Promise Me

“There was this one time when Joey was wasted.” I looked over my shoulder at Gramps. “He was mouthy the whole night. My Pa didn’t like something he was doing to Joy so he was trying to get her away from him.” I kept my eyes on him, not looking away. “He drew back to hit him and Joy stepped in the middle. Knocked her out cold. That is when my Pa told Joy either he stops drinking or you leave.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m like him, aren’t I?” I could feel Noah looking at me. Gramps sighed.

“In a lot of ways, you boys are all like him. Especially you and Liam. Always wanting that adrenaline rush. The hot temper. People used to say that Declan was like him too.”

Noah laughed. I scrunched up my face. “That’s kind of weird.”

“They were really close,” Gramps explained. “I knew who Declan belonged to.”

“Was there any question?” I asked.

“They were a lot alike,” Gramps said staring out the window. “He was more like Joey’s son than mine. Noah was more like me.”

“There was no question,” Noah replied for him.

“I guess you’re like him in the hard-partying way too Ronan but you gave it up much easier than he did but you also have something that he had.”

“What’s that Gramps?” I asked.

“A big heart,” he responded. “Joey was wild and crazy.” He shook his head. “He was always looking for the next daring thing to do. He was different but then so was your Grams. The things that I could tell you.”

I frowned at Noah. He looked at me quickly then back to the road. “I’m not sure we want to hear that Pa.”

“I wasn’t going to share,” he said. He cleared his throat. “But Joey loved hard and he loved well. He loved me like a brother. He loved Betsy. He loved Declan and Noah as much as he did his own daughter Stevie. I see you with Delilah’s kids Ronan and I think of him. You’re a good man. Your uncle is right; your Dad’s been asking for an ass whooping for a while.”

“I’m not sure I’m the one to give it to him. He put me in a head lock,” I replied. “In case you didn’t notice.”

“I noticed but I also noticed that it took everything he had to get you in one. Probably better that it turned out that way Ronan. It gave him some of his pride back.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “I didn’t do it on purpose Gramps. That was blind rage. He actually got the best of me.”

Noah turned down the lane to the farm. “I know Ronan. If it had gotten bad I would have had the boys break it up.”

He parked next to the farm truck and looked over at me. “I am proud of you Ronan,” my uncle said to me. “You are a brave man. A strong man and being true to yourself is good thing.” He patted my thigh.

“Thanks Uncle Noah.”

Gramps gripped my shoulder. A little hard. I cringed. “Don’t hit your Dad again Ronan,” he told me. “Next time he might kill you. Now get out. I’m starving.”

I opened the door of the truck and was greeted by my wife. She hugged me hard; concerned for me after seeing me hit my father. She was also surprised that I had survived that moment.

There was still no sign of Delilah.

Chapter 19

Dad always told us that the measure of a man is not always how often he gets knocked down but how he handles getting back on his own two damn feet.

I had one knock down after another for a few weeks. The doctor put Skylar on bedrest because her blood pressure was spiking which worried me more than her. Our moms and the aunts came to the house to help care for her while I went to work. She was only four weeks from her due date. They were talking C-section or induction in two to three weeks if she continued to have problems.

The kids were staying with us because Delilah was nowhere to be found. We filed a missing person report on her. Nickolas was not handling it well blaming himself for calling her names.

We moved the surprise baby shower to our cabin. Everyone came including the men. We went to the room we deigned a nursery and put together furniture as Skylar unwrapped it. She was so excited. We had everything we needed for Luke’s arrival.

A week later it was Thanksgiving at the farm. Skylar was only allowed to walk in the house and to the dining room table. Delilah had been missing for nearly four weeks. I was sure something happened to her and we were going to have to go to court to fight for custody of the kids. Delilah’s mother was on the phone with Gramps when we arrived at the farm.

Delilah apparently was in Florida. I listened to the one-way conversation for a moment. She drove there to give her mother hell for the years of verbal abuse. Her mother was the one who convinced her to go into rehab. She and her husband were paying for it. The grandmother finally called school to find out where the kids were when Delilah wouldn’t tell her.

I walked away feeling nervous while Gramps talked to her. So far, the kids were happy. They were leading normal lives. I pulled Dominick aside and told him his grandmother was on the phone with Gramps. His mom was in rehab in Florida. She drove all the way there to confront their grandmother.