Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
~LEXI~
“ I ’m so proud of you,” Mom says as she hugs me after the race. “You did amazing.”
“It felt great,” I reply as I catch my breath. I look down at the medal I got at the finish line. “And Jasmine is my favorite princess.”
“This is a heavy medal,” Mom says in surprise as she hefts it in the palm of her hand. “How do you feel?”
“Tired. But energized. Also, I have a surprise for you.” We’re walking through the park to the shuttle area so we can catch a ride back to our resort.
“What?” she asks.
“We’re leaving tomorrow for Ireland.”
Mom’s jaw drops as she stares at me. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m taking you to Ireland for Christmas. We’re going to spend two weeks there as tourists. Shawn O’Callaghan’s family owns an inn there, and that’s where we’re staying. You’ll get to meet some of his immediate family, as well. I know you’ve always wanted to see the country, and it’s time you do.”
“But you hate to fly.”
I shrug. “It’s not my favorite thing, but I have a meditation app and a pill to make me sleepy. I just ran a marathon for goodness sake, I can certainly endure a nine-hour flight.”
Just saying the words aloud makes me feel a little queasy. The truth is, I’m scared out of my mind to take a flight over the ocean, but a trip abroad is on my list of things to do, and I’m going to do it.
With my mom. For Christmas.
“Oh my gosh, Ireland!” Mom presses her hands to her cheeks as she grins like a kid on Christmas morning. “But I didn’t pack enough to be gone that long.”
“We have twenty-four hours to do some serious shopping,” I reply as the shuttle pulls up in front of us. “So, we’d better go shower and change and get a move on.”
“Lexi, this is too much.”
“No way. It’s perfect. And a long time coming.”
“Holy shit,” Mom mutters, surprising a giggle from me. We’re standing in front of our first-class pods on the plane, and watching my Mom’s reaction to everything new is the best part of this trip.
Our pods are side by side. After I stow my carry-on above my head and take my shoes off to get comfortable, I notice Mom taking photos of everything.
“What are you doing?”
“I have to send pictures to your Aunt Darla,” she says. “Look at this menu!”
I grin as she opens the menu and takes a picture. “I had no idea that we’d be offered a meal like this,” I admit. “The website said meal offered, but this is super fancy.”
“And I have a toiletry bag full of goodies,” she says. “Socks, an eye mask to sleep, and a toothbrush.”
The flight attendant stops by to take our order for dinner, and for tomorrow’s breakfast as this is an overnight flight.
Mom asks if she can take a photo of the flight attendant for my Aunt Darla.
Ten years ago, I would have been mortified.
Today, I’m just overjoyed that she’s having such a good time.
The attendant is gracious and poses for a photo, holding up the fancy menu, and then Mom takes the fluffy blanket the airline provides out of the plastic it’s wrapped in.
“A down blanket and pillow,” she says. “Boy, there’s sure a huge difference between first class and coach these days.”
“Oh, this isn’t normal,” I say with a laugh. “Our flight from Minneapolis to Orlando was normal domestic first class. This is international. We’re going to be in the air for a long time.”
I swallow hard, not wanting to think about it.
“Well, I’ll be as comfortable as can be,” Mom says with a smile. “Thank you, honey.”
“You’re welcome.”
This right here is why I work so hard. So I can share these things with my mom and enjoy myself. For too long, I lived the life of all work and no play.
Not anymore.
Now, I’m going to enjoy the benefits of a job well done. An annual vacation with Mom is the least I can do.
We’re just about to take off, so I reach for the magazine I brought with me to try to keep my mind occupied.
I flip through the pages and stall when I see the headline Deadly Secret is in production!
I’ve done an excellent job of keeping busy, of not thinking about Shawn and the way we ended things.
The way I ended things.
But with the reminder of the film, thanks to this article, I miss him all over again. I’ve been dreaming about him almost every night, and he interrupts my thoughts when I’m supposed to be working.
Even yesterday, when I was in the middle of running a marathon, I found myself wishing that Shawn was at the finish line to greet me when I crossed it.
I wish things were different.
But they aren’t.
