Page 59 of Calling on the Matchmaker
By the end of the driving, all he’d been able to think about was that he had to find a way to convince Finola to marry him. But he didn’t want to pressure her the way he had with Helen.
Finola’s aspiration might be noble. Serving God was good and right and worthy. But she didn’t have to become a nun to do it. She could keep on going to the Kerry Patch and aiding the immigrants. And once Riley became mayor, they could worktogether putting all their plans into place—plans for better garbage disposal, effective sewage system, cleaner streets, safer housing, and more.
Becoming a nun was just an excuse to escape her past. Probably because she was running away from her fears of all that had happened with her little sister. And he needed Bellamy to nip over to her place and tell her exactly that and that she didn’t belong in the convent.
“Finola Shanahan doesn’t want to marry me.” As he spoke the words, the truth of them hit him with the force of a wagon hauling twelve thousand pounds of cargo. She didn’t want him. She never had. And she’d made that abundantly clear from the start with all her efforts to ruin their relationship.
Georgie peered up at him, his expression growing somber. “What a cryin’ shame.”
“I’m staggered, that I am,” said another of the patrons.
“Take you care now, Saint Riley,” someone else called.
“Oh, aye, naturally she’ll be having hesitations.” Bellamy cut into the comments as he poured another drink, and the eyes of all the men at the bar swung to the young matchmaker. “But I didn’t take you for the kind of man who let a few wee hesitations hold him back.”
The men shifted rounded gazes back to Riley.
“Few wee hesitations?” Riley knuckled his eyes to ward off the pain building in his head. “No, Bellamy. She’s dumped a whole steamboat full of hesitations on me.”
“Is that a fact now?”
“Yes, and I need you to go talk some sense into her. Tonight. Right away.”
The men, almost in unison, returned their gazes to Bellamy and waited, watching him expectantly. Bellamy finished corking the whiskey bottle then slid the glass of amber liquid toward Riley.
“Most women don’t want the matchmaker coming to do thedirty work after a row. They want the man himself to show up and make amends.”
“We didn’t have a row.” At least not the way Bellamy was insinuating. “She told me she didn’t care about me and didn’t want to be with me.”
Another round of sympathy erupted among the men at the counter, which rapidly turned into unwanted counsel, Georgie’s the loudest of all. “There’s no profit in plowing the same furrow twice. Find a new field for sowing your oats.”
Bellamy’s brow lifted, and his dark eyes seemed to be challenging Riley. But challenging him how? To take the advice and go make amends? Or listen to Georgie and the others and find someone new?
Why did he have to care about women who didn’t love him in return? Maybe he was better off cutting ideas of love and marriage out of his life as he had before his dad’s heart attack.
His dad certainly wasn’t falling off the perch any longer. He was firmly holding on and didn’t need his dying wish fulfilled since he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I’ll hang up my hat and call it quits.” Riley picked up the glass of whiskey and raised it. “Who needs a woman, anyway?”
His question was met by the men with the quiet of a morgue, and Georgie’s wide grin disappeared.
Riley tipped back the glass and sank the whole thing in one swallow. As the liquid burned down his throat to his stomach, bitterness burned a trail right along with it. He could blather until he was blue in the face about not wanting a woman, but the fact was, he wouldn’t fool any of these fellows, least of all himself.
After he’d allowed himself to die right alongside Helen, Finola Shanahan had brought him back to life, and there was no denying that. He was more than good and ready for a woman. In fact, he was embarrassed to admit just how good and ready he was.
“Fine.” He wiped his sleeve across his mouth. “Fine. I admit. I’m needing a wife.”
At his comment, the men nodded, and their comments came swiftly. Again, Georgie piped up the loudest. “Right enough. A bird can’t fly with one wing.”
Riley shoved his empty glass away. Yes, he longed for sizzling touches and soul-wrenching kisses. But he also wanted deep conversations, fun companionship, and common goals. He wanted someone to live for besides himself. He wanted love and laughter and life. He wanted everything he’d had with Finola.
Could he have that with someone else? He met Bellamy’s gaze again. “Can you find me another woman just like Finola?”
Before Bellamy could answer, Georgie nodded his head like a cork bobbing in a barrel. “Daniel Allen is still looking for a match for his daughter. Bets might have the personality of a bag of hammers, but she’s as sweet as pudding.”
“She’s also got big hands,” one of the other men commented.
“And strong arms,” said another.
