“See if you can get her to spend the nights with you here. Sheila said she agreed to dinner down the pub tomorrow night, so maybe it won’t be too awkward.”
He gave Ginger a final pat and went back to the barn.
Briana finished cooling Ginger down, muttering aloud the entire time, and then untacked and groomed her before returning her to her stall.
By the time she was done, she’d calmed down a bit. She sensed she was going to have to tread lightly when she confronted Nora. She whistled for Shannon and drove to the cottage.
First thing she noticed upon arriving was the bicycle lying on its side. She picked it up to lean against the cottage wall and then went to the front door, knocking as she entered.
“Nora?”
She heard an answering thump from upstairs. Shannon raced her up the steps, going to the doorway into the front bedroom. Briana followed to find Nora moving the furniture.
“What are you doing?”
Nora barely looked up. “The bed isn’t in the right place.”
“What do you mean? It’s where it’s always been.”
“No.” Nora shook her head. “It should be there.” She pointed to the adjacent wall. “It was always there.”
She braced her hands on the iron headboard and pushed, shoving the bed in an arc.
“Nora,” Briana said, striding over to lay a restraining hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter where it used to be. We don’t even use this room.”
Nora shook her hand off and resumed pushing. “I need to be in this room. And the bed needs to be over here.”
Briana hesitated a second then helped shove. When the bed was in place against the wall, Nora carried the bedside table over next to it and stood, contemplating the arrangement.
“Is this better?” Bri asked. “Can we talk now?”
Nora looked at her, seeming to see her for the first time. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
But she went to the dresser and began rearranging the small vases and decorative boxes sitting on it.
“Sheila. The nursery. You just up and quitting with no notice. Don’t you think we need to talk about that?”
Nora flicked a glance in her direction. “It’s not a big deal. Like I told Sheila. I just don’t want to work my whole summer here.”
“Okay.” Briana forced a more patient tone as she said, “But you gave her no notice. I don’t think you would normally do that to someone.”
Briana saw Nora’s frown in the mirror.
“Why don’t you put a few things together, and we’ll go to my cottage for the night,” Briana suggested.
“No.” Nora turned, bracing her hands on the dresser behind her. “No, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Nora.” Briana approached and stood in front of her. “This cottage isn’t good for you. It does something to you.”
Nora tried to push past her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Briana grabbed her arm. “Please. If you won’t come with me, I’ll stay here.”
Nora whipped around. “No! I mean, you don’t need to. Really. I’m fine here. You go back to your place, get a good night’s sleep.”
She pulled her arm free and went downstairs, leaving Briana no choice but to follow.
In the parlor, she opened the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Briana opened her mouth, ready to argue, but closed it. Out on the flagstones, she turned. “Nora—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Nora repeated, giving her a kiss on the cheek before closing the door.
Briana stood there a moment, tempted to barge inside and—and do what, exactly? she asked herself. Throw Nora over her shoulder and drag her out to the car? Tie her up in the other bedroom to keep her out of the ghost room?
She stomped to the SUV and yanked the door open. Shannon jumped in, and Bri climbed in after her, spraying gravel when she gunned the engine. At the end of the drive, she stopped.
“What the hell is going on? Last night, she practically had sex with me on the sofa, and today, she’s all ‘see you tomorrow’.”
Shannon whined, and Briana reached for her, hating the sick feeling in her belly that what she’d thought might be forever was looking more and more as if it was going to end badly.
“Let’s go home.”
Nora lay in the dark, in the front bedroom. From the bed’s new position on this wall, she knew she had the same view as they’d had—Móirín and Donall—when they shared this space, made love here, bore children here, died here. She spread her hands out over the sheets. It couldn’t be the same bed, surely, but still.
All evening, she’d been lying here, staring at the spiderweb of fine cracks in the old plaster of the ceiling, imagining Móirín lying in this same place, staring at the same cracks, waiting for word of her daughter’s fate.
Outside, owls hooted and moonbeams slanted through the window only to disappear as clouds drifted past, and then reappear moments later. Her stomach rumbled. She’d had no supper, only some tea with Aoibheann’s tonic mixed in. She longed to drift into the sleep that brought her dreams—dreams of Rowan and Móirín.
Vaguely, her mind was troubled by how she’d treated Briana.
But she doesn’t understand. None of them do. They just don’t understand how important this is.
Her eyes began to close. Or were they open? She couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. Around her, shadows began to move—a pale, beautiful woman and a little girl in a yellow dress. Somehow, they were less shadowy now, more solid, more real. Beckoning to her, drawing her into dreams, into their world—a world she no longer wanted to leave.
In her own cottage near the stables, Briana also lay awake, her arms flung over her face as she fought tears. She didn’t cry, as a matter of course. She couldn’t remember the last time she had—probably at her granddad’s funeral.
No, that’s not right. You cried in the car with her that day, driving back from Dublin, when you told her about the race, the day Murphy went down and had to be put to sleep. You never tell anyone about that. Why her?
Briana had carefully arranged her life as she wanted it—horses, hard work, good mates, a good dog, family only occasionally. If she was lonely now and again, well that was a small price to pay for no entanglements, no heartbreak. Too much closeness—even with family—had never been a good thing.
