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“Is Rick home? I saw his car in the
garage.”

“No,” Debbie called from the kitchen. “The
Honda’s mine now. Rick got a Mustang. He’d been wanting one for
ages.” She handed Sarah the coffee and motioned for her to sit at
the kitchen table. “Compliments of the divorce,” she said.

Sarah froze. “You and Rick?”

Debbie smiled woodenly. “Yeah, I was going
to tell you yesterday but you didn’t look like you could handle it.
I’m glad to see you’re better. You had me worried there.”

“What happened? Are the kids okay?”

Sarah sat at the table and looked around the
quiet living room from the kitchen. Debbie joined her with her
coffee cup.

“Not really. They took it badly.” She
shrugged. “This is their week with Rick, which is why they aren’t
here. Is there enough sugar in that?”

“I got used to drinking it
black,” Sarah murmured.
When I could get
it at all
. “I’m just so sorry to hear
that, Debbie. I had no idea y’all were in trouble.”

“Me, neither.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, then, let’s don’t go there. Let’s
talk about what you’re going to do now that you’re back. I can’t
tell you how much I missed you, Sarah. I really needed you.”

Sarah nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for
you.”

“But you are now. The truth is, I’ve had to
go back to work since the divorce and that sucks, but it is what it
is. The house goes on the market next month. I waited as long as I
could because the kids just had so much to deal with I didn’t want
to add to it but I can’t afford it.”

This beautiful
house
, Sarah thought, glancing
around,
that I have coveted every day
since she moved into it
. “I can’t believe
this happened,” she said softly.

“Hey! If you’re interested in a roommate
situation, we could move in together at your place. I know Brady
and Jemmy both adore John. Yours is a four bedroom, right?”

Sarah nodded.

“I mean, do you want to think about it? I
swear the idea just came to me. But it would be so perfect. Screw
men! We could create a good life together for the kids, you know?
What do you think?”

Sarah smiled. “Let me sleep on it,
okay?”

Now that she looked at Debbie more closely,
without the helpful soft lighting of the restaurant, she could see
that the nails were press-ons and the highlights were streaks of
gray.

“Where’s Brody?” As long as Sarah and David
had been friends with Debbie and Rick, they had known the playful
Labrador retriever the two had bought as a puppy before their first
child was born.

“Rick got him in the settlement,” Debbie
said, her eyes dull and lifeless. “Which is good. He was a lot of
work.”

“Oh, wow.”

“
It worked out.”

“Well, that’s good then. So, tell me about
your job, Debbie. Tell me all about your job.”

As a result of her visit with Debbie, the
day had been a mixed bag Sarah realized as she hit the garage door
opener at her parents’ house and guided the large SUV into its
interior bay. She’d spent nearly four hours at the warehouse home
improvement store near their neighborhood and almost two on the
phone at a coffee shop talking with financial planners and
professional services people.

If it hadn’t been for the necessary stop at
Debbie’s, which had depressed Sarah for a full thirty minutes
before she finally shook it off with images of her homecoming back
in Ireland, the day would have ranked as one of her best ever.

One of the main pleasures she was now
allowing herself was to think of Mike, to remember how he looked,
how he moved, how he laughed and how he looked at her in that
special way of his. Until now it had been too painful to do
anything but scrub all thoughts of him from her mind. Now she
allowed the thought of his arms around her to fill up her day. She
envisioned the moment he saw her again—the unbelievably delightful
surprise in his eyes when he knew she was back and that they would
finally have their time.

She replayed the images of the fantasy in
her head over and over in every possible, imaginable form. And she
never tired of them.

When she opened the garage door she saw her
father was home from whatever recent pleasurable activity he’d
taken up—Ma Jong at the clubhouse, golf, or antique hunting. Her
father liked to keep busy and his hobbies had always taken first
place in his life for as long as Sarah had known him.

She walked into the kitchen and saw him
standing up at the counter sorting through mail. “Hey, Dad,” she
said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Mom and John around?”

