Keelin pulled out her iPad and looked up flights home. There were flights that flew to Boston almost daily from Shannon. She hesitated before purchasing one. She owed Fiona a conversation first. And, Keelin thought, she might have a little more to learn about healing. The thought of fully embracing her healing abilities intrigued her and she would be stupid not to try to learn from the best. Keelin thought of her mother. Margaret had denied what she was and only used her ability to read people to make sales. Part of her was very happy with her success and part of her seemed deeply unhappy. Keelin had to wonder if it was because Margaret had never fully explored what she was.
Mulling over these thoughts, Keelin pulled on walking shorts and a tank in acknowledgment of the bright sunshine poking through the window. She checked the waters of the cove. It looked peaceful this morning and Keelin was determined to take her dive gear down to the cove today and begin some studies of the underwater life. If the cove accepted her, that was. Keelin had been sincerely shocked last night when the huge wave had hit her. There was no possible way that gentle water had turned into a freak wave. There was no science to explain what had happened and it didn't sit comfortably with Keelin. Not to mention that blue glow. Keelin shook her head and headed into the kitchen to make a much-needed cup of tea.
Keelin found a note by some fruit and brown bread. Fiona had gone to the village for some supplies and would be back in the early afternoon. Probably for the best, Keelin thought. She needed a morning to wallow in thoughts about her additional family members and what she should do with her life direction.
A knock at the door startled her. Grumbling, she pushed her unruly bed hair from her face, and opened the door. A large basket sat before her with a bow. She quickly looked up. Flynn's dog sat on the ridge overlooking the house, watching her. Flynn was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was nobody to be seen anywhere. Keelin strained her ears but did not hear the sounds of a car leaving.
"Hmpf," Keelin said. She jumped as a series of yips came from the basket and it upended on its side. A puppy tumbled out, roughly six months or so, a roly-poly black-and-white setter. It saw her and excitedly yipped and ran in circles around her. Charmed, she leaned down to pet it. A note was attached to the basket. Keelin unfolded it and read the words out loud.
"My sincerest apologies if I "took advantage" of you last night. Though I don't think that was the case, I would like to offer you a gift that will keep you company and watch out for you, as you clearly need watching over."
Keelin flushed. She felt ashamed. She shouldn't have said that Flynn had taken advantage of her. Once he had kissed her she had all but crawled all over him. It hadn't been fair of her to accuse him of that and it was clear his honor was offended.
She looked down at the dog. It wriggled towards heron its belly in the grass. Keelin couldn't help but smile. It was a really cute puppy.
"But, a dog?" Keelin said. She knew the responsibility that a dog carried. Flynn was forcing her to make a choice. If she kept the dog she would need to stay here. If she didn't, she was free to go home. Damn that man for forcing her hand. How could someone she had just met annoy her and intrigue her as much as Flynn did?
Keelin watched the dog, charmed despite herself. She was a little pissed at Flynn for forcing this choice on her, especially the morning after the emotional events of yesterday. Thoughts of her life in Boston wound through her head – an empty apartment, her friends, school, the aquarium, and her mother. Her mother would want her to come home, finish her masters degree, and settle down with a nice boy who was either a doctor or a lawyer. Keelin sat in the grass to pet the puppy. He yipped excitedly and rolled on his back, begging for tummy scratches. She smiled at his enthusiasm and allowed the sun to warm her back. It was peaceful here, the quiet crash of the waves a constant song in the background.
"Oh, you're a real pushover, aren't you?" She laughed down at the pup. Keelin thought about how empty she had felt in Boston. Maybe not empty, but just unfinished. A part of her had always felt set apart, as though she didn't fit there no matter how hard she tried. Keelin had experienced more true feelings in one week in Ireland than she had in years in Boston. She felt like a Band-Aid had been ripped off. It was like she had been emotionally stunted and everything was pouring out now. The intensity scared her,yet at the same time challenged her. Keelin rarely resisted a challenge. She imagined her mom's reaction when she told her she would be turning her summer vacation in Ireland to an indefinite stay. She shook her head. That would be a difficult conversation she would have to shelve for later.
Sighing, she picked up the puppy.
"Okay, boy. Looks like you are for me. Let's get you some food." Keelin looked up to see Flynn's dog bob its head at her and disappear over the ridge.
"This is just weird." Keelin shook her head and picked up the basket to find a blanket, a supply of food, and a dog brush. That man thought of everything. A small smile tugged at her lips. She'd always wanted a dog.
She carried the puppy inside and laughed as it ran around the room, sniffing corners and barking at imaginary threats. She hoped Fiona would be okay with their new companion. Keelin dug through some drawers and found a long piece of rope and went to change into her swimming suit. Picking up her fins and snorkel gear, she called to the pup.
"Let's go for a walk, buddy." She'd have to think of a fine Irish name for the puppy. Leaving a note for Fiona, she latched the door and made her way across the fields towards the cove. It was time to get in the water and begin her research. The puppy raced ahead of her, yipping and jumping at bugs. She whistled for him and he circled back to her, yapping ecstatically at her feet. Smart dog, she thought.
