Declan's Cross

3

JULIANNE MARONEY WAS half in love with Father Bracken and totally in love with Andy Donovan, and that, she thought, was reason enough to head to Ireland. She grabbed a coffeepot and headed across the dining room to Father Bracken’s table. It was a dreary afternoon in southern Maine, and she was wrapping up her shift at Hurley’s, a popular, rustic restaurant on Rock Point harbor.

This time tomorrow, she’d be in Declan’s Cross on the south Irish coast.

She’d accepted a marine biology internship in Cork, but it didn’t start until January. Impatient, going crazy, she’d jumped when opportunity had knocked last week in the shape of Lindsey Hargreaves, a diver, a marine science enthusiast and a member of the family that had founded the prestigious Hargreaves Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts.

Impulsive, maybe, but Julianne didn’t care. She was packed. Her flight to Shannon left tonight.

She arrived at Father Bracken’s table overlooking the harbor. “Not much of a view today, Father,” she said, refilling his mug. “Gray rain, gray sky, gray ocean.”

He smiled up at her. “I’m Irish. Wet weather doesn’t bother me.”

He’d ordered fried eggs, ham, toast and jam, a late breakfast by Rock Point standards but not, he insisted, all that late by Irish standards. He’d taken his time, reading a book and jotting notes in a black Moleskine. The lunch crowd, such as it was on a Monday in November, was in now, mostly locals—fishermen, carpenters, retirees, a group of young mothers with babies in tow.

No Donovans, at least not yet.

There were four Donovan brothers—gray-eyed, dark-haired, rugged, sexier than any men had a right to be and not one of them even remotely easy.

They said Finian Bracken reminded them of Bono. Maybe with a little Colin Firth, Julianne thought as she checked to make sure he had enough cream in the little stainless-steel pitcher. He was in his late thirties, relatively new to the priesthood. In his early twenties, he and his twin brother, Declan, had started a whiskey business in Ireland. Bracken Distillers was a success, but the tragic deaths of Finian’s wife and daughters had changed everything.

Julianne didn’t have many details and wasn’t sure she wanted any. She couldn’t fathom such a loss. He’d left Ireland in June to serve a one-year assignment at struggling St. Patrick’s, the Maroney family’s church a few blocks from Rock Point harbor.

He wore his usual priestly black garb. She had on knee-high boots, dark brown leggings and a Hurley’s-required white shirt and dark blue apron. She had her hair tied back. It was golden brown, and Andy used to tell her its natural highlights matched the gold flecks in her hazel eyes.

“You must be about to leave for the airport,” Father Bracken said. “How are you getting there?”

“My brother’s dropping me off.”

“Will you be seeing Colin and Emma while you’re in Ireland?”

She almost reminded him that Colin was a Donovan but instead said, “They’re in the southwest, and they’re supposed to be relaxing.”

Father Bracken’s midnight-blue eyes leveled on her. He had to be aware of the complicated dynamics of Colin’s relationship with Emma Sharpe and the reaction of his family and friends in Rock Point to her. An FBI agent, an ex-nun, a Sharpe. She and Colin were, to say the least, an eyebrow-raising match.

“Have you told them you’re coming?” Father Bracken asked.

“No, but it’s fine. They don’t need to know. I wouldn’t want to interrupt their time together.” Julianne stopped herself, which wasn’t her style. Usually she said too much, not too little. “You haven’t told them about my trip, have you?”

“I wouldn’t without your permission,” he said simply.

She felt her cheeks flame. “Oh, right, of course not. I hope they’re having a good time, and Emma isn’t finding out the hard way what rock heads the Donovan men can be.” She gave Father Bracken a quick smile. “Sorry, Father.”

His mouth twitched with humor. “No worries.”

“I can handle Colin. It’s not that. I’m used to Donovans.”

And she’d never slept with Colin. Never even considered it. She’d known better than to get mixed up with any of the Donovans. Mike, the eldest, was an ex-army wilderness guide on Maine’s Bold Coast. Then came Colin, an FBI agent. Kevin, the youngest, was a Maine state marine patrol officer. But it was third-born Andy, a lobsterman who restored classic boats on the side, who had captured her heart.

She’d slept with him, all right. One of the stupidest things she’d ever done.

