Thick as Thieves (The Greystone Family: Stolen Hearts #3)

Chapter 47

47

Evie

I’m standing guard over my kids like a mama bear over her cubs. The fools still come for my children, being egged on by Rowena. I grab a long-handled serving fork and brandish it at the doctors. “Don’t be foolish. You know you cannot do it without my consent, and I do not give it.” I’m shouting now, holding onto the fork as I pass a long-handled spoon to Oisin.

Stepping forward, I start swinging the fork wildly in their general direction. Rowena falls back as if I’ve hit her. With that much acting ability she definitely missed her calling. She could make a killing on the stage. I’m shouting at the top of my voice. Where are Tommy and Valentina? I then spy a poker set next to the fire and pick the poker up. I’ve both tools in my hands and move back to stand over my boys.

“Bring it on, if you fucking dare,” I say to the now stunned room at large. The twins wake up, my shouting undoubtedly the cause. They start to bawl their heads off, adding to the general decibel level.

I spot Orla coming through the door with tears in her eyes. Colm follows behind her, red in the face. She takes in the scene, quickly moves to pick up her baby and comes and stands next to me.

“You okay?” I ask her, a bit relieved I’ve got at least some support here.

She’s furious. “Someone locked me in the loo,” she gulps out.

I look over at Niamh. Orla is her daughter-in-law, surely she can’t have agreed to that. But I can see from her face that she did.

“Grab them,” shouts Rowena suddenly, and one of the doctors, clearly conditioned, moves towards me.

I swing the fork towards him and he jumps back into the sideboard, knocking off dishes as he goes. I swipe again, and the fork flies out of my hand and into a portrait of an ancestor, ripping through the canvas.

The other doctor tries to leave and nearly gets knocked down as Tommy steams into the room. He’s followed closely by Eamonn, who gives a war cry and rushes to my side, standing in front of the twins, who stop bawling the minute they see him. I watch as the staff of the house move to try to stop us leaving. The idiots.

“Call off your dogs, Rowena, or you’ll all be sorry. You especially, Niamh, when Bug finds out you agreed to lock his wife in a toilet away from her baby.” She gasps and Orla stares at her. “Let’s go boys,” I say to my gang.

“Come back here boys. Orla, stay,” Niamh cries. “I'm sorry. It was Rowena who wanted Evie on her own.” She spills the beans as she stands to try to grab Eamonn, who wriggles out of her grasp, screaming at the top of his lungs.

I launch the poker over their heads and it lands in the old Grandfather clock face with a crash. It stops everyone dead. Rowena, not remotely concerned about her non-grandsons, starts to cry about the clock.

“The fourth Earl brought that home, and you’ve ruined it,” she shrieks at me.

Into the chaos walks one of my favourite people on this planet—Bug.

“What the feck is going on here?” He takes in the poker, the fork in the face of the portrait, his kids defending his wife, me and my kids, and the women who were sitting at the table and are now cowering under it. “A nice friendly lunch, is it, Kitten?” He says mildly. He looks at his wife’s furious face, then at his mother, who is red-faced and getting up off the floor where she ducked as the poker flew over her head.

“Anthony, it was Rowena. She wanted to test the babies to make sure they are Marcus’s. She thought Orla would defend Evie, so a staff member locked her in the toilet.” She offers up the whole plot and trails off lamely.

“Tommy, get the twins, boys get your mother.” Bug pulls me to him and away from the defunct doctors and staff members, who all stand around gawking. They clearly don’t know what to do when faced with a six-foot-five giant of a man.

“Mother, I'll deal with you later,” is the only thing he says as he ushers us all out of the front door, his face like thunder.

Orla bursts into tears, and clearly it’s catching, as I join her. We’re stood hugging and crying on the pavement outside the house. Tommy puts the twins into the minivan as Valentina comforts Orla and I. Bug loads his boys and daughter into the van, hugs his wife, and nudges her to slide into the seat beside me. This is one of those times I’m glad I put my foot down and bought the beast of a vehicle. I can’t imagine separating from Bug and his family, even for the short trip back to the house.

I start to laugh a little hysterically as we put distance between ourselves and Russell House. Orla, who’s crying but looking at me with full respect, also starts to laugh, and the boys all grin.

