Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Kate, hold her still while I rinse her off.”

“I’m trying, but she keeps squirming around!”

The new parents wrestled with their daughter as they tried to bathe her the next morning. As far as Shannon was concerned, she had every intention of making her parents’ job as difficult as possible. While leaning over the bathtub and pouring water over the baby’s body, Gabriel’s palm slipped on the slick tub side and he fell halfway in, getting his torso soaked with the sudsy water. About that time, Mae stepped in and joined Kate in laughing at the sight of her son.

“Come on, Gabriel. Bathing a newborn is not that challenging,” Mae replied.

He stood up and pulled off his soaked shirt before drying off, “It is when she won’t stop moving.”

“That’s why one of you needs to keep her occupied while the other does the washing and rinsing.”

“Now you tell us,” he rolled his eyes and wrung water from his hair.

Mae laughed at the scene, and then went over to help the new parents. She took the wash cloth from Kate and began washing the baby while holding her with her free hand. Shannon behaved like a perfect angel for her grandmother. Within a few minutes, Mae had Shannon bathed and dressed in a yellow outfit, and then carried her out into the living room, where she sat in her rocking chair and began rocking softly.

“Mom, watching you care for our daughter makes me feel that you should have had another child. It saddens me that you never could,” Gabriel walked through the living room, picking up some of Charlie’s toys.

The older woman looked away from him, becoming strangely quiet as if she had a secret she was hiding from him, “Yeah, but I was perfectly happy with you. If I had had another child it would’ve been hard for me to divide my attention between the two of you.”

 The afternoon turned out to be surprisingly warm for that time of the year. Wanting to take advantage of the warm day, Kate decided to take a book outside and sit underneath the tall tree in the front yard. After a few minutes she heard a sound and looked up to see Gabriel and Sean riding their horses along the trail in the cypress trees. Returning to her book, Kate was swept away by the events the characters found themselves in.

Some time while Kate was outside she heard Shannon cry and Mae’s voice talking to her in an effort to soothe her. It wasn’t long before the crying stopped.

I must be the luckiest woman ever. I have the most wonderful husband and baby, and I no longer have to worry about insane people trying to kill us, Kate thought as she listened to the birds chirping in the trees around her. It still baffled her that Mae could have that much knowledge of children when she only had had one child. It didn’t matter; she trusted the woman with her life and knew she adored caring for Shannon as if she were her own.

 

Around nine o’ clock that same night, Kate decided to go get a glass of water while her husband finished tucking in their daughter. As she made her way down the dark hallway, she had an uneasy feeling as if she was being watched. When she passed by the bathroom, a hand reached out and clamped over her mouth while a strong arm wrapped around her waist, catching her by surprise. Eyes wide with fear, Kate tried to scream, but the intruder’s hand wouldn’t budge.

“Where’s your husband, Kate?” A deep voice asked close to her ear.

Kate was able to get her mouth free, and she questioned the man, “What do you want with Gabriel? Who are you?”

A chuckle escaped the man’s lips; in a strange way he had the same accent as Gabriel and Rob, only stronger, “I’m his brother.”

The man’s arms relaxed, letting Kate free to turn around and see the man who had claimed to be Gabriel’s brother. He still had a hold of her forearm in case she tried to run. The man stood tall in front of her, his long, dark green hair draped over his shoulders. His appearance resembled that of her husband’s, but she couldn’t trust him since she knew that Mae and Rob had only had one child… Supposedly.

“You can’t be Gabriel’s brother. Mae only had one baby,” Kate stated, trying to keep some distance in between the two of them.

The man smirked, “That’s not true. When they still lived in Dublin they had me unexpectedly, and put me up for adoption. Ever since I learned about this, I’ve been trying to find them, and I tracked them down here in Jefferson.”

“But how did-?” Both Kate and the man claiming to be Gabriel’s brother turned around at the sound of a pistol being cocked. Gabriel stepped out of the bedroom, his Colt pointed directly at the intruder’s chest.

“You have five seconds to tell me  who you are and how you got in here before I put a bullet through your heart,” the look on his face was one of pure rage; his wife and child were in danger and it was up to him to protect them from any harm.

The other male released Kate from his grasp and took a hesitant step toward Gabriel as Kate sought protection behind her husband, “My name is Seamus Dawson… I’m your older brother. I’ve left my home in Ireland in hopes of finally being reunited with my real family. After months of searching, I tracked the rest of the Dawson’s down here in Jefferson,” he cleared his throat, keeping an eye on the pistol still pointed on him, “As for how I got in here… I snuck in through the back door while you were off feeding the horses.”

“Impossible! I’m an only child. My parents had tried to have another but couldn’t conceive. If you want to know what I think about this whole thing, I think you’re full of s**t.”

Just as Gabriel neared his so-called ‘brother’, he smirked, “If you think so, why don’t you question our parents. They’re standing right behind you.”

Gabriel turned around to find Rob and Mae standing near Kate, at a loss for words. Mae held her hand over her mouth and stared at the dark green male in utter disbelief while Rob moved closer to him.

