Surrounded by Shadows by Mariah McClain

Author:Mariah McClain [McClain, Mariah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling Moon Press
Published: 2024-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Monday, September 17, 1979, cont.

Garret walked Sheldon to his car, but they cut the conversation short because it was bitter cold, and Garret neglected to wear his coat. He could survive extreme cold, but he didn’t like it and he dressed accordingly. Back inside, Garret was once again confronted with the delicate scent of Ruth’s freshly baked pies. The aroma had nagged at him all morning, and now his mouth watered at the thought of the flaky crusts and gooey centers.

He had a serious weakness for sweets, but he’d become ill too often by ignoring his limitations. All he really required was water and blood, but he was fortunate that he could still drink almost anything he chose. There was no logical reason for it he could ascertain, and he’d long ago given up musing over it. Still, if he’d been given a choice between solid food and alcohol, it would’ve been a toss-up.

Garret found Michelle seated at Father Carey’s table, her skirt pulled up slightly and her long, shapely legs crossed to offer the best view. Ben seemed to hang on her every word. When she heard the ring of Garret’s boots on the stone floor, Michelle turned with a look of expectation. He gave her a slow smile and a beckoning nod, and she eased out of her chair and floated towards him.

Michelle wore her sexuality like a cloud of perfume and no man in the same room could remain unaffected. Ben watched the gentle, graceful swing of her hips as she walked away from him and there was a tightening in his chest that came close to pain. He tore his gaze away from her and looked at Garret.

“Hello, Ben. How are you holding these days?” Garret smiled.

“Good, thanks. And you?”

“Oh, I’m grand.”

Ben had never wanted to be a priest, but as the youngest of ten children, the lot had fallen to him. He’d tried to convince his parents that his interests and talents lay elsewhere, but he’d been promised to the Church and that was that. In the beginning, he’d tried to be a good priest, but his heart had never been in it, and he’d finally stopped fighting his own nature.

Ben had spent three years in a Jesuit House in America and only just returned to Ireland. He’d been in Ballylough for two months, but the sense of alienation hadn’t quite worn off. Ireland was his home and he loved it, but he missed his friends in America and he longed for the sense of community he’d experienced in the Jesuit House. His parishioners treated him with the deference and affection due a man of the cloth, but few people seemed to recognize his need for inclusion. When he approached a group, the conversation usually stopped dead, then shifted to a more appropriate topic. He found himself resenting his lack of recognition as an individual.

Garret O’Reilly and Sean Kelly were the only people in the community he considered friends. Neither man seemed to have preconceived notions about him, and they treated him much the same as they treated everyone else.

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