Falling for Owen by Jennifer Ryan Page A

the last years earning his degree, defending his clients, and staying out of trouble.
    “Your instinct is to protect the innocent and pummel the guilty. You only got it wrong because you were drunk and that girl lied to you.”
    “Yes, and six months later the guy died of a prescription drug overdose.” Owen finished the story.
    “That’s not your fault,” Claire said.
    “If I hadn’t fought with him, he’d have never ended up in the hospital and on those meds.”
    “If that bitch hadn’t lied, none of it would have happened.”
    “Told you,” Rain said.
    “I hope she got hers,” Claire said.
    “Owen turned her in for dealing. The cops found over a pound of marijuana in her apartment stashed in the heating vent. She went away for eighteen months.” Rain raised her glass of water. Claire clinked her glass of wine to it, toasting to their shared opinion of Molly.
    “Not good enough, but I guess it will have to do for what she did to you,” Claire said.
    “She didn’t do anything to me.”
    “She made you believe what you did was wrong even though you did it for all the right reasons. If you don’t believe me, believe your brother and Rain. Neither of them thinks what you did is wrong.”
    “Brody just told you the worst thing I ever did.”
    “I told her the worst thing you think you did,” Brody clarified. “I agree with Rain and Claire. Not your fault, man.” Brody turned to Claire. “He’s the older brother. He always protected me from our old man as a kid. His mother, too, until she left.” Brody looked him dead in the eye. “Look how well you looked out for Rain and the girls when I was gone.”
    Owen sighed, not knowing what to say when Claire, Brody, and Rain all praised him for trying to do the right thing.
    “Now, tell me the worst thing he ever did,” Claire demanded of Brody.
    “He stole a candy bar when he was ten from the grocery store. He felt so guilty about it, he went back the next day, confessed to the manager, and paid for the candy bar. He swept the store every day after school for two weeks.”
    Claire feigned a look of horror. “You didn’t.”
    He couldn’t help himself and laughed.
    “Face it, Owen, underneath the bad-boy McBride rep, you’re just a good guy,” Claire said, squeezing his arm. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, feeling better that she saw him in a good light and made him rethink the events of that night. He’d always feel guilty for what he did, but it didn’t hold the sting of shame it once did.
    “Best thing he ever did?” Claire asked both Brody and Rain.
    “Took care of Rain while I was gone and Rain was raising the girls on her own,” Brody said.
    “He’s a loyal friend and an even better uncle,” Rain added.
    “Those things I already knew,” Claire said. “Any guy who has tea parties with his nieces in public has to be a really great guy.”
    Owen still held her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
    “How about you? Best and worst thing you ever did?”
    “Best thing I ever did was spend my senior year of college taking care of my ailing grandmother. Best year of my life. She taught me to cook and sew and I got to know her better in that year than I did growing up. She lived an ordinary life filled with some extraordinary moments. I used to make her tell me the story about how she met my grandfather and married him against both their parents’ wishes. They were married for fifty-two years and happily renewed their vows three times, the last one on their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
    “Worst thing I ever did, not tell a friend her boyfriend hit on me and lied that I thought he was a great guy. She really liked him. A month after he grabbed my ass and kissed me, she found out he was cheating on her. Completely shocked, she told me what happened and must have read something on my face because she asked me if I knew. I told her what happened and that I thought the guy was a jerk, and she didn’t need him. Too late. She was