Page 86 of Road Trip
“I love children,” Maeve said.
“Bonnie didnotlike children. My mum said she was a nar… a nar…”
“A narcissist,” Liam said, chuckling. “And your mum is correct, Bonnie was one of those, but she’s gone off and married some other poor fellow, so no worries in that regard. I assure you, Maeve is nothing like that.”
“Okay.” Satisfied with his answer, Claire turned and skipped away.
“I did warn you,” Liam said.
The family wasassembled on a brick patio shaded by a pair of tall oak trees.
“Here.” Liam handed her a bottle of Guinness. “Preemptive strike. You’re going to need this.”
The Grogan clan was, as advertised, rowdy and irreverent, but ultimately friendly and decidedly curious about Liam’s new romance.
Maeve was thankful when Luke’s wife, Angela, immediately took her under her wing, walking her around to the assorted relatives and introducing her as “Liam’s friend.”
They found Cormac, the middle brother, sitting on the grass with his twin nephews. One of the boys was loudly howling while his uncle held a bloody paper towel to his knee.
“Eamon?” Angela turned to her other son. “What did you do to your brother?”
Both boys were stick thin, all bony elbows and knees, with dark hair and freckles. They were dressed in matching shorts and striped soccer jerseys.
“I didn’t do nuthin’, Mum,” Eamon protested.
Cormac looked up and gave his sister-in-law an apologetic shrug. “This one,” he said, jerking his thumb at the wounded Aidan, “ate all his own ice cream and then decided to help himself to that one’s ice cream as well.”
“Itwasn’this,” Eamon said.
“Was too, ya rotten little bastard!”
“Aidan!” Angela looked mortified.
“He saw me take a bite, and it was the last chocolate, and he knows that’s my most favorite.”
“There was an altercation,” Cormac added. “I intervened, no bones were broken, although the chocolate ice cream, unfortunately, got spilt on the grass and immediately eaten up by one of Luke’s hounds.”
“Serves you both right,” Angela told her sons. “Now go on, the two of you, and stay out of trouble, or you’ll spend the rest of the day cleaning the goat pen.”
“No way!” Aidan jumped to his feet, his injury forgotten. “Thanks, Uncle Cormac.” Both the boys raced away.
“Who’s this now?” Cormac asked, standing and brushing off the seat of his jeans. He was at least three inches taller than his younger brother, with the same dark hair and an elaborately waxed handlebar mustache.
“This is Maeve, Liam’s friend, whom he told us about. Be nice, can you, and don’t shock her with any of your stories about the nonsense you and Liam used to get up to.”
“Me?” Cormac feigned offense. “I would never.” He held out his hand, Maeve took it, and he pulled her in for a brief hug.
“I don’t know what calumnies Liam’s told you about me, but whatever it was, I assure you, it’s only ten percent accurate.”
“He did tell me the two of you built his Jeep together,” Maeve said.
“Yes, well, I did all the engineering, and most of the actual work, as well as supplying all the parts,” Cormac boasted. “In return for which I was supplied with some very nice whiskey.”
Maeve felt an arm snake around her waist and turned to see that Liam had joined the conversation.
“I see you’ve met the bad seed,” he said. He turned to his sister-in-law. “Luke says to tell you the hamburgers are done.”
“Which means burnt to a crisp,” Cormac predicted.
