after a rainstorm.”
Ronan took in a deep breath. “According to the witness, who didn’t seem very reliable, the thief was a short man with red curly hair, wearing a red suit coat with shiny buttons and bright green trousers. He wore only one shoe and was heard to have said—” Ronan hesitated again.
“What did he say? Tell me.”
“ May ye fall and never rise again.” He said it so low and fast she barely caught it.
But she did catch it and at once her emotions took over and tears cascaded down her already damp cheeks. “‘Tis Adhamh One Shoe, the conniving, dirty leprechaun from our village that smited our Tommy.”
Whenever she became upset, she reverted back to her Irish dialect. She couldn’t help it, even though she knew Ronan found it endearing and liked to tease her about it.
This time he gave her that skeptical look she knew so well. Not only did he seem not to appreciate her dialect reversion, but he categorically didn’t believe in leprechauns or Banshees or anything close to Irish lore. His stubborn refusal to accept the truth was the reason they could not now or ever be together, especially since Cathy knew for a fact he was absolutely wrong.
Cathy had seen the faeries herself when she was a child living in Talamh an Óir , Land of Gold. They’d played in her yard, washed in the bird bath, and slept around her mother’s chair whenever she sat outside. Her mom could never see them, but Cathy had even spoken to them once when she was sick with a fever.
“You can believe that if you want to, but I’m thinking it was a heart attack. The witness testified that Tommy had fallen to the sidewalk clasping his chest. Supposedly a cloth bag he’d been carrying was stolen by the little guy spouting the Irish curse. Tommy so believed in all that lore stuff that I think it’s what killed him.”
Cathy regained her composure. “What was supposedly in the bag?”
Ronan leaned back and drank down more of his beer.
Cathy asked again. “What did the dirty leprechaun take?”
He put his glass down and leaned in closer, looking a bit sheepish. Then he sighed and said, “His own gold coins.”
Chapter Two
For the next hour, Ronan tried his best to sound as if there was a logical explanation for everything that had occurred. Regrettably, he came off sounding a bit lame, especially to Cathy who seemed about as impressed with his rendition as a child listening to an adult telling them why swearing was bad.
“So, tell me again why you, and your cousins, Kasey, Rourke and Tommy stole the gold to begin with when you all knew about the curse?”
“We were kids. Besides, it was Tommy’s idea to look for the leprechaun’s gold in the first place. When we found it, after we crawled on our bellies to the top of the knoll right outside of the village, he told us he thought it would be funny to rob the little guy.”
In hindsight, Ronan wished he’d never agreed.
“You realize that ever since you boys took Adhamh’s gold our village has experienced years of financial ruin, it’s been shrouded in a thick mist, and for all intents and purposes, it really no longer exists.”
“If you believe in that kind of stuff … and not that the entire area of Ireland has been going through some rough times.”
But, reasoning with Cathy, even with all the facts, was pointless, and no matter how much he still wanted his arms around her and no matter how much he desperately wanted her in his bed, she simply would not accept logic. It was the rift between them that hadn’t changed a bit.
“Well, at least now the village and the residents will be able to recover. The curse will lift once the leprechaun counts his gold.”
Ronan’s heart skipped a beat. “Counts?”
She threw him a look as if he were daft. “Doesn’t everyone count their money?”
“Yeah, but how could he possibly know the exact number of coins he had?”
“Because it takes an exact amount for a leprechaun to get back to his world. Even
Ronan took in a deep breath. “According to the witness, who didn’t seem very reliable, the thief was a short man with red curly hair, wearing a red suit coat with shiny buttons and bright green trousers. He wore only one shoe and was heard to have said—” Ronan hesitated again.
“What did he say? Tell me.”
“ May ye fall and never rise again.” He said it so low and fast she barely caught it.
But she did catch it and at once her emotions took over and tears cascaded down her already damp cheeks. “‘Tis Adhamh One Shoe, the conniving, dirty leprechaun from our village that smited our Tommy.”
Whenever she became upset, she reverted back to her Irish dialect. She couldn’t help it, even though she knew Ronan found it endearing and liked to tease her about it.
This time he gave her that skeptical look she knew so well. Not only did he seem not to appreciate her dialect reversion, but he categorically didn’t believe in leprechauns or Banshees or anything close to Irish lore. His stubborn refusal to accept the truth was the reason they could not now or ever be together, especially since Cathy knew for a fact he was absolutely wrong.
Cathy had seen the faeries herself when she was a child living in Talamh an Óir , Land of Gold. They’d played in her yard, washed in the bird bath, and slept around her mother’s chair whenever she sat outside. Her mom could never see them, but Cathy had even spoken to them once when she was sick with a fever.
“You can believe that if you want to, but I’m thinking it was a heart attack. The witness testified that Tommy had fallen to the sidewalk clasping his chest. Supposedly a cloth bag he’d been carrying was stolen by the little guy spouting the Irish curse. Tommy so believed in all that lore stuff that I think it’s what killed him.”
Cathy regained her composure. “What was supposedly in the bag?”
Ronan leaned back and drank down more of his beer.
Cathy asked again. “What did the dirty leprechaun take?”
He put his glass down and leaned in closer, looking a bit sheepish. Then he sighed and said, “His own gold coins.”
Chapter Two
For the next hour, Ronan tried his best to sound as if there was a logical explanation for everything that had occurred. Regrettably, he came off sounding a bit lame, especially to Cathy who seemed about as impressed with his rendition as a child listening to an adult telling them why swearing was bad.
“So, tell me again why you, and your cousins, Kasey, Rourke and Tommy stole the gold to begin with when you all knew about the curse?”
“We were kids. Besides, it was Tommy’s idea to look for the leprechaun’s gold in the first place. When we found it, after we crawled on our bellies to the top of the knoll right outside of the village, he told us he thought it would be funny to rob the little guy.”
In hindsight, Ronan wished he’d never agreed.
“You realize that ever since you boys took Adhamh’s gold our village has experienced years of financial ruin, it’s been shrouded in a thick mist, and for all intents and purposes, it really no longer exists.”
“If you believe in that kind of stuff … and not that the entire area of Ireland has been going through some rough times.”
But, reasoning with Cathy, even with all the facts, was pointless, and no matter how much he still wanted his arms around her and no matter how much he desperately wanted her in his bed, she simply would not accept logic. It was the rift between them that hadn’t changed a bit.
“Well, at least now the village and the residents will be able to recover. The curse will lift once the leprechaun counts his gold.”
Ronan’s heart skipped a beat. “Counts?”
She threw him a look as if he were daft. “Doesn’t everyone count their money?”
“Yeah, but how could he possibly know the exact number of coins he had?”
“Because it takes an exact amount for a leprechaun to get back to his world. Even
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