The Devaney Brothers: Daniel

“I’m not letting him take another child away from me,” Molly retorted without thinking.

Alice gasped. “What are you saying? When did Daniel take a child from you?”

“Forget I said that,” Molly said at once. Patrick and Retta were the only two people other than herself and Daniel and the doctor at the local hospital who knew about the miscarriage. It wasn’t something she’d wanted spread around the small town of Widow’s Cove. She’d insisted that Patrick keep the details from his wife. After all, it had happened long before he and Alice had even met.

“You can’t unring that bell,” Alice said forcefully. “I’m your best friend, or at least I like to think I’ve become your best friend since I came back to Widow’s Cove and married Patrick. You can tell me what happened.”

Molly shook her head. “I don’t like talking about what an idiot I was.”

“You could never be an idiot,” Alice said fiercely. “Come on, Molly. Spill it. You’ll feel better if you talk it out. I don’t imagine Patrick’s all that good at listening. His strong suit would be threatening to knock his brother’s teeth down his throat for hurting you.”

Molly grinned. “He did offer once or twice. I turned him down, something I sincerely regret at the moment.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have. Maybe you’d both have felt better if Patrick had taken some action.”

Molly stared at her in shock. “You’re advocating I let the two of them brawl?”

“It might have helped them get back together if they’d worked off some of the anger that’s been between them for the past few years,” Alice said. She waved off the suggestion. “But they’re not the point. You are. Tell me what happened between you and Daniel, Molly. I haven’t pressed you on this before, but I think it’s time you told me.”

Molly sighed, thinking back to her first big mistake. “I thought Daniel loved me.”

“That’s not so awful,” Alice said. “Are you so sure he didn’t?”

Molly weighed her options and concluded that she could use the advice of a woman who’d had her own struggles with a Devaney man and that complicated family history before finally winning Patrick’s heart.

“Okay, here it is in a nutshell,” she said at last. “You know that Daniel and I were together for a while.”

“I gathered that, yes. And I know it ended badly. You’ve made no secret of that.”

Molly drew in a deep breath, then summed up what had happened in as few words as possible. “It ended because he went ballistic when I told him I was pregnant. The same night we argued, I had a miscarriage and lost the baby.”

Tears promptly filled Alice’s eyes. “Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry. You must have been devastated.”

“I survived,” Molly said grimly. “But I won’t let him take Kendra away from me, not unless we know for a fact that it’s the best thing for her. The kid is hurting. It’s not that I intend to keep her for myself, for heaven’s sake, but I do want to know why she left home before I send her back to the same situation she ran away from.”

“Don’t confuse giving up Kendra with losing your baby,” Alice said gently. “The two things are not the same at all.”

“Maybe not. I just know that Daniel’s involved in both of them,” Molly replied stubbornly.

“Okay, what can I do to help?”

Molly forced a smile. “Nothing that I can think of, unless you want to stand guard at the front door and keep him out of here.”

“I doubt I’m much of a match for Daniel,” Alice said. “Anything else?”

“No, and don’t worry about it. I’ll handle Daniel.”

“You wouldn’t have to handle him if you’d just do as he’s asking and let him see Kendra. I’m sure the three of you could work this out.”

Molly knew it was a reasonable suggestion, but if she was afraid of risking it, how could she convince Kendra to trust Daniel? “I’ll try to persuade her to talk to him,” Molly finally conceded, not even trying to hide her reluctance. “But I won’t force her to do it.”

“Not good enough,” Alice said. “She’s thirteen. That’s too young to be making the kind of decisions that could affect the rest of her life. You’re the adult. You need to be smart about this, for her sake and your own.”

It was good advice and Molly knew it. In fact, when Alice had gone and Kendra emerged from the kitchen, Molly led her directly upstairs where they could have some privacy.

“Stay put,” she ordered. “You and I need to talk as soon as I serve another round of drinks.”

Kendra’s eyes widened with alarm. “Am I in trouble? What did that guy say to you? I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not wanted for anything. I didn’t knock over some convenience store. I never even shoplifted a candy bar. I swear it.”

Molly’s heart promptly melted at the girl’s rush to defend herself. “I know that. But we do have to talk, okay?”

Kendra nodded.

“Watch TV or something till I come back. Whatever you do, don’t come back downstairs tonight.”

“Is that man coming back?”

“I doubt it,” she said, then felt compelled to add, “but Daniel’s unpredictable.” She’d learned that the hard way.

* * *

Even though he was feeling cranky and completely out of sorts, Daniel detoured past his parents’ house on his way home. He told himself he wasn’t going to go inside, not when he was still worked up by his conversation with Patrick and his war of words with Molly, but as soon as he saw that every light in the house was blazing, he changed his mind and pulled into the driveway. Checking on his parents had become a nightly ritual, one he couldn’t break so easily.

Worried by all the lights, he ran up to the front door and let himself in, calling out for his mother and father as he entered.

Inside, nothing more seemed out of the ordinary. The house was filled with the scent of dinner...pot roast, if he wasn’t mistaken. The TV was blaring from the living room, a testament to the fact that his father’s hearing was worsening, though he refused to admit it.

Since he wasn’t up to competing with the evening news for his father’s attention, he wandered into the kitchen and found his mother just removing the roast from the oven. She jumped when he spoke to her.

“Daniel Devaney, are you trying to scare ten years off my life?” she demanded, a hand pressed to her chest. A pink blush tinted her pale complexion and gave her more color than usual.

“Sorry, Mom,” he said, grinning. “I thought you heard me come in. I yelled for you.”

“Who could hear a thing over that racket from the TV?” She brushed a strand of still-black hair back from her face and studied him. “You look tired and worried. Can I fix you something to drink? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Will you be staying?”

He shook his head. “I’ve already eaten. I had a bowl of chowder over at Jess’s.”

Her blue eyes filled with curiosity. “Oh? What were you doing there?”

“Business,” he said, but he could see that she didn’t believe him any more than Patrick had. “It’s true. Molly’s got a runaway hiding out over there.”

“Seeing Molly must have been awkward for you,” she said, watching his face intently.

“And then some,” he admitted. If she’d known the whole story, she would have realized just how awkward. He’d never told her the reason behind the long-ago breakup, most likely because he’d been too embarrassed and ashamed of his part in Molly’s miscarriage, to say nothing of the fact that he’d inadvertently left Patrick to deal with the fallout.

“I don’t suppose...” she began wistfully, avoiding his gaze.

He knew what she was asking. “Yes, Mom, I saw Patrick.”