Of the Woods

by J A S Bennet

  “Yes, Castle McGrew is well-known in these parts. A very mysterious place it is, even though it is just up the road. There are not many who have been invited to see it. You three must be VIPs.”

  Sheridan was shocked at his ability to stay calm and happy while her emotions were all over the place. She certainly didn’t want him to think they were having a conversation so she moved to a nearby seat with her luggage to wait and try to stop the ebbing and flowing panic. It didn’t take long before the next turn in her life appeared.

  “Hello, I’m Jenny Jaynes. I believe you have a car reserved for me?”

  Jenny’s hair was dyed several pastel shades of blue and green, all flowing freely down the back of her blue tunic, making her look like a pool of water. She looked worn down, no doubt from her long day of travel. Her bestie, Chris, had told her to make the trip, to take the chance on finding any piece of her family that might be left. She’d had an answer for every objection, “You can write from anywhere, Jenny.”

  So now here she stood, waiting to find out if racking up airline miles was the best part of this adventure or if the best was yet to come.

  Aaron’s smile was fading as he clacked keys on his keyboard without finding what he was looking for. “Could you spell that for me?”

  “Sure. J-a-y-n-e-s.”

  “I’m so sorry to say, we have no reservation under that name. We have no cars available for walk-ins. I’m so sor—”

  She snapped her fingers as it dawned on her. “Try Jennyver Murtagh?”

  “Ah yes, Ms. Murtagh. Mr. Nelson advised us to wait until all three of you were present before handing over the keys. Ms. Byrne is already here,” he nodded at Sheridan, “so just Ms. Mahoney left to wait for and then you three descendants can be on your way to Castle McGrew. Excellent.”

  Jenny knew about the cousins Derek Nelson had mentioned to her, but she didn’t think she would meet them before she got to her destination. This was better. “Built-in journey friends? That is excellent. Thank you so much.” She turned with a bright smile to Ms. Byrne to find her thumbing through her phone intently. She noticed two things about the woman. First was her curly, dark-red hair and second was that she looked frazzled. Jenny decided to let her be and just sit next to her and wait. She should probably text Chris to let her know she landed safely anyway.

  As Jenny’s butt hit the seat, she bounced right back up to the counter. “Wait, sir, did you say something about a castle? Like Hogwarts?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Castle McGrew is infamous around here. Not much is known about it, I thought Mr. Nelson was kidding when he mentioned your location. He was not pleased at my laughing in his face, was he?” With a chuckle, he resumed his work.

  Sheridan was searching for Castle McGrew on her phone. There wasn’t much to be found. A few blog posts about failed attempts to capture an image of it from land, sea, and air was all she could find. Mysterious was a great word choice by car rental guy.

  Naturally, that was only part of the reason she didn’t look up when this Jenny Jaynes or Murtagh gal showed up. Sheridan preferred solitude. She wore “alone” like her favorite outfit and made it look good. Silently, she was hoping Mr. Nelson wasn’t going to show up to meet them. He was far too hot for his own good and she was better off not having to battle her rock tongue in his presence again.

  Jenny sat down next to Ms. Byrne for a second time. She pulled out her phone and powered it up. As soon as it came to life, she sent off messages to Chris and her editor assuring them of her safe arrival in Ireland. Chris’s response was immediate. Adventure awaits. Get off your phone and enjoy every moment.

  The bright smile pulled at her lips again. Unable to contain her excitement any longer, she blurted out a greeting, “I’m Jenny and I am so excited to meet you.”

  Sheridan didn’t want to be rude, she was just stuck in her head without any appreciation for small talk and she was not prepared for physical contact at the moment. Keeping both hands busy on her phone, she decided to mention the one thing they had in common, to save her the time of discovering it for herself. “The castle isn’t showing up on any Google image searches.”

  “Oh well, that just means the first time we see it will be in person. That will make it that much more magical, won’t it? What’s your name?” Jenny’s cheerful attitude was bound to make Sheridan cringe from time to time.

