Page 97 of Against Ebony Irish Seas

He and Sophie could have been like that.

Now it was never to be.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

She had never cried so much in her life.

With her face pressed against the couch, she felt hollow. Like her body was a husk. The love that had so revolutionized her life and given her joy and hope had turned into the most savage pain she’d ever felt. Worse than childbirth. Worse than any humiliation as a child. Worse than any betrayal during her marriage.

At one point, she’d thought she could hear her heart shatter like glass. It stole her breath and made her cry out louder, so much that Rex had started barking outside the window. She’d tried to gather herself after that, but it had cost her.

Was there any hope?

Was there any reason she should stay?

“Don’t be afraid,” a quiet voice said, then the scent of oranges came to her. “I’m here to help if I can.”

She lifted her head sharply and gasped.“Oh, my God!”

A beautiful woman with long brown hair stood in front of her, wearing a white flowing dress Sophie couldn’t imagine wearing in Ireland.

She gestured to it. “I admit, the day was warm when I last wore it.”

Her inhale was stark in the room.Last wore it…She studied the woman more closely, her skin tingling with awareness. “Eoghan said you looked after Caisleán but this is… This is…”

“A happy surprise?” She gave a soft smile. “I’m Sorcha Fitzgerald, and yes, I look after Caisleán. I would shake your hand, but it doesn’t quite work that way anymore. You might have questions so let me see if I can answer them. Yes, I’m a ghost, one who helps. And you, my dear, seem to need a great deal right now.”

She started to curl into herself, her eyes taking in the way the woman’s dress seemed to sway as if wind were playing with its edges. “I must need a ton of help ifyou’rehere…”

“You’re funny, even amidst your pain.” Another smile filled her heart-shaped face. “Are you sure you aren’t Irish?”

She shook her head.

“Well, it’s not unusual to have ghosts here in Ireland, but we exist pretty much everywhere. You know, I was in Boston a short time back, trying to help Kathleen and Declan. If I were one of those memes on social media, you would see me with a passport and the quoteThis Ghost Will Travel.”

The ghost’s responding humor dulled Sophie’s shock. “All right,” she said, swallowing thickly. “Let’s say I play along, being that this is Ireland and Eoghan mentioning you. Forgetting how I just cried my eyes out so hard I might be suffering from a mini stroke.”

“You aren’t, but do continue.”

Sophie watched as the spectral woman walked over to the armchair beside her couch and sat down. Her feet were bare. “Shall I make some tea?” she quipped.

“You do have a strong sense of humor, don’t you? It serves you well, I expect. When you lose all hope, that goes as surely as the sun will set this eve. You’ll remember I was Carrick Fitzgerald’s wife before I died.”

Sophie breathed out slowly. She was really and truly conversing with a ghost. “Yes, I remember hearing that.”

“Well, to make the story short, here’s the way of it. Carrick was very stubborn about finding love again, which is a Fitzgerald trait. The stubbornness. Not the other. They find love just fine. But Carrick took this stubbornness to epic proportions, being he’s not a temperate man.”

She hadn’t seen that side of Carrick, but she nodded anyway so the ghost—ghost!—would continue.

“His friends went above and beyond to help him,” she said with another soft smile, “as friends are wont to do. We helped him find love with Angie, which makes me happier than I can convey, but I felt I owed the men a debt for their help. And so I have stayed here, doing what I can to bring those men and their soulmates together. All the while helping Caisleán as well.”

“That’s very nice of you,” she managed.

“Some have given me more trouble than others, although I’m not naming names.Theycertainly wouldn’t call me nice.”

Her chortle was almost enough to make Sophie smile. “People called me nice all the time. Trust me. It’s not the greatest.”

“Great or not, I’m nearly finished with my work here.” She glanced over to the window, and Sophie’s mouth parted as the light changed from gray to golden, the sun coming out in showstopping fashion. “I confess I will miss them. I might shout and curse a little at them, but I love them all dearly. None more than my former brother-in-law, Jamie Fitzgerald.”

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