Kate Hoffmann - Kellan

“She has enough going on already. She took a job at Maeve’s shop and-”

“She’s workin’ for Maeve?” Johnnie frowned. “Oh, Jaysus, that’s not good. A few days with her and she’ll be running as fast as she can from Ballykirk. The woman is mad as a hatter, that one.”

“Not necessarily,” Dealy said. “Maeve has been talking about selling her shop. We need to convince the mermaid to stay. What if we talk Maeve into selling the shop to Gelsey? A new retail establishment run by a clever little mermaid. The tourists will flock to Ballykirk.”

“That’s it,” Markus said. “Now we have a plan.” He clapped Kellan on the shoulder. “And just to make certain, we’d like you to hide the clothes you found her in. This whole scheme will go to hell if we lose her. I don’t want to be takin’ any risks.”

“If you three start bothering her, she might decide to leave.”

“Well, then, it’s your job to keep her happy,” Markus said. “She’s…community property.”

“Maybe it is best that he talk to her about our scheme, boys,” Johnnie said. “He’s the one who rescued her. So she is beholden to him.”

Dealy nodded, his expression serious. “Feel her out. Find out what she’s lookin’ for. She could make a real nice home for herself here in Ballykirk. And we could help her out. It would be mutually beneficial.”

“Yeah,” Markus said. “Tell her that. Mutually beneficial.”

Katie appeared from the kitchen with their lunch order. She set the food in front of him, paper-wrapped sandwiches and bags of crisps tucked neatly into a box. Kellan drained the rest of the Guinness from his glass and pushed to his feet. He winked at Katie. “Thanks, love.”

Katie grinned at him. “Bring your girl down to the pub for dinner so we can all get a look at her. We’ve got herring on the menu tonight. And Danny says she’s a right vixen, she is.”

“You, too?”

“Ah, I’m just playin’ with you,” Katie said. “Everyone is talking. We’re all a bit curious about the girl.”

Kellan headed to the door. Their offer was made. But Kellan was willing to consider anything that might keep Gelsey in Ballykirk. He didn’t hold out much hope for her work at Maeve’s-the woman had been a bit daft for as long as he could remember. But with Gelsey’s beauty and charisma, it might just work.

Kellan recalled the phone conversation he’d heard the first night Gelsey had stayed with him. She had at least one person who cared enough to worry over her and maybe a place that she called home. But for some reason, she’d decided to stay in Ballykirk, at least for the near future.

Tucking the box under his arm, Kellan strode toward the waterfront. Riley and Nan had purchased a small cottage overlooking the harbor at Ballykirk. It was about the same size as the Quinn cottage on the hill, but it was in much worse condition. Riley had already replaced the roof and refinished the floors, but both the exterior and interior still needed painting and the windows were a mess.

Kellan had already contacted a few of the contractors who’d worked on Castle Cnoc and they’d agreed to do new plumbing and electricity at a bargain price. He’d decided it would be his wedding present to the happy couple.

When he arrived at the cottage, his brothers and the girls had decided to start work on the facade. The sun had warmed that side of the house and the breeze had died down, taking the last bit of chill out of the air.

“There he is,” Riley called. “Poor Nan is about to faint from hunger.”

Nan took a swipe at Riley with a paintbrush. “Hush.”

Kellan glanced back and forth between the two of them, watching a pretty blush stain Nan’s cheeks. “She’s been working hard,” he said. “She deserves a break for lunch.”

“Oh, it’s not that,” Riley said.

“You said you were going to wait to tell them!” Nan cried.

“Tell us what?” Jordan asked. Danny and Gelsey joined the group with curious looks on their faces.

Riley slipped his arm around Nan’s shoulders and grinned. “Nan is eating for two.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Jordan said. “I ordered two sandwiches, too. All of this outdoor work makes me so hungry.”

“Don’t mind her,” Danny said. “All this fresh air has made her a bit cabbaged.”

“What’s cabbaged?” Gelsey whispered. “Why is she cabbaged? I ordered two sandwiches, too. Is that bad?”

“I expect this isn’t about sandwiches. Riley is trying to tell us that Nan is going to have a baby,” Kellan explained.

“Oh, my God,” Jordan shouted. “Is that true?”

At Nan’s nod, the entire group surrounded her for hugs and kisses. Even Gelsey offered her congratulations before stepping back to slip her arm through Kellan’s. She looked over at him and smiled. “It’s wonderful news.”

“Yes.” Kellan added, “Riley will make a fine father.” He drew in a deep breath. The news had hit him in an odd way. He was happy for the couple, yet he felt a bit strange that Riley would experience fatherhood before he did. Kellan had always been the oldest boy, always been first at everything. But now, he seemed to be trailing behind in his brothers in all the important things.

“I’m going to fetch us a few more beers,” he said, setting the box of sandwiches down on the front step.

“None for me,” Nan said. “You can bring me a soda. I’m sorry, a mineral,” she corrected, using the Irish word.

“You want to give me a hand?” Kellan asked Gelsey.

She followed him inside. The house was nearly empty, except for a few pieces of tatty furniture and the tools Riley was using to renovate the place. But there was a functioning refrigerator in the kitchen and it was stocked with cold drinks.

“Beer for me,” Gelsey said.

He opened two bottles and handed one to her. “Are you having fun? Or is this too much too soon?”

“I like your brothers,” Gelsey said, stepping across the kitchen to give him a kiss. She ran her hand along his cheek. “And I like Nan and Jordan, too.”

“The two of them together can be a bit intimidating. They’re both American and when they have an opinion they tend to just throw it out there for everyone to hear.”

