Chapter 21

“I don’t understand why you’re even going back.” Kiera frowned, watching Quinn pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot she’d just brewed in his kitchen.

He shrugged. “It’s my job, Keeks.”

“But working at Legends is a very physically demanding job, and you’re still healing,” she argued. “Plus, you could be using this time to work in the studio and do what you really love.”

Quinn laughed, handing her a hot mug of coffee. “Babe, you’ve seen me in the studio. That is physically demanding work. At Legends, I’m mostly pushing papers or on the phone yelling at people.”

“Oh, great,” she said, dripping sarcasm, before taking a sip of her coffee.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about me, Dr. Keeks. I’m still doing the exhibit, and I’m not going to push myself physically. I’ll be good.”

She snorted at that thought. Quinn had never been good—hell, it was one of the things that drew her to him when they were younger. He was the kid always in detention, always in trouble, always getting in fights. She’d certainly had her rebellious streak back then too—something he always helped her rein in—but her rebellion had always been loud and attention grabbing. Quinn was quiet and brooding. He was dangerous in his silence, and though age and recent events had dulled his sharp edges, he was still as bad as ever. And it seemed she was still the only person who could see behind his mask.

“Fine, but when you see how amazing the show is, I bet you’ll want to do your art full-time,” she said. There wasn’t a single part of her that doubted he could not only make a living from his art, but that his pieces would sell for more money than he could even imagine.

Quinn shook his head. “God, can you imagine that conversation with my dad? ‘Sorry, Pops, I quit. I want to make pretty sculptures all day and see if someone will buy them.’ ”

“You don’t give your family enough credit, Quinn. Or yourself, for that matter.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But still…my family counts on me being there. I could never up and abandon them.”

Kiera rolled her eyes at that thought. “Like pursuing your dreams is something your family would have a problem with? I know for a fact your mom would be all over it.”

“I did tell her, actually,” Quinn admitted. “She’s coming.”

Kiera clapped her hands together excitedly. “Oh, thank God. I was so dreading her wrath if she found out she’d missed this.”

“Yeah, and she was really excited about it,” he admitted, grinning sheepishly. “But I made her promise not to tell anyone else.”

“I do not understand you,” Kiera said with a sigh, returning to her mug for another long drink.

Quinn perched on the stool next to her at the kitchen counter, taking a gulp from his own mug. “When I first started working there, Pops was managing Rory’s career. He was big time—his career took off fast.”

Kiera remembered that. Rory had been one of the best fighters in the world before his injury.

“I trained under Pops and learned how to make an athlete a shit ton of money, which made us a shit ton of money. We put everything the gym had behind Rory. So when his career ended after his injury, things spiraled fast. We almost lost the gym entirely, and we almost lost Rory. My father put his hopes on Kieran—he’d be the fighter who would put us back on the map,” Quinn explained.

Kiera’s brows lifted. “Then he went to jail…”

“Exactly.” Quinn sighed. “That’s when we began branching out, convincing other fighters to take a chance on us. Signed a few and it was slow, but it was money flowing back into the business. Then Kane’s career took off, and we were back on top and he’s kept us there. I love Rory and Kieran, and they’re great assets to the business now, but our family almost lost everything because of them. I made a promise to my father that I’d be there—always.”

“Oh, Quinn,” Kiera said, a heaviness in her tone, a weight on her chest. She could understand being there for family. She could understand not wanting to hurt people as wonderful and loving as the Kavanaghs. “I didn’t know things had ever gotten that bad.”

“No one knew,” Quinn admitted. “Just me, Pops, and Ma. They never wanted it to affect the family, or take away from us kids. Hell, they even kept going and donating to charities like nothing was wrong. Nearly took everything they had saved. I was the only kid who knew the truth, and I’ve seen how hard my father has had to work to bring us the success we have now.”

They were quiet for a moment. She sipped the remainder of her coffee as she considered all the things she’d known about this family over the years. Never once had she seen them struggle. They lived plainly, in a simple house with a simple life. They were involved in more charities, scholarships, and outreach programs than she could even begin to count. Everything they had, it seemed, they gave away. To know they’d ever struggled so badly, and done everything they could to not let it affect their kids…it just made her love them more.

“When did things change?” Kiera asked, curiosity getting the better of her. “When did things begin to take a turn financially for the gym?”

“Clare,” Quinn said, a soft smile on his lips as he placed his mug down on the island counter in front of them. “The moment she stepped into Rory’s life…she changed everything for us.”

Kiera warmed at the thought of her friend, one of the purest hearts she’d ever known. “Is that why you two are so close?”

Quinn nodded. “I owe her everything. Our whole family does. She brought us back…she made us all a family again.”

