Straight Up

by Deirdre Martin

  He regarded his wife seriously. “Are you absolutely sure you'll be able to handle PJ being around in the summer?”

  “I thought about that. It's not as if he's going to be living in the house with us. He'll have his own place, and he'll be down there writing. He can walk into town or ride a bike. And it is only for the summers.”

  “Hypothetical: what if he decided he wanted to move here full-time?”

  Aislinn bit her lower lip. "Well, again, he's in his own place, with his own land ....

  “I'm not saying he would,” Liam was quick to assure her. “The guy's a lifelong New Yorker. But I thought it was worth mentioning.”

  “I guess we'll cross that bridge if we come to it.” Aislinn stood, straightening out her jacket. “I'll talk to Nora when she gets in.”

  “Need backup?”

  “I think you should make yourself scarce. Otherwise, she'll feel like we're ganging upon her.”

  Liam stood, checking his watch. “Shit. I'm going to be late for work. Any chance of you popping in tonight?”

  “Sure thing. I have to keep an eye on you, make sure you don't flirt with the ladies, especially after PJ revealed what a bad boy you are.”

  “Yeah that's me,“ said Liam dryly. ”Bad to the bone.“ He kissed her nose. ”See you later. Love you."

  Me, too, said Aislinn as he started out of the barn. Back outside as the sun began to set, PJ's words came back to him: You're lucky to be surrounded by all this. You realize that, don't you? Liam knew it rationally, but after spending the day in the car with PJ, his head was filled with images of home, remembered sights, remembered sounds, and the fear that he might never see any of it again. It could happen. It wasn't likely, but it could. He made the thought vanish as he ran inside to take a quick shower, then headed off for work.

  *****

  Aislinn couldn't believe she was nervous about talking to Nora. Nora. She didn't know what the hell she would do if her sister dug her heels in. She imagined years worth of tension ... it would be hell.

  Nora arrived midmorning. Aislinn was in the high north meadow when she saw the cab pull up, and she involuntarily held her breath, waiting to see if Donald followed her out of the back of the taxi. He didn't. Relieved, she left Alec in charge and went down to the house to talk to her sister, feeling mildly nauseous.

  Nora was in the kitchen, unpacking groceries. Hell on a stick thought Aislinn. She's planning to be here awhile. Well, I can deal with it Especially if she does the sensible thing.

  “Good morning,” said Aislinn pleasantly. “How was your flight? And the ride up from Cork?”

  “The flight was fine, but the cab ride was hell. The cabbie would not shut up. I got to hear his whole life story! I finally told him I had a headache, and he left me alone.”

  Aislinn wanted to shoot back, “Oh, that bodes well for someone who wants to run a B and B. You think the guests won't be chatty? What are you planning to do? Put up 'Don't Talk to the Hostess Unless Absolutely Necessary' signs in all the bedrooms?” But she held her tongue.

  “How's Donald?” she asked.

  “Stressed,” Nora replied, putting two tins of caviar in the fridge. She gave Aislinn a pointed look. “In dire need of a career change.”

  “That could be arranged.”

  A look of cautious hopefulness jumped across Nora's face. “You changed your mind'?”

  “Nooo,” Aislinn said slowly, rocking on her heels, "but a very viable alternative has presented itself that could make both of us happy.

  Nora looked dubious as she put the last of the groceries away and put up some of her beloved gourmet coffee in the coffeemaker. "I'm all ears.

  “You know that writer friend of Liam's? PJ? The one who did a reading here and whose book is a big success?”

  Nora scrunched up her nose. “That talking salmon book?”

  “Yeah.” “What about him?”

  “Li and I had him up here for dinner. Long story short, he wants to buy Padraig's cottage and the land around it. I had Carole Brown up here to give me an estimate of how much we could get. It's out of this world, Nora. Truly.” She named the price, avidly watching her sister's face transform from doubtful to amazement.

  "You're joking.

  Aislinn put her hand over her heart. “Swear to God.”

