7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Moira

T he sheets smell of him as I wake up. My mind reels as I realize everything that I told him last night. And as my alarm goes off and I get out of bed, my heart sinks. Declan has gone. No note, no text message, nothing. And I start to think that maybe I told him too much. The more I think about it, as I get ready for work, the more I’m mentally smacking myself in the head. Of course he’s hit the bricks. I’d judge him if he didn’t. My family is a mess. I’m a mess. I have nothing to offer him, other than added stress and a good romp in the hay. He’d be a fool to stick around.

The only thing that helps divert my thoughts is the fact that I have back-to-back patients today. That will all change, of course, if I get an emergency call to go to the hospital. But at the moment, I only have one patient that is in her third trimester, and almost ready to deliver, and I’m seeing her this morning. All my other patients are not as far along, and several on my roster that aren’t expecting, just on my list for various medical conditions and annual follow-up appointments. As I race to the office, for no good reason other than it helps to keep me focused, my phone rings on Bluetooth as I’m in the car.

It’s Stephanie. I pick up on the second ring. “Steph. How are you?”

“Did you see it?”

“See what?” I frown.

“The video with you and Declan Harris at some crime scene. When were you going to tell me about this murder that you witnessed? God, you sure know how to complicate your life.”

I raise my hand as if she was right here with me. “Back up a bit, Steph. I didn’t witness a crime scene, first of all. And, hang on, how the hell...how did you see it? Oh, Jesus, never mind.” My mind reels as I remember the guy with the camera that showed up unannounced and unwelcome last night.

“So, you saw him, then.”

“Aye. He got himself kicked out, but I guess he got enough.”

“He got plenty. Although, it is one of those shady news channels that’s only posted on the internet. More like social media click bait, but still. They get thousands of views a day from what I know of them. They’re all about the scandals and you know how much people eat that shit up.”

“Aye, exactly.”

“So, since the source is so reliable, and didn’t even say who the victim of the shooting was, or name anyone other than the infamous Harris boys, who were all those people there with you?”

“The dead guy is Mike Wilson, but I’m sure that will be on the news, once the investigation is completed. The woman he tried to harm was Trudy, one of my patients. She’s also dating Maverick Harris, which is how I came to know the situation, and showed up there, thinking she’d been shot. I figured I could lend a hand, but it seems that my hand wasn’t needed, after all.”

“Oh, you gave enough. Your face is clear as day in the video, Moira. You should have them take it down. That’s the last thing that you need.”

“I’ve heard of things like that, Steph. Unless you threaten them with a lawsuit, they won’t budge. But I’ll take a look at it and see.”

“I’ve sent you the link via text.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you didn’t call me last night. I’ll assume that you were with Mister Wonderful again.” Her voice is flat but not unimpressed. “Did you spill your guts or was it just another fun-filled night of sex?”

I hate lying to her, and I’m the worst at it, but I don’t want her to know how much of a stupid idiot I am for sleeping with him again, and then pouring out my soul, only for him to abandon me in the middle of the night. She’ll just say something cocky like ‘did he leave a Declan-shaped impression as he ran out the door?’. “God, Steph! Do you really have to be so crass?” I hiss, going for irritated.

“Oh, don’t even try that angle with me, Moira. It won’t work.” She chuckles. “So, did you go back over there, or did he hunt you down at home or at the office?”

“How do you even know? And why are you being so facetious? I thought you wanted me to get together with him!”

“Ah, so you admit that you were with him, then.”

“I’m not admitting anything!”

“Alright. Then, what did you do last night? And why aren’t you already at the office? That’s unlike you, Moira, and you know it.”

I give up. “Fine. I was with him. He came to my house and I poured my guts out to him. He walked out in the middle of the night because I’m a fucking jackass. Are you happy now?! I told you this wasn’t a match. I told you this was a mistake. I hate being right but goddammit, I am!”

“Bullshit. There you go again, assuming. What is with you? Have you called him to ask him why he walked out?”

“I don’t need to! I told him that I’m related to a bunch of assholes, and my da, the head asshole, is a fucking murderer! He’d be stupid to stick around after that, Steph!”

