Riley

7

THE RUINS OF THE ABBEY at Cashel were more beautiful than Nan could have ever imagined, set high on the hill overlooking the plains all around. But after touring the ruins, Riley had insisted that they visit Athassel Priory, just a few miles away.

Once again, he’d brought them to another impossibly romantic spot. They’d left the car on the road and climbed over a gate, then trudged through a farmer’s field to get to the ruined abbey. As Nan stood in the center of what was once the nave, she stared up at the high stone walls jutting into the blue sky.

The priory was nothing more than a shell, a ruin, yet it still had a beauty that she found breathtaking. Three arched Gothic windows were set in the center of the highest wall and she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it looked like all those years ago. As she listened to the wind and the raucous cries of the jackdaws nesting in the holes in the walls, she felt the spirits of ancient Irishmen all around her.

She turned to look at Riley. He was standing in a doorway, his hands braced on either side, staring out at the river that flowed near the abbey.

“Did Cromwell ruin this one, too?” she asked.

He stepped away from the door. “I don’t think so. I think it burnt down before he got to Ireland.”

They were all alone here, the chattering tourists with their cameras left behind at Cashel. Nan walked over to a stairway and peered through the bars that blocked the way. “Don’t you wonder what it was like? Who lived here? What they did every day?”

Riley nodded. “I suppose I never thought much about it,” he said. “These ruins are just part of the landscape here.”

“I guess you don’t really appreciate something you see every day,” Nan said. “It’s only interesting to strangers.” She sent him a winsome smile. “I think that’s why you find me so interesting.”

He took her hand and they walked out the Gothic doorway into the cloisters that ran along one side of the church. There was so much history in this one spot that she found it difficult to take it all in.

Again and again, she was astounded at how this country had captured her imagination. Everywhere she looked, there was something pulling her in, as if she’d walked in these same footsteps in another life. Though her ancestors had come from this country, until she’d landed at Shannon, she’d never really given that a second thought.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” she asked.

He gave her an odd look. “You mean like coming back in another life as a cat or a tree?”

“No. More like past lives. I feel so…different here. There’s something about these places that we visit. Even the cottage. It’s like I’ve been here before. I’ve never felt that way any other place.”

It wasn’t just her relationship with Riley or the fact that this place was the home of her ancestors. Nor was it her mother’s connection with Ireland. No, she felt this bond deep inside her soul, as if it were part of her DNA.

She climbed up into one of the arches and stared out at the countryside. There was no place more beautiful. The thought of leaving Ireland made her heart ache and yet she knew this wasn’t home.

“You look like some ancient high priestess,” Riley said, “standing there with the wind blowing your skirt.”

She smiled, then turned to face him. “I can understand why people believed in the power of this place,” she said. “I can feel it all around me.”

“It’s all that Irish blood pumping through your veins,” he murmured.

She’d refused to discuss their argument from the previous night. Nan still hadn’t made a decision about what she was going to do. Though she wanted to know the truth, talking about her mother might be more upsetting than she anticipated. Since arriving in Ireland, her emotions had been unpredictable. What had begun as a simple quest to meet an old girlfriend of her mother’s had turned into something so much more complicated.

“Give me your hand,” Riley said, holding his out.

When she did, he carefully removed the ring he’d given her. “What’re you doing?”

“What I should have done the first time I gave this to you. Come with me.” He wrapped his hands around her waist as she jumped down, then he led her to the doorway blocked with iron bars.

The bars were just far enough apart for Riley to slip through and when he was on the other side, he reached for her. “Come on. Let’s see where this goes.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “No. They don’t want us to go in there. That’s why they put bars across the doorway.”

“They didn’t put them close enough together,” he said. “So they must want us to slip through.”

“What if we get caught?”

“By who?”

“Whom.”

“By whom?” Riley said. “There’s no one here. And I don’t think we’d be breaking any laws. I promise, you won’t regret it.”

Reluctantly, she stepped through the gate and into a winding stairwell made entirely of stone. Some of the steps were crumbling but it was so solidly built that Nan didn’t even hesitate before starting the climb. They came out on the top of a high wall, a perfect lookout to the countryside around them.

“Oh, look at this,” Nan cried. “It’s amazing.”

“I told you,” Riley said. He walked over to the wall and sat down on it, dangling his feet over the edge.

She joined him, leaving her legs on the safe side of the wall. Riley took her hand again. “I need to fix something,” he said. “I want to do it right now.” He put the ring on the end of her finger. “When you wear the heart pointing out on your right hand, it means you’re looking for love. But when you turn the ring around, and the heart points at you, that means you’re taken.”

