Night Of The Blackbird (4 page)

“Thanks. I'll take that. But I'm not sure I compare with your exotic foreign lover. And no, it's not just his looks that affect you. It's the accent, the voice, the tradition, the fact that he's an old family friend.” He put on a Hollywood Irish accent. “Aye, me lass, your lover has a definite presence.”

“He's not my lover!”

“How quickly you protest.”

“I haven't even seen him in years.”

“I can tell you when you saw him last. Summer, almost three years ago. And you wound up lying to your family, saying you were coming back to New York, but you stayed at the Copley with him in Boston. You thought he'd stay here, because you wanted him to. He wasn't ready, you got mad. And when he called again the following Christmas, you refused to see him.”

“I never told you all that!”

“Well, I may not have made it as husband material, but I
am
your best friend. And there's something about him you can't quite shake.”

“You're wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Trust me, I
have
shaken him.” She looked at her watch. “How time flies when you're being tortured by your supposed best friend. I have to meet Mrs. Grisholm. She missed her connection this morning. She's the lady from that little mystery theater group in Maine where the audience joins in and they do the show together. They even cook and eat dinner together. You know. I told you all about her, and it sounds like a—”

“What's Michael going to say about the return of your old flame? Did you ever tell
him
about Daniel O'Hara?” Josh interrupted, amused.

“Dan is my past, Michael is none of your business.”

Josh started laughing. Her cheeks flamed.

“Saint Patrick's Day could be lots of fun. Your sleeping arrangements may be none of my business, but we hired Michael as location manager before you two became involved, so I assume he'll be joining us in Boston.”

“Yes, of course he'll be joining us in Boston.”

Josh was still grinning.

“Oh, will you wipe that smirk off your face?”

“I'm sorry. As your one-time would-be lover, I find it amusing that you've spent half your adult life in celibacy and now you're going to have both of the great loves of your life home for the holiday.”

“Josh…” she said warningly.

“Maybe that's not so bad. Mum and Dad can protect you.”

She stood up. “I would thank you for being such a great business partner—”

“If I wasn't being such a prick.” He was still laughing.

“I could tell your wife you're being a horse's ass.”

“She knows all about my ancient crush on you. I think she'll find the situation just as much fun as I do.”

“You're impossible, and I'm leaving.”

“You're leaving because you're late, and you love me anyway,” he called after her, since she was already heading for the door.

“I don't love you,” she called, turning around. “Make sure you get the check, and leave a decent tip.”

“You adore me!” he called after her.

At the door, she looked back. He was still wearing the same shit-eating grin. He arched a brow to her and started humming “Danny Boy.”

I
t had been a damned long day. Michael McLean took his work to heart, and he accomplished what he set out to do, whether it took diplomacy and tact or a dead-set determination and a few strong-arm techniques.

When the phone rang, Michael jumped. He'd been lying there, half asleep, and though his work meant that he got calls at all hours, he hadn't been expecting the abrasive ring. He'd been traveling large expanses of the country—they had to be prepared for every contingency—and he was tired. For a moment the ringing was simply jarring, and he let it go on. Then he forced himself up, dragging his legs over the side of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. He started for his bedside phone, then realized that it was his cellular ringing. He rose, running his fingers through his hair, found his pants and dug out the phone.

He glanced at the caller ID. Moira.

“Hey, babe, what's up? You're all right, aren't you? It's late.”

“I know, I'm sorry. I should have called earlier.”

“You can call me any time, day or night. You know that.”

“Thanks,” she said, her voice soft.

There were lots of women in the world. He'd known his share. But the tenor of her voice slipped into him. There were others, yes. But none quite like her. He pictured her. Moira was a beauty, with her true deep red hair and blue-green eyes. Tall, elegant, with a natural sophistication and the ability to dirty her hands and nails, laugh at any obstacle and get involved with the most absurd situations. When he'd answered the ad for an associate producer and locations manager for KW Productions, he'd known her from seeing her on the air, having studied what tapes he could find before applying for the job. She was good on tape. She was even better in person. He hadn't been ready for the excitement she could create or the emotion she could invoke. He wished she were there right now. Amazing what the sound of her voice could do to a man.

“I should have called you—
could
have called you—hours ago,” she went on, then halted suddenly. “You haven't heard from Josh already, have you?”

“No.”