“Calm down. You don’t know why he left. For all you know his da could be having a conniption over the news. I’m sure that’s all it is.”

“If that’s the case, then why didn’t he wake me before he left?”

“Because it’s not a goddamn eighties Wham! hit, Moira! He’s not going to wake you up before he go goes! He has responsibilities, just like you! Are you telling me that if you got an emergency call in the middle of the night, for the hospital, a dying patient or something like that, and he was there with you, would you take the time out to wake him and tell him? I don’t think so. Now, don’t be so ridiculous and self-centered. Not everything is about you.”

As much as I hate it, she does make sense. “Fine. I’ll sit tight then. I’m sure he’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you.” She says, half relieved, half satisfied. “Now, will you please contact this asshole media dude and tell him that you’ll sue his ass off if he doesn’t take that video down? Jesus Christ!”

“I’ll have Shana call about it. Really, Stephanie, I’ve got a million things to do today.”

“And call Declan yourself. Don’t just let him rot, you know.”

“I love it how you assume things.”

“I know you too well.” She changes the subject. “Will you be free for lunch?”

“Since you stiffed me yesterday, to set me up with Declan? Which, by the way, I’m still pissed about.”

“You’ll thank me later.”

“I assume you used Shana on that score as well?”

“Didn’t even have to bribe her.”

“Bitch.” I chuckle.

“See you at lunch.” She snuffles, and then she ends the call.

Nothing from Declan all morning, even though I’m not thinking about it, since I’m knee deep in patients. It turns out that I do get called to the hospital, following said patient almost ready to deliver, and I have to cancel my lunch date with Stephanie, which also means that I can’t even dream about taking a minute out to call Declan.

...and I don’t hear from him, either.

...for two days.

Declan

I don’t know who this unknown person is until I see the closing remarks on the email message. But then she comes back with the longest P.S. I’ve ever read. The bitch knows where I live and work, and she knows damn straight to never show up there, so I guess this is the next best thing. It’s been years since I’ve heard from or even of her, not that I’ve been keeping up, but my da always says to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so there’s a point against me on that score. The message starts out sort of ominous. Almost sales-pitch-like, and as I scan through the bullshit, about to delete it and block the account, like I do on many occasions, when strange females reach out to me, I see her name in the closing signature.

Sure, Malcolm or any of my brothers or cousins would tell me to go for it, and take it as a booty call, but I’d never be in her venomous presence again, no matter what. Despite the pleading tone of the email, it still gives me shivers when I reread it, knowing that it’s my ex-girlfriend. The one that broke my heart and didn’t seem to give a shit. Her angle in the message is that she’s concerned for me. It sounds like she’s had a struggle with her health recently, but I don’t give a shit. Why should I? It’s not my problem. I haven’t spoken to her in years, and now suddenly, she gets in touch? What the fuck!

I have half a mind to just delete and block her, and I’m about to, but then she says something that hits a nerve. She says that she found something that belongs to me when she moved recently, and that she’d like to give it back. At first, I think that she’s just bullshitting me, but then she alludes to a watch that I’ve been missing since around the time we were last together. It belonged to my grandfather, and I was about to take it for a minor repair, but then we got into a huge fight, and I never saw her or the watch again. I always thought that one of my brothers stole it or something, or maybe da took it for the repair and put it away for safekeeping, and never thought twice about it.

It strikes me that if I haven’t seen it in this long, that either I should ask my family if they’ve seen it, or just forget about it. Not sure if it’s worth the risk at this point, but, stupidly, I respond to her. It’s just a simple ‘I’d like my watch back. I’ll arrange for my assistant to pick it up.’ And then in a matter of seconds, she’s on Messenger, sending me a message. I get a chill up my spine as I read it.

‘That’s not necessary. I can meet you at a coffee shop or something. You don’t need to trouble your assistant for this. I promise I won’t bite.’

Fuck.

I need to end this.

The last thing I need is for this bitch to have something of mine and keep bothering me about it. Who knows how long she’s had it for and why. It creeps me out, frankly. As I’m about to reach out to my family and ask if they’ve seen granddad’s watch, she messages me again.

