The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

constructive route through a problem to the solution. But there were more obstacles, more wrong turns in love than he’d ever imagined. Still, he’d never come up against a wall he couldn’t scale, break through, or tunnel under.
    This wasn’t going to be the first.
    He needed to let the problem simmer, to brew a bit until the solution came to him. The best way to do that was to concentrate on something else.
    He started with the faxes that had come in throughout the day. Since he’d already read over the draft of Darcy’s contract, he put that in a folder. The one thing that was clear, he thought, was this angle. She was a hell of a find for Celtic Records. And Celtic would nurture her. Neither of them had to worry about this part of their relationship.
    He wanted his parents to hear that voice. A tape recording. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He’d get her voice on tape before he headed back to New York. That would at least partly introduce the woman he loved to his family.
    He would take the papers down to her at the pub once he’d cleaned off his desk, go over them with her, answer her questions. She was bound to have questions. Then he’d tell her he needed a tape.
    Satisfied with the idea, Trevor set the folder down and turned to his other paperwork.
    He thought about going downstairs and making more coffee, foraging for a meal. He didn’t want to eat alone, and that annoyed him. It had never bothered him before. The fact was, he wanted to chuck even the idea of work and go down to the pub, where there were people. Where there was Darcy.
    Despite the risk of the storm, he ran his E-mail instead. He knew he should shut the computer down, but he had to do something to keep busy, to stop himself from leaving the cottage for the pub.
    It gave him perverse satisfaction to imagine her watching the door, wondering if and when he’d come through it.
    He didn’t care how stupid that made him. It was the damn principle of the thing.
    The business inquiries came first, as was his habit. He answered them, printed out or saved what he wanted a record of, then shifted over to personal posts.
    One from his mother gave him his first smile in hours.
    You don’t call, you don’t write. Well, not often enough. I think I’ve convinced your father that what we need is a nice trip. To Ireland. It’s taken very little convincing, actually. He misses you as much as I do, and I think he wants to get his fingerprints on the theater. I hope it’s progressing well—am sure it is, under your hand.
    He’s already started shuffling work and schedules though he doesn’t think I know it. I’m doing the same. If all goes well, we’ll come next month. Once our plans are finalized, I’ll let you know all.
    I assume you’re well as you haven’t said otherwise, and busy because you always are. I hope you’re taking some time for yourself. You were working much too hard before you left, punishing yourself because of Sylvia.
    I won’t say any more on that, as I can see you’re getting that irritated look in your eye. No, I lied, I’ll say one thing more. Give yourself a break, Trevor. No one, not even you, can live up to your standards.
    There, I’m done. I love you. Prepare for an invasion.
    Mom
    Did he have an irritated look in his eye? He studied the faint reflection of his face in the window and decided, yes, probably. It was comforting, and disconcerting, to be understood quite that well.
    He hit Reply.
    Nag, nag, nag.
    That, he knew, would make her laugh.

Hurry and come over so you can nag me in person. I miss that.
    Yes, the theater’s going well, though we had to knock off early today. Hell of a storm blowing through. I’m going to have to shut down in a minute.
    I thought you’d like to know I’ve chosen the name for it. I’m calling it Duachais. It’s Gaelic. Well, you probably know that, but I had to look up the spelling. It means the roots of a place, the traditions of it. A very clever woman told me that’s what I wanted in the theater. She was right.
    Of course, a name like that’s going to give Publicity nightmares.
    No need to worry, I’m taking time for myself. It’s impossible to do otherwise here. You just have to look to be, well, sucked into looking some more.
    I’m about to sign Darcy Gallagher to a recording contract with Celtic. She’s an amazing talent. Wait until you hear her. Give me a year, and her voice, her name, her face will be everywhere. It’s a hell of a