Chapter 15
Kasia trotted down the slip as quickly as she could to avoid the slow entrance into the sea. She couldn’t build up the nerve to jump off the quay. She quickly submerged and set off, swimming for the ruined stone tower on the other side of the harbor. The drop in water temperature was already dramatic from her dip just a week ago. It would only continue dropping as winter set in. Her swims would become dips, but she and Joey would keep up the routine. The feeling of well-being she carried for the rest of the day made up for the shock of the cold water.
She’d need all the well-being she could get from the sea now that Tierney was on her way back. She wished Joey was here so she could talk it through, but they’d gone to the mainland to talk to a restaurant chain about a potential lucrative contract. The call from Tierney had taken Kasia by surprise, and she wondered now if she’d been too abrupt, but Tierney was used to her business-like manner and most likely hadn’t been paying attention.
After she dried off, she detoured to the Walsh holiday cottage. She’d been so annoyed with Tierney’s sudden departure, and so exhausted after the big group stay, the cottage was still as Tierney had left it. She hoped Tierney hadn’t left food or milk in the refrigerator, or Kasia was going to have to try to get the place smelling nice in a hurry. She picked up the key from under the stone and let herself in, bracing for the smell of rotting food.
To her surprise, the house looked ready to receive new guests. Everything was clean and neat. Tierney had remade the bed with clean linen and left her sheets in a laundry bag. Kasia set the heating to come on later in the day, opened a couple of windows for fresh air, and left the house as it was. Perhaps Joey was right, and people could change for the better. She could try to deny she was looking forward to Tierney’s return, but much as it annoyed her, the thought of being around her bouncy energy was attractive. She hoped the novelty wouldn’t wear off too soon.
Kasia’s new positive attitude toward Tierney was put to the test almost immediately when she bounded around, looking at the flood damage.
“It’s not as bad as I thought.”
“That’s because Kasia’s spent the last few days cleaning, and painting, and pulling in a lot of favors to get it habitable again before the Christmas visitors start to arrive.”
Kasia could have hugged Joey for the support but instead, she left them both to it and busied herself in the kitchen. Their voices floated in occasionally, and she strained to listen in.
“This room is fucked.”
“Yeah, these were Kasia’s quarters. A load of her stuff got ruined.”
“Oh, shit, really? Why was she sleeping down here?”
Kasia didn’t hear Joey’s low response but the next comment from Tierney was, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll talk to her later.”
After that, their voices were too quiet to hear, so Kasia concentrated on not cutting off her fingers as she continued with the food preparation. She wished Tierney would do something useful, like go up and prepare the rooms needed for this weekend’s guest. Cleaning and redecorating the dining room and kitchen had put her behind her usual schedule, but she wasn’t going to ask her boss for help unless it was offered.
As if hearing Kasia’s thoughts, Tierney appeared at the door, with Joey behind her. “I’m sorry your stuff got trashed in the flood. Why were you still in those cramped quarters when the rooms upstairs have been free all summer?” Tierney asked.
“Peggy’s rooms? They’re still full of her belongings, Tierney. Desmond and Anthony came after the funeral and took her jewelry and some papers. But otherwise, it’s still as she left it. I’ve kept it clean, but it’s not my place to remove all of her things, and I certainly wasn’t going to move into her home without someone telling me it was okay.”
She was surprised to see the sheen of tears in Tierney’s eyes. She’d never asked her why she hadn’t come to the funeral and just assumed she hadn’t bothered to make the long trip.
“I’m sorry. She was your granny. It must be hard for you.”
Tierney rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. “No, I’m sorry no one in the family stepped up to take control. I’ll empty her rooms, and you can move in. You shouldn’t be stuck down here.” She indicated the uninhabitable tiny room off the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll head up there now and see what we’re looking at.” Joey ran up the stairs with long strides, and they were left alone.
Kasia let the silence drag, wondering if Tierney would have the guts to say anything about that night. With her arms crossed, she leaned against the counter and waited.
“I’m also sorry…” Tierney held her gaze. “For what happened that night after the pub. I should never have put you under any pressure.” Her throat moved as she swallowed, but she stood her ground.
Kasia chuckled to let her off the hook. “You didn’t put me under pressure. We were both drunk. It happened.” She had a flashback to Tierney so obediently naked in her bed and hoped her reaction didn’t show on her face.
“Can we put it behind us?” Tierney moved closer. “I want to make this work, and we don’t need the distraction of awkwardness about that night.”
Kasia held her arms wide. “It’s as if it never happened.” But it had happened, and the longer Tierney stood in front of her, the more memories resurfaced. You couldn’t help who you were attracted to. The challenge was to not act on it…again.
“Great.” Tierney reached past her and lifted her backpack from the counter. She pulled out her laptop and sat at the kitchen table. “I’ve started a business plan based on some of the ideas you told me about before. If we can get it in shape and satisfy Dad with the figures, I think we can get his backing.”
Kasia was unconvinced, but she liked that Tierney was showing an interest. And she was surprised that she had actually been listening when she’d shared her ideas. She pulled up a chair alongside, and they talked through ideas and discussed where they needed to get quotes for work, completely engrossed until Joey appeared on the back stairs.
“Come and take a look now, Tierney. Let’s see what needs to be done.”
Tierney nodded and closed the laptop. She ambled toward the stairs before turning back to Kasia. “Do you need any help with preparing the rooms?”
Kasia blinked to hide her surprise. “Thank you. Perhaps later this afternoon, you could make the beds?” She was sure she’d need to go around and fix them when Tierney was done, but any help was better than none.
“Yeah, sure.”
After Tierney followed Joey upstairs, Kasia wondered if things between them could return to some sort of normality. Much as she’d laughed off their night together, that inner feeling of guilt didn’t leave her. It was why she preferred her encounters to be discreet and fleeting, and never with her employer.
Peggy’s suite in the hotel was everything Kasia’s room was not. Situated on the upper floor of the hotel and accessed by a private flight of stairs, the lounge and bedroom had the same aspect as the more expensive rooms in the hotel, looking out over the harbor and beyond to the mainland. In the dead of winter, when heating in the rest of the hotel had been turned to minimum to save costs, that was where she sat with Peggy, playing music, laughing over a board game, or reading and enjoying each other’s company in silence. It would take some time to get used to being there without Peggy. But she didn’t know how much time she had left.
She turned back to her chores, taking some time to look out at the view and ground herself. Whatever was to come, she would try her hardest to keep the hotel going. Tierney wasn’t a bad person. Kasia could be polite with her, friendly even. Although not so friendly they’d end up back in bed. If Tierney really was trying to take some responsibility for the business, perhaps they could make it work. If not, at least she’d know she did everything she could.