Authors: Lorraine Nelson
“I flew to
rummaging through phone books and annoying people on the street with questions.
From there, I rented a vehicle and worked my way north, stopping in every
village and town to inquire about the family Kerrigan. I couldn’t remember her
father’s first name and didn’t possess a picture of Lacey, so the search was
done the hard way, visiting every Kerrigan family I could find.”
“Man, that must’a took a while.”
bridge at Portmagee and
stopped to make inquiries in Coarha More. The island is small, only six hundred
or so permanent residents, some of which were Kerrigans. One family lived in Chapeltown
and the other in Knightstown. I stopped at Chapeltown first, but that wasn’t Lacey’s
family.
“In Knightstown, I happened to stop at
a bistro for my midday meal before continuing the search. Restaurants and
coffee shops are great places to find information on the locals, and I had my
questions ready for the server. Every word, every last thought left my mind in
a hurry as I came face-to-face with the waitress—Lacey, exactly as I remembered
her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It shook me to the core, I can
tell ya. I almost called her by name until I realized this was a young woman
and Lacey would’ve aged, as I had. The nametag on her uniform read ‘Abby.’ I
spoke of her remarkable resemblance to a woman I used to know, and the rest, as
they say, is history.”
“That was lucky. How did it feel to see
her ag’in?”
“Confusing. At first, I thought maybe
she’d married. If so, I would’ve left without disturbing her, even after
months of traveling around searching for her. Frustration
dogged my heels at every turn until that chance meeting caught me unawares. I found
her and received the shock of my life. She’d never married. The girls were
mine. Lacey owns the bistro, and all three of our daughters work there. I met
them all that day, and my life hasn’t been the same since.”
“Nor will it be ag’in. These girls of yours, are
they married?”
“No.”
temperaments.”
Lucas chuckled good-naturedly. “Sounds like you’ll
have your hands full if they do come here. When are ya sendin’ the tickets?”
“Today. I’ll go online and set everything up
then shoot Lacey an email.”
“Why not just call ’er?”
I call. An email she’ll probably reread and think about at least.”
“Good point.” Lucas rose to his feet. “I best be
gettin’ home and leave you to it.”
“I’ll drive you back to the car and get you
unstuck.”
“Thanks, appreciate it.”
****
Cameron went straight upstairs to the computer
when he returned, anxious to get his plan in motion. He purchased the tickets,
and it had taken forever to compose the email, but he finally sent it to Lacey.
Now, he waited.
The ranch needed to purchase more stock, as they
did every spring, introducing new bloodlines into the herd. It was early yet,
but he researched cattle prices for the coming year, or tried to. His gaze kept
wandering to the icon in the bottom corner of his monitor, willing it to pop up
and notify him of incoming mail.
Finally, he pushed up out of his chair and
walked into his room, kicked off his shoes, and lay back on the bed. Big
mistake. Memories assailed him in a nonstop kaleidoscope of images behind his
closed eyelids.
He’d been a randy youth of twenty-five when he
left the ranch to go backpacking around the world. His tour began by hiking
across
was there he’d met the love of his life, although he hadn’t known it at the
time.
Lacey Kerrigan was a beauty! All luscious curves
and a fiery redhead to boot. She’d been nineteen and on vacation with her
family. He’d literally bumped into her while at
He and Lacey had managed to sneak away privately several times for lusty
moments of true bliss.
Their tryst ended two weeks later when her
family returned home to
He’d been devastated, but in the way of youth, he pulled up stakes and continued
his tour.
Oh, to
be young again! To go on his way with not a care in the world. No regrets. No
responsibilities.
Except he couldn’t escape the memory of her.
Lacey’s lovely features had remained with him throughout the years since,
haunting the hours whether awake or asleep. He’d never found anyone to take her
place, and he’d finally come to realize that no one could.
So he’d left last spring after the branding of
new stock was finished, determined to find her. If he’d known she owned and
operated her own business, that search would’ve been a lot easier. He could’ve Googled
her name and gotten all the details, but he hadn’t even thought of that. No, he’d
just gone off and located her the hard way.
Did she appreciate it? Not hardly.
Holed up in a motel at the edge of town, he’d visited daily. He’d gotten to
know his daughters and renewed his acquaintance with Lacey’s family, a tricky
situation, but he survived. The girls seemed fascinated by him and encouraged
him to talk of his travels, but not so Lacey. She hadn’t given an inch in all
the time he’d been there, determined to stay independent, no matter how hard he’d
tried to resume their relationship.
He sighed aloud and rested a forearm
across the top of his head, opening his eyes to stare blankly at the ceiling.
He wanted Lacey and his daughters to experience the ranch. Life was different
here, not so prim and proper as they were used to, especially with Lacey’s
father being a minister. At least her parents had helped Lacey, not shut her
out as some would have done.
Would they accept his invitation? Or
was he doomed to be disappointed again?
