1
Dylan
Ireland.
The land of grand, feck, and crack, along with the finer things in life—whiskey!
Back in the States, I’d only just turned twenty-one and hadn’t been allowed to drink the brown liquid Uncle Michael favored, however, in the green isle, I could have been drinking for the past three years.
As the plane had flown over Ireland and into Dublin airport, all I’d seen below was vast whiteness. It had reminded me of home back in Lexington. I’d expected to find fields in various shades of green and rolling hills. Just my luck the weather had followed me here.
Although it looked cold and fresh, I was eager to get off the plane. The flight had been long, I could feel it in every limb as I unfolded myself from the seat and rubbed the five o’clock shadow that had grown during the flight. As I shifted, the guy next to me jerked awake and mumbled something about arriving. I nodded. He’d slept all the way over the Atlantic. I’d slept on and off, but I’d been too excited to fall into a deep sleep. My cousin, Jaxon, would be impressed when I admitted my good behavior. I’d, very diplomatically, avoided the flirting from one of the young air stewards. I’d found her amusing and I would have taken her up on her offer, but my head was tangled up with another girl — the very one who didn’t even look my way.
Turning my cell off airplane mode, the cabin door opened, and to my disappointment, the long arm of the walkway was attached. I was done with canned air…all I wanted was to breathe in the Irish air. Being in first class had its advantages, like being allowed off the plane first. I wasted no time in collecting my belongings and followed the signs through to passport control before heading to luggage collection. That was the part I hated—finding the correct baggage. I felt sorry for the woman whose toddler wanted to ride the carousel but I still managed a smile at the tyke as he slipped past. Luckily, hers arrived quickly.
Two businessmen blocked my way to the carousel, so I stepped between and grabbed the large rucksack. It was heavy and I wished, for once, I’d listened to Mom about the advantages of using a wheeled suitcase. I’ll listen next time, I thought as I shoved the heavy thing onto my shoulder.
Even as I walked toward the exit, I could feel the cold wind biting through my sweater, making me shiver. I dropped my pack to the ground and pulled my jacket from the top of my luggage along with a hat and gloves. Being from Lexington, and the Boston area, I was prepared for cold weather. I just hadn’t expected the cold and snow in Ireland. Rain. That’s what I’d expected to find in Ireland. Lots of rain.
Excited, I stepped outside and inhaled the Irish air for the first time. It was fresh with an icy bite as I just stood and enjoyed the feeling of being in Ireland. Everyone else seemed to be in a rush as they exited the airport. More people needed to slow down and see what was in front of them.
Like the bus that rumbled past in front of me, the slush from the snow making a familiar noise from home. Sighing, I glanced at the signage overhead and followed the directions to the bus station while I checked my messages. One from Mom, another from Dad, and a third from my sister, Madison. My heart sunk when I found one from Tracy. She was a thorn in my side. Instead of telling her to stop bugging the shit out of me because I wasn’t interested, I’d done the polite thing, and replied to her messages. Even met her for coffee once because she’d used the excuse of struggling with the new accounting software we’d been told to get familiar with. I’d finally seen the error of my ways with her, and stopped encouraging her. Hopefully, with my one- or two-word replies, she’d start to get the message I wasn’t interested. I replied this time with, ‘arrived’, and, after sending my family quick messages, I turned the sound off.
The bus was easy to find thanks to perfect signage. I stored my luggage under the bus and climbed up the few steps. There were only a handful of people on board, so hopefully it would be a peaceful journey to Athlone. That wasn’t my final destination. Ahascragh was—a small village about thirty minutes away from Athlone and fifteen minutes from Ballinasloe. I’d been doing my research and couldn’t wait to experience a village in Ireland. Apparently, it had more bars, otherwise known as pubs, than stores.
My cousins couldn’t understand why I wanted to spend my time in a village with not much to do, but I was excited. College had been fun, until my cousin, Rachel, got very friendly with my best friend, Seth. That took a lot of getting used to, but it turned out he was so good for her. They’re happy in the end so that’s all that mattered.
Even my other cousin, who I attended college with, Jaxon, had things on his mind, which drove the family crazy. All the McKenzie’s hated secrets and Jaxon wasn’t telling us something. I’d even tried to get him to come with me, but he wanted to stay in Boston. He hadn’t moved home either. I’d say it was a girl, but I’d never seen him with one.
The sound of the engine
starting up drew my attention to the front where a last-minute passenger made her way toward the back of the bus. She kept her head down and sat at the back on the opposite side of me.
No spreading out to sleep for me.
I stared ahead but watched the woman out of the corner of my eye while she got comfortable. She glanced at me a few times, but I kept my face averted. The last thing I wanted to do was strike up a conversation with her, or maybe I did. Now that she’d unraveled the scarf from around her neck and face, I could see pale skin with a light sprinkling of freckles over her nose and cheekbones, all of which looked very familiar.