  “Sheridan.” There was no avoiding that direct question when they were evidently going to be spending some time together in the next few days. Jenny’s hand fell back down into her lap, unshook. The message was received, they weren’t going to be instant best friends, er … cousins. “I’m sorry I’m not a people person. Please, give me a chance to warm up to you, okay?”

  They both watched and held their breath when another woman approached the counter in front of them. This woman was with a man and they had a little boy with them, too. Jenny’s shoulders slumped when they heard the woman inquire about a car for the Murphy family. That wasn’t the name they were looking for.

  Jenny returned her attention to Sheridan. Sheridan returned to her phone. Jenny’s smile faltered for a second, but she could sense the woman’s weariness from a long day of travel like she’d had. Leaving her to it, she took out her laptop and began a short journal entry to cover what her life had been like since she opened the envelope the delicious Derek Nelson had handed her.

  Just as she got to the rental car counter in her recollections, she heard the name they’d been waiting for at the real counter. Hitting save and closing her computer, she looked up to see a sharply dressed woman. Ms. Mahoney was wearing dress slacks, a crisp button-down shirt, and heels. Who wears heels on an airplane? Masochists, that’s who. Her hair was twisted into a tight braid that laid over her shoulder. Everything was in order and Jenny got the feeling that was exactly how this woman liked things to be, in order.

  “Well, I have zero time for this insanity. Do you have my car ready or not? Time is money.” Ava was not pleased with this turn of events. Instead of him handing over the keys, the man behind the counter was trying to introduce her to two strangers who were evidently waiting for a car also. Why would she care?

  “If you would just let me explain. Mr. Nelson—”

  Ava threw her hand up to stop him as she pulled Derek Nelson’s number up on her phone to handle this herself. Aaron’s smile was nowhere to be seen. If he was any type of food, she could have eaten him alive if he’d said one more word. Jenny and Sheridan watched as the smile faded from his face for the first time since they’d met him. Strike that, she was going to eat him alive regardless.

  Jenny thought she had better stop the murder before it took place. Standing and stepping up to the counter with a nod to the helpless prey, er man, she stuck her hand out. “Hello, I’m Jenny. Derek Nelson handed me a letter and plane tickets from Shawn McGrew. I believe we are all in the same boat here.”

  Initially, the look on Ava’s face could have carved rocks into miniature figurines, but at the mention of Derek Nelson’s name, her lips parted. “Go on.”

  “It appears the three of us, that’s Sheridan,” she gestured to the quiet, private woman before continuing, “are supposed to drive together to the pub. And then we get to go to the castle, a real-life castle, together! Isn’t that amazing?” Jenny’s tone started out calm and ended up like a kid on their first trip to Disney World.

  Sheridan’s eyes lifted to Jenny in disbelief, not sure if she was being for real or facetious. She thought maybe Jenny had lost a few marbles she was supposed to have been born with. Ava definitely didn’t think this was amazing. This seemed like hell, actually. She didn’t come here to make friends; in fact, she would be just fine putting on her “leave me the hell alone” face for the rest of this trip. She was here to take care of business and get back to work. The man behind the counter held a pen above a sheet of paper, obviously waiting for someone to sign for the car. Ava took control of the situation, as she was used to doing. She grabbed the pen, splashed her na
me on the line, dated it, and then took the key out of the man’s hand.

  “I’m Ava, and I’m driving because I have control issues. Unless someone wants to wrestle the key from me?” Ava looked around, finding nobody seemed inclined to do so. “Let’s go.”

  “That’s fine, Ava. I’d rather gaze out the window and enjoy the view than drive in a foreign country.” Before moving from her spot, she called over her shoulder to the man as she grabbed the handle of her luggage, “Thank you.” Then she glanced to their other companion. “Do you need any help, Sheridan?”

  Sheridan shook her head and fell in step behind Jenny. They both struggled to keep up with the clickety clack of Ava’s heels as she strode fearlessly away from the counter, sure of each step and the direction she was headed.

