Wild Irish Dreamer (The Mystic Cove Series Book 8)

by Tricia O'Malley

  “Please explain.”

  “Well…” Fi sighed and looked down at Rosie while she stroked her soft fur. “Liam made it known that he had some feelings for me. And I said I thought it would be better if we were just mates.”

  “Why is that?” Dylan asked while Gracie scoffed and buried her face in her mug of whiskey.

  “Kind of exactly like this. If we were to be working together and have friends together… it’s all too complicated and a messy overlap. I didn’t want that. I’ve worked really hard for my career and my reputation. I don’t like to cross lines there.”

  “Did you say as much to Liam?”

  “I did – and to his credit, he respected my wish. Of course we had dinners and explored Barcelona together, but aside from a few times where he pushed my boundaries – very gently, mind you – he was exactly what he had said he would be.”

  “Which was?”

  “A friend and a business colleague.”

  “Tell me about Luis,” Dylan said, and his tone sharpened there.

  “That is also where things got a little muddied,” Fi admitted, reaching for her mug to take a long sip of the hot toddy.

  “Go on.”

  “Luis invited me to dinner a few times. But he kept things all business. It was only on the last night before our last day of work that he asked me for a date down the road. Once the work was concluded.”

  “Did he now? Sure and that’s the first I’m hearing of this,” Gracie grumbled, but shut her mouth when Dylan shot her a look.

  “This isn’t the first time I’ve been propositioned in business, nor will it be the last.”

  “But you left it at that?”

  “I did. In fact, Liam showed up at the same restaurant that night and we shared a taxi home.”

  “Okay. Did you spend a lot of time with Luis?”

  “We’d have dinner every other night or so, and the three of us had dinner together a few times. I also had dinners with Liam and some nights I dined alone. You understand how it is when you’re traveling alone in other cities… it’s nice to have a companion for dinner.”

  “I understand,” Dylan said.

  Grace narrowed her eyes at him. “Is that right? Do you have a lot of companions for dinner then?” she asked, and thunder rolled over them.

  “Usually my male business colleagues,” Dylan said, reaching back to squeeze Grace’s hand. “She’s talking about being lonely in a new city – not about romance.”

  “Correct. Though I did let Luis know I might be open to a date in the future.”

  “You agreed to go out with him?” Grace interjected.

  “Sure, why not? He’s typically the type of man I’d date –”

  “A liar and cheat?” Grace asked.

  “A successful businessman who travels and isn’t looking for a long-term relationship,” Fi finished with a look for Grace.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t guess his intentions,” Grace bit out, then pressed her lips together when Dylan shot her a warning look.

  “Why don’t you tell me about the last day of negotiations?”

  “I went in to the shipyard, which was our routine. Basically, I just waited around the rest of the day. Luis had indicated I wasn’t needed for the last bit of meetings.”

  “Did you find that odd?”

  Fi thought back. “I think I did, a bit, as I’d acted as translator on all the other meetings. But it seemed like they pretty much had everything sewn up.”

  “And the changes he had you make?”

  “He came into the room where I was waiting late in the day and handed me a laptop. All he asked was that I make the changes he’d highlighted in red. I didn’t read the whole contract; my assumption was that those clauses were the last details being discussed.”

  “And were they related to shipping and fuel costs?”

  “Aye, they were.”

  “It didn’t strike you as odd?”

  “I… I can’t say. I don’t know the business so I don’t know what’s a fair price or not a fair price. I don’t know what shipping routes were discussed. It’s hard for me to make a judgement call on that, especially as I wasn’t in the last round of discussions.”

  “He isolated you for a reason,” Dylan said.

  “I suspect as much.”

  “How could you have not gotten any indication that he was lying? Come on, Fi!” Grace exploded.

  Fi leaned back to look at her in shock. “I felt a little buzz of something uneasy going on, but how was I to know?” Fi countered.

  “You felt uneasy? And did nothing?” Grace threw up her hands.

  “What was I supposed to do?” Fi all but shouted.