“I could’ve taken that doctor,” says Oisin. “I had him in my sights,” he tells his dad. “I had this spoon,” he says, still brandishing the long-handled serving spoon. I hiccup-laugh at him.

“Well done, Colm. How did you unlock the door?” I finally sputter out.

“With that lock-picking kit uncle Jonno gave us for Christmas,” he tells us. “It was our challenge to see how fast we can get into a locked door,” he says proudly.

I look at Bug for his reaction. Tommy chortles from the driving seat, a huge grin on his face.

“Jonno turns them into criminals at a young age. He’s like Fagin. He had James and then Bucky doing the same things, all part of his quarterly challenges.” I smile indulgently at my little brother's antics.

“Well thank god he has. I was upset and worried. I couldn’t get out,” puts in Orla, kissing her eldest boy.

“Rowena’s an impossible snob, as well as the worst sort of foolish,” states Bug. “I know Marcus is not your favourite person right now Kitten, but he’ll go apeshit when he hears what she’s done.” He’s checking over each and every one of us.

“Yeah, especially as he beat her to the punch. She should have asked Kell, the traitorous git. He already tested the kids,” I add with zero humour, bursting to tell them what’s happened.

Orla gasps again. “He never.” They both look shocked.

I nod and tears brim in my eyes, and not for laughter. “It’s why I left. He never told me. And I had expressly said I did not want a test. Regardless of the speculation and crap floating around, it’s not the norm to do them.”

Bug blows out a breath. For an intelligent man, he’s such a fool at times.” He shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”

“It gets worse.” I’m on a roll now, needing to spill my guts to someone, to my friends, people who love me. “He had the snip and never told me. So no more babies for me,” I say touching Caoimhe, who is just over a month old. I look sadly into Orla’s eyes and she starts to cry again.

“Oh Evie, he never.”

I nod and we both sit, holding each other in the back of the minivan, crying for the loss of something, but we’re not exactly sure what. She holds me the whole way home, with Bug clinging on whenever he can.

We arrive at my apartments and disembark in the garages underground. The bigger boys pile out, while Tommy and Bug carry all the kids into the house.

“Do you need someone to go get your stuff?” Tommy asks Bug. “I can send someone for it.”

He nods. “Is it okay if we stay here? I’ll need to speak to Marcus at some point about what we’re doing. My mother is out. And as for Rowena, if they’re all back up in Yorkshire, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of them, anyway. All she does is spend money we don’t have. I can’t make the changes I want to. She’s even started to put her oar in, overruling me with the staff and farmers. If she wants to run Eastwood herself, she can. We’re off.” Bug is one of the most calm and measured people. For him to be so worked up, the interference must be at an epic proportion.

“We have lots of places in Devon if you want to come there. Don’t go back to Ireland. Come to me.” I hold his hand, my love pouring into him.

He touches my face. “Let me speak to my idiot cousin first. Then I’ll see what we’re doing.”

Orla gets upset again and I try to comfort my friend. I hate seeing her upset. It’s all my fault. “I’m so sorry Orla, I’m?—”

“It’s not your fault, Evie,” she cuts me off. “It’s them. I’ve heard all their vile chatter for months. All winding Rowena up. Chrissy, Isobel, and Betty the ex nanny. She came back with a book of information from her time working for you. Dates, names, events, she’d written them all down.”

“Do you mean this book?” asks Oisin, pulling a small diary from his trousers. We all stare at the little black diary.

I throw my head back and laugh. “Jonno’s Easter challenge?” I ask him, and he nods.

“Pick pocketing,” he says. “Purely for need-to-do-only purposes. But I thought this was one of them.”

We all look at Bug, who’s frowning at the diary, but not at his light fingered son. “She wrote it all down?” he says incredulously. He plucks the book out of Oisin’s hands and flicks through, his brows getting higher and higher. “Let’s hope she’s totally old school and there’s no other copy. I know what we need tonight, a nice roaring fire. Out on that terrace. And I have the perfect thing for kindling.”

He grins round at his sons. “Well done, my loves.” He kisses all his sons on their heads. “Who do we protect?” he asks them.

“Mummy, Kitten, and each other,” they all reply in unison.

I smile at him. “And I you,” I pledge to them, kissing each of them in turn.

“Who’s in Devon?” Bug comes into my bedroom to help me pack some last minute bits.

