Uncle Seany

Mallory

The Lynch house was never quiet, but today, the noise had an edge to it—sharp, irritated, argumentative.

I stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, watching as mam stirred the pot of spaghetti sauce with a little more force than necessary. Uncle Sean leaned against the counter, shaking his head like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. AJ sat at the table, unusually quiet, tapping his fingers against the wood.

And Dad? He stood at the fridge, grabbing a beer, completely unbothered by the fact that his entire family thought he'd lost the plot.

"You can't be serious," Sean said, pushing off the counter. "You hired a Holland?"

Dad took a long sip of his beer, like he was steeling himself for the argument. "Yeah."

Seany let out a sharp laugh. "Jesus Christ, Joe. What's next? Inviting Shane Holland over for Sunday dinner?"

Mam shot him a look. "Seany..Watch your mouth."

"No, but seriously," I cut in, glaring at Dad. "Of all the people looking for a job, you chose Kian Holland?"

Dad sighed. "He needed work. I needed another set of hands. Simple as."

"No, it's not simple as," I snapped. "You don't just hire a Holland. You of all people should know that."

Dad's jaw tensed, but he didn't take the bait. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Mallory."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah? And what happens when he screws you over? Or steals from the till? Or—"

"He won't," Dad said, voice firm.

"How do you know?" AJ asked, speaking up for the first time. His voice wasn't angry—just uncertain, like he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it yet.

Dad met his gaze. "Because I was him once."

The room fell quiet.

Mam pressed her lips together, shaking her head. "It's not the same, Joey."

Dad turned to her. "Isn't it?"

Mam exhaled sharply, but she didn't argue.

I crossed my arms tighter. "So that's what this is, then? A charity project?"

Dad set his beer down on the counter with a little more force than necessary. "It's a job," he said. "Nothing more."

Uncle Sean scoffed. "Yeah, right. You're acting like this lad's some hard-luck case. He's not. He's Shane Holland's son. That should tell you everything you need to know."

Dad's expression darkened. "And what would people have said about me, back in the day? About our Family?"

Seany's mouth snapped shut.

None of us had an answer for that.

Dad exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "I don't expect you to like it. But it's done." He grabbed his beer and walked toward the sitting room. "And I don't want to hear another word about it."

Silence hung in the kitchen long after he left.

Eventually, Sean let out a bitter laugh, turning to Mam. "You're really letting him do this?"

Mam sighed, rubbing her temples. "Your brother's made up his mind."

I clenched my jaw.

If Dad thought we were just going to accept this, he had another thing coming.