Dad. Seems like they’re both pretty famous around here.”

  “That sounds about right. Your Grandma was, like, the town gossip from what your father told me. And he was a notorious troublemaker.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. I was wondering, did Dad ever come back to Sandy Cove without you? Before he left, I mean?”

  “Yes, there was a time that your grandmother had to have a minor surgery and he went for a bit to see to her and make sure she was ok.”

  “And how long ago was that?”

  “Shoot. Not that long before he walked out on us actually. I’d say he was out the door within a month or so of coming back.”

  My blood ran cold, my mouth hanging open. I’d had a theory and Mom, while not expressly confirming it, had put a huge pile of proof in my corner.