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“Would I?” Iris wondered.
“Of course you would. Now, eat this soup, or Cait’s going to ban me from the pub, and how will I let Mr. Murphy flirt with me if I can’t go to the pub?”
“Isn’t he too old for you?”
“Sure he is. But it makes me feel good, and Jacob wouldn’t mind. It’s a win-win,” Beatrice laughed, and Iris spooned up some of the vegetable stew. Her mind felt soggy, like a saturated sponge, and she didn’t quite know what to do with all her feelings that knotted in her stomach. “You know what I would do if I were you?”
“What?” Iris looked up at Beatrice.
“I’d take that tin of cookies to Kane’s place and thank him properly. Yes, that’s certainly what I would do.”
“I doubt he wants to see me. I put him in a bad position today. He could have really hurt himself,” Iris said. She shrugged a shoulder and scooped up more soup. “Plus, who wants to deal with my mess?”
“Oh, well now, I hadn’t thought you were stupid,” Beatrice said, causing Iris to choke on the mouthful of soup she’d just taken.
“Excuse me?” Iris wiped her mouth with a napkin. Beatrice had even put a single flower in a tiny vase on the tray. Details, Iris thought. They mattered.
“Truly, you had struck me as a smart woman, but I may have to revise my opinion,” Beatrice sniffed and stood. “Let me tell you something, Iris, about a man in love. He’d rather die than see the woman he loves get hurt. Men love differently than women do, you know. You’re it for Kane, and the last thing you have to do is feel bad about him having to defend you today. He’s likely thrilled that he was there at the right time. You need to thank him and show him that you feel the same way.”
“Love…Beatrice, surely you’re misconstruing things. We’re just friends. He was protecting a friend,” Iris insisted. Liar, liar, her heart whispered.
“Nope. No, he was not. I saw his face and the way he looked at you. That man is a goner. It’s on you to accept it or not. Be careful with his feelings, Iris. I like the lad. He’s got a good heart.”
With that, Beatrice disappeared with Bubbles strolling nonchalantly behind her, and Iris blinked down at her bowl of soup, adding one more layer to the complicated mess of emotions in her stomach. Sighing, she unmuted her spirit guides.
“What should I do?”
“Go to him!” Lara and Ophelia screamed so loudly in her head that Iris immediately put them back on mute. Right, fine, maybe they all had a point. But first, she needed a shower and to make herself presentable. After her shower, she stood in a towel at the mirror and assessed the damage. Warren had managed to crack her right across the cheekbone, and bruising was already starting to show. Iris suspected it would look worse tomorrow, as bruises often did. She nudged the tender skin with her fingers, debating whether to cover it up with makeup, but some of the skin was raw. It wasn’t like Kane didn’t know what had happened to her. Best to just pat some of Gracie’s healing salve on the area and let it be.
However, vanity still won out. Dark circles tinged the delicate skin below her eyes, and Iris realized she looked about as raw as she felt inside. Maybe one of the reasons she struggled so hard to process her own emotions was because she’d spent her whole life absorbing and managing other people’s feelings. Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten so good at helping others that she’d forgotten to learn how to help herself. Now, when her thoughts were bouncing around her brain like someone had taken a bat to a wasp nest, she didn’t quite know what to do with all the feelings that rose to the surface. It was confusing, this mix of shame and sadness that came with a side of…dare she say happiness? Was it fair or even right that she could feel a sense of lightness after she’d been victimized? Because that’s what it was, Iris realized, gripping the side of the sink and taking deep breaths as she spoke some hard truths to herself in the mirror.
Warren had abused her.
While he’d never lifted a hand to her in their relationship, he’d taken advantage of her in a million other ways. Death by a thousand cuts and all that…
It was true, though. He’d worked hard at eroding her self-esteem and forced her to rely upon him. She’d been lucky enough to have a friend like John, who had all but bullied her into protecting her finances, and that had been the saving grace that had allowed her to get on the plane to Ireland. Now, that moment six weeks ago, when she’d stood at the airport and waved goodbye to John, stood out starkly in her mind. She’d been broken and scared, yet…she’d moved forward anyway. What a gift she’d given herself, Iris realized. It wasn’t in her nature to walk away from a mess, but she’d done just that. Her world had imploded, and instead of staying there and wallowing in it, day in and day out, she’d lit a match and walked away.
Who knew she had such power?
Fascinated with the woman she now saw in the mirror, Iris reached out and touched a finger to her reflection.
“There you are,” Iris whispered. “I’ve been looking for you.”
While her emotions were complicated, Iris realized that she didn’t have to figure everything out today. She was too hard on herself, expecting to be capable of processing such huge things in so little time. She’d lost her business. Her boyfriend betrayed her. She’d moved countries. She’d found family. She’d started over. Stupid ex-boyfriend assaulted her.
She’s fallen for someone.
That last part made her heart shiver and dance, and she wanted to hold on to that feeling. Of all the emotions that roiled in her gut, that was the one she wanted to grab onto like a life preserver thrown from a boat. She didn’t know, not really, if Kane would return her feelings. But he cared for her.
And maybe that was enough to start with. If she could learn to trust someone again, to build a new life together, then just knowing he cared for her, even if it ended up being in friendship only, was an excellent starting point.
The sun was creeping toward the horizon when Iris made her way up the hill to Kane’s rental cottage. It was the first day in a long time that no rain had visited Grace’s Cove, and she strolled comfortably along in jeans and a T-shirt. She hadn’t planned for the number of times someone stopped her on the street to speak with her, which was something new she would have to take into account if she was pressed for time. Iris had never had to budget those things into her schedule when living in a big city.
When she finally reached Kane’s cottage, fiery red streaks crisscrossed the sky, and the first star of the evening twinkled brightly in the dusky blue sky. Hearing Kane’s voice, Iris detoured around the front door to the back patio area, guessing that he was enjoying the spot of nice weather as well.
“I think the book will be good, like really good, Grant. My readers have been begging to learn more about Prince from Rock Rebels. This is their chance to see what happens with him. I think you’re going to be really happy with it,” Kane said, speaking into a cell phone at his ear.
Iris stopped in her tracks.
