“Please do. You can even bring Liam,” her father joked.
She turned her thoughts toward Liam, uncertain. Had he told them the rest? He nodded quietly, and she smiled at him as she released her mother and stepped back.
“I guess we’ll get my stuff packed then. I’m just going to get what I need for now, and we’ll come back tomorrow for the rest,” she said.
“Okay, dear. Do you want your bedroom suite, as well?”
“No, Mom. The house is fully furnished, so we don’t need any furniture.”
“Okay,” she replied, seeming disappointed.
“She had her heart set on redecorating that room into an office.”
“Wow. You guys don’t waste any time, huh?”
Dawn looked at them in dismay, wondering how they could be so eager to get rid of her. She felt a little sad, she realized. Down deep, though, she knew that it was just her own feelings of leaving the only home she had ever known to live alone on her own.
“You’ll never be alone,” Liam told her quietly.
CHAPTER 15
It felt strange to be an adult now. Dawn supposed that she had been an adult for a while, but it seemed even more real now. She no longer lived in a house with her mother and father. Now, she lived in a house of her own with her soon-to-be husband. They had purposely put the wedding off for a year. It would give them time to get their business started and more than enough time to plan.
“I don’t know why we should wait so long. I mean, why not just do what people here used to do and just get married on a cliff atop the mountain? Hell, we could get married in that old pit we used to dig around in all the time.”
“We haven’t been there in ages!”
“No, we haven’t. I suppose we outgrew it.”
“Why are you in such a hurry to get married?” she asked.
“Why aren’t you? You are giving me a complex.”
“I am not. Am I?”
Dawn put down the book she had been reading and looked at him, studying his face and examining his thoughts.
“Stop pushing your way into my head,” he told her.
“Liam? Are you really concerned about me not wanting to marry you?”
“No, of course not, Dawn. I just want you to be my wife. I want us to begin our lives together.”
“We have already begun our lives together. We live in the same house, and we are hardly ever apart. Everything we do, we do toward a common goal of getting our business going and getting a house of our own. We don’t need a piece of paper that says we are man in wife to do that, do we?”
“I suppose not,” he admitted.
“But it still bothers you?”
“I’m just…I don’t know. I guess I’m just ready. My entire life has centered around being married to you and making you happy.”
“There is more to your life than that, Liam. There is so much more.”
“I know. I don’t mean that. I’m not saying it’s all I have going in my life. I’m just…I don’t know.”
“Listen, Liam. I love you more than anything in this world. I want to marry you in the worst way, but you know we can’t just sneak off and do that. Your father is the dragon leader, and there are expectations.”
“I don’t care about expectations!”
“No, but your parents do, and we are going to honor their wishes. We are going to marry in a traditional ceremony in front of hundreds of people we hardly know or care about, but on that day, there will only be one face that I even notice. When I’m walking down that aisle toward you, I will only see you. It will be as if no one else is even there.”
Liam smiled and kissed her on the cheek. She knew he was still bothered about it, but he knew she was right and he would come around. If they agreed on anything, it was that their wedding day would be the best day of both their lives.
“You want to go look at the new space with me today?” he asked.
“New space?”
“Yeah. Remember I told you that they built a new block of offices in the city center? Some are for sale, and some are for rent.”
“Oh yeah. They are ready to be looked at then?”
“Sure are. That sounds great. When are we going?
“Now? He just sent me a text and said he could meet us there if we have time.”
“Let’s go then. I’ll change.”
Twenty minutes later, they were standing in the first of several offices he had to show them. Dawn looked around disapprovingly. It was way too small, and there were hardly any plugs in the walls.
“We are running a media company. We’re going to need a lot more space and a lot more electrical outlets.”
“I agree. Are the others bigger?”
“Not really. They are just spaced differently.”
“That stinks. This is a great area, and it is within walking distance of where we live right now,” Liam replied.
He looked toward Dawn, scratching his head. She knew he had been hopeful that they could move forward. She was beginning to realize that he was feeling like he was on hold somehow. He needed this. He needed to at least line up an office. Moreover, he needed something to keep him busy. Dawn looked back toward the realtor.
“Yes, let us see that one.”
“Excuse me?” he replied.
“The one you are thinking about. Let us see it.”
“I…how did you know?”
“She is just very intuitive. Do you have another place to show us?” Liam asked him.
“Yes, but it’s very rough. It’s abandoned and not an adjoining office like this one. It is in disrepair.”
“Sounds just like something that might be just what we need,” Dawn replied.
“All right, let’s go then.
They walked behind him as he led them to a large building almost directly across the street. It had once been an old cottage owned by the woman who ran the diner down the street. When the city center began to grow quickly, it had been vacated by the people who had lived in it last and rezoned as commercial property, but no one wanted it. Looking around inside, Dawn could see why.
“It needs a lot of work,” Liam said.
