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Chapter Twenty-Eight

The next morning Tommy sat at the kitchen table with his aunt drinking a cup of strong coffee. As he flipped the page of the newspaper, they heard a knock at the door. Polly looked to Tommy. "Are you expecting someone?" she asked with her brow furrowed.

"Not that I'm aware of," Tommy said as he got up to go answer the door. He reached into his coat pocket hanging by the door for his pistol before he opened the door. He was surprised to see Billy Kimber standing on his doorstep. "Mr. Kimber. To what do I owe this fine pleasure?"

"Good morning, Mr. Shelby. You look a sight. What happened to yah?" Kimber asked as he stepped inside.

"Mild disagreement," Tommy answered with a wave of his hand. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to give you a gift of sorts. I hope you put it to good use," Kimber said before looking around. "Could you spare a cup of tea?"

"Of course," Tommy said extending his arm in the direction of the living room. He knew Polly could hear them and would be starting a fresh kettle already.

Billy Kimber took a seat next to the fireplace and said, "I must offer my congratulations as well. I heard your sister was married recently. I'm sorry I couldn't attend."

"I'm sorry we didn't extend an invitation. It was spur of the moment. Only family and a few close friends were there. Didn't have time to get anyone from out of town at all."

"Of course, of course. I understand," Kimber said with a wave and a smile. At this moment, Polly entered the room with a small tray that contained two cups, cream, sugar, and one of the old teapots they never used. "Ah, the tea! And who is this lovely flower?"

"Mr. Kimber, this is my aunt, Polly Shelby. Aunt Pol, this is Mr. Kimber, our very prominent business friend I told you about," Tommy introduced, ever the suave gentleman.

Polly extended her hand and Kimber kissed it gently. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Kimber."

"My aunt here is the reason our family business could stay afloat while myself and my brothers were off in the war."

"A beauty and a business woman," Kimber said looking not the least bit impressed despite the tone of his voice. He turned to Tommy again. "I wish I could stay longer but I must get going." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "This is for you," he said handing it to Tommy. "I hope you do well in your business, Mr. Shelby." With that being said he left the room with Polly following behind him to see him out.

Tommy looked down at the piece of paper and unfolded it. He smiled.

"What is it Thomas?" Polly asked once she came back in the living room.

Tommy looked at his aunt. "The Shelby family is now a legitimate business, Pol." He held up the paper for her to see. "We have a legal betting license."

Polly put her hand to her mouth in excitement. "Oh, my goodness, Tommy, we have to celebrate. We have to go down to the betting house and tell the boys!" She ran out of the room to get her coat. She popped her head back in. "What are you waiting for, Tommy! Let's go!"

Tommy looked down at the paper again and sighed happily. Despite all the chaos going on in his life, he was so proud at this moment. That piece of paper meant he was less of a thug and more of a respected businessman, something he had been working for since he came back from the war.

Yes, this was definitely something to celebrate.

x x x

Claire was wiping down the bar when the twins came storming into the bar singing old Irish drinking songs. They came up to the bar, arm in arm, still singing. Keagan came in after them with little Riley on his shoulders and Claire asked, "What on earth is going on?" with a smile on her face. She hadn't seen her brother's this excited about something since they found out they were going home.

"You'll see soon enough, Clairey!" Keagan shouted as he danced around.

She came out from behind the bar to see a small crowd of people coming towards the Garrison. Soon everyone was inside and Claire was pouring out more shots than she could handle at once and her brothers along with Arthur and John Shelby took over. Claire saw Polly and Ada and decided to try and figure out what was happening.

"Polly!" Claire had to yell. "What is this about?!"

"You'll see!" Polly said with a huge smile on her face and pointed to the center of the room.

Tommy climbed on top of a table and called for silence. With a raised glass he started to speak. "Alright, alright! Settle down everyone, settle down! I have an announcement to make!"

Once everyone had quieted down he smiled at everyone before continuing. "I am pleased to say that Shelby Company Limited has a legal betting license. For the very first time, we are a legitimate business!" Cheers erupted from everyone. Claire looked to Ada and Polly and grinned from ear to ear.

The sound of a loud pop was heard and she turned to see Arthur opening a champagne bottle and dolling out glasses to the men of the betting house, cheering the whole time.

