From the Heart

From the Heart Book Two The McBrides Jax Burrows Copyright All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission. Jax Burrows Manchester M18 7HN United Kingdom https://www.jburrowsauthor.com Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. Book Layout © 2023 Atticus Cover Design by James T Egan https://www.bookflydesign.com/ Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Also By Letter to the Readers CHAPTER ONE ‘Wow!’ said Noah Whittaker as he looked around Candy McBride’s living-room. ‘It’s very green. Is this a Saint Patrick’s Day party, or are we celebrating Scarlett’s birthday?’ ‘Both. It was a joke that became a tradition,’ said Esme McBride, his soon-to-be sister-in-law who had started helping her mum as soon as she’d taken her coat off. ‘Scarlett’s still upstairs getting ready by the way.’ How quickly things could change. Before his younger brother, Joel, fell in love with Esme, the eldest of the McBride sisters, the only contact Noah had had with Scarlett had been at work. He liked the sparky redhead, they worked well together and he admired her skills as a mental health nurse. But he had known little about her private life. Now, he was in the thick of things, helping her celebrate her thirty-first birthday. Noah wasn’t totally sure how he felt about it, not being a very sociable person. He preferred his own company to parties, but now he was here, he intended to make the most of it and help Scarlett celebrate in style. The house had been decorated with tiny leprechauns and shamrocks as well as Happy Birthday banners, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day banners, and green streamers and balloons. There were even green napkins and runners on the table which was laden with food including a marvellous bright green birthday cake. There was also plenty of booze; wine, beer, and champagne. And soft drinks, he noted. ‘Go on,’ said Noah, ‘tell us this story.’ Now he was almost part of the family, he was interested to know more about them. ‘You tell it, Mum,’ said Esme to Candy. ‘You couldn’t stick the kettle on, could you? I’ll have champagne later when we toast the birthday girl, but I could murder a cuppa now,’ said Dot, Candy’s business partner, who was red in the face from all the walking from the kitchen to the dining-room with plates and dishes. ‘I can do that if you’re all busy,’ Noah offered. ‘No, no, we’ve got everything covered,’ Candy assured him. ‘I’ll make it,’ said Maria the second-youngest McBride sister. So Noah stood in the kitchen doorway watching the women scurry around like worker ants on a deadline. He hoped if he waited long enough someone would get around to telling the story. ‘What would you like to drink, Noah?’ asked Candy, ‘We have Guinness?’ ‘I’ll have a soft drink please. Lemonade will do.’ ‘Coming up. Anyway, Saint Patrick’s Day. When Scarlett was a teenager she was a bit of a rebel and decided not to celebrate her birthday.’ ‘What, Scarlett a rebel? Never.’ Noah chuckled. ‘Hey, I heard that.’ He turned around then stopped in his tracks. She was dressed all in green; a tight green dress, green tights, green shoes, and a hat with shamrocks and A Happy Saint Patrick’s Day on a band around it. With her red hair, she looked a picture. ‘Ta da! What do you think? Green enough?’ Noah dropped a kiss on her cheek, and for a split second, he wished he could have kissed her mouth. Where had that idea come from? He’d never wanted to kiss her before. He shook the thought away putting it down to the fact they were at a party and she looked amazing in her costume. Their gaze held and Noah’s breath quickened. ‘You’re missing the green wig and lipstick,’ he murmured. Then, to bring things back to the level of the platonic he asked, ‘So, how old were you when you decided not to celebrate your birthday?’ ‘Thirteen,’ she replied moving away from him to the table laden with food. ‘I thought it was uncool to still be having birthday parties like a little kid.’ She selected a sausage roll and took a bite. ‘Her dad and me wouldn’t let an important birthday pass uncelebrated so we took Scarlett and a few of her closest friends out for a meal. It was a very serious affair as the only meal they’d had out up to then had been burger and chips.’ Candy steered her daughter gently away from the table. ‘I thought that was it, but of course Mum and Dad had other ideas.’ Scarlett grinned and Noah couldn’t take his eyes off her. ‘We decided to have a party but call it a Saint Patrick’s Day party. We had Gaelic music, folk dancing on the lawn and even Guinness although I don’t think anyone drank it.’ ‘I did,’ said Dot, as she carried more dishes from the kitchen to the dining room. ‘It’s a good source of iron.’ ‘I don’t remember that,’ said Connie the youngest McBride. She had wandered in from the garden, apparently tired of throwing a tennis ball for Crazy Boy, Dot’s highly strung collie cross. Noah watched the activity of the McBride family. It reminded him of a beehive, with the workers buzzing around busily. Candy was queen bee of