"What the hell are you doing, Cait?" Shane all but shouted at her.
"I'm catching my breath from dancing, if you must know," Cait shouted right back at him. Her chest heaved and she tried to wrench her arm from his hand.
"Catching your breath two steps from the edge of the cliff after how many glasses of wine? I never thought you could be this stupid," Shane said angrily as he dragged her further from the cliff's edge.
"Stupid? Stupid! Who are you calling stupid? And how do you know how much I've been drinking anyway?"
"Because I've been watching you. I've always watched you," Shane said bitterly as he dragged her across the grass.
"Stop. Just stop. What does that even mean?" Cait demanded of Shane and slammed her hand on his chest to get him to look at her.
"Again? Can you be this stupid?" Shane said angrily. Keeping her arm in his hand, he wrenched Cait to his chest and captured her lips in a blistering kiss.
Cait's brain short wired and all of her senses went on high alert. Shane's kiss was demanding and Cait moaned into his mouth. Taking it as an invitation, Shane slipped his tongue between her lips. Cait shivered as heat pooled low in her stomach and she melted into his chest. His kiss was intoxicating, a promise and a threat in one. She stumbled backwards as he broke the kiss abruptly and pushed her from him.
"Stay away from the edge," Shane ordered and with a heated look, he stormed away from Cait.
Cait held her hands to her lips and found her mouth gaping open. She shut it quickly and turned her back on Shane's retreating figure to stare blindly at the cove. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to understand the absolute rightness of that kiss. Cait wasn't sure if she'd left one edge to find herself poised on the brink of another.
Cait gasped and a shiver of fear rippled through her as a soft blue glow emanated from the cove's waters. Her heart skipped a beat and she turned to scream to Shane but no words came out. Stunned, she watched as the glow dimmed the further Shane walked away.
"That's it, no more wine for me," Cait declared and turned her back on the cove.
Chapter 5
"Look alive there, Ms. Gallagher," Cait's kitchen chef said as once again she found herself blocking the door to the kitchen. Cait rolled her eyes and stepped aside. She made her way to the bar and decided that she needed an Irish coffee to nurse her hangover from too much wine. After her kiss with Shane last night she had returned to the wedding and immediately downed another glass. Shane must have left after their heated kiss and she was spared from seeing him dance with the blonde again.
Cait had slept poorly and what few dreams she did have were littered with images of glowing blue water. She'd woken with a headache and in a surly mood. Cait bent to pull the heavy cream from the cooler and whipped it quickly before pouring it on her coffee. She added a gentle amount of whiskey and hoped that the bite of Irish would take the edge off of her dulled senses.
Settling in at a table by the bar, Cait reviewed stacks of invoices that needed to be paid as well as her inventory list. Money comes in and out it goes, she mulled. Pride kept her in business as much as did a healthy following of patrons. She'd never be filthy rich, but finally, in her third year in business, Cait felt like she could breathe a little easier. Her tiny nest egg was slowly growing. Someday she'd buy this building from Shane and own the pub outright.
Thoughts of Shane hurt her head and she gulped angrily at her coffee. The hot liquid stung her tongue and she swore before slamming the cup down on the table. Burying her face in her hands she took a moment to breathe.
"Looking good, cousin." Aislinn's warm voice cut over Cait and she peeked from between her fingers and groaned. Aislinn, Keelin's half-sister and a second cousin of Cait's, looked the picture of health and Cait knew that she'd had more than her fair share of wine the evening before.
"How come you look so great?" Cait demanded.
Aislinn smiled peacefully and pulled up a stool next to Cait. "Fiona gave me a little something to help."
"She did? Why didn't she give me anything?" Cait said, righteously angry.
"Apparently she decided that you needed to feel your pain today." Aislinn's eyes laughed at her and she reached out to run a hand over Cait's arm.
"Of course, another lesson from the great Fiona," Cait mumbled and then shut her mouth and looked around. It wouldn't do to be heard speaking poorly of Fiona and Cait knew that it was just her bad mood that had her being cranky.
