“Daniel told me that you plan on taking your spring break next month to hike your way across the Welsh mountains. Alone.” Raven was the oldest of the sisters and Bébhinn’s most protective aunt.
“Daniel has a giant mouth, as usual.” Bébhinn glanced around Raven and found her oldest cousin—technically her oldest nephew—lounging against the bar, sipping their family’s Three Wolves whiskey, his perma-smirk in place.Asshole.Bastard must have been talking to Blair. Those two were as thick as prison cellmates.
Nothing for it but to put on a show while reminding herself to tell Blair, a roommate and one of her best friends, that oversharing with a male O’Faolain was never a good idea. Bébhinn widened her smile. She noted that Daniel and Jonathan’s serious stares were drilling her.Ignore them.
“Yes! I’m so excited. My teachers are allowing me to be absent from classes for an extra five days if I complete my work before the break, which I will, of course. That means I have two weeks to hike and explore. Limited showers and intermittent phone service. Just me and nature. Now that so many Welsh trails interconnect, the routes are limitless. Though many ofWales’s hiking trails prohibit tent camping, Snowdonia has a few campsites, bunkhouses, and a sprinkling of villages with B&Bs if you stay on track.”
Walking up, her Aunt River asked, “Where will you sleep then?”
“Oh, they’ve plenty of bunkhouses and B&Bs. I’m choosing not to use the campsites, so I won’t have the weight of a tent to contend with. I mapped out where I’ll end up each evening. Mom insisted that she wants me to stay in the villages when possible. Hardly a compromise since I like showers and beds. I have bookings in several.”
River and Raven looked in their sister’s direction until her mother eventually joined the group. The four men in the group pretended to be interested in the telly, understanding that it was a huge moment when her mother joined in a family conversation.
“I wouldn’t want to lug a tent on my back either, but aren’t bunkhouses open to anyone? Men and women?” Raven asked, her tone indicating she wasn’t pleased, but too kind to come out and say it outright.
“I think it’s total bullshit you’re allowing this, Row. How will we know if Bébhinn is in trouble?” River protested. At her mother’s rapidly blinking eyes, River quickly changed course. “I’m being foolish, sis. Ignore me. Your daughter grew up roughing it in the woods. She and Hugh loved living off the land. Eating animal turds, boiling water, and crapping behind bushes was a holiday. She’ll be fine.”
“Her dad taught her well. I should have remembered that,” Raven added softly.
Bébhinn wrapped her arm around her mother’s back, pulling her close when she noticed how near she was to tears. Thankfully, Patrick announced, “No one needs to worry, Bran and I ordered a badass sat phone. We’ll track her every move.”
She was about to bite her much older brother’s head off for overstepping, when Bran double-downed, adding, “We can call her all the time, and she can call us. She’ll be able to call you every night, Row.”
Jesus Christ.The look Bran gave her imparted a “don’t argue” vibe without words.Noted, but ridiculous.He could send whatever tech he wanted, but that didn’t mean she had to lug it up a mountain. “I appreciate the,” she paused before forcing herself to say, “gift, but I already have my Garmin SOS satellite communicator. I can be tracked, texted, and signaled in an emergency. Dad and I didn’t really want the distraction of calls.”
“You’re still taking the phone, Bébhinn. We won’t call—” Patrick started before his brother interrupted.
“Much,” Bran finished.
“And I won’t call at all unless I don’t see a text from you,” Mom started, before softly finishing with, “because your dad was an excellent teacher.
“I only wish… No, never mind,” she flapped her hand before her face, brushing off the thought.
Bébhinn knew what it was. She wanted her only daughter to stay in Dublin and never leave her side. It was reasonable. Completely. But it was an ask that she couldn’t honor. If she hadn’t had the plan to leave Dublin and the memories of her father, just for a moment, she would have gone crazy.
Bébhinn wrapped her arm around her mother’s tiny waist. They’d both lost weight. “You know, Mom, you told me you’d consider letting me teach you about hiking. I think you’d love it. Dad always wanted you to go with us.”
Mom looked startled, her eyes rounding. “He did? I never wanted to interrupt your father-daughter time. It was something special for the two of you.”
“Well, yeah, it was, but you’re crazy if you ever thought it wouldn’t have been just as special with the three of us.” Momdabbed her eyes. Her fists were never free of tissues. Her struggle to find her way as a widow was painful.
“I wish I?—”
Bébhinn interrupted. “No, Mom. No more ‘what if’ wishes. We will start with small hikes and build up to the rest. You know Dad’s still stalking us from Heaven. He’d be pleased to see our special thing becomeourspecial thing.”
Bébhinn glanced at her aunts, who listened quietly while subtly blotting their eyes. Their expressions were one hundred percent hopeful. Hopeful that their sister would show some sign of life. The men were all still at the bar, but no one was speaking. Every ear was waiting to hear what Mom would say.
Mom nodded a few times before wrapping her arm around her daughter’s waist. “I think I would like to do that. With you.”
She leaned her head on her mom’s shoulder and whispered for her alone, “This will be good for us, Mom. We need this.”
“We do. Thank you, sweetheart. And…” Mom paused. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant.”
“Never apologize for loving Dad. I understand.”
“No, you don’t,” Mom snapped back, showing more spark than Bébhinn had seen in six months. “Losing your dad almost killed me. If I lost you, it would have. I’m not saying there aren’t many tough days ahead for both of us, for all of us, but I promise to commit to living again.”
River and Raven wrapped their arms around the two of them, creating a circle of love and support.
