Kate Hoffmann - Kellan

“Why are we whispering?” Danny whispered back.

“Remember the girl? The one who buried it?”

“There was a girl?”

“Yeah. She ran off and we chased her. I caught up with her and she kissed me. That was the first time I ever kissed a girl.”

“What does this have to do with Gelsey?”

“That was her,” Kellan said. “At least I think it was. I can picture that girl in my mind and Gelsey is just an older version.”

“Have you asked her about this?”

Kellan shook his head. “No. Because if it was her then this thing between us becomes something very different.” He scowled at Danny’s puzzled look. “Don’t you get it? It’s destiny.”

“Oh. Like Jordan and me. And Nan and Riley.” Danny glanced both ways, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He pried open the top to reveal a diamond ring. “I’m going to give it to her for Christmas,” he whispered.

Kellan stared at the ring. “It’s grand. She’s going to love it.”

“Get things settled with this girl,” Danny warned, “or you might lose her.”

Kellan pushed away from the bar and turned for the door. He’d like nothing more than to get things settled between them. But Kellan didn’t have a clue how Gelsey felt about a future together. She obviously planned to stay near Ballykirk, at least for a while. But did her plans include him? Somehow, Kellan knew it would be impossible to get a straight answer from her on that subject.

He jogged back to his car and got inside, then turned toward the cottage. There was one thing he had to check before continuing his search. As he drove up the hill, Kellan decided there was only one other place she might have gone-back to Winterhill.

She’d acted strangely distant when he’d stopped by the shop, been preoccupied with something other than business. And she was usually so happy to get out and socialize.

He pulled up in front of the cottage, then jumped out of the car, leaving it running. Throwing back the front door, Kellan called her name, but there was no answer. He headed directly for the bedroom, then opened the wardrobe and dug into the clothes inside.

He found the green dress exactly where he’d put it the night they met. It was still flecked with sand and bits of seaweed. Clutching the wrinkled fabric in his fists, Kellan chided himself for even considering the possibility. She wasn’t a mermaid and she wouldn’t leave him to return to the sea.

“Winterhill,” he murmured.

The sun was already sinking beneath the western horizon as he drove along the coast road, through Derreeny. On the far side of the village of Curryglass, he turned onto a narrow country lane and followed it as it wound between two dry stone walls.

The lights from the house were visible from the road. He swung the car into the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Fiat parked in front of the house. As he got out of the car, Kellan realized that he’d need an explanation for how he knew where she was. Though she’d mentioned Winterhill in her answers to his five questions, she hadn’t given him directions.

He strode up to the front door and grabbed the cast-iron knocker, but the door swung open before he could signal his presence. The gray-haired woman he and Danny had met earlier smiled warmly up at him as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Hello,” she said. “You’ve come back.”

“Yes,” Kellan said. “I-I’m here for Gelsey. I’m-her friend.”

An eyebrow rose slightly and she regarded him with a suspicious eye. “You’re Kellan.”

He nodded. “Yes, I am. She’s mentioned me?”

“Once or twice, in passing.” She held out her hand. “I’m Caroline. I’m the housekeeper. We’ve met before. You were the young man with the camera, the other day.”

“I was. She’s here?”

“She is. But I’m afraid she’s sleeping. She stopped by to pick up some old Christmas decorations for the shop and when I went upstairs to check on her, she was curled up on her bed, sound asleep.”

“May I go up and see her?” Kellan asked.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. You two haven’t been arguing, have you?”

Kellan shook his head. “No. Everything is fine. She’s just been working very hard lately and I’m a wee bit worried.”

Caroline stepped aside and allowed him to pass. “Top of the stairs, second door on the left.”

He took the stairs two at a time and found her room. The door was ajar and he silently pushed it open. Gelsey was curled up on the bed, still in her shoes and socks and the clothes she’d been wearing at the shop. Kellan carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, but she didn’t stir.

Holding his breath, he pulled the down-filled duvet up from the foot of the bed and stretched out beside her. Kellan watched her sleep for a long time, wondering at the life she’d lived before him. From what he knew of it, it hadn’t been particularly happy.