Father Bracken was frowning at her, but if he guessed what she was thinking, he kept it to himself. She smiled. “Sorry. Mind wandering.”

“No apology necessary. Be sure to tell Sean Murphy I said hello.”

Sean Murphy owned the cottage Julianne was renting in Declan’s Cross. She’d expected to stay in a bed-and-breakfast, but Father Bracken had arranged for the cottage after she’d brought him his fried eggs yesterday morning and told him about her trip. He and his fellow Irishman were friends somehow. Julianne didn’t have any details. She was curious but felt awkward prying into Father Bracken’s private life.

“I will,” she said. “He’s not a priest, is he?”

“No, but he’ll look after you if you need anything.”

“This will be great. I’m really excited. I can get the lay of the land, figure things out ahead of my internship. I’ve never been anywhere. I’ve told my folks and my brother, and Granny, naturally, but I don’t need everyone in town knowing my business.”

“Meaning the Donovans,” Father Bracken said with a smile.

“Trust me, it’ll be easier if I just go on my way without the benefit of their opinion of my sanity.”

“Well, then. Godspeed, Julianne. Give my love to Ireland.”

“Thanks, Father, I will.”

She withdrew with her coffeepot. She felt good about her impromptu trip. It wasn’t just a chance to get things sorted out for January or even to put space between her and Andy. She would also be helping with her new friend’s marine science field station.

She and Lindsey Hargreaves had hit it off when Lindsey had stopped at Hurley’s last Wednesday. Not even a week ago. Lindsey had explained that she and some diving friends had been diving in Declan’s Cross that fall, and she’d had the idea of launching a field station there. She’d flown home for a few days to work on some of the details.

A mutual friend in Declan’s Cross had mentioned Finian Bracken, co-owner of Bracken Distillers and now a priest in America, and Lindsey had thought it would be fun to say hello while she was in southern Maine for a day trip. She hadn’t given Julianne the name of the mutual friend, but now she wondered if it was Sean Murphy.

Short, slim, dark-haired and dark-eyed, Lindsey had a contagious energy and enthusiasm about her, and Julianne had volunteered to show her around the area. They’d spent the afternoon together, then stayed in touch by email after Lindsey went home that night and returned to Ireland on an overnight flight on Thursday. When she indicated she’d love to get Julianne’s take on the field station, Julianne had seized the moment and booked a round-trip ticket for a two-week stay.

Tomorrow, they would be sharing the cottage Father Bracken had arranged. Lindsey had been only too happy to take a break from the “primitive” conditions at the building she’d rented in Declan’s Cross for her soon-to-be field station.

Julianne was convinced that as last-minute as this trip was, it was the right thing for her to do. Her grandfather would be pleased, too, she thought with a rush of affection. Jack Maroney had died last year, far too soon. He’d unexpectedly left her some money, with instructions that she was to go a little nuts with it, have some fun and not be in such a grind all the time. Julianne thought he’d love Declan’s Cross. If the photographs she’d found on the internet were at all accurate, it was as adorable an Irish village as she could ever imagine.

She’d had a hard time after her grandfather’s death. She still had her parents and older brother—who were all skeptical of her Ireland adventure. It was November, she was going alone, she was going at the last minute and she didn’t really know the woman who’d invited her. And she had limited funds, even with her grandfather’s mad money. She needed to finish her thesis and get a real job, which she hoped this trip and then her internship would help facilitate.

She had it all rationalized in her mind.

Barely able to contain her excitement, she ducked into a back room and changed into a sweater and jacket. She could smell lunch cooking in Hurley’s spotless kitchen. The kitchen was hopelessly outdated, but some of the best clam chowder in New England came out of its dented pots.

By the time she went back through the dining room, Kevin and Andy Donovan were approaching Father Bracken’s table. There was no way to get out of there without passing them. Julianne tried zipping up her jacket to give herself an excuse not to make eye contact, but Kevin said, “Hey, Julianne. Hanging out with Father Bracken?”

She found the knowing note in his voice annoying. It wasn’t as if she were seriously fixated on Father Bracken. Just mildly fixated. “Not really. You boys having lunch? The soup special is a nice butternut squash bisque. You’ll like it.”

“It sounds orange,” Kevin said.

Andy grinned, then settled his dark gray eyes on her. “I didn’t see your car outside. How are you getting home?”

