The Mighty Quinns: Riley (13 page)

Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” Riley met her gaze. “I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to stick my nose in where it didn't belong. You're right. These are your decisions to make and I'll stand behind whatever you want.”

“I don't want to talk about it right now,” she said. “I just want to enjoy this beautiful morning. Look at that water. Have you ever seen anything quite so lovely?”

Riley smiled. “Every time I look at you.”

This brought a bubble of laughter. “Charm must run in the family.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “We don't have a lot of these mornings left,” he murmured.

“I know.” Nan drew a deep breath of the clear morning air and smiled. “I needed this trip. I didn't realize how much until this moment. It's filled up my soul.”

“What will you do when you get back?”

“Probably go right back to work. I've got my maps to catalog. They're really interesting. They were used in building the railroads, so they're some of the most detailed topographical maps of the time.”

“Then you like your job?”

Nan nodded. “It's a good job. I do interesting work.”

Riley forced a smile. No matter how he tried to figure this out in his head, it seemed more impossible with every day that passed. He reached out and took her hand, pressing her fingers to his lips.

She wore the ring he'd given her and he found a certain satisfaction in that. As long as she wore it, she
wouldn't forget him. “I'm going to miss you when you leave.”

“You like me, don't you?” she teased.

“Yes,” Riley admitted. “I really like you.”

She stared at him for a long moment, her head tipped to one side. “Maybe someday, I could come back. I mean, I don't expect you to wait around for that day. And I'll understand if you meet someone else. But if you don't, then maybe I could visit again.”

“This would be the longest-distance relationship I've ever heard of,” he said.

“It's not that far.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, it isn't. When would you come again?”

“I don't know,” Nan said with a shrug. “I get four weeks of vacation each year. Maybe sometime in the spring?”

Riley groaned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck. “That's too far away,” he said.

“We don't need to decide now. We can think about it later,” Nan said.

Was that her reaction to every difficult decision she was faced with? She'll think about it later? When Riley saw something he wanted, he usually went after it without any hesitation. But Nan seemed to be the opposite, carefully considering each decision she made, giving herself time to mull it all over. What had happened to the carefree, spontaneous girl she'd first shown him?

Riley grabbed a daisy from beside the bench, snapping the stem and holding it up in front of her. “Tell
me what you want to do today. It's Sunday so almost everyone in Ireland is in church. We won't be able to drive anywhere until the afternoon.”

“Why?”

“A lot of times the roads are blocked by cars parked around the churches in some of the small villages. But we could drive to Cashel. It's an old ruin of a church and abbey set on a high hill. It's quite beautiful.”

“That sounds good,” she said. “But I'm going to drive. I think I've mastered the Fiat.”

“Oh, no, we're not taking that piece of crap out on the road.”

“Not a week ago you were telling me what a great car it was,” Nan said. “You were extolling its virtues.”

“I was full of shite,” Riley said. “I suppose I have no choice but to let you drive my car.”

“Really?” Nan asked.

“Yes. Really.”

She stood up, quite pleased with herself. “All right. Just as along as we don't have to stop on any hills. I'm not good at that yet. And I can't drive in the cities at all. And if I wander on to the wrong side of the road, you have to tell me because sometimes I kind of forget.”

Riley grabbed her hand and pulled her down on his lap. “You are really a giant pain in the arse, Nan Galvin.”

“I know. But you'll just have to learn to deal with it,” she teased. “At least for a few more days.”

“I am. And it's not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Really?” she said, arching her eyebrow and looking at him quizzically. “Tell me what you were expecting.”

“The last thing I expected to do was share your bed,” he said. “I don't know. I had the picture of you in my head. You looked a little bit like my aunt Sally. You wore sensible shoes and little reading glasses that sat on the end of your nose.”

“I'm sorry to disappoint,” Nan said.

“Oh, sweetheart, don't ever think that. You had me the moment you walked out that door.”

She curled up in his arms. “Would you like to know what I thought of you?”

“Before you met me?”

“Yes. I had this picture of a handsome Irishman with dark hair and pale eyes. Kind of scruffy but charming. A little dangerous, but with a kind heart. And I was right. I just never thought I'd be attracted to you.”