"I'm going to name you Ronan," Keelin said. Havingtaken care of that matter, she made her way to the cliff's edge. The puppy stopped at her feet and trembled, looking down. It was a big hike for a little guy, so she picked Ronan up and headed down the path. Ronan licked her face happily and then, as puppies do, fell asleep in her arms.
Reaching the bottom of the cliff path, Keelin looked around for an appropriate spot to get Ronan set up while she was in the water. She started across the sand towards a small tree that was sheltered in a rocky outcropping. She could tie Ronan to the tree and he would have shade while he slept.
Keelin cursed. Stopped. And walked back a few steps. She laid Ronan gently down on the sand and pulled out a few flowers and pretty stones she had gathered on the walk down. Tracing a circle around Ronan and herself, she cleared her throat.
"Um, hi, Grace's Cove. I'd like to offer you these gifts that I have brought for you today." She placed some flowers on the sand and hurled the pretty stones into the water. She tried desperately to remember everything that Fiona had told her about entering the cove. Purity of purpose, she remembered.
"I am simply here to observe your beautiful waters and to document the plants and animals found underwater for my thesis. Research is just part of what I do. I, um, ask the universe and my angels for protection while I am here, oh, and to protect Ronan too!" Keelin made the sign of the cross for good measure. She squinted at the cove but nothing had changed.
"Well, here goes nothing." Keelin hoped that she had made the appropriate gestures and headed towards the rocky outcropping. She tied Ronan up and laid him down on her towel, along with a small hunk of rope to chew on. The exhausted puppy curled up and watched her through one eye.
Keelin pulled her mask and fins out of the bag and made her way to the water. Today would be a free diving day without tanks. Tanks were too heavy to lug down here anyway, she thought. She would need to bring them on a boat if she wanted to do any serious diving. Spitting in her mask to keep it from fogging up, she entered the water and cleared the mask out. Keelin scooped some water in her hand and tamed her hair back from her face and adjusted her mask over her head. She turned her back to the water and walked backward against the waves, bending over to tuck a fin on each foot. She squinted through her mask and could have sworn she saw Flynn's dog racing across the cliffs above the cove.
That's weird, she thought. Didn't his dog typically go fishing with him? She shrugged and rolled facedown into the water. A kaleidoscope of colors flashed before her as a group of fish swam past her. She smiled into her snorkel. This was home to her.
Breathing easily, Keelin allowed herself to just float. She had no agenda with this dive other than to get her bearings, examine the ocean floor, and begin to learn the pattern of the cove. She stayed in the shallow waters and examined some of her favorite things, small mounds of coral that housed the tiniest of crustacean and fish communities. They always made her laugh and she entertainedherself by imagining personalities for all of the small creatures that thrived on these bits of living rock.
A glimpse of light caught her eye, and Keelin turned towards darker water. She could have sworn that she had seen a flash of gold. She kicked with her powerful fins and quickly propelled herself towards where she had seen the glint. In deeper water now, Keelin strained her eyes as the light struggled to reach the bottom of the ocean. Visibility was less here as the waves hitting the rocky outcroppings of the shore churned sand back up. Taking a deep breath, Keelin dove down to get closer to the lump of coral that lay below her. She hovered around it and examined the coral for unusual lumps. Typically, any type of metal or lost "treasure" would have coral grown around it or have a small community of mussels attached to it. It would be easy to miss. Unable to hold her breath any longer, Keelin swam towards the surface and caught another glimpse of gold further out. Swearing, she broke the surface and dove down immediately without checking her position, as she didn't want to lose her bearing on the gold.
She swam further out and the bottom grew more distant. Where had she seen that gold glint? Suddenly realizing just how far the bottom was from her, Keelin gasped. She had unintentionally violated the number one rule of diving – plan your dive and dive your plan. She could see the particles in the water moving fast past her and realized she had crossed into a current. Cursing herself, Keelin popped her head out of the water and could see Ronan barking hysterically at the end of his rope – a tiny dot on the beach. Looking up, she saw the curve of the entranceto the cove rapidly passing her. She was being swept out to sea.
Keelin swore and forced herself to breathe slowly. She put her face back in the water and made herself horizontal. She was a trained diver and had handled rough conditions before. The key was not to panic. Struggling against the current, Keelin kicked against it, trying to cut across the current and not into it. If she could just make it across the current, she would be out of it and fine. It seemed to be coming at her from all directions and she struggled at finding which way to kick. Panic began to grip her.
Dimly, she heard the sound of a motor. Keelin popped her head out of the water and raised her arms in the universal sign for help.
"Help! Help me!" she screeched, and then shoved the snorkel back in her mouth as water clogged her throat. Breathe, just breathe, she thought. She kept the snorkel in and continued to yell through it, waving her arms. The boat turned towards her and quickly picked up speed.