Daniel came up dancing to her and Ada with a champagne glass for each of them, bubbly for Claire and some sparkling cider for Ada. She laughed happily and took the glass, clinking it against Ada's a took a sip. Over the rim of the glass, she could see Tommy staring at her still standing on the table. She tentatively smiled at him and lifted her glass to him. The corner of his mouth crooked up in a half grin and he raised his glass back.

Before she knew what was happening, her twin brothers carted her off to the bar to have her do a shot of whiskey with them, then Aiden arrived with Margaret and the newest addition to the O'Casey clan. It was his turn to step up on the table and shout for everyone to quiet down.

"I want everyone to meet my son, Sean Patrick O'Casey!" He took his little son from his wife's arms and held him up for everyone to see. The little blighter popped his dark green eyes one at a time and viewed the room before making a little gurgle and promptly went back to sleep. Everyone in the room laughed and offered their congratulations and cheers of "he's beautiful" and "well done Aiden".

The drinks flowed more than a little freely that night and Claire found her head spinning more than she would have liked. She needed a moment to collect herself and stumbled into the snub for some peace. The dark and quiet of the little room was welcome and she sat down heavily in the booth. Claire let her head rest against the wall behind her and smiled at all the revelry in the bar. So much happiness had happened lately. Her brother was married, she had a baby nephew, another baby to be born along the way, and now this celebration that was just as important to her brother's as it was to the Shelby's.

During her reverie, she heard the door creak open and she sat up at the noise. To her surprise, she saw Tommy has ducked inside. "Tommy," Claire said simply.

"I saw you come in here. Wanted to make sure you were alright," he said as he took a sip from the glass in his hand. He set it down and sat opposite her in the only chair in the snug.

"Yes, I'm fine. Not near where I was the night you had to carry me upstairs," she said with a small laugh.

Tommy leaned on his knees and chuckled towards the floor. He then pierced her with his ice blue eyes. "Well, that's good. Although, you were rather entertaining."

She threw a lone balled up napkin at him and giggled. The room then became silent.

Finally, Tommy spoke. "Claire, I know that you've been keeping something from me and I want to know what it is."

Claire pursed her lips and she looked down at the floor sadly. "Tommy…"

"Don't 'Tommy' me. This secret is keeping us apart."

Claire's head snapped up to look at him. "I know it is, but it doesn't have to. Would you believe me if I told you that I'm not telling you for your own good? That I'm doing it because I love -" She stopped. No, she thought to herself, it's time to be brave. "Because I love you."

Tommy closed his eyes and took a breath. "I think you are keeping it from me because you believe that's what is best." He looked at her again. "But how can we begin again if there is a secret between us? How can I trust you?" Tommy implored.

Claire's eyes welled up with tears. "Tommy…I want to, but I…I know it will only hurt you."

Tommy got up to leave, but Claire stood and grabbed his arm. "Tommy, please." She took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. "All I can say is I didn't leave you willingly. I didn't want to, but I had to." She kissed his cheek. "I had to." She kissed the corner of his mouth. "I love you." She lightly brushed her lips over his. "Please."

Tommy took her hands in his that rested on either side of his face and pulled them down between them. "Then hear me now, Claire. I need to know and you know that's true."

Claire hung her head and nodded. She did know that. She knew that he would never rest until he knew which is why her plan had been to stay comfortably distant from Tommy. Friends, but nothing more. It seemed she was not strong enough to do that. Tommy took her chin and lifted it to meet his gaze again. "And know this as well. I love you, too."

He said it with such force and feeling that it made a tear roll down her face. "Tommy," she cried. "I can't."

He let go of her. "No. You won't." Tommy opened the door to the snug and the sound of the party drifted inside. Without turning around, he said one last thing. "I can't understand why you won't trust me."

Those words pierced her heart like a knife and she crumpled in the booth as he closed the door, the weight of her secret feeling like a ton of bricks on her shoulders.

...

Hello my lovely readers! I just want to say a quick thank you for you all being so patient waiting on me to get back to writing. I was suffering from some major writer's block and just had a lot going on in my life. Now, I wanted to take the time to let you all know that there is going to be some very mature content coming up in this story. I have this story rated mature because I had always planned on there being some mature content, so I'm just letting ya'll know! Thank you for reading. Seriously. You all make me smile whenever I see I have a new follower or a review or that someone has added me to their favorites list. You rock!