Prairie power, p.1
The Irish Blessing, page 1
THE IRISH BLESSING
LISA CATHERINE PARTEE
The Irish Blessing
Copyright © 2022 Lisa Catherine Partee
EPUB Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Print Edition ISBN: 979-8-9867042-1-0
Ebook Edition ISBN: 979-8-9867042-0-3
Written by Lisa Catherine Partee
Edited by Clio Editing Services
Cover Design by BZN Studio Designs
Formatting by BB eBooks
To my husband, Carlos, and my two daughters, Vanessa and Erica. Thank you for your continuous support and belief in my project. You gave me the encouragement to continue when I needed it most.
To my beautiful grandchildren, Phillip, Sierra, and Cheyenne. Believe in your dreams and never give up. The result is worth the journey.
And a special thank-you to my amazing beta readers, whose valuable support helped move my project forward. Thank you, Christopher, Vanessa, and Ashley.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: Turks and Caicos
Chapter 2: Shane
Chapter 3: Trouble on the Horizon
Chapter 4: Thursday Night Fish Fry
Chapter 5: An Afternoon Excursion
Chapter 6: A Painful Goodbye
Chapter 7: The Date
Chapter 8: Confessions
Chapter 9: A Steamy Irish Night
Chapter 10: Princess for a Night
Chapter 11: The Family
Chapter 12: Glendalough
Chapter 13: A West Coast Visit
Chapter 14: An Afternoon Skirmish
Chapter 15: Maggie
Chapter 16: A Halloween to Remember
Chapter 17: The Wedding Day
CHAPTER 1
TURKS AND CAICOS
The white scrap of paper next to my boot caught my attention, its color a stark contrast to the dark-blue-and-charcoal-patterned carpet. Reaching down from my chair, I picked it up and turned the document over in my hand. The boarding pass had my name on it, Alyssa Whalen, but I didn’t recall dropping it. Then again, nothing was going right with this vacation so far. Besides challenging, it seemed different somehow. Call it premonition or gut feeling; there was something odd about it, as if a life-changing event were supposed to happen. Lost as to what that could be, I stuffed the paper into my pocket.
What should have been a boringly routine red-eye from San Diego with my childhood best friend, Melody Bradley, had transformed into the opposite, our latest debacle becoming the crown on top of a pile of hurdles. A mechanical failure on our plane had caused our connecting flight to Providenciales in Turks and Caicos to become delayed, increasing our layover in Miami from one hour to six. This incident was on top of multiple schedule changes, unwanted seat assignments, and an intoxicated and belligerent passenger.
Frustrated, I scanned the mix of passengers waiting at my departure gate, my chair shaking when a man in a business suit hastily settled into the seat at the end. I shifted my body, turning to focus my attention on the couple across from me. They appeared close to my age of thirty-two. The woman nestled her head on the man’s shoulder, her hand on his thigh, while he wrapped his arm around her. Lonely, I missed those moments of comfort with the man I loved, my husband killed in a motorcycle accident three years ago. Although I still missed Alex terribly, I was finally ready to move forward and hoped to find someone to share my life with, a man I could love and who would love me in return.
With two hours to go before our flight, I was running out of things to do. I stood and stretched my legs. At five feet nine inches, I was taller than average for a woman. My husband, a man of tall stature, had appreciated my height and slender figure, along with my dark hair, green eyes, and the sprinkling of freckles across my nose and cheeks—his blond hair and blue eyes quite different from my appearance.
“Liz. Where are you going?” Mel sounded sleepy. She had her elbow dug into the armrest of her chair, her head precariously perched in her hand.
“I’ll be back. I can’t sit here any longer. I’m going to take another walk around the gates. Do you want anything?”
“Other than to be at our hotel in Providenciales? No. Speaking of our hotel, did they email you back?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t expect the hotel to respond. My email to them was only a courtesy notice that we’d be checking in five hours later than planned. It shouldn’t matter to them, but I’ll check to see if they sent me an email anyway.” I pulled my phone from my purse and scanned my email. There was one from our hotel. I clicked on the message and began reading it. No, no, no. There was no reservation in my name. This person said I’d canceled, and they’d refunded my credit card. I could rebook, but the nightly rates listed in the email were expensive. I rubbed my forehead, having a tough time believing what I was reading.
“What happened now? You’re not saying anything, and you look upset.” Mel sat straight up, her hands gripping the arms of her chair. “A stupid systems error completely jacked up our flight. Don’t tell me another ridiculous fiasco messed up our hotel reservation too.”
“It looks like it did. The hotel says I canceled our reservation, which I didn’t do. According to the email, we can rebook, but not at the discounted rate that we originally paid. I’m going to take a walk and cool off before I contact the hotel. We still have time to work it out since our flight doesn’t leave for almost two hours.”
“Well, you better do something. If you don’t, I will, and the hotel won’t like hearing from me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it as soon as I get back.”
“Fine.” Mel flopped backward in her chair, a scowl on her face.
