Page 83 of Against Ebony Irish Seas

Bets gave her a quick hug. “Yes, go and unplug! And thank you, Sophie.”

She waited until they were on their way to the car after Jamie had made his goodbyes, before commenting, “Imagine…them thanking me.”

“There’s plenty enough to thank you for,” Jamie said, opening the car door for her. “Now, what can we do for the rest of the day that would help put an easy smile on your face? I’m without plans, as you know.”

“How about a late lunch somewhere where no one will know us?”

He nodded. “Done. Buckle yourself in,mo chroí, and put yourself in my hands.”

As they left the parking lot and turned onto the one-lane road, she struggled with whether to avert her face from the remaining protesters or stare them down, especially Mary and Orla. She chose the former. What good would come from a staring match anyway?

Jamie waved at a few of their friends milling about with Keegan, who were taking their time helping him with the sheep. Denis stepped into the road as they were leaving, blocking the way. Jamie paused the car. There was a momentary standoff before he finally let them past. The look on his face could have been painted with snake venom for all the malice it bore.

“He’s scary, isn’t he?” Sophie tried to take a breath, but her seat belt felt too tight. “I’ll bet Malcolm Coveney is even scarier, right?”

“We’ve got you,” Jamie said without answering, turning on the stereo and selecting U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.”

As Bono’s iconic voice filled the car, she leaned back and closed her eyes. “I hope he really does join the board. I’ve always loved this song, but never as much as in this moment. I get wanting to run and tear things down, but I also want to go to that street so badly right now I can taste it.”

“And with me, you’ll go,” Jamie said, putting his hand on her knee and caressing it.

She turned her head, his beautiful face in profile. “We’ll go together.”

They rode up the coast for about an hour, the landscape shifting from green hills and valleys to majestic, soaring mountains dotted with ancient rocks and brush in earthy tones. She smiled as she watched horned sheep climbing the tough terrain or bumbling down with gravity.

“I might have fallen in love with sheep today,” she told Jamie as he rounded a vast black lake.

“Make sure to share that at the Brazen Donkey next time we go,” he said, pulling into a sparsely filled parking lot in front of a green tavern with red trim. “You’ll make everyone’s day, my brother’s included. Welcome to one of my favorite places in all of Ireland. The Lost Valley of Uggool. Come inside,mo chroí, and rest a spell.”

She got out and heard the water lapping against the rock wall lining the parking lot. “It’s so quiet and peaceful here, Jamie. I might never want to leave.”

“We’ll stay as long as you’d like, and then when you’re ready, I’ll take you home and love you as the day turns to night.”

Lacing her fingers around the back of his neck, she met those cobalt blue eyes of his. “I’d love that.”

She nourished herself on a hearty beef and Guinness stew served on mashed potatoes with thickly sliced soda bread slathered with Irish butter. Their table awarded them with an incredible view, and she found herself slowly unwinding. Jamie knew she needed quiet, and perhaps he did as well.

“I wish I could find a way to make you laugh right now,” he said as he pushed around his mashed potatoes with a fork. “For once I wish I had Eoghan’s gift of the gab.”

Reaching across the table, she placed her hand on his arm. “You don’t have to make me laugh or even smile, Jamie. Right now, all I want is solace and to be here with you. I’ve talked myself out these last few days.”

“I know what you mean. So let’s just sit here together.”

“And maybe have some bread pudding for dessert,” she said, able to smile at last. “That’s good comfort food, and I know it’s a favorite of yours.”

His mouth lifted. “Since childhood. My mum makes a good recipe. When they come back from Portugal, I’d like you to meet them. Both you and Greta, if that’s all right.”

She laced their fingers together, like their lives were beginning to do. “That would be great. I suppose you should meet my mother soon. Before, I might have dreaded it. But not now. We seem to be having a renaissance in our relationship. I think she’s going to be quite nice to you.”

That had him chuckling softly. “I find myself relieved to hear that. Family is important to me, and while I’d respect her regardless of whether we get along, I’d prefer to get along.”

“Just don’t get all nervous if she asks if you’d like to pose nude for her, okay?” She winced. “It’s as much a compliment as a way of testing your mettle.”

“Then I’ll think on how to answer well and still keep my clothes on.” He made a show of touching his shirt buttons.

She laughed, a glorious sound after everything. “She’s asked me before, and I’ve always told her that being immortalized is overrated. She, of course, can’t imagine where I learned that from.”

Leaning closer, he said softly, “Next time, tell her it was the fairies who whispered it to you.”

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