The Mystic Cove Series Boxed Set (Wild Irish Books 5-7)

by Tricia O'Malley

  “Fiona says she already knows.”

  “I knew it! I knew she knew when she told me to start drinking more milk,” Keelin fumed. Margaret gave her mother the stink eye.

  “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me,” Margaret complained, looking at her mother.

  “It wasn’t my news,” Fiona said gently, holding her hand with the glass up to toast her granddaughter through the phone.

  “She’s toasting you. And so am I. I’m so happy for you, darling,” Margaret said, finding tears had crept into her eyes.

  “You’ll come. Right? You’ll come out and help won’t you?” Keelin said, fear slipping into her voice.

  “Of course I’ll come. We’ll both be there for you,” Margaret insisted.

  “Okay, Flynn is making me get off the phone since he has to get up at five in the morning. Give Fiona a kiss for me. I love you!” Keelin sang out and Margaret ended the call with a sigh.

  “A baby!” she squealed and then blanched. “I’m going to be a grandmother!”

  “Old woman,” Fiona cackled at her.

  “Hey, that makes you a great-grandmother,” Margaret pointed out and Fiona stilled.

  “Damn it. You’re right.”

  “Is it a girl?” Margaret asked, raising an eyebrow at her mother.

  “Now how would I know such a thing?” Fiona stuck her nose in the air.

  “Oh like you didn’t know what Keelin was? Please, you told me when I was four weeks along that she was a girl.” Margaret laughed at her mother, surprised to find they could talk about that time without pain or resentment.

  “It’s a girl.”

  “Woohoo!” Margaret crowed and then stilled, a worried look crossing her face. “So she’ll have a power.”

  “Aye. It’ll be fine. She’s got all of us to help her,” Fiona said gently.

  “You’re right. It will be fine,” Margaret said.

  Except she wouldn’t be there – at least not all the time. Margaret had her business to run, after all.

  She stared into her whiskey glass, Keelin's news kicking around her head.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “Just how often I’ll be there to help her, I guess,” Margaret shrugged and sipped her whiskey.

  “It’s not that bad of a flight,” Fiona pointed out.

  “I know. It’s not always easy to get away from the business, is all,” Margaret said.

  “Isn’t that the point of owning your own business? To be able to leave when you want?”

  Margaret huffed out a short laugh. “One would think so. I just feel like I always need to be checking in with things, I guess.”

  “Tell me something – do you have savings? An investment portfolio?”

  “What do you know of investment portfolios?” Margaret laughed at her mother.

  “I have one. A very nice one. How do you think I’ve been able to give away so many of my healings for free over the years?”

  “You have an investment portfolio? Really?” Margaret asked.

  “I do. It’s diversified and everything. I live off the distributions. I don’t need much to live on anyway – I have no debt.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Margaret said, marveling at this new aspect of her mother she had never seen before.

  “So? Have you saved money over the years? Or spent foolishly?” Fiona asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked around at the lavish furnishings of Margaret’s sitting area.

  “I’ve saved. Yes, I’ve spent my fair share of money. But you’d be surprised how much I’ve been able to put away over the years. I’m all set financially,” Margaret said.

  “So you don’t need the business for money anymore,” Fiona stated.

  “No, at least not really. It’s a nice extra cushion but, yes, I could certainly live off my investments and savings,” Margaret agreed.

  “Then it seems like you have some thinking to do,” Fiona said as she rose, taking her whiskey glass across the room to set it by the wet bar sink. “I’ll leave you to that. I’d like to get some sleep now. I’m still on Irish time.”

  “Sleep well. We can talk about plans tomorrow. I just have that meeting with Jan and then I'm all yours.”

  “I can’t wait,” Fiona said with a smile as she left the room, heading down the narrow hallway towards Margaret’s luxurious guest room.

  “Now, if only I could sleep,” Margaret murmured, turning to stare out of her window at the Commons lit up at night. Time passed as she stared into the night, her whiskey glass clutched in her hand and her future laid at her feet.

