The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

the beach to look for shells. But you’re welcome to come.”
    Knowing it was bold, she let her hand run up and down his arm as they walked. The feel of muscle—a man’s arm, not a boy’s—had her pulse dancing. “I’ll be happy to fix you some tea, and a bite to eat.”
    “That’s kind of you.” He was a dead man. He caught sight of the O’Toole house as they topped the hill. Though thin smoke plumed from the chimney, it had the general air of being empty.
    Brenna’s lorry wasn’t parked in the street. The dog was nowhere to be seen. Apparently even Betty had deserted him in his hour of need.
    The only choice left was a quick and cowardly retreat.
    “What was I thinking?” He stopped short and clapped a hand to his forehead. “I’m supposed to be helping Aidan . . . at the house. Slipped my mind.” As quickly as he could manage, he untangled his arm, gently nudging her hand away, as he might a puppy who was inclined to nip. Down, girl. “Things are always slipping my mind, so I don’t suppose he’ll be surprised that I’m late.”
    “Well, but if you’re already late . . .” She leaned toward him, nearly into him, in a gesture that even a distracted coward such as himself recognized as an invitation.
    “He’ll be looking for me.” This time he patted her on the head, as he might a child, and saw from the pout beginning to form that she’d taken it as he’d meant it. “I’ll stop in for tea sometime soon. Give my best to your family, now, won’t you?”
    He was twenty strides away before he let out a relieved breath. And what, he wondered, was this with the O’Toole girls all of a sudden? Now instead of a quiet walk, perhaps a cup of tea in a friendly kitchen, and a little time alone in the cottage working on his music, he was honor-bound to go into the village and find something to do at Aidan’s.

“What are you doing here?” Aidan asked him.
    “It’s a long and complicated story.” Shawn glanced around cautiously as he stepped inside. “Is Jude at home?”
    “She’s upstairs with Darcy. Our sister’s having some trouble deciding what to wear to drive this Dubliner she’s seeing crazy.”
    “That should be keeping them busy for a while. Good. I’ve had enough of women lately,” he explained when Aidan looked at him questioningly. “Now there’s the handsome dog.” He bent down to give Finn’s head a scratch. “Growing into his feet, this one is, and fast.”
    “He is that, and good-natured with it, aren’t you, lad?”
    Finn turned adoring eyes on Aidan, and his tail swished with such enthusiasm that it drummed from Shawn’s knees to the table by the door. “He grows much more, he’ll be knocking lamps off the table with that whip of his. Can you spare a beer?”
    “I can spare two, one for each of us. Women,” Aidan continued as they made their way into the kitchen, “as we were on the subject, are always going to be giving you grief of one sort or another. It’s that pretty face of yours.”
    Amused, Shawn sat at the table while Aidan got two bottles of Harp and opened them. He laid a hand absentmindedly on Finn’s head when the dog bumped under it. “You did fair in the lady department yourself, as I recall. And you’re not nearly so pretty as I am.”
    “But I’m smarter.” With a grin, Aidan passed his brother the bottle. “I held out for the best of them.”
    “I can’t argue with that.” After tapping his bottle to Aidan’s, Shawn took a long, appreciative swallow. “Well, then, it wasn’t to talk about women that I came by, but to get away from them for a time.”
    “If you’ve a mind to discuss business, I’ve some of that.” He got down a tin of crisps, set it between them before he sat. “I had a call from Dad this morning. He and Ma send their love. He was going to ring you as well.”
    “I was out walking. I suppose I missed them.”
    “Well, the immediate news is he’s off to New York next week to meet with the Magee.” Since his dog was looking at him hopefully, and Jude wasn’t around to disapprove, he tossed Finn a crisp. “He wants a feel for the man before we go any further on this deal.”
    “No one sizes a man up quicker and more true than Dad.”
    “Aye. And in the meantime, Magee is sending his man here, to do some sizing up of his own. His name is Finkle, and he’ll be staying at the cliff hotel. Dad and I agree we won’t discuss hard monetary terms with Finkle until we’ve got a better handle on this