Current Impressions (17 page)

Ted shrugged and picked up his pace. “Don’t
you like parties? They’re fun. Ken enjoys meeting people and
showing off his house. If you want to know more, ask him.”

****

The hours flew by at work, much to Evan’s
surprise. Gathering samples, he went through the motions, doing
whatever Ken and Ted asked him to do. His mind was elsewhere. He
thought of Meara and the necklace. He wanted to contact her again,
see how she was doing now that he could talk to her at any time. He
missed the daily interaction with her, and this was better than a
text message. He tried not to think about it. It would look strange
to the other men, and he didn’t want to draw any more attention to
himself or the necklace.

They broke for lunch. Amidst cold chicken,
pasta salad, and bottles of water, the headache returned. It began
as a dull throb at the base of his neck. By the time they docked,
the pain seared behind his eyes. The neck pain felt like a knife
wound. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He hastily wiped it out of
his eyes, but not quick enough.

“You okay, son?” Ken studied him with
concern. “You don’t look too good. Why don’t you go inside and get
some rest? Ted and I can finish up here.”

“Thanks,” Evan murmured with gratitude. Even
speaking that single word sent a shrill of pain through his
skull.

“I’ll have Stonewall send up dinner later.”
Ken eyed him sympathetically. “Feel better.”

The stairs took an eternity to climb, then
the trudge to the house, and again more stairs to his room. He
swallowed three pills this time, chasing them with the remaining
water in the glass by his nightstand.

His head met the cool softness of the
pillow, and his eyes closed in relief. Meara’s scent engulfed him.
For a brief moment, he wondered if she were here. He could almost
feel her cool, slender fingers on his head. The pain was too great
to open his eyes. He breathed deep once and met the darkness.

From the window to the door, I paced in my
room. Evan’s voice waking me had been pleasant, yet once I felt him
disappear, I was edgy. Something wasn’t right. Tonight, I would ask
for answers, but what if he couldn’t give them?

My stomach growled, and I stalked to the
door. I hoped Uncle Padraic made something yummy like French toast
or pancakes. He made the best pancakes, better than Mom’s.

Mom.

I’d give anything to have her back. I missed
her. Her laugh. The way she really listened to me. Her advice. I
could use some now. I was breaking a major rule, but I couldn’t
help myself. I had to see Evan. I loved him.

“You ready?”

I jumped, my heart beating wildly. Kieran
just raised an eyebrow. “A little jumpy this morning, aren’t
you?”

It was apparently a no shirt morning. Kieran
had those often. Arms crossed over his chest, wearing only swim
trunks, he leaned against the wall.

“You scared the crap out of me!” I snapped,
trying not to stare at his muscled torso. “Do you have a shortage
of shirts?”

His lips rose at the corners. “Why? Does my
naked flesh bother you?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” I elbowed my way
past him, satisfied at his “oomph” when my bony elbow met his
flesh.

“Where are you going?” He recovered quickly.
I felt him directly behind me. He radiated heat like a furnace.

“To get breakfast,” I said. “I’m
starving.”

“Are you forgetting something?” Kieran
jumped in front of me. All I saw was his stupid, incredibly
sculpted chest. I closed my eyes and prayed for patience.

“What?” I asked between clenched teeth.

“Your lesson.” Irritation sharpened his
words. “We should’ve started hours ago.”

“How do you know?” My finger poked his
chest, and he backed up. “How would I know? It’s not like there are
any clocks in this damn place.”

“Grouchy much?” he snapped. “Fine, we’ll get
you something to eat, but then, we go to work.”

“Fine,” I snapped back before adding
grudgingly, “Thank you.”

Kieran wasn’t kidding that it was late.
Breakfast was long over. We found Paddy in the midst of lunch
preparations. When I sat at the counter, he passed me a plate of
fruit.

“Thanks.” I popped a strawberry into my
mouth, and then pushed the plate toward Kieran. He took a few
berries.

