When he was young his mother used to tell him he was the brains of the family. As likely as not she expected him to go to college and become a lawyer or a doctor; she was sorely disappointed when he started working as a carpenter instead. He loved creating things with his own hands, and repairing broken pieces of furniture; even inanimate objects deserved a second chance, and he took pleasure in admiring his own handiwork.
His choice proved to be the right one when his mother fell ill about the same time his father ran away with another woman. For years Ryan was the only support to his family, and a surrogate father to his younger sister Jenny; then their mother died, and the relationship between the two siblings turned more and more difficult. Even though Jenny was a young woman now, he still worried about her fractious temper and her devil-may-care attitude.
Still he knew he had to let her live her own life; she wasn't his daughter, and he couldn't make decisions for her. All he could do was offer a supportive shoulder when she needed it, or give her a severe reprimand when she behaved more recklessly than usual. In the meanwhile, he chose to channel his energy into his job; he was now a joiner, and quite a good one according to his clients. Working with his hands always helped him to relax, it was the best way to clear his mind and distract himself from whatever frustration and anxiety life could throw upon him.
Jenny had taken to drinking a bit too much of late; he had warned her time and time again about the risks of such disgraceful conduct, but she stubbornly refused to see reason. Ryan wasn't exactly surprised when his sister called him late one evening, and tearfully told him she had been stopped for drunk driving. The new police chief was really understanding; she allowed him to take Jenny back home, on the condition that he was going to look after her until she was sober again. It wasn't in her power to drop the charges, and anyway he agreed that it was time his sister faced the consequences of her actions.
He stayed at Jenny's until the morning; she felt so sick she vowed she was never going to have a drop of alcohol again, but Ryan knew better than to trust her promises when it came to the matter at hand. Later that day Chief Lisbon stopped by to check on them; he was touched that she was taking so much interest in his sister, though it didn't take him long to figure out the reasons for it.
The chief insisted on having a word with Jenny; she said that her own mother had died in a drunk driver accident, and her family had fallen apart as a consequence. Her father had taken up drinking, turning her and her brothers' lives into a living hell until he eventually killed himself.
Jenny seemed genuinely upset at her words, even more so because it was clear that the woman was being completely honest with her. In the end she agreed to seek help, and he felt a heavy burden falling off his chest at long last. He heartily thanked Chief Lisbon, though she waved it off as a part of her duty; however, he knew only too well that their previous police chief wouldn't have bothered to do anything of the kind, and that meant a lot to him.
A few days later, when he happened to pass her by on his way home, he offered her a smile and asked her in for a coffee.
"Sure. Why not?" she agreed amiably, and soon enough they were deep in conversation. Both of them had had their fair share of troubles in their past, but that had only made them stronger in the long run.
He immediately figured out she was of Irish descent, just like him; she was also a Catholic, something she had in common with his late mother. She told him about her three younger brothers, how she'd practically raised them – therefore learning most of her leadership skills straight on the field. Ryan told him about his sister; how she'd always been a troubled soul, resenting their father for running away on them and their mother's untimely death.
It felt like ages since the last time he'd enjoyed himself so much; he wasn't really a friendly sort of man, and none of the women he'd briefly been involved with had ever truly understood him. Teresa Lisbon did, however, and he was looking forward to seeing her again.
Given the fact she had no family or acquaintances there – she'd come over from California about a year ago, while her family came from Chicago – she seemed more than happy to spend her time with someone who had so much in common with her. She led a fairly solitary life, and he could tell she missed her life in California. There was probably more to it than met the eye, but for the time being he was determined to simply enjoy her company.
They dated for a while, though neither of them ever said the word out loud; until one evening he drove her back home, and she invited him in for a drink. The morning found them curled up together in her bed, a warm smile tugging at his lips as she traced invisible patterns on his skin.
"Good morning," he murmured huskily, meeting her lips for a gentle embrace. She smiled back affectionately, and he knew that right then he was the luckiest man on earth.
Teresa was the best thing that could have happened to him, and he would make sure he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon. He just hoped she felt the same way about him; though he was a good judge of people he still found her a bit of an enigma, and that only sought to intrigue him further.
As long as she was his, he didn't care about whatever secrets she might chose to keep from him.