  Chapter 44

  “You look tired,” Fiona observed from where she sat with a cup of tea and the paper. Margaret tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled brightly at her mother, though she felt like her smile was probably bordering on manic. She certainly felt that way inside.

  “I didn’t sleep much, or at all really. I’ve moved up my meeting with Jan so we’ll have the rest of the day. I’m just not sure how long it will take,” Margaret chattered as she stormed around the room, collecting her purse, a few file folders that she had spent the night reviewing, and a notepad. Grabbing a to-go cup, she bypassed her mother’s tea and poured steaming coffee into her cup. Bending over, she kissed Fiona’s cheek quickly.

  “Call you in an hour or two. Relax. Take a bubble bath. Or walk down Charles Street. There are some lovely boutiques. Key’s in the Hermes dish by the door.”

  “Good luck,” Fiona called, just as Margaret hit the door at almost a dead run.

  “Why do you say that?” Margaret asked, turning to look at her mother.

  Fiona smirked and just sipped her tea quietly, turning the page of the paper.

  “Fine, forget it. Bye,” Margaret said, hurrying from the door to her elevator. After waiting impatiently for the elevator doors to open, Margaret decided to bypass the elevator. She took the stairs two at a time until she bounded into the lobby, almost running over her doorman in the process.

  “Sorry, Frank!”

  With a little laugh, she let herself onto the street, hurrying past people on the sidewalk, their faces but a blur as she ran through details in her head. Her body buzzed with adrenalin, the nervous jitters making her hand that gripped the folder shake a bit. In record time she reached the front stoop of her office. Standing back, she made a slow perusal of the brownstone building, with red begonias in pots out front and black shutters lining the windows. Margaret had a right to be proud of what she’d built up, she thought as she breezed through the doors with a quick wave at the receptionist.

  “Margaret, I have some phone messages for you,” Katie called as Margaret made her way back towards her office.

  “Not right now, please,” Margaret sang and bypassed her office to head toward the conference room in the back. Pushing the door open, she was pleased to see Jan already working on a laptop at the long mahogany table. Margaret had always loved this conference room. With cushy chairs, a gorgeous table, and an entire wall of windows that showcased the view of the Charles River, it always made an impression on their clients.

  “Morning,” Jan looked up from her computer with a smile. With short cropped dark hair, brilliant blue eyes, and an eye for perfectly tailored business suits, Jan was a no –nonsense businesswoman with a heart of gold. She’d been a pleasure to work with through the years and had deserved every promotion she’d gotten.

  “Hi Jan, how are you?” Margaret asked, moving to sit in her spot at the head of the table.

  “I’m good. I have this quarter’s sales reports here. We’ve outdone ourselves again,” Jan said, slipping right into business mode as she flipped open her folder. It was something that Margaret had always appreciated about her – she was never one to waste business time on gossip and personal life. That was for happy hour, naturally.

  “Tea? Coffee?” Katie asked, poking her head in.

  “Tea, please,” Margaret said and Jan nodded her agreement.

  Margaret turned her chair aw
ay from the table and steepled her fingers on her knee, looking out the window at the river. A rowing boat, out for practice, zipped past the window, the girls cheering in the boat. It looked like fun, Margaret thought.

  “Margaret?” Jan said, pulling her attention back to the table just as Katie came through the door with a tray and pot of tea. Margaret waited while Katie poured mugs for them both.

  “Anything else?” she asked brightly.

  “No, thanks Katie. Love your blouse, by the way,” Margaret said, and Katie beamed at her in thanks before slipping from the room.

  “Okay, so back to these figures,” Jan said and then stopped when Margaret held up her hand.

  “Jan, I’ve been up all night.”

  “Why? What happened? Is something wrong?” Jan asked, her face immediately creased in concern.

  “No, actually, I think everything is right,” Margaret said, turning from the window and taking a sip of her tea before flipping her folder open. Silently she handed Jan a stapled packet of papers.