He could give her more than what she’d had. He could make her happy. Unable to help himself, Kellan leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. The contact startled her and she opened her eyes, staring at him incomprehensibly. “Hello,” he murmured.

Gelsey frowned, pinching her eyes shut and then opening them again. “Is it you?”

“Yes,” Kellan said.

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I followed you here the other day. I guess I got a little impatient and couldn’t help myself. Does it make a difference?”

“No,” she said softly.

“Can I stay here with you tonight?”

She nodded then reached out and touched his face. “I don’t want to fall in love with you. But sometimes you make it impossible not to.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Kellan said. He captured her mouth in a long, deep kiss.

Slowly, they tugged at clothes, undressing each other beneath the duvet. He curled up behind her, his mouth pressed against her nape, and a moment later, he was buried in her warmth. Kellan moved slowly, enjoying the sensations that pulsed through his body with every lazy stroke.

He skimmed his hands over her hips and along her belly, then found the spot between her legs, damp with her desire. He touched her there, gently caressing her until her breath quickened and her body arched against him.

They reached their release together this time, with barely a sound between them and when it was over, he wrapped his arms around her and waited until she fell asleep, the two of them still joined.

He’d fallen in love with her. Danny was right and there was no denying it. But how had it happened? They’d only known each other two weeks. Or maybe they’d known each other since that summer day he’d chased her across the meadow.

There was only one thing that Kellan was sure of. He intended to keep Gelsey in his bed and in his life for as long as she’d have him. If he was lucky, that would be a very, very long time.

THE DARK PANELING in the conservatory was draped with fresh greenery, holly and pine mixed with red twigs, putting Gelsey in a cheery mood. Caroline had laid out a sumptuous breakfast on the small table and Gelsey poured herself a cup of hot chocolate, wrapping her hands around the bone-china cup. “Try the scones,” she said, reaching for her favorite, a candied-cherry scone. “They’re still warm.”

Kellan sat across from her, his hair sticking up in spikes, a sleepy look in his eyes. He took a sip of his coffee and smiled. “I like this.”

“What? Being waited on hand and foot?”

“No. Sitting here with you, reading the newspaper, watching the rain come down outside, thinking about Christmas.”

They’d both fallen asleep sometime around eight the previous night and slept soundly until seven the next morning. Since it was Saturday, Gelsey didn’t need to be at the shop until noon, so a leisurely breakfast was exactly what she needed.

“I can’t believe how well I slept,” she said, breaking off a bit of scone and slathering it with butter.

“I know. Me, too. I guess we really should try to get to bed early at least one night a week.”

“You think so?” She pushed the plate of scones in his direction. “Try one. I used to live on these when I was younger. Caroline used to send me boxes of them at boarding school, although they never taste really good unless they’re right from the oven.”

“So this is where you spent your summers?” He nodded approvingly. “It’s a beautiful house, Gels. Classic country architecture. It’s the kind of house everyone wants these days but it’s impossible to replicate.”

“It is nice. Whenever I think of home, this is the place I think of. Even though my parents never lived here.”

“I grew up in the cottage.”

“Our cottage?” she asked.

Kellan nodded. “Yeah. The seven of us in that tiny little cottage. It seems impossible when I think back on it, but it was fun. After we all left home, my folks moved to one of the flats above the pub.”

“How long have you been here? I mean, this visit?”

“I’ve been here for about three months. I was staying with a friend in Portugal. We were in Rome for a few days, then back to Portugal. And then I came here.”

“And you left Portugal for the damp and rainy west coast of Ireland?”

“Yes,” she said. “It was time to leave and I wanted to spend the holidays at Winterhill.”

“So you have a house and you’re going to own a business soon. I guess that means you’re planning to hang around county Cork for a bit longer?”

Gelsey nodded. “That’s the plan for now.”

He bit into a scone. “Good. I like that.”

Gelsey reached for the salver in the center of the table, loaded with all the dishes in a traditional Irish breakfast. She filled a plate for Kellan and set it in front of him. “Here. Eat. You’re going to need your strength.”

“Why is that? Are we going back to bed after we’re finished eating?”