Time's Secrets (Taylor's Girls Book 3) Read online

  Meg lowered her eyes, her heart pounding. Was it really possible to have that strong a reaction to someone you’d never met? It certainly had never happened to her before. She stole another look at him when their pints arrived only to find him looking at her. He smiled slowly and gave her a wink before Meg quickly dropped her eyes again, intent on her study of the grain of the old wooden table.

  “You’ll be the Americans that are staying at the Professor’s place,” the barmaid said as she delivered their pints. It was more statement than a question and Sean confirmed she was right.

  “He told us to be watching for you and Katyrose was in earlier today to say you’d arrived. I’m Maureen Kelly. Welcome to O’Hearn’s.”

  “Thank you, Maureen. We’re glad to be here. I’m Sean Collins and these are my granddaughters, Megan and Betta.”

  Meg raised her eyes from the table to say “hello” only to find the bartender standing beside Maureen.

  “I’ll add my welcome, too, Mr. Collins. I’m Jamie O’Hearn.” His words were for Sean but his eyes never left Meg. “We hope we’ll see more of you on your visit.”

  “You will, Jamie. But please call me Sean. These are my granddaughters Betta and—“

  “Megan” Jamie finished Sean’s sentence. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  Megan blushed as he made it clear that she was the one he was welcoming. Before she could catch her breath, he turned to her grandfather and said, “We’re here most nights except Sunday. Friday is for music and we offer some of the best. You’ll be joining us, I hope.”

  “I don’t know that I can be here this week—I have a pesky conference to get out of the way. But I’m sure my girls will be glad to attend.”

  “And we’ll be glad to have them,” he said, his eyes returning to Meg’s. “I’d best be getting back to work. Enjoy your meal.” He turned away just as Maureen delivered their soup.

  Betta leaned over to whisper to Meg, “Wow, Meg. On the first night you find the most gorgeous guy in the place. Nice work!”

  Meg shook her head. “Don’t be silly, Betta. He was just doing his job.” At least she tried to believe that was true but her hand was trembling as she picked up her spoon to eat.

  * * *

  At closing, Maureen polished up the clean glasses and placed them in their rows behind the bar. “Nice lot, the Yanks, eh, Jamie?”

  “Nice enough,” Jamie replied as he wiped down the bar.

  “They don’t look much like sisters. The one—Betta?—looked foreign. But the other—Megan, was it?—looks like the all-American girl.” Maureen stopped what she was doing to look at Jamie when she said, “She certainly caught your eye.”

  Jamie continued to wipe down the bar, each swipe of the cloth taking him a little further from Maureen. “She was all right, I guess.”

  “Just all right?” Maureen said with a laugh. “She was a lot more than all right judging by the way you couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”

  “What do you want me to say, Maureen? She was pretty? She was—very pretty. And a rich Yank tourist who will be gone in a fortnight.” He threw the cloth onto the pile on the floor then picked the lot up, heading for the laundry basket in the back.

  “A lot can happen in a fortnight, Jamie O’Hearn!” she called after him as she shut off the lights.

  “Let’s go, Maureen. It’s been a long day.”

  Maureen smiled as she followed her cousin out the door. The girl had gotten under Jamie’s skin. This was going to be interesting to watch.

  * * *

  Jamie saw Maureen safely to her car then got his bicycle and headed home. Maureen saw way too much for her own good, he thought. He’d be teased about that girl, that Megan, for a good long while.

  She was pretty—more than pretty, actually. A real beauty with that coal-black hair and eyes so blue you could practically swim in them. He’d heard her laugh with her grandda’ and it was like listening to music.

  He glanced up and realized he’d taken a different turn than usual, one that brought him past the professor’s house. He stopped in the shadows across the street and looked up at the second floor windows. They were dark and he wondered which one was hers before he shook off the mood. Mooning after a tourist girl when he could have any of the local lasses with just the crook of his finger. She wasn’t for him, Jamie thought as he pushed off again. But he couldn’t help hoping she’d be in again tomorrow.