  “Read his damn mind, Fi! Goddess above, you’ve been given a gift for a reason. And you ignore it and ignore it and now someone I love has gotten hurt!”

  Fi’s mouth dropped open that Grace had revealed her innermost secret, and the shock that flitted across Dylan’s face before he composed himself said all she needed to know. Thunder exploded above them as Grace stomped into another room of the cottage, slamming the door behind her. Rosie stood up and whined, leaving Fi’s lap to stand by the closed door.

  Fi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to bring her hammering heart under control. When she opened them, she found Dylan studying her.

  “So you’re a mind reader, then?”

  “Aye,” Fi whispered, and her tears ran as the skies exploded in rage around the cottage.

  Chapter 34

  “This wasn’t her secret to tell,” Fi said, standing and brushing her pants off.

  “I’m well aware there are many secrets among the ladies of Grace’s Cove,” Dylan said, standing as well. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “That’s not the point – she shouldn’t be blurting that out. To anyone,” Fi said, furious that Grace was hanging this business problem on her not using her gift.

  “I also understand that. Our Gracie can be a bit tempestuous at times,” Dylan said, his lips quirking in a small smile when thunder rolled over the cottage again.

  “It’s not my job to use anything… extra in my business dealings,” Fi said, her back stiff. “I can swear to you that I didn’t know he was deceiving you. We never talked business when we were out. Despite Liam’s accusations, I didn’t string anyone along, nor did I manipulate anyone. I truly was shocked when he confronted me. I hope you can believe me.”

  “I do believe you, Fi. I trust my gut in my business dealings. I also trust Liam but I think, in this instance, his own personal past may be clouding the issue for him.”

  Fi looked at Dylan for a moment before shutting her eyes.

  “Of course. The woman he was going to propose to.”

  “Aye.”

  “He thinks I would lie and scheme just like her.”

  “I imagine that once he’s cooled down, he’ll see that’s not the case.”

  “He doesn’t think very highly of me then.”

  “Liam is very protective of me and our business dealings. Typically, he’s very coolheaded, but it seems in this instance he’s allowed personal feelings to cloud his reasoning.”

  “Which is exactly why I was trying to not be involved with him!” Fi threw up her hands. “This is exactly why! Now everything is messy. He thinks I’m a liar. Your business is screwed. Grace and I are fighting – everything’s a mess. This is exactly why I didn’t want to get involved with him.”

  “Well, I hardly think you could have predicted a bad business deal… unless you can tell the future as well?” Dylan smiled gently at her.

  “She can!” Grace yelled from her bedroom.

  “Oh feck you, Gracie!” Fi shouted and stormed to the door. Grabbing her coat, she leveled a look at Dylan. “I stand by my words. I’ll speak with any authority or court that you need me to. Otherwise, I’m done here.”

  Without waiting for his response, Fi stormed into the rain that rocketed down in heavy sheets. Not caring that the rain hit her face li
ke little shards of glass, she slammed the door of her car and turned the car toward the village. As she drove past the cove, Fi looked to the cliffs and bared her teeth.

  “Screw you… stupid cove. Stupid magick. Stupid gifts,” she chanted. Rolling her eyes as lightening flashed over the cove, Fi continued her drive home.

  Then her dream flashed before her eyes. In the dream, Luis had thrown Liam over the edge of the cliff. At the time, Fi had thought it had to do with personal issues. Now, she realized the dream had been telling her something entirely different.

  “How would I have known?” Fi fumed. “Even if I had opened myself more, it’s unconscionable to read people’s thoughts.”

  Furious with everything and everyone, and deeply exhausted, Fi parked by her flat and stormed up the stairs. Why was she in trouble with everyone? She hadn’t lied. She hadn’t cheated. She hadn’t revealed anyone’s deeply personal secrets.

  That last part burned.

  For all the years that she and Grace had been friends, Fi could only remember one big blow-up, and it had been over a boy. Never something like this. Fi stripped off her wet clothes and pulled on comfy pants and a sweatshirt, pulling a blanket with her as she plodded to her window seat. Curling up, she watched the storm roil over the water. Despite their different approaches to magick and their gifts, Fi had always been able to trust Gracie.