“Is that why you’re afraid to quit? You think you’ll break up the family?” Kiera asked, knowing she was prying. She wanted to understand. She wanted to understand Quinn’s fears and what made him tick. She wanted to know who he was and how he thought, and what she could do to help him get everything he ever wanted out of life.

He looked at her slowly, bringing his hand up to her cheek and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Our family is that gym.”

Kiera shook her head. “Your family is the people in that gym.”

“Look who’s back!” Kane roared across Legends gym from where he stood inside the main octagon, leaning against the siding. “Quinny, welcome home!”

Quinn waved at his brother, but didn’t head in his direction. Instead, he headed in the direction of the back office where he knew his father would be and where Quinn’s desk had always been. Several people greeted him along the way, and he embraced their warm welcomes with hearty handshakes.

Finally reaching the back, he walked into the office to find it empty. Placing his messenger bag down on the desk, he began rearranging the papers and supplies back to the way he liked things.

“Um, what are you doing?” A voice behind him caused Quinn to turn around. Flynn stood in the doorway, one blond brow raised. “That’s my desk, man.”

“What?” Quinn pointed to the desk he was just rearranging. “This is your desk? This has been my desk for years. In case you forgot, I work here.”

Flynn rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Maybe we should find your father, ask him about sorting all this out and getting you a desk now that you’re back.”

“I have a desk.” Quinn’s voice was rising, irritation prickling his skin at this giant coming in and taking over his life. Okay, that might be a little dramatic, but damn it, this was his desk. This was his home. Interlopers need not apply.

“What’s with the yelling?” Casey, his gorgeous redheaded cousin, poked her head into the office. You couldn’t throw a stone around here without hitting a Kavanagh. “I can hear you guys from the front desk.”

“Sorry, Casey,” Flynn said, his voice softening as he addressed her. “Everything’s fine.”

A shy smile spread across her face, her freckles prominent on her lifted cheeks. “Hi, Flynn.”

“Um, hello,” Flynn replied, oblivious.

Quinn rolled his eyes. This was awkward as hell—his little cousin was flirting with the man he despised, who was, he assumed, almost ten years older than her. “Casey, please leave us alone. We’re fine.”

She shot him an annoyed look. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth, before turning back to Flynn. “I’ll be at the front desk if you need anything, Flynn. Anything.”

“Thanks, Casey,” Flynn replied simply.

Quinn was relieved that at least Flynn didn’t seem to be flirting back, or even noticing Casey. If he had, Quinn’s fist would be through Flynn’s face right now. Casey was practically a little sister to Quinn, and that meant she’d have to be a nun or spinster for the rest of her life. Anything else was off the table.

Casey sauntered out of the back office with a longing look toward Flynn. Almost as soon as she disappeared through the doorway, shrieking came from the main part of the gym.

Flynn’s eyes widened as he and Quinn traded a confused look, then immediately rushed out of the office and toward the sound. Flynn was faster than Quinn, who still had to use his cane. He wasn’t sure which annoyed him more—having to use the cane or Flynn being faster than him because of it.

They both found the source of the screaming a minute later in the front of the gym, but it was only intensifying with each passing second as more and more people began joining in the shouting. Clare was shrieking, scooped up in Rory’s arms as he spun her around in circles. He was still in his training gear, and she was wearing the biggest smile Quinn had ever seen. Dee was standing in front of them, clapping and bouncing up and down as she shrieked along with them. Casey was quickly joining in and other gym members and family poured toward the commotion to find out what was going on.

“We’re having another baby!” Rory was shouting, his scruffy face hosting a wide smile. “We’re having a baby!”

“Rory, put me down!” Clare’s blond curls bounced around her face as she shrieked in response. “I’ve got a baby in here! Put us down!”

“I’m going to be a grandma again!” Dee was telling anyone who would listen. He hadn’t seen his mother this excited since Clare’s first pregnancy and when they met baby Murphy for the first time. After everything that had happened recently, they had needed this good news.

“Oh, my gosh, Clare! This is so exciting!” Casey congratulated them, everyone’s excitement piling on top of the others’ as it turned into one loud cacophony.

Flynn stood off to the side, but Casey was already rushing over to be the one to tell him the good news.

Quinn didn’t hold back, walking right up to Rory and Clare. “Congratulations, guys.”

“Thanks, baby bro,” Rory said, positioning Clare back on her feet before leaning down and kissing his wife’s stomach. “I’m so fucking happy.”

“No cursing around the baby!” Clare admonished him, pushing Rory away with a laugh.

Rory rolled his gray eyes. “Good luck with that in this family, mhuirnín.”

