Page 41 of Arse Over Irish Teacup
Beth locked the door behind him then fell back against it. Beside her, on the wall was another painting of the elusive Mr. Jameson. The thought of him outside alone and scared made her uneasy. “Well, I must reek of loneliness and despair. Maybe you will come to me?” She watched the flames dance inside the fireplace for a moment then went to kitchen door, opened it and stepped onto the covered patio, calling his name. She waited a few minutes but when the largest lightning bolt she had ever seen cracked the sky, she jumped inside, locked the door, and closed the curtains. No cat would be out in this storm anyways.
As the thunder and lightning continued to brawl, fatigue was catching up with her. If she was going to call Lauren, she needed to do it now.
“Beth, what happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Lauren cried into the phone. She hadn’t even asked who was calling. “I was looking up how to contact the Irish authorities!”
“I know, I called as soon as I could. The storm damaged the tower so my cell phone doesn’t work now. The landline works though.”
“Did you make it to the airport?”
“No!” Beth’s tears came fast and furious. She hadn’t made it to the airport, no instead she got lost, stuck in the mud and hit a guy with her car! She was stuck on this God-forsaken island probably forever!
“Slow down and tell me what happened. Where are you? Are you safe?”
“I don’t know!” she bawled. “In some adorable cottage in … somewhere!” Bethany repeated her story as slowly as she could, enunciations and all—but all Lauren heard was a noise like a cross between Charlie Brown’s teacher and a donkey in heat.
Seeing that Beth needed a minute to compose herself, Lauren stood up from the bar stool in her kitchen, put the phone down and brewed a pot of coffee, then came back and sat down and raised the phone to her ear just in time to make out the words, “It really was nice of him.”
Lauren placed down her hot coffee gently. Sure, if “gently” was the definition of spilling it all over your lap and sinking your teeth into your fist to stifle your screams of scalding pain! “Him? Who’s him?”
Beth said nothing, she was too busy blowing her nose.
Lauren tipped the receiver tight to her lips. “Bethany Anne Spinner! Pull yourself together and tell me! Who. Is. Him?”
Bethany pulled the phone away from her ear while she was yelled at then stopped blowing her nose. “All right, jeez Louise! Keep your socks on!”
That message came through loud and clear. Lauren blinked and dropped her fist from her mouth.
“Heis Roan. The guy who very, very kindly offered me his grandmother’s cottage.”
“Why is that very, very kind of him?”
“Because he offered it to me five minutes after I ran him over with my car.”
“You what?” Good thing that scalding hot coffee was already cooling in her lap because if it wasn’t it would be now.
“Yes,” Beth said in a small voice.
“But, he’s okay?”
“Yes.”
Beth’s tone didn’t exactly earn a vote of confidence. Lauren couldn’t think with all these wet, screaming hot, clothes singeing her skin. She told Beth she would call back in two minutes, then raced to get a change of clothes.
Beth hung up the phone and blew her nose, then turned to the kitchen sink and splashed water on her face. As she patted her face dry with a tea towel a knock sounded on kitchen door. Beth jumped at the sound and looked up to see Roan standing on the patio holding a basket.
She dried her face as best she could and swallowed her tears then slid open the door.
“You’ve been crying?” He didn’t step inside. On the patio he was sheltered from the rain.
“Yes, but I’ll be?—”
“You’ll be fine. So you say but twice I’ve seen you and twice you’re crying.”
Beth looked away, her bottom lip trembling, and smoothed her hair.
“Listen, I won’t stay but I brought you this.” He handed over the basket. “Call me if you need anything, anything at all.” He nodded a goodnight then disappeared behind the wet curtain pouring from the roof.
Beth pulled aside a blue plaid tea towel to reveal groceries. Eggs, milk, butter, orange juice, apricot-infused cheese, grapes, a homemade loaf of brown bread, a container of warm stew, and a bottle of wine. Underneath everything was a note.