Nan stared down at her finger. She’d worn the ring for two days, believing it was just a pretty piece of jewelry. But suddenly, it meant something more. “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t, either,” Riley said. “I’ve been trying to figure this out since the moment we met. But something seems to be happening between us and I have a need to try to define it. So, this is as close as I can come for now. I want to be with you, Nan, and only with you.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know. For as long as you want to be with me. But if it’s longer than ten days, don’t be afraid to tell me. You can stay, Nan. I want you to stay.”

Nan looked up into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. And now that he’d said what she’d hoped to hear, Nan wasn’t sure what to do. It had started as a wonderful vacation love affair that had a very clear beginning and end. But now, everything had changed. He’d offered her a choice and she wasn’t sure whether she had the strength to make it.

“So, it’s like we’re going together?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She giggled. “It seems a bit silly. I mean, we’ve already slept together and more than just once. I just assumed you wouldn’t be doing the same with other women.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he said. “That’s in the past. This is about the future.”

Nan frowned, biting at her bottom lip as she considered his words. “I have to go home on Wednesday.”

“No, you don’t,” Riley said. “You’re an adult and you can do whatever you want. You can stay. For the rest of the summer. You can stay until Christmas or forever, if you choose to. You just have to make the choice.”

“And what about you? What will you do if I choose to leave?”

“I’m not sure. I guess I won’t really know until that happens.”

She looked down at the ring. Tears welled up inside her and she fought them back. Was this what her mother had gone through, leaving the boy she’d loved? Had she even considered staying? Or was she certain that her destiny wasn’t here in Ireland? Suddenly, Nan needed to know answers to all the questions she had. There was only one place to find them, only one man who could tell her.

“I do care about you,” she murmured. “And I think it’s easy for you to ask me to stay. You don’t have anything to lose. You’re not leaving anything behind.”

“What are you leaving?” he asked. “The way I see it, you’re all alone. Your parents are gone. You don’t have any brothers or sisters.”

“My life is there. A life I built for myself. Could you just give up everything here and move to the States?”

“I think I could. If it meant we might have a chance.”

She shook her head, then took off the ring. “I can’t do this,” she said, holding the ring out for him to take. “This is all happening too fast.”

“No,” Riley said, pushing her hand away. “I want you to keep it. Turn it the other way, I don’t care.” He cursed softly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s all right,” she said. “I’m not angry.”

He drew a ragged breath, than pasted a smile on his face. “Why don’t we just forget this conversation ever happened. We’ll rewind.”

“All right,” Nan said. She put the ring back on her finger, this time with the heart pointing out. But it was impossible to erase the words he’d said. And though she’d heard him, Nan wasn’t really sure what he’d meant. Was he making some kind of commitment to her?

Nan walked along the wall and stared down at the old graveyard. Ancient Celtic crosses marked the resting places of people who’d been forgotten generations ago. These people had loved and laughed and dreamed about the future.

She drew in a sharp breath. Maybe they were trying to tell her something from beyond the grave. Maybe she needed to take a chance, to live her life by her heart and not her head. Life was too short for doubts and hesitation.

She had three more nights to decide, three more nights spent in his arms. Nan made a silent promise to herself. When it came time to make that decision, she wouldn’t think. She’d just allow herself to feel. If she did that, everything would turn out right.

NAN DECIDED TO SPEND Monday on her own. Though Riley hadn’t been happy with the decision, she wanted to put a bit of space between them after his “proposal” at the abbey. She was finding it more and more difficult to think logically and rationally when she was around him. He’d asked her to stay and Nan had almost convinced herself that she could.

He’d made it quite clear how he felt and what he wanted, yet Nan wasn’t sure she could even make such a momentous decision. But she had made a step in the right direction. She’d decided that it was time to pay a visit to Carey Findley. She’d promised to be back in time for dinner, telling him they’d make a picnic and walk down to the bluffs to watch the sun set.

The drive to Kealkill had been simple given the map she’d found in the car. But as she’d neared the village, Nan had noticed signs for a castle and a stone circle, so she’d deliberately taken a detour, needing more time to work up her courage.

She stood in the center of the old stone circle, located in another farmer’s field just outside Kealkill. Yes, she was wasting time, loitering at a spot where pagans had danced and paid homage to their gods. With a soft sigh, she walked around the small circle, her palm dragging across the weathered stones.

