by Mary Leo
Rain began to sporadically pelt the windshield. If Ronan had any chance of getting the leprechaun out in the open, he better get going or the streets would soon turn into slick ribbons of mud.
“Kasey’s right about the fountain in the town square. That’s the best place to set the trap,” Cathy said as they made their way along the narrow broken cobblestone streets of the seemingly deserted town. There were a few people mulling around, dressed in black, looking grim, but gone were the groups of kids playing stickball on the sidewalks, or the older men of the village taking their daily excursion while they talked of days gone by. And where were the women? Talamh an Óir had some of the most beautiful women in all of Ireland.
Not anymore.
“There’s no we about this. I’ll do it while you sit safely in the car on the other side of town.”
“I didn’t come this far for you to drop me off somewhere. Besides, there’s no place safe as long as he’s free. He has tremendous powers. Just look at this town. It’s completely run by Adhamh. Did you notice all the empty storefronts and all the shoe repair shops? That’s a sure sign an evil leprechaun has taken over. There aren’t enough shoes in all of Southern Ireland to support these shops. They’re all a front for his evil deeds. It’s a travesty is what it is, and I intend to help catch the little demon.”
She pulled her knitting needles out of her large purse. “We need to stab him in the foot with one of these. That’s the only way you can catch a dirty leprechaun.”
“Put those away. They scare me. How’d you get those on the plane?”
“In my checked bag.”
Ronan grabbed the needles and shoved them back in her purse. “I brought a few weapons of my own. I won’t be needing yours.”
“You smuggled in a gun?”
“No. They’d throw me in jail if I carried. I brought a taser and handcuffs.” He pulled the taser out of his shirt pocket. It looked small but it was powerful.
“You can try that. And when it doesn’t work, consider my needles.”
He chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
Though he had no intention of using those nasty needles or allowing her anywhere close to this apprehension, he simply didn’t want to say no to Cathy. Not now and not ever if it meant she would continue to look at him with those warm, sweet eyes of hers. No, he definitely wasn’t about to jeopardize her or her love by doing or saying something stupid. He’d just have to figure out how to keep her out of harm’s way.
Cathy drove the car into an open area, then parked next to a row of four other cars that were all several years old and so caked with mud they looked as if they hadn’t moved in months, maybe even years.
Town center was only a block or so away, and normally it would be teeming with villagers not matter what the weather.
Not today.
“You stay here,” Ronan said, as he pulled a black stocking hat over his hair.
Cathy lifted the hood on her red parka. “I told you, I’m coming with you. Besides, I have the coin, remember?”
Damn.
He’d forgotten she had taken it from the jeweler and was supposed to have given it back to him, but never did. Stubborn, beautiful woman. Now what was he supposed to do?
She grabbed her purse and they both exited the car at the same time. They each walked around to the front of it in the direction of the fountain. Church bells rang out, and Ronan said a quick prayer that this would go well. Somehow knowing the Church of the Nativity was still functioning gave him a kind of inner strength. If the good priests could still have services in the face of everything that had been going on in this village, certainly Ronan could redeem himself and his cousins by putting Adhamh behind bars.
“Cathy!” Ronan yelled as she began to walk faster and the rain intensified. It was getting difficult to see her up ahead of him.
She ignored him, and walked faster.
Ronan picked up his pace to try and catch up. Unfortunately, the rain caused the mud to start moving and the cobblestones turned as slick as ice. He was having trouble staying upright, but Cathy kept on motoring ahead.
Then he completely lost his footing and grabbed the side of a building for support, scraping his hands on the rough wooden siding, almost falling right on his ass, and grateful that he hadn’t. Problem was, by the time he looked up again, Cathy was gone.
“Shit!”
He tried to pick up his pace as the rain began to let up a bit and he turned the corner in time to see Cathy standing next to the ruins of what was once a beautiful fountain with a statue of the Faerie King, Manannan Mac Lir, in the center. Water had once poured out of urns that were placed above and all around him. Now his face was crumbling, his full head of hair had broken off in chunks, his beard was half gone, his arms chipped and cracked and the urns were mostly in pieces. Mud swirled along the base of the fountain and covered the ornate triskelions, symbols of Manannan Mac Lir’s power. Most every surface was covered with a thick layer of dark green moss.
As Ronan made his way toward Cathy, she pulled the coin out of her purse, and held it in her open hand, chanting, “Leprechaun Adhamh, come hither for I have thy missing gold coin.”
And before Ronan could reach her, Adhamh One Shoe appeared as if out of nowhere, and snatched the coin so fast it hurt to watch.
Ronan snuck up from behind, his taser at the ready, but before he could point and shoot, Adhamh, looking as nasty and as green-faced as he remembered him, had jumped to the opposite side of Cathy and said, “Oye, this be not my coin. You dare to trick me?”
“No. ‘Tis real, this coin. ‘Tis gold it is,” Cathy said.
Adhamh hopped around so fast Ronan couldn’t keep him in view. He was a blur of green and red, with only his one pointed black shoe lagging behind his quick movements.
“Nay, ‘tis not my coin.”
He held up his other hand and Ronan knew a curse was coming, based on the description he’d heard about Tommy’s curse.
