Page 18 of Against Ebony Irish Seas

“Sleep well, Jamie, boy,” Declan said after banging the door once more for effect. “We told the ghosts to leave you alone.”

“Don’t say that to him,” Liam responded. “You know how it creeps him out. Jamie, I cleared the negative energy from this place. You’ve nothing to fear.”

“Except us if you don’t come out for a drink,” Brady called.

He stuffed a pillow over his head. Tomorrow he really would buy earplugs. It grew quiet as his friends’ footsteps slapped against the stone and faded away along with their conversation, thank God. He slammed his eyes shut and willed himself back to sleep. His date with Sophie wasn’t the only reason he needed to be well rested. Linc had told everyone to be ready for an emergency board meeting tomorrow, the time TBD, and he and Donal had a few calls to make beforehand.

When his alarm woke him at seven, he opened his eyes and experienced a moment of disorientation. Then it clicked. Summercrest.Sophie.He needed to buy her groceries. A smile broke over his face. He would see her and Greta this morning, even for only a moment. But it would be enough. The best way to start his day.

He slipped into the bathroom across the hall and showered quickly, shaving while he bemoaned the increasingly cold water. He’d have to ask where the immersion heater was located and plan better next time. Dressing quickly, he cleaned up after himself and picked up his bag. When he opened the bathroom door, Liam was standing casually in the hallway without a shirt on, wearing loose white pants, his feet bare.

“Glad you didn’t feel you needed to dress up to greet me.”

Liam laughed. “I was off to meditate but heard you opening the door. Thought I’d see how you fared on your first night at Summercrest.”

“Besides you eejits waking me up at midnight? Fine. I’m buying earplugs today in case you decide to try again tonight after my date.”

“We’re all happy for you, Jamie.” Liam put his hand to his heart. “Seriously.”

He nodded. “It’s only just begun, but she’s here, and she’s of the same mind. That’s all that matters right now.”

“Dare I ask if you’ve seen Sorcha?” Liam arched his brow. “Smelled oranges around Sophie?”

He gave Liam his best teacher look. “If I say either way, you eejits will be all over me. Even more than you already are. I just want to enjoy our next steps.”

Liam patted him on the back. “Then enjoy them. And if you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Was he offering dating advice? Out of all of them, no one had dated more than Liam. “I’ll find my way, but thanks. Liam, I did want to ask about the shed for the kids. You’re sure it will be finished on time?”

“That’s the plan.”

Jamie remembered Sorcha’s words. If she said they needed to rush, then so they did. “If I ordered some furniture, would your guys be able to set it up?”

“Of course.” Liam tilted his head to the side. “You in a hurry suddenly? That’s not like you.”

He cleared his throat. “I… We might want to move forward a little more quickly after what happened with Sophie’s house.”

Liam was quiet a moment. “More trouble is coming? Of course you won’t say who told you, but I’ve felt something brewing. Was going to meditate on it this morning.”

Jamie didn’t fully understand what that meant, but he knew Liam knew uncanny things sometimes. “Hold good thoughts for us.”

They held each other’s gaze, decades of friendship palpable. “Always. I left something in your room, by the way, for when you might need it. I thought it would save you figuring it out for yourself. I’ll see you later, Jamie.”

“Ah, thanks… Mind yourself.”

He watched as Liam padded down the hallway. Jamie strode into his room with curiosity. Scanning the room, he spotted a box of condoms on the nightstand. His heart gave a little lurch. It wasveryearly to be thinking along those lines, but Liam had been thoughtful, knowing he’d have to drive over an hour away to slip into a pharmacy where he wasn’t known. Being a teacher, he was careful of his reputation. Not that he bought condoms often. It had been…way too long ago.

He stared at the box. Was it too early to put some in his wallet? He rubbed the back of his neck, his thoughts widely scattered toward lust and being a gentleman. He was an eejit. He grabbed a few and tucked them away before hiding the box.

Cheeks a little flushed, he found his keys and headed out. The air was cool, and the dark clouds foretold rain. Summer was all but over, the weather was saying. Terrific. They’d barely had ten days of sun this month. The Yanks spoke about how hard it was to get used to the lack of sunlight. Even the Irish complained about the weather. He hoped it would improve for Sophie and Greta.

He located her grocery list, his fingers tracing her handwriting. She used cursive, its elegant form fitting for her. He was glad the Irish schools continued to teach it. Many American schools didn’t, and he thought it a shame, valuing it not only for its beauty but for what it did for a child’s brain development.

What kinds of art could they teach that would enhance a child’s brain? Maybe this was the approach he needed to create a sound plan for their program. Bets had talked about mission statements and Linc about vision. While he’d done plenty of research of his own, he hadn’t been happy with his scribblings. He’d been stuck on levels of minutiae like class size.

Details. He was good there.

When he’d talked to Angie about the arts programs she used to run as the director of an arts center in Baltimore, she’d told him a bit about programs focused on particular skills. Kids could hand build ceramics, for example. That would teach them to build shapes, but it would also foster hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and creativity. The latter was the hardest to teach, if you asked him.

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