Keir O'connell's Mistress

“I did. That’s when I decided he was probably all right.”

“Because?”

“Because he said he’d slug me one, if I ever tried it.” The three brothers laughed. Then Sean climbed out of the pool, dumped his float over a chaise longue and thumbed his wet hair out of his eyes.

“So, let me get this straight. Ma’s going to hire somebody to manage the place, and he’ll report to her and Dan?”

“That’s the plan. Just to set your minds at ease, I trust Dan completely, not only because I ran an in-depth check on him before I brought him into the Song a few years back but also because I’ve gotten to know him well. He’s definitely one of the good guys. And he knows the Song, inside and out.” Keir shoved aside the damp towel Sean had tossed over a lounge chair and sat down. “That sound okay to you two?”

“It sounds fine,” Sean said.

“Fine,” Cullen echoed. “But where does that leave you?”

Keir cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, I’m moving on.”

The simple words stopped conversation. Until now, Keir hadn’t realized how ominous they sounded.

“Moving on?” Sean said. “Where?”

Keir hesitated. His mother had looked at him as if he’d lost his sanity when he’d told her his plans. Would his brothers?

“I’m going east. I bought a business in Connecticut.”

“You serious?”

“Dead serious. It looks like it’s going to be a lot of work. I mean, it’s small, but I think, given time, I can build it into something.”

“What kind of business?”

Keir shrugged. “A small one, like I said.”

“He’s being deliberately vague,” Sean said to Cullen, as if Keri weren’t there.

“Yup. In fact, I get the feeling BB doesn’t want to tell us what this business is,” Cullen replied, his grin hidden by the darkness.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Can you imagine? He doesn’t want to call him BB and he doesn’t want to tell us what this business is.” Sean gave a deep sigh. “What’s the good of having a brother if he won’t let you in on his secrets?”

“A Big Brother,” Cullen said solemnly.

“Uh huh.” There was a pause. “With a pair of capital B’s, for short.”

“Will you stop calling me that? And I didn’t say it was a secret!”

“Should we tell him he didn’t have to?” said Cullen. “Should we remind him that we’re his very own flesh and blood and we can read him like a book?”

Keir looked from Cullen to Sean. Despite all their teasing, they were worried about him. He knew, because he’d overheard more of their conversation than he’d let on. Well, why not tell them now? Get it over with, instead of dragging it out until after the wedding tomorrow. That was what he’d planned but being pronounced insane by all five of his siblings at once might be just a little intimidating.

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “You want to know what kind of business I bought?” Another deep breath. “A vineyard.”

For what seemed an eternity, neither Sean nor Cullen said anything. Sean was the first to break the silence.

“Did you say, vineyard? As in, where they grow grapes and make wine?”

“That’s right. With a small restaurant as part of the setup.”

“A vineyard,” Sean repeated.

“Yes.”

“In Connecticut,” Cullen added. “With a small restaurant as—”

“Dammit, will you stop that? Yes. A vineyard. And a restaurant. And I don’t care if you guys think I’m nuts or what, I’m glad I bought—Hey! Hey, what’re you doing?”

What they were doing was clapping him on the back hard enough to have sent a smaller man to his knees.

“Man, that’s terrific,” Cullen said happily. “I mean, it’s crazy as hell but it’s time you did something crazy. Right, Sean?”

“Absolutely. It’s so off the wall, it sounds like something I could have done.”

“And that’s a compliment?” Keir said, laughing.

“Damn right. Listen, you need to get in touch with anybody who’s into wine, let me know. I took a marker I never got around to collecting from a guy playing chemin de fer last summer. His family owns a vineyard in Burgundy.”

“And if you need legal advice, I’m your man,” Cullen said. “I know you have your own attorney but since you’ll be doing the deal closer to my turf, back east—”

“Wait a minute.” Keir stepped back and looked from one of his brothers to the other. “So, you don’t think I’m ready for a rubber room?”

“Well, of course we do but then, we’ve always thought that. Right, Cullen?”

“Absolutely right.” Cullen gave Keir a light punch in the shoulder. “Seriously, congratulations.”

“Yeah. I mean, thanks.”

“Just for the record, I’m impressed.”

A smile curved Keir’s mouth. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Sounds like an interesting proposition.”

“Well, that’s good to hear because the vote, so far, is three to one that I’ve lost all my marbles.”

“Who’s voting?”

“The duchess. My accountant. And my lawyer pretty much made it unanimous.”

“Ma’ll come around. As for the accountant and the lawyer—all the more reason to dump them.”