"Lessons? I have a thesis to write, you know," Keelin said as she sat.
"Yes, dear. You'll have time for all that. Now, tell me about your mother." Fiona looked sweet, but she could certainly evade questions with the best of them. So this was where her mother had gotten it from, Keelin thought.
"Well, I'm glad you aren't dead," Keelin said, and sat down. The bowl of soup called to her and her stomach grumbled in response. Her first bite of the thick brown bread had her taste buds humming. They just didn’t make bread like this in the States.
Fiona laughed. "Yes, me as well. Now, tell me about Boston."
Keelin filled Fiona in on her life in Boston while she devoured two bowls of soup. She was famished. After dinner, Fiona started a small fire in the wood-burning stove and showed her to a small room at the back of the house.
"It isn't much, but should suit you just fine," Fiona said as she smoothed a brightly patched coverlet over pure white Irish linen sheets. The small bed was tucked beneath an alcove that offered a large window that overlooked the cove. A window across the room looked up to the mountain ridge above. A threadbare hooked rug covered the worn floorboards and a small table with a stoneware water pitcher stood in the corner. The simplicity of the room contrasted with the striking views and made it what it should be – a room solely about the world outside.
"This is beautiful, thank you." Keelin felt a rush of knowing. This was her room.
"Aye, yes, this is yours." Fiona looked at her. Sheknew. She moved towards the door. "Sleep, my dear. Sleep. There is much to learn."
Keelin put her bags on the floor and watched the last traces of light hug the water before the sun dipped off the edge. It felt like she had stepped into another lifetime. She quickly stripped, used the small attached bathroom, and put on a short tank and boy shorts to sleep in. The linen sheets were cool and smooth. They enveloped her, and the exhaustion of the day caught up with her. Keelin quickly drifted into a dreamless sleep.
She woke to dead quiet and confusion. Where was she? Disoriented, Keelin shot up and fumbled for her phone. She clicked it on and her eyes adjusted in the dim light. 3:00 a.m. Her time was all messed up. As her eyes adjusted to the room, she saw the bright moonlight shining through the window. Intrigued, she rose to her knees and leaned to look out over Grace's Cove. The stark cliffs highlighted the perfect half-circle of the cove. The ocean glowed to the horizon, reflecting the soft white light of the moon. Keelin loved nights like this. She had always dreamed of sailing in the path of the moon to lands undiscovered. Her eyes traced the light of the moon that trailed across the water and she gasped as she realized that the light stopped once it hit the cove. She stretched up and leaned forward more. That couldn't be right. It had to be a trick of the light or the angle of the house. The waters of the cove were dark. No reflection. How could that be? Keelin quietly lifted the glass window and leaned as far out as she could, her long hair tangled over her shoulders. The cove remained dark. A movement caught her eye. A dark animal raced across the field away from the cove.Was that a wolf? Did Ireland even have wolves? Keelin tried to pull herself back in quickly and caught her hair on the windowsill.
Damn it. She was always doing klutzy stuff like this. As she reached to untangle her hair, her eyes tracked the animal approaching her. With some trepidation, she worked quickly at the knot in the hair. Gasping, she glanced up as the wolf drew near and she realized a man was walking behind it. She had seen that walk before. Flynn walked with the ease of a man confident in his body…in his right to be on this land. She could swear that she saw the blue of his eyes glinting. Keelin looked down and realized the picture she made: her breasts were all but falling out of her thin tank top and she had no bra on. She looked up and his eyes seemed to bore into hers. A small hum pooled deep in her stomach. Her nipples tightened.
Furious, she ripped her hair from the sill and sat back, slamming the window. She could have sworn she heard his laughter. What was Flynn doing out on their land at 3:00 a.m.? And why was the cove dark? Keelin's science mind couldn't come up with any explanation other than that the house was situated at an odd angle. Frustrated, and sexually aware, Keelin went back to sleep with thoughts of bright-eyed men and strange dogs drifting through her head.
CHAPTER 8
The smell of bacon and the growling of her stomach teased Keelin awake. What better way to wake up? Squinting, she saw that the light was mellow and the morning was young. She pulled on an old sweatshirt and her cottage socks and padded into the kitchen.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Did you rest well?" Fiona asked from the stove.
"Yes, Keelin, how did you sleep?" A deep male voice startled Keelin into brushing her hair out of her face. Flynn sat comfortably at the kitchen table, finishing a full Irish and drinking a pot of tea. His blue eyes glinted at her. Uncomfortable, Keelin crossed her arms in front of her chest and wished she had put on pajama pants. Her boy shorts barely covered her. She tried to surreptitiously tug her sweatshirt down while keeping her arm crossed over her chest.
Flynn watched her in amusement. She curled her upper lip at him. What was it about this man that made her want to swat at him?
"Breakfast, my dear?" Fiona smiled at her, a quiet joy radiating from her. She had a full kitchen and was happy as could be.
"Just tea, please." Keelin wasn't sure if she could bring herself to sit down to breakfast with Flynn. As if reading her mind, he smiled and got up, taking his dishes to the sink.
"Lovely as always, Fiona. Thanks for breakfast. Let me know if you need any other leaks patched up." Flynn kissed her grandmother gently and nodded to Keelin before leaving.
"Ugh, that man," Keelin huffed out, and grabbed a piece of bacon.
"Gorgeous, isn't he?" Fiona smiled and hummed as she cleaned up.
"Well, yeah, but he's kind of a jerk too."
"The best ones always are, honey."
"What's his story, anyway?" Keelin asked, trying to act casual.
"Flynn? Ahh, he has quite the story, which I imagine he will tell you in his own time. He's a local fisherman, owns the land bordering ours, and acts as an overall handyman for things that I can't handle on my own. He certainly has been a blessing to me. Surly, though. A good woman could change that." Fiona dimpled up at Keelin.
"I don't think so. That man is trouble. Who walks the lands at 3:00 a.m.? I don't trust him."
"Well, this is as much his land as it is ours. It was a lovely night for a walk last night, what with that full moon," Fiona said.
"Still. It's weird," Keelin huffed into her mug of tea.
"Why don't you get changed? I have some plans for us this morning,” Fiona said enigmatically.
