Page 12 of The Widow’s Irish Secret (Magnolia Manor #4)

Tricia thought long and hard about what Nora had said the following day.

Then she decided not to contact the Guards right now.

She didn’t want so sound like a hysterical woman who was worried about a few people on the beach.

Of course they were trespassing but there was no proof anyone was doing anything illegal, especially if Sylvia knew about it.

Tricia had a feeling she did but either didn’t want to talk about or had agreed to keep it quiet.

Whatever was going on, it seemed better to say nothing for the moment and try to figure it out for herself.

Besides, she didn’t particularly want to draw any further attention to herself.

She’d wanted to keep a low profile as long as possible in case Terence was still looking for her.

Tricia thought back to the reading of Sean’s will.

Terence’s face. His accusations and threats, and then that gossip in the local newspapers.

That had all come from him. Those newspapers were not widely distributed and everything had died down after the first flurry of headlines.

But there had been glances and whispers everywhere she went.

Added to that was the worry of being charged with a crime.

Terence seemed to hold all the cards at the moment.

She wasn’t ready to face him again, not yet.

As an afterthought, she googled her name to see if there was anything further about her in the local news – or even nationally.

But nothing came up and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She sent an email to her solicitor to check that everything about the sale of Sean’s farm was going ahead as planned.

He replied that everything was in order and that the legal problem might be resolved with a bit of luck.

Tricia said a silent prayer that he was right and decided not to worry and simply enjoy the doing up of the cottage, spending time with her grandchildren and having fun with her new group of friends.

Maggie, the fun redhead, picked Tricia up from the gatehouse on Friday night. ‘Hiya,’ she said when Tricia got into the car. ‘Are you ready for the speed dating?’

‘As ready as I can be,’ Tricia replied with a nervous laugh. ‘Not sure I know what I’m doing. Except to give you some support. I have absolutely no interest in dating or meeting men.’

‘Of course you don’t,’ Maggie said. ‘But I’m so glad you decided to come with me. I don’t think I’d have the nerve to walk in there on my own.’ Maggie eyed Tricia’s red cotton shirt and beige chinos. ‘You look great, though. Not a day over fifty.’

‘So do you,’ Tricia said. ‘Much younger than me, actually.’

‘Thanks. I hope some of the old guys will agree with you.’ Maggie started the car and they rolled slowly through the gates.

‘Old guys?’ Tricia asked. ‘I thought they’d be around our age.’

Maggie grinned. ‘Yeah, they are. And we’re old too according to our kids, but women are better at thinking themselves young.’

‘I’m not sure I agree with you,’ Tricia said. ‘It’s very individual and not really related to gender, I feel.’

Maggie shrugged. ‘Could be. But I certainly don’t feel old.

My body is a little saggy here and there, of course, and my red hair is thanks to my hairdresser these days.

But as long as I have my health and have a laugh from time to time I’m not going to complain.

And tonight is not about being serious, is it?

It’s about meeting people and having fun. ’

‘Of course,’ Tricia agreed, feeling a slight buzz of excitement mixed with fear.

What had she got herself into? She had only come to support Maggie, who she liked a lot already.

Meeting men or dating was far from her mind and she hoped she wouldn’t attract any attention.

In fact she wasn’t even interested in that kind of thing any more.

She didn’t even know what speed dating was all about.

‘It’s not as scary as you think,’ Maggie said as if reading Tricia’s thoughts.

‘You get five minutes with each man and then another one takes his place. During the five minutes you’re supposed to tell him a few facts about yourself and then he does the same.

It all lasts about half an hour and then we all have drinks and some finger food and chat.

It’s very nice, really. And no obligation to meet any of the men if you don’t like any of them. ’

‘Well that’s reassuring at least,’ Tricia remarked.

They parked beside the community hall and hurried inside as a rain shower suddenly smattered against the car.

‘Typical,’ Maggie panted as they rushed in through the door. ‘Now my hair will be all frizzy.’

‘It looks fine to me,’ Tricia told her as she looked around the hall where people were already sitting at tables dotted around.

A woman with grey hair came up to them and asked for their names.

Then she handed each of them a Post-it sticker with their name on it from a stack she was carrying and told them to put them on and to sit at any free table.

