Grim Expectations (Aisling Grimlock Book 5) Read online

  TWENTY minutes later the competition was raging and I was ready to knock Braden out of the game when the front door opened and Griffin strode in. He didn’t seem surprised to see us screwing around in the foyer and reached out and snagged me by the waist before I could crush Braden into the wall.

  “Hello, baby,” he said, tugging me back as Braden cackled like a television witch on uppers. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re playing sock hockey,” Cillian replied, taking a moment to catch his breath as he rested against the far wall. “We used to play it all of the time when we were kids.”

  “Uh-huh.” Griffin didn’t look impressed. “And why did you decide to play it today?”

  “The maids just waxed the floor and it’s really slippery,” Braden answered. “That means it’ll be fun for days.”

  “And you stopped me before I could knock Braden out of the game,” I added, struggling. “Let me go.”

  “I would rather not,” Griffin said, tightening his grip on me. “I don’t want you to get hurt, and you’re already flushed and sweating. How about you call it a draw?”

  “That sounds nothing like me.”

  Cillian snickered. “That sounds nothing like any of us.”

  “I know, but I missed you today,” Griffin said, giving me a hug as I squirmed. “I want you to pay attention to me instead of Braden.”

  Griffin was playing a game, too. His game was nowhere near as fun as sock hockey, though. “But … .”

  “Give me a hug,” Griffin instructed.

  I blew out a sigh and slipped my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his cheek as he grinned. “Happy?”

  “I’m happier,” Griffin clarified. “I won’t be happy until I get some food into me. I had to skip lunch and I’m starving.”

  “Aisling said you ate ten pounds of crab last night,” Cillian argued. “How can you be hungry?”

  “I had steak and crab,” Griffin corrected. “She’s the one who ate ten pounds of crab … and then complained about her pants not fitting for the entire ride home.”

  “She told us about that, too,” Braden said. “You should be careful, Ais. If you keep eating like that you’re going to get fat and Griffin will dump you.”

  “That won’t happen,” Griffin said. “She’s too cute. I don’t care if she’s beefy.”

  I didn’t believe that for a second. “Beefy?”

  “Moo.” Braden made a face as he slipped past me.

  I shot Griffin a pleading look and he shook his head as he released me. I took full advantage of Braden looking the other way and used my hip to check him into the wall. The sound echoed throughout the foyer and I raised my hands in the air to signify my victory as Braden glowered in my direction.

  “Ha!”

  “You cheated,” Braden shot back, rubbing his shoulder. “You’re a big fat cheater, you cow! Moo!”

  I cocked my fist to punch him but Griffin caught my arm and pulled me back to my previous position in his arms. “That’s enough of that,” he said. “You’re supposed to be showering me with affection, not playing games with your brothers.”

  “Oh, you two are so cute I almost want to puke,” Cillian said, shaking his head. “It’s like you’re one of those postcard couples holding hands and skipping down the beach.”

  “Except there is no beach, and if there were one I would throw Aisling in the ocean so the sharks could get her,” Braden said.

  “Don’t make me let her go,” Griffin warned, gripping my hips as I worked overtime to attack Braden. “I’m pretty sure she can take you.”

  “In her dreams.”

  “What’s in whose dreams?” Dad asked, appearing in the foyer. He had a suspicious look on his handsome face as his gaze bounced between faces. “What have you four been doing?”

  Cormack Grimlock is an imposing sight. He’s tall like my brothers and boasts broad shoulders that have been sculpted through hours in the gym despite the fact that he’s in his fifties. He dresses in a suit and tie every single day and he can yell loudly enough to drown out all five of us when we get going. He’s terrifying.

  He’s also fun to mess with.

  “I haven’t been doing anything,” I announced. “I’ve been being a good girl. These three, though, are a different story. They’ve been playing sock hockey. Get them, Dad.”

  “Oh, I’m going to make you pay for that,” Braden said, extending a finger. “When you least expect it … pow!”

