smoke. 'I do indeed and as often as possible. Both on and off the job. I've put one of my best carpenters on this project. She'll be here next week.'
'It's good to know my cousin Brian wasn't wrong in that area. He said you hired by skill and not gender. It's a good morning's work here,' she added, nodding to the site. 'That noisy bastard of a truck will be our constant companion for a while yet. Darcy'll be back from her holiday tomorrow, and I can tell you she'll bitch our ears off about the din.'
'It's a good noise. Building.'
'I've always thought the same.'
They stood a moment in perfect accord while the truck vomited out the last yard of concrete.
'I'll buy you lunch,' Trevor said.
'I'll let you.' Brenna gave a whistle to catch her father's attention, then mimed spooning up food. Mick responded with a grin and a wave, then went back to work.
'He's in his heaven,' Brenna commented as they walked over to rinse off their boots. 'Nothing makes Mick O'Toole happier than finding himself in the middle of a job site, the muckier the better.'
Satisfied, Brenna gave her feet a couple of stomps, then headed around to the kitchen door. 'I hope you'll take some time to see the area while you're here, instead of locking yourself into the job at hand.'
'I plan to see what's around.' He had reports, of course-detailed reports on tourist draws, road conditions, routes to and from major cities. But he intended to see for himself.
Needed to see it, Trevor admitted to himself. Something had been pulling him toward Ireland, toward Ardmore, for more than a year. In dreams.
'Ah, now there's a fine-looking man doing what he does best,' Brenna said when she pushed open the kitchen door. 'What have you for us today, Shawn?'
He turned from the enormous old stove, a rangy man with shaggy black hair and eyes of misty blue. 'For the special we've sea spinach soup and the beef sandwich. Good day to you, Trevor. Is this one working you harder than she should?'
'She keeps things moving.'
'And so I must, for the man in my life is slow. I wonder, Shawn, if you've selected another tune or two for Trevor's consideration.'
'I've been busy catering to my new wife. She's a demanding creature.' So saying, he reached out to cradle Brenna's face and kiss her. 'Get out of my kitchen. It's confusing enough around here without Darcy.'
'She'll be back tomorrow, and by this time of the day you'll have cursed her a dozen times.'
'Why do you think I miss her? Give your order to Sinead,' he told Trevor. 'She's a good girl, and our Jude's been working with her. She just needs a bit more practice.'
'A friend of my sister Mary Kate is Sinead,' Brenna told Trevor as she pushed open the door that swung between kitchen and pub. 'A good-natured girl, if a bit scattered in the brain. She wants to marry Billy O'Hara, and that is the sum total of her ambitions at this time.'
'And what does Billy O'Hara have to say?'
'Being not quite so ambitious as Sinead, Billy keeps his mouth shut. Good day to you, Aidan.'
'And to you.' The oldest of the Gallaghers worked the bar and had his hands on the taps as he looked over. 'Will you be joining us for lunch, then?'
'That we will. We've caught you busy.'
'God bless the tour buses.' With a wink, Aidan slid two pints down the bar to waiting hands.
'Do you want us to take it in the kitchen?'
'No need for that unless you're in a great hurry.' His eyes, a deeper blue than his brother's, scanned the pub. 'Service is a mite slower than our usual. But there's a table or two left.'
'We'll leave it to the boss.' Brenna turned to Trevor. 'How will you have it?'
'Let's get a table.' The better to watch how the business ran.
He followed her out and sat with her at one of the mushroom-shaped tables. There was a buzz of conversation, a haze of smoke, and the yeasty scent of beer.
'Will you have a pint?' Brenna asked him.
'Not until after the workday.'
Her lips twitched as she kicked back in her chair. 'So I've heard from some of the men. Word is you're a tyrant on this particular matter.'
He didn't mind the term 'tyrant.' It meant he was in control. 'Word would be correct.'
'I'll tell you this, you may have a bit of a problem enforcing such a rule around here. Many who'll labor for you were nursed on Guinness and it's as natural to them as mother's milk.'
'I'm fond of it myself, but when a man or woman is on my clock, they stick with mother's milk.'
'Ah, you're a hard man, Trevor Magee.' But she said it with a laugh. 'So tell me, how are you liking Faerie Hill Cottage?'
'Very much. It's comfortable, efficient, quiet, and has a view that rips your heart into your throat. It's just what I was looking for, so I'm grateful you put me on to it.'
'That's not a problem, not a problem at all. It's in the family. I think Shawn misses the little kitchen there, as the house we're building's far from finished. More than livable,' she added, as it was one of their current sore points, 'but I figure to concentrate on the kitchen there on my off days so he'll be happier.'
'I'd like to see it.'
'Would you?' Surprised, she angled her head. 'Well, you're welcome any time. I'll give you the direction. Do you mind me saying I didn't expect you to be as friendly a sort of man as you seem to be?'
'What did you expect?'
'More of a shark, and I hope that doesn't offend you.'
'It doesn't. And it depends on the waters where I'm swimming.' He glanced over, and his face warmed as Aidan's wife came up to the table. But when he started to rise, Jude waved him down again.
'No, I'm not joining you, but thanks.' She rested a hand on her very pregnant belly. 'Hello, I'm Jude Frances and I'll be your server today.'
'You shouldn't be on your feet like this, carrying trays.'
Jude sighed as she took out her order pad. 'He sounds like Aidan. I put my feet up when I need to, and I don't carry anything heavy. Sinead can't handle things on her own.'
'Not to worry, Trevor. Why me own blessed mother dug potatoes on the day I was born, then went back to roast them after the delivery.' At Trevor's narrowed glance, Brenna chuckled. 'Well, maybe not, but I'll wager she could have. I'll have today's soup, if you don't mind, Jude, and a glass of milk,' she added with a wicked smile for Trevor.
'The same,' he said, 'plus the sandwich.'
'A fine choice. I'll be right back with it.'
'She's stronger than she looks,' Brenna told him when Jude moved to another table. 'And more stubborn. Now that she's found her direction, so to speak, she'll only work harder to prove she can do what you tell her she shouldn't. Aidan won't let her overdo, I promise you. The man adores her.'
'Yes, I've noticed. The Gallagher men seem to be devoted to their women.'
'So they'd better be, or their women will know why.' Relaxed, she kicked back, pulled off her cap. Those red curls tumbled down. 'So you aren't finding it, I guess we'd say'too rustic' for you-out in the countryside here after being used to New York City?'
He thought of the job sites he'd experienced: mud slides, floods, blistering heat, petty vandalism, and sabotage. 'Not at all. The village is exactly what I expected after Finkle's reports.'
'Ah, yes, Finkle.' She remembered Trevor's scout very well. 'Now there's a man I believe prefers urban conveniences. But you're not so- particular, then.'
'I'm very particular, depending. That's why I incorporated most of your design into the theater project.'
'Now that's a fine and sneaky compliment.' And nothing could have pleased her more. 'I suppose I was angling more toward the personal. I have a special fondness for the cottage on Faerie Hill, and I wasn't sure you'd find the place to your liking. Thinking, I suppose, a man with your background and wherewithal would be more inclined to settle at the cliff hotel with maid service and the restaurant and so forth.'
'Hotel rooms become confining. And I find it interesting to stay in the house where the woman who was