  Nora slowly sat down at the kitchen table. Aislinn could practically hear the wheels spinning in her head as she stared into Aislinn's eyes. “So... we can split the money and -”

  “I'll give you the whole thing if you drop the B and B idea.”

  Nora looked stunned. “What?”

  “You can have it all. It's more than enough to open a B and B somewhere in England.”

  “And what do you get?”

  “The farm. You sign over your claim to the property to me.”

  “And where does that leave me if you decide to sell it?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you? This is my home. This is my livelihood. I have no intention of ever selling the farm.” Aislinn couldn't contain her excitement. “We'd both get what we want, Nora.”

  Nora looked dubious. This is so sudden.

  “I know. I know. It's like it dropped right into our laps.”

  “You'd really be willing to let this guy live in Padraig's cottage?”

  “He only wants it for the summers.” Aislinn clasped her hands together imploringly. “Please tell me you'll consider it. Please,”

  “I need to talk to Donald about it.”

  “Yes, of course.” “What does Liam think?”

  “He thinks it's perfect. Perfect”

  Nora peered intently at the coffeemaker. “Does Liam know you've no intention of ever leaving here?”

  Aislinn was caught off guard. “I - well, we've never talked about it. but it's pretty obvious, isn't it?” She was too impatient to think about all that right now. “Talk to Donald. ASAP if you can.”

  “Can I have a cup of coffee first?” Nora asked dryly, but her expression was amused.

  “Sorry,” Aislinn murmured.

  “Go back out to work,” said Nora. “We'll talk at lunch. I promise.”

  “Grand.”

  Aislinn practically danced out the door. Maybe it was nothing more than wishful thinking, but she had a good feeling about this.

  Straight Up

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  ************************************************************************************************

  “Admit it: you'll miss me a teeny bit.”

  Aislinn smiled at Nora's gentle ribbing as they strolled the farm arm in arm. They'd closed on the sale of the cottage and land that morning. Aislinn felt a huge weight lift off her back when PJ Leary's solicitor handed a bank check for the full amount to Nora. Nora then signed a document prepared by Aislinn's solicitor, giving over her half ownership of the farm to Aislinn. Things felt right between them, finally. They were both getting what they wanted.

  Aislinn squeezed her sister's hand. “Of course I'll admit it.”

  “I owe you an apology,” Nora said quietly.

  Aislinn looked at her, surprised. “What's that?”

  “You were right: it was selfish and insensitive of me to try to persuade you to turn this place into a B and B. This is your home; it was wrong of me to come over from England and try to throw my weight around.”

  “Thank you,” said Aislinn, choking up.

  “You were also right about something else, too,” said Nora, exaggeratedly sidestepping a small patch of muddy grass even though she was wearing a pair of wellies. Nature girl you 're not, Aislinn thought to herself with amusement.

  “Yes?”

  “The B and B? It is a pure escape fantasy. Who are we kidding? Donald and I are the last two people cut out for the hospitality industry. Imagine the first time someone asked us to get up extra early to cook them breakfast because they needed to leave for some reason. We'd lose two customers right there. We'd be so resentful they'd never come back.”

/>   Aislinn laughed loudly. “I have this image of you banging plates around the kitchen, cursing to yourself”

  “And Donald throwing the plates down in front of the guests, snarling, 'There you go,' ”Nora joined in with a giggle.

  “What happens next for you two, then?”

  “We might use some of the money to live off while Donald figures out what he'd really like to do.”

  “And you? What do you want?”

  Nora sighed heavily. hI don't know. For now, I'm going to keep on teaching. But if I get fed up, there's enough money there for me to take a break as well.

  “I'm glad. Well, I have big plans, too,” Aislinn boasted.

  “What's that?”

  “I'm going to buy two new ewes.”

  “That's very exciting,” Nora teased.

  “I know.”

  Nora slowed to a halt. “I love you, Aislinn.”

  The sisters embraced.

  “I love you too, Nora.”

  Nora looked wistful as Aislinn released her. “I suppose I should pack.”