He made it clear that nothing serious could happen between us. And I respect his wishes. I just wish I could turn the emotions off. Because getting over Shawn O’Callaghan has been much harder than anticipated.
“Lexi, you have to come see this,” Mom says as she pokes her head around my doorway at the O’Callaghan Inn. We just arrived and were shown to our rooms, which are only a few doors down from each other. She waves for me to follow, and I hurry behind her.
“Is your room okay?” I ask, concerned that something’s wrong.
“Is it okay?” she says with a laugh and spreads her arms wide as we walk inside. “Look at this view!”
I relax and grin at her. “Didn’t you see the same view from my room?”
“I didn’t pay attention,” she admits. “I was too excited about my view. This inn is just so lovely. And did you hear them say it’s been here for nearly two hundred and fifty years?”
“I did. I hope that doesn’t mean it’s haunted.”
“You and your imagination,” she says with a laugh. “I love how they’ve decorated for the holidays with all of the lights and the tree in the lobby. The clawfoot tub in the bathroom is to die for. I’ll be taking advantage of that later.”
“We should get a nap in before dinner,” I suggest.
We arrived at the Galway airport late this morning. Once we made our way through customs, gathered our luggage, and rented a car, a couple of hours had passed.
We’re both jet lagged and travel weary.
“You’re right,” Mom says. “I might go ahead and enjoy the tub now.”
“Good idea. Have a nice soak and a nap, and you’ll be fresh for dinner.”
Mom folds me into her arms for a strong hug. She’s been hugging me a lot on this trip.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me,” I say with a laugh. “I’m having fun, too.”
“I’m glad. Go rest up, and come get me when you’re ready to leave. I’ll be ready for you.”
“Okay.”
I walk back to my room and finish unpacking. The room isn’t huge, but it’s certainly beautiful with a four-poster bed and a plush chair and ottoman. The wardrobe is plenty big enough to stow my things, and the bathroom is gorgeous with gleaming nickel hardware and white porcelain.
Mom’s idea of a bath is a good one, so I fill the tub and sink down into the steaming water.
This is really the first moment I’ve had to relax since we left Minneapolis five days ago. Mom and I enjoyed the Disney parks for a couple of days, and then I took a day off to rest before the race. But even then, we took advantage of the spa, and I did take a swim in one of the resort’s pools.
After the race, we shopped. And shopped some more.
We had to buy three extra suitcases to haul everything around with us, and I anticipate needing one more to take our souvenirs back to the States.
I don’t mind at all.
Shawn’s cousins own this inn, and they greeted us with open arms. I’ve never felt so welcomed when checking into a hotel before. They even offered us freshly baked apple cake, which I couldn’t pass up.
You’d have to be an idiot to say no to that.
Fiona and Tom invited us to come to dinner at their home for our first night here, and I couldn’t turn them down. I’m beside myself with excitement to see them, and to introduce them to my mother.
Even if Shawn and I aren’t meant to spend our lives together, I’ve made lifelong friends in his family, and that makes me happy.
But the past few days have caught up to me, and I’m exhausted. So, once the water has cooled, I climb out of the tub, towel off, and slip between the soft bedsheets naked, ready for a long nap.
“Now, if you have your victim thrown over the cliffs, it could be ruled as an accident or a suicide,” Tom says later that evening. He and I are sitting at the kitchen table, our bellies full after a delicious dinner made by Fiona. Mom and Fiona are in the sewing room, talking about yarn and things that I really know nothing about.
Murder, on the other hand, has always piqued my interests, and Tom is a wonderful brainstorming partner.
“Yes, but would it be bloody enough?” I ask, making him laugh.
“You’ve obviously never seen the damage a body undergoes when flung down three hundred feet onto sandstone.”
“No, I haven’t. Have you?”
“Unfortunately,” he replies with a sigh. “It’s a bloody mess, and that’s the truth of it. Wouldn’t leave much evidence behind either, so it would make a challenge for your detective to find the killer. Because although bloody, if the body lays there long enough, the surf will carry it away.”
“Increasing the mystery is always what we want,” I murmur, thinking it over. “What if the victim is a woman?”
