Luck of the Irish (11 page)

“Aye.” Declan grinned at his daughter. “I’ll not be goin’ anywhere.”

“Good,” Aurelia giggled. “I want to show you how well I can swim and I want you to tell me about my mama and her family of witches.”

Dyanna averted her eyes when Aurelia mentioned the witches and Maggie didn’t miss the subtle flinch from Declan. Dyanna ushered the girl through a door and into what must have been a bedroom and when Maggie turned around, she caught Mador’s angry glare, which was fixed on Declan.

The boy hadn’t moved from the doorway.

“So you’re staying here?” Mador asked abruptly. “You’re going to raise her?”

“Aye,” Declan said slowly. “Thank you for helping Dyanna watch over my girl, Mador.”

Declan extended a hand but when Mador didn’t take it, he dropped it to his side. An eerie feeling of foreboding flickered up Maggie’s spine as the tension between the two men grew. Then, without a word, Mador spun around and stormed out of the cottage.

“What do ya suppose that was about?” Declan asked quietly.

“If I had to guess, I’d say he’s jealous. I mean, he’s been taking care of her with Dyanna all this time. I’m sure he loves her. He’s probably worried you’re gonna come in here and replace him.”

“Blast that old bastard Malachi for doin’ this to us.” Declan ran a hand over his face. Weariness tinged his words. “Would seem a long road is ahead.”

Silence hung in the air between them for three beats of her heart. She was going to have to leave now. He’d done what he’d set out to do and found his little girl and that meant it was time for her to go home.

“Yeah,” Maggie whispered. “You did what you wanted. You found your daughter.”

“True.” He turned his silver gaze to hers. “I suppose I can send ya home then?”

Maggie’s heart sank. She didn’t want to go home. Why go when there was no one waiting for her?

“Right.” She nodded and let out a short laugh. “That was the deal, wasn’t it?”

“Unless,” he began while gathering her hands in his and a pinprick of hope bloomed in her chest, “ya might be wantin’ to stay? The queen is away and there can’t be much harm in havin’ ya remain a bit longer.”

“Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?” She inched closer and reveled in the heat of his body as it wavered dangerously close. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your reunion.”

“I have a feelin’, lass,” he murmured, “havin’ ya here will be a help. The girl fancies ya and I’ll not be lyin’ if I tell ya that I fancy ya a bit myself.”

“The fancy feelings are mutual.”

A grin curved her lips right before Declan pressed a kiss to them. As she linked her arms around his neck and sank against him, she wished she had more wishes left so she could stay here with him forever.

D
eclan had thought that once he found Aurelia, everything would fall into place. That definitely hadn’t been the case. The wee girl was more interested in being with Maggie than with him. Not that he could blame the lass. Maggie had a way about her that put most people at ease, including the other villagers. They had been uneasy at first, yet in only a week’s time she’d managed to bewitch them as well.

It was as though she belonged there.

There was a genuine sweetness that shone from the human woman that was as warm and soothing as the sun. She was bright and beautiful and when the sound of her laughter mixed with Auerlia’s, Declan thought he had never heard anything so exquisite. It sounded like home.

Maggie was as natural and comfortable with Aurelia as Declan was awkward. It had been just over a week since they’d arrived but the wee girl and Maggie acted as though they’d known each other all their lives. Dyanna had offered to let them stay with her but Declan would hear none of it.

The three of them had settled into his old cottage on the outskirts of town but Maggie was sharing a room with the child—not with him. He knew it was for the best and it seemed to make his daughter happy but he already missed the feel of Maggie’s soft warm body against his. He wanted nothing more than to take her to his bed night after night and yet with his daughter in the house, it seemed wrong.

It felt like a betrayal to the memory of his late wife.

Declan grumbled under his breath and pounded the nail into the loose board on the stairs. Sweat trickled down his bare back while he made quick work of beating another nail into the creaky step. The old place had fallen into disrepair during his absence and Declan wasted no time whipping it back into shape. Maggie and Aurelia were sharing the small loft above and the last thing he wanted was for one of them to take a tumble down the steps.