  “Right to the moon, Aisling,” Cillian teased, laughing.

  Dad made a face at our antics. “Why?”

  “Why what?” Braden asked.

  “Why are you playing sock hockey?” Dad asked. “You’re in your twenties. You’re too old for games like that.”

  “Age is a state of mind,” I said, grinning. “For them, I mean. They’re the bad ones. I’m the good one. I’m your favorite.”

  “Yes, well, not tonight you’re not,” Dad said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “As for the sock hockey, Griffin looks as if he’s going to murder you and I suspect that’s because you just fingered him for breaking the rules when you’re the real culprit.”

  That was a horrible thing to say to his only daughter. “I’m innocent.”

  “You’re in your socks and your shoes are shoved under the table,” Dad argued. “Griffin is wearing shoes.” It was only recently that Dad had taken to calling Griffin by his name instead of referring to him as the “handsy cop.” I was still getting used to it.

  “Have you ever considered that Griffin yanked off my shoes and put his on because he knew you were coming and he wanted to make me the fall guy?” I challenged.

  “Not for a second,” Dad replied, shaking his head as Griffin increased the pressure on my waist.

  “You’re in big trouble later,” Griffin whispered. “We’re going to play a little game of our own and I’m definitely going to be the winner.”

  I had a feeling we would both be winners when it was time to play that game. “I can live with that,” I said, turning my attention to Dad. “What’s for dinner?”

  “Prime rib.”

  “Yay!” I clapped my hands and hopped a little. “I am your favorite today, huh?”

  Dad shook his head but I didn’t miss the twinkle in his eye. He loved us all, but he wasn’t above playing favorites – and those favorites shifted with the sun and moon. “You might be my favorite today,” he conceded. “Of course, have you disposed of your souls yet? Everyone else has. If not, you’re definitely not my favorite because you’re holding things up.”

  I was sheepish as I stepped away from Griffin. “I forgot.”

  “Yes, well, that excuse didn’t work on me when you were small and cute, so there’s no way it’s going to work now.”

  Did he just say I wasn’t cute? I looked to Griffin for confirmation.

  “Don’t worry,” Griffin said. “I think you’re cute.”

  Dad made an exaggerated face. “Where are your hands?”

  I ignored the question as I moved toward the console table to reclaim my scepter. “By the way, I ran into a wraith today.”

  The jocularity from a moment before was gone and when I risked a glance in Dad’s direction he was clearly furious.

  “What?”

  “Why didn’t you open with that?” Cillian asked, flabbergasted. “Is that why you were in such a bad mood when you came in?”

  “It wasn’t a big deal,” I said, cringing at the furious expression on Griffin’s face. “It didn’t really get close to me.”

  “Did it run when it saw you?” Braden asked.

  “No, it’s dead.”

  “You just said you didn’t get close to it,” Griffin pointed out. “Are you lying?”

  “I am not lying,” I replied. “I didn’t get all that close to it … although technically I nicked its shoulder with my knife. There was a girl there, and she hopped up from behind a bush and killed the wraith.”

  Dad was confused. “What do you mean?”


  “There was a girl there and I didn’t see her at first,” I answered. “She snuck up on the wraith and killed it. I tried to question her, but she took off. I had to stay behind long enough to collect the soul, and when I tried to follow she was gone.”

  “So you’re saying that a teenager was hiding behind a bush and she killed the wraith and ran?” Cillian scratched the side of his nose. “But … why?”

  “I have no idea,” I replied. “It’s weird.”

  “It definitely sounds weird,” Dad said. “You’re all right, though, aren’t you?”

  I nodded. “It didn’t touch me.”

  “You’re still in trouble,” Griffin grumbled.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong,” I protested.

  “I agree with Griffin,” Dad said. “You deserve some form of punishment for not calling someone the second this happened. I’ll let Griffin make the decision on how to punish you, though.”

  Cillian snorted. “He’s going to punish her with kisses and nudity.”