If her mother’s story was as she suspected, what Carey Findley knew could change everything. She had become her mother, coming to this magical place and fallen in love with a handsome Irishman. They had a common experience and everything she was feeling, her mother had felt as well. But she could make the choice to stay, to believe in this place and in the love she’d found.

Nan stood in the center of the circle again, tipping her face up to the noonday sun. She threw her hands out and closed her eyes. An odd feeling washed over her and suddenly, she felt as if she wasn’t alone.

A dog barked and Nan spun around to see a little black terrier running toward her. She froze, waiting for the dog to chomp into her leg. But, instead, he put his paws on her knee and wagged his tail.

“Don’t you worry, lass. He doesn’t bite. Come on, Georgie. Leave the lady alone.”

The dog sniffed at her feet and Nan reached down and gave him a pet. The little dog licked her hand before taking off again.

An elderly man carrying a long walking stick peeked around the corner of the stone, smiling warmly. “Sorry. He’s not afraid of strangers, that one.”

“It’s all right,” Nan said. “He just startled me for a second.”

“So, what are you doin’ out here all alone? Communing with the Druid spirits?”

“Something like that,” she said with a soft laugh. “It’s a magical place.”

“That it is,” the man said. “That it is. I walk out here almost every day. Now and then, I catch sight of a faerie or two, though they’re easier to see at twilight.”

“I would love to see a faerie before I leave,” she said.

“You’re from America?”

Nan nodded. “Just visiting. I’m staying in Ballykirk.”

“I know it well,” he said. “I used to have a farm near there.”

Nan held out her hand. “I’m Nan. Nan Galvin.”

He reached to take her hand, then froze at the sound of her name. His hand trembled slightly. “Tiernan Galvin?”

“Yes,” she said. “How did you-” An odd feeling washed over her again and she felt suddenly calm. “And you’re Carey, aren’t you? Carey Findley.”

“Yes. I am.”

She shook her head, wondering at the mystical forces that had brought them together in his spot. It wasn’t just coincidence. She’d been drawn to this place for a reason. They were meant to meet. “This is so strange. A little bit spooky. I’ve read all your letters. I feel like I know you.”

“I got a call from your friend Riley Quinn. I was wondering if you’d stop to see me. I’ve been leaving a note on my door each day when I go out.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d come,” she said. “But I guess I didn’t have to make the decision after all.”

Nan scrambled for a way to begin. She thought she’d have more time to explain why she’d come and what she wanted. But here he was, watching her with twinkling eyes and a bright smile.

“Maybe we should sit down,” she said. Nan pointed to a boulder sitting outside the stone circle. Carey followed her, taking a spot beside her.

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Then allow me,” he said. “I wondered if you’d ever come. After your mother stopped writing, I thought maybe she’d decided she wasn’t going to ever tell you about Tiernan.”

“No,” Nan said, shaking her head. “She stopped writing because she died.”

His expression fell and she saw his eyes grow watery with tears. “I thought that might have been it,” he said. “She mentioned in some of her last letters that she was ill, but she didn’t give me any details.”

“You knew my mother?”

“I did,” he said. “She stayed at our farm with some of her friends. We used to let out a few of the extra bedrooms to students traveling around Ireland. Oh, she was a lively young woman, always laughing and teasing. She couldn’t keep still.”

“And your son? What was he like?”

“Handsome. Charming. Probably too charming for his own good, that one. All the girls loved him, but your mother, she was the one who captured his heart. When she left, he was so sad and angry.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to him,” Nan said.

Carey nodded, his face etched with grief. “It was a bad time. And my wife, she never really recovered. He was our only child and she grieved for him until the day she died.”

“Did they love each other? Tiernan and my mother?”

He folded his hands over his walking stick. “Oh, yes. I do think so. They were both so young, but they were happy together. When we got the news, it was difficult for Tiernan. My son wasn’t ready to be a father and Laura had no support over here, so she didn’t-”

“I don’t understand,” Nan said. “You said Tiernan was going to be a father. Did he get another girl pregnant? Is that why my mother left?”

The old man took a long breath then shook his head wearily. “You don’t know. You haven’t figured it out, have you?”

Nan pressed her hand to her chest. Had her heart stopped beating? Why couldn’t she breathe? “The baby was me,” she murmured. “It was me?”

“I’m sorry. I thought that’s why you’d come. That’s why I’d written to your mother for all those years. I wanted news of my granddaughter. You’re my granddaughter, Tiernan.”

