Chapter 27

“I’m all for women’s rights and everything, but for fuck’s sake, Clare, there’s a line and you’ve crossed it.” Kane grimaced, leaning against the desk Quinn was trying to work at in the back office of Legends. He was holding the little black-and-white puppy in his palm up against his face, their noses touching. “Isn’t that right, J.D.?”

“Don’t involve the dog in this,” Clare huffed from the chair across the room where she was breastfeeding Murphy, a blanket discreetly covering herself and the baby. “You make ice cream from regular milk—why can’t I make it from breast milk?”

“I don’t know! It’s just weird!” Kane continued, placing J.D. back in his lap and petting him. “Where does it end, huh? What’s next—titsicles? Boob nog? Stop the madness, Clare.”

Quinn couldn’t believe his brother and sister-in-law had been arguing over the possible uses of breast milk for the last five minutes. He didn’t give a shit what Clare did with her boobs, and he’d freely admit how badass she was as a mom, but he wanted all of them out of the office so he could work. “Can you guys please go have this thrilling debate somewhere else?”

Kane glanced at him. “Hey, Q, tell me something—if Clare did make breast-milk ice cream, would it be creepy if I tried some? Since she’s our sister-in-law and all that?”

“You’re not eating a single bite of my breast-milk ice cream!” Clare laughed, switching Murphy from one breast to the other and repositioning, still under the cover.

“What the fuck?” Rory looked among the three of them as he walked in just in time to hear Clare’s declaration. The brown puppy was cradled in his palms. “Kane, are you asking my wife for her breast milk?”

“Well, I’d like to say no, but it does sort of appear that way,” Kane admitted, laughing as he shrugged it off.

“THAT’S IT!” Quinn jumped to his feet as his volume raised. He couldn’t take their babbling a second longer. “Get the fuck out! Everybody, GET OUT.”

“Quinn!” Clare admonished, tucking the baby against her chest as she stood and headed for the door. “There’s no need to yell around a baby.”

“Or puppies,” Rory added, holding up the brown puppy, Turk.

A wave of guilt passed over him. He didn’t normally behave this way, but his emotions were all over the place lately.

“Seriously,” Kane said, agreeing with Clare as he began to follow her out of the room, taking both puppies with him. Quinn had brought both dogs to work over the last few weeks to help socialize them until he could figure out a new home for them. Of course, his family had pretty much stolen them and it looked likely he wouldn’t need to find a home for them, at all. “No need to be an ass,” Kane continued. “You’ve been real prickly lately—I am not a fan of this new Q.”

Quinn ignored Kane’s remarks, knowing full well it was mostly his dry humor.

Rory lingered in the doorway for a moment. “You doing okay, Q? I know the last few weeks have been tough, since Kiera.”

“This has nothing to do with Kiera,” Quinn replied, eager to shut that down fast. He couldn’t think about her. “I’ve just got a lot of work to do and could use the quiet.”

“Well, I’ll let you get to it, but if you want to talk, I’m here for you, baby bro.” With that, Rory left the office and Quinn was alone.

Plopping back down in the chair, Quinn realized he didn’t feel any better than he had when the office had been packed. He turned back to the computer he’d been working on and stared at the screen, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what he’d been doing.

Quinn stood up again with a loud sigh. Maybe something from the smoothie bar would wake up his brain. Heading down the hallway away from the back offices, he entered the main floor of the gym. Kane and Rory were already in one of the octagons, about to start sparring. He could see Kieran on the weight machines, benching an impressive amount. Nora was on the sidelines watching Kane, and Quinn waved at her.

“That’s so funny, Flynn.” Casey’s crooning voice reached Quinn’s ears as he turned the corner. Casey was behind the smoothie bar, her hair and makeup way too dolled up compared to the apron and name tag she was sporting. “I mean, you’re just soooo funny. I love it.”

Flynn stood on the other side of her, drinking from a white foam cup. “I guess so,” he said nonchalantly. “This smoothie is fantastic.”

Quinn rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt. Slowing his steps as he approached, he tried to ignore the fact that his cousin was seriously hung up on the Neanderthal who was constantly encroaching on his job.

“You know, Flynn,” Casey began. “I don’t have any plans toni—”

And that was enough for him.

