The Crows of Beara by Julie Christine Johnson

Author:Julie Christine Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, Ireland, crows, nature, environment, ecofiction, literary
Publisher: Ashland Creek Press
Published: 2017-06-20T04:00:00+00:00

31

Annie had started the engine in anticipation but kept the gear in park when the girls popped out of the Range Rover and headed in her direction. She powered down the passenger window, and a young woman bent into the open space, her dark-brown hair falling straight and thick past her face.

“Hi Annie, I’m Catriona O’Connell, Daniel’s niece.” The girl, sweetly lush, flashed a bright smile. “This is my friend Polly.” A petite blonde with a long ponytail pulled high on her head waved a shy hello.

“Hello, Catriona.” Annie waved back at Polly. “Looks like I’m to follow you home so I don’t get lost.”

“Well, I thought that Pol and I would ride with you. I know the way, and in case you get separated from Daniel, we’d be along to get you sorted.”

Annie looked toward the Range Rover and lifted a hand from the steering wheel in a brief wave at Daniel, who gave a half-smile and a shrug with his palms open, as if to say, I didn’t really have a choice.

“Well, all right then,” Annie said, amused, a little exasperated. Maybe curious. “Climb on in.”

It took just a few minutes of Catriona’s (“Call me Cat, please!”) high-spirited questioning for Annie to understand she was being vetted as a potential romantic interest for Daniel: Wasn’t Daniel the best guide? Didn’t you just love his art?

“He certainly knows the area. What little I’ve seen of his work, yes, it’s beautiful,” she managed to insert in between Cat’s breathless wonderings.

Cat’s declaration—“Uncle Danny hasn’t had a girlfriend in simply ages, even though half the women on Beara are in love with him”—was followed by a snort from the backseat. Annie glanced into the rearview mirror and caught Polly’s giant eye roll. The girl sat slumped with her arms crossed rigidly over her chest, staring out the window in sullen silence, biting her cheek. Of course. Polly had a crush on her friend’s uncle. Oh, the tangled webs and heartbreaks of youth. And it only gets worse, kiddo, Annie thought.

“It’s like a monastery around here. I mean, it’s so not normal. My mom hasn’t had a date in ages, and I don’t know if Daniel, like, even wants a girlfriend.”

“Catriona Margaret O’Connell.” Polly piped up from the backseat, her voice mimicking an outraged schoolmarm. “What would possess you to say such a thing?” The girls giggled.

“So, are you married?”

At Catriona’s blunt question, Annie reflexively curled her left hand to hide her bare ring finger. When had she taken off her wedding ring? She pictured it tucked away in a jewelry box in Seattle. One she hadn’t taken with her to the extended-stay hotel.

“Yes,” she replied. “Twelve years.”

“Oh.”

Another look at the rearview mirror to see Polly’s secret smile at the window.

“Has your uncle ever been married?” The question was out of her mouth before she could think better of it. Annie kept her eyes trained on the traffic as it merged into a roundabout. The answer Catriona gave was far more than she’d bargained for.

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