Page 17 of The Widow’s Irish Secret (Magnolia Manor #4)

Despite her resolve not to let her run-in with Cillian affect her, Tricia couldn’t stop thinking about him.

She remembered the good times, when they had been on dates, and hadn’t been able to stop talking.

Sometimes she had managed to forget her sorrow and simply enjoyed Cillian’s company and the way he made her laugh.

She had to admit she had felt attracted to him then, even if it had been impossible for her to get any closer to him.

And now, they had met again and she didn’t quite know what to do about it.

She knew she had to contact him so she could nip her feelings in the bud.

And she had her mystery to solve. But how would she get in touch?

She didn’t have his phone number nor did she know where he was staying, but she was sure she could find out by contacting his sister who she knew lived near Nora’s house.

So when Nora called in to the gatehouse a few days later to say hello on her way to see Sylvia, Tricia decided to act.

‘Hi,’ Tricia said as she opened the door and found Nora standing there. ‘Great to see you.’

‘Hi there,’ Nora said. ‘I just thought I’d drop in to see how the speed dating went.’

‘Oh, well,’ Tricia started. ‘It was fun. And interesting. Also a little startling. But come in and have a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.’

‘Thanks, just a quick one, then,’ Nora said and stepped into the hall. ‘I’m on my way to help Sylvia with the invitations to the engagement party but thought I’d pop in to get all the news.’

‘Lots to tell you,’ Tricia said and led the way to the kitchen. ‘Sit down while I make the coffee. Vi is in Limerick for that new TV series she told us about. The details are very hush-hush right now so I’m not allowed to tell you everything. But I will as soon as I can.’

Nora sat down at the kitchen table. ‘I can’t wait to hear. But tell me about Friday night. Maggie said you met an old flame. Who was it?’

‘Cillian O’Malley.’

‘What?’ Nora blinked and stared at Tricia. ‘You’re joking.’

‘No, it really was him.’ Tricia put a pod into the Nespresso machine and pressed the button. ‘Hang on until the machine finishes. It’s a bit noisy.’ She made two small mugs and carried them to the table and sat down. ‘Help yourself,’ she said and gestured at the sugar bowl and milk jug.

‘I take it black.’ Nora grabbed a mug and took a sip. ‘So tell me,’ she said.

‘Well, nothing much happened,’ Tricia started.

‘But I nearly fainted when I saw him. I was stunned, to be honest. So was he, I think. So we sat there, staring at each other, trying to think of something to say. He was there by accident, he said and then we only had five minutes to chat and he said he’d see me later, but then he disappeared and I haven’t seen him since. ’

‘Oh.’ Nora looked startled. ‘But… I mean… How did you feel? Must have been a shock to see him.’

‘To put it mildly.’ Tricia poured a dash of milk into her mug.

‘We stared at each other like two rabbits caught in headlights. I think I stammered something and he asked me how I was and said I looked good, or something.’ She looked into her mug and thought for a while.

Then she looked at Nora. ‘I was happy to see him,’ she said.

‘Shocked but happy. I want to see him again. Just to talk. It’s nothing to do with Fred.

More with me and a kind of connection I’ve always felt with him.

We dated for a while in Dublin about twenty-five years ago, but it didn’t lead anywhere. It was too soon for me.’

‘I had no idea he was in town,’ Nora said. ‘How does he look? A lot older?’

‘He looks the same as ever, even if the black hair now has grey streaks,’ Tricia replied.

‘There’s no mistaking the wide shoulders, the broken nose, square jaw or those big hazel eyes.

I often wondered why he never had the nose fixed when he stopped playing rugby,’ Tricia continued.

‘And I thought he had left Ireland for good.’

‘Looks like he’s back,’ Nora said. ‘He’s an archaeologist, isn’t he?’

‘Yes,’ Tricia said, as the memories of Cillian O’Malley came back to her. ‘He worked on digs all over the world. I haven’t met him for over twenty years but I did google him a while back because someone I knew in college asked about him.’

‘Maybe he’s digging somewhere around here?’ Nora suggested. ‘There is so much to discover around Kerry. Megalithic tombs, Iron Age forts and all sorts of old ruins.’

‘Could be,’ Tricia said. ‘We didn’t talk much about his work.

’ Cillian and Fred had been close friends and had been both at school and at Trinity College together.

But Fred had come home after completing his BA degree and Cillian had stayed on to do first a masters then a PhD in archaeology.

‘Cillian often stayed at Magnolia Manor for his summer holidays even after Fred and I were married.’