‘Look, I’m engaged, Declan. You’ve got nothing to worry about, okay? I just...I want to get rid of it. No offence.’

Why, when she says this, I feel relief, I don’t know. But foolishly, I bend. ‘Where’s this coffee shop? I can meet you tonight if you’re free’.

She tells me where it is, and I can feel my gag reflex already over-sensitive. The thought of seeing her makes my skin crawl. And this whole story of her being engaged and her having my watch could be all bullshit. But if it’s not, she might just toss the thing in the trash and piss me off, and then I’ll never see it again. How it ended up in her hands, I have no idea. And how I never thought more about it, retraced my steps in search of it even, is a mystery. I suppose having my heart trampled diverted my attention some. An old watch was probably the last thing on my mind at the time.

I want so badly to call Moira. To hear her voice. But I’ve been so bloody busy since I saw her last. I’ve barely had the time to do anything, let alone make a phone call to her. Plus, something tells me that she needs some time. As do I. And for a second, I think about how she might feel knowing that I’m going to see my ex-girlfriend, mere days since we slept together. If she were a drama queen, this would feed her overactive imagination, send her running, thinking that all that she told me sent me fleeing back to my ex-girlfriend in a fit of insanity over her da being an alleged murderer.

And then I feel like something da said rings true here. Maybe I need to see Krystal again, for some closure. It sounds insane, I know, but maybe that’s what I need. To be reminded of her, in the flesh, how she shattered my heart and ruined me for women for years, maybe forever. And then I start to feel like I was a fool then and I’m being a fool again now, for agreeing to see her. The confusion overcomes me as I get into my truck and start driving, maybe to go to this godforsaken coffee shop, or not. Maybe I’ll just drive to Moira’s place or go visit my cousin or one of my brothers, I don’t know. But either way, I need to get out of here. No amount of swimming or working out is going to help me at this point.

That’s when I just keep driving, aimlessly, and I consequentially end up right by the place where Krystal suggested we meet. Half of me wants to stiff her, but the other half feels like something brought me here, and this is no accident. It’s been years. I have no idea what she’s driving, or even if she looks any different, and I don’t fucking care, either. But when I see her, walking out of the place, face set like she’s pissed because I stiffed her, I park the truck and get out. She spots me from the sidewalk outside, before reaching her car.

Gaze on the asphalt, I approach her, holding my hand out, so she knows I’m here for my watch and I’m outta here. “Declan, hi.” She says, all business. The rock on her finger is so big it hangs off the side of her finger. Strangely, she holds her hand out for me to shake, or to show it off, I don’t know which, nor do I care.

“Hi. Do you have the watch?” I ask, not bothering to hide the chill in my voice.

“Can I at least buy you a coffee or something?” She offers. “I mean, we do have a history together. And I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“I thought you said you’re engaged?” I point out boldly, pulling her hand upward.

“I am. Can we go inside? I don’t want to do this out here.”

“Do what, Krystal? I thought you just wanted to give me back my watch, no strings attached. But then, I guess you’re not capable of doing anything without strings.”

She lowers her head. “Okay, fine. I deserved that.” She lifts it again. “Can we go inside? Five minutes?”

With a strong sigh, I relent. “Fine. Five minutes.” I’m an idiot, and I know it, as I walk inside the coffee shop. Dead man walking .

As I walk behind her, she’s careful to hold the door for me, and I notice that she’s got very strong perfume on, like she’s sprayed a load. It almost makes me cough. Her perfume used to turn me on. I see the difference now. Now, it’s like an antidote. As we find a table and order a coffee each, she sighs, looking at me. “You look good, Declan. You’ve aged well.”

“Thanks.” I reply, but I don’t look at her.

“Have you met anyone?”

“No.” I lie, but it’s none of her fucking business.

“Still all business, huh.”

I look at her. “What do you want, Krystal? Don’t you think your fiancé might be a tad upset if he finds out you’ve been talking with an ex?”

“He knows about you.” She informs, matter-of-factly.

“What did you do? Tell him all about how much of an asshole I was to you? Lie to him about what really happened? Although, judging by the size of that iceberg you’ve got on your hand, I’d say that you got what you wanted.”