“What was it then? The sexy smile or the witty personality?”

“It was your eyes,” she said. “I thought you had the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen.”

Riley cupped her face in his hands, staring at her for a long moment. God, there was no way he could deny it any longer. He'd fallen hopelessly in love with Nan. Sitting here in this garden, his life was perfect. There was nothing more that he needed to make himself happy.

He leaned forward and kissed her, his mouth lingering over hers. Riley wanted to say the words, to tell her how he really felt, but he knew she wasn't ready. There would still be time to make her want him as much as he wanted her. And he'd take every chance he found to make her see the truth in what he already knew in his heart.

Scooping her into his arms, he stood and carried her back to the cottage. “If you take me back to bed, I'm seriously going to wonder whether you only like me for the sex,” Nan joked.

“I'm taking you to find your shoes, woman. You can't drive my car barefoot.”

T
HE RUINS OF THE ABBEY
at Cashel were more beautiful than Nan could have ever imagined, set high on the hill overlooking the plains all around. But after touring the ruins, Riley had insisted that they visit Athassel Priory, just a few miles away.

Once again, he'd brought them to another impossibly romantic spot. They'd left the car on the road and climbed over a gate, then trudged through a farmer's field to get to the ruined abbey. As Nan stood in the center of what was once the nave, she stared up at the high stone walls jutting into the blue sky.

The priory was nothing more than a shell, a ruin, yet it still had a beauty that she found breathtaking. Three arched Gothic windows were set in the center of the highest wall and she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it looked like all those years ago. As she listened to the wind and the raucous cries of the jackdaws nesting in the holes in the walls, she felt the spirits of ancient Irishmen all around her.

She turned to look at Riley. He was standing in a
doorway, his hands braced on either side, staring out at the river that flowed near the abbey.

“Did Cromwell ruin this one, too?” she asked.

He stepped away from the door. “I don't think so. I think it burnt down before he got to Ireland.”

They were all alone here, the chattering tourists with their cameras left behind at Cashel. Nan walked over to a stairway and peered through the bars that blocked the way. “Don't you wonder what it was like? Who lived here? What they did every day?”

Riley nodded. “I suppose I never thought much about it,” he said. “These ruins are just part of the landscape here.”

“I guess you don't really appreciate something you see every day,” Nan said. “It's only interesting to strangers.” She sent him a winsome smile. “I think that's why you find me so interesting.”

He took her hand and they walked out the Gothic doorway into the cloisters that ran along one side of the church. There was so much history in this one spot that she found it difficult to take it all in.

Again and again, she was astounded at how this country had captured her imagination. Everywhere she looked, there was something pulling her in, as if she'd walked in these same footsteps in another life. Though her ancestors had come from this country, until she'd landed at Shannon, she'd never really given that a second thought.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” she asked.

He gave her an odd look. “You mean like coming back in another life as a cat or a tree?”

“No. More like past lives. I feel so…different here. There's something about these places that we visit. Even the cottage. It's like I've been here before. I've never felt that way any other place.”

It wasn't just her relationship with Riley or the fact that this place was the home of her ancestors. Nor was it her mother's connection with Ireland. No, she felt this bond deep inside her soul, as if it were part of her DNA.

She climbed up into one of the arches and stared out at the countryside. There was no place more beautiful. The thought of leaving Ireland made her heart ache and yet she knew this wasn't home.

“You look like some ancient high priestess,” Riley said, “standing there with the wind blowing your skirt.”

She smiled, then turned to face him. “I can understand why people believed in the power of this place,” she said. “I can feel it all around me.”

“It's all that Irish blood pumping through your veins,” he murmured.

She'd refused to discuss their argument from the previous night. Nan still hadn't made a decision about what she was going to do. Though she wanted to know the truth, talking about her mother might be more upsetting than she anticipated. Since arriving in Ireland, her emotions had been unpredictable. What had begun as a simple quest to meet an old girlfriend of her mother's had turned into something so much more complicated.

“Give me your hand,” Riley said, holding his out.

