Hard Irish Read Online Free Page B

mother’s grave not to tell ya until he was gone.  After the construction office was broken into last month, he gave me a box to keep.  He said it was Keira’s wish for you to have the box after Rory died.  I also know your father’s attorney has stuff he’s supposed to give ya, too, but not until Rory passes on.”
    Rocky stared at her him as she held onto her father’s hand.  A surreal tingling crawled over her.  Something her mother had left for her that’s been sitting hidden for five years?  Why?  Why would her father withhold anything about her mother?  Why wait until her father dies to tell her?  “I’ll call the attorney in a minute.  What’s in the box?”
    “That man is not going to be happy with me.  I don’t know what is in the box, Lass.  It’s sealed.  I put it in a safety deposit box at the bank.  I can bring the box to you tomorrow afternoon.  I have a meeting with the concrete suppliers in the morning.”
    Rocky wanted immediate answers and she wasn’t getting anything but frustration.  “Why haven’t you said anything before?”
    “I swore to Rory I wouldn’t.  I’m still not sure I’m doing the right thing.  I don’t think he expected that he’d end up like this though.  So if he is trying to tell you something about your mother, maybe the box will help.” 
    Confusion and hurt warred with her love for her parents.  She didn’t understand why they would have done this.  Why the secrets?  Why leave her things to be opened only after their deaths?  Why would her mother be Unforgivable and beyond prayer?
    “I knew something was wrong,” she said, almost angry.  “Da was frantic when he walked in and saw the office had been ransacked.  He went immediately to the safe and appeared relieved until he opened it and went through the contents several times.  After that, he seemed distracted and worried.  A week later he ended up like this. Did he lie to the police when he told them nothing was missing?”
    Pat shrugged.  “I don’t know what all was in the safe.  Since Collin was cut from the company, there are some business matters that I just leave for you and your father to handle.  Less tension all the way around.”  He sighed and studied her sadly. 
    “Don’t say anything about him.”  Rocky stiffened her back.  Here it comes again.  His apology for Collin’s behavior.  How he wished things were different.  How Collin was different now.   She didn’t care how long Collin Brady had been on the wagon.  And she didn’t care how sorry he was.  Everyone thought her hard and unforgiving because she’d forced Collin from the company and she let them think that.  She didn’t have the heart to tell his father or her Da the “real” man beneath Collin’s charm. 
    Pat sighed.  “I won’t.  I’ve realized you and Collin are a burned bridge.  I still think of you as my daughter, lass.  I’m sorry my son hurt you.”
    She could see that Pat was still hurting from the split.  “I’m sorry things are the way they are.”
    “I know you are and I’m worried about you.  You’ve cut yourself off from everyone since the divorce.  You need to get out and be young again.  The crew’s throwing a birthday party for Mack at Sally’s tonight.  It couldn’t hurt for you to stop by for a few minutes on your way home.”  He chuckled.  “And it would do the new boys good for you to take them down a notch or two, if you’re still queen of the eight ball, that is.”
    Rocky bit her lip.  She hadn’t played pool since she’d come home from a job early and found Collin and some bar hussy in the pool room, and it wasn’t the billiard balls in play either.  She’d moved out the next day, but not before she’d disassembled the pool table and burned it in the backyard.  “I’ll be staying here.  Seeing if Da speaks again.”
    The weight of the world settled on Pat, his shoulders slumped.  “Don’t answer now, lass.  Think about it