“Casey, for fuck’s sake. He’s an employee of the gym.” Quinn glared between the two of them, irritated that he felt like a chaperone at a school dance. Nothing seemed to be going well today and every second that passed, his irritation level was increasing. “You cannot ask him out.”

“What?” Casey blinked rapidly, leaning back from the counter, seemingly flustered. “I wasn’t—”

Flynn laughed a deep, thick laugh that matched his burly appearance. “That’s not what’s happening here, Quinn. I promise. I’d never date her.”

Casey’s face fell so far, he could almost feel her devastation. “Oh.”

Quinn turned on his heel so fast, he was barely aware of the fact that his fist was flying through the air aimed right at Flynn’s jaw. When his knuckles met Flynn’s face, a loud cracking sound filled the gym. Flynn shouted in surprise, clutching his face, blood trickling from his lip.

“WHAT THE FUCK, QUINN?” He wasn’t even sure who said that, because he was quickly grabbed from behind by both Rory and Kane, each pinning one of his arms and pulling him away. “Dude, seriously?”

“What the hell was that for?” Flynn groaned, wiping at his bloody mouth.

Quinn felt shaky, unsure himself of what had possessed him to punch the guy. The moment he’d seen Casey’s face, the hurt in her eyes at Flynn’s rejection, he’d snapped. It was like looking in a mirror at how he felt about Kiera, and he couldn’t handle seeing his little cousin experiencing it, too.

“You said you’d never date her,” Quinn started to say, not entirely sure that reasoning held up.

“Uh, yeah, because I’m engaged already,” Flynn shot back before heading in the direction of the locker room, probably to wash his face.

“Oh.” Quinn’s face flushed as his brothers let go of him. He turned to face them. They must have left the dogs with someone else because there was no sign of them.

“Seriously, Q, what the hell?” Rory asked, his tone as severe and unrelenting as the anger on his face.

Kane just tossed his hands in the air, along with a slight chuckle. “I mean, that was stupid as fuck, Q, but damn, you still got a serious hook.”

“Sorry.” He didn’t really mean it, but he didn’t really want to deal with an interrogation, either. Quinn turned to Casey, still behind the counter, her mouth open as if she was still trying to understand everything she’d just seen. “I’m sorry, Casey. I thought he was insulting you.”

Coming to her senses, she closed her mouth, shrugging her shoulders. “You know what? I don’t even mind. He never mentioned a fiancée once in the months he’s worked here. It’s not like I was being subtle—how could he not get it? Hell, punch him again for all I care.”

Kane laughed, but Rory seemed less than amused with all of them.

“Quinn!” His father’s loud bark called out from behind them and all four cringed, shrinking slightly at the familiar tone.

“Oh, shit,” Kane muttered. “You did it now.” Everyone but Quinn scattered fast.

Quinn turned to see his father striding toward him, knowing that he had to man up to whatever lecture his father was about to deliver. “Uh, hi, Pops.”

“Can I see you in the office for a minute, son?” Seamus asked, but there was no doubt that this was not a request. Standing over him, his voice was commanding.

Nodding, Quinn followed his father back through the gym and into the offices. Seamus dropped into one of the chairs and motioned for him to sit in the one across from him. They stared at each other for a minute, Seamus’s arms crossed over his chest.

His father spoke first. “Want to tell me what the hell you’re doing beating the shit out of employees?”

“Not particularly…is that an option?” Quinn gave the tiniest smile, trying to break the ice. A lot of his anger had seeped out of him with the physical altercation, and he just felt emotionally exhausted now.

“Quinn,” Seamus warned.

Okay, so joking wasn’t going to get him out of this.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Pops. I misinterpreted what I saw between him and Casey. Got a little carried away.”

Seamus exhaled loudly. “Well, hell, if he was hitting on Casey, you should have hit him harder.”

Quinn laughed. “He wasn’t. He’s a good guy.”

He wasn’t even sure where that statement was coming from, but his hatred for Flynn had dissipated the moment he saw blood rushing out of his lip. Quinn appreciated the fact that Flynn hadn’t tried to hit back or even made that huge a deal out of it. So far, at least. Plus, seeing that Casey was no longer interested in him suddenly made Quinn like him more.

Shit. He needed to apologize.

“Listen, can your old man give you some advice?” Seamus picked up a pencil off the desk, fiddling with it between his fingers.