Cam thought about moving to
near them, but he was Canadian—a cowboy. All he knew was ranching. He loved to
cook, yet he couldn’t see himself working in their bistro. His daughters were
flirts, especially Rena. In the short time he’d been there, his blood pressure
raged whenever their male customers got too friendly. It didn’t matter that
they were regulars— that the girls had known them all their lives. It only
mattered that he felt protective of them…and their mother. A fact that had led
to several disagreements with Lacey.
He rolled over and snagged the blanket, pulling
it over his shoulders. There were a thousand and one things he should be doing,
but they could wait. He’d have a short nap and check his email again. Hoping to
wake up to some good news, he fell asleep with thoughts of Lacey on his mind—a
mature Lacey who stirred his blood and his passions like no one else.
****
Carlyn Kerrigan, Lynne to family and friends, was
in the office when Lacey received the email and gasped as if in pain. She was
at her mother’s side in a heartbeat.
“What is it, Mama? What has you so distraught?”
“An email message from
“Really? What did he say?”
She looked up at her daughter’s excited
question, noting the interest in her expression as Lynne tried to read over her
shoulder. “He wired four tickets to the
“For us?”
Lacey nodded, seeing genuine amazement on Lynne’s
face.
“We’re going to
“I’m not sure, Lynne. How can we just close up
shop to go gallivanting across the
We don’t want to lose our customers to the café down the street.”
“What about Uncle Daniel? He and his crew have
filled in for us before.”
“For a few days, yes, but the tickets don’t
specify arrival or departure dates. He’s left that up to us. If we go, we’ll
likely stay for a few weeks, at least.”
“Super! You call Uncle Dan while I go tell Abby
and Rena.”
“But nothing’s decided yet,” hedged Lacey.
Lynne kneeled beside her chair, taking one of
her cold hands in hers. “Mama, this is the chance of a lifetime. You’ve worked
hard all these years and done nothing except mope around since he left. I know
raising us hasn’t been easy, but it’s not his fault.”
Lacey raised a brow to question that statement.
“Well, not really. You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. He didn’t know about
the pregnancy because I didn’t have a clue how to contact him, but it seems to
me he could’ve tried to find me earlier.”
“Maybe he couldn’t. Did you ask him?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Why not?”
Lacey toyed with the hem of her uniform skirt,
avoiding her daughter’s avid gaze.
“Mama?”
Lynne was the persistent one of the three,
always having to know the where and why of things. Once an idea or question
popped into her head, she persevered until she had an answer. Lacey sighed a
long, drawn-out sigh. “If you must know, I was too busy trying to convince him
that I didn’t care where he’d been.”
“But you do care. All these years, you never
stopped hoping. Did you?”
“No, Lynne, and I never ceased hurting either.
That’s why his showing up here came as such a shock. I thought he’d forgotten
all about me.”
“Well, obviously he didn’t. He’s trying to make
amends, Mama. Can’t we meet him halfway?”
“Put like that, it would be churlish of me to
refuse. For now, let’s get back to work. The dinner rush will be starting soon,
and we want to be ready. We’ll talk to Rena and Abby after closing tonight.
Okay?”
“The restaurant is
always
ready for our customers, but all right, if that’s what you
want to do.”
“I just need to think on it a little longer, get
used to the idea, before being bombarded with questions.”
“Sure, Mama. I understand. See you in the
kitchen,” Lynne said on her way out the door.
Lacey reread the email, then read it again,
finding no hint of the macho cowboy she’d come to know when he was there for a
visit.
Lacey,
I would like you and the girls to come see the ranch. It is part of their
heritage, a different way of life, for sure, but one I hope they will embrace.
I’ve wired four tickets to the
consider. I’ve also set it up so you can return to
pressure, but I hope you’ll decide to come.
Her heart pounded in her chest and heat pooled
between her legs. She hadn’t dared give in to her feelings while he was in
certain that he’d leave and she’d suffer more heartbreak. Now this. A long
distance relationship didn’t have a hope in hell of succeeding, so what was the
point?
Damn! She couldn’t quell the tide of
anticipation rising inside her.
had spoken so lovingly of Thunder Creek and its inhabitants, she felt as if she
knew them already. Imagine thousands of acres of land to explore. Would he
teach her and the girls how to ride?
Reluctantly, she shut down the computer without
answering his message. As much as traveling to
America
knew Lynne, her firstborn, was enamored of the idea, but what about Abby and
Rena? Abby was a homebody, never venturing outside her comfort zone. Rena, her
baby, having been born last, was just the opposite. Lacey often referred to her
as a social butterfly, always wanting to spread her wings. Yes, she could
envision Rena’s excitement, but her middle child, not so much. Lacey pushed to
her feet and, with one last, longing glance at the now blank monitor, left to
begin dinner preparations.
His stomach grumbled in protest as
few more winks. Then he remembered contacting Lacey and shot out of bed,
running in sock feet to his office.