Page 94 of Beside Golden Irish Fields
“Were you painting on him, love?” Brady asked, gesturing to his chest. “I have to admit. That’s hot.”
“Oh shit.” She turned and rubbed the paint with her fingers. “I was painting a real painting of him and needed the right color. Oh, never mind.”
“You’re right, Brady,” Declan said with a grin. “Totally hot.”
“Trying to decide whether to laugh or act embarrassed?” Carrick asked, stopping her cleanup and putting his hand to her back to ground her. “I told you how the village was, Yank. As for you eejits… What in the hell are you doing here, knocking on her door?”
Jamie held up a black bag, grinning like the rest of them. “I called you after I didn’t find you at the new house, your old house, or walking the fields. I would have worried you were dead, except I spotted the beautiful painting in the sitting room of the new house. I figured you were here and might need some fresh clothes.”
“It’s what good friends do,” Brady said, tugging on his jacket. “You two look fresh as air-dried laundry. Despite the body paint.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Carrick muttered. “Go on. Get it out of your systems.”
Jamie extended the bag to him, and their eyes met. “You look happy, brother.”
“You really do,” Kade said, smiling.
That was all his friends had wanted to see, and he couldn’t begrudge them for it. He nodded. “Thanks for bringing these. Although I could have managed.”
“I brought you two fresh cowboy steaks,” Declan said, handing another plastic bag to them. “For a romantic dinner…or breakfast even.”
“That’s very…thoughtful,” Angie said, taking them.
“Anyone else?” Carrick asked, glaring at them.
“You two look downright savage,” Liam said, coming down the drive on a bicycle and pulling to a stop. “Carrick, you look like a bona fide life model. Did you have a great night then? I thought I heard a bunch of sounds up at the house.”
“Stop that right now,” Carrick ordered as everyone laughed.
Angie bit her lip, trying not to join in. “The cat’s out of the bag, Carrick. Might as well go with it. He was incredible.”
He turned his head and gazed down at her. She was laughing softly.
“Fine,” he said, playing along because she was. “It was epic.”
That only made them grin more.
“Jesus! Now off with all of you. Don’t you have work?”
“Don’t you?” Jamie asked.
“Oh, he’sworkingall right,” Brady said, heading back to his postal truck. “See you two later at the pub. I’ll buy you both a drink.”
“Not before I buy them one first,” Declan said, heading to his car, parked behind the mail truck. “Have a good one.”
“I’ll walk about and see to your sheep,” Jamie said, hunching his shoulders against the rain. “Be a good day to stay inside. You look peaked, brother. You need some rest.”
“You might be coming down with something,” Liam said, his lips twitching.
“You’ll be coming down with something if you go for a bike ride in this weather,” Angie said. “What are you thinking?”
“This here’s Ireland,” Liam said, pointing to the sky. “If we waited on the rain, we wouldn’t get anywhere. I’ll see you at the pub later.” He sped off.
Kade gave Angie a wink. “I’ll be heading up to see Ollie and your sister while I’m here. I didn’t have time to bring the animals, what with Jamie’s text saying it was urgent, but I figured he might like to go for a ride at the farm. The rain’s not too bad.”
The light changed then, as it often did in Ireland. The sun came out, lighting the tops of the trees until they were golden. The rain turned to mist and then disappeared.
Angie pointed in the sky. “Look, there’s a rainbow. A double. Oh, it’s beautiful. Carrick, isn’t it beautiful?”
