I couldn’t handle that. Today, as I sat here at my kitchen table, nursing my first cup of coffee, I was determined to find the words to heal the wounds I’d caused and send him on his way.
I’d just taken another sip of my coffee when there was a loud banging knock against my door. Cautiously moving towards my apartment door, I grabbed the baseball bat I kept by the entrance for safety and then looked out the peephole to see who it was. My breath caught in my chest as I took in the frown on my visitor’s face while he waited for me to answer. Taking my eye away from the small glass opening, I laid my forehead against the cool wood of my door and silently cursed.
It could be worse.
But it was still really damn bad.
Another round of loud thumps rattled my door, startling me, and then Declan’s loud voice shouted through.
“I know you’re in there, Kara. Answer the damn door.”
There was a time I had looked forward to hearing my former brother-in-law’s voice. He was a great storyteller and had told the best jokes as we had all sat around his Grandpa Pat’s kitchen table for family dinners. This time, his voice didn’t sound so friendly.
His fist hit my door again, this time so hard I was amazed he hadn’t broken it down. “Dammit, Kara! This is complete bullshit, and you know it. Open this fucking door!”
I stood there, debating my options. I could sit here and ignore him. He’d have to go away eventually. Or I could open that door and start the process of facing my past.
To be honest, I didn’t want to talk to Declan. He was no longer my brother-in-law, and while I did feel remorse for skipping out on not just Riley, but the rest of the Sullivan family, I didn’t feel obligated to explain myself to Declan. Riley deserved an explanation, so Riley would get one.
I squared my shoulders, preparing myself for the famous Irish Sullivan temper because I wasn’t going to answer that door, when fate handed me a giant kick in the ass.
Old Mrs. McGillicutty.
“Young man, if you don’t stop raising a ruckus, I’m going to call the police on you! Obviously that young lady isn’t home or doesn’t want to talk to you, so take your derriere out of here.”
Oh, sweet Jesus, that old woman was at it again. Old Mrs. McGillicutty had to be pushing eighty, yet that didn’t stop her from butting in to everyone’s problems. So far, I’d managed to avoid her motherly nagging because I led a quiet life. The other neighbors around us, though? Not so lucky. I’d seen her giving one of our other neighbors, Brent, a hard time for not holding the door open for his girlfriend. She’d lectured him for forty-five minutes on how men these days didn’t have any manners or knew how to be a gentleman. Poor Brent had opened the door for his girlfriend every day since.
Declan would never know what hit him when it came to Mrs. McGillicutty.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you this morning,” Declan apologized sincerely.
“Posh, young man. I don’t want to hear your excuses; I want to hear your footsteps as you leave. Go on now, get going. If you don’t go, I’m sorry to have to say that I’ll have to make you leave.”
Oh boy. This wasn’t good.
Mrs. McGillicutty was about to break out her black belt Tae Kwon Do. Literally.
The old woman had bragged for six months straight after earning her black belt down at the seniors’ community center. Now, she acted like a vigilante from time to time, threatening to beat up anyone who didn’t pick up their dog’s poop from the apartment’s grassy areas or anyone who had the nerve to litter in the parking lot.
Looking up to the ceiling, I asked whoever was up there for a freakin’ break. First Riley last night and now this. Could it get any worse?
Walking back the couple of steps towards the front door, I could picture Declan’s incredulous face as he processed the old woman’s threat. Declan had been a seal with his brother, and it wasn’t everyday a
I’d just taken another sip of my coffee when there was a loud banging knock against my door. Cautiously moving towards my apartment door, I grabbed the baseball bat I kept by the entrance for safety and then looked out the peephole to see who it was. My breath caught in my chest as I took in the frown on my visitor’s face while he waited for me to answer. Taking my eye away from the small glass opening, I laid my forehead against the cool wood of my door and silently cursed.
It could be worse.
But it was still really damn bad.
Another round of loud thumps rattled my door, startling me, and then Declan’s loud voice shouted through.
“I know you’re in there, Kara. Answer the damn door.”
There was a time I had looked forward to hearing my former brother-in-law’s voice. He was a great storyteller and had told the best jokes as we had all sat around his Grandpa Pat’s kitchen table for family dinners. This time, his voice didn’t sound so friendly.
His fist hit my door again, this time so hard I was amazed he hadn’t broken it down. “Dammit, Kara! This is complete bullshit, and you know it. Open this fucking door!”
I stood there, debating my options. I could sit here and ignore him. He’d have to go away eventually. Or I could open that door and start the process of facing my past.
To be honest, I didn’t want to talk to Declan. He was no longer my brother-in-law, and while I did feel remorse for skipping out on not just Riley, but the rest of the Sullivan family, I didn’t feel obligated to explain myself to Declan. Riley deserved an explanation, so Riley would get one.
I squared my shoulders, preparing myself for the famous Irish Sullivan temper because I wasn’t going to answer that door, when fate handed me a giant kick in the ass.
Old Mrs. McGillicutty.
“Young man, if you don’t stop raising a ruckus, I’m going to call the police on you! Obviously that young lady isn’t home or doesn’t want to talk to you, so take your derriere out of here.”
Oh, sweet Jesus, that old woman was at it again. Old Mrs. McGillicutty had to be pushing eighty, yet that didn’t stop her from butting in to everyone’s problems. So far, I’d managed to avoid her motherly nagging because I led a quiet life. The other neighbors around us, though? Not so lucky. I’d seen her giving one of our other neighbors, Brent, a hard time for not holding the door open for his girlfriend. She’d lectured him for forty-five minutes on how men these days didn’t have any manners or knew how to be a gentleman. Poor Brent had opened the door for his girlfriend every day since.
Declan would never know what hit him when it came to Mrs. McGillicutty.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you this morning,” Declan apologized sincerely.
“Posh, young man. I don’t want to hear your excuses; I want to hear your footsteps as you leave. Go on now, get going. If you don’t go, I’m sorry to have to say that I’ll have to make you leave.”
Oh boy. This wasn’t good.
Mrs. McGillicutty was about to break out her black belt Tae Kwon Do. Literally.
The old woman had bragged for six months straight after earning her black belt down at the seniors’ community center. Now, she acted like a vigilante from time to time, threatening to beat up anyone who didn’t pick up their dog’s poop from the apartment’s grassy areas or anyone who had the nerve to litter in the parking lot.
Looking up to the ceiling, I asked whoever was up there for a freakin’ break. First Riley last night and now this. Could it get any worse?
Walking back the couple of steps towards the front door, I could picture Declan’s incredulous face as he processed the old woman’s threat. Declan had been a seal with his brother, and it wasn’t everyday a
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