But her mind wouldn’t stop replaying images of Nora—awkwardly bouncing in the saddle on their first ride, standing in the wind at Lettergesh beach, lying naked beside her in this very bed.
Nora coming here had changed everything. Enough so that Bri had actually confessed to Cara that she was thinking about moving to the States to be with her. If she cared about her enough to do that… She sat up suddenly and checked the clock.
Three a.m.
“Damn.”
She got out of bed, pulled on jeans, slipped into trainers, and went out to the car with Shannon on her heels.
They drove back to Sióg Cottage, Briana determined to talk sense into Nora. Never mind that it was the middle of the night. She had no idea what she was going to say, only a feeling that she couldn’t just let Nora disappear from her life without trying—something she had never, ever wanted to do before.
When she turned onto the lane from the main road, she braked, struck by the certainty that she and Shannon should approach the cottage unannounced. She cut the motor and turned the lights off, leaving the SUV where it was.
Shannon seemed to sense the need for stealth. She stayed beside Briana as they walked the remaining distance to the cottage. When at last the trees parted, it was just as a cloud obscured the moon, leaving deeper shadows, for which Bri was grateful.
She studied the cottage, not sure what exactly she was here to do.
The front door opened unexpectedly, and she jumped, dropping into a crouch. Nora emerged, turning toward the woods—the same direction they had taken the day they searched for the stone circle. Briana w
as about to follow when another movement caught her eye. A figure, moving out of the deeper shadows on the other side of the cottage, followed Nora. Even with the moon veiled by clouds, there was no mistaking that silver-white hair—Eve, carrying her shuttered lantern so that it gave no light.
Briana and Shannon trailed them, treading as quietly as they could. The clouds shifted, making it a bit easier to see Eve’s hair shimmering in the night. Nora was beyond where Briana could see, but Eve seemed to know where she was going.
Dew-dampened brush soon had Briana’s jeans and trainers soaking wet. They reached the circle of stones. Briana squatted down, one arm over Shannon’s back, as Nora stood in the center, Eve watching her from the periphery.
“Rowan?” Nora called to the night. “Rowan, where are you?”
Nora walked through the circle into the trees on the other side, but reappeared a moment later, still calling. She walked back in their direction, passing Eve as if she didn’t see her.
Briana made Shannon lie down, hunching to make herself as small as possible, while Nora traipsed by in the direction of the cottage.
When Briana raised her head to look around, Eve was nowhere to be seen. Bri pushed stiffly to her feet, limping as she and Shannon followed Nora back to Sióg Cottage and watched her go inside.
Flummoxed, Briana stood there a few minutes before going to the cottage. The door was locked. She knocked on it. No answer. She banged again.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Briana asked when Nora opened the door.
Nora rubbed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“You! Walking around the forest at night.”
“I haven’t been anywhere except bed until you showed up and woke me.”
Briana pointed to the wet trousers and shoes that Nora was still wearing. “You go to bed in those?”
Nora patted her damp thighs. “I was sleepwalking again?”
“Not just you.” Briana took Nora by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Eve was following you.”
In the dim moonlight, Nora stared at Briana. “Eve. Was following me.”
“Yes. I saw her.” Briana squirmed uncomfortably. “Because I was following both of you. I came here to… to talk some sense into you, and I saw you leave the cottage, with Eve following. You went to the stone circle, calling for Rowan.”
At Nora’s befuddled expression, she asked, “You don’t remember any of this, do you?”
Nora shook her head.
Briana took her hand. “Please, come back to my place. You need to get out of here.”
Briana felt an ominous chill fill the room, though she didn’t see anything. Shannon whined and shifted to lean against Briana’s leg.
Nora let Bri tug her to her feet. “I’ll just pack a few things—”
“No. Let’s go now.”
Briana kept hold of Nora’s hand and led her from the cottage. Outside, the summer night enveloped them. She took a deep breath. “The car’s just down the lane.”
At the edge of the clearing, she looked back. A pale face was watching them from the upstairs window.
Nora found Briana sitting at her table, her head cradled in her hands, staring into her coffee. Shannon glanced up from her bowl of kibble when Nora entered, gave a wag of her tail, and went back to her breakfast.
Nora poured herself a cup of coffee and sat. Briana raised her head, looking at her with bleary eyes.
“Sorry to be so much trouble,” Nora mumbled.
Briana studied her as she took a sip of coffee. “You look as bad as I feel.”
Nora snorted. “Then that must be pretty bad.” She sobered and gripped her mug. “I honestly don’t remember any of what you said happened last night—wandering through the woods out to the stones, Eve, none of it.”
Briana frowned. “Something really strange is going on with that cottage. Eve and the history of that place, it’s just wrong.”
“Yeah.”
Briana shoved to her feet and stirred the porridge she’d made for both of them. “I think,” she said from the stove, keeping her back to Nora, “you should stay here.”
Nora heard the hesitation in her voice and knew Briana was tiptoeing around a topic she thought Nora would object to, but after last night, she was ready to leave that blasted cottage forever.
