Extended Epilogue
Eight years later…
“Meggie! Moira!”
“Uh oh,” Meggie said.
“I thought we’d have time enough to wade before Da caught us,” Moira grumbled.
Striding toward his headstrong daughters, Flaherty called out, “Saoirse! Fiona!”
“Are we in trouble again?” Saoirse asked, and Moira shrugged.
Not waiting for any of his reckless daughters to answer, he barked, “Bridget! Roisin! Ye’re too young to be dipping yer toes in the sea.”
Just a few feet away from them now, he vowed that this time—this time—he’d paddle someone’s backside to teach his daughters not to disobey him. ’Twas too dangerous for them to come to the water without an adult.
His daughters scooted away from the water’s edge, Meggie taking the two youngest, Bridget and Roisin, by the hands. Moira grabbed hold of the twins, Saoirse and Fiona, before they ran toward the water.
“God help me, ye lasses will be the death of me!”
His eldest daughter sighed. “Da, you taught Moira and I how to swim when we were the same age as little Roisin.”
“And did I not tell ye that no one goes near the water without yer ma or me?”
“Aye, Da,” Moira answered for her sister.
“But we wanted to see the water horses!” Saoirse told him.
“And mermaids with long golden hair,” Fiona added.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and said a silent prayer for patience.
His daughters were just as lively and energetic as his wife—and, God help him, just as independent and headstrong!
“Ye know better than to sneak out of the house when ye’re supposed to be helping yer ma cleaning before she can start the baking. ”
Meggie looked as if she were about to say something, but instead she looked at Moira, who shrugged. No help from that quarter, he thought—Moira hated to be indoors as much as the twins.
“Well then, I suppose there’ll be no scones or frosted teacakes with yer tea this afternoon, and Mollie promised to visit. ’Twill be yer loss, daughters of mine, as I’ll be letting Mollie’s five daughters have their choice of teacakes—and ye know they only eat the icing.”
Roisin yanked her hand free from Meggie’s hold and rushed toward him. She stumbled, but he caught her before she could fall on her face. “Careful, lass,” he warned as he scooped her up.
Roisin, his youngest at four years old, and the image of her ma with ink-black, curly hair, placed her little hands on either side of his face and kissed the end of his nose. “Da, I luff teacakes…’specially the icing.”
He vowed he would not give in to his darling daughters.
Charmers, the lot of them—each one had inherited the Flaherty charm.
“I know ye do, lass, but ye have to learn to listen and not let the twins encourage ye to follow their lead—especially when they’re headed to the path that leads to the beach.
” Flaherty set her on her feet in time to catch Bridget.
“Easy, now. Ye don’t want to eat sand, do ye? ”
Bridget was five and favored the Flahertys, with auburn hair and bright blue eyes. ’Twas unfortunate that she also had the Doonan penchant for getting into trouble.
“I’d rather eat scones. You’ll change your mind before we get home, won’t you, Da?”
He vowed to hold out against the sweet faces surrounding him. God had granted him a slice of Heaven the day he wed Eileen Doonan, and then sent six angels for him to love, protect…and keep out of trouble.
“Do ye know, daughters mine, that wherever angels go, trouble follows?”
Meggie rolled her eyes. “That’s not what Ma told us. Angels guard us and keep us out of trouble.”
“That’s right,” Moira added. “We each have a guardian angel who protects us when you are on patrol in the village, or helping Uncle Finn with whatever it is you do when you aren’t home to chase us away from the water.”
He couldn’t help it—he laughed, delighted with his daughters. “Well now, ye’re right. Each one of ye has yer very own warrior guardian angel. But I was speaking about earth angels.”
Eyes wide, Fiona whispered, “Earth angels?”
“Aye. Special gifts from Heaven and God Himself.”
“Are we earth angels?” Saoirse asked.
He squatted down and gathered his darlings close. Roisin and Bridget sat on one knee, while Saoirse and Fiona sat on the other. With Meggie and Moira nestled against his sides, he said, “I knew the Lord had blessed me with an earth angel the moment each one of ye were born. And do ye know how?”
“I do.”
The voice of the woman he loved more than life itself settled around him, calming him as it always did.
He smiled and glanced over his shoulder, not surprised to find his wife walking toward them, her ink-black curls lifting in the breeze.
She always said when it was quiet that their daughters would be getting into trouble, and she had come looking for them.
She kissed his cheek. “I see you found our angels.”
“Earth angels, Ma,” Roisin said. “Da was gonna tell us why we’re earth angels.”
“Well, that’s easy,” Eileen told their daughters. “You love nothing more than playing in the garden, digging in the sand, and frolicking like mermaids and nymphs in the water.”
