The Cork Contingency by R.J. Griffith

Author:R.J. Griffith [Griffith, RJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christian Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-61116-469-5
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2015-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

8

Margaret pulled away from him and pushed her left foot all the way to the floor.

“The pedals are on my side, Meggy.”

“Eyes on the road,” she said, willing her right leg to stop pumping imaginary brakes. Her stomach sloshed with each corner he took.

The car slowed down.

The first rays of sun cracked the gray, glassy sky and spread across the stone towers.

Donnell pulled into the empty parking lot and stopped the car. “Come on, Meggy. We’re almost too late.” He grabbed her hand and they raced down the path, past ancient stonework and crumbling buildings. He pulled her to a stop in an archway overlooking the bay.

“We’re at Charles Fort, right?” Margaret said, taking big breaths of air.

They watched the sun rise together.

Margaret pulled her camera out and snapped a shot of Donnell in the archway with the sunlight streaming across his face.

“It’s just as I remembered it.” He pressed his hand against the chiseled wall.

“It couldn’t have changed much since you gave the last tour,” she said, snapping another shot. She stared at the man in the frame. He looked so sad.

“No, Meggy. I haven’t been back here since I was a lad.”

“I can’t be the first person with Charles Fort on their list.” She put her camera back, crossed her arms and leaned against the opposite side of the archway.

“That’s true. You are the first person I said yes to, though.”

“Can I ask why?”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so nosy.” Margaret pushed off from the wall.

Donnell put his hand against the crook of her arm and stopped her. “My Mam. Charles Fort is the last place we all went together before she broke it off with my Da. We watched the sunrise and stayed the whole day. My brother and I ran around pretending we were clansmen driving the British off, once and for all.” He chuckled and shook his head. “We were happy then.”

“I’m sorry, Donnell. If you didn’t want to come, you could have told me.”

“No. I needed to face this place. For a long time I’ve blocked out good memories of her.” He looked past Margaret. His brow knit together, and then he shook his head and smiled it away. “Anyway, your pretty face is a grand distraction.” He reached his hand toward her cheek.

A pang shot through Margaret as Donnell pulled his hand back and turned toward the fort. She fought against the tide of emotions threatening to sweep her away.

“Do you know the history here?” She hoped he didn’t hear the strain in her voice.

“Come over here.” He approached the wall overlooking the bay. “First the Vikings and Normans came. They built Ringcurran Castle here in the sixteenth century.”

Margaret walked beside him as he strolled along the grassy path that looked out into the bay.

“In the seventeenth century, the Spanish occupied it for a time. They tried to unite the chieftains and rid the shores of the English, but the English caught wind of it and laid siege to the Spanish.

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