Sin Worth the Penance Read online

  If ya only knew.

  Deirdre checked the clock above the bar. “Last call,” she shouted out and received a chorus of boos in return. “Ahh, ya pack of reprobates,” she called back, though with fondness in her voice. She moved off, leaving me with my thoughts.

  Bridey

  I tapped my foot, peering out the panes of the front door and becoming hotter by the second.

  “Where is he?” I muttered under my breath.

  Flynn had taken to forgetting to walk me home lately. And, sure, it was aggravating, but he could be so sweet…it was easy to forgive him. I took a deep breath. I didn’t like being out at night by myself. We had scarcely any crime in our town. Had but one guard sent from the bigger town of Kinsale. But, the streets were dark, and, by the time I got off, empty of folk. To be fair, it was likely only my imagination making it creepy, as I’d never had a run in with a soul.

  I twisted my head to search for Killian, but he was in the kitchen. He said he’d walk with me if Flynn didn’t show, but it was late, and he was surely weak as a kitten by this point. I didn’t want to be a bother.

  Well, no use waiting any longer.

  I opened the pub door and stepped out on the sidewalk. I scanned the other side of the street and the path on my side, in the direction I’d be going. Not a thing in sight. I locked the door behind me with the emergency key Paddy and Deir’ gave me when I was but a chiseler. It was my safe haven, should I need it. I’d lain many a night in that bed upstairs that Killian slept in.

  The thought gave me an odd tingle. Lawd but that man was delicious. That curly brown hair, those gorgeous green eyes that could be both mischievous and melancholy, and that fiercely fine body of his.

  I’m thinking that only because he looks like my Flynn, is all.

  But Killian was different. Kinder. Gentler. But fun. He could be a gas at times. He was all Murphey, and yet not all Murphey. He had the better parts of the family.

  Enough thinking of him.

  I set off, walking quickly with my chin held high like I heard you’re supposed to do. I kept my wits about me, listening and moving my head from side-to-side so as to be aware of my surroundings. I fingered the pocketknife—which my brothers gave me before they left for America—in the pocket of my denim skirt. Its cold smoothness was comforting. But I was caught by surprise when he jumped out of an alleyway as I passed.

  “Well, if it isn’t Bridey.”

  I involuntarily gasped. It was the American from the other night. The one whose arm I twisted when he got fresh and touched my ass. Though my heart was racing, I tried to recover. “Good evening.” But when I tried to move past him, he slid over to block my path.

  “Well, it’s gonna be, pretty thing.” He stroked my hair, and I cringed, a hundred bad memories swirling through my brain.

  I kept my voice even. “If ya don’t mind….” I nodded ahead to indicate I wanted to pass him.

  “Oh—” His eyes glowed. “—but I do mind.” He grabbed me around the waist, knocking my purse to the ground and pinning my right arm, the one holding the knife, against my side.

  I pushed against his chest, trying to break his hold. “Let me go!”

  “Not until I’m done with you.” He got hold of the hair at the nape of my neck and yanked. I let out a scream of pain. He slapped a hand over my mouth and dragged me into the alley, pushing me against the wall.

  “What happened to that old Irish hospitality everyone talks about?” Trapping me with the weight of his body, he reached under my skirt in the back. I bucked.

  No man was going to take from me something that wasn’t freely given ever again.

  Killian

  Finding Bridey gone when I came up from the kitchen, I called out to Paddy. “Uncle? Could ya lock the door after me? I’m gonna try to catch Bridey.”

  I heard her scream the moment I set foot on the sidewalk. I took off running, with Paddy tight on my heels. Her purse lay spilled ahead, but when I reached it, I was close enough the sounds of struggling led me to the alleyway. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I turned the corner. Bridey was on her stomach, dragging herself along the ground and straining toward something I couldn’t see. A man was on top of her legs. He grabbed her outstretched arm and attempted to force it toward him.

