“PADDY!” Hissing as I sit upright, the fear in Trinli’s voice is enough for me to ignore my pain and rush to the front door. I throw it open and barely have a moment to brace myself before she is barreling into me. Her body is warm, she smells divine, her arms tight around my waist as she convulses with gut-wrenching sobs.
“I am sorry,cailin. I tried to save him! I swear to ye, I went for him, but the roof collapsed. I am so very sorry, I failed ye—” I break off suddenly, shock and pain warring as she pummels my chest with her tiny but powerful fists. “I know. I deserve your anger. I did not—”
“You eejit!” she screams, continuing to pound against my bruised body. “You could have died! You could have left me…left the babes…what would I do without you?”
“Trin? I tried to save Darragh—”
“That sack of shit is not worth your life! How could you put yourself in danger like that?” She is upset because I risked my life to save her husband? I tighten my hold around her until her arms fall limp at her sides and she melts into my embrace.
“Aye,a mhuirnin,I am a little bruised and battered but alive.”
“I forbid you to die.” Chuckling into her hair, I walk back a few steps and close my front door. I want to block the rest of the world; it is her and I and no one else. At least for a few minutes. “I am a selfish git; you have been hurt. Sit down.” She pushes me to a nearby chair and fusses over me for a while, making me a plate of small foods and handing me a glass of birch beer. She finally sits in another chair and stares me down. I smile, understanding how she gets everyone around her to do her bidding so easily. She is an intimidating little thing. “What are your injuries?”
“Deep bruising, probable sprain.” I raise my injured arm slightly to indicate. “A few days’ rest and I will be right as rain.”
“You will come to our home to recuperate so I may watch over you.” Her eyes dart to the side, and I know Trinli well enough by now that it is clear she is hiding something. “I imagine in a couple days, you will be ready to come home, however, I want to make sure you are resting and eating.”
“I am a grown man,cailin, I can take care of myself.” There is nowhere else I would rather be than with Trinli and the babes, I just enjoy teasing her.
“Ineedto care for you, Paddy.” She swallows hard. “Please.” My grin drops in light of her serious response.
“Trinli, I am sorry. Truly.”
She stands abruptly, walking around my place and picking up clothes and such to pack for my brief stay. “The only reason for you to be sorry is that you put yourself at risk for a man who would have soon as spit in your eye than help you. He does not deserve your effort.”
“Aye, but I am sorry, nonetheless.”
“And that is why you are and have always been a better man than Darragh Byrne.” She dusts her hands off, avoiding eye contact. “Grab what else you might need for two or three days and let us be off. Riordan is unwell and Margaret is watching the wee ones.”
“I am fine here on my own, if Riordan is ill.” Trinli turns and finally lifts her gaze to mine. My lips part as my heart beats faster when I see the raw need in her eyes.
“Please, Padraig. I just…I need…” I smile softly and nod, understanding what she needs even though she is unable to articulate it herself. With some effort, I stand and cross the open room to stand in front of her. I run my hand over the top of her head, feeling the softness of her hair beneath my palm, and press my lips to her forehead.
“I need it too,a mhuirnin.Give me a moment and we will be on our way.” For a few brief seconds, an inconsequential amount of time, shame flushes hot through my body. A man just died. Regardless of my feelings regarding him, he was still a husband and a father. But when Trinli glances up at me, any shame or guilt evaporates like smoke on the wind. Any title he might have held was in name only.
May his name be buried as deep as his body and never resurface again.
Paddy 10.
Convalescing and idle hands is a new experience for me. From the time I could walk, I have been in constant motion, only resting to catch a few hours sleep. There was always work to be done around the homestead growing up, and then I went to work in the mines, surfacing to eat and pass out before doing it all over again the next day, and sometimes later the same day. Admittedly, I have had a bit more down time here than I ever did at home in Ireland, but helping Trinli and the others around the patch has kept me busy.
In the last two days, any attempt I have made to stand for more than relieving my bladder or bowels, has been met with a swift and stinging reprimand from Trinli. The boys assist by bringing me books to read to them or something to fix or mend, as diligent as theirMuttiin forcing me to rest. My favorite is when Noemi is placed in my arms. Staring at her as she sleeps soundly against my heart has been one of the bright spots of late. She changes a little every day, looking more and more like herMuttiand drawing me in a little deeper into the web the Byrne women have cast over me.
Trinli never stops. From sunup to sundown, she flits from task to task, house to house. Tending hot hearths, gardens, and the sick or injured while still playing with the boys and feeding Noemi. I am not incompetent, but it amazes me when she straps Noemi to her chest, letting the baby nurse contentedly while she does athousand other things that need done during the course of a day. It is a mastery of multitasking that I can never hope to achieve.
And it gives me a terrible cockstand watching her. I want her. I always have, but the hunger, the yearning is painfully intense and nearly crippling now that Darragh is gone. I force myself to be patient, to wait for the right time, knowing that I must heal first and she needs time to grieve. Regardless of her relationship with him, he was her husband for near on 7 years and the father of her children.
She has always been mine, if only in my heart, and I am anxious to make her mine completely. Mind, body, and soul. I ache to join with her, to spend inside her, and bond us in a way that can never be broken.
I glance up at the sharp knock on the front door. Trinli wipes her hands on the towel at her waist as she makes her way over. The other wives and mothers of the patch usually knock softly or walk right in like Margaret. When she opens the door, I am surprised to see Arthur Brown, the superintendent of Magnus Mining, on the other side. He appears as equally surprised to find me sitting in Trinli’s home.
“Well, this works out well. So, you’ve decided to remarry, and days before the deadline.” A grin grows as he eyes me. “Will you remain in this home or relocate to Paddy’s?”
“What?” I ask automatically, confused by his questions. Trinli’s head snaps in my direction, alarm and guilt lining her every feature, before she schools her expression and faces Mr. Brown.
“I have not made a final decision yet, sir, as I still have three more days to decide. I’d kindly ask you to allow me that time to process and plan in peace.” She shuts the door without waiting for a response. I notice her hands shaking before she hides them in her skirts.
“Trin? What was he on about?” She shakes her head instead of responding, moving quickly through her home to the back entrance. I stand, cradling Noemi in my arms, and follow. “Trinli. Why did the superintendent come to your home? And what was all that about remarrying and moving?”
