Page 20 of Arranged Addiction

He sighs and shakes his head. “The last season I’ll ever watch and I don’t think they’ll even make the playoffs.”

“Don’t say that.”

“You’re right. They’ll make it.” He smirks at me, eyes narrowing. Despite how physically frail he’s become, the man is still just as sharp as ever. “How’s your mother seem? You talk to her before coming up here?”

“She’s tired. Worried about you.”

“Yeah, that woman can worry about the entire world and never let it get to her. But I get sick and it’s like—” He sighs and throws up his hands when another Yankee strikes out. “Swing the bat, you idiot! At least swing!”

“She just wants what’s best for everyone.”

“I know that.” He sinks further into the pillow. “You know what’s funny? I always thought it would be fast. I never figured I’d make it this long. Not with the life we live.”

“The family’s different now. Less danger. More power.”

“Don’t let the power blind you, Declan. There is always danger, no matter how strong we are. That’s why it’s never enough.” He lets out an ugly, hacking cough and spits something bloody into a tissue. “Fucking prostate. God, sometimes I wish it was a gun, you know? Instead of an ass tumor filling me up with all this shit.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“You’re too uptight sometimes, Declan. It’s not good for you.”

I frown at him. “Someone’s got to be the responsible one.”

“Yeah, I know.” He gazes at me for a long moment. “Maybe we shouldn’t have named you heir so young. Maybe we should’ve given you time to live. It’s always been a lot.”

“I could handle it.” Which is the truth. I took to the family business more than any of my brothers did. Seamus runs the streets, Cormac’s got his killing, and Finn drifts around and tries to make everyone happy, and then there’s me. The adult in the room. Getting business done, because otherwise, who’s going to make sure the soldiers get paid and the lights stay on?

“I know, and that’s why you’ll become the new boss when I’m gone, but even still. I just wish…” He trails off and loses himself in another coughing fit.

We don’t talk business after that. Instead, we watch the game together, my father for the first time, and me for the second. When the center fielder hits a two-run homer in the ninth to win the game, Dad laughs and looks at me with an enormous smile.

“You kept that ending close to the vest, didn’t you?”

“Wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Fucking Yankees.” Dad grunts and adjusts himself. He looks tired, his eyelids fluttering. “Tell me something. I’ve been wondering. You still hung up on that girl?”

“Casey Brennan.”

“Right, the Brennans. Good family. Strong people. Dead a long time though.”

“Why are you bringing them up now?”

“I just know how seriously you take that deal we made back then, but I keep telling you. The Brennans are dead. Murdered and gone. Whatever deal I had with them doesn’t matter anymore. I keep telling you.”

“A deal is a deal, Dad. Besides, I’m already moving forward with her.”

“With Casey?” He squints at me. “That’s your problem. You’re too rigid. You need to live a little.”

“I am living. And soon I’ll be living with my new wife.”

“Believe me, in the end, sometimes it’ll be about what you didn’t do… more than about what you did…”

I leave him at that. I don’t want to talk about Casey anymore. We’ve argued about it enough over the years and Dad has made it clear that he thinks I’m insane for sticking to a plan nobody cares about anymore.

Except I care. Even more than I ever did.

I head back downstairs but pause in the hallway. Nobody notices I’m watching. Mom’s in the living room with Seamus and his wife, Alina, while Cormac and his wife, Bianca, are cooking dinner together in the kitchen. The grandkids run around, laughing and chasing each other, while Finn chases after them.