“No. Perhaps they’re together,” he said,
turning to her and smiling. “You look good. I hope you’ve just come
back from a spa treatment or some other well-deserved
pampering?”

“No, just errands.” She twisted her neck as
if it were stiff. “But after two hours sitting on a wooden chair at
the coffee shop making phone calls, I have to say I’m tempted to
book a spa day.”

“What phone calls?” Her father frowned.

She had hoped to delay this conversation for
at least a few days but another part of her wanted it behind her.
She took in a deep breath. “I was talking to my financial advisor
about cashing out my ROTH and my 401K.”

The look on her father’s face did not
surprise her. His mouth hung open. “You…you cashed out your
401K?”

“And David’s.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“I can see how you’d think that, Dad. The
fact is I made a mistake coming back.”

“What in the world are you talking
about?”

When she didn’t immediately answer, he
tossed down the mail in exasperation and put a hand on her arm to
command her complete attention. “You haven’t given yourself enough
time. Is it John? You’ve allowed him to manipulate you.”

“He’s not like that, Dad. If you knew him at
all, you’d know that.”

“I know he’s a teen boy who isn’t getting
his way and has been acting out for nearly three weeks now.”

“You and I see things differently.”

“May I be so bold as to inquire what you did
with your retirement funds? You know you paid insane fees to cash
out early?”

“I bought what I consider necessary
items.”

“What in the world are you
talking about? Has your Irish experience
unhinged
you? What possible
necessary
items do you
feel you need?”

“Generators, for one. Seeds. Tools. Guns.
Ammunition. Books.”

Her father looked at her as if she had just
suggested the immediate overthrow of the US government. “And why in
the name of all that is holy do you believe you need these items?
Are you afraid the US will be under attack like Ireland was?
Because I can assure you—”

“These items aren’t for here, Dad.”

“You think you’re going back to
Ireland?”

“I
am
going back. John and I both are.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and ask you and Mom to come
too.”

He simply stared at her.

“Well, that last part was a bit of a long
shot, I’ll admit,” Sarah said. “It’s not comfortable where I’m
going. But you would have family there.” She shrugged.

“You would ask your mother—a seventy year
old woman—to go live in a post-apocalyptic battleground with no
medical facilities and no…amenities, in order that she could see
her only grandchild?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound like a very good
deal when you put it like that.”

“The idea is not only insane, it’s
impossible. The fact is, you can’t go back.”

“I knew you would say that, Dad but I feel
very—”

“No, sweetheart. You
misunderstand. You will not be
permitted
to go.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The US government just
announced this morning the immediate cessation of all travel
outside the country. Nobody’s going anywhere. For
years
.”

21

Mike saw them coming on the horizon and felt
his stomach twist into a knot. He turned to look at Declan, who was
helping Fiona into the wagon. Declan had seen them, too.

“What is it, Mike?” Aideen asked. She was in
the back next to Taffy, their few possessions stacked at her feet
in the back of the cart. Mike saw her twisting around to try to see
what had caught his attention.

Son of a bitch. We were so
close
. He climbed into the driver seat.
Declan and Gavin stood by the small horse wagon and watched the
riders approach. This was no message being delivered from Brian
cantering down the twisting driveway to where they waited. This was
a posse. Iain rode in front next to one of the twins. Behind him
were Brian, Archie and the other twin. Even from here Mike could
see they were armed.

“Whoa up there, Donovan!” Iain called to
them as the five men entered the cottage forecourt.

Mike’s glance flitted to his rifle, shoved
into its leather holster at his feet. If he was going to use it,
he’d have to shoot every one of them. There was no way a heavily
loaded wagon was going to outrun even one half decent rider on
horseback.

He nodded grimly at Jamison but said
nothing.

Fiona stood, but he saw Declan put a hand on
her to pull her back to a sitting position.

“I’ll be needing you to step out of the
wagon,” Jamison said. “The women and Gavin can stay where they
are.”

“What’s this about, Iain?” Mike asked,
feeling an immediate tightness in his chest.

