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“You’re not really thinking about dating Magnus, are you?” he asked suddenly.
“No.” Cora looked at him like he was crazy. “After the week we’ve had, I can’t even think about dating. There’s too much going on, and all my energy needs to go into focusing on work. Right now all I want to do is go home, take a hot shower, drink a cold beer and zone out.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Liam said.
“I don’t want to go to the Fourth of July party tonight, either,” Cora added wearily. Earlier in the week they’d made plans to spend the evening with Suzette and some of her friends. “I’m just too tired. But last year I discovered there’s a pretty good view of the fireworks from the roof of my house, if you’re interested. That’s where I’m going to be tonight. Want to join me?” Her grin was so warm and bright, Liam felt it in his bones.
Later that night they climbed onto the rooftop and huddled under fuzzy blankets sipping cold beer with a sliver of a moon winking down at them.
“Beautiful,” Liam breathed, staring up at the starry sky. It was a shining reminder that the universe was vast and mysterious and inexplicable. Even though the mere thought could be enough to cause anyone to feel small, Liam felt a sense of peace. When he looked up, there was no marked passage of time, no change in the order of the heavens that he could see. Without having to try too hard, he could almost believe he was back in Ireland in eighteen forty-four with his beloved Cora.
“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.
He dragged his gaze from the heavens and looked at her. She was all at once his, but unattainable. Close, but worlds away. If he reached out to touch her, would she shy away? Or would she welcome him with open arms like she once had? Sometimes his old life felt like a fading dream, like wisps of fog through his fingers when he tried to hold on to the memories. But this version of Cora was so vibrant and alive and utterly magnificent, he couldn’t grieve for his lost life. He was here now, with her, and that had to be enough.
“Earth to Liam,” Cora teased. “I never know where you go when you get that look on your face.”
“Old memories,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.
“Good ones?”
“Aye.” His smile was a little sad. “But not as good as the ones we’re making now.”
Cora nudged his shoulder playfully. “You can save that lethal charm for the ladies, Officer O’Connor, because I’m already invested here. See this?” She held up her half-empty beer bottle. “I’m going to drink another, and maybe even another after that. And I’m going to stay right here and watch the fireworks. So you’re stuck with me tonight.”
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, clinking his beer bottle against hers.
They laughed and talked about nothing and everything, just like they used to in that cold field in Ireland in a different lifetime. This was a stolen moment; Liam knew that, but with Cora’s soft voice and the evening breeze ruffling his hair, he remembered what it felt like to be truly happy. And when brilliant fireworks began to splash across the night sky, one after the other cascading in a glorious spectacle of shimmering color and light, all he really saw was her.
5
Kinsley, Ireland
1844
“Holy Mary, mother of God,” Liam whispered, sitting on the stone wall beyond his brother’s cottage. “Pray for us sinners.” Though he realized it was sacrilegious to pray for help when he was actively planning to defy one of the Ten Commandments, he figured it couldn’t hurt. Saint Mary was supposed to be merciful. If she wouldn’t bother with his sorry sack of bones, he couldn’t blame her, but maybe she’d have mercy on him for Cora’s sake. He needed a lot of money, and he was going to need it soon. In his experience, stealing from the wealthy seemed like the most logical plan.
It was early morning, and the sun had yet to rise, but Liam couldn’t sleep. He’d left Cora’s house hours ago. In between sweet kisses and whispered secrets, they’d talked about running away together. Now Liam felt as if he could fly. Coralovedhim. It was everything he’d never dared hope for. Only in his wildest fantasies had he imagined Cora could care for a poor peasant like himself. He’d been elated when she told him her feelings, but also downright terrified. By choosing to love him, she was placing her life and future in his hands.
He stared down at his dirt-smudged fingers, rough and calloused from years of physical labor. What was he going to do? All his life, he’d scraped and scrabbled just to eat. Just to help put food on the table for his brother and family. With his friend Boyd, Liam had carved out a life as a thief, which had never bothered him until now. The extra money had allowed them to survive when crops failed and food grew scarce, but that was before Liam met Cora. Now he wanted to be the type of man she deserved.
One last time, he vowed, hopping off the low stone wall to cross the field. He’d track down Boyd, and they’d target someone rich who could afford to part with a bit of their fortune. If they managed to steal enough, then Liam and Cora could leave within the month. They could travel to Cork and buy passage on a ship to America. There were clergymen who could be bribed to perform last-minute marriages in those coastal towns. Anything could be bought for the right price. Heart leaping at the thought of making Cora his wife, Liam set off in search of his fellow thief.
That afternoon Liam and Boyd sat on the muddy riverbank in the woods, skipping stones and discussing their next target. The Bricks had joined them, but they rarely spoke when it came to figuring out logistics. The twin brothers were huge, sturdy as boulders, and just as dense. Luckily, they had just enough wits to understand their talents did not include complex scheming, so they left that up to Liam and Boyd.
“I’m telling you, the man’s had it coming for a long time,” Boyd said bitterly, as he tossed a rock into the shallow river. “John Brady’s as rich as a king, but stingier than a starving mongrel with a bone. Did you know he threw old widow Murphy out of the house because she came down with the lung sickness? Thirty-four years she worked for his family, and just like that, she’s dumped out like a chamber pot because she’s too weak to serve. John Brady has no love or loyalty to anything except his money. He even ignores his lovely wife.” Boyd’s sly, all-knowing gaze slid to Liam. “But you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
Liam ignored him, never one to boast about his affair with Margaret Brady. They weren’t together anymore, and it had been a well-kept secret between them, but Boyd was shrewd, and he’d known Liam since they were boys.
“Why’d you end it?” Boyd asked, baffled. “Any woman who looks like Margaret, with all that money at her disposal, would be a solid catch if you ask me. Only a crazy man would give up a romp like that.”
Liamwascrazy—for a kindhearted girl with a rosebud mouth who spoke to him and smiled at him like he was the most important person in the world. The moment he’d laid eyes on Cora McLeod was the moment he’d lost his heart to her. No other woman would do.
“Think Margaret would toss you a bit of money if you asked her sweetly?” Boyd wiggled his eyebrows.
“I’d never ask. What do you take me for?” Liam frowned at Boyd. “John Brady’s a stingy man. Margaret may dress the part of a wealthy, pampered woman, but he controls all aspects of her life, even down to her spending.” Liam remembered Margaret complaining that she never had freedom to do anything unless her husband approved. She was like a pretty bird in a gilded cage. “The jewels and carriage and fancy clothes are all for show—John Brady dressing up his prized possession to make himself look good. Margaret’s as trapped in her life as the rest of us.”
“Well, lucky she had you for comfort, then, when her cold husband was away on business,” Boyd said with a hint of jealousy. Even though Boyd was married to Alice, it wasn’t an easy union. Alice was forever complaining to Boyd about their lack of money.
