by Mary Leo
And before Ronan or Cathy could say another word, Judy and Sean walked off to their bedroom down the long hallway.
Chapter Four
Ronan turned to Cathy. “I guess this means we’re spending the night together.”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Cathy teased. She desperately wanted to make love with Ronan, wanted it more than the sun in the morning. But she also knew if she did, they’d soon be fighting again over beliefs and their future … not that they had a future.
“Me? Ideas? Never.”
They walked together through the kitchen then up the narrow flight of endless stairs to their sleeping quarters, with Cathy leading the way and Ronan following close behind. When they reached the top of the stairs, Cathy said, “I’ll take the bathroom first, okay?”
He nodded, and gently touched her back as she turned to walk toward the bathroom. A hot rush of tingles raced through her body giving her goose bumps down to her toes. How she was ever going to get through this night was beyond her.
The bathroom was stocked with everything she needed, including white cotton his and hers pajamas. The shower stall was big enough for two. She was tempted to fetch Ronan, but then thought better of it. Instead, she stripped down, turned the water on and stepped under the steady flow. Ten minutes later, as she was rinsing her hair, Ronan’s voice echoed from behind the glass door. “Just checking to see if you’re okay in there. It’s been awhile.”
She hesitated for about a heartbeat. “I’d be better if you were in here with me.”
The door popped open and a fabulously, completely naked Ronan Kelly, in all his ripped glory, stepped inside next to her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“This doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship again,” she said as he wrapped his body around hers. He felt strong and warm against her body and he smelled musky, just like she remembered.
“Of course not. This is just two people filling a need.”
His firm erection pressed up against her stomach giving her a thrill. “That’s all. It’s simply a one night thing. Two friends having sex. Nothing more.”
He moved her next to the wall. “Friendly sex. Nothing more.” His hands slid down her back, around her waist and up to her breasts, gently cupping them as he briefly caressed each nipple with his thumbs, sending waves of pleasure across her entire body. He moved one hand down her right side and found the curve of her buttocks, and guided her leg around his waist, her back resting on the tiled wall. She didn’t hesitate, and within moments he entered her with one slow thrust. The sensation caused her to lose her footing a bit and she fell into him. The physical contact of her breasts pressed against his taught chest intensified her need for him. The warm water running between their bodies tickled her senses. She pushed him deeper inside her, harder, until the force of him was almost too much for her to bear. He began a quick, methodical rhythm that sent her heart beating faster as her breathing deepened and her knees went weak. He must have sensed her distress and supported her with his body and hands.
Soon her entire body shivered with an intense climax. She wanted to yell out her pleasure, but reminded herself there were children sleeping somewhere in the house. Instead, she grabbed hold of his back and shoulder, gently gnawing on his wet skin.
He came moments later, thrusting deeper into her, faster and with more determination than she’d ever experienced with him in the past. The power of it gave her yet another orgasm that was more powerful than the first one and this time she couldn’t help but release a small groan that seemed to originate in her very soul.
When he finally pulled away from her, she didn’t want to move, to lose that sensation of closeness she’d missed more than she wanted to admit.
So, instead, she let him wash her body with the fragrant soap Judy had provided.
Finally, after he rinsed her off then wrapped her in a towel, and sat her on the edge of the separate tub while she watched him dry off, she was able to speak again.
“Just some friendly sex.”
“Yep. Nothing more.”
That night she slept like a baby, but the next morning when she awoke to find herself in bed with Ronan, and all that lovemaking came crashing into her now sober brain, she couldn’t believe she’d let it happen again. That once again she had allowed herself to fall into bed with a man who didn’t believe in his own magical heritage.
She slid out from under him and pulled most of the blankets with her.
“What the hell?” Ronan said, as he rolled off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thunk.
“Oh no, no, no,” Cathy said. “This is not going to start all over again. It can’t. I’m the one who gets hurt in the end.” She grabbed her underwear off the night table, opened the wooden door to the small closet, walked inside and began dressing, pulling on her panties and bra.
He opened the door. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting dressed. Then I’m calling a cab.”
She closed the closet door.
He opened it again. “You can’t call a cab. We’re in Wisconsin.”
She walked out of the closet wearing her panties and bra. By his erection, it was clear he wanted her all over again. “Then I’ll take a train, or a plane, but I need to get away from you.”
He pulled on his blue boxers. “No you don’t. I love you.”
She stared at him for a minute. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” She pulled on her jeans.
“It means I’m not letting you go again, ever. I know that now. And I don’t care what you throw at me.”
She walked up close to him, studying his face. “Do you believe in leprechauns? In Banshees? And how about the occasional mermaid?”
He blinked. “They’re growing on me.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Hey you two,” Judy’s voice echoed up the stairway. “Breakfast is on the table.”
They ignored her for a moment. Then Ronan said, “We can talk about this later. Right now breakfast is served and we need the name of Judy’s friend with the coin.”
“This isn’t over,” Cathy warned, then slipped on her shirt and shoes, grabbed her purse and headed out the door and down the stairs.