  Added to all of that, she couldn’t be sure that Dylan wouldn’t tell Liam about her extra abilities.

  Fi groaned and buried her face in the blanket for a moment as her mind raced. If Liam knew she could read minds, then he’d likely be even more certain that she’d betrayed him. Because the logical conclusion would be, why hadn’t she read Luis’ mind if he had given her an uneasy feeling? She might have been able to prevent what had happened if she had. For someone who had never lived with this ability, it would probably seem like the simplest answer. Someone puts you off? Read their mind. Find out their true intentions.

  It wasn’t that easy, but Fi couldn’t imagine Liam being in any frame of mind to accept or understand that. Knowing she was well and truly screwed now, both with Liam and Gracie, Fi stared out the window as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  Why hadn’t she read his mind?

  The question slammed into her and she took one long shuddering breath. Outside, the waves crashed into the shoreline as the wind ripped the rain across the street. The few people unlucky enough to have to go outside in this weather ducked their heads against the bracing wind and ran for their cars. In the sky, dark clouds hung like a thick blanket, illuminated from within by flashes of lightning. Oh, Grace was in a rare mood, that was for certain, Fi thought. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, taking a few deep breaths and working to calm the turmoil that raged in her gut much like the storm outside.

  “You’re in quite the mess.”

  “Jesus!” Fi almost jumped out of her skin. She was grateful her window seat wasn’t a balcony, or she would have toppled right over the edge. “Fiona, we talked about this.”

  “How else am I supposed to announce my presence? You want me to move some things in the room? Make a ‘woooooo’ noise?” Fiona asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Fi could see her more clearly now, though her image wavered a bit.

  “Something to announce that you’re in my flat would be nice, yes,” Fi grumbled.

  “I’m here,” Fiona said, and waved at her.

  “Yes, thank you, I can see that. And now the whole town will think I’ve gone crazy, sitting here in my window seat and talking to the wall.”

  “So don’t sit in the window seat then.” Fiona shrugged.

  “It’s comforting to me,” Fi argued.

  “Then you’ve got another dilemma on your hands.”

  “What do you want, Fiona?” Fi asked, not caring that she was being rude to a ghost.

  “I wanted to see if you were all right.”

  Fi closed her eyes at the kindness in Fiona’s voice, and willed the tears back. “I’m not in me best mind, and that’s the truth of it,” she whispered.

  “So it seems. It’s been a hard day.”

  “It has.”

  “I’ll ask you the same question you just asked yourself. Why didn’t or don’t you use your gifts?”

  “Why does everyone refer to them as gifts? What if they aren’t gifts? What if they’re chains?”

  “You feel shackled by your gi– er… abilities?”

  “It’s not like I have the fun gifts. I can’t do magick spells or make the weather bend to my mood. I can’t make something float across the room to me. Hearing people’s thoughts is the worst! And the dreams? Who wants prophetic dreams? They’re almost impossible to figure out and when I do, sometimes it’s too late anyway. Like in this case.”

  “You had a dream then?”

  “Aye. I had a dream.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I was by the cove.” Fi sighed and pinched her nose as she took herself back to the dream. “It was bad weather, like today. I was leaving and the cove flashed blue, which made me turn and look.”

  “Who else was in the dream?”

  “Why do you think someone else was in the dream?” Fi asked.

  “It’s rare for the cove to shine its light for someone alone.”

  “Well, it was just a dream, so it could do what it wanted.”

  Silence greeted her and Fi sighed, tugging the blanket tighter around her as another blast of thunder shook the building.

  “Liam was there. As was Luis. Luis snuck up on Liam and tossed him off the cliff.”

  “Ah.”

  “That’s it? ‘Ah’? I thought you were some mystical guidance counselor,” Fi griped. “That’s all you can say?”

  “It’s not for me to figure this out for you. You have to do the work,” Fiona said, and Fi wrinkled her nose in distaste.