“He earns a decent living, yes. There’s no crime in that.”

“There is if that’s all you want him for.” I scoff as the waitress brings us our coffees.

She sighs, looking off to the side. “Look, Declan. I’m going to be honest with you.”

“There’s a first.”

“Please don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be, okay?”

“Just...give me my watch back, Krystal, and quit wasting my time. I don’t know what sort of shit you’re trying to pull here, but I’m not impressed.”

Suddenly her face changes. She grimaces. And then the waterworks come.

“Fuck.” I growl under my breath.

A gasp. “Declan, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all that I did to you. I never meant to hurt you. I...I just wanted to tell you that, before I got married.”

I’m confused...and irritated. “Why? Why, after such a long time? And why before you get married? Why does your fiancé fucking care?”

She sobs. “He doesn’t. I do. I just...I wanted to make sure that you’ve forgiven me. And I wanted to see if there was any spark still there, Declan. I never stopped loving you, and I don’t want to walk down the aisle unless I know that there is nothing left between us.”

I slam my fist on the table. “Is that what this is all about? That you’re carrying a fucking torch for me? You’re a sick fucking freak, Krystal! You always were, I was just too goddamn blinded because I thought that I was in love with you, but it wasn’t the real thing. No, lass, it wasn’t. You were only into me for the seven figures I had in the bank. And, clearly, you haven’t changed, since it appears that you’re marrying for money; exactly what you wanted.” I seethe, glaring at her, giving off as much hate in my eyes as I can muster.

The tears roll down her cheeks. She was always a great actress. Crocodile tears were her best performance. “I miss you, Declan.”

I laugh mirthlessly. “What’s the matter, Krystal? Your future hubby can’t get it up? Has he got a cock the size of a fucking gherkin? Ha! Looks good on you.” I toss a five on the table. “Keep the fucking watch.” I rise. “You can shove it up your fucking ass for all I care.”

I stomp out of there, blood boiling, chest heaving. I can’t believe I fell for that garbage, and after all this time, too. Clearly, I never learned my lesson, and that there was a necessary reminder. It’s late and I’m not feeling like I’m going to sleep at all tonight. So I head over to da’s. Why, I don’t know. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. With the way he is I won’t know until I arrive if he’s home. He’s been known to skip town on a jet and go wherever life takes him on a moment’s notice. He could have even packed up and gone to Scotland again for all I know.

Turns out he’s home. In the living room, sipping scotch. “Declan. This is a surprise.” He says kindly. I feel like I’ve caught him at a good time…for once. It almost calms me to see him so relaxed. “Want some scotch, son?” He offers.

“No. Thanks.” I say, sitting down with a soft thud on the couch next to him.

“You’re upset.”

“I am.” I sigh. “I did something stupid tonight.”

He looks at the brown liquid in his glass. “Why don’t you run it by me. I can tell you how stupid it was.”

“I’m sure you can.”

He chuckles. “It can’t be all that bad, Declan. I didn’t get a call to bail you out of jail.”

“You might have if I hadn’t kept my cool.”

“Ah. All my boys are hot-tempered. Just like me and your mama.”

I decide to just break it to him. “I went to see Krystal.”

He winces, staring into his glass, as though it might have all the answers. “What for? I thought you were after Moira McTavish.”

I disregard his comment. “She created a fake social media account so she could reach out to me.”

“I’m surprised you fell for that, my boy.”

“She dangled a carrot in my face and I was foolish enough to believe it.”

“I know she didn’t offer you tail, son. So what was it?” I try to disregard that comment, and ignore the thought in my head, of sleeping with Krystal. It turns my stomach. He moves on, I’m guessing that he senses my discomfort. “What did she have to say, Declan?”

“She’s getting married, but she wanted to bury the hatchet, so to speak.”

He nods once, following along. “She wanted one last fuck?”

I shudder. “God, I don’t know, but the ring on her finger sure didn’t seem to matter. I dodged a fucking land mine with that one.”

“Krystal was always about dicks and dollars, lad. And you have both. That’s one thing that makes things more challenging for my boys. But Caleb, Maverick and Ethan seem to have found the right ones. I’m sure you’ll be no different.” He changes the subject. “I hear Rush is having a similar problem with a lass.”

