Chapter 17
Kasia caught the towel Joey threw and rubbed herself vigorously to get the blood moving. The water temperature was so low now they had dipped for just a few minutes. She was trying to tell Joey through chattering teeth about Tierney’s attempts to help at the hotel. When Katy, her teenage seasonal housekeeping assistant, had called to say she wasn’t coming back from college for the Christmas break, Tierney had been quick to step up and offer to cover the work.
“She’s really trying. Now I’ve taught her how to make a bed properly, she’s been hard at it. I’m grateful for the help. Katy gave me almost no notice.”
“Her mum and dad are fuming. She’s met a boy and is going to his parents for the holidays. Young love and all that.” Joey pulled on thick socks, slid their feet into a heavy pair of boots and stood. “Did Tierney talk about when she was back home?”
Kasia frowned and thought for a moment, trying to recall any conversations that had included detail of Tierney’s stay in Boston. “I don’t think so. Aside from work, she only really talks about the birds she wants to go and photograph in her free time.” She pulled a sweater over her head. “Which is surprising.”
“She’s not mentioned Megan or moaned about her dad?”
“Now I think about it, not a thing.”
Joey gunned the engine and steered them out into the bay. “I think something big happened back home, but she won’t talk to me.”
“Also highly unusual. She does love to complain.” She felt a little guilty when Joey frowned at her. “I just mean she’s quite vocal about things that bother her. So maybe this is something different.”
“Will you talk to her?”
Kasia thought she’d misheard over the sound of the engine. “What?”
Joey turned from the wheel. “Will you ask her if she wants to talk about it?”
“Me? If she won’t talk to her lifelong friend, she’s not going to open up to me. Things might be a little easier, but we haven’t exactly built a trusting relationship.”
“Then maybe this is the time to start. Please try. You don’t know her family. It might be easier for her to tell you about what’s going on.”
Kasia looked out at the harbor coming into view and the glass-fronted hotel dominating the hill behind, and the need to stay here burned once again in her chest. If getting to know Tierney Walsh a little better made that more likely, she had to try.
“Okay, if I can get back from shopping early tomorrow, we should have a couple of hours free. I’ll ask her to come out looking for curlews or something.”
“Get the early ferry to the shops, and I’ll run you back as soon as you’re ready. That’ll give you more time.” Joey smiled widely.
She was pleased Joey was happy, but the idea of spending time alone with Tierney away from the bustle of the hotel felt strange and a little too intimate. There had been a few times lately when she’d been close to Tierney and a buzz of attraction had run through her…more of a throb, if she was honest. She wasn’t sure if Tierney felt it too, but even if she did, Kasia wasn’t going there again. It was too messy.
“Hey, need help putting the shopping away?” Tierney hovered at the door to the kitchen like an enthusiastic puppy.
Her desire to help was refreshing, but Kasia needed to know where to find items when she needed them. It was easier to do it herself than show Tierney where every item went. “Did you service rooms three and eight?”
“Yep, the O’Donnells wanted new towels, so I’ve sorted that, and done all the other items on the list.”
Kasia had found if she provided Tierney with a list of jobs, she could stick to it reliably. She was less adept at working out what was needed intuitively, but they could work around that.
“Also, Mrs. Keane came to reception and asked about where to walk, so I gave her the leaflet and pointed out my favorites. She seemed to like that.”
Kasia turned from her task at the expectant tone in Tierney’s voice. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited. “Yes, people love the personal touch. Especially from a Walsh. Good work, Tierney.”
Tierney beamed. Did she really need such a level of reassurance? Kasia did need to understand her better if she was going to send her back to her dad to win him over with their business plan. She returned to her task. “I’ll be finished here by twelve. Why don’t you make us a sandwich for lunch and pack up your camera equipment, and we can go down to the east beach to look for your waders. It’s low tide soon.” She turned after a moment of silence.
Tierney looked at her with wide eyes. “You want to go with me to watch birds? On your break?”
“Of course. Don’t you want to do that?”
“Yes, that would be amazing.” Tierney bounced into the kitchen and began opening cupboards. “What do you want? Peanut butter? Jelly?”
Kasia paused her task for a few moments to point her in the direction of more appropriate sandwich fillings and listened while she sang quietly as she worked. She’d noticed Tierney hummed or sang when she was happy, even when she was alone. As if the world was too quiet. She had a good voice, and for a moment, Kasia imagined herself accompanying Tierney’s singing with her flute, as she’d done with Peggy. She shook her head and went back to packing away breakfast ingredients with a pleasant feeling of anticipation for their lunchtime walk.
An hour later, they strolled up the lane. Tierney carried her camera bag and tripod, while Kasia swung a bag packed with sandwiches and a flask of tea. The afternoon was bright and chilly. Kasia was glad to get some fresh air, half-listening as Tierney chattered away about curlews and their nesting habits.
She thought to ask, “Are birds your preferred subject to photograph?”
Tierney swung around, her tripod resting on her shoulder. “Surprisingly, yes. I only found out by accident when I went on a course to improve my technique. I’d never really noticed birds before.” She grinned. “Megan would say it was because I never sat still long enough to see any.” Her smile faded. “But I love watching their behavior and trying to capture some of that in my images.”