"What's troubling you? I can see it's more than just the hangover. What happened with Shane?" Aislinn asked directly, unerringly narrowing in on the exact cause of Cait's problems.
"God, how do you do that?" Cait asked grumpily.
"How can you pluck thoughts from people's heads?" Aislinn asked serenely. Aislinn had her own gifts. She'd been blessed with being able to see auras and to read people's feelings. Another thing that Cait didn't care to examine too closely. Which reminded her…
"Fiona wants me to come to the house this week to work on my skills," Cait said, deftly changing the subject.
"Ah, and how do you feel about that?"
"I don't know. I feel like…I'm fine. That I'm where I am supposed to be with my ability. So why can't I just stay with that?"
"Because everything changes. Nothing stays the same. Do you think your gift or your understanding of it will stay the same the rest of your life? It is fluid and ever changing. I think that this might be exactly what you do need."
Cait sighed and rubbed her hands over her eyes again before taking a timid sip of the now-cooling coffee.
"Okay, I get that. But I don't want to face this. It scares me."
"Why? It is who you are." Aislinn tilted her head at Cait and examined her face closely.
"But…but, why? Why me? Why us? Why can't we be normal?" Cait asked stubbornly. She struggled with the ability to understand her extra talents as a gift.
"Why would you want to be?" Aislinn said carefully and Cait brought her head up to look at her in surprise.
"I guess that I've never considered that."
"Well, my friend, maybe it is time to think of these talents of ours as a gift…not a curse."
"I saw the cove glow from within last night," Cait rushed out on a breath. Silence greeted her and she met Aislinn's eyes.
"Did you? How interesting," Aislinn said.
"Yes, I think so. Yes, I definitely did. Or it was the wine."
"And what were you doing down there if I may ask?"
"I just needed a moment to step away from the dancing. I walked to the edge…almost without thinking. I swear that place pulls me to it," Cait said as she shredded a paper napkin on the table in front of her.
"I understand. It pulls me too." Aislinn nodded at her.
"It does?"
"Of course. Our bloodline rests there. That is powerful magick. But…were you alone?" Aislinn said, returning to the point.
"Yes, I walked there alone," Cait said carefully.
"And did you stay alone?" Aislinn said with a laugh; Cait knew she could read right through her.
"No, Shane came and pulled me back from the ledge all dramatic like."
"He did? He left his date to go after you." Aislinn cocked an eyebrow and waited for Cait to go on.
Cait blew out a breath. "Ah, well, we yelled at each other and then he kissed me." Cait gulped as heat flooded her body again as she thought about his kiss.
"Did he now? Isn't that wonderful?" Aislinn smiled like a cat that had just been given a full bowl of cream.
"Is it? Because it felt like it was wonderful and frustrating and angry all at the same time. And then he called me stupid and left!" Cait threw up her hands.
"Sounds wonderful and angsty. A perfect kiss." Aislinn nodded her approval and picked up Cait's coffee for a sip.
"What do I do? Where do I go from here?" Cait asked.
"Well, to Fiona of course. Ask her about the cove. She'll know what to say," Aislinn said.
"No, I meant about Shane, n
ot my gift."
"I know," Aislinn said, and rose to give Cait a hug before trailing casually from the bar.
Well, what was that supposed to mean? Feeling even more confused than before and not having any answers about the glowing of the cove, Cait took a deep breath and forced herself to focus on the numbers before her. She'd go to see Fiona on Monday, her official day off. She needed to get her feet back under her for now.
Chapter 6
Cait jostled the bag of food that she had brought for Fiona as she struggled to exit gracefully from her car. Not that Fiona deserved the fresh baked goods that she had picked up on the way out of town, Cait thought. She was still a little miffed that Aislinn had been given a hangover cure while she hadn't received one.
Excited barks greeted her and Cait grinned as Ronan, Keelin's dog, whipped around the corner of the cottage. Cait knew that Ronan still preferred the cottage to Flynn's massive estate just over the hills. Testing herself, she reached out with her mind to scan the dog's thoughts.
"Happy you're here. Hi, Hi, Hi. Play?"