Dawn looked in his direction. He was smiling and running his hands across the old woodwork that was still visible on the chair railings and the large stones that made up a fireplace on one end. It was practically gutted, with only the support beams that had once framed the walls of former rooms.
“How much do they want for it?” Dawn asked him.
“Not much,” the realtor replied.
“How much is not much?” Liam asked.
“They’ll sell you the whole building for ten thousand euros.”
“Are you kidding me?” Liam asked.
“Maybe eight. It’s nothing more than a frame really, but it is solid, it’s large, and the location is prime.”
“We’d have to put quite a bit of work and money into it,” Liam said.
Dawn knew it was more a comment to himself than her. She also knew that his statement of disbelief about the price was not because he thought it was too high. It was much lower than either of them had expected. Still, it would need a lot of work, and how much would that cost them?
“Let us think about it,” Dawn told him. “Do you mind if we bring someone in to look at it and give us an idea of how much we are looking at in repairs and upgrades before we discuss anything more seriously on the price?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been trying to sell this place for a very long time. Most people just look at it and walk out. If you are interested in it, then do whatever you need to do and call me with any questions. I’ll talk to the owners about the price.”
“Good enough then. Thanks for showing it to us.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, handing each of them his business card and showing them out.
Dawn and Liam stood at the front entrance and watched him walk back down the street to his car and get in before walking across the street to the pizza parlor they had
been frequenting for years. Liam hadn’t even had to ask. She had seen him thinking about their specialty pizza the moment he had laid eyes on the sign.
“I’d have given him twice that,” Liam told her over a gooey slice of stuffed crust meat lovers pizza.
“I know. I’m glad he kept talking when he should have kept quiet instead of going down on the price.”
“Yeah. He didn’t care much about his clients. He just wanted to get rid of it in a hurry. I forgot to even ask who owns it.”
“Liam, I love that you are so excited about the place, but even if they give it to us, it might be too much to get up to par.”
“We’ll get people in there tomorrow to find out.”
“So we will,” Dawn laughed, taking a bite out of her pizza.
CHAPTER 16
“Kergot called while you were in the shower. He wants to stop by this morning on his way to the school,” Liam told Dawn as she stepped out of the shower.
“Why?”
“He didn’t say,” Liam replied.
It had been a couple of weeks since they had closed on the property in the city center. The owners were relieved to get it off their hands and more than happy to sell it for bottom dollar. Liam had weighed what he could do himself with the help of some friends in the village and what he would have to pay to have done in order to meet local codes.
He had already poured himself into getting the place cleared out and framed up. Dawn admired his dedication and helped him out with everything she could work on, but they had done all they could do, and now it was in the hands of plumbers and electricians that would do their work before the finishing touches were added.
“Is all of the office equipment we need on order?” he asked as they sat eating their breakfast a few minutes later.
“Yes. I’ve checked the list, and we have all the basics we need. We will add other things as we build the business and need them, but we have the essentials on the way.”
“Thank goodness. I’ve been so busy with the building that I haven’t even checked on all that stuff. I’m so glad you are on top of it.”
“I am. What do you want to do today?”
“I need to go check on the work at the office this morning and make sure everyone turned up and is getting it done.”
“Why don’t I go with you, and then we can maybe venture out a bit more, maybe go over to the coast and walk along the water or do a little shopping in the city?”
“We still have so much to do,” he groaned.
“Liam, you’ve been working too hard. I know we need to get this done, but you don’t want to burn yourself out.”
“I’m not, Dawn. I just want to get this going. We still have so much to do to even get into the office. Neither of us have jobs other than the freelance work we are doing to tide us over while we build the formal business. Money is too tight.”
“Is that what has been bothering you lately? You’re worried about money? We still have plenty in savings.”
“We won’t when we are done chucking a good deal of it into this business, and then we still have a house to buy and a wedding to pay for. I’d like to get this going so we can focus on the other things.”
Dawn admired how Liam was always on top of things. He was completely organized. He never just did things by the seat of his pants like she was want to do. It was all planned out and kept on schedule. Even though she admired him for it, it could be maddening sometimes.
The doorbell rang, disrupting their discussion. Dawn went to answer it and found Kergot standing outside with a large box in his hands. She invited him in and offered him a seat in the den.
“Kergot! It’s good to see you. What brings you by? Penelope isn’t with you?” Liam asked him.
“No. She had to get to the school. I just came by to bring you this,” he said, motioning toward the box as he sat it on the coffee table.
“What is it?”
Kergot smiled broadly and opened up the box, pulling out a large wooden sign with an attached chain. He held it up for them to see.
Dawn looked at it, stunned. It was beautiful. There was a thin wooden frame around the edges that had a simple Celtic design carved into it. Inside that, on the left side, was a large dragon, breathing fire toward the center of the sign.