Nan stood and walked over to one of the tall stones, pressing her hands against it as she tried to breathe again. Now, everything made perfect sense. Somewhere, deep inside her, she thought this might be it, but she’d refused to consider it.

“She was pregnant when she left?”

Carey shook his head. “When your mother got home, she found out she was pregnant. She knew Tiernan was the father and she wrote him a letter to tell him. He threw the letter in the rubbish and I found it and read it. I wrote back to her, begging her to come and live with us, determined to make Tiernan stand by her. But by that time, she’d already married your father.”

“But then Tiernan died,” Nan murmured.

“No one knew about you, outside of our family. But it changed him. He became more reckless, more headstrong. I think, in the end, he realized how much he loved Laura and what a mistake he’d made. But, by then, it was too late.”

“You lost your grandchild and then your child.”

“It killed my wife. After Tiernan’s accident, she couldn’t bring herself to look at your mother’s letters. She was even afraid to look at your photos for fear she might love you and that you might resemble Tiernan-which you do, by the way. Living so far away from you was too much for her to bear.”

“I read your letters,” Nan said. “They’re what brought me here. What if I’d never found them? What if my father had thrown them away? I never would have known.”

“I still have the letters she sent me. And all the photos she sent. And she left a sketchbook that I found in Tiernan’s room after he died. I think you should have them.”

“I’d love to see them,” Nan said.

Carey stood up and whistled for his dog. “Come along, then. I live just down the lane. We’ll walk and chat on the way.”

Nan got up, her knees wobbly and her emotions barely in check, and they started toward the road. Carey peppered her with questions about her life, from her very first memories of her childhood to what she’d been doing a week ago. She answered him numbly, her body and mind on autopilot.

She wanted to sit down in the middle of the road and just take a moment. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, she hadn’t had time to react. She felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

How hard had it been for her father? He must have known, yet he kept the secret all these years, raising the child of another man. And what about her mother, walking away from the boy she loved and stepping into a marriage of convenience, merely to give her daughter a name? Her entire life had been one big charade.

As Carey had said, his cottage was only a quarter mile down the road from the stone circle. It was a tidy little home, much like the Quinn cottage, whitewashed but with a slate roof and pretty blue front door. They walked through the front garden and he held the door open for her, Georgie scampering in beneath her feet.

“I’ll just put on the water for a pot of tea,” he said. He pointed to the comfortable parlor. “Sit down and take a rest. I know this is a lot to comprehend in a very short time.”

Dazed, Nan walked into the cozy room then noticed the framed photos sitting on a shelf between the windows. She crossed to examine them more closely, then realized many of them were of her as a child. She drew a ragged breath and tears flooded her eyes.

This man was her grandfather. She wasn’t alone anymore. She had family. Nan picked up a photo of a handsome boy with dark hair and devilish eyes. And this was her father. “Tiernan,” she murmured, running her fingers over his image, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Carey reappeared, clutching a large black book in his arms. Wiping the tears away with her sleeve, Nan sat down and took the book from his outstretched hands. She recognized what it was immediately. Her father had given her three or four of her mother’s old sketchbooks, filled with drawings of Nan and various places around their neighborhood. But these drawings would be from before Nan even existed.

“Open it,” Carey said. “I think she left it with Tiernan as a kind of memory of the time they spent together. When I moved from the farm, I found it in his closet and I kept it. I always hoped that one day, I’d get to meet you and I could give it back.”

She hugged it to her chest. “Thank you. I-I think I’ll look at it later.”

“Well, I’d expect this has all come as quite a shock to you.”

Nan nodded. “I’m not sure what to say. This morning, I didn’t have a family and now I do.”

“When are you planning to return home?”

“I have a flight back in a few days,” she said. “On Wednesday.”

“If you have a mind to write a letter now and then, I would promise to write back. And I hope we could exchange some photos.” He hurried across to the shelf and took the photo of Tiernan down. “You should take this. You need a photo of him.”

She looked at Carey, at the hope that was in his eyes. He’d never even known her, yet she could tell he didn’t want her to leave. Maybe, he even loved her like every grandfather loved his granddaughter. She tried to imagine him, opening her mother’s letters, staring at the photos, trying to know the girl she was. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“And if you ever come back to Ireland, you must promise to visit.”

Nan nodded. “Yes. I promise.” She paused. “Do you really think they were in love?”