“Poor lass,” he says, but grins at me with glee. “I do enjoy thinking up stories with you, Lexi girl.”
“You’re so good at it,” I reply. “I see now where Shawn gets his imagination from.”
“And that’s the truth,” Fiona says as she and Mom come back into the room. “Tom was always spinning tales for the babies when they were young. Shawn was always the most interested in them.”
“How many children do you have?” Mom asks.
“Five,” Fiona says. “And every one of them is the apple of me eye.”
“Of course, they are,” Mom says, smiling at me.
“They’re all living in Washington,” Tom adds. “Doing various things, chasing dreams and the like. As it should be. But we miss them.”
“They’re all going to be here for Christmas,” Fiona says. “It will be the first Christmas we’ve spent together in Ireland since Shawn was a wee lad. Maggie’s never had a Christmas here, and she’s a woman of twenty-six.”
“They’re all coming?” I ask, feeling the excitement bubble in my stomach. Mom and I will still be here then, and I might be able to see them.
Of course, that includes Shawn, but I can be an adult.
Probably.
“That they are,” Tom says. “Kane has a glass exhibit opening over the holiday in Galway, and everyone wanted to be here for it. So, Keegan’s closing the pub for a couple of weeks, and the whole brood will be here. Fiona and I won’t know what to do with a whole house full of children again.”
“And soon, we’ll have a wee babe,” Fiona says, clapping her hands.
“What? Who?” How did I not hear this news?
“Anastasia’s expecting,” Fiona says and turns to my mother. “She’s our eldest’s wife. By late spring, Kane and Stasia will be parents, and we’ll have a new sweet baby in the family.”
“That’s so wonderful,” I say with a smile. “You all have so many things to celebrate.”
“And you and Diane will still be here,” Tom says, gesturing to my mom, “so you can help us celebrate.”
“Oh, but this is a family affair,” I say, acutely aware of my mom watching me with wise, curious, blue eyes.
I haven’t admitted to her that I’m in love with Shawn.
That I’m in love with all of them.
But I know she can see it written all over my face.
“Nonsense,” Fiona says. “You’ll join us, and that’s that. Kane’s best friend, Cameron Cox, is coming, as well. Our family is full of those tied to us by blood, and others united by love, and that’s the truth of it, Lexi.”
I have to take a deep breath so I don’t cry like a blubbering idiot.
“Thank you for including us,” Mom says, reaching over to pat Fiona’s hand.
Tom pats my hand kindly. “It’s happy we are to have you here, lass. I hope this won’t be your only trip to Ireland.”
“Oh, I think I’ll be coming here for years to come.”
“Can you please bring me the baby wipes?” I ask, pointing at the wipes in question across the room. “She’s dirty.”
“She had a healthy breakfast,” Shawn says with a chuckle as he hands me the wet wipes and then leans over to kiss our daughter on the forehead. “Didn’t you, sweet Aisling?”
I quickly get her cleaned up and diapered, and once she’s in her pajamas, I pass her to Shawn. “It’s your turn to put her to bed, Da.”
“And a pleasure it is,” he says with a wink. He takes her into the nursery, and I can hear him crooning to her through the monitor. “You’re my best girl, aren’t you, darling? That’s right. Shall we have a story, then?”
I walk into the bathroom and take a hot shower. When I’ve toweled off, Shawn is already waiting for me in the bedroom.
“That was quick.”
“She passed right out during my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.”
“I’m not sure you should be telling that story to a two-month-old,” I say with a laugh.
“She can’t understand the words. Or, she can, and that was a really boring story.”
He tugs me against him and kisses me long and slow. He loosens the towel wrapped around me and lets it pool at my feet.
“You’re a gorgeous woman, Lexi.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
The dream is sexy and almost in slow motion as Shawn makes love to me. There are soft sighs and long, deliberate touches that make my core ache for him. His words of love echo through my mind as I surface from sleep.
I blink my eyes open and stretch under the crisp, white linens. The sun is up, and I feel well-rested.
I glance over and see Shawn sitting in my plush chair.
“Am I still dreaming?”