“Gorten Abernathy!” Kaitlyn shouted. “Stop this instant or you’ll be spending the night in the back yard, so you will!”
If the massive dog heard Kaitlyn, he didn’t seem to be listening, since his headlong rush at Sean continued unabated. Sean decided he had a better chance for survival on his feet than he did sitting down. At least he’d have a few inches of height on him, even if the dog outweighed him.
Sean’s standing up must have appeared as an open invitation for play to Gorten. He rushed forward and jumped up, placing both gigantic paws on Sean’s chest. It was no contest, as Sean toppled over backwards onto the couch as the children scattered to get out of the way.
Once Gorten had Sean pinned on the couch, he began licking his face enthusiastically with his large, wet tongue. Maybe other dogs didn’t take to Sean, but Gorten had found a new best friend.
Sean thought he saw motion out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Ashling touch her hand to Gorten’s side. The dog jumped like he’d received an electrical shock and let out a yelp of pain. He quickly heaved his bulk off Sean and sat still in front of Ashling, his mouth open and tail twitching across the floor.
“Spare me the theatrics, Gorten,” Kaitlyn said. “I swan, for such a big bruiser; you’re really quite the baby. Ashling barely touched you, and she saved you a few lashes from my hickory stick besides. What were you thinking, mauling our guest like you’re some untrained alley rat? I’m ashamed of you, I am, and so are the children.”
Sean sat up and tried to wipe off some of the slobber Gorten had left on his face and shirt collar. When he looked over at Gorten, the big lug was hanging his head and looking thoroughly miserable. Sean almost felt sorry for the dog-almost.
“I’m so sorry you were the victim of one of Gorten’s tongue baths, Sean,” Kaitlyn said. He gets a wee bit excited whenever we have company.”
“Especially if it’s someone he’s never met before,” Ashling added. “You really should be grateful that Gorten took it easy on you, Sean. Some of his victims were rushed off to the hospital, so they were,” she added with merriment twinkling in her eyes.
“Well, I did come to see the sights and Gorten is quite a sight, I must say. What type of dog is he?”
“He’s an Irish Wolf Hound,” Jennie said. “They’re known for getting very big. Gorten has lived longer than most dogs, and he just seems to keep right on growing. He’s gotten so big that we had to give him his own bedroom.”
“Big might be an understatement,” Sean said, as he stood again. “I’ve seen horses that weren’t as big as Gorten.”
“Just go on into the kitchen-right through there,” Kaitlyn said, pointing toward the back of the house. “You can wash up in there.”
Sean walked warily by Gorten but gave him a soft pat on the head when he realized the dog was going to stay put. There was a lot of muffled giggling from the living room, as Sean tried to walk back to the kitchen with a little dignity still intact.
Chapter Four
May the enemies of Ireland never eat bread nor drink wine,
but be afflicted with itching without the benefit of scratching
~ Old Irish Saying ~
“I was impressed with the way you handled yourself with the Abernathy’s,” Sean said, as they walked toward what looked like a small river at the far edge of town.
“They’re quite a hand full, but they are really the most wonderful of children. I look forward to my visit each month.”
“They obviously adore you, and your rapport with all your patients is impressive. But I was talking about how you handled yourself with Gorten. You barely touched him, and he jumped to attention like an army private when the general walks by. Tell the truth; you stuck him with a safety pin, didn’t you?”
“A pox on you for saying such a thing! I would never do that to Gorten, or any other animal,” Ashling said indignantly. “I happen to love animals very much and find them better company than a lot of people I meet.”
Sean wasn’t sure if that last comment was aimed at him, but he could see he’d said the wrong thing. He’d only been teasing, but he couldn’t understand why the dog would have jumped and yelped like that otherwise.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Ashling. I was just very surprised at the way Gorten reacted to your touch. It did seem like he was hurt by the way he yelped.”
“I probably just scared him. He really is a big baby.”
“Big being the operative word,” Sean said.
“Come this way,” Ashling said suddenly. “I want you to see one of my favorite parts of Rundimahair.”
Sean felt like she was hurrying to change the subject. He had other questions about some of the strange things he’d seen today, but he realized now was not the right time to pursue them.
They crossed the street at the far edge of town and came to the river. It was about forty-feet wide and looked to be fairly deep as well. The slow-moving water was a soft green color in the reflected sunlight shining across the surface.
Along the edge of the street was a lush green parkway about twenty-feet wide and running the length of the town. Where the parkway met the river, there was a very old stone wall about four-feet high and a foot thick.
As Sean looked up and down the parkway, he could see that there were openings where the stone wall curved in toward the river. There were wide inlaid rock stairs in each opening, which led down to the river’s edge.
All along the parkway were cherry, apple and peach trees planted about six or seven yards apart. The