‘Yes, I remember that,’ Nora said. ‘The three of you had such fun together.’

‘Yes we did,’ Tricia said. ‘We’d often met up to go hiking in the mountains or camping trips along the Wild Atlantic Way. We were like the Three Musketeers,’ she said. ‘Cillian used to worry about crowding us but we loved having him join us on our adventures.’

Nora looked thoughtful. ‘Did it upset you to see him again?’

‘Well…’ Tricia thought for a moment about how she had felt about coming face to face with Cillian. Nora didn’t know that they had met in Dublin a few years after Fred’s death and started seeing each other quite often, just as friends.

But then, when Cillian seemed to want more out of their friendship, she had pulled away.

Even though she found him madly attractive, her mind and heart had been too full of memories of Fred.

She was still raw after the tragedy. She knew then that she wouldn’t be ready to start a relationship with anyone for a very long time.

If ever. She had also been worried it might upset Sylvia that she was dating Fred’s best friend. That was an added reason to pull away.

She knew Cillian was hurt when they had parted and they had not been in touch ever since.

Then a few years later, she had met Sean and they had married and she had moved to Donegal and his farm.

‘I wasn’t upset,’ she said after a moment’s deliberation.

‘Just a little startled and nostalgic, perhaps. We actually went on a date or two after Fred passed.’

‘Oh,’ Nora said, taken aback. ‘I had no idea you had dated. It wasn’t long after Fred’s death that the girls were all settled at school and you moved to Dublin for work.’

‘Yes,’ Tricia said. ‘It was when I moved to Dublin to find a job so I could start supporting the girls.’ Tricia had bought her small apartment once she had enough money to afford a mortgage.

The girls’ boarding school fees were paid from Sylvia’s trust fund, but all the extra costs had to be found after that.

Tricia remembered how hard she’d had to work to find the rest. And then there were the school uniforms and sports equipment and books and the orthodontist and all the expense that always arises with teenagers.

‘But it was all worth it, me moving away, and their time at school, wasn’t it?

’ Tricia asked Nora. Sometimes she had wondered if she’d made the right choice.

‘Of course it was. They’re wonderful young women,’ Nora filled in. ‘It was a tough time for you but you came through it.’

‘Oh, we had good times too,’ Tricia argued. ‘Lots of fun outings and weekends when we just hung out and watched movies and ate pizza. And then Sylvia had them for the summer holidays and I got to have a break. It was during one of those summers that Cillian and I met and started to see each other.’

‘It must have been nice for you both to talk about Fred and all the memories you shared,’ Nora suggested. ‘Cillian missed Fred terribly. They were best friends since college and real soul mates.’

‘I know.’ Tricia finished her coffee and put the mug on the table. ‘But as we were still mourning him in different ways, we couldn’t really comfort each other.’

‘Maybe he wasn’t looking for comfort?’ Nora said.

‘But I was,’ Tricia filled in. ‘That was the problem. I didn’t give him a chance to show me who he really was and what he felt about me.’

‘But now you want to give him that chance?’ Nora asked.

‘Not really,’ Tricia said, looking away from Nora’s probing gaze.

‘I’m just looking for some kind of closure.

After what I’ve been through, I really don’t want to get into any kind of romance.

That chapter is closed for me.’ She paused and looked back at Nora.

‘In any case, the reason I want to see him is that I want his help to do a little research into the history of my cottage. I’d love to know all about who lived there before and why the cottage was built where it was.

I know I can look into the Magnolia archives but that doesn’t tell the whole story. ’

Nora nodded. ‘That’s a good idea. To ask him to help, I mean.

That’ll make you connect again doing something together.

’ Her phone pinged and she pulled it out of her pocket.

‘That’s Sylvia wondering when I’ll be there.

’ Nora got up. ‘I’d better go. I’ll get Cillian’s sister to give him a message to get in touch. ’

‘Brilliant,’ Tricia said. ‘That’s exactly what I wanted. How did you know?’

‘I read you like a book,’ Nora quipped. ‘Thanks for the coffee. See you soon, pet.’

‘Thanks for your help.’ Tricia got up to see Nora out. ‘I’ll keep you posted.’

‘What about the cottage and all the work you’re going to do?’ Nora asked as she got into her car. ‘Is Dominic going to do it?’

‘No, someone called Ted O’Reilly,’ Tricia replied. ‘Retired builder who does stuff like that for a hobby. Very nice man.’

‘I know him. Lives in Anascaul.’ Nora started the engine. ‘He’ll do a good job.’