He heard her sigh. “Yeah, he would make me do this one myself. And it's so late because I've been trying to get up the nerve to call you.”

He was about to assure her that she never needed nerve to call him when she rushed on.

“I know how much work you've already done—”

“You are the boss, you know.”

“Not really. Josh and I have always made decisions together, and since you've been with us, well, you've just been the perfect addition to the show…. Oh, Lord, Michael, I'm so sorry to be doing this, but…we're making a sudden switch in plans.”

He'd been expecting this; still, he felt every muscle in his body tense. He knew what she was about to say.

“I know that you and Josh have made an incredible effort on the Orlando angle, that acquiring permits to tape has been a bitch…but we're switching locations for Saint Patrick's Day. I'm so sorry. I know—”

“Family pressure, eh?” he asked quietly.

“My father has to go in for tests next week. Nothing serious, Mum assures me, but I'm willing to bet he's still working the pub himself until all hours of the night. Anyway, she made it sound as if I were punching the Easter Bunny or something, and I…I caved in.”

“Don't worry,” he told her. “I've already looked into the Boston situation.”

“What?”

“Josh and I both kind of expected this,” he said.

She was silent.

“Moira, it's all right. Hey, I'm going to love meeting your family. I'll get to feel important, right? The man in your life, someone who means everything in the world to you, right?”

“You're incredible, you know that?”

“Well, of course, you'd have nothing less, right?” he said.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“You sound so good.”

Her voice was almost like silk.

“I was just thinking the same about you.”

“They're crazy, you know.”

“Who?”

“My folks.”

“Moira, you've hit the right guy here. My family is Irish, too. Okay, we don't own a pub and no one runs around whistling ‘Danny Boy' all day, but I can deal with the leprechaun and banshee stories. Don't be so worried.”

She was still silent. Then she said, “Mine do.”

“What?”

“They run around whistling ‘Danny Boy' all the time.”

He laughed. “I've got nothing against the song. Hey, Josh and I had a wager going, you know.”

“Who bet that I wouldn't cave in to family pressure?”

“Neither of us. The wager was on the date you'd finally do it.”

“I can't wait to see you,” she said. Once again, he pictured her. Not the woman on television. The one who should be here with him now. Softly scented, sleek and smooth, hair down and wild, naked as the day she was born. Maybe that was part of her allure. She could be so elegant and almost aloof in public, and so incredibly sensual and volatile in private.

“I don't think there are any planes at this time of night,” he said regretfully. “Can't even hop a train. I could rent a car…if you're really needy.”

“You're good. Very good.”

“No, what I am is—”

“Never mind,” she said, laughing again. “You know you can't rent a car in Florida and be here that quickly. And I have to—
have
to—tie up a few things here tomorrow and then head up right after. That will give us a week before the actual big day. Time so I can see my folks and so we can give the Leisure Channel a really good show.”

“I can be there, if you want.” He wondered if he should tell her that he wasn't in Florida. Maybe he'd better leave that one for Josh.

He was silent for a moment. Yes, there were other women in the world, he knew that well. The fingers of his free hand tensed and eased, tensed and eased. But none like her.

“Aye, me love, at ye olde pub!” he said, giving her his best Irish accent. “If you insist that we wait that long.”

“You'd really drive all night…?”

“I would.”

“I'd rather have you alive in the future than dead in such an effort,” Moira said firmly. “Boston, night after next, Kelly's Pub, you'll meet the folks. I'll see you there?”

“All right,” he told her. Then, though he had expected it, he found himself dreading the fact that they would all be in Boston together. He, Moira, her family, her past—and the future. “I love you,” he added, and he was surprised by the almost desperate ardor in his voice.

“I love you, too,” she said, and he believed her.

A few moments later, they rang off.

Though it was late and he was still exhausted, Michael found himself rising and getting dressed. He glanced at the clock. Not that late; just after midnight.

He dressed and left the hotel room.

His destination was within easy walking distance. Boston was a good city in that respect. Narrow, winding streets in the old section and even in the newer areas. There was little distance here between the colonial and the modern. He liked Boston. Great seafood. A sense of history.

He walked quickly and came to the street he had checked out earlier that day. There, in the middle of the block, beneath a soft yellow streetlight, was the sign.

Kelly's Pub.

He stood there, staring at it.

And damning the days to come.