“Walking.”

“It’s about to rain.”

“Good. I like rain.”

She didn’t tell him she was walking because she knew she had a long drive to the airport and then a long flight ahead of her. She got out of there. She didn’t want Andy finding out about her trip until she was safely aboard her Aer Lingus plane. Rock Point had always been home for her, but she’d lived on campus much of the year as an undergraduate and then a graduate student at the University of Maine. Then in August, immersed in her master’s thesis, struggling with finances, she’d moved in with her recently widowed grandmother in Rock Point and had taken on as many hours as she could at Hurley’s. It didn’t matter what time she was working. A Donovan was always there.

Overexposed, she’d weakened, violating her personal Golden Rule never to get involved with a Donovan. When Andy, the rake, the heartbreaker of Rock Point, had stayed after closing one misty September night, she’d let him walk her home.

She’d been lost from the moment he’d brushed his arm against hers.

This, she thought as the cold November air hit her, was why she was going to Ireland. She had to let go of her anger and misery. She had to get Andy Donovan out of her system and find herself again.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Julianne set her purple soft-sided suitcase on the rug in the entry of her grandmother’s small house on a quiet street between St. Patrick’s Church and Colin Donovan’s Craftsman-style house. Her grandmother stood in the living room doorway, her thin arms crossed on her chest in worried anticipation. At seventy-five, Franny Maroney didn’t bother to pretend she wasn’t a worrier. Her hair used to be as thick and golden brown as Julianne’s, but now it was white, carefully curled once a week at the only beauty parlor in Rock Point.

Granny had dug the purple suitcase out of the attic and presented it to her only granddaughter for her trip, telling her in no uncertain terms that every young woman should have her own suitcase. Not that Granny had ever done much traveling herself. Hence, the pristine condition of the fifteen-year-old suitcase.

“Do you have your passport?” she asked for at least the sixth time.

“Yes, Granny.” Julianne patted the tote bag—her own tote bag—that she planned to take on the plane. “It’s right in here.”

“You’re sure? Sometimes I think I’ve put something in my bag and discover later it’s still home on my dresser. I suppose that’s because I’m old.”

It wasn’t because she was old. Her grandmother had been forgetful for as long as Julianne could remember. “It could also be because you always have a million things going on. You’re not one to be idle.”

Granny seemed to like that. “You’ll send me a postcard from Ireland?”

Julianne smiled. “I’ll send one every day.”

“That’s too expensive. One will do. I don’t mind if you email me photos but I’d love to have a real postcard from Ireland.” She lowered her arms and frowned, her eyes a true blue, unlike Julianne’s gold-flecked hazel. “Do you have a plan for emergencies?”

“I do, Granny.”

It amounted to taking care not to max out her credit card and calling the Irish police if she had an accident or got into trouble, but Julianne didn’t tell her grandmother that. Granny was all about planning for disaster to strike. She’d already warned Julianne about dark fairies. “Not all fairies are good, you know.”

Her grandmother had been telling her as much since she was a tot, reading her bedtime stories about nasty pookas, scary banshees and mischievous leprechauns. Julianne wasn’t inclined to believe in fairies, good or bad. The prospect of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow or a shrieking banshee warning of imminent death didn’t faze her. She was a marine biologist, not a folklorist.

“Have you told Father Bracken you believe in fairies?”

Granny waved a slender hand. “He’d understand.”

Probably he would, if not just because he was Irish. Church attendance was up at St. Patrick’s since Father Bracken’s arrival in Rock Point. Parishioners insisted they wanted Father Callaghan to return from his yearlong sabbatical, but they were falling in love with their Irish priest. He’d helped Granny get past her anger at God for her husband’s death. Whatever spiritual guidance Finian Bracken had offered, Franny Maroney was back at church and not as depressed and irritable.

Julianne wondered if her crush on Father Bracken was a sin. She would have to find someone else to ask, that was for sure.

She gave her grandmother a quick hug. “You have fun while I’m off to Ireland, okay, Granny?”

“Don’t you worry about me. You just live your life and be happy. I’m fine here on my own.”

“I know you are.”

As Julianne started to grab her suitcase, her grandmother tucked a twenty-dollar bill in her hand. “Buy yourself a Guinness or two while you’re over there.”

