Where the Streets have no Name (5 page)

Daniel’s chest contracted. Emotions swarmed his mind and his heart. Fearing he’d drop the urn, he replaced the lid and set it gently down on the sand. Then he walked to where she stood, her shoulders tight and trembling.

She needed cheering up.
He had no words to give her, but he had two arms and a sturdy chest. He offered her that comfort, gathering her close, giving her a small piece of him in return. They shared the moment, shared in the comfort of a stranger’s embrace.

She shuddered
. He tightened his arms. Amelia pulled down on his neck, crushing her cheek to his, tears wetting his skin.

“Ah, lass,” he sighed, touching his lips to her jaw.
He meant to comfort her. Meant the kiss as something sweet.

But
Amelia pulled back, staring at his mouth. In the next breath she brushed her lips over his, sliding her tongue hesitantly over the closed seam. Daniel growled. His mouth opened, hot and hungry over hers. Amelia gasped at the intrusion.

Part of him wanted to break away and apologise; the other part
of him, the part that needed her framed Amelia’s face with his hands and forged onwards. His fingers danced over her silken locks, leading down to the ends dangling low on her back.

Daniel sighed.
They shared another moment, this time of hesitant intimacy, learning the feel and taste of one another. Her skin felt so soft. She smelled like apples and wildflowers and mint.

Heat swelled at his groin
and his heart beat furious tattoo under his ribcage. Out here, in the fresh sea air with nothing around them but skies, Daniel was free, and he could kiss Amelia all he wanted to without fear of repercussion.

He pulled her closer. A desperate force ripped around them, stealing fragments from the fabric of time
. Like this moment’s end might come sooner than he hoped. A kiss brimming with passion filled his head for a lifetime, but he’d take a lifetime of kisses over just the memory of a kiss.

The thought turned
his mouth demanding; dominant in a way that made his stomach clench. God he wanted her, like a teenaged boy with his first lust-crazed crush, desperate to get in a lass’ pants. Aye, he wanted her, but he wasn’t deserving of her.

Amelia was soft and sweet. She deserved a man who could give her the world
, not someone trapped in a half-life, who’d be forever looking over his shoulder.

The lass shivered in his arms. Too soon indeed the kiss ended.
And he released her. He’d always release her. He’d no sooner stand in her way than he’d hurt another human being who didn’t damned well earn it.

I kissed him.

She’d actually done it.

What possessed her?

Amelia stared in Daniel’s eyes and in them, she saw a myriad of emotions
. Most of them she couldn’t read. But she noted the ever present sadness there, lingering in the fringes. Was he upset? She hadn’t meant to bother him.

First to turn away, Daniel walked back to her grandfather’s urn
. He lifted it with care and headed back to the car. Their beach walk ended as soon as it began.

Taking his cue, Amelia
hopped back to the rental. Daniel returned and offered his assistance; a strong arm hooked under her arms, holding her to his body as they walked. She studied him on the trip. The expression on his face solidified her thought that he kissed her to stop her from crying and that’s all.

She wanted to be mad at him but given his past, she couldn’t find it in her.

Daniel drove south along the coast with a wistful look in his eye. As many times as she tried to talk to him, she stopped herself. He probably didn’t mean it, the kiss. He did return the kiss – she still felt his arms around her, holding her close…

Stop thinking about it!

“Are you hungry?”

Amelia stiffened. He hadn’t heard her stomach growling…had he?

“I’m pretty hungry myself. I just need to stop at a bank–”

“No.” She shook her head. “No. I asked you to come along with me here, Daniel, so I’m paying for lunches and dinners and breakfasts and…and snacks.
And drinks,” she added.

“Is that so?” Daniel quirked a brow. “Right then. Where should we go?”

“What do you feel like? I could go for beef again. Maybe big greasy burgers and fries with lots of salt.”

“Jaysus.” Daniel shoved a hand through his blue-black locks. “You sure you’re a beautiful lass? ‘Cause you sound like a lad to me.”