Satisfied that the staircase was once again sturdy, he gathered his remaining tools and settled the wooden box on the table behind him. The large open kitchen area was clean and functional and even the brick oven fireplace was running properly again. He’d already fixed the roof and repaired the doors. He kept telling himself that once he had the house in proper shape and Aurelia was more comfortable with him, he’d take Maggie back to the human realm.

She’d be leaving. That was the way of it.

He stared out the window and a dull ache throbbed in his chest. Declan rubbed at the spot, hoping to make the pesky sensation subside, but it did nothing to quell the persistent feeling of loss at the mere idea of Maggie going back. What the devil was wrong with him? A human didn’t belong in this realm any more than he belonged in hers.

No. She had to go. One more week and then he’d take her back.

“Hello?” Maggie’s sweet voice pulled him from his pitying thoughts. “Declan? Are you coming with us? Aurelia and I—”

“Aye.”

Declan cleared his throat and when he turned around, the sight of her knocked the wind out of him. She wore a simple pink dress, the bodice clinging to and accentuating those gorgeous breasts. Her golden blonde hair was loose around her face and seemed to have gotten even lighter after being exposed to the triple suns of the fae realm. It was her smile, that damned dazzling grin, which blew him away every time she cast it in his direction.

It took him a moment to realize that her smile had faded as her glittering green eyes drifted over his bare chest. His gut tightened, right along with the rest of him, as she drank him in with one long lazy pass. Declan didn’t move because he didn’t trust himself. All he could think about was stripping that dress off her and kissing every lovely inch of her soft womanly flesh.

“I—um—I mean, Aurelia and I were going to go gather some berries.” Her cheeks pinked and she fiddled with the basket clasped in front of her long skirt. The clothes of their people suited her and he could barely recall what she used to wear. “We were hoping that you’d come with us.”

“Were ya now?” Declan slowly closed the distance between them, the spacious open first floor suddenly seeming far smaller than it had a moment ago. “And where would ya be goin’?”

“Berries,” she blurted out. Maggie swiped at the lock of hair that drifted over her forehead and looked at the basket in her hands. “Mador said that there’s a big field on the other side of the big hill. He said it’s full of all kinds of berries. I told Aurelia that we could make a pie. My mother made a delicious blueberry pie. I think I can remember the recipe. I know you’ve been busy getting the cottage fixed up but you should come with us. Aurelia would like it.” She sucked in a shuddering breath and lifted her gaze to his. “And so would I,” she said quietly.

Declan cradled her cheek with one hand and inched closer, his body easily dwarfing hers. A grin curved his lips as she leaned into his touch. Perhaps he was not the only one who missed...

“Can we go now?”

Aurelia’s little voice cut into the room and Declan dropped his hand at the same moment Maggie stepped away. The moment broken, they both turned to his adorable daughter with the impeccable timing. She stood in the doorway with a basket of her own and an expectant grin.

“It’s getting late and if we don’t hurry, we won’t have time to bake the pie.”

“Yes. We’re about to go.” Maggie let out a nervous laugh and gathered Aurelia’s hand in hers. “I just came to see if I could persuade your father into coming with us.”

Aurelia looked from Maggie to Declan and her little brow furrowed as though she was thinking about whether or not she wanted him to come.

“He’s always working in the cottage. He doesn’t like to play or have fun like Mador does.” She frowned. “He prefers to work.”

It was like getting kicked in the gut.

Declan had been a fool. A damned fool. This entire week he had been hiding and using the work in the cottage as an excuse to avoid the one job that meant anything. In that moment he realized it was because he was terrified of not being able to care for the girl, to fix what had been broken. A door and staircase he could manage to repair easily enough. The harder task was how to make it right with his daughter.

He had already failed her mother... what if he failed her as well?

“You’re wrong, girl.” Declan bent at the knees so he was eye to eye with his wee daughter. “I’m tryin’ to...I want ya to have a fine home. We can’t have the place fallin’ in around ya. I want ya to be happy.”

“Then come pick berries with us,” she said brightly. Aurelia wrapped one little hand around his and tugged him toward the door. “Come on, Declan.”

His heart sank every time she used his name instead of calling him Papa. Could he blame her? Dyanna had been right. He was a stranger to her and it was about damn time he changed that.