When she did, he carefully removed the ring he'd given her. “What're you doing?”

“What I should have done the first time I gave this to you. Come with me.” He wrapped his hands around her waist as she jumped down, then he led her to the doorway blocked with iron bars.

The bars were just far enough apart for Riley to slip through and when he was on the other side, he reached for her. “Come on. Let's see where this goes.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “No. They don't want us to go in there. That's why they put bars across the doorway.”

“They didn't put them close enough together,” he said. “So they must want us to slip through.”

“What if we get caught?”

“By who?”

“Whom.”

“By whom?” Riley said. “There's no one here. And I don't think we'd be breaking any laws. I promise, you won't regret it.”

Reluctantly, she stepped through the gate and into a winding stairwell made entirely of stone. Some of the steps were crumbling but it was so solidly built that Nan didn't even hesitate before starting the climb. They came out on the top of a high wall, a perfect lookout to the countryside around them.

“Oh, look at this,” Nan cried. “It's amazing.”

“I told you,” Riley said. He walked over to the wall and sat down on it, dangling his feet over the edge.

She joined him, leaving her legs on the safe side of the wall. Riley took her hand again. “I need to fix something,” he said. “I want to do it right now.” He put the ring on the end of her finger. “When you wear the
heart pointing out on your right hand, it means you're looking for love. But when you turn the ring around, and the heart points at you, that means you're taken.”

Nan stared down at her finger. She'd worn the ring for two days, believing it was just a pretty piece of jewelry. But suddenly, it meant something more. “I don't understand.”

“I don't, either,” Riley said. “I've been trying to figure this out since the moment we met. But something seems to be happening between us and I have a need to try to define it. So, this is as close as I can come for now. I want to be with you, Nan, and only with you.”

“For how long?”

“I don't know. For as long as you want to be with me. But if it's longer than ten days, don't be afraid to tell me. You can stay, Nan. I want you to stay.”

Nan looked up into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. And now that he'd said what she'd hoped to hear, Nan wasn't sure what to do. It had started as a wonderful vacation love affair that had a very clear beginning and end. But now, everything had changed. He'd offered her a choice and she wasn't sure whether she had the strength to make it.

“So, it's like we're going together?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She giggled. “It seems a bit silly. I mean, we've already slept together and more than just once. I just assumed you wouldn't be doing the same with other women.”

“That's not what I'm talking about,” he said. “That's in the past. This is about the future.”

Nan frowned, biting at her bottom lip as she considered his words. “I have to go home on Wednesday.”

“No, you don't,” Riley said. “You're an adult and you can do whatever you want. You can stay. For the rest of the summer. You can stay until Christmas or forever, if you choose to. You just have to make the choice.”

“And what about you? What will you do if I choose to leave?”

“I'm not sure. I guess I won't really know until that happens.”

She looked down at the ring. Tears welled up inside her and she fought them back. Was this what her mother had gone through, leaving the boy she'd loved? Had she even considered staying? Or was she certain that her destiny wasn't here in Ireland? Suddenly, Nan needed to know answers to all the questions she had. There was only one place to find them, only one man who could tell her.

“I do care about you,” she murmured. “And I think it's easy for you to ask me to stay. You don't have anything to lose. You're not leaving anything behind.”

“What are you leaving?” he asked. “The way I see it, you're all alone. Your parents are gone. You don't have any brothers or sisters.”

“My life is there. A life I built for myself. Could you just give up everything here and move to the States?”

“I think I could. If it meant we might have a chance.”

She shook her head, then took off the ring. “I can't do this,” she said, holding the ring out for him to take. “This is all happening too fast.”

“No,” Riley said, pushing her hand away. “I want
you to keep it. Turn it the other way, I don't care.” He cursed softly. “I shouldn't have said anything.”

“It's all right,” she said. “I'm not angry.”

He drew a ragged breath, than pasted a smile on his face. “Why don't we just forget this conversation ever happened. We'll rewind.”

“All right,” Nan said. She put the ring back on her finger, this time with the heart pointing out. But it was impossible to erase the words he'd said. And though she'd heard him, Nan wasn't really sure what he'd meant. Was he making some kind of commitment to her?