“Oh, yes. I know they were,” he said. “If you’d have seen them together, you’d have known it, too. But I don’t believe your mother was ready to give up her life in America to marry an Irish boy she barely knew. She made the right decision. My son wasn’t ready to be a husband or a father. Ireland would have been an unhappy place for both of you.”

Nan quickly stood. This was too much to take in all at once. “I-I should go. But-but I’ll come back. Tomorrow.”

“Yes,” he said. “Tomorrow. I’ll have your mother’s letters for you. Maybe you’d like to come for a late breakfast? Or lunch?”

“Yes,” Nan said. “Breakfast would be nice.” She hurried to the door, then turned around. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “No, thank you. You’ve made an old man very happy.”

Nan slipped outside, then hurried down the front walk to the road. She started out at a brisk walk, but in the end, she ran, the sketchbook and photo pressed against her chest. When she reached her car, Nan leaned against the bumper and drew a deep breath.

Everything had changed. She had another grandfather, and another father. A life here in Ireland that she’d never had a chance to live. Nan opened the car door and slipped behind the wheel, carefully placing the book and photo on the passenger seat.

She’d go home, to the cottage and to Riley, to a place she felt safe. And she’d tell him everything she’d learned. He’d know what to make of it.

RILEY PACED BACK and forth in front of the hearth. It was nearly six and Nan had promised to be back before dinner. He glanced at his watch again. He should have sent his mobile with her and insisted that she call if she was going to be late. She could have had car trouble along the way. He should have demanded that she take his car instead of the Fiat.

“Idiot,” he muttered to himself. “I’m a feckin’ idiot.”

He walked back to the kitchen and checked on the dinner he’d prepared. The shepherd’s pie was sitting on top of the cooker, stone cold. And the bread he’d tossed in the oven to warm was so dry it was hard as a rock.

Riley grabbed the bottle of wine and removed the cork. Maybe getting pissed would make the time pass faster. He wasn’t going to worry until dark. She could have gotten lost or just wrapped up in some interesting spot she found.

He didn’t bother with a glass and drank the wine directly out of the bottle. The sound of a car on the road caught his attention and Riley strode to the front door and pulled it open.

To his relief, the Fiat appeared from below the rise and sputtered to a stop at the front gate. He cursed softly, but continued to stand in the doorway in an attempt to cool his temper. He wanted to demand an explanation but the moment she stepped inside the gate, he strode up the walk and pulled her into his arms.

His mouth came down on hers in a desperate kiss. Was she all right? Had anything changed? She looked nervous and upset and her eyes were red. Riley ran his fingers through her hair, then drew back. “I was worried. Is everything all right?”

“I-I’m sorry I’m late.”

He grinned and gave her a hug. “You should be. Dinner is ruined. But then, it probably wasn’t much good to start with.”

“You made dinner?” A wide smile broke across her pretty features. “That’s sweet.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly make it myself. It came frozen and I put it in the oven. Shepherd’s pie. And bread.”

“Yum,” she said. Sighing softly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “I went to see him today.”

Riley stepped back and hooked her chin with his thumb, forcing her gaze to meet his. “Carey Findley?”

She nodded, then looked up into his gaze. “He’s my grandfather.”

“What?”

“I’m Tiernan’s daughter. That’s why I have his name. After my mother left Ireland, she found out she was pregnant with me. She wrote to him and he didn’t want anything to do with me, so she married my father.” Emotion clogged her throat and tears tumbled from her eyes. Wrapped in the curve of his arm, Nan slowly walked into the cottage. He drew her along to the sofa and they sat, Riley wiping the tears from her cheeks with his fingers.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I never even imagined that this was possible. Did you?”

“Maybe. It made so much sense once I knew. Everything fell into place.” She forced a smile and looked at him through watery eyes. “He’s so nice, Riley. He had all these pictures of me up in his parlor. Photos my mother sent him from when I was little. And he gave me her sketchbook and a photo of Tier-My father. Biological father.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I left them in the car. Let me go get them.”

“No,” he said. “I don’t want to let you go just yet.”

She sank against him. “I never really had grandparents. Not the kind that everyone has. My mother was estranged from her parents and I can see why now. And my father’s parents died before I was born. But Carey is like one of those sweet, smiling grandfathers that you see in the movies.”

“Then you’re happy you went?”

She nodded. “I’m happy I know the truth. It still hasn’t completely sunk in, but I think I’ll be all right.”

“I missed you,” he murmured, cupping her face in his palms and kissing her.

Nan giggled, then brushed aside a tear. “You did?”

“More that you can imagine,” he said with a low growl.