The doors were still open, though it looked quiet within. Weeknight. He thought about sauntering in, quietly ordering a draft, sitting in a corner, taking a look.

No.

At twelve-thirty, he turned and walked away.

 

Twelve forty-five.

From the shadows cast by the long buildings, another man watched Michael McLean leave the premises. He hadn't really seen his face, had never known the man previously, but even so, he was fully aware of who he was.

Dan O'Hara watched the man thoughtfully until he had disappeared. He had avoided the streetlight on the opposite side of the block and therefore had hardly been even a dark silhouette in the night.

He leaned against the old building. With the street clear, he lit a cigarette, slowly allowing the smoke to filter out of his lungs. Bad habit. He needed to quit, he thought idly. So that was Michael. He didn't have enough basis for any rational judgments, but by virtue of instinct, he disliked the guy. But then, Moira could be seeing a Nobel Peace Prizewinning certified saint and he would still dislike the guy.

He had to force himself to hold back any conclusions on Michael McLean. He couldn't even blame the guy for wanting a good look at the pub.

Kelly's. Dan loved the place himself.

How long had he been gone this time? Too long. Of course, last time he had come back, things had been different. No Moira.

How many times had he pushed her away? Doing the right thing, of course. At first she'd been too young. Then, even when they'd become lovers, he'd just known that he was wrong for her. Yet he hadn't realized that he still lived with the belief that she was his, that she would still be there. He truly wanted her to be happy, but he wasn't a man without an ego. Somewhere inside, he had believed that happiness for her would mean waiting for him.

Okay, so he was an ass.

An ass…yet he had done the right thing. She was a strong character, with a sense of the world, of right and wrong and everything that being an American meant. He hadn't been able to help it; he was Irish. An Irishman who loved America, but who felt…

Obligated.

Was he always going to feel obligated?

Hell, was he going to survive?

He thought angrily of how much he didn't like what was going on, and there seemed to be no help in the knowledge that it wasn't his fault. He'd never put any of this into motion, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do.

Moira was coming home. He'd talked to Katy Kelly on the phone today, and she'd been in heaven, knowing that she would have her whole family home and in one place for the special holiday. She was also a little nervous. “She's been seeing a man, one her da and I have yet to meet,” Katy had informed him, trying to keep her disapproval out of her voice.

“He's probably a great guy,” Dan had told her. “She's grown up a smart woman, Katy, you know that. You should be proud.”

“He's in television, too. Working for her and Josh.” Katy had sighed. “Now Josh…there's a good man.”

“A fine man.” Danny could say so easily. He liked Moira's partner. And the fellow was married, was truly a friend and had never had an intimate relationship with Moira.

“Well, this new fellow is Irish.”

“Oh? And what's his name.”

“Michael. Michael McLean.”

“Well, there you go. What more can you ask for?”

Katy sighed again. “Well, I suppose…for you two to have married, Danny.”

“Ah, Katy. We were going different ways. Besides, I wasn't meant for marriage.”

“I think you were.”

She had gone on to insist that it wouldn't matter that Moira and her crew would be there—the back room of the pub was his, as it always was when he came to Boston. And yes, Moira knew that he was coming.

A strange sense of nostalgia stole over him. This place really was home to him, certainly as much as any other. His early years seemed a very long time ago. Living with his uncle, he had traveled a great deal. Brendan O'Toole, his mother's brother, who had married a cousin of Katy Kelly, had been a scholar and broker for antique manuscripts. He had given Dan his first love of literature. Of the written word and the power within it. He'd been a storyteller, another talent he had passed on to Dan. His house in Dublin had been home, but they'd been on the go constantly. Dan had seen many foreign countries, and he had spent a great deal of time in America. He did love the States.

And after any length of time away, he missed this old place.

It was time for him to be there. He could go on in. But he had said he was arriving in the morning. He would wait. No reason to tell the folks that he had been in Boston a bit before checking in with them.

Aye, he would wait.

As he stood there against the building, he saw another man striding down the street. He wore a huge overcoat and a low-brimmed hat. Nothing odd in that. Boston could be frigid this time of year.

But this man approached the pub oddly; then, as Dan had done himself, he paused, staring at the windows.

He stood there for a long time. Dan dropped his cigarette to the ground and remained still, watching the watcher.

The man was peering through the windows, trying to see who was in the pub.