“Yeah,” Maggie said through a soft laugh. “Come on,
Declan
.”

“Alright, then.” He rose to his feet and grabbed his shirt off the back of the chair before pulling it on over his head. “Who am I to say no to such a fine invitation? Lead the way, ladies.”

As he followed Maggie and Aurelia into the sunshine, he prayed he would be able to repair his relationship with his daughter as easily as he’d fixed the blasted steps.

***

S
itting beneath the massive tree, Maggie laughed and ate another raspberry from her basket while she watched Declan hoist Aurelia onto his shoulders for the third time. The suns shone brightly and the warmth was surprisingly comfortable. She’d thought for certain this world would be blazing hot, especially in these long dresses the women wore, but it was actually perfect.

Not too hot. Not too cold. Perfection.

“I could get used to this,” she said out loud to no one in particular.

“You shouldn’t.”

The young man’s voice drifted over her shoulder and made her jump. Maggie let out a nervous laugh as Mador moved in next to her with his serious gaze pinned to Aurelia and Declan on the crest of the hill.

“Mador,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t hear you there. You startled me.”

“Apologies,” he said flatly, not really seeming to mean it. “But you have to know that you shouldn’t stay. The queen will be furious when she hears of it but it’s not only that.”

“Why?” Maggie rose to her feet and smoothed the long skirt. “I mean, I’m leaving soon anyway. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

Her heart sank at the mere idea of leaving but at the moment she was more interested in Mador’s sudden concern.

“Aurelia is getting attached to you.” He folded his hands in front of him but kept that intense stare on Aurelia and Declan. “The longer you stay, the harder it will be for her. Besides, you aren’t her mother.”

“No, I’m not,” Maggie, said quietly. “With all due respect, Anastasia is gone.”

“Yes. Because of him,” Mador seethed. He spun around and got right in Maggie’s face. “And now he’s back and wants to just step right into Aurelia’s life after all this time.”

“He’s her father,” Maggie said firmly. “He is exactly where he should be.”

“He doesn’t belong here with her and neither do you,” Mador seethed.

His narrow shoulders shook with fury. Before Maggie could utter a word, he spun on his heels and ran toward the village. He vanished over the crest of the hill and it was a few minutes before Maggie stopped shaking. When she turned around, Declan and Aurelia were walking hand in hand toward her. The big smiles on their faces immediately put her at ease. It looked like father and daughter were starting to get to know each other after all

Mador
was
right about one thing.

Maggie didn’t belong here. She wasn’t Aurelia’s mother. She wasn’t fae or leprechaun. She was just plain old Maggie O’Malley... and it was time to go home.

***

“S
he’s finally asleep,” Maggie whispered. She crept down the steps quietly and to Declan’s delight, not a single floorboard creaked. “I think all that berry picking, baking, and pie eating wore her out.”

“Aye,” Declan said quietly. He pulled off his boots and placed them by the fireplace before leaning back in the chair. “Ya are wonderful with her, Maggie. She’s taken a shine to ya... not that I can blame her.”

“Well, the feeling’s mutual. She’s a great kid. Actually, she’s more like a tiny little adult. I’ve never met a child her age who is so...observant.” She sat on the bottom step and pulled her knees to her chest before resting her chin on them. Her green eyes peered at him intently. “May I ask you a question?”

“Aye.” Declan’s legs sprawled open and he settled both hands on the arms of the chair, bracing himself for whatever she might throw at him. “Ya may, indeed.”

“Why have you been avoiding your daughter?” Her tone was quiet and edged with strength. “Don’t try to deny it because until today, you’ve barely spent five minutes with her. It’s like... you’re afraid of her or something.”

“Och,” he scoffed. “What are ya goin’ on about? I was out in the blazin’ sun all day pokin’ through pricker bushes for every damned berry she wanted. Hours of berry pickin’, mind ya. Which followed bakin’ and eatin’ and listenin’ to her tell ya about her magic lessons with Mador. Who it seems can do no wrong.”

Jealously edged his voice. He knew it and didn’t even try to hide it.

“True,” Maggie said slowly. “She’s known Mador all of her life and if you want her to get to know
you
, then maybe you should try talking to her. I mean, come on, Declan, you barely speak to her.”