“It’s nice to hear from you too, wee sister. I’m doing great; thanks for asking,” I reply sarcastically.
She sighs heavily before saying, “Sorry, Eam. How are you, big brother?”
“I’ve got a bit of the fear in me, but nothing unmanageable.”
“You get wankered last night, then?” Caity asks with a laugh.
“Ach. Just having the craic. Some fire sprite challenged me to a drinking contest of the black stuff. It would have been ungentlemanly of me to decline.”
“Naturally,” she says with a snort before continuing nervously. “Hey, listen. I don’t have a lot of time to talk, but I was wondering if you could lend me a few quid to get me through the week? I’m strapped, and I don’t want to bother Mam.”
My heart sinks, but I’m not surprised. Caity’s been hanging with a bad crowd for the better part of her life. I’ve always suspected she’s doing drugs, and I don’t want to enable her, but better me than Mam. I feel guilty enough having left Ireland, so I make it a point to keep Caity from worrying our mother. And my wee sister knows this.
“Fucks sake, Caity,” I say with a sigh.
“I know,” she groans. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s okay. I’ll figure something else out.”
Raking a hand through my hair in frustration, I take a deep breath beforeasking, “How much do you need, Caity?”
Norah
“Well, well. Good mornin’ to ya, Miss Grady,” Paddy O’Nelly drawls as he wipes the bar down with a cloth, eyeing me over the rim of his glasses.
He only calls me Miss Grady when I’m in trouble, so this should be fun.
“Pat, I’m so sorry for last night. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t even want to go out.” I explain. “Will you please forgive me? I’ll come wash dishes for you this week if I need to!”
“Ach. I’ll tell ya what came over ya, Miss Grady. That Irish temper of yours, and don’t be tellin’ me you don’t have Irish blood in ya.” He pauses to glance up at me before continuing, “It doesn’t help matters that Eamon Kennedy was egging you on. I’ll have words with him too before the day is up. Just you wait.”
My heart beats wildly at Eamon’s name. Of course, he’s close with Pat. They’re both Irish. Nobody claiming to be from Ireland would even think of going to any other “Irish” pub in Wilmington. They’d be crazy.
“I’d never met him before last night, Pat. I just couldn’t stand him accusing me of being a wimp and unable to hold my Guinness.”
Pat chuckles at first but then turns serious. “Acushla. Just be careful. The last time you let yourself go in my pub like that, you came in the next day looking like you’d seen a ghost. I never want to see that look in your lovely blue eyes again. You’re practically family.”
I smile warmly at him. “Don’t worry, Pat. I’ve learned my lesson, and I feel awful today. Thanks for letting me off the hook.”
“Now hold on there, lass. Who said I was letting you off the hook? You said you’d do dishes, and I mean to see that you do. I’ll have you back tomorrow night if you don’t mind.”
Damn.
“Of course!” I quickly agree, “I’ll be in tomorrow at seven.”
“Alright, then. I’ll see you at seven. Now let me get back to my work, youwee sprite!” he teases.
I giggle and bounce out of the pub with a wave goodbye.
Eamon
I’m getting out of my car, fuming over the conversation with Caity, when I notice someone coming out of Paddy’s. I freeze when I see that it’s the lass from last night. Norah bounds out of the pub, looking pleased as punch. She certainly doesn’t look like she’s hungover. In fact, she looks bloody gorgeous with that radiant smile on her face. And do all of her jeans fit her like that? I stand there gawking after her like some sort of creeper before snapping out of it and making my way inside.
Paddy’s taking stock of the liquor bottles when I saunter in. I love this pub. It’s the closest thing to home I’ll allow myself to enjoy. I love Ireland, truly, but I vowed I’d never go back, not after everything that happened.
“Oy! Eamon! Why are you dallying in my doorway like some lost pup? I do believe you and I have a score to settle, young man,” Paddy yells, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Aye, I’d say we do, Paddy.” I make my way to the bar, sliding onto a stool. “Don’t suppose you’d overlook last night’s incident would ya?”
“For such a bright lad, you’re a wee dumb in the head, aren’t ya? ‘Course I’m not going to overlook your offenses! After what you did to that wee lass last night. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