“I agree.”
When Briana turned around, her surprise was plain to see, but she looked pleased. “Good.” She dished out the porridge and put a container of milk on the table.
Nora stirred milk and sugar into hers. “I don’t remember too much after I left Sheila on Monday and got back to the cottage. It’s all kind of a blur.”
“That was yesterday,” Briana said, staring hard at her.
“Yesterday?” Nora was startled. It felt like days and days ago. “Just yesterday?”
“Yes.” Briana spooned up some porridge. “It’s Tuesday. We’re supposed to have dinner with Sheila and Quinn at the pub tonight.”
Nora recoiled. “I can’t. I can’t see Sheila after what I did. Just quitting like that.” She dropped her head to her hand. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I would never—”
Briana reached for her hand, making her look up. “You’re away from there now. It’s all right.”
Nora took a deep breath. “You’re right. I guess I should go back to help Sheila out at the nursery.”
Bri tilted her head. “She wouldn’t be expecting you today anyhow. And… a little space might be a good idea.”
“Well, I’ve got to do something with my time.”
Briana grinned. “If it’s work you’re after, you’ve come to the right place.”
True to her word, she had Nora working steadily all day: mucking stalls and spreading fresh bedding, grooming horses, refilling water buckets, cleaning tack.
“We need to keep her,” Sonya said happily when she found half her work done for her. “I’m off to give a lesson. I hope we see you tomorrow, Nora.”
After she left, Nora carried one last bucket of water to a stall.
“I want to be tired enough to sleep tonight,” she said, leaning on a stall door, where Stubbs reached up to nibble on her ear with his soft lips. She patted him.
“You’ll have earned it,” Briana said. She washed the dust and dirt off her hands at the sink and wiped them dry on the seat of her jeans.
“If we’re going out to dinner in the village tonight, I’m going to need clean clothes,” Nora said. “And a bath.”
“I still have to dose a few horses with their meds,” Briana said. “Then I’ll drive you over.”
“That’s silly. I can walk there and bicycle back in the time it will take you to finish here. Really,” Nora added when Briana looked at her doubtfully. “I’ll pack a small bag, and be back in half an hour, tops.”
Briana hesitated. “All right, but take Shannon with you and come back here to shower.”
Nora smiled indulgently. “Come on, Shannon. You can be my bodyguard.”
She set off with a wave, Shannon trotting at her side.
Such a pretty cottage. Donall stands outside, holding Teafa and wondering how many times Móirín said that in their years there. It rips his heart in two to leave it, but there is nothing here for him anymore. He hugs Teafa tightly, burying his face against her warm little body.
Niamh is right. It’s time for a fresh start.
He places Teafa in the wagon, adding her to the other children too young to walk, along with a satchel for each of them. One bag to hold what’s left of a life. None of the furniture Donall built with his own hands. None of the dishes and pewter Móirín was so proud of. It has all been sold for a pittance. The horse and wagon they’ll sell in Belfast. Only some of his tools has he kept. Those he’ll need in America. For the new life he’ll make for himself and his children.
He took them for one last visit to their mother’s grave at the churchyard, knowing none of them would ever see it again. But there is only one grave. He failed her. Failed t
o find their Rowan. He feels as if he killed Móirín himself when he couldn’t give her answers.
A sob of despair boils inside him, but he chokes it down. He bends to pick up Aoibheann from where she lies on a blanket, but she cries and reaches for Niamh. His own babe doesn’t know him. He’s lost two daughters. And his wife. How is a man supposed to accept such cruelty from God?
Niamh takes the baby from him, tucking her into the wagon while Keith checks the harness straps one last time. With a cluck and a gentle tug, he urges the horse to begin pulling. The mare leans into the collar and plods away from the cottage.
“It’s time.” Niamh grasps Donall’s hand, drawing him after the wagon. At the bend of the lane, he stops to look back.
“Don’t,” she says. “We need to move on, Donall. Away from here. To something better. Better for all of us.”
He and his sister follow the wagon, leaving their old life behind forever.
“Nora! Shower’s yours.” Briana stopped toweling off her wet hair to listen. No answer. “Shannon?”
Still nothing. She poked her head out of the bathroom. Everything was quiet. She quickly dressed in some clean clothes and went out to check. No sign of Nora or her bike. She opened the kitchen door and called again for Shannon.
Cursing under her breath, she sat down to lace up her trainers and stormed out to the stables where she found Liam scooping oats from the large bin into a bucket.
“Have you seen Nora come back with Shannon?”
He looked up in surprise. “No. I didn’t know she left.”
Bri ran to the car and raced to Sióg Cottage. When she turned onto the cottage’s lane, everything was shrouded by sudden fog. She had to turn on the headlights to see through the mist.
She hadn’t driven through any fog coming from the stables. It all seemed to be gathered near the cottage and was so heavy that she almost rammed into a tree. She parked the SUV and made her way on foot, feeling with her feet, her hands extended out in front of her, until she touched the cottage’s stone wall. Groping for the door, she bashed into it when it didn’t open. She wiggled the knob, but the door was locked.
A Bittersweet Garden Page 23