“Is it a hobby you share with Megan?”
Tierney laughed. “Oh, no, Meg doesn’t do nature. She came out with me once, but it’s not for her.” She increased her pace so she was walking ahead.
“Do you miss her when you’re here? You live together, right?” Kasia had nothing to lose, and she didn’t want Joey to think she hadn’t tried.
“Oh, we did. Do, I mean. It’s just…Megan’s got a boyfriend now, and it’s only a matter of time till they move in together, I guess. Everything’s changed.”
Kasia couldn’t see Tierney’s face, but her tone betrayed sadness. She hurried to catch up, but Tierney veered from the path and climbed up a small grassy hill to their left. Striding after her, Kasia followed onto a small clearing overlooking the beach.
“We can see them from here, but we won’t disturb ’em.”
Tierney dropped to her knees and started unpacking a lens Kasia had only seen the like of in documentaries about the paparazzi. Sensing the conversation was on pause, she laid out the blanket and poured them both a mug of tea. She sat back and enjoyed the view across the bay to Inishkyle, its golden sand shining in the sun.
“Have you been over there?” Tierney had finished setting up her equipment and lowered herself to the blanket alongside Kasia.
Kasia momentarily wished she’d brought a larger rug when Tierney’s denim-clad leg brushed against her own. “No, never. Joey has promised to take me for years, but one of us is always too busy. It looks idyllic.”
“It’s beautiful. As soon as the weather is fine enough, we’ll go over on kayaks.”
Did that mean Tierney intended to stay into spring or summer? That was the longest commitment she’d ever heard her make. “I would love that, thank you.”
“Sandwich?”
She took the foil-wrapped package. She unwrapped and bit into the sandwich. “This is delicious.”
Tierney’s laugh was humorless. “You thought I could mess up a sandwich?”
“Of course not.” But she was slightly surprised. She finished chewing. “What’s the chutney? It tastes familiar.”
Tierney considered her own sandwich. “It was Granny’s pickle. I don’t think she’d made it for a while, but I found two jars at the cottage.” She took a bite and chewed slowly. “I helped her make it as a kid.”
“Yes, she used to make jars and jars of it, but she’d slowed down the last couple of years. I thought it was all finished.” Kasia swallowed the last of her sandwich with regret. “Can you remember the recipe? We could try and replicate it.”
Tierney licked her fingers. “I think so. It is good, isn’t it? Takes me straight back to being a kid.” She picked up her tea and sipped it. “It was a summer tradition. We’d use the tomatoes from the greenhouse and the apples from the orchard.”
“I have apples stored in the shed and a freezer full of veggies from the garden. Want to give it a try after the Christmas rush?” Who had she become, asking Tierney Walsh to share cozy domestic projects?
Tierney smiled. “Yeah, that would be fun.”
She turned back to fiddle with her camera settings, and Kasia sat back on her elbows, enjoying the look of concentration on Tierney’s face and the way her hands moved expertly to control the camera. Her hair shone with chestnut highlights in the afternoon sun, and Kasia wanted to run her fingers through it.
After she’d watched Tierney snapping away for over half an hour, Kasia quietly cleared her throat. Tierney looked up from her viewfinder and a curly lock of hair obscured her face for a moment. Tucking it behind her ear, Tierney raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry,” Kasia said. “I can see you’re engrossed. I do need to get back, though. I can manage without you this afternoon, if you’d like to stay longer.” Where had that come from? She’d spent long enough complaining about Tierney’s poor work ethic. Now she was giving her an excuse to avoid chores?
“No, I’ve got rooms to prepare. I’m all done here, and I got some good shots.” She unclipped the camera and held it out to Kasia, who flicked through the images politely. They all looked the same on the tiny screen.
“You’ve certainly taken plenty.” She handed the camera back. “I’d love to see them on a larger screen when you’ve downloaded them.” She stood up and gathered their lunch items as Tierney took her equipment apart.
As they started their slow stroll back to the hotel, it occurred to her that, lovely though their picnic had been, full of promises of excursions and relish-making, she hadn’t fulfilled her mission. “You know, you shouldn’t worry about Megan. It’s only natural for friendships to move on. You’ll still be best friends, even if Megan’s in a serious relationship.”
Tierney stopped dead and lowered her equipment to the ground. “What the hell do you know about it?”
The fury in her tone made Kasia take a step back. Tierney had a lot of faults, but Kasia hadn’t thought being easily angered was one of them. She instinctively put her hands on Tierney’s shoulders to calm her. “Hey, I’m sorry.”
Tierney shrugged her off. “You can bug me all you want about the hotel. You’ve got a right to know about your future. But stay out of my personal life.” She picked up her equipment and marched off down the path.
Kasia watched for a moment, dumbfounded by the change in mood, and she wondered what sort of wound she’d poked. Joey must be right. Something bad had happened when Tierney was back home. But the way she’d lashed out had hurt. As if Kasia was overstepping the mark as an employee to ask Tierney about her life. She straightened her shoulders and followed Tierney down the path, trying not to think about why the echo of Tierney’s words stung so hard.