“Nooo!” Ronan yelled as he tried to use his taser on the beast, but missed when Adhamh jumped up on the fountain’s ledge.
“May ye age a hundred years, and never pass this way again.”
Ronan watched as Cathy’s purse dropped from her shoulder and the knitting needles fell to the ground. He darted for a needle, just as the leprechaun jumped down from the fountain. Then Ronan turned with lightning speed and swung with every once of strength he had in him, connecting with Adhamh’s shoeless left foot, piercing it with such force that the dirty leprechaun fell to the ground, pinned to the soft, muddy earth, the knitting needle solidly through the center of his gnarly foot.
The leprechaun screamed so loud the ground shook, and more pieces of the faerie king crumbled off. The sound of his voice pierced Ronan’s ears, causing him to want to close his eyes in pain, but he remembered enough about lore to never take his eyes off a trapped leprechaun or the miserable little troll could disappear.
“Stop!” Ronan yelled, and Adhamh had no choice but to obey. Once a leprechaun was caught by a mortal, he had to grant his every wish. “We meet again, you miserable son of bitch.”
“Aye. Let me go and I’ll grant thee whatever thee wishes.”
“You lying rat. If I let you go, I lose my power over you and you’ll put a curse on me just as you did on Tommy and now, Cathy.”
“Let me go and her curse will lift.”
“You keep lying like this and I’ll call down Manannan Mac Lir to put his own curse on you.”
Just as Ronan voiced his threat, a great roar came from the sky as the sun broke through the cloud cover and shone on Ronan’s face. Still, he did not take his eyes from the leprechaun. The sound of female laughter filled the air, and suddenly the fountain rumbled and seemed to repair itself. Ronan could hear the sound of rushing water and feel the gentle spray as it touched his face. Adhamh One Shoe cringed and hid his eyes from the sun’s light. Then miraculously the statue of Manannan Mac Lir came to life, and Ronan knew he no longer needed to keep his eyes o
n the cowering leprechaun.
Instead, he stared in wonder at the majestic vision of Manannan Mac Lir in all his regal glory as a beautiful lithe crane circled and landed on the fountain’s edge.
“You called,” the now very much alive faerie king said.
Cathy turned toward Manannan and Ronan could see that her hair had turned gray, her shoulders were slumped and her lovely face was now heavily lined.
“Please, oh great king, help us.” Cathy’s voice trembled and sounded weak. “Help this village. Relieve its people from this curse. Think not of me, but of the citizens of this suffering village. They have endured enough from this evil leprechaun’s black magic.”
Without hesitation, Ronan said, “Spare my love.” He reached out his hand to Cathy. She took it, and he wrapped his fingers in hers. “Remove this curse.”
“Who do you think I am? Some kind of magic genie? Like I can show up and solve all your problems?”
Ronan chuckled. Somehow he didn’t think this deity would be so savvy. “Well, I—”
“Hush!” he roared. “You dare to laugh at me? I can tear off your head with a single whack, or push you into the sea where you will certainly drown.”
Ronan and Cathy took a step back. “Please forgive him, your most gracious. He has forgotten his place in front of you.”
“That is a much better attitude. He has my forgiveness.”
“Thank you, kind king,” Ronan said, feeling a bit foolish talking to what was only a moment ago a stone statue.
The king let out a high-pitched laugh, holding onto his ripped stomach as he laughed. “You should’ve seen the looks on your faces. Priceless!”
Adhamh never looked up. Instead, he stood rock still, not even blinking.
“Okay. Let me get serious here. Cailan Ronan Kelly, only you have the power to restore Cathleen Fian O’Toole to her current beauty. Your heart will guide you. And, I agree the village has suffered enough, especially my sorry statue. That truly needs to be restored. But what shall I do to this waste of air?” He pointed to Adhamh.
“That is up to you,” Cathy said.
“Right answer.” Manannan Mac Lir looked down at the cowering leprechaun. “You, you waste of skin and bones, will give me whatever gold you have left as the price you must pay for cursing a mortal and causing his death. Without your gold, you will have no power and be considered less than a mortal. It shall take you two hundred years to win back my favor, and even then you will stand trial for any misdeeds you may have commited during that time.” Then he pointed a long finger at the leprechaun and said, “You must grant Cailan one wish.” He turned to Ronan. “So, tell us, what’s your wish … as if we don’t already know.”
“That Cathy be returned to her natural age and beauty.”
But Adhamh didn’t say anything.
The king swirled upward and Adhamh went soaring through the sky, spinning as if he were a leaf caught in the breeze. He screamed again, and again the sound pierced Ronan’s ears. “Grant his wish or I will hurl you higher and drop you in the woods so the tree limbs pierce your body in a thousand different places.”
Adhamh yelled out, “May ye return to thy mortal age, and may thy beauty be that of queens.”
“That’s more like it.” Manannan Mac Lir said, and settled back down in the fountain. Adhamh fell hard to the ground, the knitting needle that still poked out of his foot pinning him down once again.
Cathy turned toward Ronan and fell into his arms. He held on tight as her hair returned to its natural luster, and her face lost all the lines and wrinkles.