The absurdity of his words made Amelia laugh. Her. Beautiful. Right. The guy was on something. Or he was kissing her ass. Pushing that thought aside, she said, “First place you see with burgers, we’re going.”

“Doubt we’ll come across anything taking the scenic route. Want me to get onto the main roads then?”

“Sure.” Amelia kept her eyes glued out the window.

If she didn’t look at him, she had a slight chance of keeping him off her mind.

Thirty minutes after the moment she brought up burgers, they still hadn’t passed anywhere serving them. Amelia’s stomach was almost eating itself from the inside out.

“Right lass, it’s not burgers, but how about we get us a nice bit of fish and some chips on the side?”

“Oh god that sounds like heaven,” Amelia answered.

“Grand. There’
s a place up ahead.”

“You
’re familiar with the area?”

Daniel shook his head. “I saw a sign a few minutes back.

“Oh.”

Unbearable silence filled the car; until Daniel parked across the road from a small store with a bright blue sign. A fisherman sat in his boat, his bucket full of fish and
another on his line. Amelia couldn’t read the words though. She’d never learned Irish.

“So, fish n’ chips then?” Daniel asked.

Nodding, Amelia reached into her wallet and took out a few euro notes. “If they have hot chocolate can you get me one? If not, just a soda is fine. Lemon-lime or regular cola. And get yourself whatever you want, too.”

Daniel smiled then and the sun came up in her chest, bursting rays of warmth radiating to the furthest reaches of her body. “If they’ve got a fried chocolate bar, will you try that?”

“Fried chocolate? That sounds so gross!” Amelia scrunched up her nose. “And hell yes, I’ll try one!”

“You’re mad, you are,” he said, laughing. “I’ll be back.”

Daniel checked for cars and then ran across the street, ducking into the store. Amelia wanted to know more about him but she also didn’t want to push. She knew the bare bones. The prison sentencing, the loss of his family. But she wanted to know his likes and dislikes. His favourite time of day, what seasons he preferred. What he wanted to do with his life now.

That last one was definitely off limits. She couldn’t ask him. What would she do if their roles were reversed?
She didn’t know. The one thing she was capable of now, she was doing. Being a friend to him.

He returned with their food and Amelia devoured her fish first. Fried to crispy perfection. She’d need to work all this off once her knee healed but for now she planned on enjoying every bite.

Daniel passed her a large container with a small plastic fork. “Chips with curry sauce. You’ll love it. I know you will.”

Looking inside at the bright yellow sauce covering thick-cut French fries, Amelia held back a shudder. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

He laughed and pushed a forkful of the concoction in his mouth, groaning when it touched his tongue. “Give it a try.”

She pushed the plastic tines into a fry
with a negligible amount of sauce on it, then brought the morsel to her lips, hesitant to open them and let the thing in. Fast food in general usually tasted so disgustingly delicious she had a hard time turning it down, but the fluorescent yellow sauce did nothing for her gastronomic desires.

“Go on
then. Tuck in, love. If you don’t eat them, I think I just might.”

“Back off,” she warned, teasingly, using her fork as a weapon. “Get your own French fries.”

Daniel gasped in feigned horror. “Eh, no, you can’t go ‘round calling chips ‘French fries.’ There’s a difference. See how thick they are? Like someone’s stuck the potato in a wood chipper, aye?”

“I thought it was just a British thing, like how you call chips crisps.”

“When I as a lad, my Da explained to me that French fries are thin and crispy all over. Chips are thick and…” He brought another forkful to his lips “…lovely and…” The fork vanished and when it came out, it was empty “…sho gufd.”

“What is it with men and talking with their mouths full?” Amelia laughed and Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Would you just try it already?”

“Fine, fine!” Amelia took a breath and shoved the fry in her mouth before she chickened out.

And holy crap…chips with curry sauce tasted like nothing she’d ever eaten. Amelia stabbed a few chips at once and pulled them from the fork, chewing slow, enjoying the flavour.

“Ha, ha, ha, I told you they were good!”

