Page 84 of After Indigo Irish Nights
He scoffed, which made his mouth throb. “The best? It’s not your way to lie, even a white one.”
His friend shook his head. “Your head isn’t on straight if you can’t see the courage and toughness you exhibited last night. Your head is as thick as Carrick’s sometimes, as is your temperament. I’m tempted to call Sorcha to take you to task and beat some sense into you, but you’ve been beaten enough, I think.”
He couldn’t lift his arms to gesture to the bruises raining his very skin. “You’re mostly afraid to call her because she scares the hell out of you.”
“There’s that too,” his friend leaned forward and whispered, “but don’t tell her, it’s oddly comforting knowing she’s looking out for us. I mean, what she did with Carrick is a miracle. You might be the same way after Morag. The Yank is pretty great.”
His heart swelled in his chest. He couldn’t wait to put his arms around her. “She is that and more. Thanks for putting me up, Jamie.”
“A friend is always welcome. You know that.”
Declan could barely incline his chin but he did anyway. “Go back to sleep. I’m off to the sea.”
“She’ll see to your woes.”
God, they were Irish. He bid his friend goodbye and limped to his car and drove slowly to the sea.
The sun was a giant mass of orange in the sky when he arrived. No one was on the beach save a few egrets and seagulls. After undressing, he waded out into the freezing waters, hissing between his teeth at the stinging sensation. Then he stopped, feeling the saltwater on his cuts, and instead felt his body go numb.
Like his heart.
He’d just told Kathleen he loved her. Now he would have to tell her they needed to keep their relationship private until after his fight with Jimmy.
Declan would use Owen’s threat to convince her of this wisdom. She wouldn’t like it. But she might understand his worry that Owen would be more likely to target her again if he knew about their relationship. After all, it was obvious Owen had come to Kathleen’s shed at his mother’s bidding. He’d done it to get information, sure, but the timing was no mistake. They’d wanted to cause trouble before the fight to disrupt the elbow-rubbing that Declan and the others had planned.
Those closest to Declan already knew that he was with Kathleen, but they didn’t talk out of turn. They’d also watch out for her. He trusted them.
He would tell her he couldn’t concentrate on the fight, having to worry about her. Yes, that was it.
“You’re banking on an awful lot, Declan McGrath,” said the spirit he’d been thinking of, suddenly beside him in the water.
“Jesus!” he exclaimed, scattering a seagull. “I’m naked here.”
“And you’re underwater. I can’t see anything.” But she didn’t laugh like usual.
“How is she?”
“You’ve stayed out all night with no word. Oh, you men vex us like no other species. How do you think she is? She’s ready to pour cold soup on you.”
Carrick had told him tales about Sorcha doing that, and of course, he’d seen his own mother do it to his father when she was especially cross with him. “You must have suggested it. She’s not that Irish.”
“You hurt her,” she said as the sea lapped at them.
He shoved aside a sliver of gold and green moss that brushed his bruised chest. “I know. I did it to protect her.”
“Of course you did.” She trailed her hand through the water, only it didn’t part for her. “You know what would be wise? Tell her everything that lies between you and Jimmy.”
She asked too much. “Men don’t speak of failure or being made a fool. They certainly don’t speak their fears aloud. That puts them on the wind.”
“Which means they might come back to you.” She sighed. “My grandfather used to say you should never say your fears or hurts out loud because the fairies or ghosts might hear and torment you. Carrick believed it too, or near enough.”
“Men understand each other.”
She gave a rude snort. “I grew up believing those pishogues too, Declan, and me a woman. We have our pride too. Except, here I am—a ghost—and all I want to do is help you.”
He sighted a gray seal cutting through the water with two adolescent white-as-snow pups swimming at her side. They didn’t startle. No, they swam around him and Sorcha in a circle. His breath caught. He’d never been this close. He’d always tried as a boy, but they were too fast and would soon disappear into the sea. Happy sounds met his ears, and then a small pup surfaced before him in the water, his expressive black eyes almost smiling as his head emerged.
“I wonder why these seals defy good sense. They have reason to fear us, but they do not. Maybe they trust they can handle what comes because they are surrounded by others who will support them. Kathleen can handle herself, even more so if she knows the truth of things. So can you. Reflect on that, my friend. I’ll be talking to you soon.”
