9781618857613SacredWaterMichaels

  Sam didn’t care if Braydon liked the other girl and wanted to rekindle an old flame. She just wasn’t going to stand there and be made to look like a fool. Oddly, the idea of Braydon with another woman didn’t bother Sam at all.

  It didn’t take long to realize the way Jen was acting had nothing to do with Sam personally. By the end of the game Jen Miller had run her hands over Luke, Finn, Pat and anyone else unattached.

  Sam didn’t miss the growl Sheilagh let slip when the blonde laid her hands on the guy named Tristan. She wondered if Braydon’s little sister was sweet on the older man. Not that he was old, just older than Sheilagh’s eighteen years. Tristan looked to be in his mid-twenties.

  The one thing Sam was grateful for was that Jen never openly flirted with Colin. Sam shouldn’t have even been paying attention to what Colin was doing, but she couldn’t help herself. Where there were no jealous emotions connected to Braydon, she fought a sickening dread during the game every time the other woman stood anywhere near Colin.

  She assumed women saw Colin as taken. Which he was. He was making the sacrament of holy orders. In other words, he was marrying God. Only an idiot would indulge a crush on such a devoted man. Clearly, Sam was Center County’s new village idiot.

  A loud smack sounded and a stinging sensation radiated from her behind all the way to her shoulders. She turned and Kelly was grinning at her. “Way to go, slugger. Come on. We’re going to O’Malley’s.”

  Sam had a moment of displacement as Kelly jogged off to the parking lot. The older McCulloughs were all gathering their items off the bleachers. Katherine yelled for Ant, who was carrying their youngest daughter Hannah out to the car.

  Sam scanned the people surrounding the dugout in search of Braydon. For once he didn’t have a blonde hanging from his side. She began to head in that direction.

  Sheilagh was laughing with her cousin Patrick and when Sam passed them Sheilagh yelled, “Hey Sam, you guys brought the truck, right?”

  Sam stopped. “Yes.”

  “Can you drive a truck? We’re trying to figure out drivers for later.”

  “Drivers?”

  “Yeah. Big Irish family going to a pub… My brothers like to drink themselves fuller than a gypsy’s bra after a good game. Pat and I can’t drink so we’ll drive. My mum and dad will likely leave before the others are ready to go. Kate probably won’t stay late. Colin won’t drink so he can drive, but other than that we’ll probably be leaving some cars behind.”

  “I guess I could drive.”

  Sheilagh grinned with elfin grace. “Great! We’ll see you there.” The two teenagers trotted off.

  When Sam turned, Braydon was gone. Colin was gathering the bats and other equipment from the empty batting area when he spotted her.

  “They all went out to the lot. Luke has a cooler of drinks out there.”

  “Oh.” Why wouldn’t Braydon have told her where he was going? She was getting tired of constantly hunting him down.

  Colin zipped an equipment bag and slung it over his shoulder.

  He didn’t look like a priest. He looked like an average guy, an average drop dead gorgeous guy. He cleared his throat.

  “Listen, Sammy,” he said.

  When had he started calling her Sammy? No one had called her that in ten years.

  “I wanted to apologize for this morning. If I had known you and Braydon were staying in his room I would’ve been sure to lock the other door.”

  “Braydon slept with Kelly. I slept alone.”

  Why had she blurted that out? For some reason she didn’t want Colin to think she was sleeping with anyone. She didn’t want him to think of her as a sinner, but deep down she knew it was because she didn’t want him to assume she and his brother shared more than they actually did.

  “Ah, okay. Still, my apologies. I’ll be sure to lock the door next time I shower.”

  Or not.

  She immediately chastised her evil mind. “It’s okay. I should’ve knocked.”

  “Well, still, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Surely when you came here you didn’t expect to be caught in your unmentionables on the first morning.”

