Perfect, but before Cella could continue, Aunt Kathleen asked, “Do you remember your cousin Pete? Lives in Atlantic City?”

“Cousin?” Jai softly asked.

“Fourth cousin, twice removed,” Cella elaborated. “Yeah, I remember him. Why?”

“I still say—” Barb began, but Kathleen held up a finger, silencing Cella’s mother. Much to Barb’s annoyance.

“Stay out of this, Barbara Feeney.”

“It’s Malone now, even though you keep forgetting that.”

And this was why Cella was convinced her mother deeply loved her dad. Because being a strong-willed female and marrying into this family? It better be love.

“He’s got an RV dealership,” Aunt Maureen explained around Barb and Kathleen’s bickering. “Maybe we could all go down and visit him. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Cella and Jai glanced at each other, and Cella asked, “Go down there?”

“Sure. We can play the slots, maybe a little blackjack, and you can spend some time with Pete and the rest of the family.”

“Aren’t most of the AC Malones under federal indictment?” Butch asked, looking more annoyed by the conversation as every second passed.

“The feds don’t have nothin’,” Deirdre snipped, glowering at her brother.

“And do you really see Pete leaving his business and moving here?” Barb asked.

“A good girl would move there.”

“If being a good girl’s an actual requirement, doesn’t that rule out all the Malone females?” Barb shot back.

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Deirdre said. “She’s always wanted to leave. Being that she’s too good for the family. So here’s her chance.”

“Do you really think I’d leave my kid?” Cella asked.

“You left her the first time,” Deirdre tossed back. “And the second. And I think there was a third.”

“Bitch!” Cella roared. She and Deirdre went for each other at the same time, her father and the aunts holding Deirdre back while Jai shoved Cella with her entire body toward the door.

“We’ll be back,” Jai called out over the yelling. She grabbed a set of keys for one of the family SUVs and continued to push Cella out the door and into the backyard.

“You should let me kick her ass for that last shot!”

“You promised,” Jai reminded her before catching hold of Cella’s arm and dragging her toward the car. “Besides, you cannot beat up an old woman.”

“In the seventies that old woman was the Malone Bare Knuckles champ.”

“Right. Which is also why you can’t afford to be beaten up by her, either. Your fragile Malone ego would never get overthat.”

They stopped by a dark blue SUV. “She’s just going to keep at me, Jai. She has nothing to lose because she didn’t promise anything. But if I fight with her, I end up breaking my word, which a Malone never does ... to one of our own, I’m not talking the general populace, of course.”

“I know, hon.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Cella demanded.

“You’re going to get on the phone and track down that bear. I’ll drive.”

“Okay,” Cella said, when Jai pulled to a stop in front of a nice little house in Queens. “This is the address MacDermot gave me.”

“It’s cute.”

“Whatever.”

Jai put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Cella. I promise.”

“She’s just trying to get between me and my kid.”

“And so far she’s failed.”

“Has she?”

“Hey, listen to me, Meghan loves you. She will always love you. And nothing Deirdre does will ever change that.”

“If you believe that, why are you here with me?”

“Because I’m your wacky sidekick?”

“The wacky sidekick with advanced medical degrees who can repair arteries and heart valves?”

“You say tomato ...” When Cella groaned and began to rub her temples, Jai reminded her, “You know this could be a lot worse.”

“They’re trying to match-make me with a cousin, Jai.”

“Not a close cousin.”

“That’s not the point!”

Realizing she wouldn’t calm Cella down with words, Jai pointed at the bear sitting in a chair on the front porch. “Is that him?”

“Yeah. That’s him.”

“He doesn’t look that cranky.” Cella had told Jai the bear was cranky. But he seemed rather pleased with himself sitting there. And he was handsome. A big boy with white hair and black eyes, a Rangers baseball hat sitting on his head.

“Well, he is cranky. So wish me luck.”

Jai killed the engine and looked at her. “You want me to go with you?”

“Why else would you be here?”

“My knowledge of the Queens area?”

“Look, I’ve got one shot at this. So I’m asking you as a friend ... don’t let me blow it.”

“Yeah, but are you going to be okay lying to your dad ... ?”

“No, I hate doing that.” Jai had no doubt that Cella adored her father and vice versa. Like Jai and her father, Cella was Butch’s protégée and pride and joy. He loved his sons, but it was his daughter who could do no wrong.