Wild Irish Soul (4 page)

Chapter Ten

The next morning
Aislinn sat at a chair in the back corner of her courtyard and sipped a cup of tea while she idly sketched Morgan from memory. The girl had opened up when she had shown her around the shop and Aislinn could tell that she was truly excited about the opportunity. She'd have to think about how she could get Morgan up to Fiona's.

"Yoohoo! Darling!"

Aislinn dropped her pencil as her mother's voice called to her over the fence.

"Mum! I wasn't expecting you," Aislinn said as she rose to cross the courtyard. In a moment she was enveloped in a warm hug and the scent of Chanel No. 5. Pulling back, she studied her mother's face.

Mary was the spitting image of Aislinn. Her face was interesting, unusual, worldly even. Unlike Aislinn, she had cropped her curls to chin length and they rioted around her face in a dusky shade of deep auburn. Several colorful scarves were wound around her neck and Mary's wrists jangled with a mass amount of mismatched bracelets. Her mother was all energy and life and she created a disturbance wherever she went.

Mary's eyes narrowed as she took in Aislinn's face and shadowed eyes.

"What's wrong? Tell me immediately," Mary demanded.

Aislinn sighed. They were too closely linked for her to hide anything from her mother. Though Mary's ability ran more to foretelling the future, she was always on point when her daughter was upset.

"Come in, let's sit," Aislinn said and gestured to her table.

Mary surveyed the courtyard and sniffed.

"Let's go somewhere fun for lunch. Is Flynn's restaurant open for lunch on the weekends?"

Resigned, Aislinn nodded. That meant she'd have to go put makeup on, and she counted to three in her head.

"Why don't you go put some makeup on and get ready? My treat," Mary said and smiled brightly at her daughter.

Aislinn laughed at her and bent to kiss her cheek. Her mother never changed. Always look your best, have fun at everything you do, and be open to meeting new people was Mary's motto. Once Mary had left Sean, it was like her mother had blossomed.

In her bedroom, Aislinn changed into a turquoise top and skinny jeans. She clipped her curls half-back and added some dangly earrings that she had just made. Pulling out her concealer, she covered the dark shadows that bruised her eyes and put a light dusting of eye shadow on. Slicking on some lip gloss, she grabbed her purse and met her mom down in the shop.

"There, much better. You're such a pretty girl," Mary said, pride lacing her voice.

"Good genes," Aislinn said and smiled at her mom.

"Do you want to call Colin?" Mary asked. Colin and Mary's relationship was still strained even though Mary popped into Grace's Cove a few times a month to visit him and her grandson, Finn.

"No, let's just do us girls," Aislinn said, not in the mood for a serving of family tension with lunch.

Mary looped her arm through Aislinn's as they left the shop and walked down the hill towards the harbor. Colorful shops toppled on top of each other down the street and the effect was charming and inviting. Aislinn loved walking through the streets and admiring the eclectic mix of galleries, pottery studios, music shops, and other novelty stores. The tourists loved the charm of the small town and the brightly painted buildings made a perfect backdrop for vacation pictures.

The street ended in a T at the harbor. Flynn's restaurant, a nondescript building with a nautical design, sat close to the water and Aislinn could almost taste his famous mussels from the scents that wafted their way.

"God, it never gets old, does it?" Mary said in reference to the mouthwatering smells that emanated from Flynn's restaurant.

"Not in the slightest," Aislinn agreed and held the door for her mother.

As Mary breezed past her to go into the restaurant, Aislinn turned to look at Baird's building half a block away. She gasped as she saw him standing in the large picture window on the second floor. Though they were too far apart for her to see his face, she could swear that his eyes bored into hers. Moving quickly into the restaurant, she shook off an involuntary shiver that ran through her.

Aislinn smiled as the waitress sat them. The restaurant was charming and simple, whitewashed stucco with fishing nets hanging on the walls. A chunky candle sputtered in the middle of the table and the windows were thrown open to catch the breeze off the water. Mary smiled and ordered a glass of white wine. She raised an eyebrow at Aislinn but Aislinn shook her head and ordered an iced tea.

"Darling, tell me what's wrong. Is it the man in the window?"

Aislinn laughed. Her mother hadn't even seen Baird and yet she still knew.

"You never cease to amaze me."

"Nor do you, my sweet girl. Tell me what's going on."

The waiter appeared to take their order, which gave Aislinn a few minutes to consider her words. They both ordered the mussels in the cilantro cream sauce. Mary waited patiently until the waiter left.

"I've met someone."

"Aha! The man in the window. Details!" Mary smiled exuberantly at her daughter and Aislinn had to laugh. Sometimes it was like they were girlfriends and not mother and daughter. She supposed that it had to do with the divorce as well as their shared mystical ability. Both of those things had drawn them closer together.

Aislinn looked around and kept her voice low. Small towns were notorious for their gossip and Grace's Cove was no different.

"His name is Baird. He's thirty-three and works as a psychiatrist. He moved his practice down from Galway and wants to spend some time here. Says he was inexplicably drawn here."

Mary's eyes narrowed but she said nothing, motioning for Aislinn to go on.

"He came into my shop and I swear it was like I couldn't even see him! His aura radiated around him and it was like I got punched in the gut. I was totally flustered and awkward. I was certain that he would think that I was ridiculous and instead he asked to have a drink with me."

"Ah, a man who is direct. I like that," Mary said.

They paused as the waiter brought them their drinks. Aislinn took a sip of the cool tea and tried to center her thoughts.