Julianne beamed her a smile. “Thanks, Granny. You’re a love.”

“Ireland’s the best place to heal a broken heart.”

Franny Maroney had never stepped foot in her ancestral homeland, either, but Julianne appreciated the sentiment. Everyone in Rock Point knew she had a broken heart, because that’s what Andy Donovan was. A heartbreaker.

She carried her tote bag and suitcase—no wheels—outside and down the front walk to the street. Her brother would be here any minute. Ryan was thirty, the same age as Andy, four years older than she was, and tight with all the Donovans. More proof she’d been dumb to get involved with one of them.

But it wasn’t Ryan’s black truck that pulled in next to her. It was Andy’s rust-colored truck. He had the passenger window rolled down and patted the seat next to him. “Hop in, Jules. I’m driving you to the airport. Ryan can’t make it and I volunteered.”

It was a conspiracy. No doubt in Julianne’s mind, but she had no choice—which Andy would know. She needed to leave now in order to get to Logan Airport the requested three hours ahead of her flight’s departure time. She was following all the rules and guidelines. She’d provided the requested preflight boarding information, checked in online at the appropriate time and printed out her boarding pass. She had any liquids she wanted on board with her in a clear plastic bag. She’d read about what exercises to do on the plane and would fill her empty water bottle after she cleared security. Andy wouldn’t have bothered with any of it. He’d have said, “Use common sense,” and shown up at the airport in the nick of time.

Julianne shoved her suitcase behind the passenger seat and climbed in next to him. She wanted to think it was his rules-breaking nature that had nearly gotten him killed a few weeks ago, but it really wasn’t. He’d been blindsided, attacked by thugs. She’d found him unconscious, drowning in the harbor. As mad as she’d been at him, she’d done all she could to save him. She couldn’t let him just die.

The thugs had been related to one of Colin’s FBI cases.

Obviously he didn’t just work at a desk at FBI headquarters in Washington, as he’d tried to get everyone in Rock Point to believe.

Emma had been involved in the case, too.

Complicated, those two.

“All set?” Andy asked.

Julianne nodded. “Yes. Thanks.”

He had on a thick deep red flannel shirt over jeans. No coat, despite the November cold. She’d debated and debated until finally deciding to wear a long, shawl-like sweater that would keep her warm enough on the way to the airport and once in Ireland but wouldn’t be too bulky and awkward on the plane. She’d packed layers in her suitcase to accommodate whatever conditions she was likely to encounter once she arrived in Declan’s Cross.

She adjusted her sweater. She still had her hair in a ponytail. Back when he’d noticed such things, Andy had told her he’d liked her hair that way. She put that thought right out of her mind and gave him a calm, neutral smile. As if he were a cabdriver. “Did you get out to check your traps this morning?”

“Nope. Not back on the water yet after my mishap. Couple more days.”

His “mishap.” Only a Donovan would regard attempted murder as a mishap. Julianne angled him a look. “You’re following doctor’s orders, aren’t you?”

“More or less.”

“What’s the ‘less’?”

He grinned over at her. “Beer.”

She didn’t know if he was kidding. “If you’re not back on the water yet, is it too much for you to drive me to the airport?”

“Driving to Boston is different from hauling lobster traps, and I wouldn’t be doing it if it was too much.”

Julianne looked out her window without responding. They hadn’t parted as friends when they’d broken up over Columbus Day weekend. She hadn’t, anyway. She’d parted angry, hurt, wanting to smother him in his sleep. No high road for her. As much as anything, it was his obliviousness to her feelings that had gotten to her. He’d been so matter-of-fact in dumping her. “Hey, Jules, we’ve had a good run, but you need to focus on your thesis and finish up your degree. I’m just distracting you.”

He didn’t get it that she’d actually fallen in love with him, never mind that she’d told him so. Another dumb move on her part.

When he’d been attacked by those thugs, she’d wondered if on some level she’d helped make it happen. If all that negative energy she’d lasered at him in her mind had put him in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It wasn’t healthy, that kind of thinking. It wasn’t a sin, though, was it? She hadn’t told Father Bracken because she knew, deep down, that she hadn’t wanted Andy hurt. Not really.

No. She really had wanted him hurt. Or thought she had.

“What’s on your mind, Jules?”