Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
K ieran had downed one mug of black coffee and would have another after Rance gave him a few tips on his pool game. Didn’t fancy being scundered the first time he played at Rowdy Roost.
He chose a cue from the rack and stepped over to the grand table that took up most of Rance’s living room.
“You played in your local pub, right?” Rance rubbed chalk on the tip of his cue.
“Yeah, some, but mostly darts. Our tables are smaller. And the—” His mobile chimed and leprechauns danced in his gut. Sara. He laid his cue on the table and reached in his pocket.
Rance put down his cue, folded his arms and looked at him.
“This is it.” He tapped the screen and put the phone to his ear. “Hello, Sara.”
“Kieran, we need to talk.”
That confused the hell out of him. “Did you ask Lani? What did?—”
“She’s okay with the plan but she?—”
“She is?” He gave Rance a thumbs up and got one in return.
“She doesn’t want me driving the truck by myself.”
“I don’t fancy that part, either. I wish?—”
“Kieran, I’m worried.”
“About driving Midnight Thunder?”
“The truck’s minor. I’m worried about how this… whatever we choose to call it… could impact you.”
“Meaning?”
“You could become… attached to me.”
“I’m already attached to you. I can tell you’re attached to me. We should do something about it.”
“Maybe attached is the wrong word.”
“I like it.” He smiled. “Connected is another good word.”
Rance mouthed What the hell? and lifted both hands, palms up.
“The point is, we might see each other again if I go to Dublin for work, but there’s no guarantee.”
“Oh, it’s guaranteed. If you come within a thousand kilometers, I’ll make sure we see each other.”
“You will?”
“You’ll be crossing that ocean sometime. It’s part of your job.”
“But it might not be convenient. You might have a girlfriend.”
“I’ll still want to see you. You were with me on the most important day of my life. I don’t intend for us to lose touch. It’s not all about sex, although I wouldn’t mind adding that to the mix.”
Rance made a circling motion with his hand, which meant wrap it up in any language.
“It sounds different when you put it that way, but…” She trailed off.
Time to face this head on. “What’s bothering you?”
“What if you fall in love with me? What if you can’t imagine life without me?”
He sucked in a breath. “I’m already half in love with you. I can’t imagine the world without you in it. Do I see us spending the rest of our lives together? I’m not an eejit.”
“Oh, Kieran, that’s not what?—”
“We should probably decide about tonight, though. Rance is staring at the ceiling and tapping his foot.”
She made a funny sound, half laugh and half gulp. “I want to come over. But first Lani has to talk to Rance. Could you please put him on?”
“I’ll do that.” He held out the phone. “Lani wants to talk to you, mate.”
“She does?” His expression switched from bored to highly alert. “Hey, Lani. What do you?—”
Kieran couldn’t hear exactly what Lani was saying, but her delivery was forceful.
“In my defense, it’s an automatic with power steering. Once she adjusts the seat, she’ll be?—”
Another torrent of words from Lani.
“I’ve never heard of a bear chasing a truck for the tasty people inside. The bear wouldn’t win that race. My truck can outrun a bear.”
He stared at the floor and listened some more. “A flat could happen. That’s why they invented cell phones. But hey, you’re right.” He lifted his head and gave Kieran a long-suffering look. “That’s how we’ll do it.”
Kieran murmured how soon ?
“What time should I drive over? Can you tell whether your folks are…” He rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not suggesting you go listen at their door. Geez.” He made a face.
Kieran wrote a three, a zero and a question mark in the air.
“How about thirty minutes? Would that be enough time for things to settle down?” He gave a quick nod. “Okay I’ll be there in thirty. Yes, ma’am. My pleasure. Good night.” He handed back the phone. “She hung up, so I hope you and Sara got things worked out.”
“They’ve been worked out on my end from the first time I saw her. I’ll take whatever Sara offers and expect no more.”
“I admire you for that. I suck at stoicism.”
Kieran grinned and gestured toward the pool table, it’s green felt and dark carved wood glowing in light from the chandelier suspended over it. “Never could’ve guessed it, mate.”
“Okay, so we’ve got twenty-five minutes. What part of your game do you want to work on?”
“There’s no way I’ll keep my mind on pool.”
Rance shrugged. “No worries. We can do this another time.” He picked up both cues and returned them to the rack. Then he rolled the balls into the pockets. “Want more coffee?”
“I thought I did, but that phone call was like a shot of jet fuel.” He gazed at Rance. “How well do you know Sara?”
“Fairly well, considering I only spent a few days with her and Lani in February, but we clicked. We’re a lot alike. She’s spontaneous, likes people, likes to have fun, has a good heart. We get each other.”
Was that a twinge of jealousy? He had no right to feel that. “So you’re good friends, then?”
“If you’re asking if I’ve kissed her, the answer is no.”
“Jaysus, mate! I wasn’t thinking of that .” But he was. Exactly that. “Why not? She’s a stunner.”
“I would agree.” Rance walked over to one of the tall stools lining the walls and perched on it. “Last February I seriously thought about making a move. There was a spark, an attraction, but it would have been a mistake to kiss her.”
“Why?” He leaned his hip against the pool table, too jumpy to sit down.
“I was still waffling. It’s bad enough I’ve danced with both of them. Flirted, too. You can’t do that with sisters. I learned the hard way. You need to pick one, and once you do, the other one’s off-limits.”
“You might eventually pick Sara?” He braced himself. He had to be okay with her ending up with somebody else. Wouldn’t he rather have it be someone he knew? No. He’d prefer a nameless, faceless stranger.
“I wouldn’t have set this up for you if that was a possibility. It’s not. I’ve made my choice.”
He sagged in relief. “Lani?”
“Yessir. If you’d gone after her, you wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting near that lady. I would’ve seen to it.”
“Does she know?”
He shook his head. “Sara does, but she won’t say anything.”
“Nor me.”
“I know that. It’s easy to tell you’re solid.”
“Is talking to Lani face-to-face part of this plan? You’re gonna knock on her door and?—”
“God, no. That would be a full-blown disaster.”
“Or a golden opportunity.”
“It’s not time yet.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. She’s not ready to hear what I have to say. And I’m not ready to say it. When she comes for Christmas, I will be.”
“That’s four months away! She could be engaged to some chancer in New Jersey by then. She’s a right feek, in case you haven’t noticed.”
He laughed. “A right feek? “
“It means she’s nice to look at.”
“In that case, yes, I’ve noticed. I just don’t want her to figure that out. Not yet.”
“You’re not going to show your hand?”
That made him grin. “Keeping my cards close to my vest. And a few up my sleeve.”
“You do remind me of that fella Maverick. Granny loves that old show. But you’re taking a risk to wait like that.”
“And you’re taking one by charging ahead.”
He dragged in a breath. “That I am.” He let it out slowly. “And it’s worth taking.”