  The three of them had no idea whether they were walking into their destiny or straight to hell. Probably their destiny, but also, maybe hell.

  6

  Auld Triangle Pub

  Ava must have had some kind of internal connection to the car, because as soon as she stepped out of the building she made an A line straight for it. Technically the phrase is beeline, but there was nothing about Ava that would settle for anything that sounded like second place, even in the alphabet.

  “Come along,” she called over her shoulder to the other women, all business, “come along. It will be easier to find where we are going while it’s still light out.”

  Jenny was doing her best to stay halfway between Ava ahead of her and Sheridan behind. Ava didn’t seem like the type of person who was used to being ignored and Sheridan was not the type to take orders. Every few steps Jenny would turn around to give a reassuring smile to Sheridan, and to make sure she didn’t need any help. Sheridan was never looking back at her, but at the ground in front of her feet as she struggled with her luggage and hair, and then when they got outside her gaze never left the green sights lining the concrete jungle they were surrounded by.

  The trunk popped open and Ava lifted her suitcase and carry-on in. When Jenny arrived at the car, Ava loaded her suitcase in as well. Ava rotated it just so and Sheridan’s luggage fit in perfectly. It was like the trunk was a game of Tetris that Ava had spent a lifetime playing.

  Sheridan wasted no time claiming the backseat for herself; having to be with people was easier when she could be separated somehow. A smile graced her lips when she thought of how her parents would tease her about how weed didn’t make her love people like it did for them, but it sure made her think her soul mate was a tree. Placing herself in the backseat meant she would know when people turned to look at her. She went and patiently waited behind the driver’s door for Ava to close the trunk and unlock the doors. What little bit of nature she could see in the distance was calling to her and she couldn’t wait to get closer to it.

  Jenny made her way to the passenger seat. Internally, she was thrilled to be the navigator. It allowed her the perfect opportunity to take in the sights without her vision being limited by keeping her eyes on the road. She could also spearhead the conversation. There was so much to learn about one another. Somehow, they all must be related, and that was amazing, because she had never met anyone she was blood related to before. Derek Nelson had used the word cousins, but she figured that was a generic term and not literal. This was when they would decipher how closely related they actually were.

  In the driver’s seat, Ava connected her phone to the Bluetooth and punched their destination into the GPS mapping system on her phone. Jenny wouldn’t need to navigate after all, which was a relief because all she really wanted to do was take in the sights.

  The car was completely silent except for the man with the British accent who was handing out directions over the car speakers until a few miles away from the airport.

  When there were several miles before the next turn, Jenny started talking. “I was so surprised when Derek showed up in Iowa talking about how I have family out there somewhere. I was an only child and I knew I had been adopted my whole life. It was never hidden from me because I had a single mom. She never married, it was just the two of us until cancer took her away. It’s been just me for a while and then whammy I find out my biological family wants to meet me. I write children’s books mainly about the ocean and sea life. I just love the ocean, don’t you?”

  Ava took a deep breath and let it out loudly. It was clear Jenny had caught a case of verbal diarrhea. This was all way too exciting for her to be able to keep it contained. Ava could tell this was not the kind of person she was going to be able to ignore so she thought she might as well get it over with. “Not a big fan of the ocean, actually. My parents died in it, boating accident.”

  Jenny pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

  Ava nodded. “I work in movies on both coasts travelling between NYC and LA.” Jenny gasped and widened her eyes, ready to ask her all the questions about how much fun it must be on set with celebrities. But Ava cut her off, sternly, before she could speak. “Before you ask, yes, it is exciting. Yes, I’ve met all of them. No, I won’t introduce you.”

  It was clear from her tone that the subject was closed. So Jenny turned to the backseat. Sheridan could feel the eyes on her, but she refused to look up to meet them. She simply murmured, “Lost my parents in a car accident. I teach art in Kentucky.” Then, she resumed gazing at the trees out of her window. Ireland had some beautiful nature and she couldn’t wait to greet it personally. This forced attempt at making her bond with strangers was making her anxiety rise again. The view of nature in her gaze was all that was holding her exhausted mind and body together at the moment. She never wanted to be rude, but there was only so much she could handle when it came to interpersonal communication and she was beyond her limit before she even got off the plane.