Uncle Padraic poured us each a glass of
juice before turning back to chop vegetables and prepare fish for a
large pot of stew.

“Do you ever leave this kitchen?” I
asked.

“Sometimes.” He shrugged and didn’t pause in
his chopping. “I like it here. It soothes me.”

Would I ever find a calling like that?
Something I could be passionate about? Computers interested me, but
I grew bored with them sometimes, too. I craved variety. Change was
good. I liked being a Selkie. It was still new, still a
challenge.

My uncle pulled a pan of rolls from the
oven. He slid four onto a plate along with a bowl of butter,
setting the platter before us. When the rolls cooled enough to eat,
we ate them quickly. The rich flavor and light-as-air texture made
a delicious combination. My crabbiness melted away like the butter.
I always did better on a full stomach.

“You ready?” Kieran asked once I finished my
juice. I nodded and followed him outside.

“What are you teaching me today?” I asked
once we stood in the cove.

He tilted his head and studied me. “I want
you to teach me.”

I stared back at him. What could I possibly
teach him?

“Teach me how you transformed Brigid’s
energy,” he said.

My cheeks grew warm. “You heard about
that?”

“Yes. Your father told me.” His eyes held
mine, his face serious. I felt a wave of anger at my dad. I hadn’t
seen him in over three days, but he found time to talk to Kieran? I
tucked the anger away. It wasn’t Kieran’s fault. I would find my
dad later.

“I’m not sure I can…” I bit my lip. “What I
did was instinctual. If I think about it, I can’t remember the
steps. It just was.”

“Please.” His voice was soft, coaxing.
“Try.”

I nodded and shifted to a comfortable
stance. “First, let’s try to recreate it. I’ll try to be more
conscious of the steps.”

“Can I listen in?”

I knew he meant my thoughts. I shook my
head. “I need my shield. I used it to catch her energy, so I could
transform it by adding my own.”

Wait! That was it!

“Are you familiar with baseball?” I
asked.

“Baseball?” His lips twitched. “Like the
L.A. Angels?”

“Right,” I said.

“I’ve seen a few games.” His expression grew
curious.

“Then this might make sense to you,” I
said.

His eyes lit up. “You remember?”

“Sort of,” I confessed. “I still want to try
it. Here’s the gist. My shield was around me when I saw Brigid form
the ball. I flexed my shield to form a glove and caught Brigid’s
energy. Once I had it, I grew it with my own.”

Kieran shook his head, a smirk on his face.
“Wicked.”

I rolled my eyes, anxious to try now that I
remembered the steps. “Are you ready?” I brought my shield around
me and tested its pliancy. Perfect.

Kieran’s hands rose in front of him. The
ball of energy he grew was green. It glowed and floated in front of
him while he hesitated.

“Throw it,” I called. “I’m ready.”

“You sure?” He frowned at the ball. “These
really hurt.”

“I know,” I said, my patience snapping.
“Kieran!”

He threw the green ball. I caught it. His
energy tingled, but not unpleasantly. I concentrated on adding my
own. As before, the original color gave way to my blazing orange.
The fire spread around me. Kieran lunged forward.

“Stay back!” I yelled. “It’s not hurting
me.”

As the energy swirled, I contemplated what
to do with it. My target last time was rain clouds. Today’s
cloudless sky did not help me. Maybe I could ground it.

“Throw it back,” Kieran called. “I’m
ready.”

He crouched in a catcher’s stance. If it
weren’t for my concentrating to keep the energy contained, I would
have found it funny.

“Are you crazy?” I asked. His wild grin told
me he was.

He tapped one hand into the other like a
catcher’s mitt. “C’mon, Meara,” he said. “I can do this.”

“If you say so,” I said.

Kieran’s green orb had been the size of a
baseball. As I reformed the orange fire into a ball, it was now the
size of a basketball. With two hands, I lobbed it to him. He caught
it with grace. The orange flickered and died. The ball once again
glowed green, then spread out to spike around Kieran’s shield.

