Page 41 of After Indigo Irish Nights
Donal got in one of his meaty right hooks, but Declan managed to pin Seamus to the ropes, and to rush his father after his dad led him on a merry chase around the ring. He was improving.
When Eoghan called an end—being the senior trainer of sorts—he forced himself off to the showers and welcomed the sluice of torrentially cold water along his battered, bruised muscles. It was only when he laid his head against the shower’s concrete wall that he saw Kathleen in his mind, beautiful and bold. God, would it ever end, the wanting of her?
“It’s time to stop fighting it,” a familiar voice said softly.
He didn’t have the strength to lift his head. “It’s a low move to appear to a man when he’s naked in the shower.”
Sorcha snorted. “I’m not interested in your naked parts, Declan McGrath, and I’m a mite offended you would even suggest it. That’s not why I’m here.”
“I’m too tired to fight you, Sorcha,” he said, his voice near hoarse to his own ears. “Say your piece and then leave me be, for the love of God.”
There was silence for a long moment, and he wondered if she’d left him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
Then she said, “Kathleen will be staying for years in Ireland,” and destroyed his peace.
He gripped the shower knob before wrenching off the water. His heart leapt in his chest. She was staying? What would that mean?
He needed clothes for this conversation. The towel he used was across the room, and he decided to forgo modesty and strode to it. Wrapping it around his waist, he finally turned to face her. True to her word, she had her back to him.
“Talk.”
Her white dress whirled as she spun around, and a smile danced on her lips. “When two people are meant to be, events conspire to bring them together. I am not the only agent interested in seeing you and Kathleen together. That you should know, and that you will surely see more of soon.”
“Speak plainly, Sorcha.” He raked the wet from his hair with an impatient hand. “I’m too tired to walk a rambling road this eve. You might as well be related to Liam, for you both sound like Yoda to me.”
“We cannot help our wisdom or our words.” She gave a light chuckle. “As I was saying, the road will ramble, and walk it you will, but plain I will speak since you ask me. Linc Buchanan has a grand vision for the center that holds my name, and Bets, Donal, and the others are in agreement. He has asked Kathleen to enlarge her vision and her sculpture, which would entail her staying for years to complete it. She has agreed for a number of reasons, which she will share with you when she’s ready. You have the chance to explore what’s between you…”
He shifted his weight as the impact of what she’d said rolled over him.They had a chance…
God, it would be so good to be with her.
“Four months of temptation you may have been able to fight, Declan McGrath, but not years.” She walked toward him, her dress billowing along with her hair. “Kathleen is of the same mind. She’s decided to stop fighting, as you will discover when you next meet. I appeared to you so you may fashion your reply in advance and not mess up your words. Speak from your heart, Declan.”
He glared at her. “Last I looked, people understood me just fine.”
“You think I don’t know you? You said and did what was expected with Morag. With Kathleen, you’re learning a new way. You need to learn a new way of communicating along with it—one that is brighter and bolder, because that is how you feel.”
He took his time considering her, his thoughts as worn as his muscles. She was right. With Morag he had done what was common. Expected. A man found a woman he thought he could have a family with. One from the area. They married. They settled down. They had children.
With Kathleen, nothing had gone as expected. In fact, he never knew what would happen next. His heart and body were pushing him toward something he couldn’t wrap his head around—something bigger than he’d ever experienced. Since the first moment he’d met Kathleen O’Connor, he’d felt more alive, like he’d been asleep all those years.
The newness was exciting, and yes, it also made him feel raw and vulnerable. That part he hadn’t liked.
Sorcha lifted a hand to trace his cheek, but her touch only passed through. “The entire course of your life will be set by what you do next. She’s waiting at her cottage for you. She wanted me to tell you. Good luck, Declan.”
She disappeared, leaving him alone with the only sound being the drip of water from his shower. He sank heavily onto a worn wooden bench and put his head in his hands. This decision would affect his entire life, and he wasn’t ready to make it.
He wasn’t sure he would ever be ready. What if he got it wrong again? He would be hurt. But so would others. Kathleen herself. Brady. Ellie even.
The drip of water grew louder in his ears. He looked at the puddle gathering, and in the water, saw Kathleen’s form, the siren call in her brown eyes, the allure of her slender body. He could hear her laughter, as if carried on the wind.
Sorcha was right. He might fight the temptation for four months, although their kiss had more than chipped away at his resolve. There was no way he could fight her constant presence here for years. Certainly not if she’d stopped fighting the temptation herself.
He had to say yes. Hewantedto say yes. And yes and yes again.
The atrophied pieces of his heart pulsed painfully with life. Of all the hurts he’d had with boxing, from the bruises and the battered, knotted muscles, this pain in his chest was the worst. It stole his breath and brought a hot burn to his eyes.
Morag had shown him the folly of loving, the brutal pain of betrayal.
