Page 52 of After Indigo Irish Nights
“A Nobel Peace Prize winner?” Jamie whispered in awe.
Bets understood. She felt a little faint herself. From the beginning, she’d hoped the arts center would expand her horizons, bringing in new people from different walks of life, all united by their love of art. This was more than she’d ever dreamed. “We’ll draw straws for who’ll accompany me on these meetings, of course,” she replied.
“Count me out!” Carrick answered, holding up his hands. “The sheep take up enough of my time. The rest I want to spend with my family.”
“I’ll go…” Eoghan gave a clever wink. “If I’m still walking among you.”
“None of that talk, Dad,” Donal said, but his mouth broke into a grin. “We’ll have to get you taught up in elegant table manners. The bar variety won’t suit those fancy white tablecloth places.”
“I can make the sacrifice,” Eoghan said with a sigh, making them laugh.
“What else?” Bets asked.
Donal raised his hand before saying, “In advance of Declan’s big fight, Linc and I can approach members of the council who might be open to coming over to our side. We’ll start conspiring, as the Irish are wont to do, in the pub.”
“I’m happy to come and talk about how much this would mean to the children in the village,” Jamie said with a knowing look.
“Do whatever you have to do to move things forward with those blockheads,” Bets said, glad she wouldn’t have to be at those meetings. “If you need anything on that score from me, you know where to find me. Mr. Treasurer—”
Linc drawled, “Yes, Madam President.”
She liked the new title, she had to admit. Donal was vice-president, and Nicola had agreed to be the secretary since her notetaking abilities were strong.
“Do you have any other business you want to mention?” she asked with starch in her voice.
“I’d like to propose we hire Madame President an assistant so she won’t get cross trying to print out resumes and portfolios and other sundry items like meeting agendas. Liam might have mentioned your battle with a jammed printer…”
She supposed the story had been too good for her son to keep to himself. “I wasn’t thinking when I stuck my letter opener in there, trying to wedge it open for me to yank the wad of stuck paper. It shorted out the whole printer. And then it started to smoke.”
Donal started laughing along with the others. “How did I not know about this?”
Usually he knew all her stories. But she and Donal hadn’t seen each other much lately, what with him being at the boxing club training or learning to lasso or hanging out at the pub or at his house with Linc, who was still staying with him. But she couldn’t say that to him in front of everyone else.
Indeed, she wasn’t sure how to say it to him at all.
She forced a bright smile over her clogged throat. “You were at boxing training at the time. I wished you were there to give that darn machine a right hook or something. I almost got electrocuted.”
“And that would have been a damn shame,” Linc drawled, “especially if it had fried your hair. I got shocked by an electric fence trying to see some horses one time, and my hair stood up straight for a week.”
The laughter continued, and she made herself join in. She wouldn’t say that she’d cried a little when it happened. She’d wondered if the electrical current had kicked up some hurt in her heart from how things were with her and Donal.
“I call this meeting to a good conclusion,” she said, standing up. “I just so happened to make chocolate chip cookies as a thank you for coming like this Sophie Giombetti Linc is so big on. And Jamie brought us some drinks. Thanks for coming, everyone. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.”
People milled around the arts center’s kitchen, chatting while they enjoyed the refreshments. Linc came up beside her, munching on a cookie.
“We’re going to need a proper meeting space,” she told him.
He handed her a spare cookie in his other hand. “I’m only giving this to you because you look like you need some comfort food. You okay, sugar? Something tells me that printer dustup bothered you more than you let on.”
Was he fishing? He had to know Donal was spending more time with him right now than he was with her. How could he not when he was sleeping in Donal’s guest room? “Getting shocked isn’t the kind of fun anyone likes.”
“You sure that’s all it was?” His blue eyes scanned her face.
She took a giant bite of cookie and shook her head. With her mouth full, she wouldn’t have to say anything. She couldn’t.
“All right…” he drawled after a moment. “How about I tell you more about Saint-Paul de Vence?”
She looked over her shoulder and caught Donal talking to Carrick and Jamie. In the past, he would have been by her side, talking with their friends. She felt a pang that shook her whole being. “Yes, please tell me all about it.”