She looked even more beautiful than before and Ronan’s heart soared with love for her.
“Now, you, Mr. Unworthy to even crawl on your belly, will come with me back to the Other World and do your penance there, where you are no longer a threat to this village or these people.”
And just like that, Adhamh vanished in a cloud of green smoke.
“Okay then, my work is done here,” Manannan Mac Lir said. “This has been a hoot! Love it when Americans call for my help. I get to speak using such wonderful sounds. They seem to trip off my kingly tongue with a tickle in each word. Call on me anytime. I’m not promising I’ll show up, but it’s always fun for me to see mortals try!”
Then he laughed and in the blink of an eye he was gone, along with his white crane.
For a moment, all Ronan could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. Then, slowly, the sound of rushing water coming from the fountain, and birds chirping and—miracle of miracles—he saw some of the residents of the village come out of their homes, looking to the sky, pointing at the renewed fountain and whispering about the Faerie King. Children were laughing and the sky had turned a bright blue.
The sun felt warm on Ronan’s skin as he embraced Cathy, who wasn’t quite steady on her feet. Then he helped her sit down on the now fat and sturdy rim of the sparkling fountain. He wasn’t taking anything for granted anymore and needed to say what he felt, especially as the church bells rang out, sounding as if they were announcing that the curse had been lifted.
“Cathy, I don’t want to ever lose you again. You’re the girl I’ve always loved since we were kids, and I want to stay right here with you and raise a whole houseful of kids of our own. You were right all along about everything. I was just a stupid fool who didn’t want to believe in faeries or lore or magical kings. Now I know better and I’m happy I do. Cathy O’Toole, would you do me the honor of marrying me at our village church? And can we do it right away, while Kasey and Rourke are still here? I think Tommy’s probably looking down on us right now, and telling you to say yes … so will you?”
She sat there for a moment, then a wide grin spread across her beautiful face. “If you can love me knowing how ugly I’ll be when I get old, and after all we’ve been through in the last few days, I’d have to be crazy to say anything but yes … of course, I still have the right to throw my shoes at you whenever you’re being stupid.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
She stood and they kissed just as a great big splash of water sprayed out on them from the fountain.
When they turned to see how it had happened, nothing moved. But somehow the now restored statue seemed to be smiling even more.
“I thought he left,” Ronan said.
“He’s a prankster. We may never be completely rid of him.”
“I can live with that.”
“I love you, Cailan Ronan Kelly.”
“I love you, Cathleen Fian O’Toole. Now let’s find that church.”
# # #
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Irish Kiss
Copyright © 2013 by Mary Leo
Published by Pryde Multimedia, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author and/or publisher.
Romancing Rudy Raindear
Chapter One
Rudy Christopher Raindear opened his eyes in the early morning gloom and glanced at the dark-haired girl asleep on the green sofa across from him. He figured he was dreaming so he rolled over, punched down his uncooperative pillow, pulled the thin blanket up over his shoulders, closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
The sigh triggered the mild headache he’d been nursing for most of the night into a thunderous pounding which reverberated down his spine. The pounding caused his stomach to pitch several times which made him bolt upright banging his about-to-explode head on the low, slanted ceiling. This in turn reminded him that he wasn’t at home in his ultra-modern apartment in New York City, but in his grandfath
er’s partially converted attic in North Pole, Maine, the Christmas Capital of the World.
The now dying Christmas Capital of the World.
The town Rudy and his parents had happily abandoned as soon as he’d graduated from high school.
The town he had returned to some ten years later for basically one purpose: to close a lucrative deal with the executives of Smart-Mart, the fastest-growing retail chain in the country.
The only thing holding him back was his grandfather’s bakery, which happened to be the lynchpin to all the other real estate Rudy had purchased for a cost of next-to-nothing in this fading town. The massive one-stop retail store would attract customers from all the surrounding towns, and probably devastate the few remaining shops and Always Christmas, the local department store. But that wasn’t Rudy’s problem. Making this deal would set him and his gramps up for life.
Nothing else matters.
Rudy leaned his shoulders against the metal headboard, waiting for the throbbing to subside, as he carefully stuffed his pillow behind his back in a desperate attempt for some comfort. If he could just relax for a moment, and not move he was sure the pounding would stop.
The smell of freshly baked cookies coming from the bakery on the main floor filled the room with the scent of vanilla and cinnamon, causing Rudy’s nose to itch. The itching made him sneeze five times in a row, only adding to his complete misery. He so needed water and drugs.
Now!
“Are you all right?” the smokin’ hot girl on the sofa asked.
Rudy couldn’t respond. For one thing, he didn’t recognize her, and for another, his head hurt so much it trumped any form of speech.
The girl yawned and stretched, looking all warm and sexy from sleep then sat up, putting her bare feet on the wooden floor. She gazed over at him with concern on her face, and Rudy wondered if he looked as bad as he felt.
Ignoring his obviously hideous condition, the girl walked over to him. She wore a red flannel nightgown with Santas and reindeer splashed across it. For some reason, and clearly only in this town, Rudy found this angel in a flannel nightgown completely fascinating, even in his nauseous, head-pounding state.