"These? These are offerings. Never come on this beach without them," Fiona said sternly. She walked forward a few steps and drew a large circle in the sand with her big toe. Without looking, she motioned for Cait to join her inside the circle.
"What…" Cait began but Fiona cut her off quickly.
"Shh." Fiona sliced a glare at Cait and she shut up.
"To those that rest here, we offer these gifts as a token of our respect. In return we ask for your protection during our time here. Our purpose is pure." On those words Fiona tossed the flowers and the rocks into the water. Cait found herself trying to bite back a laugh but when the water slapped higher on the beach than usual, she clasped her mouth shut.
"This is very serious, Cait. You must never come here without first offering a gift and asking for protection. This is how people die. How you could die," Fiona said.
Cait shivered at the truth in the old woman's words.
"Come." Fiona motioned her forward and together they began to walk the beach. Fiona was silent for a while and Cait allowed herself to begin to relax. Truly, the cove was stunning. A private, mystical beach that was untouched in its beauty. The dogs ran the beach and dug in the sand, all but laughing their joy at being by the water.
"Do you know the history of Grace O'Malley?" Fiona asked.
"I do. It's hard to live in the town of Grace's Cove and not know about Grace O'Malley," Cait said with a shrug. The small village that they lived in had been named after Grace O'Malley, the famous pirate queen. She'd been ferocious on land and at sea, staunchly romantic, and Irish to the core. Her battles with the English had done much to preserve Celtic tradition. The most famous story surrounded her giving birth at sea mid-battle. But Cait knew that the most important story came not from how she lived her life, but how she had ended it.
"She's here, isn't she?" Cait nodded towards the water.
"Aye, she is," Fiona said. "She knew she was dying. Grace had a strong and pure intuition. She knew it was her time. Her daughter helped her to get down here and together they blessed and protected the cove. The night that Grace burned on the water is the same night that her daughter birthed her baby on the beach, alone."
Cait shuddered to think of it. How horrible to lose your mother and birth your child in one night…not to mention having to do it all on your own.
"Things were different back then," Fiona said, reading the thoughts on her face. "Women were more stoic. And it is through the powerful magick that transpired that night that the daughters of Grace all carry extra gifts. Her bloodline runs strong and there are more of you out there than you know."
"Well, sure, I mean, Ireland is such a mish-mash of family history. I'm sure we are all interconnected somehow."
"True, but not all carry the bloodline. It must go mother to daughter straight from Grace, not a male son who then births a daughter," Fiona explained.
"So…wait, does that mean my mother has a gift?" Cait exclaimed, and put her hand on Fiona's arm to stop her from continuing down the beach. Cait's cheeks flushed and she could swear that she heard a roaring in her head. All these years her mother and she had bickered, never really seeing eye to eye. They'd always been poor, and Cait's mother had often disapproved of Cait's decision to open a pub and try to better herself. "We're simple people, Cait Gallagher," was her mother's constant refrain. Not so simple, after all, it seemed, Cait thought.
Fiona said nothing, simply waiting for Cait to put the dots together.
"Well, of course she does. So if every daughter of Grace has something, then what is hers?"
Fiona turned to her and smiled gently.
"That would be a conversation you're to be having with your mother, not me, lass." Fiona pulled a worn tartan blanket from her bag and bent to spread it on the sand. Cait caught the rough corners of the blanket and helped Fiona to stretch it out. Fiona plopped down and patted the spot next to her and Cait joined her, the sand lumpy beneath her bottom.
Ronan rushed over and jumped on Cait, giving her one rough swipe with his tongue before turning to tear off across the beach. Cait choked out a laugh and wiped his slobber from her face with the back of her arm.
"Interesting, isn't it, how much animals love you?" Fiona asked.
Cait felt a small nerve of awkwardness twinge in her but instead of immediately contradicting Fiona, she took a deep breath.
"I…I can read their thoughts too," Cait admitted carefully, keeping her eyes trained on the water that kissed the rocks of the cliff. She was worried that Fiona would think she was weird.
"I suspected as much. What a marvelous gift!" Fiona's excitement rang pure and true and Cait felt her heart fill with light.
"Really? You don't think it is weird? I mean…people, yeah, but animals?"
"Why should the ability to read thoughts be constrained to just humans? We aren't the only species capable of thinking," Fiona said excitedly.
"So is that what you wanted to work with me on? Being a pet whisperer or something?" Cait asked.
"No, though I think the idea is wonderful." Fiona laughed at her. "Perhaps you should have been a vet."
"I probably would have if I could have afforded the education. Far too rich for my blood," Cait said.
"Well, we all have our paths. You never know where yours will take you. However, I want to talk to you about how you currently use your ability," Fiona said.
"I don't. I mean, not really. Once in a while I will catch a stray thought or I will let my shields down to scan someone's thoughts but for the most part, I don't. I…I feel like it is wrong so I stuff it way down inside of me," Cait admitted softly. She looked down at her hands to find them clenched tightly in her lap.
"Ah, yes, you've always held yourself to a very exacting code of honor, haven't you?"
Cait shrugged one shoulder and nodded.