Quinn shrugged. “Sure.”

“Don’t end things with Kiera.” His father said it so matter-of-factly, like it was such an easy thing to do.

“That’s really not an option…”

Seamus cut him off. “Why not? Because she’s moving? Son, you’re twenty-seven with nothing stopping you—why can’t you move out there with her?”

Quinn frowned. “To Seattle? Are you serious? Pops, I work here. For you. I live here. I’ve always lived here.”

“Listen, I’m not saying it wouldn’t be an adjustment—or that we should tell your mother I’m encouraging this—but you’ve been walking around here miserable and angry for weeks.” Seamus sighed. “And back when Kiera first left for college, I thought you’d never recover from that heartbreak.”

Quinn swallowed hard, both not wanting to be reminded of it, and a little embarrassed his family had seen him like that.

“But when you two were together, that was the best version of my son I’ve ever seen—and I love all the versions,” Seamus continued, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees. “Do you love her, Q?”

Quinn didn’t hesitate—there was no question there. “Of course I love her.”

“Enough to fight for her?”

“She wants to go, Pops. I can’t stop her.” He didn’t want to stop her. He wanted her to pursue her dreams and be happy—even if that meant he wasn’t. It’s what he’d always done, put others’ needs before his own. “Hell, I’m not even sure if she’s already moved or not.”

Seamus reached out a hand, dropping it on Quinn’s shoulder. “You might not be in a ring like your brothers, but you’re a fighter. Quinn, you’re the strongest fighter I’ve ever had in my corner, but now it’s your turn. You need to fight for what you want. If you love this girl, you need to fight for her…for yourself.”

Quinn contemplated his father’s words. If there was one thing he’d never done, it was fight for Kiera. Back then, or now. He’d just let life happen and expected Kiera would make the best choice for herself, assuming he shouldn’t interfere.

But she was wrong this time. He was wrong. They belonged together. He’d known it since they were children—that hadn’t changed.

The simplicity of the revelation surprised him—fight for what he wanted. A lifetime of putting others first and he’d never once considered that what he wanted mattered, too. And he wanted her. He always had.

“What about Legends?” Quinn asked, his mind going a million miles an hour as he considered what it would mean to go after what he wanted.

Seamus shrugged. “Quinn, I’ve been wanting to fire you since the night of your art show.”

“Wait, what?” Quinn was stunned. “Why?”

“You don’t belong here, kid.” His father’s face was beaming, unmistakably full of pride. “You’ve got plenty of money saved up while you’re getting off the ground, and now you’re getting commissioned pieces. You’ll be a successful artist in no time—and you can easily do that in Seattle. It would be a great injustice to the world—to this family—if you were stuck behind this desk or on the sidelines of a ring for the rest of your life.”

Warmth rose in his cheeks at his father’s words. “Pops—”

“I’m serious, kid.” Seamus cut him off. “I know this business, this family, is all you’ve ever known, but it doesn’t have to be. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us—hell, I can’t even begin to say that about your brothers. You stepped up when we almost lost everything. You stepped up when I didn’t have anyone else, and we wouldn’t be the business we are today without you. And that’s exactly why we will be fine without you. It’s your turn, kid.” Seamus stood and patted Quinn on the shoulder again, before walking toward the door. Pausing, he turned to look back at him. “Hey, Quinn?”

Quinn, still seated, looked up at his father. “Yeah?”

“You’re fired,” Seamus said. He took another step out the door then quickly poked his head back in. “Unless your mother asks, then you quit and I tried everything to convince you to stay.”

Quinn laughed, definitely not looking forward to his mother finding out. “Thanks, Pops.”

Alone in his office, momentarily insulated from the outside world, Quinn leaned back in his chair, locking his hands behind his neck. The thick door muffled the everyday sounds of the busy gym, dulling them to faint thuds and clanks and every once in a while a cheer. His stomach rolled with anticipation—a mixture of excitement and terror—at the idea of a fresh start, at the idea of pursuing both a career and a woman he wanted.

He loved Legends and the work he did there. He was proud of it even, but it was still only a job. When he was in the studio, molding metal and creating figures from flames, he felt alive in a way he’d never known before. It was even similar to how he felt around Kiera—awake, as if for the first time.

Resolution stirred in his gut. He was going to fight—for her and for his art.

He was going to fight for himself.