Colin snickered. “OK. I take it that this goes in the ‘us’ pile.”
Joshua barked out a laugh. “Colin, it’s a white sweat sock. I have no emotional attachment to it, so stuff it wherever you want.”
“Like where the sun don’t shine?”
Joshua bent over his knees, still laughing. “I’d pay good money to watch that performance.”
They had carried the last pile of clothing upstairs and were relaxing on the couch, eating a quickly prepared sandwich and watching TV, when Colin’s phone sounded a familiar ringtone. Grinning, he picked it up. “Hey there! You missing us already?”
“Of course,” David replied. “You mean you’re not missingus?”
“Truth to tell, we are,” Colin told him. “You guys all unpacked? We just finished a marathon clothes-washing session, and I think we’re finally back to something approaching normal.”
“Us too,” David told him. “We want you to come over for dinner tomorrow night. Two huge boxes full of souvenir presents just showed up here. Some of it is yours, so we need you to come and help us sort through it.”
“You gonna cook us an authentic Irish meal?”
David laughed. “I’ll consider making Colcannon potatoes for you. How’s that?”
“We’ll be there,” Colin told him, then tossed the phone onto the coffee table. “Is thatit?” he asked Joshua. “Are we finallydone?”
Joshua looked around him. “Weare. My god, how did we fit all of it into the plane?”
“Practice,” Colin muttered, then stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Honey, it’s 6 p.m.”
“I didn’t say let’s go tosleep,” Colin said with a quick grin. “I said let’s go tobed.”
Joshua smiled up at him and took Colin’s hand. “Wonderful idea, my love.”
* * *
After dinner the following night,the four friends sat in David and Nate’s living room, drinking coffee and sorting items from the boxes of souvenir gifts.
“I miss Ireland,” Nate mourned. “I missDanny.”
“Yeah,” Colin muttered. “Me too.” He held up a lace shawl. “Whose is this?”
“You bought that for your mother,” Joshua said, taking the garment from his hand and placing it on their pile.
“Mm,” Colin murmured. He was silent for a moment as if thinking. “You know, I’ve been to Ireland a zillion times in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen it the way I saw it this time. It was like seeing it all for the first time. Having you guys with us made it an amazing trip. Better than it’s ever been for me.” He shot Joshua a glance. “Uh, except for our honeymoon, of course.”
“Well, I can tell you this,” David remarked. “This was the best trip I ever took in my life.” He leaned toward Colin. “All the breathtaking beauty aside, your family is amazing. I loved every single one of them. They were just so damnedgoodto us!”
“I miss them,” Nate said. “I really do, Colin. I’m ready to go back tomorrow.”
Colin chuckled. “Hard not to miss them. They’re good people. But none of us is ready to live in Ireland full-time, wonderful though that might be. We all have jobs and responsibilities.” He glanced up at Nate. “Butwe’re talking about going back for a week later this year, so…” He grinned and shrugged, “You’re definitely invited.”
“We’ll go!” Nate said, then turned to David. “Won’twe?”
“Of course, we’ll go if we can,” David assured him. “D’you think I’d miss out on a chance to see all my lady friends again?”
Nate threw him a fake glare, and David laughed out loud.
“Well, god knows there’s tons left to see,” Colin said. “We barely scratched the surface. I’ve never seen the Skellig IslandsorBelfast. And I’d like to see both of them.”
“God,” Nate said, his voice soft and dreamy. “The past few months have been amazing. Between Josh getting hurt, and thenAutumn’s Pride, and murder cases, andIreland? We’ve barely drawn a breath.”