No wonder Brigid freaked out. Like a special
effect in a movie, Kieran glowed, a magical wizard. His face lit
with delight as he raised his arms and concentrated the energy
above his head. The orb again doubled in size. He breathed deep and
launched it into the bay. The water exploded like a torpedo hit. A
rainbow arced across the sky.

I admired the beauty and size of the
rainbow. I was so caught up in its beauty that I didn’t see Kieran
fall. He was on his knees, his head bent to the ground.

“Kieran!”

I dropped by his side. His skin was cold and
clammy. He murmured in response, but he didn’t raise his head.
Rolling him onto his back, I listened to his heart. It was
strong.

His arms came around me and trapped my body
against his. “What a rush!”

I raised my head and looked into his eyes,
which were now full of humor. I pushed to sit back on my heels, and
he released me.

“What happened?” I asked.

His cheeks tinged pink. It was the first
time I’d seen him embarrassed. “I think I released too much of my
energy.”

“Oh,” I said. “Can you do that?”

He raised a brow. “I just did.”

“You’re okay?”

With a wince, he pushed himself up to
sitting. “A bit sore, but I’ll survive.”

****

The red glow of the setting sun bathed the
hallway as I hurried to the cavern. Would my dad join us for dinner
tonight? Nearly a week passed since his last meal with the family.
Where was he? I thought I was getting to know him. The time between
Mom’s death and our arrival at Ronac changed things. For both of
us, I think. We had reached an understanding, but now I wasn’t
sure. He was so… absent.

I missed my mom. We could talk all night and
laugh about anything and nothing. She knew me, understood me, and
loved me. No one else came close to all three. Evan loved me and
knew me, but he didn’t understand my Selkie nature. Kieran and Ula
understood, but they didn’t fully know me. Did they love me? I
didn’t know.

The noise flowed in the crowded cavern. I
paid little attention to it. My focus was the head table, the
family table, and my dad was there. Smiling to myself, I hurried
down the steps, nervously touching the edge of my top to ensure the
necklace was safely tucked away. At the same time, my heart
lightened. Mom was gone, but he was here. I needed to make the most
of it.

He stood when he saw me approach and wrapped
me in his arms. He hadn’t shaved and his whiskers tickled, but I
hung on and hugged him.

“How are you?” he asked, pulling out my
chair for me.

“I’m good.” I wanted to ask where he’d been,
but what came out was, “How about you?”

“Entertained.” His eyes lit with mischief.
“I hear you’ve been keeping your tutors busy.”

I laughed. Aunt Brigid sat at the other end
of the table with Angus. She shot us a purple-eyed glare. My dad
ignored her and winked at me. “I’m proud of you,” he whispered.

Ula sat next to Brigid. She cast glances my
way as we ate dinner. I knew what she wanted. She was dying to ask
me if the necklaces worked. I touched my neckline. She raised her
eyebrow in question, and I turned. I wasn’t talking about that here
or even acknowledging it. She had to wait if she wanted to find
out.

I ate everything on my plate and took second
helpings. Using my power made me hungry, and today’s practice
drained me. Had Kieran recovered or was he still weak? He trained
me for another hour after he collapsed, but the rest of the lesson
was almost tame. He rarely took it easy on me. I searched the room
for him. He wasn’t here.

“Kieran’s not feeling well,” my dad
said.

“How did you know—?”

“Who else would you search for?” he asked.
When I didn’t answer, he continued, “I’d like for you to join me
after dinner, if you will.”

“Sure, Dad.” Maybe he missed me, too.

He glanced at my empty plate. “Are you
ready?”

Now he was impatient, after all that time
away? I bit my tongue and followed him back to his room. Might as
well see what he wanted before I picked a fight. When he opened the
door, the stale air tickled my nose. Whatever he was up to this
week, he hadn’t been staying in his room.

“Where were you?” I asked as I settled on
the sofa.