“Seriously, Clare,” Quinn agreed with his brother, even though he’d normally always take Clare’s side. “You’re not going to win that battle.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I know.” Smiling at Quinn, she flung her arms around his neck and gave him a tight squeeze, before whispering into his ear. “Thank you, Q.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her back. Quinn knew she was talking about the fact that he’d kept her secret since she’d first told him about her pregnancy. “I’ve always got your back, sister.”

She pulled away and smiled warmly at him. “You’re a great friend.”

“And an even better uncle,” Quinn added.

Both Rory and Clare laughed at that one. “You’re the best uncle ever,” Clare agreed.

“What the fuck, guys?” Kane walked up at that moment, punching Rory jokingly in his arm. His dark brown hair was sweaty and pinned to his face, but he pushed it out of the way. “Quinn’s a shit uncle compared to me.”

“And what about me?” Kieran, Kane’s twin, was alongside him—each brother vying for the title. Kieran hadn’t just been in the ring, so he wasn’t sweaty, but rather fully dressed in slacks and a polo. “I’m the one who actually knows how to take care of a kid since we have Shea.”

“You’re all the best uncles,” Clare compromised, assuring them all as the crowd slowly began to disperse and only he, Rory, Clare, Kiernan, and Kane were still standing in a circle.

“I feel like I missed something big,” Kiera said, suddenly appearing by his side. “What’s with all the excitement?”

Quinn was surprised to see her at the gym since he’d been there only a few minutes, and they’d already parted ways this morning as they each headed for their respective workplaces. She was wearing her scrubs, her hair pulled back in a tight bun, as she leaned up on the tips of her toes to kiss him. “Hey, babe.”

“Keeks, what are you doing—”

“Kiera! I’m going to be a dad…again!” Rory bellowed, interrupting him.

“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed, rushing in and hugging both Rory and Clare. “Clare, you’re pregnant?”

“I am,” she confirmed, dropping a hand to her slightly rounded stomach. “Baby number two.”

“That’s fantastic, guys. Congratulations!” Kiera told them, turning to Quinn. “You’re going to be an uncle again!”

Quinn laughed. “The best uncle.”

“This motherfucker,” Kane grumbled. “I don’t know what you see in this guy, Kiera. You can do better.”

Kiera laughed, then winked at Quinn. “I think I did just fine.”

“Hell, yes, she did.” Quinn draped his arm around her shoulder. “Emphasis on fiiiiine.”

“So fine,” Kiera agreed, adding an exaggerated flirty tone and wiggling brows to her statement. “Oh, before I forget, I’m dropping off your lunch. You left it at home.” She lifted up a brown paper bag up that he hadn’t noticed in her hand before. “Didn’t want my man to get hungry.”

Quinn pulled her closer, kissing her—though he wanted to do so much more.

Kane made a pretend gagging noise. “Oh, my fucking God, you guys are gross.”

“I think it’s cute! Don’t be an ass,” Clare offered, shoving Kane with her hand square against his chest. He barely moved at her shove, being practically made of brick, but then faked stumbling backward dramatically.

Kane grinned, his hand on his chest. “You’re lucky you’re carrying my little niece or nephew right now.”

Quinn took the lunch bag from Kiera and kissed her temple. “Thanks, Keeks. That was really sweet of you.” And he meant it—more than those few words could even describe. He’d never had serious girlfriends before, mainly only flings to distract him from his thoughts of Kiera or the loneliness of the years since she’d left, but not one woman had ever gone out of her way for him like this. The lunch might seem like a small gesture, but to him, it meant everything.

It meant she was there for him—she was there. Kiera was all in.

For the first time since they’d started dating, Quinn felt his walls melt away and he knew he was ready to trust her. He was ready to be all in, too. She wasn’t going anywhere this time, and he could see now how dumb he’d been to hold back, afraid that history would repeat itself.

They were all in.

Kiera shrugged like it was no big deal, and he wished they were in private so he could tell her everything right now—tell her how much her gesture had meant. “No problem. I gotta get to the hospital now. See you tonight?” she asked, kissing him goodbye.

“Tonight,” he confirmed with a nod before pulling her back in for another kiss. Slightly deeper this time, a little longer. He wanted her to feel his gratitude, feel how much he wanted her, loved her, appreciated her. The small sigh that left her lips as they parted, her wide smile, told him she understood all that and more. “Drive safe.”

Quinn watched her leave, then turned back to watch the rest of his family still animatedly talking about the newest addition to the family coming soon. He wasn’t sure he could possibly feel more love in his heart than being here, in his home with the people who made it that way. The thing was, it wasn’t just his family anymore. It was Kiera. She made him feel at home…everywhere. She made him feel at home in his own skin.

She made him so damn happy, and he was letting go of his fear.

He was all in.