"It just doesn't seem right…peeking in on people's thoughts. I have lived so long shielding myself that now I rarely do it. Though it is fun to do with dogs. They are just so happy."
"Ronan," Fiona called and Ronan raced to them. "Will he understand if I ask him a question?"
"I…I don't really know. I haven't had full conversations before, I just catch snatches of commentary," Cait said.
"Well, let's see what happens," Fiona said. She turned to Ronan and invited him to lie down on the blanket before her. Teagan sat behind him.
"Ronan, do you like living at the cottage?"
Cait lowered her shields and reached out to Ronan. His thoughts came to her through a pink haze of love and happiness.
"Love house. Love you. Love Mom."
"He says that he loves the house and loves you and Keelin," Cait said.
"Do you want to stay at Keelin and Flynn's or at the cottage?" Fiona asked, raising the complexity level of the question.
"Cottage. Love cottage. Friend. You need friend."
Cait stared at the dog, her mouth hanging open. She had no idea why she hadn't tried this before and was quite certain that she would never look at an animal the same again.
"Um, gosh, he said that he wants to live with you because you need a friend."
Fiona's face softened and she rubbed Ronan's head.
"Don't feel like you have to stay, buddy. I have lots of friends."
"No. Stay." The dog pushed his head into Fiona's hand.
"Well, I guess you are going to have to break the bad news to Keelin that Ronan is staying with you," Cait said with a chuckle.
Fiona laughed.
"Okay, Ronan, if you stay where will you sleep and what's your favorite meal?" Fiona said inquisitively.
"On your bed. Bed. Foot of bed. All the meals. Love meals. Food. Food. Food."
Cait couldn't help but chuckle at the dog's enthusiastic response.
"It appears that he will be sleeping at the foot of your bed and he seems fairly easy to please on the food front. He likes it all."
Fiona laughed and leaned over to wrap her arms around Ronan.
"Okay, buddy. You
get to stay with me. We'll deal with Keelin. Now, go play."
Cait shook her head and couldn't help but feel like her whole body was lit with joy. She'd had her first real conversation with an animal. It was fascinating and provocative and, quite simply, beautiful.
"I…I, just wow. I'm amazed at this."
"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Power?" Fiona leaned back on her hands and gazed at the water.
"So, you said that you have lessons for me. What did you mean?"
"Not lessons so much as an uncovering. I think that it is time for you to start using your gift more. For the greater good," Fiona said.
"What? How could I do that?"
"Fairly easily if you put your mind to it," Fiona said quietly.
Cait stared at the edge of the water where it blurred into the horizon. How could she use it for the greater good? She'd never considered her gift as something that could be useful, instead it had always been something that she had tried to hide or ignore. A guilty feeling crept up on her as she thought about how many nights Fiona dedicated to healing others. And now that Keelin had embraced her power to heal with her hands, she also joined Fiona quite frequently in her healing sessions. Cait had been so engrossed in getting the pub up and running that she'd done little to help others at all as of late.
"I suppose that I should do more to lend a hand. Can I help you with your healings?" Cait asked.
Fiona tilted her head at Cait. "I don't know, can you?"
Cait thought about it.
"I suppose if someone is unable to talk then I'd be able to help in that respect?"
A quick smile shot across Fiona's face.
"You absolutely could. But you understand what you would be opening yourself up to, right?"
Cait shook her head no.
"Well, say you connected mentally with someone unable to speak. If their family is in the room then they are going to know about your gift. Healing is one of those things where you either embrace it fully or you stay hidden. Or, you find other ways to use your ability."
"I hadn't thought about it like that. How do you deal with it? With people knowing that you are different?"
"Well, to be honest, I don't really deal with it at all. I just let myself be me and other people are forced to wrap their heads around it. For those that I have healed from the brink of death or serious sickness…they don't even bother trying to understand. They are simply grateful. Others, well, they don't want to understand so they don't associate with me. But, with anything, if someone doesn't want to know the real me then I don't need them in my life, you understand?"
Cait nodded. It made sense and yet…
"God, I've lived with this secret for so long. I don't know how people in the village would react."
"Do you really think that nobody else in this village has secrets?" Fiona raised an eyebrow at her.
"I guess that I hadn't really thought about it like that. I don't know. I'm scared," Cait admitted and shrugged her shoulders. Her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of revealing her ability to people.
"Fear is a useless emotion," Fiona said forcefully.
"I…okay, yes, I get that." Cait blew out a sigh and watched the dogs race through the waves, barking at each other.
"Mrs. Donovan, the older one, recently had a stroke. She lost her ability to speak and her hands are too shaky to write. She might appreciate some company," Fiona suggested.
Cait looked down at her hands, clenched so tightly in her lap. Okay, she thought, an old woman needs help. I can do this. Coming to a resolution in her mind, she turned to Fiona.
"I'll go to see her this afternoon."
Chapter 7
Cait thought about what Fiona had said on her drive back into Grace's Cove. She'd lived with hiding her gift for so long that it felt weird to consider using it in a different capacity.