“Ye’re forgetting one important detail, mo chroí.”
“That means, my heart,” Meggie reminded her younger sisters.
Eileen’s smile worked its magic on Flaherty, and he knew he would be allowing their daughters to have the tea with scones and iced teacakes. “What did I forget, mo ghrá?”
Not to be outdone, Moira told her sisters, “That means, my love.”
Six enraptured girls waited to hear what their ma had forgotten. “Well, Da, what did Ma forget?” Saoirse asked.
“That each and every one of ye have a bit of a water nymph and mermaid in ye, just like yer ma. She saved me life the night of a powerful storm, diving into the this very sea.”
Meggie placed her hand on her father’s shoulder. “You were so brave to jump off that cliff,” she said, staring at the place he’d leapt off.
Moira squeezed in beside her mother and touched his other shoulder. “And you hit the rocks with your face—that’s what that scar’s from.” Their second eldest pointed to his forehead.
“Aye, lass, that I did, and that it is. Well now, add all those up together and ye know why I’m constantly reminding ye, cautioning ye, not to come down here without yer ma or me—or O’Malley.”
“What about Mollie?” Meggie asked.
“Well now, her rambunctious daughters are just as likely to race toward the water as yerselves! Not minding their ma either.”
“Aunt Mollie swims almost as good as Ma. Right, Da?” Fiona asked.
“Aye, that she does. Now then, I think ’tis time for the six of ye to apologize to yer ma for skipping out on yer chores.”
Six sad faces had him realizing that this would not be the first time he’d be giving in to their daughters.
“I’ll relent on the no scones or teacakes, but ye must straighten yer beds as soon as we get back to our cottage.”
“And you will wash your hands before you help with the baking,” their mother added.
A chorus of “Yes, Da, and we will” had Flaherty wondering what the next few years would bring.
Hopefully none of his daughters would fish a man out of the sea.
Ten years later…
All six of Flaherty’s daughters were on the beach, lending a hand, as he and O’Malley led men out to rescue the half-dozen sailors who were struggling to stay afloat after their ship had violently broken apart against the rocks.
Meggie and Moira rushed toward the water as Flaherty and the others either rowed their small dinghies or swam toward shore with their burdens. Their younger sisters were hot on their heels and fell to their knees around the first of the sailors.
“We’re done for, Finnian—see?” the first sailor said. “We’re surrounded by angels.”
“Aye, Padraig,” Finnian agreed. “But we made it to Heaven.”
Flaherty grinned. “Ye might think so, lads, but I can assure ye, ye’re surrounded by earth angels…me daughters.”
As the rest of the sailors were helped from the sea, Eileen beckoned to him. He walked over to stand beside her, took her hand, and brought it to his lips. “Reminds me of the night ye saved me life, lass.”
She smiled. “Does it?”
“Aye, when I opened my eyes, I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. All these years later, I still believe that’s where I ended up, married to ye, and da to our very own angels.”
His wife turned at the sound of a deep, rumbling chuckle nearby and frowned. “Do you see the way that that sailor is looking at Meggie?”
“Aye, Finnian’s his name. Do ye notice she’s smiling back at him?”
“I’m not ready to lose our eldest,” she grumbled.
“Ah, mo chroí, but she’ll be eight and ten in a fortnight and knows her own mind.”
“But what of Cormac MacManus’s son? I still think there there’s a chance to make a match between them.”
“He’s never noticed the beauty standing before him.” He stared at his wife. “His da before him didn’t either.”
“You’re right,” she agreed.
Flaherty wrapped his arm around his wife.
“His loss is me gain.” He nodded to where their eldest knelt in the sand by the sailors.
“And just like when ye pulled me out of the sea, I’m thinking Finnian has noticed the strong and beautiful woman helping him.
He noticed she never flinched when he vomited up at least a bucket of seawater.
” He turned back to Eileen. “Neither did ye. Ah, lass, our eldest is brave and beautiful…just like her ma.”
“What about our other daughters? Don’t you think they are brave and beautiful, too?”
“Without question, but they’re not old enough to set their cap for any of the sailors we’ve rescued, or any of the village lads! No matter what plots ye and Mollie O’Malley cook up.”
Eileen sighed. “But this time next year, Moira will be. The year after that, Fiona and Saoirse, then Bridget, and finally Roisin.”
He frowned, knowing it was the truth and that he’d have to accept that their daughters would find the other halves of their hearts and leave the family cottage, one at a time. Faith, he wasn’t ready for it. “Hush now, or ye’ll make me daft, woman!”
“Flaherty?”