Nan walked along the wall and stared down at the old graveyard. Ancient Celtic crosses marked the resting places of people who'd been forgotten generations ago. These people had loved and laughed and dreamed about the future.

She drew in a sharp breath. Maybe they were trying to tell her something from beyond the grave. Maybe she needed to take a chance, to live her life by her heart and not her head. Life was too short for doubts and hesitation.

She had three more nights to decide, three more nights spent in his arms. Nan made a silent promise to herself. When it came time to make that decision, she wouldn't think. She'd just allow herself to feel. If she did that, everything would turn out right.

 

N
AN DECIDED TO SPEND
Monday on her own. Though Riley hadn't been happy with the decision, she wanted to put a bit of space between them after his “proposal”
at the abbey. She was finding it more and more difficult to think logically and rationally when she was around him. He'd asked her to stay and Nan had almost convinced herself that she could.

He'd made it quite clear how he felt and what he wanted, yet Nan wasn't sure she could even make such a momentous decision. But she had made a step in the right direction. She'd decided that it was time to pay a visit to Carey Findley. She'd promised to be back in time for dinner, telling him they'd make a picnic and walk down to the bluffs to watch the sun set.

The drive to Kealkill had been simple given the map she'd found in the car. But as she'd neared the village, Nan had noticed signs for a castle and a stone circle, so she'd deliberately taken a detour, needing more time to work up her courage.

She stood in the center of the old stone circle, located in another farmer's field just outside Kealkill. Yes, she was wasting time, loitering at a spot where pagans had danced and paid homage to their gods. With a soft sigh, she walked around the small circle, her palm dragging across the weathered stones.

If her mother's story was as she suspected, what Carey Findley knew could change everything. She had become her mother, coming to this magical place and fallen in love with a handsome Irishman. They had a common experience and everything she was feeling, her mother had felt as well. But she could make the choice to stay, to believe in this place and in the love she'd found.

Nan stood in the center of the circle again, tipping
her face up to the noonday sun. She threw her hands out and closed her eyes. An odd feeling washed over her and suddenly, she felt as if she wasn't alone.

A dog barked and Nan spun around to see a little black terrier running toward her. She froze, waiting for the dog to chomp into her leg. But, instead, he put his paws on her knee and wagged his tail.

“Don't you worry, lass. He doesn't bite. Come on, Georgie. Leave the lady alone.”

The dog sniffed at her feet and Nan reached down and gave him a pet. The little dog licked her hand before taking off again.

An elderly man carrying a long walking stick peeked around the corner of the stone, smiling warmly. “Sorry. He's not afraid of strangers, that one.”

“It's all right,” Nan said. “He just startled me for a second.”

“So, what are you doin' out here all alone? Communing with the Druid spirits?”

“Something like that,” she said with a soft laugh. “It's a magical place.”

“That it is,” the man said. “That it is. I walk out here almost every day. Now and then, I catch sight of a faerie or two, though they're easier to see at twilight.”

“I would love to see a faerie before I leave,” she said.

“You're from America?”

Nan nodded. “Just visiting. I'm staying in Ballykirk.”

“I know it well,” he said. “I used to have a farm near there.”

Nan held out her hand. “I'm Nan. Nan Galvin.”

He reached to take her hand, then froze at the sound
of her name. His hand trembled slightly. “Tiernan Galvin?”

“Yes,” she said. “How did you—” An odd feeling washed over her again and she felt suddenly calm. “And you're Carey, aren't you? Carey Findley.”

“Yes. I am.”

She shook her head, wondering at the mystical forces that had brought them together in his spot. It wasn't just coincidence. She'd been drawn to this place for a reason. They were meant to meet. “This is so strange. A little bit spooky. I've read all your letters. I feel like I know you.”

“I got a call from your friend Riley Quinn. I was wondering if you'd stop to see me. I've been leaving a note on my door each day when I go out.”

“I wasn't sure I'd come,” she said. “But I guess I didn't have to make the decision after all.”