Gelsey shrugged. “I don’t have many girlfriends,” she murmured. “I think I’d like having a girlfriend if they were like Nan or Jordan.”

Kellan leaned back against the refrigerator and watched a wistful expression dance across her pretty features. “You don’t have any girlfriends?”

Gelsey shook her head. “No. Women usually don’t like me.”

“Why not?”

“Did you get me a corned-beef sandwich?” she asked, deftly changing the subject. “I love corned beef.” Gelsey took the other beer from his hand, then headed for the door. By the time he joined her with the rest of the drinks, she was seated on the step, unwrapping her lunch. He gave his brothers each a beer and handed the mineral to Nan, before he sat down beside her.

Gelsey grabbed half the sandwich and bit into it, then groaned softly. “Oh, this is lovely. Are there any fries?”

Fries. Though he could detect a hint of an English accent in her speech, she sounded more like Nan and Jordan than any Brit he knew. But there was something else there. Occasionally, he caught her talking to herself in French or Spanish. “No chips, just crisps.”

She looked at the bag. “Those are chips,” she said.

“Ah, another little clue,” Kellan said. “You reveal yourself a bit more every day. If you call crisps chips and chips fries, then you’ve spent time in the States.”

“Very astute, Sherlock Holmes,” she said. “My mother is American.”

He leaned back and watched her eat, pondering the information she’d just revealed. It was the first real clue he had to who she was. “What about your father?”

“British,” she said. “Interrogation over.” She took a huge bite of her sandwich, then grinned at him.

Kellan chuckled at the funny face she made. For someone so slender, she certainly enjoyed a good meal now and then. She gobbled down her first corned-beef sandwich in just a few bites and then started on the second.

“Where do you come from?” Kellan asked.

She blinked as she looked at him, continuing to chew. “Come from?”

“You heard me. I don’t get the accent. It’s not Irish, I know that. It’s not entirely American, either, or English. So what is it?”

She shrugged. “Lots of different things. A mash-up, really.”

“Of what?” Kellan could see that she didn’t want to reveal any more. But the woman was living in his house, eating food that he’d provided for her, socializing with his family. The least she could do was fill him in on a few details.

“Does it really make a difference?” she asked, watching him suspiciously.

“I’m just curious.”

Her chin tilted up in defiance as she swallowed. “I spoke French as a child.”

“You don’t want me to know anything about you, do you? Why? What are you trying to hide? There’s no reason. After a week together, we know each other about as intimately as we can.”

She reached for a crisp and nibbled at it, considering her answer silently. “Can’t we just leave it at that? We’re both getting what we want out of this, so-”

“What I want? You’re the one who crawled into bed with me that first night. I didn’t invite you.” Kellan cursed beneath his breath. “You know they’re talking about you all around town. Markus Finn wants to capitalize on all this silly mermaid stuff. He thinks you could be like Ballykirk’s very own Blarney Stone.”

A gasp burst from her lips and then a giggle. Before long, she was laughing so hard, she had to set her sandwich down. “Really? But I’m not a mermaid.” When she regained her composure, she drew a ragged breath and nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“The tourists wouldn’t care,” Kellan said. “They come to Ireland because of all the magic.”

“So, what would I do?”

“He and the tourism committee are hoping you’ll stay and maybe buy Maeve’s shop from her. She’s had it for sale for a few years now.”

Gelsey crumpled the empty wrapper from her sandwich, then pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I-I really don’t know what my plans are,” she said. “I’m not sure I could make a commitment like that right now.”

“A commitment to Ballykirk or a commitment to me? You can tell me the truth.”

“If I tell you the truth, you’ll want me to leave,” she countered. Gelsey raked her hands through her wavy hair, sighing softly as she tipped her head back. “I just need to have a moment to myself, a chance to take a breath without someone expecting something from me.”

“Are you married?” Kellan asked.

“No!” Gelsey looked surprised. “No, there’s no one. Not anymore.”

“But there was?”

“It’s over. Completely over. I swear to you.”

A long silence grew between them. Gelsey reached out and took his hand, carefully lacing her fingers through his. “What difference does it make who we were?” she asked. “We began when you found me on the beach.”

Kellan’s gaze fell to her mouth, and without a second thought, he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her into a long and languid kiss. She was right. He didn’t care about anything beyond what they’d shared together. And though he knew she wasn’t an amnesiac or a mermaid, that didn’t matter, either. She was here with him now and that’s all he cared about.

THE HILLS WERE SHROUDED in a dense mist as Gelsey navigated the battered Fiat toward Winterhill. She’d spent her last four or five Christmases skiing, surrounded by snow and plenty of twinkly lights. It was a bit odd to be staring out at fog.

Kellan had invited her to accompany him to Cork to pick up a set of plans he’d been waiting for and do a bit of Christmas shopping, but Gelsey had decided to take the morning for herself.

Everything was moving so fast in Ballykirk. Her feelings for Kellan were growing deeper with each day and night they spent together. And though he still questioned her about her past, he seemed to take her evasive answers with less frustration. So, had the time come to just be honest with him?

Their nights in bed were proof of his desire and their easygoing way with each other outside the bedroom marked a growing trust and friendship. But passion and friendship didn’t necessarily add up to a future together. Gelsey had been through enough “relationships” to know how easily they fractured. And how quickly she grew bored.

She slowed the car as it neared a curve, sighing softly. How nice it would be to believe in love. To know that there was a man out there who could ensure complete happiness for the rest of her life. She’d been chasing that dream her entire life, but had never really believed it would come true.