Phelan moaned as he woke again, eyes blinking open to stare at wooden planks lit by a lantern whose flame flickered and danced as if worried by an errant breeze. His body ached more now than it had earlier and his head still spun from what he\u2019d seen, what he\u2019d heard.<\/p>\n
Seamus is alive and he\u2019s here\u2014wherever here is.<\/em> He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cAwake?\u201d a deep voice asked. Phelan opened his eyes and glanced to the side, peering at the man seated at his bedside with a book in his hands.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you,\u201d Phelan murmured. \u201cDon\u2019t I? Then and now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI punched you when you came here,\u201d J.T. said. \u201cAnd then told them that you were good people anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Phelan nodded slightly. \u201cI\u2014yes. You were her grandson. Mair\u00e9ad\u2019s grandson.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. You showed up too late.\u201d<\/p>\n He squinted at him. Jameson. He\u2019s…he\u2019s…<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBloody fucking hell<\/em>,\u201d Phelan swore, glaring at the ceiling. \u201cIt\u2019s at the tip of my brain and I can\u2019t quite wrap my fingers around it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what\u2019s been said, it sounds like that\u2019s not entirely uncommon in this type of situation.\u201d Jameson shifted in his chair, his gaze intense as he stared at Phelan. \u201cHow do you feel? Other than frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hurt,\u201d Phelan said, unable to articulate it beyond that.<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t surprise me. You were in a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Phelan swore under his breath and closed his eyes again. \u201cThe girl. The blonde. She\u2014I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJac,\u201d Jameson said quietly. \u201cAnd yes. You\u2019re a thing. I\u2019m not sure how long you\u2019ve been sleeping together, but you have been. You seemed really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n His heart gave a painful squeeze. I\u2019ve been looking for that for a long time. Didn\u2019t think I\u2019d found it. Now I have and something\u2019s…something\u2019s taken it from me.<\/em> His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n No. I won\u2019t let that be the way it is.<\/em><\/p>\n I can\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Phelan moaned as he woke again, eyes blinking open to stare at wooden planks lit by a lantern whose flame flickered and danced as if worried by an errant breeze. His body ached more now than it had earlier and … Continue reading