Cait laughed at Ronan and, kneeling down, she wrapped her arms around the Irish setter's neck. "No time to play, but I didn't forget to bring you a treat."
Cait reached into her bag and brought out a pupcake. The bakery made a special cupcake just for dogs and she knew that Ronan loved the special treat. Ronan jumped and did two excited spins before sitting eagerly in front of Cait. Cait pulled the wrapping from the pupcake and held it out to Ronan. He took it delicately from her hand and then raced across the grass to find the perfect spot to eat it.
"You certainly have a way with animals." Fiona's voice cut over Cait and she straightened, bringing the bag with her.
"Yeah, well, any dog loves you if you bring a treat for them." Cait shrugged her shoulders and moved to give the old woman a hug. Fiona, though diminutive in size, had a presence that was larger than life. Known around Ireland as a healer of great power, just as many people revered her as feared her. Fiona had been instrumental in helping Cait to understand the weird thoughts that would pop into her head as a child. In some respects, Fiona had become her real family.
"Methinks it is more than the pupcake…" Fiona trailed off with a smile and ushered Cait into her stone cottage. The door opened directly into the main room and a huge wooden table dominated the space. To the left, a small kitchen sink was framed by large windows that overlooked the hills and Grace's Cove far below. On the right, a small alcove housed two rocking chairs and a charming wood-burning stove. Doors led from the main room into two bedrooms and a pantry. Cait allowed her gaze to trail over the long wall of shelves that held hundreds of glass bottles, steel canisters, and burlap bags. Each one was meticulously labeled and Cait knew that Fiona used these herbs religiously in her healings. Fiona was known across the country for her powerful skill in healing and Keelin was following in her footsteps. Between centuries-old herbal remedies and an otherworldly gift for healing with their hands, the pair made a powerful healing duo.
"Speaking of treats, I brought you some, though I shouldn't have, old woman," Cait said as she put the bag on the table and turned to glare at Fiona.
"Hmpfh," Fiona said and snatched the bag from the table, digging around until she found her favorite lemon poppy seed muffins. "And why am I undeserving of my favorite muffins?"
Cait laughed at Fiona's raised eyebrow.
"Because you took Aislinn's hangover away but not mine!"
"Ahh, yes. Well, sometimes you need to feel the consequences of your actions," Fiona said and took the bag to empty the muffins into a small basket that she lined with a dishtowel.
Cait sighed. It has always been like this between them. Fiona had all but acted as a stand-in mother when Sarah refused to acknowledge Cait's gift when she was growing up.
Cait sat at the long table, eyeing the large pile of wedding presents that were clustered on one end.
"Have you heard from Keelin?"
"Yes, they are having a lovely time on the Aran Islands. It seems that now Keelin has embraced her Irish heritage, she never wants to leave."
"What about Margaret?" Cait asked and reached for a muffin. The lemon scent teased her nose and she could all but taste the muffin without having taken a bite.
"She left today. Though I'm unclear if she is going back to Boston or not," Fiona said.
Cait raised an eyebrow at her in question.
"Did you see Keelin's father last night? He kept to the background."
"I didn't at that. Did she invite him?"
"She did, yes. But they have a lot to work out. But…hm, I get the sense that Margaret may not be heading back to Boston," Fiona said.
"Do you think she'll stay here? For him?"
Fiona shrugged her shoulders and gave a casual wave of her hand. "Affairs of the heart…you never know where they will lead one."
"Does she use her power?" Cait asked curiously.
"We spent a long time talking yesterday. I don't know if she will ever accept who she is though she is starting to come around to Keelin living here." Fiona shrugged her shoulders sadly.
"I know that you wish she would stay," Cait said. Margaret was Fiona's only daughter.
"I do. I love her. But…just maybe, the tide is changing with Margaret. We'll see. But everyone has his or her own path, Cait. I can't force her to find her path." Fiona turned her eyes on Cait.
"Isn't that what you are trying to do with me?" Cait demanded churlishly.
"Is that what you think that I am doing?" Fiona raised an eyebrow at Cait.
Cait hung her head and tore her muffin to pieces on her plate. "I don't know."