  I rushed forward, snagged a handful of his jacket, and yanked the man off her. I swung him around and threw him against the brick wall. Keeping him there, I twisted to glance over my shoulder. Paddy was helping Bridey to her feet. Her lip was split.

  My earlier alarm was replaced by anger. I hauled her attacker toward me, then slammed him back. “You think it makes you a man to beat up on a woman?” She had at least scored a point or two on him, if the scratches on his jaw were any indicator.

  “Woman?” he sputtered. “That there’s a wild cat. She pulled a frigging knife on me.”

  I shifted to take in Bridey’s response.

  She shrugged. “Just a little one.”

  I stared at her.

  She folded her arms over her chest. “He touched my tits.”

  I swiveled to catch his reaction. “Well, I couldn’t help it. Look at ’em!”

  I shook my head. “Wrong answer.” I released him, then punched him in the face.

  The American was knocked off balance by the clatter I gave him, and he was on the ground, spitting out blood. “Y’all are crazy.”

  “That we are,” Paddy said, stepping forward. “And we’ll get crazier still if ya show your ugly puss around here again. Get ye gone.”

  He pushed to standing, walking his hands up the wall behind him. He glared at us all, wiping dirt off on his pants. His gaze finally lighted on Bridey, and he gave her a crooked smile.

  “Are ya really wanting me to batter ya?” I wanted to.

  Paddy added, “Ya best get out of here before I let her get that knife of hers and cut ya into tiny pieces.”

  His jaw tightened. “Fine.” He straightened his jacket and strode away, the cocky little bastard. I was tempted to run him down again and teach him some manners. I took a step in that direction.

  “Down, Killian.” Paddy seemed amused when I turned to face him.

  “You all right?” I asked Bridey.

  “Aye, thank ya.” But she was still shaking.

  “Good thing we came along…” Paddy began, a teasing twinkle in his eye, “or else that fella woulda been in a world of hurt.”

  She laughed, and he took her in his arms again. “Ya sure you’re all right?” he said softly. “Your lip’s split open.”

  She put a finger up to wipe away some of the blood. “It’s nothing.”

  “Why don’t ya come back and we’ll put some ice on it. It appears that it’s swelling, too.”

  “Nah. I’m fine, but thank ya.” She gazed at me, and something stirred within. “Thank ya, both.”

  “I’ll walk her home, Uncle.” I crossed the alley.

  He put a fist under her chin, lifting it to get another look at her lip. “Ya get some ice on that,” he ordered.

  “Aye. I will,” she said softly, giving his arm a squeeze. I bent to retrieve the item she was reaching for when we first saw her.

  “I believe this is yours.” I held out a jackknife with a mother of pearl handle.

  She took it, slipping it into her pocket. “Aye. Thanks a million.”

  “Ya sure it’s you who should be walking her home Killian, not her walking us?”

  “Not at-all sure.” I cocked my elbow and smiled at her. “Come on. Let’s get ya home and to bed.” Something passed between us. Was there an electricity there? Or was it simply the adrenaline still pumping through my system?

  She slipped her arm through mine, and we made our way to where her purse was spilled. I watched Paddy until he was inside, and she repacked her belongings.

  “Got it all?” I clasped my hands behind me to resist touching her.

  “I believe so.” She was uncharacteristically quiet. Was she still shaken by her attack? We walked in silence
for a while.

  “Mind if I ask ya a question?”

  She hesitated. “I suppose that would be fine.”

  I squinted into the darkness, wondering if I should ask her. “Why didn’t ya wait for me to walk ya home?”

  She hung her head for a few seconds, then shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, Killian. I was mad at Flynn…and it was late, and you were shattered…. It was stupid,” she concluded. She looked at me. “I’m sorry.”

  Her contriteness caught me off-guard. She was not the hard nut she made herself out to be. “I’m just glad you’re all right,” I said sincerely.

  “What about you? Is your fist hurt?” She stopped, grabbing my arm and guiding it into the streetlight to examine it.

