Page 32 of Too Far To Sea
Gracie chattered about the videos he’d sent of the sheep dogs while McKay looked in the shopping bag. Four stuffed sheep, one large and three small, lay in a tangle. One of the small sheep looked up at him with large plastic eyes as if asking him why hewasn’t with his owner. Quickly, he extracted the largest of the stuffed animals and picked up his phone.
Gracie was just finishing her monologue. “…anyway, momstillsays I can’t have a dog. Can I have a sheep? Then I can really count them.”
Jen laughed, now sharing the screen with her daughter and obviously in his mother’s driveway. “No. Sheep are more work than dogs.”
“That’s a problem…” McKay rubbed his chin, getting both his sister’s and niece’s attention.
The wrinkle above Jen’s brow deepened, Gracie’s eyes widened.
He held up the stuffed animal. “I got this sheep for Gracie.”
Gracie let out a little yell of delight. “Uncle Mac, you got me a sheep?”
“Yes, and when he can’t sleep, e counts little girls.” He wiggled the stuffed animal.
“That’s silly.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you can try it at Grandma’s. You count sheep and he can count girls and see who falls asleep faster.”
“He is a stuffed animal and he can’t sleep.”
“Or he is always sleeping.”
“If I get out of bed and bug Grandma, I won’t get him, will I?”
Oops. He hadn’t seen that one coming.
Jen must have noticed his surprise and answered. “Uncle Mac will still give it to you, but it may have to stay in time out for a while.”
Gracie pinched her lips together and nodded.
McKay scrambled for a change in subject. “You can also count how many hours until I get home.”
“How many is that?”
“I am not sure. Less than 240.” Easy math. He’d be home in less than ten days, even if there were multiple plane delays.
“That is a lot of hours.” Gracie wasn’t wrong. In hours, it sounded longer.
Jen took control of the phone. “We need to go in now. Have a good night, Mac.”
“Tell mom, I love her. I won’t add to the chaos by calling.” He waved. “Night Gracie. Sleep well.”
The phone call ended. He dumped out the bag holding Dana’s sheep. How had that mix up happened and how could he get them back to her? She said she was going on a shore excursion tomorrow, didn’t she? When she came back on ship he would tell her that he had them. He was already assigned to work that shift. No stalking of her location necessary. He’d just catch her when she came on board.
10
A white envelopewith the cruise ship logo hung from the clip on Dana’s door. Probably the excursion ticket for the castle she’d had to cancel. She took it off and folded it into her pocket and continued on to breakfast. The ship had docked in the predawn hours and passengers were already making their way off the ship into the little town of Killybegs for their excursions. Despite the exodus, the buffet room was full. Dana grabbed a light breakfast, including the day’s special, crepes with berries.
She found a seat by the window where she could look at the village built on the side of the green hills surrounding the harbor. A gentle rain fell, shrouding Killybegs in an ethereal mist. Possibilities of fairies and leprechauns surrounded the town. Dana longed to explore, to see if she could find a sparkle of magic for herself.
The ship’s daily newsletter said the town’s population was less than the number of crew onboard, so the town wasn’t that large. If she walked slowly on the steep hill, she’d be safe enough. And unlike the castle tour she’d given up, people would not need to wait for her to make the steep ascent. Or she could keep heroriginal plan and read in the ship’s library for the day. Her book sounded less appealing.
Looking out the window, she paid less attention to the food than she should have and a berry fell off her fork and bounced off her shirt, leaving a dot of dark red syrup. She dabbed it off the best she could and reached for another napkin. The envelope in her pocket crinkled. She’d forgotten about it. After finishing her crepe—which was yummy enough she didn’t entirely regret the ruined shirt—Dana opened the envelope. It wasn’t an excursion ticket. Instead, it was two folded papers.
Dana Knight,
We are very sorry for the inconvenience, however, because of a maintenance issue we need to move you to another cabin