“Honey, it’s only just begun,” Ronan called after her, but Cathy didn’t react.
* * *
Two hours later, Ronan and Cathy were standing in room three-twenty-nine at Mercy Rehabilitation Center listening to Millie MacGyver, mother to eight-year-old Sarah MacGyver who, up until two weeks ago when Judy gave her the leprechaun’s coin, the doctors had all but given up on.
“My sweet little girl took a tragic tumble out of a second story window while she was sleepwalking. She’d broken most of her bones, and had sustained internal injuries, along with losing consciousness. The doctors warned me that her chances of survival weren’t very good, and if she did survive, she may not ever be the same little girl.
“Then Judy gave me the coin and told me about its powers. I knew in order for it to work, my daughter would have to believe in it, but the doctors told me she was in a deep coma and couldn’t hear a word I said. That got me thinking. So the next day, I went to a jeweler and had him make a necklace out of it. My Sarah loves to get all dressed up like a big girl, and she especially loves jewelry.
“I clasped it around her neck and told her it was a magic necklace and if she truly believed it had powers anything was possible. Nothing happened that first day. She just laid there. No movement. No difference. I sat with her for the next three days, twenty-four-seven, telling her over and over again about the magic necklace. Then on the forth day, after I’d stepped out for a cup of coffee, I received a call from her nurse asking me to hurry back to the room. Something had happened.
“When I returned, my sweet daughter had opened her eyes and was telling the two nurses stories about all the places she’d been in Ireland. Describing in detail, towns, and the countryside and little Inns. How the faeries had taken care of her and taught her how t
o fly. How they told her she would get better. Ever since that day, her condition has improved significantly. Her doctors tell me it’s because of their medicines and the physical therapy they give her, but I know it’s because of that coin.
“I checked on those towns and Inns in Ireland she told everyone she’d visited. They all exist, only my daughter has never been to Ireland.”
Just as she finished her story, Sarah, still wearing the coin around her neck, slowly came walking into the room with the help of a kid-sized walker, and her physical therapist right by her side. Her little face beamed when she saw her mother. “Mamma, I was able to walk around the entire hospital today. Isn’t that good, Mama? Amanda says I can probably go home in a few more days if I keep it up.”
Cathy knew they couldn’t take the coin. Not when it was doing so much good, and Sarah wasn’t completely healed. Taking it now might jeopardize her recovery.
“Sarah, this is Ronan and Cathy. Ronan found the magic coin when he was a little boy. He stopped by just to see how you’re doing.”
Sarah looked over at Ronan, all smiles and dimples and walked right over to him and gave him a tight hug. Ronan, who had squatted on one knee, hugged her right back. Cathy could tell his heart was melting for this brave little girl.
“Thank you for the magic coin, Ronan.” Then she whispered something in his ear, and Ronan pulled back from her staring in her eyes, a look of shock on his face. Then Ronan whispered something back, and she in turn answered him. The whispering continued for a few more moments, until Ronan finally kissed her on the cheek and stood.
Cathy’s eyes stung with tears just watching the two of them, and she knew tough-cop Kelly had turned a corner. For real, this time. Then, as she and Sarah’s mom chatted about the wonders of the coin, Ronan and Sarah went over to the nightstand next to her bed. Sarah opened the drawer and handed something to Ronan, which he slipped into the pocket of his jacket. He thanked her, and gave her another hug.
Fifteen minutes later, he and Cathy were on the freeway on their way back to Chicago, without the coin. But the strange thing was, right before they drove away, Cathy swore she caught a glimpse of the nasty leprechaun standing across the street watching them, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his one-shoed foot.
“I don’t get it.” she said to Ronan. “Why is that leprechaun still interested in us? Something’s not right. Shouldn’t he be glued to Sarah?”
“No. He thinks we’re still looking for the coin. He can’t tell she has it, remember? As long as she believes in it, he can’t see who has it.”
“That’s right. I can’t believe you remember that. What did she whisper in your ear?”
“Something the faeries told her.”
“Ronan Kelly, do you hear yourself?”
“I told you I might be changing my mind on all of this.”
“Has everyone finally convinced you?”
“Not everyone, necessarily. Just Sarah.”
“Why?”
“Because she told me the faeries told her I would come looking for the coin, and that as long as she kept it, the leprechaun would never find it.”
“Why would that change your mind about all of this?”
“Because she called me by my Gaelic first name, Cailan. I asked her how she knew that name, and she said the faeries told her I would believe in the coin if she used that name. I’ve never told anyone my Gaelic name. Not even you. How could she possibly have known that unless all this faerie stuff is true? It’s almost creepy.”
She reached over and stroked the back of his head, tangling her hand in his thick hair. God, how she loved this man. “There may be hope for us yet.”
He glanced at her, smiling. “But first we have to return the coin to get this guy off our back. Sarah also told me the leprechaun won’t give up until he’s retrieved all his coins. I need to call my two cousins and make sure they’re on their way to Ireland to return them, or this thing will never end.”
“You seem to be forgetting one minor detail. We don’t have the coin.”
