Northern Sons Read Online Free PDF

concerned with drinking and laughing. I was standing alone amongst a sea of strangers and suddenly felt more isolated than I had ever felt in Ireland.
    I walked over to the bar and grabbed the stool next to Daisy. She was busy attempting to tie a cherry stem into a knot with her tongue, to the red-faced laughter of Garret, who was still behind the bar. He was laughing so hard I almost wanted to stop her so that he could catch his breath. Finally she managed the knot and pulled it out of her mouth, displaying it for everyone around to see. Garret applauded her and bent over the bar to give her a kiss. I admired the simple joy that existed between these two. I thought I'd had that with Ronan, but it felt more and more like it was just something he could turn off and on as he chose, and that frightened me. What if he decided to turn it off and never go back?
    Daisy noticed me sitting beside her and her expression immediately changed from joyous triumph to concern. She put her arm around me briefly in a light hug.
    "You alright, darlin'?" she asked. "Weren't expecting Terry, were ye? I could see it on your face."
    I let it out all at once, unmindful of who might be listening in. "He never told me, Daisy! I he never fucking told me his dad was still alive! The way he talked about him, it was like he was gone forever. What the hell? Seriously - what the hell?!"
    Daisy nodded along with everything I said.
    "I know, I know. There's a history between those two as I'm sure you can imagine. Fathers and sons have issues even when things are rosy, and these two are nowhere near that friendly wit' one another."
    "So what happened between them?" I asked her. "And don't give me any shit about not wanting to spill Ronan's secrets - I deserve to know."
    "Yer right, Cat," she said, "It's like this - Terry used to be the leader of the Dublin chapter, but he got old and tired of the business. He said it were gettin' too violent for someone like him. So he decided to move on up to Belfast and start a new chapter that would be more like the 'old days'. He wanted Ronan to come up with him, but the lad refused. He saw it as his chance to take over as the leader."
    "That's horrible," I said, "It's so callous, it doesn't sound like Ronan at all."
    "Don't be too hard on him," she said, "It's more than just that. Northern Ireland's a different sort of place, and Ronan'd spent his whole like in Dublin. He didnae want to give up everything just because his da' wanted to move someone else."
    I calmed down slightly, seeing the wisdom in what she was telling me. "That makes sense, I guess."
    "Terry never forgave him for it though. He'd always assumed that Ronan would follow him anywhere, but now he acts like Ronan stole the club out from under him. Truth is, Terry's th' one who made the wrong choice. He thought he could make the old club new up in Belfast, but 'tis just more o' the same up there, isn't it? He just can't admit that Ronan knew better."
    "So, what are Terry and the others doing down here anyway?" I asked. "Ronan wouldn't tell me."
    "They're tryin' to decide what to do about the new gang thas ' moving into Belfast hard. Terry and his boys aren't set up to deal wit' 'em, so he's come down here to beg 'is son for help. Wouldn't think it to hear the way he talks to the boy, but that's the story anyhow."
    "Who's the new gang?"
    "Some American boys, actually," she said, as if just realizing towards the end of the sentence that she was speaking to an American.
    "Wait, really? An American club in Ireland?" I blurted out.
    "Yah, some rough bunch from California.Thas' probably part o' why Terry's bein' so hard on ye," she said, "Feels like Ronan's sleepin' wit' the enemy or somethin'."
    I grumbled and grabbed for a beer that Garret had just finished pouring for himself. He had been trying not to eavesdrop too much, but he knew enough not to refuse me a drink. He handed it over and began pouring a new one for himself. Some California gang is moving into