Read Online The Right Twin For Him (O'Rourke Family 2) by Julianna Morris - Free Book Online Page B

he’d been expecting to hear.
    “Mom—”
    “Beth says the dear girl is heartsore. We know how it is, after what happened to our Kathleen.”
    Kathleen.
    A hard knot twisted Patrick’s stomach before he willed it away. His sister was all right, and she was probably better off without her skunk of a husband, anyway. And if he tried really hard, he could even forget the way she’d cried after Frank walked out, despair and anger and regret all rolled into a gut-wrenching whole.
    “No doubt Maddie needs family to help her through a hard time,” Pegeen continued.
    “We’re not… that. ” Patrick cast another glance at Maddie. She was looking out the window with polite disinterest, but she couldn’t help hearing his side of the conversation, so he didn’t want to come right out and say she wasn’t family.
    “Patrick Finnegan O’Rourke, Maddie is Beth’s sister. That child is as much a part of our family as anyone else.”
    Using his full name meant he was in deep trouble, and Patrick dropped his head back against the seat.When Pegeen declared someone a member of the family, then come hell or high water, they were part of the family. Maddie was almost certainly Beth’s sister, and that was enough to declare an all-out assembly of the O’Rourkes as a show of support.
    This was even worse than his mother calling to ask if everything was “all right.” She didn’t use guilt deliberately, he just felt guilty because staying away from family gatherings worried her, and he didn’t have a good excuse beyond work. Kane used to be the workaholic, not him.
    Funny, now that Kane had gotten married it seemed as if they were trading places. But once he’d finished researching a new transmitter and deciding how to best expand the station, things would ease up.
    “I’ll try and see what I can do,” he muttered into the phone. “About tonight.”
    “That’s fine, dear. Dinner is at six, but come early so we can visit.”
    He opened his mouth to remind her he’d just promised to try, but she disconnected before he got the words out.
    Sighing, Patrick started the Blazer and pulled out on the road. He could imagine Maddie’s response when he told her they’d have to leave work early to have dinner at his mother’s house. She already had her hackles up, wanting to be treated like “any other employee.” Lunch was one thing, dinner with the family was an entirely different proposition.
    “It seems we have a command performance tonight at my mother’s house,” he admitted after a long moment.
    “What?”
    “My mother has invited us to dinner, and I’m expectedto make sure you get there safely. We’ll need to leave in an hour to beat rush hour traffic.” Maybe she wouldn’t notice she hadn’t accepted the invitation.
    Maddie shook her head with predictable vigor. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “You’ll never figure out the Bremerton ferry and city traffic on your own,” he said reasonably. “Mom lives on the other side of Seattle.”
    “I’m not leaving early. You hired me to do a job, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
    Lord.
    Up ahead there was a small area wide enough to park in Puget Sound, and Patrick turned into it, his jaw set. At this rate they’d never make it back to the office, much less to dinner with his mother and brothers and sisters.
    “Mom wants you to know that you’re part of the family and can count on us for…for anything,” he said. “Beth told her that you’ve had a rough time recently and she’s worried about you.”
    “How can she be worried? We’ve never met.”
    “That doesn’t matter to Mom.” He wondered if he should tell Maddie about Kathleen, then decided it was his sister’s place to explain.
    “Mmm. Beth says your mother is wonderful.”
    A pleased warmth crept through Patrick. “We’re just as crazy about Beth,” he murmured. “She’s been great for Kane. He’s finally making a life for himself outside of the business.”
    “At