  “I’m sorry,” Jenny said again. A change in topic was due. “Anybody have a significant other? I don’t. I’ve spent my whole life waiting for the one and he sure is taking his time finding me.”

  Sheridan spoke quickly, trying to avoid being looked at again. “Nope.”

  Ava’s response would forever be known as the moment Jenny decided to shut the hell up with the questions. “Let me tell you what men are good for, nothing. I have several ex-boyfriends to reference for this. I’ve found that the kind of boyfriends requiring batteries are way more trustworthy than the real thing. My battery-operated boyfriend goes where I want it to go, does what I want it to do, and I don’t have to hear annoying noises, you know, like talking? I can flip a switch and have exactly the kind of sexual experience I need in order to get a good night’s sleep without listening to one damn stupid word. I don’t have to hear lies like, ‘Oh baby, that was so good,’ come out of my own mouth. When I’m done, right back in the drawer he goes and I close him in until I need him again. Best. Thing. Ever. Men only want one thing, and I’ll be damned if I might be growing a penis because that’s all I’m willing to give right now. Who needs...”

  Jenny tuned out the marathon of man-hating and looked back at Sheridan. Sheridan raised her eyes briefly, then put her head back down with a small smile on her lips.

  “...have you ever been around a man with gas? Son of a bitches need some kind of filter on that thing...”

  Jenny tuned Ava out again by watching the cars pass by on the wrong side of the road. Imagining what was waiting for her was making her excited to get out of this car altogether. She couldn’t wait for the journey to begin. She turned her head back to Ava, checking in, and sighed.

  “And that’s when I lit it all on fire and watched it burn. I’ve never been so—”

  GPS dude interrupted her with, “Your destination is on the right.”

  Ava scoffed. “See? Even this electronic man is an asshole. Interrupting me just when I was getting on a roll. Anyway, that’s why I’m done with all men.”

  Jenny was so grateful to the GPS man for ending Ava’s rant, she determined that if she met him in person she would waste no time in laying a big, sloppy wet kiss
on him.

  The Auld Triangle Pub was not drawing people in with their marketing, that’s for sure. The only way the women knew they were in the right place was from a small wooden sign hanging next to the door. One certainly wouldn’t arrive here on accident. They were completely surrounded by a thick forest. From where their car was parked they could only see about twenty feet in any direction.

  Ava hopped out of the car almost immediately and headed for the door of the pub. Jenny unbuckled and began to follow her. Sheridan, on the other hand, walked right up to a huge tree and wrapped her arms around it as far as they would go. “Hello, beautiful.”

  Jenny stopped at the sound of Sheridan’s voice and turned to witness the scene. It made her smile.

  Ava turned around at that moment and rolled her eyes so hard she was in fear of losing her eyesight. “You have got to be shitting me. Sheri, stop with the tree-hugging. Unless you want to share whatever it is you’re smoking so we can all be that high. We’ve gotta go.”

  Ava was the recipient of an extremely harsh look from Sheridan. Sheridan didn’t exactly have the face of a friendly person, but who knew it could look that venomous? Jenny wasn’t sure if it was because she was being a bossy-pants or for the name-calling. Either way, Jenny knew she didn’t want to ever be on the receiving end of that look. It was even scarier than it was shocking.

  “Please don’t call me that. Ever.” Even as she said it, she let go of the tree and met the others at the door. Ava wasn’t used to people giving her orders. She shrugged it off intent to get inside and settle things as soon as possible.

  Inside, it was nearly empty. It looked exactly as an Irish pub should, complete with an overdressed old man in the corner. There were dark worn woods, a peat-burning fireplace, and lively music softly playing from the overhead speakers. The bartender’s back was turned as he wiped down a table and greeted them, “How’s the form?” His “form” looked mighty fine to Sheridan from where she stood.