ChapterFive
Ronan watched Chloe leave, mesmerized by the sway of her ass. The things he’d like to do to her...But what he’d said was true. Chloe McCarthy spelled trouble. He’d tried to do the right thing that night almost 16 years ago. She’d been falling over drunk and every guy at the party was eyeing her. She wasn’t safe there alone, but she hadn’t wanted to hear it. He’d wrestled the car keys from her and forced her into the car. On the drive to her house, she caused such a scene that the cops pulled them over.
It hadn’t taken long for Ronan to be in cuffs for driving a car that wasn’t his with a drunk minor in the passenger seat. Chloe said nothing as they put him in the squad car because she was too busy puking her guts up all over the cop. Sure, he’d been released immediately, her parents weren’t that dickish, but he’d never forget the total look of disdain in their eyes when they’d warned him away from Chloe. They said they’d have him charged with statutory rape if they found him with her again.
Damn. He’d never even kissed the girl.
When the door closed behind her, he pulled his T-shirt back on and went to the basement, determined to put Chloe out of his mind. After explaining to his mother about watering the porch, he planned to ask about Old Man Mulroney and if she remembered him working with Dad. But then his sister showed up. He only knew it was Nessa because the back door slammed and her footsteps stomped through the kitchen and living room.
“Mom?”
“Down here,” Ann called. “As I am every Saturday,” she added.
Ronan smiled. All of the Doyle children had inherited Ann’s sarcasm. But unlike their mother, they often lost control of the snarkiness and got themselves in trouble.
The stomping from upstairs came down the wooden steps toward them. “You’re not going to believe that asshole, Tony. I don’t know what I ever saw in him.”
Ronan turned in the salon chair he was sitting in and eyed his sister. Nessa was passionate about a lot of things, but rarely a drama queen. If some guy was fucking with her...
She pulled up short when she saw him sitting there. “Hey, Ronan. What are you doing here?”
“We poured the new porch today. What did Tony do?” Ronan scanned his memory to try to figure out if he’d met this guy. He came up empty. “Who is Tony?”
“Current boyfriend,” his mom answered. “Emphasis on boy.”
“Yes, Mom, you were right. I should’ve listened to you.” She flopped on the couch. “Can one of you drive me home?”
“Where’s your car?” Ronan asked.
“Tony picked me up and we were at a barbecue at his friend’s house. I left.”
Ronan’s muscles tightened. “What happened?”
“Nothing important. Can you drive me or not?”
“Of course.” He’d get her to spill in the truck.
“Thank you.”
Ronan got up and kissed his mom on the cheek. “Don’t forget the porch. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on it.”
“If you need to stay, I can wait,” Nessa offered.
“I’m done. I need to go shower anyway.”
He led the way out the back of the house and toward his truck. “How bad is whatever this Tony did?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like do I have to pay him a visit?”
One side of her mouth angled up. “No. Not that bad. We’ve only been going out a few months. He turned out to be an ass.”
Screeching tires at the curb caught their attention.
“Oh, fuck,” Nessa muttered. She reached out and grabbed Ronan’s arm. “I’ll handle this.”
He stopped but shot her a look.
At the curb, the driver climbed out of the car. The guy was tall, at least as tall as Ronan, but not as wide. He had sculpted muscles, the kind you got from working out at the gym instead of from lifting heavy shit.
“What the hell, Nessa? Do you have to embarrass me everywhere we go?”
The fuck?Ronan took a step forward, but Nessa held up a hand.
“What?” she yelled. “You were the one dancing and hanging on every woman at the party. You’re half-drunk and it’s not even dinnertime.”
“It’s a party. We were having fun.”
“No, Tony. You were having fun. I was trying to fend off your drunk friends.”
This was getting worse and worse. He didn’t care what Nessa thought she was going to handle, Ronan was done with this. “It’s time for you to go.”
Tony’s chest puffed. “Who the fuck are you?”
As if she knew exactly what was going to happen next, Nessa spun and held up her hand again. “Ronan, no.” Turning back to Tony, she said, “This is my brother. I suggest you leave.”
“Come on, babe. Let’s go back to the party.”