Ginny

I’ve never laughed so much before in my life and I once saw my cousin Moira flash an entire room when she fell on her ass at Finnigan’s pub the day she went for a Brazilian and couldn’t bear her panties on.

I’m still stunned mama hasn’t started wielding her skillet against the George boys, even after they insulted her precious bread the way they did. Poor Blay looks shell-shocked as he tries to chew his food while his half missing tooth throbs painfully, and Gray’s still holding court and insulting everyone in the weirdest way imaginable.

I don’t get it. They’re laughing, all of them, even when he told Joseph and Abe that if they both like meat so much they should make it official. They chortled right along with us, even mama who I would have sworn was born without a sense of humour, but I have the feeling Joseph and Abe just didn’t quite get the joke.

Blay tried to get in his two cents but mama shot him down with a hiss to shut up and eat since he looks like a stiff breeze could fell him. Utter nonsense. The man is so muscular and fit I feel dwarfed beside him.

“Did Ginny ever tell you about the time she had a crush on the Foster boy?”

“Papa, no!”

Oh God.

He ignores me and giggles, yes giggles before sighing sadly and looking at Blay, who doesn’t take his eyes off me, something that’s had me hot and bothered and awkward all night. Honestly, the man has not stopped watching me the entire time, a feat since he’s cutting his own meat and eating without assistance. I won’t tell him his side of the table looks like an animal attacked his plate of course. It’s unsettling and yet sweet all at the same time.

At least, it’s not as terrible as sitting beside Joseph who has a habit of shoving his fork into my plate. How sweet was it when he insisted on feeding me first and-

“Well she was all of fifteen when my little darling got it in her head that she had a liking for Conner Foster and started planning her wedding. Took it into her head that if she could just grab his attention he’d realize she was his perfect match and sweep her off her feet. But that boy, he was a fast one even then, and he’d have soon enough noticed my little Ginny as volunteered for the church choir. See, Ginny is and has always been a good girl.”

“Papaaaa,” I groan, dropping my head into my hands when all he does is purse his lips.

Stubborn fool. Jack scuttles under the table as if sensing my distress now that mama has ignored his whines long enough and rubs up against my leg.

“Sush, Ginny, this story is an accomplishment my girl. Anyway, she wants him, is convinced he’s perfect since he’s smooth as a babes bottom or some such nonsense. So she sets out to make him notice her.”

“God.”

Gray’s entranced, hanging on the edge of his seat but Blay just keeps watching me as papa continues

“She threw herself at him, started dressing in the raciest clothes and damn near gave my poor Lizzie a heart attack. The woman went to church to pray for her soul every day.”

“Much good it did me, she’s still a stubborn chitty.”

“Lizzie, shh.”

“What happened?” Blay asks softly, his eyes kind but twinkling as I blush profusely.

“He told her that he never considered a girl until he could sample the goods,” Papa says, laughing so hard he almost chokes on his beef.

I see Gray frown and watch Blay’s lip curl in disgust but I drag my eyes away when Davey and Abe both snarl and crack their knuckles. My brothers may be Neanderthals and pigs when it comes to women, but I’m their sister and the standard is different.

If they could see Foster now they’d probably break both of his legs. The notion makes my lips twitch but I’m brought right back down to earth with a thump when papa starts really winding up for the rest of this terrible story.

“Now you should know, my Ginny is stubborn! She’s got class but she’s also got sass. She took that statement as a challenge and no matter what we did, she refused to walk away. Sometimes I think she does these things just because we had the gall to say anything to her.”

Gray smiles, and I avoid looking at Blay who has gone stiff beside me.

“What did she say, Lizzie?”

Mama sniffs and gives me the pursed lips and evil eye before rolling them.

“She said she just had to show him what true love is.”

“Kill me now,” I mutter, shoving a whole potato into my mouth with a huff.

“Yeah! She started lecturing that boy something fierce and had him so wrapped around her little finger I could have sworn he’d changed just for my girl.”

“Pigs don’t bark,” Gray drawls, chuckling at my expression and the huge balls of half chewed potato in my cheeks.

“Exactly. They were going steady for a good month when she caught him with her cousin Fayette in her bed. On her birthday.”

Yeah. On the brand new princess sheets mama had given me for my birthday. I swear, I can’t remember what hurt more, seeing those two grunting and going at each other or the state of my sheets. Cried so hard when I tossed them in the trash mama had to give me a shot of whiskey to calm me down.

I told you, I really like pink and coming from blue and white sheets before that, I was devastated.

“God.”

“Yeah, but this girl,” papa chortles, throwing a thumb at me with sparkling eyes. “She’s an Egan through and through. She didn’t even make a sound, just calmly walked over to her guitar, picked it up and decided to multipurpose the thing! Hit them both so hard with that old ukulele I heard the strings snap from down here.”

Brother.

“Fay was screaming something fierce, Foster was crying like a girl…” he wheezes, making me grimace. “And Ginny was smiling. Until she caught sight of her stuffed animals, now violated with their ‘foul liquids’.”

Even my lips twitch remembering the horror and unholy screech I let out when I saw my babies gazing up at me, traumatised beyond all repair. I went a little nuts after that.

Conner Foster still has a limp and Fay still puts flowers on the grave in the back yard after I buried my poor departed animals. I bet those two will never play hanky panky on the sly again.

I expect Gray’s laughter, heck, even mama’s removed the stick from her butt and chuckling along with the others, except Joseph who hasn’t stopped making eyes at me all night.

What I don’t expect to see and what has me freezing is Blay’s exuberant smile when he gently strokes my cheek.

“I knew it was you.”