  “What is this?” Jan asked and then began to read. “Wait…”

  Margaret laughed as her friend’s face flashed quickly from concern to joy.

  “I’d like you to buy out the company,” Margaret said simply, and watched as Jan’s mouth moved but no sound came out.

  “I spent all night reviewing the assets, had a very early morning phone call with my disgruntled and annoyed accountant, and I’m prepared to sell the entirety of my interest for that number.”

  “But…but this is below what it's worth,” Jan protested.

  “I know. But it's still more than I started with,” Margaret said, rolling a pen between her hands.

  “Margaret, as your friend, I would have to advise you against selling for this price,” Jan began and Margaret raised her hand again to stop her.

  “Jan, you’ve been with me every step of the way. Even months I could barely afford to pay you or had to pay you a smaller paycheck in order to keep the lights on here. Not only are you a dedicated employee, but you are a loyal friend. There is simply no one else I would trust to hand my business to. I know you’ll take care of everyone here. I trust you’ll continue to run the business with the same ethics and values that have made it what it is today. The price I am offering it to you reflects all of that. I hope you will accept it,” Margaret said.

  Jan swallowed and Margaret saw a sheen of tears in her eyes. She was surprised to feel emotion welling up in her own throat.

  “But what are you going to do? I can’t imagine you not being a part of this business,” Jan whispered.

  “I’m going back to Ireland. It’s time. Keelin’s pregnant and I have unfinished business there,” Margaret said, surprised to find that the words felt good. This decision felt good; her gut told she was doing the right thing.

  “Oh, this is even worse. You’re leaving the business and the country.” Jan covered her face with her hands and Margaret stood up, moving around the table to crouch and put her arm around her friend.

  “It’ll be okay. It’s only a six-hour plane ride. You love to travel. It'll be an excuse to come visit me. Plus, you haven’t finished reading the contract. I have a stipulation in there.”

  Jan sniffed and turned to hug Margaret quickly before paging through the contract. When she saw the stipulation, she let out a hoot of laughter.

  “Of course you can always stay at my house when you come back to visit. And since it's in the contract – I suppose that I'll be on a plane to Ireland once a year as well.”

  “So is that a yes?” Margaret asked, finding her stomach had twisted into knots. This was a huge decision, and part of her was surprised to find that she was making it so quickly.

  “Are you sure you don’t want more time to think about this?” Jan asked, reading Margaret’s thoughts easily.

  “No, I know what I want,” Margaret said.

  “Then let me get on the phone with the bank,” Jan said, flipping to the back page and signing the contract with a flourish. She pushed it back over to Margaret.

  Margaret held her favorite pen for a moment, looking at the last page with her name typed neatly under the signature line. Funny how years of hard work could be signed away in a moment, she thought.

  Taking a deep breath, Margaret put pen to paper and rolled the dice on a new life.

  Chapter 45

  “I’ve brought lunch,” Margaret sang as she bounced into the apartment two hours later. She had spent some time with Jan going over processes, as well as calming down a tearful Katie. She’d also promoted Katie and given her a handsome bonus to pack up her office and ship everything to Dublin once Margaret called for it.

  Including the glorious painting Sean had sent.

  “I’m in here,” Fiona called and Margaret pulled up short to find her mother in the kitchen, wrapping dishes in newspaper and placing them gently in boxes.

  “Mother, what are you doing?” Margaret asked, placing the box of pizza down on the table.

  “I’m helping to get you packed. You’ll need to decide what you want to donate and what you want to ship over. Is there a service that can come help?” Fiona asked, turning to smile brightly at her daughter.

  “Jesus. You don’t miss a trick, do you?” Margaret sighed, brushing a kiss across her mother's cheek before pulling out two plates. “Sit. You’re about to have some of the best pizza you’ll ever eat.”

  “I’m in,” Fiona said, stopping what she was doing and plopping down at the table as Margaret reached into the box and pulled gooey slices of pepperoni pizza out and heaped them onto the plates. Reaching for paper towels, she plunked the roll between them on the table and sat down with a sigh, savoring the heavenly scent of pizza.

