The Long Game

“Anyway, congratulations again,” I said and crossed the floor as fast as I could without actually breaking into a run.

When I reached my seat, Jimmy Boy had a fresh beer waiting for me. I took it, gulping the bitter liquid greedily.

“Easy, tiger,” Jimmy Boy said. “Pace yourself, or you might end up like that one over there.” He pointed to someone behind me.

I turned around just in time to see Judd Sheedy stumble over to a keg. Pop’s youngest son had a habit of strutting around the Village like a self-important peacock, which had earned him the nickname “Prince,” but he also had a habit of drinking himself into a stupor any chance he got. He pulled a plastic cup from a stack on a nearby table but fumbled it clumsily. It hit the floor and slid several feet away from him, and rather than going after it, he angrily pulled another cup from the stack, which tipped over and scattered across the tabletop. Judd ignored the mess and helped himself to the keg, then emptied the entire cup at once, crushing it and tossing it aside. He swayed, clearly unsteady on his feet. I wondered if one of his older brothers would appear to help him find a seat before he ended up on the floor, but no one seemed forthcoming. Eventually, he found a support beam to lean against.

“That boy’s a menace.” I shook my head. “Where’s he been all night anyway?”

“The last I saw him was this morning when we passed by the pavilion, but who knows where he got off to after that? You’re lucky he didn’t notice all that stuff between you and Rosie over there.”

“All what stuff?” I said.

“I saw the looks she was giving you while you were standing up there,” Jimmy Boy said. “And you saw it, too.”

I fought a smile. “I didn’t see nothing, and neither did you. Drop it, Jimmy.”

“Well, I would, except the girl is still gawking at you, which makes it a little hard to let go.”

I looked up and met Rosie’s eyes. She’d joined three other girls standing a few feet from the line of guests still waiting to present their gifts. When we made eye contact, Rosie turned her back to me, and the group of girls erupted into chittering laughter.

“I’m going to ask her to dance,” I said. “There are plenty of people around. What’s the harm?”

“What’s the harm?” Jimmy Boy caught my arm and yanked me to a stop. He lowered his voice to a loud whisper. “Those Sheedy boys have whooped better men than you for looking at her funny. You think they’re going to sit by while you dance with her?”

I knew he was right, but the alcohol and my wounded pride urged me on. I pulled my arm away from Jimmy Boy and handed him my empty glass. I scratched at the tip of his nose as I moved across the floor, vaguely recalling something Maggie had once told me about an itchy nose heralding an argument. It was enough to slow my feet for half a second, but the sight of Rosie ahead of me pushed it from my mind just as quickly. As I approached her from behind, I cleared my throat to get her attention. Her friends wore matching grins, but they faded into the background as Rosie turned around.

I didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Dance with me.”

She looked surprised by my abrupt demand, but her smile broadened when she nodded. Her eyes seemed even bluer than usual as I took her hand and led her to the floor.

Rosie laid her hands on my shoulders, and I wrapped mine around the sides of her waist. I had to bend forward a little so my legs were far enough back to avoid treading on her huge gown.

“In a million years, I never thought Buffer Reilly would ask me for a dance,” Rosie said, giggling again. “If someone had told me that an hour ago, I’d have called him a liar.”

I lifted the corner of my mouth, pretending not to care about her use of the nickname. I knew she didn’t mean any offense by it, but it never stung any less when I heard it. “The Buffer” had been the insult of choice for the boys in the clan who were less forgiving of Maggie’s decision to keep me in school. A “buffer” was a country person, a non-Traveler, someone who didn’t belong. In their minds, it was the worst thing a person could be called, and I agreed.

“You know,” Rosie continued, obviously unaware she’d said anything wrong, “my sister knew she’d get a husband from Georgia. She told me she’d caught a ladybug when my parents were leaving for the funeral, and when she let it go again, it flew straight northeast, toward Georgia.”

“Is that right?” I smiled and pulled her a hair closer.

The superstition was popular among the girls in the clan, but I’d never put much store in a ladybug’s ability to foretell the future. Our swaying continued, and I started scanning the crowd of people over her head. Jimmy Boy had struck up a conversation with our da’s brother, John, and I was glad he’d found something to distract him from his unease over my dance with Rosie.

“Do you want to go somewhere with me?”

My attention snapped back to her. “What’s that?”

Her smile was coy, but there was nothing shy in her gaze. “I thought we could go for a walk or something.”

I glanced around. “I don’t—”

“No one will even notice we’re gone.” She took her hand from my shoulder and tangled her fingers in mine. “Trust me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

I ALLOWED ROSIE to lead me from the dance floor and out of the pavilion. I glanced behind me as we walked, wondering how accurate Rosie’s prediction had been. No one had followed after us or even seemed to be looking in our direction, and I felt the tension in my shoulders ease a little.

“We should have a little privacy back here,” she said.

We’d stopped behind a white trailer painted with the logo of a local sound equipment rental company. I could still hear the music and murmur of conversation from the pavilion, but it was faint at this distance.

“So…” I cast around for something to say. I’d spent my share of nights thinking about what I’d do if I was ever alone with Rosie Sheedy, but conversation hadn’t been a big part of it.

“I’ve had my eye on you for a while, you know that?” Rosie pressed herself against me—or at least tried to with the barrier of her skirt getting in the way.

“That so?”

“It is. Pop has been talking about marrying me off for at least a year now, and I’ve made sure your name is on his radar.”

I laughed. “I’m pretty sure it isn’t, no matter how many hints you’ve dropped.”

“You’re wrong,” she said. “He thinks a lot of you.”

I leaned back so I could look her in the eye. “You’re joking, right? I’d be willing to bet Pop doesn’t think about me one bit.”

“Of course he does,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

It vaguely registered that her fingers were tugging at my belt, but all my focus was on what she’d said. He thinks a lot of you.

Rosie abandoned my belt and wrapped her gloved fingers around my neck to pull my face toward hers. Her tongue was clumsy against mine, and it occurred to me that this might have been her first kiss. It wasn’t unlikely. Despite her boldness—and mine—unmarried men and women enjoying each other in dark corners wasn’t exactly aboveboard as far as our clan was concerned.

A scraping sound forced me to break the kiss and look around. “Did you hear something?”

Rosie shook her head and redirected her efforts at loosening my belt.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I said uneasily.

“No one’s going to come out here. Quit worrying.”

I heard the metallic flick that signaled she’d been successful in her mission, and the cloth of her gloved fingers grazed my abdomen as she went after the button of pants. My body responded, and all of a sudden I was too impatient to let her finish without my help. She giggled at my eagerness. The sound reminded me of the