  “Knock that off,” Dad warned, extending a finger. “That is your sister. You’re not supposed to say things like that about her.”

  “It’s not like I want to see it or anything.” Cillian was scandalized. “Griffin isn’t going to punish her in a way that’s fun for the rest of us.”

  “And that is the true travesty here,” Braden intoned.

  Dad ignored him. “We’ll talk about it more after dinner. We have a guest coming, though, and I don’t want you mentioning it in front of her. Do you understand?”

  “I guess,” I said. “Who is it? Did you invite Barbara?”

  Dad’s girlfriend worked at the Detroit reaper office and was up on all of the paranormal gossip. I had no idea why we had to keep the incident to ourselves. Dad was usually fine with us talking shop in front of her.

  “It is not Barbara,” Dad replied, averting his gaze. “We’re spending a little time apart because … well … we just are. She’s not coming to dinner.”

  Well, things just got a heck of a lot more interesting. “Who is it?” I asked. “You didn’t get another new girlfriend, did you? We were just getting used to this one. You’re going to traumatize us for life if you keep bringing home new women. We don’t do well with new faces.”

  “Yeah, and we don’t take change well either,” Cillian added.

  “It is not another girlfriend,” Dad said, turning to walk out of the room. “It’s your mother. She’ll be here any minute.”

  My mouth dropped open. I must’ve heard him wrong. “What?”

  My father and mother weren’t in a very good place since her miraculous return. He loved her before she “died,” but he was determined to keep us safe and that included looking upon her as the enemy. So why this turnabout?

  “What are you talking about?” Cillian asked, confused. “Why would you invite Mom?”

  “Don’t worry.” Dad disappeared into the nearby parlor. “We’re done talking about it.”

  He was crazy if he thought that would work on us. He raised us, after all. His words were the end of nothing. It was time for an old-fashioned family blowout, and I was almost looking forward to it.

  7

  Seven

  “Have you completely lost your mind?” I stomped into the parlor and glared at my father as he stood behind the bar and filled a glass with more bourbon than ice.

  “Aisling.” Griffin sent me a small headshake to rein me in, but I was too far gone for that to work.

  “Do you have something on your mind, Aisling?” Dad asked, pursing his lips as he carried his glass to the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. “Do you wish to unburden yourself? I can see that keeping all of your emotions inside as you do probably means you’re ready to blow. Oh, wait, you blow no matter what, don’t you?”

  I didn’t like his tone. “I think you’ve lost your mind.”

  “Did everyone miss the blow comment?” Braden asked, his mind going to a filthy place. Thankfully everyone ignored him.

  “Okay, Aisling, don’t make things worse,” Cillian chided, moving to place himself between Dad and me. He was always the most pragmatic of my brothers and it was only annoying when I was looking for a fight. “Dad, I think what Aisling is trying to say is … um … did you hit your head or something?”

  I widened my eyes and bit my lip to keep from laughing as Griffin made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. Griffin wasn’t keen on family fights. I found them invigorating.

  “Leave him alone,” Braden ordered, taking a seat on the couch close to Dad so he could offer him support. Braden was the only one of my brothers living under the delusion that the woman who returned to us was the same mother we thought we lost in a fire more than a decade ago. He was desperate to reconnect with her. “I think it’s a great idea. I’m glad he invited her.”

  “I did not invite her,” Dad clarified. “She invited herself and I had a choice to have her removed forcibly or pretend I was okay with it. I chose to pretend because the last thing I need is to watch all of you draw lines in the sand as you fight with one another.”

  “We won’t fight,” Cillian said.

  I raised my hand to draw Dad’s attention. “I’m totally going to fight.”

  “Well, at least you’re honest,” Dad said, leaning forward and pinching his nose. “Look, I don’t know what to do here. She’s your mother and she wants to see you. I cannot issue an ultimatum and order you not to see her because you won’t be able to stop yourselves from chasing after her affection if I do that. Some of you thrill on breaking rules.”

