Page 79 of Intolerable Bishop

“You must be Myles,” the attendant said.

“Aye, I am.”

Ren held out the paperwork I needed to prove he was my brother. She nodded as she looked it over and then handed it back.

“I figured, but it’s best to double-check. It was great flying with you, Lip,” she said, holding out her hand. My brother shook it like a pro. He wasn’t quite seven, and yet he was the oldest soul I’d ever met. I half expected him to be sitting at the breakfast table one morning with coffee and a tablet, looking at stock projections. The kid amazed me.

As soon as she was out of earshot, I turned to Ren. “Lip, you remember Ren? You met her at Thanksgiving dinner.”

His little lips pressed together as he stared at her. Ren took off the dark sunglasses, and his face lit up.

“House hippos,” he squealed, making us both laugh. “Why is your hair blue?”

“That is an excellent question. Myles, why is my hair blue?” I flushed hot as she hit me with an annoyed stare before putting the sunglasses back on.

“Ya look like you belong in a rock band. Besides, it’s in the same cool color palette as the white. I thought you’d appreciate it.” Ren was starting to get quite the collection of wigs, but I really liked this icy blue color on her, not that she’d been overly impressed when she took it out of the bag.

“Can I dye my hair green?” Lip asked, his eyes filled with excitement. “Luck of da Irish,” he growled.

“Maybe, but no promises,” I said, setting Lip down. I hated to admit it, but the short, spiky hair he had going would look stylish in green. I took Lip’s hand and Ren’s, but Lip pulled away and broke us apart. I hadn’t contemplated that Lip might have a problem with Ren and me, but my burst of fear was short-lived as he took each of our hands and wanted us to swing him. I should’ve known.

By the time we rolled up to the building we were renovating, it was seven o’clock, and Lip had talked our ears off. Question after question, he had to the point where it felt like we were being interrogated. Then he wanted to stop and get ice cream from his favorite spot because the place in Ireland didn’t have the swirl combination he liked. I even dared to stop at the arcade for an hour, and he was still wound up tighter than an eight-day clock.

“This is going to be a club,” Ren asked, looking up at the drab brown building.

“I promise once the renovations are done, you won’t believe the difference. The inside is all gutted, and the contractors have installed all new wiring and plumbing. It’s a big project.”

“And Nash is overseeing this?” I nodded. “He really doesn’t sleep,” Ren mumbled as we got out of the car.

Lip skipped ahead of us as we walked through the door, and I knew he had found Nash and Nora when he squealed. The sound echoed in the large, empty room.

“Uncle Nash, Auntie Nora,” Lip chimed as he hugged them and managed to jump up and down at the same time. Nash smiled down at Lip, his face warm and relaxed as he spoke to my little brother, but the moment he looked up and saw Ren with me, the lighthearted smile faded. I knew he’d be pissed that I brought her, but we were already in town, and I’d been promising her that I’d show her the spot.

“Nora, did he get ya talked into workin’ here?” Nora looked around.

“Needs a ton of work still, but I see the potential,” she said. Liam’s sister didn’t want anything to do with Lawrence or her family as long as they associated with him. So, she’d been sleeping in their pool house and working whatever job she could to make money.

“Remember, the best part is that you get an apartment upstairs,” Nash said, and her lip twitched up.

“And a fair salary?”

“Yes, of course,” Nash said.

“Alright, count me in. I’ll be the manager when you’re ready.” Nora looked at Ren. “I know you, don’t I?”

Ren slipped off the sunglasses and held out her hand. “We met last year at Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Ren, that’s right. You’re the one who made Lawrence look like the shady piece of shit he is.” Ren glanced at Nash, but he just shrugged. “He knows what I think of his old man, and I’ll break all of his fingers if he ever tries to touch me.” Nora rolled out her shoulders. She and Liam were a lot alike. Nora was just extraverted with her fire while Liam kept his under wraps.

“He won’t cause of your father,” Nash said, but Nora didn’t look convinced and crossed her arms.

“Please, that man would touch his own daughter if he had one,” Nora snarled.

“Come on, I’ll give ya both a quick tour,” I said, wanting to get Lip out of there before he started to ask questions that he had no business knowing the answers to yet. We reached the furthest end of the building, and Ren pointed out areas where things would look great. Although I agreed with her, I wasn’t getting between her, Nash, and whatever he had planned.

“Hey, I need to talk to Nash. Would ya mind lookin’ out for Lip?”

“Sure,” Ren answered and walked over to where Lip was looking out the front window. As soon as she reached him, I could hear her tell him some fact about animals that had him chatting a mile a minute. I glanced over my shoulder at Nash and spotted him staring at Ren. Fucker. I needed to ask her to marry me before he jumped the line. Asshole would be shady like that.