The fire opened up into a series of letters that spelled ‘Mourne Media,’ the name of their new company. It was intricately carved by hand and would look great hanging outside the new office. It suited the place so much better than a more commercial sign.
“I hope you like it. Your father told me the name of the company, and I thought that, even if it isn’t your main sign, it might be good to hang somewhere for decor,” Kergot told them.
“Oh, wow. No. We’ll hang it right out front,” Liam told him. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. It’s from myself and Penelope. I carved it by hand. It’s the least we could do after all you’ve done for us,” he said.
“It’s great. We love it,” Dawn told him, giving him a hug.
When she pulled away, she noticed something nearby had caught his eye. He walked toward it, picking it up and rolling it around in his hands.
“Where did you get this?”
“That? Oh, we’ve had it for years. Well, Liam has. We found it one day up at the quarry when we were still back in school.”
“The quarry? And you brought it home? Why?”
Dawn noted that he seemed uneasy, and as his thoughts came into focus, she realized why. Liam stood looking at him, puzzled.
“This bottle. The fluid that is in it. It is what the witch gave Penelope that took her flight and her fertility.”
“What? How is that possible? That was a very long time ago,” Liam replied.
“I don’t know. We took it to different people for years. Chemists, scientists, herbalists, spiritualist…anyone we thought might be able to tell us what it was and how to counteract it.”
“Are you sure it is the same bottle?” Liam asked.
“Yes. It is the one,” Kergot told him, turning it over and showing him a mark. “See that? It is the witch’s mark. All of her bottles carried it etched into the bottom of the glass.”
“And the liquid inside? Could it still be intact?” Liam asked curiously.
“I don’t know. We left it with an apothecary here in town to examine, and then Dawn fixed things. We just sort of forgot about it after that. I assumed he kept it to do some more tests.”
“Apothecary? You mean Harper Dinkins? He passed away last year, didn’t he? His family didn’t want a lot of the odd things he had in his labs. They probably tossed them out, along with your bottle. The dump isn’t far from the quarry, so maybe it migrated from one to the other.”
“Could be. Why did you keep it?”
“I don’t know. It was just a cool looking little bottle, and I pocketed it. It was in my stuff when we moved here, and Dawn thought it would look good on the shelf with the books.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want it back, and I know Penelope doesn’t, especially not the contents, if that is even still what was originally in it. I would use some heavy gloves, pour it out, and flush it well if you want to keep the glassware it is in.”
Kergot sat the bottle back down where he had found it and said his goodbyes. Liam walked him out as Dawn stood looking curiously at the bottle. After a few moments, she took it off the shelf and stuck it in a pocket. She was torn between a curiosity to know what was in it and a fear of what it could do. For now, she just wanted it out of her sight.
“That was a bit odd, huh?” Liam said as he returned.
“Yes. I put it away for now.”
“We need to do as he said and flush it, just in case.”
“We will. Now, about that trip into the city?”
“All right. You win. Let’s go check on things at the office, and then I’ll get you out of here for a bit.”
“You’re my hero!” she said, hugging him tightly.
“A
nd you are mine,” he replied. “Now, let’s get going.”
Dawn kissed him and went to get her shoes on to leave. It might turn out to be a pretty wonderful day, after all.
CHAPTER 17
“Oh, wow. You’ve done a lot of work since I came in here last,” Dawn told him.
“I told you we’d been busy. We’ll have it up and running in no time,” Liam told her as they walked around the space they had purchased.
Where there had once been bare wood and stone walls, there were now heavy beams waiting for the interior walls to be put on top. Men were working on the plumbing right now, and then the electricians would come to run the interior wiring in preparation for the walls to go into place.
“Come here. I want to show you something,” Liam told her.
Dawn followed him to the other side of the office space and looked at the large stone hearth. When they had looked at the place, it had been in quite a state, but now it looked as if it had been just built, albeit with vintage stones.
“Does it work?” she asked.
“It does! I had to replace the flue and have a stone mason come in to dismantle and reset the stones. It cost a bit more, but I think it was well worth it. It’ll give the place a bit of character and can be used as a prop for photos and such.”
“It’s beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an office with a wood burning fireplace, but I really love the idea.”
“I do, too. You like it so far then?”
“A bit hard to tell without walls,” she laughed.
“They’ll be up in no time. That’s something we can do while we are in the city: pick out colors and get some paint ordered.”
“Sounds good. Are we ready then?”
“Yep. Let’s get going.”
Making their way outside, Dawn caught sight of someone who seemed to be watching them from across the street. She couldn’t quite make out his face, but his thoughts quickly became clear. She grabbed Liam’s arm and hastened their pace toward the car.
“Dawn? What is it?” he asked.
“That guy across the street. Did you see him?”
“No. Who was it?” he asked, craning his neck around in an effort to see.
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