‘We’re about to start,’ she said. ‘You get five minutes with each date and then the men change tables and you stay put. Have fun,’ she added before she went to another new arrival.

Tricia had been about to tell her she didn’t want to participate in the speed dating and that she was only there for Maggie, but the woman was now busy with other participants.

‘Oh, well, I might as well play along,’ Tricia muttered and put the sticker on the front of her shirt and sat down at an empty table near the end of the row.

‘Good luck,’ Maggie said before she went to find a table. ‘Hope you find the man of your dreams.’

Tricia laughed. ‘I’m not here for that as you know. But I hope it goes well for you.’ They gave a start as a bell rang loudly and the speed dating started.

A man in a plaid shirt with grey hair in a ponytail sat down in front of Tricia, smiling broadly. ‘Hello, my name is Brendan and you’re…’ He peered at her sticker. ‘Tricia? So tell me about yourself.’

‘Eh… well, I’ve just arrived here from Dublin and my daughters and grandchildren live here.

’ She went on to say she was actually from Dingle and that she loved swimming and walking.

Then Brendan took over, telling her about himself and that he lived in Dingle town and had a shop that specialised in fishing gear.

Then the bell rang again and another man sat down at her table and then another and another until Tricia felt quite dizzy and hoped it would all be over soon.

She found it hard to remember anything any of the men had told her but they had all been nice and a little shy, some even saying, ‘Welcome to Dingle.’ None of them had really appealed to her even though they were all nice.

‘One more date and then we’ll mingle,’ the organiser announced as the last man slid onto the chair opposite Tricia. She looked at him and her heart nearly stopped when she realised who it was. Is this really happening? It can’t be… she thought, wondering if this was some kind of weird dream.

Before her was a man she knew very well.

A man with black hair streaked with grey and large hazel eyes.

Cillian O’Malley, Fred’s best friend. She hadn’t seen him for years but it was as if they had parted only yesterday.

Oh no , she thought, not him, not now, not here.

What am I going to do? We didn’t part on good terms and he might still carry a grudge.

It’s been over twenty years, but still… She felt cold sweat breaking out and her throat was suddenly so dry she couldn’t utter a word.

They stared at each other in shock for a moment while Tricia tried to find something to say. But Cillian beat her to it.

‘Long time no see,’ he said, still staring at Tricia as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. He seemed as shocked as she was. ‘How long has it been? Twenty-five years?’ he asked.

‘Something like that,’ Tricia said, her voice hoarse.

‘So… how are you?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine,’ Tricia replied, still so shaken by seeing him again she found it hard to get the words out. ‘But what about you?’ she finally asked. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Me?’ Cillian smiled. ‘Oh… I’m here on a job and to connect with my roots and maybe take a little trip down memory lane. And… well, this dating thing just happened by accident and I came on a whim. Didn’t know I’d meet you here, though. What about you? What are you doing here?’

‘A bit of the same as you,’ Tricia said, trying to regain her composure.

‘I came to this thing to support a friend, not to find a man or anything. I just recently arrived back to Dingle after a long time away. I’m starting a new chapter of my life in old surroundings.

My daughters are all here and my grandchildren and… ’

‘You’ve come home,’ he said quietly.

‘I suppose I have in a way,’ Tricia agreed. ‘After all these years.’

‘You look different,’ he said.

‘Older,’ she filled in with a wry smile.

Cillian shook his head while his eyes twinkled. ‘No, not that. Older yes, but aren’t we all? But you haven’t changed much except for the look in your eyes. A happy, hopeful look. So different to what I saw when we said goodbye all those years ago. Then you were… angry and sad all at the same time.’

‘I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t very nice to you.’

He shrugged. ‘No. But I did understand. Eventually.’

‘I do feel better now. About everything,’ she added.

‘That’s good to hear,’ he said, his eyes warm as he looked at her.

The bell rang, startling them. ‘Time to mingle,’ a voice ordered.

Tricia smiled. ‘We’d better obey. Anyway, I could do with a drink.’

‘We can talk later,’ Cillian suggested, getting up. ‘Nice to see you, Tricia.’

‘Nice to see you, too,’ Tricia said as he walked away. He shot a smile at her over his shoulder and then he disappeared into the crowd.