Two long, long minutes later. “Friends?”
“Definitely.”
“Definitely?” Her mom sounded suspicious. With reason.
“Fine,” she sighed, knowing she wasn’t walking away without giving her mom more. “We are just friends. Good friends, actually. We’ve talked every day since Wales.
“I swear, there isn’t a whole lot we don’t know about each other. We encourage each other every morning and discuss how our days have gone each night. He’s become the best part of my day.”
“I remember what that is like. It makes you feel invincible.” Her mom smiled softly, surely thinking about her husband.
“Gray, Mags, and Blair are my best friends, but I swear, he’s become one too. The whole truth is that I want more, but I don’t know if he does,” she rushed the last, relieved to tell her mom about Dagr.
“He’s never…umm, given you a reason to believe he might want more?”
Bébhinn felt her cheeks warm before admitting, “He flew to Dublin a few weeks ago just to take me out for a drink before going on to Wales.”
“That seems like a pretty big gesture for casual friends. Nothing was said or…done to make you think he might think of you as more than a buddy?”
Bébhinn had thought a lot about that evening. Every touch or brush of his fingers. At the pub, his hand had touched her back and his leg had casually touched the side of hers. “A few very minor things. Nothing extraordinary but not nothing.”
“I appreciate his caution. Patrick mentioned that he is older than you. Bran looked up some of his background when you guys were hiking.”
“He is. Older, that is.”Don’t start stuttering around the facts now, Bébhinn, she chided herself.
“Yes, we’ve just confirmed as much,” her mom chuckled. “By how much?”
“Eighteen years.” Bébhinn closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She trusted her mother, but she was laying a lot on her.
When she remained silent, Bébhinn added, “Less than you and Dad.” Her mom blinked several times, but thankfully didn’t tear up over the mention of her husband. And because she was feeling extreme stress at the moment, Bébhinn included, “I wrote to Dad about Dagr in my journal.”
“Oh. Oh, well. Oh.” It took a moment, but a grin broke across her mother’s face. “I bet Hugh had a few thoughts.”
They both hugged and laughed, each hearing his voice in their heads. He was saying different things to each of them, of course, but every comment would have been opinionated as hell.
They dried their eyes and stood together for a while, thinking about what they’d lost but what they still had to live.
“I’ll keep your news, Bébhinn, if only because I know your father would bellow the house down, and it amuses me to remember some of our bigger rows. I won’t tell my sisters, though I’ll probably almost break at the seams from the secret.
“I’ll keep your heart to myself but only if you promise to tell me when there is new news.”
“I promise. I’ve wanted to tell you for weeks, if only to get your advice.” They embraced and sniffled tears during which she promised to call her mother upon landing, in the evening, in the morning, and before takeoff the following day.
“I love you, Mom.”
“You’re my heart, Bébhinn.”
thirty-six
THE WATCHER
He sawthere was a message from The Ramblers’ Facebook group. Nothing new there. Everyone was excited for the trip. He had his bags packed a week ago. The anticipation was nearly strangling him. He’d barely slept more than four or five hours a night once the club gave the trip a green light.
He would need to be on the road within the hour if he was going to make it on time. Everyone was driving separately or carpooling. He wished he and Bébhinn could have made the trip together, but it was for the best.
He wouldn’t have had enough room in his tiny Nissan Micra to fit the huge suitcase she’d been packing yesterday. She must plan on leaving the suitcase in her Jeep, because it would never fit into the two-person tent he’d gotten them. It was probably spare clothes and supplies in case someone forgot something. She was always the most thoughtful in the group.
In only a few short hours, they would see each other at the designated hiking spot, where they would pitch tents before heading out on a day hike.