  “I’m fine. I’ve needed to deal with characters like that before.” The truth was, I was only in one fight, and for a similar reason. A guy was bugging my Jo, and he needed to be beat.

  “Oh.” She rubbed her thumb across my bruised knuckles. Her touch was both calming and stimulating. She dropped my hand, and we continued on. A minute or two later, she focused on me again. “Killian? I’m so sorry for…when I named the cat earlier…I had no idea your wife….”

  “It’s all right.”

  She drew up short. “No. It’s not. I saw how much it hurt…simply to hear her name, and I would never do that intentionally. Of all the names in all the world,” she muttered under her breath.

  She echoed my own thoughts. Of all the names she could have conjured up, why Josephine’s?

  “You…?” She searched my face. “You really loved her, didn’t ya?”

  “I did,” I answered immediately.

  We were nearing her house, and she slowed her pace. “I hope I find a love like that someday,” she said wistfully.

  “You don’t think ya have that with Flynn?”

  She thought about it, then exhaled. “I don’t know.” She peered down the dirt lane. “Sometimes I think I do, sometimes I don’t.” She stopped at the end of the path leading to her door. “Thank ya again, Killian, for walking me home.”

  “My pleasure. But if ya don’t mind….” I glanced at the house. All was dark. “I’d like to make sure your house is…free of unwanted visitors.”

  She glanced at it, then back at me, her brow furrowed. “Ya think…he might have come here?”

  I rubbed her arms, not wanting to frighten her. “I didn’t say this before, and I should have. I saw him hanging around outside the pub last night, and he may have followed us here and know where you live.”

  She stared at my toes. “That’s why ya walked me home.”

  “That and…” I waited until she raised her head. “Who wouldn’t want the company of a beautiful girl such as yourself?”

  Her eyelids blinked rapidly, and she looked off to the side. “Well,” she said softly, “whatever the reason, thank ya. If you lads hadn’t come….”

  So, she was actually frightened. “Oh, ya seemed to have it well in hand.”

  She laughed and turned toward her place, moving along the path to her door. “Aye.” She pulled keys out. “Well, it ain’t much. No place for him really to hide.” She unlocked the door and let it swing open. “It’s only one room. Really not much more than your place at the pub.” She flipped a switch, and the room lit up.

  I stepped in and scanned it. She was right. There wasn’t really any place to hide. A cot was set up under the window by the front door and a twin bed on the left as we entered, along the adjacent wall. On the far left wall was a kitchen, not more than a sink, a fridge, and a cooker. In the middle of the room was a small table with two chairs. A vase with a few wildflowers sat on it. On the right, a “room” was separated by a sheer curtain. In it, a double bed was pushed into the corner, and the curtain fell a foot from it on the side. At the end of the bed was a short dresser, and the L-shaped curtain again, about a foot out. She indicated the area with a nod in that direction.

  “I pushed together my brothers’ beds to make a big one for me. It was me, my da, and my brothers here. We didn’t need much.” She looked around. “Now it’s just me.” She sounded sad.

  “May I get some ice?”

  “For your knuckles? Sure.”

  She wrapped ice in a kitchen towel and brought it to me. As she pivoted to walk away, I grabbed her, spinning her practically into my arms. Her eyes were wide and unspeakably beautiful. I pressed the towel gently to her already swollen lips, though, to be truthful, there was something else I wanted to press against ’em—my own.

  She’s my cousin’s. Rotten as he is, her heart belongs to him, and I have to respect that.

  She slowly brought her hand to cover my own. We stood for a moment like that. Me peering down at her, she gazing up at me. Every part of my body was acutely aware of her presence. She closed her eyes, and her face seemed pained. Afraid I was hurting her mouth, I drew the towel away. She placed her back to me. Running her hands along her arms, she spoke. “Killian…I—”

  I didn’t want to hear her say she belonged to another man, so I interrupted her. “Seems like the place is safe, so I guess I’ll go.” I thought of something. “Wait….” I searched the room, spinning in a circle. “Where’s the jacks?”

