CHAPTER 6

Adam

The last few weeks had been both heaven and hell for me. Living with Tilly so close yet not able to touch her how I wanted was giving me sleepless nights. She wasn’t ready yet, but I hoped she soon would be. Trust took time to build, and I was happy to give her that time. With her and her girls living in my house, it went a long way to helping wait for the right time.

It wasn’t just with Tilly that I had to build trust, it was her girls too. For too long, they’d lived as second best, and I wanted them to know that they’d never be second best in my life.

Jeanie was easy; she wanted to love and be loved. She was a bright spark in an otherwise dim world. It didn’t take long for me to love her. Even with what she’d witnessed, it still hadn’t dimmed her sparkle. She was also stronger than her mother gave her credit for, and she was a natural-born carer. The way she’d cared for her family when they first arrived had touched something in me. I knew I’d have to watch her because she gave so much without expecting anything in return. She was what my mother would have called a loving soul.

It was a little harder to gain Ally’s trust and that was understandable with everything she’d been through. In the end, I’d been honest with her about how I saw things going and what it would mean for them.

I’d explained that I liked her mum a lot and hoped that she’d eventually give me a chance to prove that not all men were violent arseholes and that I hoped one day to marry her mum and adopt her and Jeanie.

Tilly had appreciated my honesty and had asked if she could think on it. I’d agreed, and in the meantime, I’d arranged self-defence lessons for them both. While Ally couldn’t join in just yet — not with her ribs still healing — she could watch; it was a way to spend time with both girls while they learned something useful.

I’d need to speak to Tilly about teaching them to shoot, and I’d be asking Molly to show them how to use knives. There was a deep burning urge in me to ensure that both girls learned everything they could about keeping safe and protected. It helped that I’d introduced them to Bren, who was only a tiny little thing, and Carly had her demonstrate how she threw her brothers around. Once they’d seen what they could do with some training, they were all in.

It had been while Ally and I were sitting, watching Carly take Jeanie through some moves, that Ally had asked me a question that I knew the answer to instantly.

“Adam?”

“Mmh,” I hummed a reply, not taking my eyes off Jeanie, wanting to make sure she understood what Carly was asking of her. Not that Carly would put her in any danger of hurting herself. I couldn’t seem to relax my vigilance, though. I needed to have a conversation with Johnny about these feelings and if he worried about Jackson and Emy like this.

“Can I ask you a question?”

At the uncertainty in Ally’s voice, I focused my full attention on her. “What’s wrong, ceann beag ?”

Ally looked uncertain for a moment; indecision on her face making me wonder what troubled her.

“We get to choose a new surname at our new school, and Jeanie and I were wondering if we could use O’Shea?” she asked uncertainly. “I mean,” she rushed out hurriedly, stumbling over her words, “we don’t have to if you don’t want us to; we can use something else.”

“Don’t take it back now, ceann beag . I’d love it if you and your sister used our name. I’m hoping eventually that you’ll have my name permanently, but I don’t think any of you are ready for that.”

Ally beamed a wide smile at me, “Thank you. And no, Mum might not be ready yet, but Jeanie and I are.” She hesitated, “Just one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“You won’t ever hit us, will you?”

Sliding my arm around her shoulders, I gently pulled her towards me, my voice gentle even as anger coursed through me that she thought she had to ask such a question. “Never, sweet girl. I’d never lay a finger on any of you, and if anyone does, you speak to me or any of my brothers and we’ll sort that out. Especially Tommy; he’d never allow anyone to hurt any of you. Okay?”

Ally nodded her head against my chest, my heart hurt as her tears dripped onto me. ‘I couldn’t wait for her cunting father to make his appearance. He needed to hurt just as much as he’d hurt my girls.’

“Okay,” Ally’s soft voice broke through my thoughts of murder and mayhem. “Why would Tommy understand?”

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I whispered so only she could hear, “Because he had a dad just like yours.”

“Poor Tommy, I can’t imagine anyone hurting him now, though.”

“You’re right; nobody would, and that’s why I need you and Jeanie to do these classes so that I know if I’m not there or one of your uncles isn’t around, you can look after yourselves. You, Jeanie, and your mum are precious to me, and I’m going to make it so you never have to worry about being safe again,” I assured her.

“Thank you, Adam.”

“No thanks necessary, sweet girl; from now on, you’re an O’Shea, and that comes with a tonne of protection.”

We’d left it like that. Jeanie had squealed so loud when Ally told her that they could use our name and had thrown herself at me in an exuberant hug. These girls were no longer slowly working their way into my heart; they’d taken it over. My quiet, well-ordered life had been thrown completely on its head and I wasn’t in the least bit sorry.

Now that I had the girls’ blessing, I was going to work on courting their mother until I had them all legally bound to us O’Sheas. And that meant that I needed to spend more time with them, and that started today. Knowing they were going to the school to have a look around and get their names registered had me antsy all day; in the end, I’d decided to leave the office early and go home.

My heart had settled in my chest as soon as I’d walked in the door and seen Maya and Tilly working together to get lunch on the table. That the two of them got on made everything easier all around; they’d formed a bond, and even if the cause of that bond made me feel a little murderous, I was glad they had each other.