Always and Forever (27 page)

“You’re still a crybaby.”

“Yeah, like you didn’t cry when you found out Sophie was pregnant again.”

“At least she has C.J. to keep her company.” Both women were expecting their second child, unplanned in each case, but
nonetheless celebrated.

Aidan’s gaze turned to the dock where his and Liam’s wives, both in maternity suits, talked. Heads bent, wearing their hair longer than either of them ever had before, they looked almost saintly.

“At least it’ll keep them out of danger.”

Sophie had taken a permanent job, which had regular hours and was safer, at the Fire Academy, and C.J. was benched from any
protective duty.

Liam sobered. “C.J. seems happier these days.”

“It’s been two years,” Aidan responded.

There had been dark days in the Ludzecky family when C.J.’s twin sisters’ husbands, out together at a Syracuse basketball game, had been hit by a drunk driver on the way home and died on the spot. “Everybody’s healing. They’re excited about the new baby.”

Just then Aidan saw
his parents come out of the house, holding hands. In an unexpected move, his mother had gone out to the Ludzecky home in Queens, befriended Matka and helped her for the better part of the year take care of her family. Aidan had never loved her more.

Rising from his chair, he met his parents halfway down the slope. When he reached them, Pa mumbled something about not needing help to walk, but
Mama grasped his arm. “My boy,” she said and kissed him on the cheek.

He managed to get Pa to loop his other arm over his. “We were looking at your photos, son, the ones that Bailey’s hung on her walls. Pretty nice stuff, I want you to know.”

Aidan’s heart warmed. He had so much joy in his life, but Pa’s accolades still meant a lot.

Mary Kate O’Neil took her husband’s arm when they
reached the shore and left Aidan. They walked a distance away and stood staring at the water.

“Now, we should have a picture of that,” Paddy said, nodding to the lake.

All four boys had gone down to the shore, as well as Bailey and Clay, and gotten in the water with their kids.

Pa pulled a small camera out of his pocket. He couldn’t believe that he’d taken such interest in Aidan’s
photography that Aidan had bought him a simple camera and had taught him some basics. “It’s not fancy like our boy’s, but it’ll do the job.”

First, he snapped a shot of his girl, Bailey Anne. She and the former president, in the water and accompanied by a Secret Service agent, dunked Rory, threw Angel up in the air, watched Tyler swim.

Next, Pa zeroed in close on Aidan, in the shallow
water with C.J. as their two-year-old, Katie, splashed in front of them. C.J.’s rounded belly signaled even more new life.

Out farther, Paddy caught a picture of his famous novelist son and his journalist daughter-in-law, hugging their twins and protecting them from Hogan. Those two little boys made grandpa happier than the dickens.

His gaze turned to Liam, one of the best men he’d ever
met, as he cuddled Sophie and watched his two kids, Cleary and Mike, push their little sister, Shannon, around on a float.

And then there was his eldest son, Patrick, his namesake and the child he’d had the most conflict with. They were both at fault, though. Paddy himself had been stubborn. And that boy was hard-headed. But he’d learned to bend and compromise, especially with his wife, who
he was holding over the water, ready to dump her in. Paddy snapped a shot of the exact moment when he let go.

Then he turned to his own love of his life and held up the camera.

“What are you doin’, Paddy?”

“Takin’ a final picture of the woman who gave me all those O’Neil children.”

“Go on,” she said, waving her hand, but she smiled pretty when he took the shot.

He walked to
her and gave her a kiss on the mouth. “Thanks for stayin’ by my side, Katie, me girl. For all of this.” He gestured to the lake.

Mary Kate moved into her husband’s arms and sighed. “They’re a blessing, Paddy. A true, true blessing.”

“That they are, lass. That they are.”

Dear Readers,

I have to say, I’ve loved Patrick O’Neil right from book one. I’m not sure why I’m partial to him. Though I love all my O’Neil guys and Bailey especially, Patrick stole my heart. Maybe it’s because he’s so serious, so intense, so determined to protect his family, both nuclear and extended. Maybe it’s because I’ve never known a man who loved his wife more than Pat
loves Brie. Maybe it’s because the story explores such a dilemma--how two people have forged an unbreakable bond but still can’t seem to find peace in their relationship.

As for Brie, it wasn’t hard to get inside the head of a woman who loves her husband so much she tolerates his insecurities and his flaws. Most of the time. But I was glad Brie stood up to Pat, as well, and argued for her
point of view. She’s so human. And good. Personally, I liked and admired her.

One last point: Yes, the events in the book are dramatized. I mean, who knows a U.S. president this well? Then there’s the intrigue plot in the last half of the book that doesn’t happen to ordinary people. Yet at the same time, Pat and Brie
are
your next door neighbors, your barkeep, the woman who organizes your
house and volunteers at school. Perhaps that explains why the series has touched so many hearts: they are us at our best and at our worst. I know I will miss them.

Kathy Shay

SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN
Follow New York Senator Clay Wainwright and anti-gang specialist, the Street Angel, Bailey O’Neil as they battle over how to control street gangs and unexpectedly fall in love.
Amazon

CLOSE TO YOU
Follow brother-in-law of the vice president Aidan O’Neil and Secret Service Agent CJ Ludzecky as they travel the fine line between professional ethics and falling in love. Appearances by characters from SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN. Originally published by Berkley Press “Kathryn Shay writes believable characters you can't help falling in love with.” The Romance Reader Connection
Amazon

TAKING
THE HEAT
If ever there was a mismatch, it’s staid, solid Liam O’Neil and risk-taking firefighter Sophie Tyler. When passion and eventually love consume them, there’s no denying their need to be together.
Amazon

HIGH STAKES
Back by popular demand…The O’Neil Family. Dylan O’Neil’s Achilles heel is his family. He’ll do anything to protect them. Rachel Scott, a cable newscaster, seems to offend and even hurt them with her news coverage. As bitter enemies, Dylan and Rachel clash publically. But when attraction between them flares, can they work out a lasting relationship with the entire O’Neil clan against
them?
Amazon

To browse Kathryn’s impressive list of titles go to
http://www.kathrynshay.com/books/
.

Copyright 2014 Kathryn Shay

Cover art by Patricia Ryan

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A New York Times bestseller, Kathryn Shay has been a lifelong writer and teacher. She has published with the Berkley Publishing Group and Harlequin Enterprises and Bold Strokes Books. Recently, she has written several full length novels and novellas which are self-published. She has won five RT Book Reviews awards, four Golden Quills, four Holt Medallions, the Bookseller's Best Award,
Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year and several "Starred Reviews." Her novels have been serialized in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and featured in USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and PEOPLE magazine. There are over five million copies of her books in print, along with hundreds of thousands downloaded online. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and children.