I left the gate and hurried across the expanse of gleaming tile, beeping golf carts, and hordes of people rushing past me. I stopped at one of the coffee stands and ordered a hot tea, hoping it would help me relax and calm down. Retreating to the nearest wall, I leaned against it, taking my time to sip the steamy brew. Finished, I turned to look for a waste receptacle and noticed a man standing near me. He reminded me of Alex. It wasn’t his physical appearance that was similar. It was more his stance and the confidence the man exuded as he stood there. Three years older than me, Alex had been young and in the prime of his life when he’d died. We had been together since I was sixteen, and he’d been the only man in my life. After thirteen years, we were still deeply in love with each other. Now that he was gone, I was convinced I’d never find a relationship like the one I’d lost.
The man walked to the gate across from me and took a seat in one of the chairs facing the floor-to-ceiling window. Tossing my empty cup into the trash, I strolled into the shop behind me. After walking around displays of neck pillows, chocolates, and T-shirts, I stood in front of a wall of books. I was scanning the titles when I caught movement next to me and looked up, gasping as I stared at the uppermost carton in a six-foot-tall stack of boxes. Appearing too heavy to be on the top, it was crushing the box below it, causing its corner to dip inward under the weight. The carton teetered on the edge of the box below it, ready to come down on top of me any second. I jumped out of the way, tripping over a man standing behind me as the box came crashing down. He caught me before I fell to the floor.
“Christ. Are you all right? That box almost landed on you.” The stranger with an intriguing accent steadied me on my feet, concern in his voice as he looked me up and down.
After extracting myself from the man’s arms, I motioned to the panic-stricken employee rushing toward me that I was all right. I turned to face my rescuer. His strikingly handsome appearance startled me, a warmth spreading across my cheeks. Shifting my attention back to the books, I attempted to hide my discomfort. “Thank you for helping me. I think the tricky little ghost that messed with my flight and hotel reservation must have given the box a good push off the top. Nothing like one more problem on top of all the others.”
“I take it you’ve had a few snags?”
“I’d rather think of them as adventures. It’s quite thrilling to have your meticulously laid-out plans explode spectacularly before your eyes.”
The man appeared amused by my comments. He turned to face the wall of books. “Are you looking for a particular title?”
“I was trying to find a book titled How to Pass the Time in the Miami Airport for Six Hours, but I couldn’t seem to find it. Of course, I could have used the book four hours ago.”
“It sounds like you did have a problem with your flight.” The man laughed and shook his head. “What happened to your hotel booking?”
“I found out I didn’t have one.”
The man cocked his head at me. He looked intrigued, as if he wanted to hear more.
“I emailed my hotel to let them know I’d be checking in five hours later than expected. They emailed me back, informing me there was no reservation in my name.”
“Well, I hope your rebooked hotel is better than the last one, or should I say the one that didn’t exist?”
“I hope so. I’ll find out after I book one.”
“You don’t have a roo
“My girlfriend and I are traveling to Providenciales.”
“Ahh, I might be able to help you out with that. The Island Palms Resort is a wonderful hotel. It’s in an excellent location on Grace Bay, and the staff is supposed to be phenomenal. You might want to contact them and see what their availability and rates are at the moment.”
“Since I’ve had nothing but bad luck so far, you aren’t secretly recommending a fleabag hotel and sending me off to a horrible location off the beaten path, are you? That would finish off my day rather nicely.”
“No, I’m not.” The man put his hands in the air and chuckled. “I swear. It’s a top-quality hotel, and I’d stay there.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the recommendation. If you don’t mind my asking, where are you from?”
“I guess my accent isn’t as undetectable as I thought.” The man ran his hand through his wavy chestnut hair, the ends curling around his ears. “I’m from Ireland. I came to the United States when I was twenty to attend college. I never went back home, so my accent isn’t quite as strong as it used to be.”
There was a loud commotion at the cash register near the entrance. I swung around to see a tall, stunningly beautiful blonde woman in a lavender blouse arguing with the young salesclerk. The woman scowled and gave the young girl an icy stare while the poor salesclerk shook her head vigorously as she wildly waved her arms. I winced as the woman shouted at the girl and threw a package down on the counter.
“Dammit.” The man focused his attention on the two women, his body becoming tense.
“The rude blonde woman seems to be a handful.” Floored, I shook my head at the woman’s behavior. “I can’t imagine what reason she’d have to treat the employee like that. She must be one of those self-centered people who think they’re superior to everyone else. I certainly wouldn’t want to deal with her.”
“Yes. Anna can be a handful at times.”
I turned toward the man, my face burning as I stood there wishing I had kept my mouth shut. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know she was with you. I shouldn’t have been so rude.”
The woman suddenly yelled and stormed out of the store while the salesclerk stood frozen at the counter, appearing ready to burst into tears.
“No apology necessary. Excuse me.” The man hurried toward the exit. He called the woman’s name and dodged between customers to catch her. Unsuccessful, he disappeared into the crowd of people filling the concourse.