  Sam’s face heated and she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. How had she not considered that while she was seeing Colin he was also seeing her? She had stood there, in front of an almost priest, in nothing but a short cotton tank top and a pair of see-through panties. They were probably writing her name in Satan’s registration log right that very second.

  “I can see I just made things worse. I’ll stop talking before I put my foot any deeper in my mouth. I promise it won’t happen again. Let’s forget about it and start fresh.”

  He shifted the cumbersome bag and held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Colin McCullough.”

  She looked at his large waiting hand. His fingers were clean, his nails trimmed neatly. There was nothing sloppy about this man. He appeared deceptively unthreatening, yet Sam had seen the hard muscle and indisputable ruggedness he kept hidden under his plain clothing. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat and took his extended hand.

  “Samantha Dougherty.”

  He smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, Sammy. What do you say we go grab a drink?”

  * * * *

  O’Malley’s Bar and Grill was only a short drive from the ball field. It was a brick faced building with a nondescript wooden door. Inside, the floor was a black and white vinyl checkerboard and the walls were paneled in honey colored wood. The bar was simple, about twenty feet long with brass handrails and footrest. The countertop was worn so smooth, scrapes and grooves were swirled beneath the flat surface like fossils tattooed over time. The walls were covered with everything from pictures of family and the bar league, to taxidermic game donated by locals.

  When they arrived, Sam was introduced to Colleen and Rosemarie, Maureen’s sisters and their husbands Paulie and Liam. Rosemarie and Liam Clooney were the owners of the pub. Rosemarie, the youngest of the three sisters, had laid out a feast along the back of the bar for family and friends. Apparently the scrimmage they played at the field was some kind of kick off to summer for the entire town.

  She and her husband grew up with Frank, Braydon’s father and Paulie and Frank owned the logging business that employed many of the younger men in the family. Turns out, there was a bit of a scandal back in the day when Frank set his heart to Maureen.

  She had been seven years his junior and still in school when the twenty-two year old man fell in love with her. Colleen and Paulie had been the first to know about the secret affair, but when Maureen’s father found out, he threatened Frank with a shotgun. Sam still wasn’t sure if the man actually took a shot at Frank or not. Kelly, who was tending bar, told her his father actually had a scar from his grandfather’s gun.

  When Frank absconded with Maureen on her eighteenth birthday and returned with his love under the name of Maureen McCullough, her father was furious. It wasn’t until Frank built his wife a home that the girl’s father actually accepted the union. Legend had it that it wasn’t the age or secretiveness that disappointed Maureen’s father. It was the fact that they’d been married in a courtroom and not in a house of God.

  As Sam listened to the love story, she smiled and stared glassy eyed at Mr. McCullough. He might not say much and appear gruff, but he possessed a romantic soul.

  Colleen even told her that on Frank and Maureen’s first date, he had taken her for a picnic in the woods. At some point during the date he stopped to carve their initials in a tree. It was Katherine who informed her that that exact tree with her parents’ initials now rested inside the McCullough walls where Maureen could see it every night before she fell asleep.

  It wasn’t long before the already rowdy crowd became drunk and unruly. Something called a car bomb was being passed around. Sam wasn’t sure of the exact ingredients, but knew it included a pint of black beer and some kind of shot that was dropped in, shot glass and all.

  The men dropped the shot and the dark be
er faded to a creamier tint as the shot swirled and clouded the brew. They tilted the drink to their mouths as the creamy liquid rose and didn’t stop until they slammed an empty glass on the bar.

  Once Rosemarie cleared away the food, the older couples said their goodbyes and headed out. Other than a glass of wine, Sam had nothing but soda to drink. The air was on in the bar and her seat happened to be under a vent. Braydon was in the middle of a dart game with Finn so she told Kelly she was going to run out to the truck to grab her sweatshirt.