  “Liam will drive you down to Cork tomorrow morning.”

  “Are you sure? I know he gets in late.”

  “It was his idea, actually.”

  “He's a good man. Aislinn. I'm glad you found each other.”

  “Me, too,” said Aislinn contentedly. Every time she thought of her husband, she felt a small thrill. She'd heard that the romance of the early years of marriage eventually transformed into something deeper and less passionate, but she couldn't imagine not feeling that little pinch of ardor whenever she thought of Liam. Her mother once told her that she developed a renewed crush on her father every spring, because “spring is when a young girl's fancy turned to romance, and I always feel like a young girl when I'm with your father.” Too much information, Aislinn had thought when she was younger. Now she thought it was lovely.

  She and Nora started back toward the house.

  “Do you think Liam will eventually work the farm with you?” Nora asked.

  “I think the Oak is more to his liking. He needs to be around people a lot more than I do. If he spends too much time alone, he gets crabby.”

  Nora chuckled. “The exact opposite of someone else I know.”

  Aislinn grinned. “Chalk and cheese, as mum used to say.”

  “They would have loved him.”

  Aislinn sighed. “I know.”

  “When do you think you'll meet his parents?”

  Aislinn hesitated. “I don't know. There's talk of them coming over at Christmas, which would be lovely.”

  “And the rest of his family?”

  “I'm not sure any of them have the money right now, apart from his sister Sinead, who's a lawyer. His sister Maggie just had a baby, a little boy named Charlie, named after Liam's dad. He's a gorgeous little thing. It's so nice being able to upload pictures on the computer and send them back and forth.” Her mood deflated a bit. “Liam's a bit depressed right now about not being in New York. He's sad he's going to miss the baby's christening.”

  “It must be tough on him.” Nora murmured sympathetically.

  “It is. But they all e-mail back and forth and the like, and he does speak with his parents and brother at least once a week. That helps a bit. At least I hope it does,”

  Nora glanced at her tentatively. “Any chance of you and Liam visiting us in London?”

  “Maybe,” said Aislinn, even though the thought made her groan inwardly. She'd not liked London the one time she was there. Then again, it was a while ago, and Liam had never been to London.

  They'd reached the house. Standing outside the mudroom, Aislinn tilted her head in the direction of the pasture across the street. “I best get back to Alec and Deenie. They've been holding down the fort all alone all morning.”

  Nora paused introspectively. “It's all worked out the way it was supposed to, hasn't it?”

  “It has,” Aislinn agreed, surprised to find herself getting a little tearful. If anyone had told her a year ago that she'd recover from her broken heart to find herself married - to a Yank, yet! - she would have told them to go chase themselves. Yet here she was, madly in love, owner of the family farm, and slowly healing her relationship with her sister despite some rough patches. She wasn't a big one for prayer, but tonight before she fell asleep, she intended to give thanks for her wonderful life.

  *****

  What the hell is going on? Liam wondered as he finished up work for the night. Twice during the evening, Quinn had texted him, writing to tell him to call when he got the chance. He knew Jack would have let him take a break to make a call, but if it was bad news, he didn't want to know in the middle of his shift. Better to wait until the night was done.

  It was close to 1 a.m. when he locked up the Oak and headed out to his motorcycle. That meant it was 7 p.m. in New York. As soon as he reached the parking lot, he called Quinn, who answered on the first ring. Liam steeled himself.

  “Hey. What's up?”

  “You sitting down?”

  “No, I'm sitting on my bike worried sick that Dad's dead.”

  Quinn clucked his tongue. “Why do you always assume I'm calling with bad news?”

  “Gee I don't know, maybe because I was forced to leave the country so I didn't get killed?" Liam replied acidly. You can come home.

  Liam was silent.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yeah, I heard you.”

  Liam closed his eyes. He'd always thought that when he got the green light to go back to Manhattan, he'd be overjoyed. Instead, he felt sick to his stomach.

  “Li?”