I left the shop and walked over to a nearby group of chairs, the scent of the man’s cologne still filling my nostrils. It was woody and earthy, with a hint of leather. The smell was sensual, the kind of fragrance that made a woman want to bury her face in the wearer’s neck. I rubbed my forehead, mentally chastising myself. The headiness of the man’s cologne wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on, especially since I was very much alone. I had tried dating a few times, but so far, it hadn’t worked out. I wanted someone who evoked the same level of love, friendship, security, and trust that I’d had with Alex, which at this point seemed impossible to find.
After retrieving my cell phone from the front pocket of my purse, I went to the travel website I used and looked up the hotel the gentleman had recommended. It looked well beyond satisfactory, and the rates were much better than my previous hotel was offering. Rather than spend my time arguing with the reservation clerk that had emailed me, I decided to rebook at this resort. I just hoped the man’s recommendation was as good as he said.
Mel was drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair, an eager look on her face when I finally returned to the gate. “Liz. You’ve got to check out the guy sitting by the counter with his back to the windows. Dang, he’s hot. He’s the one in a green shirt and jeans. Oh, geez. He’s grinning at you. What’s up with that?”
I glanced toward the chairs, an expanse of windows behind them. An airplane was visible as it climbed in altitude, leaving Miami behind. Meeting the man’s gaze, I quickly turned away. “I tripped into him at one of the stores. The lady next to him made a huge scene, yelling at the salesclerk. Have you heard the phrase open mouth, insert foot? Well, that’s what I did when I commented on the woman without knowing she was with him.”
“You didn’t?”
“Oh, yes. I did. Talk about embarrassing.” I shifted in my chair toward Mel, refusing to look at the man and giving him a view of my back instead. I neglected to mention how the man’s handsome appearance had startled me when I’d pulled myself from his arms or how pleasing I’d found the scent of his cologne. Constantly harping on my single status after three years of being alone, Mel would have made a bigger deal out of my comments than was necessary, and I didn’t want to discuss it.
“Umm. It’s obvious you’re trying to ignore the man. He must find it funny because now he’s laughing. The woman with him hasn’t even noticed. He might as well be invisible with the way she’s buried her face in her cell phone the entire time they’ve been sitting there.”
“I’m glad I could make his day. I wish someone would make ours.” I shifted in my seat, keeping my back to the man. “I booked us in a two-bedroom suite at another hotel while walking around. The rates are better, and it looked nicer than our original resort. The gentleman you keep eyeing recommended it.”
“He must be staying there since he recommended it and is flying to Providenciales. Oh, this is going to be a fun week.” Mel leaned back in her chair, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.
Mel and I had taken several trips together, but this one seemed different. It had been nothing but drama from the start. We were flying to Turks and Caicos for a relaxing and much-needed vacation. I was an investment manager for a government agency, and Mel worked as a project manager in construction. This trip was supposed to be fun, but it was becoming the opposite. It was as if a gremlin waited to sabotage every move I made.
One of the ticket agents picked up a handheld microphone and announced, “This is the preboarding announcement for flight fifteen eleven to Providenciales. We are now inviting those passengers with small children and any passengers requiring special assistance to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and passport ready. Regular boarding will begin in a few minutes. Thank you.”
I stood, pretending to focus my attention on the passengers walking up and down the concourse. Sensing the man in the green shirt was still watching me, I feigned disinterest, refusing to let on that he intrigued me.
There was another announcement. “At this time, we would like to invite our first-class passengers and Diamond Medallion members to board.”
“That gorgeous-looking guy is boarding. Lucky dogs. They’re flying first-class.” Mel got up from her seat and stretched her petite frame. She pulled her long red hair away from her face.
Curious, I peeked at the couple over my shoulder. “Do you think the woman is a model? She’s too perfect and doesn’t seem fazed by the attention she’s attracted.”
“I don’t know, but she sure has a lousy personality. Poor guy.”
The ticket agent picked up the microphone again. “We would like to invite our Comfort Plus passengers to board at this time.”
“That’s us. Let’s go.” I picked up my carry-on bag and headed toward the ticket agent, with Mel following behind me. After walking down the ramp to the airplane, I squeezed down the aisle in business class, my carry-on bag in my hand.
The man in the green shirt watched me, the corners of his mouth twitching.
I turned my head away, trying to ignore him.
“He’s even cuter up close. Did you see his dimples?” Mel leaned toward me as we settled into our seats.
“Yes, I saw the dimples.”
“Dang, Liz. How can you ignore such a gorgeous male specimen?”
“He’s a man, not a lab rat. In case you’ve forgotten, he’s also with a woman. I don’t care how good-looking the man is. I’m not going to ogle him; it’s disrespectful. The man was only paying attention to me because I rudely commented on his companion and embarrassed myself. So, can we drop it, please?”
“I still think there’s no harm in looking.”
