Ryan's Place Read Online Free PDF Page A

patch.
    “Nope. I quit a very good job as an accountant for a corporation. I’m hoping to find something that’s more creatively satisfying.”
    “Such as?”
    She shrugged. “I wish I knew,” she said, then added with a note of total optimism, “but I’ll figure it out.”
    “Ever considered psychology?” Ryan asked. “You’ve got the probing-question thing down pretty well.”
    “I can’t be too good,” she retorted. “You didn’t answer most of them.”
    “So what sort of career do you think you’d find creatively satisfying?” he continued. “Are there any options on the table?”
    She grinned. “Trying to turn things around on me, Mr. Devaney?”
    He laughed. “Every bartender has a bit of the psychologist in him. The difference is, we just ask questions and listen. We don’t dole out advice. Now let’s get this stuff inside before we both freeze to death.”
    “We’ll go around back,” she said, leading the way. “A lot of this needs to wind up in the kitchen, anyway.”
    He noted that there was a light on in one of the front windows, as well as another in the kitchen, beaming out a welcome for the latecomer. A little tug of envy spread through him even before a tall woman with a face only barely more lined than Maggie’s threw open the kitchen door and held out her arms.
    “There you are,” she said, enveloping Maggie in a fierce hug. “I’ve been so worried.”
    “Mom, I called less than forty minutes ago to let you know I was on my way,” Maggie reminded her, amusement threading through her voice. “I’m actually about ten minutes earlier than I predicted.”
    “Which means you must have been speeding, young man,”the woman chastised, turning to Ryan with a twinkle in eyes as bright and as green as her daughter’s. “I’m Nell O’Brien. And you must be Mr. Devaney. It was kind of you to bring Maggie to us, even if you did exceed the speed limit getting her here.”
    “No, ma’am, I can assure you there was no speeding involved,” he responded seriously. “I had it on cruise control the whole time.”
    She laughed at that. “But set at what speed?”
    Ryan met her gaze. “You’re not a cop, are you?” he teased, liking her at once. She reminded him of…He bit back a sigh. Best not to go there. He’d stopped thinking about his mother on the day she’d abandoned him. Or at least he’d tried to.
    “No, but I’ve had a lot of experience at intimidating young men,” Mrs. O’Brien said. “I have four daughters and two sons, all of whom need to have someone in firm control.”
    Ryan couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “If Maggie here is any indication, I imagine that’s true.”
    “Hey,” Maggie protested. “I was the dutiful oldest daughter.”
    “When it suited you,” her mother concurred. “Now get in here, both of you. I have coffee made, but if you’d prefer something else, I can fix it in no time.”
    “Nothing for me,” Ryan said, already backing toward the door. The warmth of this big, cheerful kitchen, the teasing between mother and daughter—these were exactly the kind of things he tried to avoid. They brought up too many painful memories. “I need to be getting back to home.”
    “Absolutely not,” Mrs. O’Brien said. “It’s much too late to be on the road, Mr. Devaney. You must be exhausted. I’ll make up the couch in the den. And before you try arguing with me, remember that I’m older and wiser and I will not be ignored.”
    “If you’re not a cop, you must be a general,” Ryan said.
    “Just a woman who knows what’s best,” Nell countered with a serene smile. “You two stay in here and have something to drink and a snack. I’ll go on up to bed after I’m done in the den. Your father will want to know you arrived safely, Maggie. Besides, I have to be up at dawn to cook that bird.” She winked at Maggie. “Your father bought a huge one that’s probably not going to fit in the oven, which means I’ll