“I’ll be in touch,” Cash said as he turned to go. He stopped. “It’s good to hear your voice, cousin,” he said to Cian, and then he disappeared into the darkness.
I’d been so busy watching Cash melt in with the night that I jumped a little when Keenan stepped up to me.
“What’s your heart sayin’ about this, Princess?” he asked.
“I like him,” I said, meeting Cian’s eyes.
“Thanks be,” Keenan said.
Fiona twirled around, holding up her black chiffon skirt, showcasing her black combat boots. She was excited the night was going so well, especially after the letdown in Mr. MacGregor’s office. I was relieved too. I could see how Cian was starting to lean on me more, and I didn’t want Keenan or Fiona to think I was trying to put a stop to whatever Cian had always wanted. Maybe even needed.
Henry pulled up and we all piled in.
“I can’t get Beatrice on the phone,” he said, sweat pouring down his face. “This isn’t like her.”
Forty-eight hours later, back in Ireland, Beatrice still couldn’t be found.
Chapter24
Maeve
Icould hear the clocks ticking in my dad’s place in Boston like I was there. Each second was in a rush to get to the next on time’s side. On ours, it felt like a breath behind to find Beatrice and her daughter-in-law, Rylee. The man at the pub in Galway was Beatrice and Henry’s son, Charlie, and Rylee was his wife.
From what Charlie had said, Rylee had left the pub first, then Beatrice not long after. Beatrice called Charlie a few minutes before she got to the castle to tell him she’d forgotten something there and was only going to be a minute. Cian had a strict rule about anyone being at the castle without him, Keenan, Henry, or Fiona: not allowed.
That was why Henry was so adamant that something was off. Beatrice would never break the rule and hadn’t ever. Even though I hated to see it, Fiona had a suspicious look on her face, like maybe Beatrice had gone back on purpose. I could see Keenan was torn. He didn’t want to believe Beatrice would break their trust, but he wouldn’t put his head on a chopping block for it either.
Henry said he would for his wife.
Cian stared at me, gauging my reaction.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about this except for anxious. Two women were still missing. They were nowhere to be found in the city, or any of the places they were known to go, which made sense. Both of their cars were left at the castle, but after the grounds were scoured, it also made sense to widen the search, just in case. The biggest problem we faced was how big the search area was. The castle’s grounds were vast and varying in degrees of hills, slopes, and water. The brush was thick in some areas, almost like small forests, and nonexistent in others.
Whenever I looked down from our bedroom window, I had to take a deep breath when my eyes found the lough. I was almost afraid Beatrice would float up. Cian would lead me back to bed before my imagination could get away from me. He’d wrap his arms around me and keep me close, but when I’d wake up, he’d be gone. He was sleeping less and less, starting to resemble the wild man I’d first met. Except for his hair. I kept it in check for him. I thought that was the only reason he bothered with it. I had done it.
The tension of the ticking clocks had reached the castle and everyone in it. Cian stared into the distance while Keenan stared in the opposite direction. Fiona paced, Henry drank enough to start swaying in his seat, face red and sweat running down his temples, and Charlie had his eyes closed, his mouth pressed against his fists, his leg bouncing underneath the long dining room table.
I closed my eyes, metaphorically anticipating the clocks going off all at once, bracing myself for it.
My hand was in Cian’s, and he stood, bringing me with him. He whistled for Argus and Grania to follow us. My husband must have felt the insistent ticking of the clock too.
Maybe we all had ticking clocks inside our hearts, and on a deeper level, we sensed the loss of time against the breaths of life.
We were silent as we walked outside hand in hand, the dogs sniffing around but keeping close. Without discussing it, we seemed to be moving in a certain direction. We stared out over the lough once we got there, until Cian let my hand go and then went to the edge of the water. He took a knee and pulled at a fishing line. There were a few of them lined around the bank. I’d always noticed them, but I’d never seen anyone pull any fish from them.
It wasn’t fish, or even a piece of driftwood, that my husband hauled up, but chunks of gold. They were tied in a way that a few pieces could be fastened to one line.
Cian’s eyes met mine. “Even if I’m not here, you’ll never go hungry, Maeve. You’ll always eat, but not from this lough. It’s cursed now. We’re going to move the gold to another place. A place only two people know of. Me. You.”
“You’llbehere.”
He let the line slide through his fingers, and the gold disappeared underneath the murky water. “It brings me peace to know you’ll be taken care of.”
“Fuck the gold!” I shouted and crossed my arms over my chest.
His stormy eyes met mine.
“I don’t want your money, or your cursed gold. I only want you, Cian O'Callaghan.”
