Free Patrick's Destiny by Sherryl Woods

frank, assessing look that meant she was about to start poking around in his life.
    “Don’t start with me, Molly,” he said, hoping to forestall the inquisition.
    “Is it a crime to want to know what’s going on in the life of a man I consider to be a friend? Alice told me that those were your brothers who turned up here last night. I think I have a right to be curious,” she said. Regarding him sympathetically, she asked, “Does Daniel know they’ve turned up?”
    “I’m surprised you care what Daniel knows,” he said.
    “I don’t,” she insisted. “I’m merely curious.”
    “Okay, then, if it’s only to satisfy your curiosity, he doesn’t know,” Patrick said tightly. “At least not from me. Who knows what someone in here last night might have felt the need to pass along to him.”
    She frowned at his testy tone. “Are you okay, Patrick? If you need to talk about this, you know I’ll listen.”
    He shrugged off the question and the offer. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
    She frowned at him. “Is that all I’m going to get out of you on the subject?”
    “Yep.”
    “Okay, fine,” she said, giving up a little too readily. “Let’s talk about you and Alice, instead.”
    Patrick glowered at her, but she knew him too well to be intimidated. It was one of his greatest frustrations that he’d lost the power to keep some people at a distance. Molly was the first to breach his reserve. Now Alice was gathering insights like little nuggets she could assemble to figure him out.
    “I suppose you think that’s off-limits, too,” Molly said, when he remained stubbornly silent.
    “It is,” he said tightly. “Mainly because there is no me and Alice to discuss.”
    Molly rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it. “If you say so.”
    “I do,” he said quite firmly. “And here come my brothers now, so make yourself scarce. Don’t start poking and prodding at them.”
    “I imagine you won’t object if I at least take your breakfast order?” she said tartly.
    He grinned. “There you go, Molly. You could get the hang of being the polite hostess of this place yet.”
    “Don’t count on it where you’re concerned,” she retorted, sliding out of the booth, then turning a beaming smile on his brothers. “Hi. I’m Molly. Your coffee’s in the pot on the table, and I’ll be back to take your order in a few minutes. As for him,” she said, nodding toward Patrick, “try teaching him some manners.”
    “Too late for that, I imagine,” Ryan said, grinning back at her. “And I doubt he’d take advice from us, anyway.”
    “You could at least try,” she said.
    “What did you do to rile the lovely waitress?” Sean inquired, studying Patrick.
    “The lovely waitress is the owner of this place, and she takes after her grandfather Jess,” Patrick said. “She thinks there’s nothing that goes on in here or in all of Widow’s Cove that’s not her business.”
    “In other words, she was asking about us,” Michael guessed.
    Patrick nodded. “And when I refused to satisfy her curiosity on that count, she moved on to Alice.”
    “Which brings up a point,” Michael said. “It never occurred to me to ask last night, but would you like to bring her to the wedding?”
    Patrick held up both hands. “Whoa! I barely know the woman. I don’t think a wedding is the best idea for a first date.”
    “You’ve never even been out on a date with her?” Ryan asked, clearly shocked. “The two of you seemed pretty tight last night. You were awfully reluctant to let her leave.”
    “We met earlier in the day,” Patrick explained, then told the story of Ricky Foster’s untimely nosedive off his pier.
    “Interesting,” Sean said. “Our brother seems to be following our pattern of meeting his soul mate under unusual circumstances. Ryan’s Maggie wandered into his pub after having a flat tire on Thanksgiving eve. I met Deanna after I put out the fire that destroyed her apartment. And Kelly came into