  “Yeah, Braden,” I intoned, making a face as Braden stuck out his tongue.

  “I was talking about you, Aisling,” Dad said. “You’re the one who always insists on breaking the rules just because I made them.”

  “That is a vicious lie.”

  Griffin arched a challenging eyebrow but otherwise remained mute.

  “Well, it’s at least a partial lie,” I clarified. “I don’t always break the rules.”

  “Really?” Dad clearly wasn’t in the mood to play games if his expression was to be believed. “Do you remember when the homeowners association sent out that notice about the peeping tom in the neighborhood and warned everyone to lock their windows and shut their curtains?”

  I shrugged. “I vaguely remember it.”

  “You were sixteen,” Dad said. “I was worried because you were a pretty girl and I didn’t want anyone hurting you. What did I do?”

  “You bought me new curtains.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I took the curtains down and danced in my pajamas in front of my window,” I answered.

  “Why?” Griffin was incensed. “Why would you do something like that?”

  “To be fair, I didn’t do it just to break the rules,” I explained. “I did it because Redmond and Braden wanted to hide in the bushes and catch a pervert. They thought it would make them popular with the ladies.”

  “And what happened?” Dad pressed.

  “The Neighborhood Watch guys reported me to the police because they thought I was doing an illegal striptease to entice teenaged boys,” I replied. “The cops showed up and Redmond and Braden tackled them before they realized who was standing under my window. We were all threatened with fines and probation if we didn’t shape up.”

  It was a serious conversation, but Griffin couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Oh, I just … you guys must’ve been the talk of the neighborhood when you were kids.”

  “They were … something,” Dad said. “I’m not making rules for you guys when it comes to your mother. I know that’s going to blow up in my face and it’s the last thing I want. I know I don’t always say it, but I love you guys. I understand that you’re struggling with your mother’s return and I want to do right by you.”

  No matter how angry I got with my father’s machinations, I never doubted that. “Dad, she’s up to no good,” I said. “Just because we don’t know wha
t she’s planning, that doesn’t mean she’s not planning something.”

  “Hey!” Braden was irked. “That’s our mother. We should show her some kindness. She’s been through a terrible ordeal. All she wants is for us to love and accept her back into the family.”

  Dad’s eyes were contemplative when they latched onto Braden’s face. I was used to being the one he worried about most. I’d clearly relinquished that position to Braden over the past few weeks.

  “I have been showing her kindness,” I argued. “She’s not dead. That’s a kindness.”

  “Don’t threaten her,” Braden snapped, extending a finger. “I’ll make you sorry if you do.”

  “And don’t threaten her,” Griffin said, slipping his arm around my waist in a show of solidarity. “This is hard on everybody, Braden, but you seem to believe you’re the only one seeing things clearly. That’s pretty hard to ascertain when the view is so murky.”

  “Did you just explain something?” Braden’s attitude was off the charts tonight.

  “Knock that off,” Dad ordered. “You’re allowed to feel whatever it is that you’re feeling, Braden, but your brothers and sister have a right to their feelings, too. I don’t know what’s going to happen and I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. This whole situation is a mess.”

  “That doesn’t mean she has to come to dinner,” I pointed out. “She’s manipulating you.”

  “I know that.” Dad looked tired as he rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. “She knows that I’m aware of the manipulation, too. That’s not stopping her. I don’t know what else to do, Aisling. I don’t want this family fractured.”

  My heart went out to him even as my distrust of my mother kicked up a notch. “She’s been following me,” I volunteered. “She keeps showing up at my jobs. Did you know that?”

  “No,” Dad replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  That was a pretty good question. “I … .” I worked my jaw but couldn’t figure out how to answer.

  “Aisling is confused, too,” Griffin supplied. “She loved her mother, just like all of you loved her. This woman is back with her mother’s face and keeps showing up and trying to force a relationship. Aisling is caught between what she thinks she should do and what she wants to do.”