Gilhooley urged his mount in front of Iain.
Mike could see he wasn’t comfortable, but he imagined it had more
to do with the fact that he was an inexperienced rider than the
purpose of his visit.

“Michael Donovan,” he intoned, his voice
cracking, “you and Declan Cooper have been found implicated in the
recent jailbreak of one Ollie…Oliver…” He turned to look at Iain
who shrugged. Gilhooley turned back to Mike, embarrassed now, his
face redder and fierce. “Our recent prisoner, the gypsy found
guilty of murder. You’ll come peaceful like.”

“And if we don’t?”

Archie, silent up to now, pulled out his
rifle and jabbed the air with it. “You’ll be giving me the chance
I’ve been looking for since the day you murdered my darlin’ girl,
Ellen,” he shouted.

“Too right!” Cedric said, riding up next to
his father. “If you can’t be gotten for justice for Ellie, then
we’ll just have to do it another way!”

“Gonna hang your arse, Donovan,” the other
twin, Colin, snarled. “One way or the other.”

Fiona screamed and tried to jump to her feet
but Declan held her firmly. Mike could see Aideen was clutching
Taffy, who had begun to cry. Her face, twisted in anguish, searched
his for reassurance.

Mike knew there was nothing for it. If he
didn’t have two women and a little girl to worry about he might
risk a shoot out with the crazy bastards. As it was, he sighed and
raised his hands. “We’ll come.”

Live to fight another day…

“Da, no!” Gavin ran to the wagon, prompting
Brian to bring his handgun out of its holder.

Mike saw Iain lean over and pull Brian’s
hand down. “Hold on, there, Brian. The lad’s not doing anything.
Donovan said he’d come.”

Fiona was fighting with Declan, trying to
prevent him from willingly leaving her. She buried her face in his
chest, her hands clamped around his neck. He could hear Declan
murmuring reassurances to her.

“We’ll get it sorted out, Fi,” Mike said to
her, but he was looking at Aideen.

“At the end of a fecking rope, you’ll get it
sorted out!” Cedric yelled.

Mike saw his father-in-law nod grimly but
his eyes were on Gavin, his grandson.

Revenge isn’t always cut and dried, is it,
you old bastard?

Mike dropped the reins and jumped down from
the wagon, his eyes landing once more on the rifle.

Gavin grabbed his sleeve. “Da, what do I do?
What should I do?”

Mike put a hand on his boy and felt a
fissure of defeat. Was this the last time he would touch him? Was
this goodbye? He forced himself to shove the thought from him
mind.

“Take care of your Auntie Fi and Missus
Malone and Taffy, aye?” Mike looked at Fiona, now sobbing in
Declan’s arms. “In fact, start for the coast today. Dec and I’ll
catch up with you.”

“Da, no,” Gavin said. His eyes were red as
if he were struggling not to cry. Mike wished he could have all the
answers for his son. Especially today.

“No, we will.” He spoke under his breath.
“Take your auntie, Gav. It’s not safe for her here.”

“Hey! Hey! There’ll be no plotting,” Brian
called to Mike. “Move away from the lad, Donovan, or we’ll bring
him, too. In fact, we probably should bring him just to be
safe.”

“Eh? What?” Archie looked at Brian and
frowned. “There’s no call for that. But the boy should come with
me. I’m his only kin now.”

“Fuck that,” Gavin said to him and spat in
the dirt.

“Steady on, lad,” Mike said to him, giving
his shoulder a hard squeeze before turning toward where the riders
waited.

“Let’s go, Cooper. She can visit you at the
jail. Start walking.” Iain’s voice was loud but Mike couldn’t help
but think there was a forcefulness to it that was missing.

Almost as if he wasn’t completely sure.

Declan broke away from Fiona and joined Mike
as Iain dismounted and approached the two with strips of leather in
his hands. Mike knew it would be next to impossible to get out of
leather binds. As soon as his hands started to sweat, they would
grow even tighter. He held out his hands, his eyes on Iain’s
face.