My gaze quickly averted, I stared out of the window as the bus pulled away from the station while my heart thumped double time. No way could Jenna McCormick be on the same bus in Ireland as I was. The girl had been snarky with me whenever our paths had crossed back at college. It hadn’t been often because I’d made sure of it. The girl had gotten to me and I hated that. She really wasn’t my type, which made the amount of times she’d crossed my mind ridiculous. And it was her fault for my disinterest in the stewardess.
Not knowing what to do, I decided to ignore her. Act as though I hadn’t recognized her.
What was wrong with you? Ignoring a girl. Since when do you do that?
I wished my conscious would shut the hell up as I turned and fidgeted trying to get comfortable. Jenna thought I was some sort of college jock who spent too much time with the ladies. Little did she know the majority of it had been for show. Jaxon had mentioned on more than one occasion that the reputation I’d carefully built would come back to bite me on the ass and something told me that occasion would happen sooner rather than later.
Out of the corner of my eye, I took another glance at Jenna and noticed she’d snuggled down into the thick sweater she wore—her red curls trailing over her shoulder. She was so beautiful that my eyes stayed on her. I don’t know why she made me nervous. I’d never had the same trouble around girls before, but Jenna was different. I’d always known that, which was why I was nervous, I guessed.
Turning toward me, Jenna made a soft sound but stayed asleep, so I took the opportunity to really look at her. It had been the freckles dusting her cheekbones and nose that had caught my attention. Her skin was pale, so the freckles stood out and enhanced her beauty. A couple of guys from the hockey team had made the mistake of making fun of her. It had really hit me in the gut, so I’d put a stop to it. Of course, she didn’t know any of that.
Sighing, I turned back to the window unable to see much because darkness had settled in. With Jenna on my mind, I got into a more comfortable position and nodded off.
2
Jenna
Finally!
Dylan McKenzie had gone to sleep.
I’d spotted him as soon as I slid into my seat. Of course, I’d known I’d see him considering he was heading to the same place as me. My uncle’s place. I’d come to Ireland to spend Christmas with my uncle. Unfortunately, Dylan’s dad was friends with my uncle. Unfortunately, my Irish family all lived together on a farm in the middle of nowhere, which meant I’d be seeing a lot more of him. If only Dylan knew I existed. The few times our paths had crossed, I hadn’t been nice out of nervousness. No wonder he never looked in my direction. I’d also seen the girls he hung out with and I was nothing like them—slim, long legs, and pretty. I was the total opposite. He would never look at me.
Feeling sorry for myself, I watched Dylan as he slept soundly. His chest rising and falling with his breathing. He looked warm and comfortable while I struggled to get that way. It had been a struggle to stay in one position when I realized he hadn’t recognized me. I’d felt his eyes on me once or twice and refused to give in and look back. Now didn’t count because he was asleep and wouldn’t know. Just like he wouldn’t know I went to the same school as he did.
I turned my attention away from him, cursing at myself for being stupid. My attention needed to be moved from the sleeping man beside me to Jason. He’d been a friend of mine since school and we’d even moved on to college in Boston together. Jason was the one I should be happy to spend time with, instead of wishing for someone out of my league that I wouldn’t stand a chance with.
Sighing heavily, it quickly turned into a loud moan as the bus started to slide across the road. The sound of screeching metal as the bus scraped along the barricade sent my heart into my throat with fear. My hands gripped the seat and my fingers dug into the padding. The driver continued to try and control the bus, but it was clear he was fighting a losing battle. The sound of snapping tree branches didn’t sound too good, and, after a loud crunch, the bus slid sideways.
Passengers screamed and, seconds before the bus started to roll to its side, I met and held Dylan’s gaze. He knew as well as I did that this wasn’t good, and then, as I felt myself falling, I grabbed onto the seat in front of me. Dylan slammed into me, gripping the seat around me. Glass broke around us, shattering into pieces, big and small. “Keep your head down,” Dylan said through his tightly clenched lips.
Too afraid to do anything else, I did what he said and felt his breath on my neck as he, too, dipped his head. More glass rained down over us. My arms strained holding myself up and I wasn’t sure how long I could continue to. It didn’t help having Dylan pressed against me. He was warm and hard all over. His broad chest and muscular arms made me feel safe.
“I’m going to drop to the ground. Don’t let go yet.” Dylan moved and I couldn’t help the whimper I let out.
I didn’t want him to go anywhere and leave me scared and alone.
Dylan moved around and then I felt his hands clench around my legs. “Let go Jenna. I have you.”
Was he serious?
“I’m too heavy.” I felt my cheeks heat. “I’ll take us both down.”