They say the early teenage years are the most awkward for children and Cait's hadn't been any different, she thought. The ability to read people's minds had just about sent Cait screaming for the hills. It was like she had a front-row seat to every crush, break-up, and fight that her friends at school were involved in. As if being a teenager wasn't difficult enough, having to try and act normal when she could read what people were thinking about her had caused Cait more than her fair share of problems.
Cait thought of her mother and shook her head. The few times she had tried to approach Sarah about what was going on, her mother had made the sign of the cross and had started whispering "Hail Marys" as she rocked her chair in front of her favorite TV shows.
Cait's relationship with her mother was a complicated one. Growing up in Ireland meant that family came first. But, because her only family was a mother that barely acknowledged her, it had really felt like Cait was raising herself.
Sarah rarely made time for Cait. What with her mother working double shifts at the market and catching up on her favorite television shows, Cait had usually eaten her dinners alone, often not speaking with her mother for days at a time. By the time Cait was fifteen, they saw each other as infrequently as possible. The times they did speak generally erupted into bitter feuds.
It had soon become known around Grace's Cove that Cait was at a loss for familial support. Gradually, the invitations to dinner at her friends' houses increased and the families of Grace's Cove shifted to include her as one of their own. Cait’s roots were entwined as much with the families of this town as they were with the blood that ran in the cove.
Cait thought back to those awkward, agonizing years. She almost saw those years through a lens of burning shame. Shame that she couldn't understand why she could hear people's thoughts. Shame from having a mother that wanted little to do with her. And, guilt at not being good enough for her mother. Cait excelled in school and had constantly tried to talk to her mother about her aspirations after school. She was met with a cold wall of silence.
Until Fiona.
Fiona had all but plucked Cait from the streets of Grace's Cove and spent the weekends putting her to work around her house. Slowly, as they had built a relationship, Cait had opened up to Fiona. It had only taken a few shaky conversations before Fiona had told Cait what she was, and in doing so, pulled Cait back from the brink and saved her from losing herself.
Once Fiona had taught Cait to shield herself from others' thoughts, Cait had been able to walk easily among the other students. She dated, made new friends, lost friends, and did all the normal things that a teenage girl did.
Though, there were those few times. Cait laughed up at herself in the rearview mirror. Once she'd gotten used to her ability, she'd had a few moments where she used it to get the upper hand in a situation. She still remembered the horrified look on one teacher's face when she tried to force the whole class to stay after school for being rowdy until Cait had cornered the teacher and threatened to tell everyone about her crush on the local doctor. The class had gotten to go home and the teacher had stayed far away from Cait after that.
Cait had moved out of her mother's apartment as soon as school was finished. She'd worked two jobs to make the rent, but her freedom had been priceless. Her relationship with her mother had deteriorated even further. Yet, a part of Cait still hoped for something more. She dutifully brought her mother food each week and tried to stop by for tea as her schedule permitted. The visits were usually short.
And then. That day. The day her future had become glaringly clear to her.
Cait pictured the For Sale sign on the front of Murphy's Pub. It had been the talk of the town as Murphy's Pub had held the title of longest-running pub in Grace's Cove.
Cait could see her hands trembling as she gripped the folder of papers for her loan documents from the bank. It had seemed like forever as the banker had pored over each and every detail of her documents. Finally, he had looked up and smiled at her.
"This is an excellent business plan. I agree, adding a kitchen and food will do well for the pub. I look forward to you serving me your first pint," he'd said,
and laughed as Cait jumped up and ran around the desk to hug him. Finally, something of her own.
From that day on, she'd never looked back. She ate, slept, and breathed the pub and shielding her ability had become even more important. Though, Cait found that most people would end up telling their secrets after a few pints anyway, but she still did her best not to let her ability impact what she was creating for herself.
Cait smiled as she thought about the little nest egg that she'd been slowly building over the last three years. In a few years, she'd own the pub outright.
And her mother? Well, she'd just have to accept that this was what Cait wanted to do with her life. Though Cait held little hope that Sarah would come to see her side of things, she still tried.
Releasing a long breath, Cait drove her car into downtown and pushed thoughts of the past out of her head. Today would be a new way to use her gift and hopefully it would make up for the ways she had used it in the past.
Chapter 8
Cait pulled her car up in front of the bright blue building that housed the little flower shop in town. She figured that Mrs. Donovan might like some flowers. And, Cait knew that she was stalling. What if the Donovans were scared of her? Or told the village everything about her? Her stomach was twisted in knots and a dull sense of worry pulsed through her.
Cait took a deep breath to calm herself. The Donovans needed her help. Surely, kindness wouldn't backfire on her. Cait stepped from her car and walked to the door, jumping back as it swung open.
Shane stepped out, his arms full of Gerbera daisies, one of her favorite flowers. Instant jealously blinded Cait to the way his face lit when he saw her on the sidewalk.
"For your girlfriend, I suppose?" Cait sneered at Shane. He stopped dead in his tracks and stiffened. Cait immediately felt bad as the smile dropped from his face. Shane just shook his head at her.
"Well…go on. Don't want to keep blonde, tall, and gorgeous waiting, do you?"
The Mystic Cove Series Boxed Set (Wild Irish Books 1-4) Page 21