  Everyone seemed to be enjoying him or herself. Pat, Sheilagh’s cousin on her Aunt Rosemarie’s side, was actually a very sweet kid. She could see why Sheilagh was so close to him. Pat had spent some time talking to Sam about his feelings for Emily Miller whom he assured was nothing like her older sister Jen. While they spoke, Sheilagh was hanging around the guy named Tristan.

  When Sam stepped outside she was surprised to see it was already dark. A wide puddle of light poured from above the door, but the rest of the parking lot was blacker than pitch. She quickly went to the truck and grabbed her sweatshirt. It was colder in the mountains than it was in the city or suburbs.

  She shut the truck door and paused to slip the hooded sweater over her head.

  The clap of the bar door slamming followed by fast moving, heavy footsteps had Sam shoving her head through the neckline and looking to see who was coming.

  Through the cars parked in the lot she could only make out the torso of someone tall. The door slammed again and this time Sam saw Tristan come out. She was about to head back to the bar, but froze when she heard the tone of Tristan’s voice.

  “Luke. Luke, stop damn it!”

  Luke stopped, faced Tristan, and placed his hands on his hips. “What?”

  “Don’t leave. I’m sorry.” The other man approached Luke.

  Sam remained hidden in the shadows, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever argument they were having. Although she could not see their faces anymore she saw some of the tension leave Luke’s posture.

  “I’m not gonna stand there while you’re flirting with my sister. It’s misleading and you know it. You wanna play mind games with some girl, pick someone other than Sheilagh.”

  “I was just having fun with her. I wasn’t leading her on.”

  “You were, and you damn well know it. If you like her, fine, that’s a whole other argument we can have. But you and I both know she’s not your type.”

  Tristan stepped closer. In a hushed voice he said, “No, she’s not my type.”

  “Then don’t lead her on. She’s my sister. She doesn’t deserve to get her feelings hurt. She’s young.”

  “I’ll be more careful. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.”

  Sam’s eyes were getting tired from straining in the dark. There was a sound of something rustling in the woods behind her and she wanted to get back inside. She heard gravel crunch and looked back to Luke and Tristan. What she saw took her completely by surprise.

  Tristan’s hand gripped the back of Luke’s neck while Luke’s hands wrapped in Tristan’s hair. They were kissing aggressively. They were kissing with urgency.

  Sam covered her mouth in shock. She wondered if the others knew that Luke was gay.

  If they did they didn’t necessarily know he was involved with Tristan. If that were the case surely Sheilagh would have resigned her feelings long ago. On the other hand, maybe there was nothing here except for—

  “Love you.”

  The whispered statement took away any notions that this was a one-time thing she was witnessing. They were in love. Their rugged breathing echoed through the empty lot and she noticed they were still standing very close.

  “Come on. Let’s head back in. You go first. I’ll follow in a few.”

  So they were still in the closet with the others. Luke walked back into the bar and a few minutes later Tristan followed.

  There was still some crunching going on in the woods so Sam didn’t waste any more time following the two lovers. She just hoped they didn’t realize she’d been watching their interlude.

  * * * *

  Colin noticed Sam return to her seat at the bar and decided to join her. He slid onto the stool beside her and asked Kelly to get him a Coke. When she turned she expelled a breath of surprise. He mentally frowned that she was still uncomfortable around him.

  Perhaps it wasn’t that they walked in on each other. Perhaps it was the priest thing. Some people weren’t always sure how to act in front of him. Knowing a priest outside of church was sometimes like seeing a teacher at the grocery store. It just seemed wrong to admit they were normal human beings like everyone else.

  “You know, I’m not going to throw holy water on you and give you penance if you say the wrong thing.”

  She blushed. The sun had given her cheeks some extra freckles today.

  “I’m still just a regular guy.”

  “Sorry. I guess I just don’t know how to be around a holy person in a bar.”

  He chuckled. “That does sound like a bit of an oxymoron. Thankfully I’m no more holy than anyone else under this roof.”

  She raised her eyebrows. They were the softest brown he’d ever seen.