"Yes. He's very direct. And analytical. Long story short…I sent him on his way," Aislinn said, glossing over their night of shared passion.

"Hmm, I imagine that there is quite a bit you aren't telling me. Which is fine!" Mary raised her hand in a stop motion to Aislinn. "Mothers don't need to know every detail to surmise what is going on."

Aislinn smiled at her mother.

"Why did you send him on his way, honey? What happened?"

"I…well, I guess it was a couple things."

Aislinn waited as their lunch was served. She sighed in pure bliss at the first bite and allowed the rich flavors to melt on her tongue. Mary moaned her appreciation from across the table.

"Best mussels in the country, hands down."

"Mum, can I ask you a question?"

Mary made a go-ahead gesture with her fork.

"Why did you leave Da? I know of most of the reasons…but I've always felt it was because you were so different. Was that it?"

"That was a huge part of it. Obviously you know about Margaret as you are friends with Keelin now. Even I knew about Margaret when your father and I first started dating. But, for some reason I felt like I could fix him – like I could fill that hole in his heart. And, we were good, for a while. But soon the novelty of trying to fix him grew old and our differences became more apparent. He's a fine man…just not for me. I would have left him far earlier if it wasn't for you and Colin."

Aislinn hung her head as the old guilt swept through her. "I know."

"Oh, stop. It's not your fault. I just needed you to be old enough to understand what was going on is all."

"I did understand. That didn't make it any easier."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. But sometimes in life you have to follow your heart. Your father and I continuing to be miserable would have done nothing for you both."

Aislinn nodded and picked at her food silently.

"Is that what you’re worried about with this Baird? That you like him too much and it will end horribly?" Mary asked.

"Well, that’s one element of it. We are just too different. Though my attraction to him was immediate and visceral, he's an uptight, analytical doctor…and I'm me." Aislinn shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "The man wears wire-framed glasses for God's sake!"

Mary laughed at her and took a long sip of her wine. They sat in silence for a moment and Aislinn waited for the typical Mary response – go on and have fun, girl!

"I think that you are probably right," Mary finally said.

"What?" Aislinn leaned back in surprise.

"I hate to say this, but yes, you may be too different. If you can't find a common ground of similarity, it may be too hard to hold onto the relationship. I know that they say opposites attract but I've only ever seen those types of relationships work when there is a healthy balance."

Aislinn considered her words carefully. "So, if I find no common ground…run?"

"Maybe, yes."

Aislinn sighed and stirred her mussels around in the cream sauce, picking at the shells.

"He thinks I'm crazy."

"Well, we are a little out there, Aislinn."

"No, I mean like really crazy. I told him about my ability and he told me that he believed that
I
believe that I have power. Which in shrink talk means he thinks that I am nuts."

Mary leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest and sniffed.

"Well, I never. How could he say such a thing? What with you running a successful business and creating beautiful art? No crazy person would be able to hold down something like that!" Mary's words were indignant and Aislinn smiled at her.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Speaking of your art, I ran into the loveliest man in Dublin last week. He's the curator for one of the major galleries. I told him about your work and he asked me to send some pictures of it…maybe set up a show. What do you think?"

Aislinn's mouth dropped open and a mixture of panic and excitement raced through her.

"Mum! That's wonderful news. Do you think that my work is good enough?"

Mary gave her a derisive glance. "Do I think your work is good enough? Please. Your work is outstanding. I brag about you all over Ireland. I hand out your cards constantly. I couldn't be prouder of you."

Tears pricked Aislinn's eyes, surprising her.

"Thanks, Mum."

Mary reached across the table and patted Aislinn's hand.

"Don't let that Baird get to you, honey. It sounds like you walk two different paths. I would stay far away from him."

Chapter Eleven

Baird watched the
two women enter Flynn's restaurant. The other woman could only be Aislinn's mother as the resemblance was uncanny. He sighed and turned away from the window, running his hand through his thick hair.

He already missed her.

Shaking his head, Baird snagged his coffee cup from the counter and went to sit in front of his streamlined laptop. He'd spent much of the night researching different disorders where people thought they had otherworldly powers. Late into the night, he'd finally succumbed to his curiosity and had started researching intuition and empathic abilities.

The research had proved to be fascinating and hours later, Baird had made the decision to contact a few colleagues that conducted research on intuitive abilities in Dublin. He'd dashed off a quick email with a few questions and hoped to see a response today.

As if on cue, his email indicated new mail. Taking a sip of coffee, he opened the mail and perused the contents.

"Really…" Baird said.

It shouldn't have surprised him. As someone who studied the human brain he was well aware that there was still much to be discovered about its power.

His colleagues had sent him pages of research studies documenting various intuitive abilities along with scientific explanations for the reasoning behind them. They also expressed great interest in meeting his "friend" and helping her to understand where her ability came from. Baird wondered if Aislinn would be interested in talking to psychiatrists and scientists about herself. Though she'd been open with him about it, a part of him suspected she would spit in his face if he asked.

Baird leaned back in the chair and ran his hands over his face. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Her scent, the softness of her skin under his touch, the way her smile changed her face from interesting to beautiful. He wanted to be with her…laughing with her…watching her work.

Was he scared of her? Of her powers? Or did he think she was a nutter? Baird couldn't quite convince himself that Aislinn was crazy which left him with the distinctly uneasy feeling that he would have to accept her as she was if he wanted to be with her.

Baird pulled out his map of the village of Grace's Cove. In order to understand all of this, it looked like he needed to go to the source. Examining the map, he made plans to head to the cove the next day.