  Chapter 3

  The girls spent the day sightseeing in Belfast. Mostly wandering with the help of a guidebook, they got lost more than once. But the people they spoke with were quick to help get them turned round again in the right direction. They managed to have lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, an 1880’s Victorian wonder that was now owned by the National Trust and a tour bus had taken them past the busy harbor to see the site where the doomed Titanic had been built. They enjoyed poking into small shops and listening to the lilt of Irish voices all around.

  By the time they made it home, they were footsore but happy. They ate the “wee bite” that Katyrose had left for them. After they ate and did up the dishes, Betta suggested another trip to O’Hearn’s. “I’m sure Jamie will be hoping you’ll stop by,” Betta teased.

  “Don’t be silly, Betta. He was just being the good host.” Betta merely looked at her until Meg blushed.

  “All right! So he was cute!”

  “And interested in you!”

  “Maybe. Fine, we’ll go to the pub and I’ll bet you ten that he ignores me.”

  “Good, I really would love to buy that woolen shawl I saw today. Ten dollars from you should make it just about reasonable for me.”

  * * *

  The pub was more crowded than it had been the night before. They could hear the music that Jamie had mentioned as they made their way to the door. Slipping in, they stood back to watch and listen as a band played a lively melody that had a number of the crowd up on their feet dancing. The rhythm was infectious and it was impossible not to join the rest of the crowd who was clapping along.

  Maureen spotted them by the door. “Fergus, you and Tim move yourselves from these barstools. There’s ladies standing by the door.” As the two men got up, with good-natured grumbling, Maureen caught Betta’s eye and waved them over.

  “Welcome back,” Maureen almost had to shout as the music came to an end and the bar erupted in cheers.

  “Thanks,” Betta said. “You weren’t kidding about the music!”

  “That one was a bit rowdy. It will get quieter now. Look, there’s Jamie going to sing.”

  A plaintive fiddle began to play and the crowd quieted. Jamie, in a simple sweater and slacks, stepped forward with a tin whistle and played a tune that echoed and swooped around the fiddle’s theme. After a moment, he began to sing. They didn’t need to know the Irish to understand the song was about love and loss and longing. It was all there in Jamie’s face and voice.

  When the song ended, he took a quick bow and jumped lightly from the small stage and took his place again behind the bar, going immediately to Megan and Betta. “Sorry you had to hear my caterwauling right away. I thank you for not running away and staying to hear the good music to come.”

  “Nonsense, Jamie O’Hearn. You’re fishing for compliments,” Maureen chided him as he loaded her tray with drinks. “Quit your fishing and find out what these ladies need to drink—something strong enough to counteract having to listen to you!”

  “She’s right. I’m not doing my job. What will it be tonight, ladies? May I build you a couple of pints?”

  “Sorry, Jamie, it’s white wine for me,” Betta said and Meg nodded her agreement, tongue-tied at the looks Jamie was giving her.

  “Wine it is. But we’ll get you converted to Guinness before you leave.”

  Megan and Betta watched the other patrons of the bar and got lost in the music. Soon the tiny band�
��violin, accordion, and banjo—began another dance tune held together by the strong beat of the bodhrán—the traditional handheld drum so important to Irish music.

  Suddenly Jamie was out from behind the bar and in front of Megan. “Dance with me, Megan!” he said as he reached out and lifted her from the barstool. He carried her out onto the floor despite her protests.

  “Jamie! I can’t do this! I don’t know how!”

  “Then we’ll teach you!” Maureen was suddenly on the other side of her, one of the young men from the bar beside her. Betta was drawn out to the floor by another man and the band began their song again, a little slower this time as the two American girls began to try the traditional patterns as the rest of the patrons made a circle ‘round them to watch.

