“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he says softly. “One of my favorite views in all the world. And to answer your question, no. I don’t worry about finding anyone. When I want them, I snap my fingers and they come running or deal with the consequences.”
I frown and look at him sharply, when I see his eyes are twinkling.
“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” I say. “You are!”
He doesn’t answer, but leads me down the large, carpeted stairway to where several men wait in the lobby.
I don’t like this, being thrust into situations with so many others. Last night at dinner, my only consolation was that Keenan’s mother was there, and I like her. I hated being near his father, and there were several others there as well. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the jovial blond man in the group of severe-looking men below. But he doesn’t look so jovial right now. They look serious, and stern, like modern-day soldiers prepared to go to war.
“What’s the story, Keenan?” A tall guy with a shaved head asks, but his eyes are on me.
Keenan holds me closer.
“Off to the church,” he says. “Need answers. And after, I’m taking Cait to get a bite to eat.”
The men give him a curious look, but no one questions him.
Cait. It’s the first time anyone’s called me that. Why do I feel as if I’m not really his prisoner? Why do I feel I’m something… more?
The tall man’s eyes widen. “Are ya, then?”
“She’s never been,” Keenan says. “But I want her kept safe, so she stays with me.”
A big, burly man that looks quite a bit older than the rest guffaws. “As if she’s safe with you?”
“Shut it, Tully,” Keenan says severely. They’re… teasing him about me. I don’t really know why, or how that impacts things. I want to go back up to the room and hide away from all their prying eyes.
The burly, gruff man sobers. “Aye, boss.”
“Spoke with Bradley this morning,” Keenan says to a man with wire-rimmed glasses. “Clears the prints. But Finn has answers.”
Nolan, the blond younger brother, snorts. “Course he does. And hell yeah, let’s get some breakfast.”
“Watch, Boner. You’ve got the eye.” Keenan says to the man with the shaved head. “See if anyone notices when we come into the shop, yeah?”
I don’t know what they’re talking about, but the man he calls Boner nods his head. “Aye, boss.”
He opens the door and the men file out ahead of us, beside us, and behind us. I feel as if I’m walking into battle, these soldiers, whoever they are, are ready to protect and defend.
They tease each other and make crude jokes as we walk along the stone pathway away from the ocean and into the village.
“Keenan, you missed yer brother last night,” the burly man he called Tully says. “Right good thing Cormac took ‘em in hand, or we might’ve had to bail ‘em.”
“Oh go on with ya now,” Nolan says, and though he’s laughing, his gaze comes quickly to Keenan. “Shut it, Tully.”
“That right?” Keenan asks. I feel bad for the younger cheerful brother. Seems his older brother keeps a close eye on him. “Care to tell me what happened?”
We walk past a small patch of thorny bushes, and on instinct, he pulls me a little closer so they don’t catch in my skirt.
“Not really,” Nolan says, and the other men all laugh.
“Nolan,” Keenan warns.
“Nolan got free with the drink is all,” another says. I recognize him as the man that accompanied Keenan to the lighthouse.
“Got free with it?” Keenan asks.
“Y’all are a bunch of lazy louts,” Nolan mutters. “I’m a grown man now. Not holdin’ onto me mam’s apron strings anymore.”
“Grown man who’s got the weight of responsibility on him,” Keenan says.
Tully guffaws. “Nolan? Weight of responsibility? You mean the weight of a pretty lass straddling him, aye?”
The men laugh out loud, and my cheeks flush when I’m assaulted by a sudden vision of a naked woman atop Nolan. I look away.
But it made Keenan smile, anyway, and for the first time I notice he’s got a dimple in his left cheek. He gives my hand a little squeeze.
“Now, lads, we’re in the presence of a lady,” Keenan says. I pull a little closer to him. I’m a lady, then.
We turn the corner around the garden. Behind the house lies a church, its steeple reaching heavenward, surrounded by a quaint garden of tombstones. The church graveyard. I want to go there. I want to explore every inch of it. I feel as if I’ve stepped into one of my novels, back to a simpler time, when I look upon the church and graveyard. A fog hangs heavy and thick in the air, preventing me from seeing further.
“What’s past the church?” I ask Keenan.
“Cold Stone Castle and the Armory,” Keenan says. “But after we’ve visited the church, I’ll take you into town.”