Carla Neggers - Declan's Cross

“You must be about to leave for the airport,” Father Bracken said. “How are you getting there?”

“My brother’s dropping me off.”

“Will you be seeing Colin and Emma while you’re in Ireland?”

She almost reminded him that Colin was a Donovan but instead said, “They’re in the southwest, and they’re supposed to be relaxing.”

Father Bracken’s midnight-blue eyes leveled on her. He had to be aware of the complicated dynamics of Colin’s relationship with Emma Sharpe and the reaction of his family and friends in Rock Point to her. An FBI agent, an ex-nun, a Sharpe. She and Colin were, to say the least, an eyebrow-raising match.

“Have you told them you’re coming?” Father Bracken asked.

“No, but it’s fine. They don’t need to know. I wouldn’t want to interrupt their time together.” Julianne stopped herself, which wasn’t her style. Usually she said too much, not too little. “You haven’t told them about my trip, have you?”

“I wouldn’t without your permission,” he said simply.

She felt her cheeks flame. “Oh, right, of course not. I hope they’re having a good time, and Emma isn’t finding out the hard way what rock heads the Donovan men can be.” She gave Father Bracken a quick smile. “Sorry, Father.”

His mouth twitched with humor. “No worries.”

“I can handle Colin. It’s not that. I’m used to Donovans.”

And she’d never slept with Colin. Never even considered it. She’d known better than to get mixed up with any of the Donovans. Mike, the eldest, was an ex-army wilderness guide on Maine’s Bold Coast. Then came Colin, an FBI agent. Kevin, the youngest, was a Maine state marine patrol officer. But it was third-born Andy, a lobsterman who restored classic boats on the side, who had captured her heart.

She’d slept with him, all right. One of the stupidest things she’d ever done.

Father Bracken was frowning at her, but if he guessed what she was thinking, he kept it to himself. She smiled. “Sorry. Mind wandering.”

“No apology necessary. Be sure to tell Sean Murphy I said hello.”

Sean Murphy owned the cottage Julianne was renting in Declan’s Cross. She’d expected to stay in a bed-and-breakfast, but Father Bracken had arranged for the cottage after she’d brought him his fried eggs yesterday morning and told him about her trip. He and his fellow Irishman were friends somehow. Julianne didn’t have any details. She was curious but felt awkward prying into Father Bracken’s private life.

“I will,” she said. “He’s not a priest, is he?”

“No, but he’ll look after you if you need anything.”

“This will be great. I’m really excited. I can get the lay of the land, figure things out ahead of my internship. I’ve never been anywhere. I’ve told my folks and my brother, and Granny, naturally, but I don’t need everyone in town knowing my business.”

“Meaning the Donovans,” Father Bracken said with a smile.

“Trust me, it’ll be easier if I just go on my way without the benefit of their opinion of my sanity.”

“Well, then. Godspeed, Julianne. Give my love to Ireland.”

“Thanks, Father, I will.”

She withdrew with her coffeepot. She felt good about her impromptu trip. It wasn’t just a chance to get things sorted out for January or even to put space between her and Andy. She would also be helping with her new friend’s marine science field station.

She and Lindsey Hargreaves had hit it off when Lindsey had stopped at Hurley’s last Wednesday. Not even a week ago. Lindsey had explained that she and some diving friends had been diving in Declan’s Cross that fall, and she’d had the idea of launching a field station there. She’d flown home for a few days to work on some of the details.

A mutual friend in Declan’s Cross had mentioned Finian Bracken, co-owner of Bracken Distillers and now a priest in America, and Lindsey had thought it would be fun to say hello while she was in southern Maine for a day trip. She hadn’t given Julianne the name of the mutual friend, but now she wondered if it was Sean Murphy.

Short, slim, dark-haired and dark-eyed, Lindsey had a contagious energy and enthusiasm about her, and Julianne had volunteered to show her around the area. They’d spent the afternoon together, then stayed in touch by email after Lindsey went home that night and returned to Ireland on an overnight flight on Thursday. When she indicated she’d love to get Julianne’s take on the field station, Julianne had seized the moment and booked a round-trip ticket for a two-week stay.

Tomorrow, they would be sharing the cottage Father Bracken had arranged. Lindsey had been only too happy to take a break from the “primitive” conditions at the building she’d rented in Declan’s Cross for her soon-to-be field station.

Julianne was convinced that as last-minute as this trip was, it was the right thing for her to do. Her grandfather would be pleased, too, she thought with a rush of affection. Jack Maroney had died last year, far too soon. He’d unexpectedly left her some money, with instructions that she was to go a little nuts with it, have some fun and not be in such a grind all the time. Julianne thought he’d love Declan’s Cross. If the photographs she’d found on the internet were at all accurate, it was as adorable an Irish village as she could ever imagine.

She’d had a hard time after her grandfather’s death. She still had her parents and older brother—who were all skeptical of her Ireland adventure. It was November, she was going alone, she was going at the last minute and she didn’t really know the woman who’d invited her. And she had limited funds, even with her grandfather’s mad money. She needed to finish her thesis and get a real job, which she hoped this trip and then her internship would help facilitate.

She had it all rationalized in her mind.

Barely able to contain her excitement, she ducked into a back room and changed into a sweater and jacket. She could smell lunch cooking in Hurley’s spotless kitchen. The kitchen was hopelessly outdated, but some of the best clam chowder in New England came out of its dented pots.

By the time she went back through the dining room, Kevin and Andy Donovan were approaching Father Bracken’s table. There was no way to get out of there without passing them. Julianne tried zipping up her jacket to give herself an excuse not to make eye contact, but Kevin said, “Hey, Julianne. Hanging out with Father Bracken?”

She found the knowing note in his voice annoying. It wasn’t as if she were seriously fixated on Father Bracken. Just mildly fixated. “Not really. You boys having lunch? The soup special is a nice butternut squash bisque. You’ll like it.”

“It sounds orange,” Kevin said.

Andy grinned, then settled his dark gray eyes on her. “I didn’t see your car outside. How are you getting home?”

“Walking.”

“It’s about to rain.”

“Good. I like rain.”

She didn’t tell him she was walking because she knew she had a long drive to the airport and then a long flight ahead of her. She got out of there. She didn’t want Andy finding out about her trip until she was safely aboard her Aer Lingus plane. Rock Point had always been home for her, but she’d lived on campus much of the year as an undergraduate and then a graduate student at the University of Maine. Then in August, immersed in her master’s thesis, struggling with finances, she’d moved in with her recently widowed grandmother in Rock Point and had taken on as many hours as she could at Hurley’s. It didn’t matter what time she was working. A Donovan was always there.

Overexposed, she’d weakened, violating her personal Golden Rule never to get involved with a Donovan. When Andy, the rake, the heartbreaker of Rock Point, had stayed after closing one misty September night, she’d let him walk her home.