  She turned to me, still rubbing her arms nervously. “I’ve an outhouse.”

  I frowned. “Hmm. I don’t care for that. Ya go out there on your own and—”

  She stepped forward. “I won’t go until light.”

  It still didn’t sit well. “All right. But do ya mind if I take a look around? Make sure no one’s about?”

  Her expression was downcast, and she seemed disconcerted. “I’d appreciate that. Thanks.” She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

  I whirled and strode to the door, and she followed behind me. Realizing I still held her towel with ice, I spun. She raised her gaze. I held it out, and she took it. “Use that,” I ordered.

  She lowered her head but nodded.

  I couldn’t resist. I pinched her chin lightly and lifted her face. “I’m glad you’re all right, Bridey.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek, the most I could do with propriety. When I pulled away, her eyes were closed, and a single tear spilled down her cheek. If I stayed any longer, I’d be untrue to my cousin. “Good night.” I swung the door shut behind me.

  Keeping my promise, I checked the tiny yard behind the house, then circled around to the street. I glanced at the cottage. The lights were still on, and I could see she’d drawn the curtain aside and sat on the end of the bed, her legs crisscrossed beneath her. Her chin was down, and she looked so sad and alone, I fought the urge to return and knock on her door. Finally, coming to my senses, I forced my feet to take me to the pub.

  Chapter 6

  Bridey

  Unable to sleep most of the night, I gave up when the sky started to lighten but it was yet dark, around four. I decided to walk the shore below Murphey’s. It was there I went to think. By the time I reached the cliff, the sun had made its appearance on the horizon. Often, at this time, the light hit the windows of the houses near and changed them to flashing jewels. I twisted to check, but I guess the sun wasn’t high enough yet to transform them.

  Through one of those windows, I happened to catch sight of a couple passionately kissing. At first, I was touched by the scene. But the warm smile it brought me turned cold when I recognized the pair. It was Kitty Kennedy and my Flynn. No wonder he wasn’t making much time to see me. He was otherwise occupied with another woman. It stabbed at my heart something fierce. I spun about, closing my eyes and letting the breeze lift the hair away from my face. He’d been untrue, and I loved him. Imagined a future with him. Thoughts raced through my mind.

  I wonder how long this has been going on. How long was I played the fool? Has he been sleeping with us both at the same time?

  The thought made me nauseous. Slowly, the cold slap in the face of seeing him with someone else was replaced by a burning rage.

  If he was unhappy with me, he should have
told me and not cheated.

  I glanced back and was surprised to see him on the doorstep, once more kissing Kitty. I realized I was walking toward them. I couldn’t blame Kitty. She was a nice girl, and who knew what lies he told her? He tripped down her steps, and I quickened my pace. I was going to let him have it, then go home and bawl my eyes out. I thought he loved me.

  Men are pigs.

  He reached the street and turned the corner, heading in the direction of my place. I changed course and followed him on a parallel route along the cliff’s edge, peeking between buildings. I thought I lost him once. I broke into a run. When I got to the next opening, I saw him crossing the street. My gaff was not far away. Creeping along the edge of my neighbor’s house, I stayed out of sight. He retrieved my spare key from under the flowerpot on my windowsill and let himself in. Was he coming to confess?

  I hurried forward, in plain sight now. Within moments, he came out the door. Spotting me, he smiled. I crossed to him.

  “What are ya about my silly girl?” He grabbed my hips and hauled me to him. He kissed my neck. I remained stiff, but he didn’t notice. “Let’s take this inside.” His hand slid to my ass. “Oh, Bridey. I want to be in ya.”

  “I’d’ve thought ya had enough of that last night.”

  He froze, then leaned away to look at me. “What are ya talking about, love? We didn’t do it last night.”

  I stared at him. My chin quivered, and tears threatened, but I blinked them back.

  He seemed to get his first inkling something was amiss. “What’s wrong? Why are you upset?”