  “I'm just trying to process this,” he managed. Aislinn. What the hell was he going to tell Aislinn? What the hell were they going to do? Shit, they really should have talked about this rather than telling themselves that somehow, things would work out. The truth was, Liam had thought he wouldn't have to deal with this for years.

  “What happened?” he made himself say.

  “The Major got a message that you're out of danger.”

  “What about Whitey?”

  “He's dead,” Quinn said with a tinge of glee in his voice. “Had a heart attack in prison. The Major got word that since Whitey didn't have kids, and everyone in his crew is either in jail or on the outs with the rest of the Mob, you're in the clear.” Quinn paused. “I know this complicates things for you.”

  Liam laughed bitterly. “That's putting it lightly.”

  “Talk to her.”

  “Obviously.”

  "Dad is really champing at the bit to have you back behind the bar. Uncle Jimmy is driving him nuts.

  "You're not helping here, Liam snapped.

  “Sorry. It's just the thought of having you back... it would be great, Li.” Quinn's voice was cracking with emotion.

  Liam closed his eyes. “I'm exhausted from work, Quinn. I can't even -”

  “I understand. Talk to your wife, figure things out.”

  “Right.” Liam rubbed his right temple. "Look, can you do me a favor.”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Ask Mom and Dad not to start bombarding me with phone calls, because you know they will, and the pressure will make me want to blow my brains out. And tell them I don't want them pressuring me through Uncle Paul and Aunt Bridget, either.” He paused. “What would you do if you were me, Quinn?”

  “I always go with my gut,” Quinn said softly.

  “My gut's a confused mess right now,” Liam said miserably.

  "Go home. We'll talk soon. Love you, Bro.

  Liam felt his eyes fill. “Love you, too. Give my love to Nat.”

  “And mine to Aislinn. Bye now.”

  “Bye.”

  Liam sat on his motorcycle, unable to move. How, he wondered, could he feel numb and overwhelmed at the same time? Why now? Then he thought: Would this happening years from now make any difference? You'd still be facing the same dilemma. Maybe he and Aislinn shouldn't have gotten married. But the heart wants
what it wants, and his wanted her. The only problem was, his heart yearned for home, too.

  Liam put on his helmet and started up his bike. If Igo back to New York Ill have to sell my motorcycle, he thought idiotically. He took a deep breath of the cool night air, hoping it might help slow his galloping thoughts. It didn't. By the time he got home, he was still wound up. He crept up to bed. Aislinn was fast asleep. The sight of her tortured him, and rather than lying beside her, tossing and turning, waking her, he went down to the living room and curled up on the couch, praying that sleep would eventually come.

  Straight Up

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  ************************************************************************************************

  Aislinn never needed an alarm clock. After years of getting up at the same time - 4:30 a.m. - her body instinctively knew when to wake. But since her marriage, she sometimes found herself wishing she could linger between the sheets just a little while longer, so she could wrap herself around her gorgeous, sleeping husband. This morning, like all mornings, she went to give him a soft kiss on the cheek before quietly padding downstairs to make her breakfast. She was shocked to find his side of the bed empty.

  He was probably sleeping at his old flat above the Oak. They'd agreed that if he stayed after closing time to hoist a few drinks. Liam wouldn't put himself - or anyone else - in peril by driving home. But she was shocked to come downstairs and find him dozing on the couch. Perhaps Deenie had been hogging the bed. Sometimes Aislinn would find Liam clinging to the edge of the mattress while Deenie stretched out beside her in what she clearly felt was still her rightful place.

  Aislinn crept across the hall into the kitchen, putting up the coffee as quietly as she could. Alec usually arrived at five thirty, giving her time to have a nice, relaxing breakfast. She was just about to crack the eggs into the pan when Liam appeared, crusty-eyed and yawning, wrapped in the mauve afghan her mother had made years ago that was kept over the back of the couch.

  “I'm sorry,” said Aislinn with a small wince. “I was trying to be quiet.”

  “You didn't wake me,” Liam said sleepily. “It was the smell of the coffee brewing.”