“Just Xander, Kell’s in LA. Not sure when he’s back. Have you spoken to him?” I lift my eyes to one of my oldest friends.

He’s studying me closely. “No, have you?” And I know from the tone of his voice and the look in his dark brown eyes he’s not asking about his trip.

I sigh. It’s so hard to explain.

I shake my head. I can’t get any words out, and I feel tears well into my eyes as I hang my head.

“What is it, Kitten? What’s stopping you? You love them, they love you. It’s been over two months. Is it irreconcilable? I’m not suggesting you forget and move on, but can’t you forgive them? I know they want to be with you. Kell doesn’t shut up about it. Xander, well, he can hardly speak.”

I look at him helplessly. “Kell wants to talk when he gets back.” I don't say anything else. I think he’s going to start on me again, tell me to get back with them, but he doesn’t. He just stands and smiles at me. “What is it?” I ask him, and I can’t help but smile in return. He’s infectious.

“I remember the first time I met you. I’d been dumped on poor Marcus. My mother and his had headed to a ‘lunch’.” He rolls his eyes at that, pulling me down to sit on the bed next to him. “Wine was always consumed. I knew my mother would be asleep when she got in. Marcus had to take me for the day. I felt as if I was going to meet the queen.”

He touches my hair, brushing it from my face. “I had a list of dos and don’ts. With Xan chipping in.” His grin gets wider. “We’d been given ice pops to take. Xan and Marcus had already eaten theirs. I dropped half of mine, and was bawling my eyes out.” He laughs when he thinks about it. “And then you appeared out of nowhere. With an ice cream. Took one look at my bawling face, and Marcus trying to placate me with the juice from the now empty packet, and handed yours over.” He huffs out a laugh. A loving smile on his handsome face. “I loved you for that. And I knew Marcus and Xan already did. Marcus told me, and I overheard the two of them nearly on a daily basis, talking about you.”

He picks up my hand and takes it in his. “I know you don’t like to live with regrets, and I want you to be happy. They make you happy, Kitten. You’ve been as thick as thieves since you were nine years old. Fair enough, you’ve loved, lost, and loved again. But I think it’s time. Time to start living again, to the max, full steam ahead. Full throttle, like you’ve always done with them. No holding back. They love you. And if you’re honest with yourself, you love them.”

His grin gets cheeky. “I know they do crazy stuff. Don’t think they’ve ever really grown up. Not sure they ever will. But their hearts are in the right place. Especially when it comes to you, especially you. It’s time to all come home.”

I start to sob, and Bug holds me hard to him. I hear him speaking quietly to Orla and Tommy, who have clearly heard my racket. He kisses my cheeks, saying, “I’ll let you get your things together. Tommy and I are going to speak to Marshall. There’s lots of nasty stuff flying around at the minute, and Rowena and Co have triggered a shit storm. I’ll let you ring Xander.”

What the hell am I going to say? I feel fragile inside. I need comfort. I want him to be at home when I get there. I want him to stay. I need him to stay.

I’ve listened to their stuttered attempts at explanations. Although I’ve cut them off before they get up a head of steam. I’ve listened to my brothers rant on about security. I’m not blind, I’ve seen a few of the articles and words written about me about my kids. Jonno has probably been editing a lot. Protecting me, shielding me from the worst of it. I’ve run all the conversations from Scotland through my mind. Considered all the events that happened. Grace, Lauren, Becky, Rowena, the girl who tried to push me into the road when I was with Cary.

Did I overreact? Focus on the negative, their betrayal of my wishes. Did I ignore some of the markers and let my emotions blind me? Yes, I did. But it was the fact that they didn’t deem fit to tell me. Wanted me in the dark. Didn’t think I would be upset about that. Didn’t think I would be rational enough to debate the pros and cons. The upshot was they wanted to do it. And I know from all the conversations and recriminations with Jonno, he egged them on.

Now this with Rowena. She’s normally got her head in the clouds, only focuses on herself and her garden parties at this time of year. Gossip must have got to seismic proportions if she’s been in the middle of a campaign to find the truth.

I mull over Bug's words. Xander’s constant texts. Kell’s rambling voice messages. My brothers’ defiant arguments. I won’t forget, and I will ensure that neither do they. But if I want them in my life, I’m going to have to forgive them. Try and move past it. Make a decision and stick to it. Full throttle or not at all.