maybe we could—”
He was interrupted by a voice over an intercom saying, “Excuse me, boss, but you have a call on line one. Mike Humphreys, calling from Los Angeles.”
“I must speak with him. I’m supposed to go to Los Angeles next week to meet with him. I think I need to talk to . . .”
“Go ahead and take your call. I’ll see you Wednesday.” She kissed him good-bye, once lightly on the cheek.
“See you then,” he said as he picked up the phone and plunged into his office routine.
In the privacy of the elevator, she looked down at her hands; they were shaking. Hang on, girl; remember this is Eian, dear old Eian. Your best friend. Tony’s best friend. Yeah. My best friend.
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan met with his brothers that night, and as they sat around the deck overlooking his pool and watched the waves crash on the shoreline, he told them what had happened that day in the office. They could see he was still shaken up from the experience.
“I saw you on television. You looked pretty shaken up, bro,” Eian said quietly.
“I was. I just knelt there, shaking, with a gun to my head. It’s true what they say. Your whole life flashes before your eyes. But thinking about it, everything I thought about was family. I saw Mum and Da laughing. I saw us growing up as kids, playing ball, I saw my wedding, and I saw Mary Katherine being born—everything.”
“Damn!” said Eian. “That’s scary.”
“Have they caught him yet?” Robert asked.
“No, but all this really makes you think about the things in your life.” He paused and looked at both of them. “When you think you only have two minutes to live, it makes you decide what’s important.”
Robert finally spoke. “Yeah, we may fuss and fight, but I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you or Eian. I just don’t know, but everybody has been telling us to get on with things. The fire at the house got me to thinking about how I live my life. At least for me, I think it may be a wake-up call, that it’s time to get on with living.”
His brothers nodded in agreement.
“I need a drink,” Robert said, rising quickly and heading for the liquor cabinet. “The good stuff.”
Robert returned with three glasses of Scotch whiskey and toasted, “To the Macgregor brothers.”
“Long live Scotland,” they all chimed in.
They sat in silence, each lost in his own world, his own thoughts, and his own resolutions.
Chapter Sixteen
Tuesday afternoon Robert parked his old pickup truck in the parking lot and, after looking in the mirror, brushed his unruly hair away from his face once again. As he sat in the truck waiting, he glanced down at his transformation—his new shoes, trousers, belt, and shirt. He had to admit that Patti did have excellent taste—expensive, but good. After taking a deep breath, he made his way into the lobby of the Callahan Building for his first meeting with the social coordinator. The tall chrome-and-glass building behind a grassy knoll was in stark contrast to his squat one-story shop, which was set back in the corner of a shopping center.
“Robert Macgregor to see Coleen Callahan,” he said to the security guard at the desk.
Looking up, the genial uniformed guard smiled and pointed to a clipboard. “Driver’s license, please. Then just sign in.”
Robert retrieved his license from his old brown leather wallet and handed it to him.
“I’ll call her office and someone will be right down to escort you,” the guard said as he handed Robert an ID badge marked V ISITOR . “Just have a seat, please,” he said, motioning him to the leather sofas in the waiting area.
The waiting area had glass-and-chrome tables filled with newspapers and real estate magazines, but his mind still pondered the conversation he had had the night before with his youngest brother. Ryan could have been killed, murdered right in his own office. My own brother. Life is short, too short. Ryan was shaken, retelling the story. But the
He was interrupted by a voice over an intercom saying, “Excuse me, boss, but you have a call on line one. Mike Humphreys, calling from Los Angeles.”
“I must speak with him. I’m supposed to go to Los Angeles next week to meet with him. I think I need to talk to . . .”
“Go ahead and take your call. I’ll see you Wednesday.” She kissed him good-bye, once lightly on the cheek.
“See you then,” he said as he picked up the phone and plunged into his office routine.
In the privacy of the elevator, she looked down at her hands; they were shaking. Hang on, girl; remember this is Eian, dear old Eian. Your best friend. Tony’s best friend. Yeah. My best friend.
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan met with his brothers that night, and as they sat around the deck overlooking his pool and watched the waves crash on the shoreline, he told them what had happened that day in the office. They could see he was still shaken up from the experience.
“I saw you on television. You looked pretty shaken up, bro,” Eian said quietly.
“I was. I just knelt there, shaking, with a gun to my head. It’s true what they say. Your whole life flashes before your eyes. But thinking about it, everything I thought about was family. I saw Mum and Da laughing. I saw us growing up as kids, playing ball, I saw my wedding, and I saw Mary Katherine being born—everything.”
“Damn!” said Eian. “That’s scary.”
“Have they caught him yet?” Robert asked.
“No, but all this really makes you think about the things in your life.” He paused and looked at both of them. “When you think you only have two minutes to live, it makes you decide what’s important.”
Robert finally spoke. “Yeah, we may fuss and fight, but I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you or Eian. I just don’t know, but everybody has been telling us to get on with things. The fire at the house got me to thinking about how I live my life. At least for me, I think it may be a wake-up call, that it’s time to get on with living.”
His brothers nodded in agreement.
“I need a drink,” Robert said, rising quickly and heading for the liquor cabinet. “The good stuff.”
Robert returned with three glasses of Scotch whiskey and toasted, “To the Macgregor brothers.”
“Long live Scotland,” they all chimed in.
They sat in silence, each lost in his own world, his own thoughts, and his own resolutions.
Chapter Sixteen
Tuesday afternoon Robert parked his old pickup truck in the parking lot and, after looking in the mirror, brushed his unruly hair away from his face once again. As he sat in the truck waiting, he glanced down at his transformation—his new shoes, trousers, belt, and shirt. He had to admit that Patti did have excellent taste—expensive, but good. After taking a deep breath, he made his way into the lobby of the Callahan Building for his first meeting with the social coordinator. The tall chrome-and-glass building behind a grassy knoll was in stark contrast to his squat one-story shop, which was set back in the corner of a shopping center.
“Robert Macgregor to see Coleen Callahan,” he said to the security guard at the desk.
Looking up, the genial uniformed guard smiled and pointed to a clipboard. “Driver’s license, please. Then just sign in.”
Robert retrieved his license from his old brown leather wallet and handed it to him.
“I’ll call her office and someone will be right down to escort you,” the guard said as he handed Robert an ID badge marked V ISITOR . “Just have a seat, please,” he said, motioning him to the leather sofas in the waiting area.
The waiting area had glass-and-chrome tables filled with newspapers and real estate magazines, but his mind still pondered the conversation he had had the night before with his youngest brother. Ryan could have been killed, murdered right in his own office. My own brother. Life is short, too short. Ryan was shaken, retelling the story. But the
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