Eire of Hostility

  Chapter 8

  The cargo plane carrying Simon Rike and all of his belongings was delayed an hour from landing at Knock airport that late Monday morning because of turbulent storms over the north Atlantic. Simon felt obliged to tip the pilots after puking in the small seating compartment.

  Even with all of the forms completed and in good order, the process of Simon's official visa still took nearly two hours. After that, the loading of all his personal and blacksmith items into moving vans took well over another hour. The only good thing that came from all the unexpected time taken was that the rain had let up, and even allowed some blue sky to peek through now and again.

  Finally pulling up to Simon's new home with the moving vans following, he and Brody were surprised to see a number of cars already there and folks gathered on the side lawn near the centered driveway.

  Three people from the labor crew, one of which being the affable Robbie Kelly, were present; they all volunteered to lend a hand. Father Doyle and his old friends Archie Walsh and Flinn Sweeney quickly announced that they were the official foremen and beer testers. Just after, Mary Clarke, who was using up her vacation days before she quit the bank, announced that she was the supervisor and that the old farts were welcome to get rat-arsed out in the horse barn.

  Brody and Kate were still distracted from Jane's early morning's revelations, but they still managed to enjoy and appreciate the good company. After they made Jane call them when she returned home, the two discussed how best to help her but admittedly had no idea what to do or where to start. Before leaving to meet Simon at the airport, they even stepped outside and called for Liadan or Oriana, but to no avail.

  On the short drive to Knock, both Brody and Kate remembered the saved piece of blade formerly belonging to the fae Devlin, and how it might be some sort of protection for Jane. They planned on getting it to her at the first chance they had.

  Simon was a bit stunned; he didn't expect anyone else to be at his new place, let alone folks that he barely knew who came to offer a friendly hand. He was still slowly getting over the fact that he was no longer universally hated. He still flinched when walking into a liquor store, or when a stranger said something innocuous or polite to him. In Denver, the old habits were hard to kill because of the many familiar sights and the bad memories that accompanied all of them.

  In Simon's new home, however, everything felt fresh and new; the dawn of a second chance. Mere acquaintances were offering to help, or initiate a friendly chat while they slapped a bottle of Guinness in his hand. He had a nice house, good land, and the best friend and relative he could ask for. It was real. Simon was home.

  At one point, while everyone was loading equipment and supplies into Simon's shop, Kate went to go retrieve the broken blade. She brought it to Jane before coming back with deli sandwiches for everyone, and some groceries for Simon's icebox and pantry.

  In the meantime, Brody kept noticing that Simon sometimes had a grin on his chiseled face; nothing was said of it; he was just glad to see his cousin happy. He also noticed that Simon would occasionally get anxious being surrounded by people in the cozy house, and would find excuses to step outside rather than let a rude word slip. When the moving was complete, Simon surprisingly announced that drinks were on him that night at Gil's.

  After most of the sociable helpers departed, Brody left messages for or had briefs chats with all of the McCarthy's, inviting them to Doolin's the following evening to welcome his cousin to town. He then realized he hadn't asked Simon if that was okay, and went looking for him.

  Brody finally found his solitary relative out back by the carport, looking at his new SUV once again. After making sure that the dinner invitation wasn't a problem, he saw that Simon had a strange look in his eye as he leaned against the back of his car, staring out in the direction of his workshop and horse barn. Brody let the silence linger for nearly a minute before asking what was wrong.

  Simon turned to look at his big cousin, and then back out onto his property. "Are you kiddin', cuz? There's not a damn thing wrong. It's just that..."

  "What? Just spill it, man. "

  Slowly shaking his head, Simon said, "I just never shook so many hands or said so many thanks all at once before. I never had cause to. I just ain't used to it, that's all."

  "Well," Brody said, leaning on the car next to him, "that won't happen every day, if that's what you're worried about. But when you walk into Gil's tonight, expect a lot of it, especially when you're buying."

  They both softly chuckled and then shared a short, comfortable silence as they looked over the property from their view. Simon eventually asked, "This is really all mine, right?"

  "Sure, as long as you pay me for it." Brody gave Simon a soft jab in the arm after he said it.

  "So, yeah, about that; I hope you won't get offended or nothin', and I don't want to cause a fuss, but I reckon I'd like to call this place my own, free and clear. I don't know how much you paid for it, but I got money from the Denver house gettin' sold off, and I..."

  "And you want something that you can truly claim here, and obligated to no one for it, not even me, right?" He saw that Simon was still looking away with an uncomfortable expression, possibly thinking that he wanted to say just that, but with more tact. Brody turned his eyes back to the refurbished property. "Simon, don't worry, I'm not offended at all. I'd want to do the same thing, so I get it. I got the ranch, and this SUV here, pretty damn cheap. We'll get Kate to figure out the exact amount if you want, but I'm sure you can cover it easy. Just write a check whenever you like."

  Simon turned his head to Brody and waited until he noticed and returned the look. "Cuz, I'm all out of handshakes and thank-ya's. They ain't enough for all this anyhow."

  "I don't expect it, man. I know you'll help me out whenever I need it. It just turned out that I could help you first." Brody gripped Simon's shoulder in masculine affection and then released it. "I'm glad you're here, Simon. I think it's where you belong, too, just like me."

  Simon looked away and said with hesitancy, "Brody, look at this. The house, the stables, the shop… I... Shit, I don't have the words."

  Brody looked back out to the property and sarcastically replied, "Good, then you won't have any trouble shuttin' up about it."