  “I should’ve bought this pizza more often,” Margaret mumbled over a mouthful of cheese and garlic.

  “It’s excellent,” Fiona agreed, looking up at Margaret. “So? How’d it go?”

  “Well, obviously you’ve used your super-secret psychic powers to already figure out that I sold the business,” Margaret said grumpily.

  “Or I overheard your conversation with your accountant this morning on my way to the bathroom,” Fiona said sweetly and Margaret laughed.

  “Fair enough. It went well. Jan’s over the moon about it and I’m moving too fast to let it all settle in. I’ll probably have a good cry on the flight over tomorrow with you but for now – I’m in action mode.”

  “Tomorrow? You’re coming back with me?” Fiona said, delight flitting across her face.

  “Yes, and I’ve upgraded us to first class. I love those little pods that let you stretch out and sleep.”

  “Thank you. Are you sure you’re okay with this, though? It is moving a little fast,” Fiona asked, worry lacing her voice.

  “I’ve always moved fast, Mother. When my mind is made up – I move on it. Period. I’ll deal with the emotional fallout later. But this time, I’m trusting my heart and my gut. Both say I’m making the right decision for me at this time. And even if Sean laughs in my face or we can never be in a relationship again – there are so many other things I can do. I want to be in Ireland not just for Keelin – but for you as well. I feel like we are finally building a friendship and…well, I don’t want to lose that,” Margaret admitted softly.

  Fiona reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

  “Then welcome home, my love. I couldn’t be happier to have you back.”

  “I love you, Mother,” Margaret whispered, realizing how rarely she said it.

  “I love you too. Now, what needs to get done before our flight tomorrow?”

  Moving out of emotional mode and back into take-action mode, Margaret stood from the table.

  “I have a huge pack of stickers in my purse. Basically we need to label everything as ship or donate. I’ll pack a few bags of clothes to come with me right now, and the rest can be shipped over later. Jan and Katie are taking care of it, as a going-away gift for me.”

  “They are good friends.
I’m glad you’ve had them in your life,” Fiona said, holding out her hand for the stickers.

  “I know. I’ve already stipulated that I'll fly them over once a year, so it won’t be so hard to miss them. I think my biggest struggle will be that I am going to feel like a fish out of water! No need to check my phone constantly. I can’t imagine what I’m going to do with my time,” Margaret said, stepping to the hallway that led to her bedroom.

  “I suspect you’ll figure that out pretty quickly,” Fiona called after her.

  “I can only hope you’re right,” Margaret said as she opened her closet and began the task of picking out what she would need for a new life in Ireland. Nerves trickled up her spine as she stared at a row of business suits. Would she ever even need a business suit again? Taking a step back, Margaret sat down on her bed and thought about her dilemma for a moment.

  “Three good suits. The rest can be donated or Jan and Katie can take them. On to more casual wear,” she decided, stepping to the closet to pick out a black, grey, and cream business suit. Laying them on the bed, she turned and pulled open a closet full of her shoes. Groaning, she wondered how she would choose between her favorite shoes.

  And refused to let the worry that wanted to trickle in sway her from her decision.

  Chapter 46

  “I can’t believe I'm here,” Margaret marveled as they bumped along the lane in Fiona’s battered truck on the way to her cottage.

  “It’ll set in soon enough,” Fiona said cheerfully, reaching over to pat her daughter’s leg before pulling to a stop in front of her cottage.

  Margaret had decided to come back to Grace’s Cove first before figuring out her plan of attack for Dublin. First, she needed to squeeze her baby girl. Then she’d figure out the rest of her life.

  “I still can’t believe I just up and sold my business and came back to Ireland,” Margaret said again, feeling a little shell-shocked now that her rapid-fire decision making had come to a stop and the dust was settling a bit.

  “Change is good for the soul,” Fiona said serenely.