“Oh, no,” Nan said. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to drag me off to bed. I know that look.”

“You don’t,” Riley insisted. “I’ll get you a glass of wine, we’ll take a blanket up on the hill and we’ll relax. Wait right here.”

Riley pulled a quilt from the chest in the second bedroom, then grabbed two glasses. The wine was still sitting on the table by the door. When he got back outside, she was waiting by the gate, a large black book in her arms.

They walked up the rise behind the house to a spot in front of a drystone wall. Wildflowers swayed in the evening breeze, perfuming the air around them. Nan spread the quilt out and sat down, then took the glasses from him.

“Tell me everything,” Riley said. “Did you spend the entire day with him?”

“No,” she said. “When I left, I wasn’t even sure that I was going to stop at his place. First, I went to see Carriganass Castle and then I went to a stone circle. And I was thinking of going to see him and then this man walked up with a little black dog and it was him.”

“What?”

“Right there. At the stone circle. He was there, as if I conjured him up out of thin air.”

“That’s odd. Spooky.”

“I know,” Nan said. “That’s exactly what I said. Even if I had decided I didn’t want to meet him, we would have met. I went to his house and we talked for a little bit, but then I got overwhelmed and I had to leave. I promised I’d come back tomorrow.” She took his hand, weaving her fingers through his. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”

“Sure.” Riley poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her, then filled a glass for himself. “So, why don’t we have a toast?”

“To what?” Nan asked.

“To your newfound family. And to your citizenship,” he said. “You are now a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.”

Nan stared at him in disbelief. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. If either of your parents are Irish citizens, then you automatically are. That’s the way it works here. You’ll probably have to do a few things to make it official, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Nan stared at him for a long time, then finally shook her head. “I suddenly feel very Irish. I’m going to start talking with a brogue.”

“Well, Tiernan Galvin,” he began in a deep Irish accent, “let me teach you a few important things. You already know the proper use of ‘feck’ and its various forms. ‘Bloody’ can be used in almost any situation. But then there’s ‘bollocks.’”

“Bollocks,” she repeated.

“No. You have to say it with more attitude. Bollocks!”

“Bollocks!” Nan said, bursting into giggles. “What does it mean?”

“Stupid. A mess. A hames. Ruined. Destroyed. It’s just a term that applies to anything that’s royally fecked up. It also means testicles.”

“I can’t say that!”

“Shag,” he said. “That means anything that has to do with sex.”

“I know that one,” she said. “But what’s a culchie? Kellan called you that.”

“Someone who lives in the country. Also known as a bogger or a bog-trotter. Unlike Kellan, who is a jackeen. He lives in Dublin.”

“I have so much to learn,” she said.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Riley said. He grabbed her glass and set it in the grass, then pulled her beneath him on the blanket. “I’ll teach you the rest.”

“Are we going to shag now?” she asked, barely able to contain her laughter.

“No. Not until you stop giggling.”

“If we were in the States we’d be doing the horizontal mambo. Or making whoopee. Or boinking. My coworker calls it baking cookies.”

“Well, that’s good to know. If I’m ever in the States, I’ll know what to say when soliciting sex.”

“If you’re ever in the States, you’ll get arrested for doing that. And I wouldn’t come and bail you out.”

“You’re the only one I want,” Riley murmured. He kissed her softly, then covered her mouth with his. His tongue tangled with hers and he moaned softly, already growing hard. Hell, it didn’t take much. A little talk, a few kisses, and he was lost.

They kissed for a long time, Riley enjoying the taste of her mouth and the feel of her body beneath his touch. But he didn’t want to go any further. He’d leave that for later, when they were naked in her bed. Instead, he curled up beside her, his leg thrown over her thighs, his chin tucked into her shoulder.

“I missed you today,” he murmured. “I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

“What did you do before I got here?”

“I don’t even remember. But it must not have been very interesting.”

“What will you do after I leave?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about that. I’ll probably hang out at the airport hoping you’ll just decide to come back some day.”

“That’s pretty pathetic,” she whispered, turning to look at him.

“I know. But now, you have a reason to come back. Your grandfather is here. I’m not so sad anymore.”

“Mmm-hmm. I don’t want you to be sad.” She ran her hands through his hair, then kissed his forehead. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

He couldn’t bring himself to agree with her. In truth, he knew for a fact that, if today were any example, he’d spend the first month drunk and the second pissed off at the world. Maybe, by the third month, he’d be tolerable, but just barely. “Sure,” Riley said. “I’ll be grand.”