  “Are you not taking vows to become a priest in a few months? Or is that just what you’ve been telling the others while you lived the high life off the mountain.”

  He appreciated her wit. “I’m taking my holy orders on August first, but they aren’t vows, just a promise to a bishop to dedicate my life to God’s work. Well, that and to be celibate. I’ll still be Colin McCullough.”

  “Can you perform sacraments?”

  “Nope. Can’t even say Mass yet.”

  “But you’ll be able to soon.”

  “Yes.”

  “When you’re away at seminary do you dress different?”

  “Not really. I usually wear a black dress shirt and pants. No collars or robes yet.”

  “What made you want to be a priest?”

  She relaxed slightly and he was grateful for that. She was still only seeing him as a soon to be priest, but perhaps after he answered all her questions she’d understand he had more than religious interests in life.

  “Let’s start with this. I’m twenty-nine. I go to church every day. When I was twelve I began considering priesthood. In the Old Testament there’s a line that reads “there is a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary of holding it in.” The day I read that was the day I told my parents I was considering joining the church. I met with a local priest and was told that this calling was referred to as Internal Discernment, but I’d have to wait it out to see if it faded.

  “I left for college as soon as I graduated high school. I earned my bachelor’s degree, took an extra year of theology, and minored in philosophy. What’s your major?”

  She seemed vaguely taken off guard by his sudden outpouring of personal information, but had no issue keeping up with the conversation. “I’m going to be a secondary English teacher.”

  “I can see that. What made you choose teaching?”

  “My mother was a teacher.”

  “And she’s not now?”

  “No. She and my father own a bed and breakfast outside of Lambertville, New Jersey. She stopped teaching when I was fourteen, but they only opened the B&B a year ago after my dad recovered from a massive heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry. I hope he’s doing well now.”

  “He is. They’re very happy with their new business. It was a good thing for them to sell our old home and buy new. It gave them a fresh start that was long overdue.”

  “Why long overdue?”

  “Did you join seminary right after college?”

  Her abrupt dodge of his question didn’t alarm him. She just wasn’t ready to share certain details of her family life with him, and he could respect that.

  “While I was in college I joined something called an affiliation program. It’s a group of perspective candidates that can offer suppo
rt, share discussions, and pray together. That’s where I met Father Tucker, my good friend and longtime advisor. After I graduated I spent some time abroad. When do you graduate?”

  “I should’ve finished a year ago, but I took some time off when my father got sick. When I returned the course requirements changed and I got saddled with some extra credit requirements. Graduation was last week. I didn’t participate because I’m short two classes. Luckily I can take them this summer and will have my degree by fall.”

  “Will there be a graduation ceremony at the end of summer?”

  “Yes, but it’ll be nothing like the spring ceremony. There’re only a handful of us graduating late. I’m not sure if I’ll even attend it.”

  “Why not?”

  She sighed. “It’ll be close to the new school year. If I land a job I’ll already be rushing to get things ready for my classroom. It just seems like a lot of unnecessary frills. I mean, I get my diploma. I’ve already passed the state certification tests. My transcripts and resume have already been mailed. I don’t see the point.”

  “What about to celebrate the conclusion of this chapter in your life?”

  She raised her glass and smiled. “All I need for that is some friends and a good bottle of booze.”

  He saw the moment her words registered with her brain. He definitely had her relaxing, but soon as she remembered who he was her tension returned.

  “God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Call me Colin and, please, it’s quite all right. Sometimes a good bottle of booze is just what’s needed in life, Sammy.”

  She looked like she wanted to smile as she eyed him skeptically.

  “Do you drink? Sheilagh said you didn’t.”

  “Perhaps she said I wouldn’t, but she surely didn’t say I didn’t. I’m as much a McCullough as the rest of them. The only reason I’m not drinking tonight is because I was asked to be a designated driver. I mean, look at these guys. They’re as full as the last bus home.”