“Seamus? I-I-I can’t believe this. How?” Rob stammered.

The situation became too much for Gabriel as the pieces started to fall into place. He grabbed his father by the shoulder and slammed him against the wall before getting up into his face, “Why did you lie to me?! I had a brother and you never told me?! I’m not sure who to believe right now!”

“Just calm down, Gabriel,” Rob managed to break free from his son’s grasp and moved beside Mae, “I never dreamed this day would come. Yes, he is your biological brother. Soon after your mother and I were married, we ended up getting pregnant, and at the time we were not ready to be parents. After Seamus was born our very good friends adopted him. We wanted to forget all about our past when we moved here.”

Seeing her son’s demeanor change, Mae pulled Gabriel into her arms and held onto him as if she’d lose him, “Once we were ready to have a family we couldn’t conceive no matter how many times we tried. I was ready to give up the day I found out that you were in my belly,” she kissed his cheek and wound her fingers in his long locks, “We tried for a daughter when you were two, but again, nothing. Now that Seamus has found us, hopefully we can all be the family we were meant to be.”

Gabriel put his pistol back in its holster and turned to Seamus, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest. It was then that Gabriel noticed the Celtic knot necklace resting on his collarbone; it was identical to the one he wore. There was no doubt in his mind that he was looking at his brother, “I’m sorry I tried to kill you. I have a new baby, and I’m overly protective right now.”

“It’s all right. I shouldn’t have snuck in like I did,” Seamus walked over to Kate in order to apologize, “I’m sorry I held you hostage. Please don’t be scared of me.”

Kate let out the breath she had been holding, “Trust me, I’ve been through scarier situations.”

“Well Kate, I think you’ll find that I tend to be a softie even though I look rough around the edges. By no means do I intend to harm you or your baby. In fact, I’d like to get to know all of you since Mum wants us to be a family.”

“Sounds fantastic!” Kate started for the bedroom after hearing her daughter fussing, “Speaking of the baby, you’ll have to excuse me while I go feed her.”

While Kate was busy with the baby in their bedroom, the rest of the family was having a heart-to-heart in the living room. Gabriel was still in shock by the fact that his parents had lied to him about having an older brother, and he just wanted answers. When he turned to look at his brother, Seamus was sitting on the couch, looking through photo albums to catch up on the things he had missed out on. A photo of Gabriel in his Confederate uniform standing next to a woman wearing a blue antebellum dress caught his attention. She must have been a past girlfriend or a very good friend by the way they stood holding each other.

“Gabriel, who is this woman next to you? She’s very beautiful,” he showed his brother the photo.

Gabriel took the photo and gazed at it for a long time before answering, “That’s Susan… She was my first wife.”

“What happened? Divorce?”

“No. She died giving birth to my first daughter, who ended up being stillborn,” he clenched his fists and pushed the image of Nick out of his mind, “Actually, she was murdered by someone I knew, but thanks to my best friend I don’t have to worry about him any longer.”

Seamus put the photo back in the album and closed it, feeling bad for his younger brother. He had no idea what it must have been like since he had never been married or ever been in a relationship. Quite possibly he would start looking once he got to know his family. While tracking them down, he had learned that his father’s brother and his wife lived in town, and he was eager to meet them, as well.

“I feel like a stalker right now, but what about Riley and Moira Dawson? Do you ever talk to them?”

Rob smiled at the mention of his brother, “Yes, we keep in touch. He and Moira have a son Gabriel’s age that lives down the road from here,” he stood up from his chair, stretching his arms out to the sides, “I think you’d get along well with Casey. He’s what some would call a ladies’ man; very well toned from working on his ranch and driving cattle.”

“Sounds more like a cowboy,” Seamus chuckled as an image popped into his mind, “I keep picturing the guys from Brokeback Mountain. Is he gay?”

“Far from it. Where ever he goes he has to beat women off of him.”

“Wish that was me. I need to start looking for a lass now that I live here in Jefferson,” he smiled when Kate returned to the living room carrying Shannon close to her chest. Unfortunately, the baby was wide awake, “Any suggestions?”

Kate passed the newborn off to Gabriel, and asked, “For what?”

“Where I can find myself a woman. I’m tired of being single.”

“My dad’s younger sister, Rebecca, is single. Look her up on Facebook. I think you’ll like her.”

Seamus thought about it for a little while, “I think I just might do that when I get home. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Not long afterwards, Seamus started for the front door in order to head to his new home on Line Street. He hugged his parents and brother before turning to Kate, hugging her, as well, and being careful not to hurt the baby. As he stood with the screen door open, Mae spoke up.

“Are you stopping by tomorrow?”

He threw his mother a warm smile, “I was planning on it… Just as long as Gabriel doesn’t try to mess up my gorgeous face with that gun of his.”

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry. Didn’t want my wife kidnapped.”

“With that, I shall take my leave,” Seamus kissed Mae’s cheek and started down the porch steps, calling back, “Goodnight, everyone!”