  “What if I don’t want to do the work?”

  “Then I’d say you’re sulking, being a child, and refusing to learn or grow,” Fiona said, her tone like a knife coated in honey.

  “Can’t a body have a good sulk once in a while?”

  “Of course. But then it’s time to figure things out.”

  “I haven’t finished sulking,” Fi said, pushing her lower lip out.

  “How did the dream make you feel?” Fiona asked on a sigh.

  “It made me feel… not great. I felt like it was telling me to protect Liam.”

  “And now?”

  “I think it was warning me that Luis would betray us. And that I shouldn’t trust him.”

  “Did you trust him?”

  “I… well, I felt like I had a good reading on him, in the sense that I knew what he was about, especially if I ever went back to Spain and had a fling with him. He was safe.”

  “Why safe?”

  “Because I wouldn’t have to get my feelings involved.”

  “Ah.”

  “Don’t ‘ah’ me,” Fi said.

  “Well, that says a lot, no? And Liam scares you.”

  “It doesn’t matter what Liam does or doesn’t do anymore. He’s done with me. He made that clear.”

  “That’s his temper. He owes you an apology, that’s for sure. He’ll come around. The man just needs a cooling-off period. I’m certain you can talk this through with him.”

  “Why bother?” Fi shrugged a shoulder. “He’s judged me and found me wanting. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to him. He’s decided I’m a liar and a cheat.”

  “You can defend yourself.”

  “If he’s that unwilling to trust me, I have no need to defend myself. I don’t have to have a relationship with him at all.”

  “You’d think you’d be more understanding of someone who has been hurt badly before,” Fiona said, making a clucking noise with her tongue.

  “I haven’t been hurt like he has.”

  “Haven’t you? Are you forgetting Brian? Isn’t that the entire reason you’ve never shown yourself to a man again? Never open
ed yourself? Liam’s not necessarily wrong for not fully trusting you. You’ve held yourself back from him.”

  “I have to protect myself.”

  “You have to learn to trust. So does Liam. You can do it together.”

  “Doubtful.” Fi shifted, tucking the blanket tighter around her feet.

  “Perhaps a little compassion here might go a long way.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’ll do what I can to be polite with him and that’s that.”

  “Tell him who you are. Show him,” Fiona insisted.

  “Why? I don’t use that side of myself.”

  “You should. It will help you.”

  “How? I don’t need to know what Mr. Murphy is thinking at the end of the bar.”

  “If you’d take the time to hone your ability, you could use these things to your benefit. You’d be better at business negotiations, more helpful in warning others of trouble – even your dreams would make more sense. When you close yourself off from your power, you’re diluting your contributions to this world.”

  “I –” Fi began, then looked around and cursed. The flat was empty, and she was left alone with her thoughts. Leave it to a ghost to get the last word in.

  Chapter 35

  Why Dylan had made him meet at Gallagher’s Pub, of all places… Liam shook his head as he stomped down the sidewalk of Grace’s Cove. Passersby correctly interpreted his mood and steered clear of him, some going even as far as to cross the street.

  “Oi! Liam!” Mr. Murphy beamed at him from where he’d hobbled to the front door of the pub. “That’s a nice lad, back in town. You’re here for the wedding?”

  Liam didn’t have it in him to be mean to an old man, even if he was spoiling for a fight. He’d save his mood for Dylan, Liam thought as he held the door for Mr. Murphy.

  “Aye, I am at that. Best man and all,” Liam said.

  “We’re all looking forward to it. They know sure know how to throw a bash,” Mr. Murphy said, tottering over to his stool and clambering onto his seat as he’d done every day for thirty years. Liam squinted in the dim light of the pub, his eyes taking a moment to adjust before he scanned the room. Cait worked the bar and she nodded to him, but Liam didn’t see Dylan until he turned toward the dining area. There Dylan sat, cozied in a booth with Grace. Lovely, Liam thought; now he’d have to deal with both of them. In a vicious mood, he bypassed the bar and slid onto the bench across from Dylan and Grace.