Rush is my other cousin. He’s Malcolm’s older brother, and he works mostly at our flagship location in Scotland.

“What, getting taken for his money? Why am I not surprised.”

“Well, she tried, put it that way. But that’s a whole other story. My brother puts a lot of faith in me to help bring his boys up right. Some are more difficult than others.”

“Malcolm is fine.” I frown. “He does well.”

Da waves. “Oh, yeah, Malcolm’s a good lad. So is Rush. But Rush is too soft with the lasses. He needs to come out here to the states and be around you boys more. See what good lasses can do for you.”

He says it like he can learn from osmosis. “Da, it’s not that easy.”

Da looks at me, lifting his brows. “How so? You’ve been around your brothers plenty, and you’re learning the ropes, too.”

After a beat, I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. I haven’t spoken to Moira in a couple of days. She’s probably thinking that I’ve run from her.”

“Have you?” Da asks, matter-of-factly.

“I’m not sure.”

“I think you’re surer after seeing Krystal, son.”

I stare at my hands. “I know.”

He rises, going over to the bar for a refill. “You sure you don’t want some?”

“Na.” I shake my head.

As he fills his highball from the crystal decanter, he asks. “So, tell me, how did she bribe you into meeting up with her? Or was it just sick curiosity?”

“I was foolish. I should have known she’d have an ulterior motive.”

“Quit dancing around the subject, boy.” Da states, irritated.

I exhale, lowering my head. “She told me she had something of mine and she wanted to give it back.”

He’s confused. He furrows his brows. “What could she have possibly had of yours for so long. And what right does she have for keeping it all this time? So, she was full of shit, am I right?”

“Well, I’ll never know, because I left and told her that she could shove it up her ass.”

He chuckles, and then takes a sip of his scotch. “Ah, Declan. Only you would give up a chance to get some action. I give you credit. Any of your other kin wouldn’t think twice.”

“That woman means shit to me, da.”

“Well, she can’t mean nothing to you, Declan, if you were willing to go meet with her.”

I’m getting pissed off. “Oh, for chrissake! She told me she had granddad’s watch, da! The one that I lost right around the time that we broke up! I was just going to get it back! I had no intention of even conversing with the psycho, but she wouldn’t let me get it over with that quickly! What choice did I have!” I take a break from the tirade and rake a hand through my hair. My tone slips a notch, even though I’m still seething. “Why do you think I told her to keep it and shove it up her ass!”

His brows furrow. He tilts his head, tosses back his drink, and walks out of the room. I figure he’s giving me a breather. I’m so pissed off and he knows that it isn’t directed at him, exactly. I don’t care for him alluding to me actually still having feelings for her, but something tells me that he was just playing the devil’s advocate. I hear him walk up the stairs, and I figure he’s changing his clothes, and he’s got something on his mind. Sometimes da is like that. He’ll get an idea in his head, and he acts on it immediately, before he loses the thought.

After I’ve had a moment to cool down, I hear him coming back down the stairs. He’s still in his works clothes. I’m expecting him to shout at me for being such an ass, but he doesn’t. Instead, he reaches into his pocket, and hands me something that I haven’t seen in years. I look at him, and his expression is blank, unreadable. “There’s your answer, Declan. The lass, just like the whole time you were with her, was taking you for a ride.”

I stare down at my granddad’s watch. The one that he left me after he passed away ten years ago. It’s engraved with his name and the year he was given it from is own da, for ten years of successful business. It’s thanks to him that we are where we are. He planted the seed. Harris Investments was just a baby then, but it’s grown, multiplied astronomically, into what it is today. And as I stand here, staring at the piece of jewellery, I realize just how much I was had. My head shakes slowly, back and forth, nostrils flaring, lips pursed together.

“Now, remember son, that everything happens for a reason. Sure, you met up with Krystal—”

I cut him off, lifting my hand in the air, halting him. “Don’t! Don’t ever say that name to me again!”

He pats my shoulder. “That’s a boy, Declan. The meeting served its purpose.”

I look at him. Eyes like stone. “You bet your ass it did.”