Page 83 of Beneath Pearly Irish Skies
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She tugged on her sweater set again.
That was all it took. Kade pulled off the hoodie covering his T-shirt and handed it to her. She gave him a puzzled look.
“Take off your sweaters and put this on. You’re as uncomfortable as a horse with horseflies.”
“Ugh!” Ollie made a gagging sound, making Pip squeal. “I hate those flies. They’re even worse than the spiders in our cottage.”
Megan’s face closed up as she took his hoodie. “Don’t I look okay?”
“You look beautiful, as always,” Kade said, touching her face softly. “But you don’t seem happy to be wearing these clothes.”
“She fussed with them the whole way here—like Aunt Angie used to do when she wore things like that. Why don’t girls just wear what they want to? Like boys do.”
“Because we’re smarter,” Ryan said with a laugh. “Teasing! Hurry and change, Megan. Your ice is melting.”
Yes, it was, Kade realized, in more ways than one. She’d told him how she used to be chilly and standoffish, wearing her old clothes as a shield, wanting to fit in and not be hurt. She wasn’t the same woman now. That ice inside her had indeed melted. Love had done it. “I think it’s time to retire the sweater set for good, love. You look really beautiful in your farm clothes.”
“I agree!” Ollie said. “Go change, Mom. The ice is melting fast!”
She touched her sweater set with a grimace. “I do like my farm clothes better. If only Baltimore could see me now.”
As she was leaving, Ollie tugged on Kade’s arm. “Why does she want Baltimore to see her? Sometimes I think she’s mad as a March hare. I heard Liam say that about Cousin Bets. Do you know why Cousin Bets was losing her car keys? Nobody will tell me.”
According to the buzz in the village, Bets wasn’t losing her car keys anymore, and the doorbell was a thing of the past. She and Donal looked radiant and happy, which was good. God knew what the village was saying about him and Megan. Good thing he didn’t care.
“Maybe she forgets things like I do,” Ryan said, pushing one of the glasses even with the other.
“How’s your cocktail?” Kade asked, distracting the boy.
“Good,” he said with a slurp. “I need a straw.”
Ryan made an affronted noise, making Ollie laugh.
Megan appeared in the doorway in his sweatshirt. She looked young and sweet again, his favorite. “Do I look okay? It’s a little big.”
“Of course it’s big, Mom.” Ollie’s voice was filled with drama. “Kade is bigger than you. Come on and drink your cocktails.”
She came over to the table. “Which one should I try first?”
Ryan pointed to the first one. “They’re in order already. The Maverick martini with passionfruit juice, vodka, and vanilla bitters. The Irish Old Fashioned with a sugar cube, Irish whiskey, bitters, and orange peel.”
“I’ve made her that one,” Kade said. “We’ll see whose is better.”
Ryan snorted. “Mine. Don’t interrupt me. The final cocktail is the White Lady with gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and an egg white. Because the White Lady told me to come visit you, Kade.”
His heart started to beat faster in his chest. “What White Lady? Did she have long brown hair and a white dress?”
“Yes,” Ryan said with a smile. “She looked like Sorcha Fitzgerald, but I didn’t understand how she could be since she’s dead.”
Megan’s face went blank with shock.
“You mean the nice lady Uncle Carrick used to be married to?” Ollie looked from Kade to Ryan, his little brow furrowed. “The one they named the arts center after?”
“That’s her,” Ryan said, handing Megan her first cocktail, which she looked to be needing. “She was always nice to me. She said coming to visit would make us both happy. I guess she knew I was sad. My girlfriend broke up with me. I lied about texting her.”
Kade put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
He shrugged. “I was embarrassed. I thought she liked me.”