"While I do think that the time has come for you to fully understand your gifts, you absolutely can walk out the door right now and go on living as you have been." Fiona gestured towards the door.
Cait felt her heart sink a bit. Though worry gnawed at her stomach, she kept thinking about what Aislinn had said about viewing their talents as gifts and something to be excited about. Perhaps it was time to stop rejecting that side of herself, after all. Never one to step away from a challenge, Cait made a decision.
"No. I want to learn more. I…well, this all makes me kind of uncomfortable. I've done my best to just keep the shields up that you taught me. Perhaps it is time to delve deeper into what I can do."
A wide smile brightened Fiona's face and she reached out to clasp Cait's hand.
"You're stubborn, but I've dealt with worse," Fiona said. Cait knew that she spoke of Margaret.
"Sooo, how does this all get started?"
"Why don't we go for a walk and I'll give you your first history lesson," Fiona said as she rose and cleared the plates.
Together they stepped from the cottage and into the bright sunshine. It was one of those perfect summer days in Ireland, though Cait knew that the weather could change in a heartbeat. At the moment, a light breeze teased Cait's hair and the azure sky was clear. Smiling, Cait took a deep breath and followed Fiona on a path that cut directly across the blindingly green hills that rolled towards the cliffs that guarded Grace's Cove. Fiona let out a sharp whistle and a bark responded. Cait laughed as Ronan tore across the hill in a flat-out run, his ears streaming behind him in the wind. Teagan, Flynn's dog, followed closely behind Ronan.
"Oh, aren't you both the mighty beasts?" Cait called to them as they circled and barked around them. The dogs raced joyously through the grass and Cait smiled after them before continuing to follow Fiona. She stiffened as the old woman led her closer to the cove and a whisper of trepidation slipped through her.
"Are we going to the cove?" Cait called to Fiona.
"Aye, we are."
The old woman continued nimbly along the path and Cait picked up her pace to keep up with her. She really didn't want to go into the cove and wished that Fiona could just tell her what she needed to know from here.
They reached the edge of the rock ledges and Cait steeled herself to look down into the cove. A seemingly normal, and stu
nningly beautiful, beach scene greeted her. Crystalline blue water filled the perfect half-circle cove, and high rock walls hugged the water, shrouding it in privacy. A long sand beach lay below them. It was the kind of beach that Cait would expect to see packed with people. Startling in its beauty, it begged for families to camp out with their kids and play in the water. Yet, it was very few people that ventured to the cove. Too many had died here. Too many had been harmed here. They felt it, she thought. There was no way that the average person couldn't feel that there was something off with this beach.
"Let's go," Fiona ordered and picked her way along the path that switchbacked down the cliff to land at the beach.
Cait hesitated and felt the brush of Ronan's fur against her leg. He looked up at her for a moment before following closely on Fiona's heels. With a sigh, Cait began the descent. She was surprised at Fiona's dexterity on the hike down but she supposed that she shouldn't have been. The old woman had walked these hills since she was a child. Cait watched as she gathered snippets of flowers on the way down and wondered what remedy she would make with them. As they drew closer to the beach, Cait shivered as she felt the hum of power brush against her skin.
Fiona stopped at the base of the path and waited for Cait to catch up.
"Have you been down here before?" Fiona asked Cait.
"Just once. It wasn't a good experience," Cait said mildly. It had been more than not a good experience, she thought. She'd almost drowned. It had been a stupid dare from her childhood friends to run down and grab a rock from the beach and bring it back. She'd been almost to the path when a rogue wave had caught her and pulled her back. Cait shuddered as she remembered the wave tossing her like a rag doll across the sand before somehow spitting her out back at the path. She hadn't looked back and she and her friends had run all the way to the top of the path. Cait hadn't returned to the beach since. One thing you could say about Cait was that she wasn't stupid. Well, at least most people would say that, Cait thought, and kicked at the sand.
"Pay attention," Fiona said fiercely and Cait snapped back to the present. Fiona held wildflowers in her hands and pulled a few stones from her pocket. Lifting them up, she gestured to Cait.
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