Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I need to get out of here.
I want a moment to collect myself. Seamus is feeding his kids, and Bronwyn’s on the phone, planning food for the evening.
I take a walk down to the garden, and I remember being a lad here—my father and his sitting out here while their wives were inside.
We'd run around the pathways, chasing each other in the grass, and my grandmother would always wave her hand when Da scolded us for being too wild. “Leave them alone, Cormac,” she'd say. “They bring life to the garden, don’t they?”
We used to pretend there were fairies in the space between the hedges.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
I look up to see Bridget walking over to me. Now that she’s here in the flesh, the air is thick with excitement. I can feel it vibrating off her. The women in this house are plotting something. I fucking knew it.
“Looking forward to meeting the in-laws tonight?”
“No, I'm not. Please, Bridge, tell me you're not coming too.” I don't want the woman I love in the presence of wolves.
“All good, Declan,” she says. “I wouldn't miss it for anything.” She smiles. “You know, they say if you’re still enough, you can hear the garden fairies talk back to you.”
“You’re off your nut, lass.”
She snorts. “Don't tell me you don't believe it now. The earth of Ireland grew from magic; everyone knows that.” She leans her head on my shoulder, just briefly. I almost don't care if somebody sees me. I like her here. She belongs here.
Then she pushes to her feet. “Caitlin needs me.”
“Bridget, wait—” But she's already gone, and I'm standing in the garden alone.
As I watch her go into the house, I wonder if she knows more than she lets on.
I have a child about to be born into this family and a wife I need to marry. But I love this woman with everything I have.
I once swore to do whatever it took to protect her, to keep her here. And I'll do it again.
I look at the time—an hour before Valentina's family arrives. I push to my feet and head inside.
My mother and father show up just in time. The house is teeming with people and staff, fragrant food, and tinkling glasses.
“Son.” My mother gives me a big hug. “How’s Valentina?”
“Fine, I guess. Been hard to reach. Busy with the wedding prep, I’d imagine.”
“Mmm. She’s an elusive one. Even at your engagement party, she was always with a crowd of people. Hard to reach. And Bridget?”
I sigh. “Grand too.”
“She is that. She held vigil at your bedside after you were shot, didn’t she?”
“Aye.”
“Good friend, that girl.”
“Right.” I don’t meet her eyes. I can’t.
She walks into the house with me, and just before we part, she leans in. “You remember the story of me and your father, don’t you?”
I nod. “Aye.”
“And you remember the stories of all your aunts and uncles, and how sometimes they had to fight against all odds, but they made it work?”
I nod.
“Listen, son. The McCarthy family has a history of making things work. It was your family, your own flesh and blood, that established the McCarthy legacy.”
She’s right. We've overcome so much.
Tonight, I'll get the terms from Valentina's family that I need to free Torin from prison. Tonight, I'll put the screws to them. They've been paid as well, but they owe intel, and I'll get it before anything else happens.
And something is going to happen. I know it. I look around, trying to put my finger on what feels off. Did we bring in more help for tonight? I didn’t expect this to be a formal affair, but there are several people in uniformed gloves serving drinks and appetizers, a bit fancier than I expected.
Aunt Caitlin sees me in the hallway.
“Hello, Declan,” she says. “Have you talked to Valentina today?”
“Aye. She texted me an hour ago and said she’d be a little late.”
“Oh, good. I wanted it to be a surprise that her family is going to be here tonight. They are quite eager to see her.”
“Fair enough.”
Damn. Everybody is here. Uncle Tully and his wife, Michaela. Kyla and Colm. Lorcan and Ashland. No children though.
“Where are all the children?”
“Oh, we said it would be a late night tonight and asked that no children be here.”
No children? She loves having them here.
“Why do I feel there is something up your sleeve?”
“Oh,” she says, “there is always something up my sleeve. And Declan? Stay very close to Valentina.”
And then she’s gone, positioning herself right at the head of the table next to Uncle Keenan.
Valentina arrives in her rental car and walks straight toward me. My instinct is to do what Aunt Caitlin said. Stay very close.
So I greet her with a hug. “We have a surprise for you tonight.”
“I do not like surprises, Declan,” she says curtly.