  Meg’s mother, Annie, had been a dancer, good enough for Broadway and a teacher for many years. Her training and genes belonged to Meg who picked up the dance steps quickly. Betta and her partner dropped out as the music increased tempo, then Maureen drew her partner off the floor so that all eyes were on Jamie and Megan.

  She forgot her embarrassment and began to enjoy herself. As the music got faster and faster, she could hear the crowd clapping round them. Jamie never missed a step and neither did she as the music swept her away. As it came to a close in a swirl of sound, Jamie lifted her easily from the floor and put her on his shoulder just as the music ceased.

  Meg was laughing and telling Jamie to put her down when her grandfather came into the pub. As Jamie finally lowered her, slowly, and returned her to the barstool he’d stolen her from earlier, Sean Collins saw the look in his granddaughter’s eyes, a look echoed in the eyes of the young man who held her. He could see the bright color in her cheeks, not just from the dancing but also from the wordless promises held in those looks. His Megan was well on her way to being in love.

  * * *

  As the hour approached midnight, Sean declared “I’m done in. I’m going on home.” At the look of disappointment on Meg’s face, he went on. “You girls can stay if you wish but my old bones need rest.”

  “You’re not old, Abuelo, or, if you are, I am, too. I’ll come along with you. Nothing like a walk in the moonlight with your favorite guy,” Betta said, looking right at Meg.

  “Meg?”

  “I’d like to stay awhile, Abuelo, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t want you walking home alone.”

  “She won’t be, Sean. I’ll see her home if that’s all right with you.” Jamie had come up to the table in time to hear what Sean had said. “The pub’s open ‘til one so it would be after that,” he warned.

  “As long as I know when to start worrying,” Sean said with a teasing grin. “We’ll see you in the morning, Meg.” He and Betta rose and left arm in arm.

  * * *

  With the clearing up done and the pub ready for the morning opening, Jamie and Meg started out for the professor’s house.

  “Did you enjoy yourself, Meg?”

  “Oh, yes. I haven’t danced that much in years!”

  “What are those American boys thinking if they’re not lined up at the door to take you out dancing every night?”

  Meg laughed. “There’s not much time for dancing with the class load I have to carry in pre-med.”

  “You’ll be studying to be a doctor then?” Jamie said in surprise.

  “I am. I just completed pre-med at Stanford in California. I’ll be going back there in the fall to start medical school. There will be even less time for dancing then!”

  “Medical school!” Jamie thought. Megan Collins was way out of his league. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

  “And, you, Jamie?”

  “Me. I’m just a lowly barkeep at the pub.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Meg said as she slipped her hand into his. “The world would be a quieter place if it weren’t for the pubs of the world.”

  Jamie gave her hand a squeeze. “I may not be there forever. Someday, I think I’d like to get a business degree and open my own place.”

  “What fun that would be!”

  Unfortunately, the walk from the pub to the house was not far. All too soon, they came to the gate.

  “Will I see you tomorrow night, Meg?

  Meg sighed. “I wish I could, Jamie, but Abuelo has made plans for us to visit some of his cousins. We’ll be leaving after lunch and getting home late.”

  “I’m off until eleven tomorrow,” Jamie said. “Would you care to go to breakfast with me and then a little sightseeing?”

  “I’d love to. What time should I be ready?”

  “How about eight o’clock?”

  And Meg, who, when she had a chance, rarely rose before eight, smiled brightly and said, “Perfect!”

  “Well goodnight then, Meg.”

  “Goodnight, Jamie. See you at eight.”

  He watched as she went through the gate and up to the front door, turning back to wave at him before she went in.

  “Oh, Lord,” Jamie said, looking at the bright moon above. “I’m in a world of trouble.” But his step was light as he turned toward home.

  Chapter 4

  Meg was ready when Jamie knocked at the front door the next morning. Katyrose, who had been preparing her usual huge breakfast, came in to answer the door but Meg beat her to it.

  “Why, Jamie O’Hearn, what brings you round so early?” Katyrose asked.