Rolling her eyes, Amelia elbowed Daniel, then continued shovelling fries in like his threat to steal them was real.

They finished their meals in silence, staring through the windshield.
Amelia had to admit, even the fried chocolate bar was good. All this fried food though and no vegetables meant that when she reached her final destination, she’d need to spend a few weeks getting back into the swing of healthy eating and exercise. At the end of the day though, she was only human. A lapse here and there didn’t make her any less than who she was.

Clouds overhead
quickly moved from a threat of rain to full storm, raining fat drops on the pavement. Each drop thundered and splashed. Visibility was so terrible she could barely see a foot in front of the headlights.

“We should find somewhere around here to stay for the night,” Daniel suggested, collecting the remains of their lunch and
replacing them in the bag. “Don’t want to be driving through this, especially not on the coastal roads.”

“
I agree,” she said, squinting through the rain, scanning the signs along the street. “I can’t see a single thing in this mess.”

Daniel took the bag and placed a hand on the door. “
I’ll throw this in the bin and hop back inside the chippy, and ask if they know of a place.”

He opened the door and took off in the rain
without giving her a chance to respond.

Rain soaked through every layer of his clothing, right down on the padding inside his new shoes. Standing under the awning, Daniel shook his head, sending droplets flying out in all directions. He didn’t want to go inside
the shop a second time, but he wouldn’t risk Amelia’s safety.

He hadn’t driven in years, and the only reason he got his license renewed
was due to a new law passed giving inmates who had their driver’s licenses before entering the prison system a renewed license for when they came out. They gave him some spiel about jobs and rights, but he hadn’t paid much attention. They never gave him reason to be grateful and he wasn’t about to break down and thank the bastards when they presented him with the brand new licence.

Daniel gave himself a mental shake. Time to man up and ask for the nearest bed and breakfast or inn. He pulled the door open and stepped inside
. The small group of customers he’d seen when he came in previously were gone now. Just a few people remained, and only one of them sat at a small Formica table eating a large serving of chips and scampi.

“
You’ve returned then, have you? Problems with the order?” the older man behind the counter asked.

“No,” Daniel said. “No problem at all
.”
Make small talk. Don’t give him a reason to think he recognises you
. “Everything was lovely. My…friend, she gives her compliments. She’s never had chips and curry sauce, or the dessert, and raved about them both.”

“Oh?” The man smiled. “Well, good then.”

“Aye.” Daniel shifted his weight. “Erm, I was wondering if you knew of a place we could stay for the night. Don’t want to be driving in this downpour. Is there a B&B about? Or something similar?”

“Eh…” The man rubbed his chin with thick, sausage-like fingers, aiming dark eyes to the ceiling. “I dunno if the pub’s still got letting rooms or not. Moira!” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Aye?”

“Fella here’s lookin’ for a room for the night!”

Heavy footsteps slammed. Annoyed grumbling followed. An overly large woman ambled into view. If not for the stringy hair and her weight, he’d guess her to be close to his thirty-two, but she looked so much older.

“Who’s wantin’ a place?” she wheezed, dabbing her brow with a greying scrap of cloth.

The man indicated Daniel with his chin. “Lad here and his girl. Don’t want to be drivin’ through this mess.” He motioned out the front window.

“Well there’s the one little cottage down the end of the street…” She sighed. Annoyance oozed from the woman’s pores. She eyed Daniel with distaste at first. Then a flash of something crossed her cold, dark eyes.

Recognition.

“Eh! It’s that baby killer!” She shoved a fat finger through the air. “You’re not stayin’ anywhere in
my
town, you hear me? We’ll have you run out!”

“Baby killer? Moira, what are you on about?”

Daniel was already backing up to the door. Snakes of fear slithered around him. His hands fumbled for the door, hoping to make a hasty exit.

“The one that bombed that café fifteen years ago, Da!” Moira shouted, jabbing her finger in the air still. Hatred seethed from her words. She worked up a sweat ambling towards him.

“You?” The man snarled. “You dare come in my shop?”