Read Online Always and Forever by Kathryn Shay - Free Book Online

And for this moment in time, he forgot about the past.All was right with his world.
    oOo
    When Brie had been gone awhile, Pat got out of the pool and went into the house. The place had been tiny when, at twenty-five, she’d inherited it from her grandmother. A living room sat to the left of the foyer, and straight back was the kitchen. Upstairs there had originally been three bedrooms. In the first addition, they’d built a glassed-inporch off the living area and enlarged the kitchen. Years later, another expansion included a big family room to the right of the kitchen, which flowed into a dining room. The last update had put a guest bedroom and bath on the first floor and a room for Sinead over it. Then had come a pool.
    As he bypassed the living room, he saw Rachel stretched out on the big sofa. Her eyes were closed,and her hand rested on her forehead. He stopped at the archway. “Are you all right?”
    Rachel opened her eyes. She wore a green bathing-suit cover-up, and the color made her eyes sparkle. “Yes, I’m fine. The heat got to me. So when you all started playing volleyball, I came in here to rest.”
    “Brie was tired the first trimester. Summers are bad for pregnant women.”
    “I’m enjoying the coolair in here.”
    “Just don’t get chilled.” He noticed a glass on the table. “Seltzer?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “I’ll get you a fresh one.”
    “You don’t have to, Pat.”
    “Yeah, I do.” After he retrieved the drink and brought it to her, he leaned against a chair arm. “I’m…Rachel, I…” They’d never had a real conversation about this. “Listen, I should have said something before, but I’m not good atthese things. I’d like to…start working toward getting along better.”
    “I’d like to do that, too. For what it’s worth, I understand your antipathy. I wronged your family.”
    “But you’re tryin’ to make up for it. God knows, I’ve done some things I wish I hadn’t.”
    She cleared her throat. “Thanks for telling me this, Pat.”
    “What’s going on here?”
    Turning, Pat found Dylan scowlingbehind him.
    “Your woman’s resting. I’m on my way upstairs to find Brie.”
    “He brought me a fresh drink.”
    Dylan eyed the glass. “I came in to see if you needed anything.”
    “Well, I’ll leave you two alone.”
    Rachel said, “Thanks again, Pat. For everything.”
    “You’re welcome. Feel better.”
    Pat left the room, with an image in his head of Dylan sitting on the couch next to Rachel.He really loved her, and Pat
was
going to do better. With Rachel and a lot of things.
    oOo
    Brie held Isabella close as she rocked her and sang a lullaby. Even though she’d had four children, the weight of the baby, her solidness, her powdery scent soothed Brie. She was happy today—her family was here and Pat was in a good mood. When the baby sagged into her, she got up and placedher in the crib. Taking the monitor with her, she left the nursery and walked down the hall to her bedroom. Pat wouldn’t like it if he knew, but she needed to check her work messages.
    The first two inquired about her services. They could wait until the morning. But there were two more. One was from Jonathan Forbes. The other…Phillip Carson. He must have gotten the message she’d left him thismorning before everyone arrived.
    She punched in Dr. Forbes’s number. He answered his phone right away. “Hello, Dr. Forbes, this is Brie O’Neil.”
    “Please, call me Jonathan.”
    “All right. What can I do for you?”
    “You’re late.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You were to be here at noon.”
    “No, not today. Tomorrow.”
    “My calendar says today. Harlan checked it. We’ve been waiting for you.Can you come out now?”
    “I can’t. I’m entertaining my whole family for a birthday party today.”
    “Oh.” A pause. “That’s nice. Tell me about them.”
    Remembering the perpetual sadness on his face, she sat down on her bed and humored him for five minutes. Finally she said, “I have