  “I’ve come to take Megan for breakfast and a little sightseeing this morning.”

  “Well, if it’s breakfast you’re after I’ve made more than enough. It’s almost ready.”

  “Thanks, Katyrose,” Megan said quickly. “I’m sorry, I should have left you a note last night that I wouldn’t be here.”

  “And I thought I’d take her to St. George’s Market. And we’d best be going. It’s a bit of a walk.”

  “I’m ready,” Meg said as they quickly slipped out the door before Katyrose could offer again.

  Once out of sight of the house, they looked at each other and started laughing.

  “I really should have written her a note last night when I was writing notes to Abuelo and Betta.”

  “Your grandfather doesn’t know you’re out with me?”

  “He probably does by now. I imagine all the talking probably woke him up. Betta, too.”

  “He’ll not mind your being gone?”

  “Not as long as I’m home in time to go meet the cousins. Now what is this about a market?”

  “Unless you had someplace special you’d like to go, I thought I’d take you to St. George’s Market. We can get breakfast there and pretty much anything else we want. It’s been in operation since the 1890’s and, as today’s Saturday, it’s food, craft, and antique day. And there’s always music. I thought it might be fun to spend the morning wandering through it.”

  “It sounds like a lot of fun, Jamie.”

  “Great, we’ll catch the bus in front of Boots – that’s a Chemist’s shop, and see what happens after that.”

  * * *

  Sean came down the stairs to find Betta already in the dining room. “Meg’s off already?” he asked as he dropped a kiss on Betta’s head.

  “She must have left you a note, too.”

  “She did. Do you know what time she got in last night?”

  “It was after 1:30,” Betta answered. “That was the last time I looked at my clock.”

  Sean filled a plate then sat down across from Betta. “Should I be worried about Meg and this young man?”

  “I’m not sure,” Betta answered. “I’ve never seen Meg behave like this before.”

  “I don’t want her getting hurt.”

  “It’s not her I’m worried about,” Betta said. “She won’t give up medical school for a summer fling. I’m just afraid Jamie might be the one to get his heart broken.
”

  “Well, they’re both old enough to know better and to know their own minds. I can’t exactly forbid you girls…excuse me, young women…from seeing someone. God help me if I lose her to Ireland. Your parents would never forgive me.”

  “Ach,” Katyrose said as she came in with a pot of coffee. “You needn’t be worrying about Jamie. He’s nowhere near ready to settle down yet. Every girl in the neighborhood is after him. Your Megan will be fine.”

  * * *

  Meg and Jamie got off the bus in front of the market and went inside the cavernous brick building. Huge skylights dispelled any shadow and the market was bustling already.

  “Jamie! It’s enormous. I expected some corner farmer’s market like we have in California.”

  “It is big, but not near so overwhelming as it seems. The food stalls are over here. Let’s start there and get something to nibble on while we wander.”

  There was so much to choose from that Megan had problems making up her mind. Finally, she and Jamie settled on scones and tea, a breakfast they could carry as they began their exploration of the market. If they were still hungry there was no shortage of food stalls and fresh produce.

  “I want to buy it all,” Meg said as she looked at the rows of fresh vegetables and fruit. The colors were dazzling. “Oh, I’ll have to bring Betta before we leave Belfast. She’ll love the colors.”

  “Well, they’re open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings and early afternoons. I could probably get my Da to let me have some time next Saturday if you want to come back with Meg and your grandfather would like to come. Of course, you don’t need me along necessarily.”

  “Maybe they don’t, but I do, Jamie. I’d never have known about this if it weren’t for you and your kindness in showing it to me.”

  Kindness. What was in Jamie’s heart wasn’t unkind but it went well beyond kindness.

  They found a bin for their empty cups and napkins and moved on to the crafts area. Woolens, linens, lace, jewelry, candles…the array was overwhelming and intriguing. There was something in almost every stall that Meg stopped to look at.