Page 84 of Intimately Faithful

But now she had something to fight for.

Danny and Misha.

She refused to lose either of them.

* * *

He had a plan.

And Danny was about to ask God to walk with him, just so he’d keep his head, because there was a zero percent chance the Murphy’s knew how to do anything calmly.

Especially his da and brothers who were known to be reckless at best and irresponsible at worst, but his clan would doanythingfor family.

Smiling to himself, he squeezed the fingers she stole into his palm.

Despite the seriousness of them harboring a baby that belonged to neither of them and how much trouble they could be in with both the authorities and much worse… the mob. He’d never felt happier or settled.

Funny that.

God had known he was unsettled for a while and brought his ginger rascal girl to him.

Of that he had no doubt.

No one shook Danny’s foundations more or made him feel whole like she did.

Now it was all about letting his faith take the wheel and testing his mettle to know they could come through the other side of this.

He lifted her hand to kiss across Aoife’s knuckles.

With so much left to talk about, he was good just sitting silently with her.

Tomorrow would take care of itself, especially if he was going to press the Murphy signal.

For right now he had his greatest dream on his lap, and they were finally back on the same page with their hearts beating in sync.

TWENTY-ONE

“The Murphy boys are known as those Murphy’s for a reason.” - Aoife

Five days was all it took to amass a horde of Murphy’s of which Colorado hadn’t seen the like before.

They swarmed his house one and two at a time, day after day.

Danny’s father, Redd Murphy, came through the door first and dragged Danny into a back-slapping hug. He was a full-bodied man, with thick hair the color of wheat with barely any white, though he’d lived a hard life in his fifty-eight years so far.

He’d grafted for every penny to give his wife and three boys a better life, but his morals made that life a questionable one, and though Danny needed to walk his own path and not join the family business, he loved his father.

“There’s my middle boy,” Redd grinned, cupping both sides of Danny’s head in his big meat cleaver sized hands, just like he had when he was a small boy. “Ah, I missed you, my boy.”

“Thanks for coming, da.”

“You should have called much sooner, laddie. But we’re here now, and your uncles will be here tomorrow, so they will, they had a bit of business to see to in Denver while we’re here.”

Danny laughed, showing his father through to the kitchen where tea was already brewing. “Two birds with one stone, eh, da?”

“We’re never one to let the grass grow. Now where is she?”

On cue, Aoife peeked around the doorway. She’d been upstairs settling Misha who’d been fussy all night, as if the bairn sensed the unease in the house that week.