“No, but Sarah had a plan.” Ronan pulled out a tiny container of red Play-Doh and handed it to Cathy.
“What’s this?”
“Sarah made an impression of the coin.”
“But how—”
“‘Twas the faeries who told her to.”
“I love you, Ronan Kelly.”
“I love you, Cathy O’Toole, now let’s go home.”
Chapter Five
Three days later, Ronan sat in the passenger seat of a tiny Fiat rental as they zoomed down a road in the countryside headed for Talamh an Óir, their childhood village in Ireland. The car was too small for Ronan to fit behind the steering wheel, so Cathy drove. A chill filled the air, and cloud cover as thick as sludge hung in the sky like an ominous foreboding. Plus, it seemed the closer they got to their village, the more gray the clouds became and the thicker the mist was coming off the ground. Cathy felt almost as if she’d gotten caught in a gray bubble, and hoped Ronan knew the way, because for some reason, nothing looked familiar.
“I thought our village wasn’t very far from the last town. I remember our road being hard to find, but this seems impossible. What happened to the white and green painted rocks showing us the way?”
A thick dense forest loomed off to their left, and the sea to their right.
“That ended awhile back. I think we’re on our own now.”
Cathy slowed down, cautious not to drift off the narrow road.
“This is weird, and spooky. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
Suddenly, they lost all vision. A thick swirling mist engulfed them. As Cathy tapped the brake pedal to slow down even further, the car suddenly felt as if it physically dropped a few feet. Startled, she let out a little cry. Then, without warning, they broke through the gray shroud, and came upon the magical green tunnel of trees and vines that led to their town.
“There!” Ronan yelled, pointing. Cathy took the sharp turn, careening onto the path between the trees, taking some branches and leaves with her as she straightened out the car inside the deserted tunnel of thick green foliage. She stopped the car for a moment, not quite sure she should continue. Then slowly she started moving again, thinking this was probably not a good decision.
“I don’t remember it being this dense with leaves and vines, especially this time of year,” Ronan said, almost in a whisper.
“Me neither, but we’ve been gone a long time,” she answered in a whisper.
“I know, but this looks as if it’s hardly traveled on. The road itself has grown over with foliage.”
“I don’t understand. It’s the only way out to the main road. It’s as if no one’s driven here in years.”
It was almost as though the tunnel vibrated with multiple shades of green as twisted dark-colored branches wove their way under the canopy of leaves. It seemed as if it went on forever, and was as high as the sky. Neither Cathy nor Ronan spoke as they drove deeper into it, and instead focused their attention on the getting to the end. Cathy sped up a bit, wanting to be free of the confinement.
It seemed to go on endlessly, and just when she could feel her chest begin to tighten with panic, they broke free of it and the wall that once protected the tiny village from marauders, loomed before them in the distance like a testament to the scourge that had befallen their once vibrant home.
The world around them reflected the winter’s rain and the rolling hills were a deep green. But the dark gray skies still seemed ominous, and gave off a menacing feeling of evil lurking in the tiny village ahead of them.
They were home, but nothing seemed or felt familiar.
“Wow, this isn’t how I remember it at all,” Ronan said. “The sky used to be so blue it took my breath away sometimes just to look across the valley. I loved this place as a child. I was happy here. Now it looks isolated and sad. A nasty, cold place to live.”
Cathy pulled up the collar on her parka, as if it might protect her again
st the rain and cold.
“It’s the leprechaun’s scourge that’s on this village, and you and your cousins are the only lads who can restore its beauty.”
“Let’s hope the plan to lure out Adhamh works. I had no idea it had gotten this bad here.”
A fine mist hit the windshield, causing Cathy to turn on the wipers which didn’t do a very good job of keeping the glass clean. Streaks of water across the glass distorted what was in front of them even more, making everything seem surreal.
“You didn’t want to know,” she said softly. “Thankfully you’ve changed and now there’s at least hope for the people of our village.”
She glanced at him, smiling, then sped up. “Let’s get this thing going. The sooner we can get Adhamh to show his nasty face the better chance you and your cousins have at catching him.”
“I only hope we’re not too late to turn things around and this works.”
* * *
Ronan knew his two cousins, Rourke and Kasey, had already arrived in the village, preparing for Tommy’s funeral. He’d gone over his plan with Kasey about luring the leprechaun out in the open using the fake coin he’d commissioned a jeweler to make using little Sarah’s two-sided Play-Doh impression. Kasey had told him to get Adahamh to the fountain in the town square. “Try to catch him, and I’ll make sure help is there to do the rest,” Kasey had said … whatever that meant. He’d also learned the leprechaun had threatened someone close to Tommy, Delaney Belough, which was probably the reason why Tommy had decided to finally sell the gold.
As dangerous as it might be, Ronan and Cathy felt as if they were essentially on their own in this one. There was no way Ronan wouldn’t find a way to apprehend Adhamh and throw his sorry ass in jail for cursing Tommy and causing his death, even if it meant leaving the nasty leprechaun right there in Talamh an Óir for trial.