“How amazing,” Katie breathed, brushing a hesitant hand over the rough surface. “Old Ronan really did copy them, just as Mary said.”
Derry merely nodded. He went from Stone to Stone, gazing at each one as though making its acquaintance once again. When at last he completed the circuit, he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Together they gazed out over the rolling Irish landscape. He buried his lips in her hair and she wrapped her arms over his, drawing him close. “What are you thinking?” she asked at last.
He heaved a deep sigh. “That it’s been so many miles and so many years since last I stood here. And that the last time I was here—in this very spot—Caitlin was in my arms, just as you are now.”
“I’m so sorry,” Katie whispered. “You’ve lost so much…”
“Hush.” His Irish accent had thickened in the week since their arrival, and the word was a caress. “I have you now. And that’s enough—more than enough, Katie Coyle. Don’t you ever doubt it.” He reached down and pressed a kiss on her cheek, and she smiled in response. “If it weren’t for you—”
“You might still be on that beach,” she said in a light, teasing tone.
“Indeed.”
They stood a few more minutes, staring out over the green landscape while the mist fell and the cows lazily munched their way through the thick grass. Katie leaned her head against his chest. So much had changed in the last few months. Alistair Proser had been convicted of aggravated assault and was serving time in prison, and Reginald Proser had decided to take an early retirement shortly after his son’s conviction. Her parents approved of Derry, and even Meg had liked him immediately. A double wedding was planned for August for the sisters. And Katie and Patrick Ryan had won the Clancy grant. Her life was at this moment as complete as she had ever felt it to be.
“We should go,” Derry said suddenly.
“I think Kilmartin is just a few minutes up the road,” she said. “It shouldn’t be any problem to find.”
He shook his head and pressed his cheek against her hair. “No, let’s just go back to Dublin.”
“Without seeing Kilmartin?” She turned to face him. “Surely you want to see it, don’t you? The award dinner doesn’t start until eight—we have plenty of time. It’s not even two o’clock yet.”
He gave her a sad smile and brushed a finger against her cheek. “I don’t think I need to see how much things have changed here, Katie. It’s funny, because so much of what my brother and Caitlin wanted to accomplish has been achieved. But in the process, everything I knew, everything that made this place seem like home has been lost. I’m not sure I know how to explain it.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and paced to the outer perimeter of the Stones. “Oh, this is still Ireland, and still as beautiful in some ways as I remember it. Surely there’s no other place in the world so lush and so green. But it’s not—”
“It’s not the place you knew,” she finished for him. “It’s not really home anymore.”
“No,” he said. He drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders as he turned to face her. “I realized it as soon as I got off the plane, and coming here has only made it clearer. My home is with you.” He opened his arms and she went to meet him. She buried her face in the damp wool of his light-blue sweater, a shade she’d picked because it so exactly matched his eyes, while he enfolded her in a strong embrace. “You’re my love, and my future, and all that I am or will be is part and parcel of who you are, Katie Coyle. And that’s quite enough. I reckon I’ve been given more than any other man.”
She drew back and gave him a long look, but at last she nodded. “All right. If you’re sure. We can always drive out this way tomorrow or the next day, if you want.”
“I know.” He bent and kissed the tip of her nose. “Come.” He held out his hand. “I can’t wait to see you and Patrick receive that award.”
“It should be yours,” she teased. “You are, after all, the Missing Earl. In the flesh.”
He chuckled. “I’m afraid you’d be accused of the same sort of thing as our Mr. Alistair.”
“Fabricating evidence?”
“Inventing source documents.”
They laughed together as they made their way down the hill and through the field to the car. Derry climbed into the passenger side without another look, but Katie paused once more to gaze at the grassy pastures. This was the only Ireland she had ever known, an Ireland far more settled than anything Derry could even envision. But it would always be the place that had given her everything that had ever mattered. Including Derry. She grinned to herself and slipped inside the car, fumbling for the keys.
“All ready to receive the adulation of your adoring public?” he asked.
“As long as you’ll be there, too.” Katie turned the key and the ignition sputtered into life. “You’re as much of the public as I care about.”
“There’s nowhere else I can even imagine wanting to be,” he answered. He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss into its palm. “Come on, Katie. Let’s get this over with, so we can go home.”
“You really don’t think of this as home?” she asked curiously, as she turned the car around on the narrow lane and headed back toward Dublin.
“After two hundred years and then some?” He shook his head. “The only home I need is the one I share with you.”
They exchanged another smile. Katie tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She pressed her foot on the gas, and the little car leapt forward into the misty afternoon.
A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Reader,
My digital publisher and I are delighted that we can bring this story to you, revised and refreshed for the electronic age. I hope you enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed coming back to this book, which is dear to my heart.
Please consider letting me know what you thought about The Ghost and Katie Coyle by leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads, or simply telling your friends about it. Nothing sells a book like word of mouth.
And please also look for my other paranormal romances. A Once and Future Love is out now in digital form, and The Highwayman and Love’s Labyrinth are coming soon.
Thanks for reading!
Annie
Born and raised at the South Jersey shore, Anne Kelleher has been writing from the time she could read. The author of thirteen other titles, as well as numerous poems, short stories and articles both online and in print, Annie enjoys mentoring emerging writers.
Annie is also a gifted intuitive medium. A recent survivor of cancer, Annie divides her time between the Big Island of Hawaii and her hideaway in the Connecticut woods.
To learn more about Annie and her work, please check out www.annekelleher.com.
CONTENTS
Praise
About The Ghost and Katie Coyle
Other Books by Anne Kelleher
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
A Message from the Author
About the Author
Copyright Page
THE GHOST AND KATIE COYLE
Electronic Edition
© 2014 Anne Kelleher
All rights reserved.
Edition: May 2014
Published by eFitzgerald Electronic Publishing
Cover design by Emily Scott
eFitzgerald Publishing strives to create a professional product and a smooth reading experience for readers of digital books.
Please report typographical or other errors to [email protected].
The Ghost and Katie Coyle Page 21
