Mairead’s triumphant smile faded, and she shrugged. “I suppose I’m sorry, too. I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Well, at any rate, it looks like I’m staying. For a while at least.”
“It was really funny, you know.” The girl smiled. “The car…”
I snorted and began to laugh. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“I thought his head was going to explode.”
“Imagine if his car hadn’t started.”
And just like that, Mairead and I became friends—proper friends—and Derrydun became a little more like home.
Chapter 7
The next day, I opened Irish Moon early.
If I was sticking around, then I had better start making an effort assimilating into village life. That meant taking an interest in the business that might end up being my job for the next fifty years. Ugh, imagine that.
Sitting behind the front counter, I began sorting through the papers that had been shoved underneath the till. Old receipts, delivery slips, and handwritten notes dating back years had accumulated in the little space, so I pulled them all out and put them into an old cardboard box from the storeroom. I would have to sort through them later.
Reaching back into the shelf to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, my hand settled on a small box that had worked its way right to the back. It was a black rectangle with a metallic gold design etched into it. At first, I thought it might be a set of playing cards, but the box was a little larger than standard. Sitting on the stool behind the till, I shook my treasure, listening for a rattle. Something inside moved from side to side.
The box was covered in scuff marks, so I assumed it had been opened and closed quite a bit before I stumbled on it. Easing off the lid, I found a stunning set of tarot cards inside. Of course.
They had to have belonged to Aileen. It was another thing to add to the list of things I knew about her. She read tarot. I wondered if she’d been any good and if she knew all the hidden meanings.
Tipping over the box, I emptied the cards out onto the counter. Picking up the first one my fingers found, I saw they were matte black with metallic gold designs, which shimmered as I tilted it back and forth. The deck was quite pretty to look at even though I didn’t know the meanings. Scattering them over on the counter so I could see better, I studied the wands, swords, cups, and pentacles. There were also other cards like The Sun, The Moon, The Fool, The Emperor, and more. I knew they all had meanings and ones that deepened still when set with other cards.
Picking out a card that drew my eye, I peered at the image. It was a woman standing between two pillars, holding what looked like a multifaceted crystal in one hand and a book in the other. She was wearing a peculiar headdress—a circle with horns that almost looked Egyptian in style. The High Priestess. I wondered what she signified.
The bell above the door rang, and I dropped the card and glanced up. It was Boone.
He was wearing his trademark jeans, T-shirt, and tartan shirt, though this morning, the shirt was undone. As usual, his ringleted hair was falling into his eyes, and he was in desperate need of a shave.
I eyed him skeptically, more from curiosity than burning desire. He’d never been in the shop before, and I wondered what he was up to. He hadn’t come to see me, had he?
“Hi,” he said, smirking at me.
“Hi…” I said slowly, waiting for the punch line.
“I heard about the incident.”
“Not you, too,” I said with a moan. He’d come to rub it in! Typical. “I had nothing to do with that man’s driving. He ended up in the creek all by himself, thank you.”
Boone began to laugh. “It’ll be the talk of Derrydun for months.”
“Then someone had better hurry up and do something outrageous so they’ll forget me.”
“I had to put up with it for a whole year before you came along and took my crown, so I’m not in any hurry to help you along.” He added a wink for good measure.
“What did you do?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “I don’t believe it.”
“Bully broke Roy’s leg, and I was able to calm him enough so Sean could get Roy out of the pen.”
“Bully?”
“Roy’s bull.”
“What’s so special about that?”
“Bulls are notoriously wild creatures,” Boone explained. “They don’t have much regard for us humans, so when they get a bee in their bonnet, it’s best to run as fast as you can in the other direction. They’re big bastards.”
“Let me guess. You ran the wrong way?” I tilted my head to the side.
“I did, but it could’ve been much worse for Roy if I hadn’t.”
“That doesn’t seem like that bad of a story,” I declared. “It’s not embarrassing at all.”
Boone scratched his head, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not good at bein’ the center of attention.”
I snorted. “Seriously? Looking like that?” I gestured up and down at him. “Yeah, right. You love it.”
“Are you callin’ me handsome?” he asked, grinning.
“No! I…” There was no denying it. I was redder than red. Scarlet, crimson, carmine, maroon, cherry, ruby…
Boone’s grin widened, and he leaned against the counter. Running his fingers over the cards I’d been studying, he glanced at me curiously.
“You found Aileen’s tarot cards,” he said.
“Yeah. I don’t know anything about them, though.” I scooped them up and began shuffling absently, finding a strange comfort in the action.
“Your mam loved these cards,” he went on. “She would sit there and do a readin’ every mornin’.”
“Do you know anything about them?”
“A little. She would pull a few cards for me every now and then. Especially when I first came to Derrydun. She said they helped with guidance more
