The Mighty Quinns: Ronan (12 page)

He stared across the table at her, at the two spots of color on her cheeks and the flicker of anger in her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. And his main worry was the Danny Merrick would recognize that fact and want her back.

8

T
HE
CENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION
began at noon on Friday with a parade featuring the high school band, all the fire trucks in town and the local scout troops. Charlie had given everyone Friday afternoon off so that they could enjoy the festivities, as long as they took a shift at the Mistry Bay booth at the park.

Everyone had closed up shop for the celebration, the local businesses setting up in small booths in the village park. All weekend long, Sibleyville was ready to show visitors what a great place it was to raise a family. Unfortunately, it wasn’t such a great place to fall in love. But the town officials kept that minor problem to themselves.

Charlie and Ronan sat on the curb and watched as the parade marched by. Mistry Bay Oyster Farm had a small float and her younger brother and sister were seated in a huge fiberglass oyster shell, tossing candy to the children along the route.

When Charlie’s youngest siblings, Garrett and Libby, saw them, they stood up and hurled candy in their direction, causing a frantic scramble around their feet. Ronan laughed, helping the children get every last piece before they scurried off, looking for more.

“This is really great,” he said. “It’s exactly what I imagined smalltown life to be.”

“I love it, too,” she said. “I remember things like this from my childhood. It was the perfect place to grow up.”

When she thought about raising a family of her own, she’d always pictured it happening in Sibleyville. But as she watched the parade, she realized that other people might have had the same dream, only to leave Sibleyville to find love.

Maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Or maybe the curse was real. But the simple fact was that people didn’t fall in love in Sibleyville. They were forced to look for love elsewhere all because of a tragic love story so many years ago.

She wrapped her hands around Ronan’s arm and leaned against him. If the curse was true, then why was she falling in love with Ronan? He was living in Sibleyville. For now, he was a resident. She stifled a groan. Maybe it was true. Maybe they were meant to break the curse.

A horse-drawn carriage passed by with Sibleyville’s mayor and his wife waving from the shiny leather seats. The Ladies’ Aid Society from the local Episcopal church followed, dressed as the founding mothers, carrying brooms and butter churns and knitting needles. Charlie waved at her mother as she passed and Penny Sibley threw her a kiss.

Her father marched by as part of the local veteran’s drum core, handling the cymbals as they pounded out a cadence. Ethan was carrying the state flag in front of them, dressed in his Eagle Scout uniform.

A lone police car signaled the end of the parade. Ronan helped her up from the curb. “What’s next?”

“We walk down to the park for lunch,” she said. “We have a booth that sells my mom’s oyster stew. She’s been cooking all week over at the church kitchen.”

“I love oyster stew,” he said. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

As they walked through the crowd, Charlie was surprised at how many people greeted Ronan. Over the course of the past three and a half weeks, he’d managed to become a bit of a celebrity around town—a real Quinn in their midst.

He bought her a lemonade and they strolled through the long aisle of games—ring toss and bottle knockdown and balloon pop. Charlie introduced Ronan to a few of her friends from high school and while they were chatting, Garrett rushed up and lured Ronan away with a plan to win a new iPod at one of the ring toss games.

A few minutes later, she felt a hand on the small of her back and she turned, expecting to see Ronan. But Danny stood behind her, a charming smile on his face.

“Hey there,” he said. “I was hoping I’d run into you.”

Charlie groaned. “Oh, go away, Danny. Just leave me alone.”

“Come on, Charlie. Don’t be such a drag. We can at least be civil to each other. We were in love once, weren’t we?”

“Were we?” she asked. “I’m not so sure anymore. I think we thought we were in love, but we weren’t old enough to know what that really was.” She paused. “We were great friends, for awhile. And we were lovers. But we weren’t in love. I know that now.”

“I miss you, Charlie. It’s been a year and I still think about you every day. New York isn’t the same without you.”

“I’m sure you’ve made new friends,” she said.

“But I like my old friends better.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand, but she snatched it away. “I need to go.”

“Just wait. Give me a few minutes. I have a proposal for you.”

Charlie sighed softly, running her hand through her hair. “What?”

“I want you to come back to New York. We’ll be friends. You can stay at the apartment and get your career going again. I really think there are big things on the horizon for you, Charlie.”

“Charlie?”

She looked to see Ronan approaching. He was carrying a plastic bag with a goldfish in it. She felt a wave of relief wash over her. He looked so sweet, his dark hair tousled by the breeze, his skin burnished brown by his days on the water. He’d never looked more handsome than at that moment.

“Hi,” she said. “Who’s your friend?”

He held the bag up. “Garrett won him. Or her.” He chuckled. “He didn’t want to carry the fish around, so I said I’d hang on to…it.” He looked at Danny, then held out his hand. “Hi. We haven’t met yet. I’m Ronan Quinn.”

Danny blinked in surprise. “You’re the Quinn?” His face turned a strange shade of grey. “You were at the theatre the other night.”

“Yeah,” Ronan said. “Hey, I think you’re a great actor. I can really believe you’re Edward Sibley.”

“Thanks,” Danny said. “It’s not the greatest part in the world, but it’s for a good cause. And I hadn’t seen my folks for awhile, so I thought, what the hell.”

“And you hadn’t seen Charlie for a long time, either,” Ronan said.

“No,” Danny said. “I hadn’t. So, I heard you’re working for Charlie.”

“Can we stop acting like I’m not even here?” Charlie said. “Yes, Ronan works for the oyster farm. He also lives with me. We’re a couple. In a relationship. Together. Any other questions?”

“So, are we boyfriend and girlfriend?” Ronan asked.

“No!” Charlie said. “I mean, yes. You’re not supposed to ask the questions. I was talking to Danny.”

Ronan grinned. “Sorry.”

“Danny, I’ll see you later tonight. Ronan, I think we need to get some lunch.”

She grabbed Ronan’s hand and pulled him along until they’d put some distance between themselves and Danny. “Ugh, I can’t believe I ever thought I was in love with him. He’s just so full of himself.”

“I thought he was okay,” Ronan said.

She turned to him, her mouth agape, then saw the teasing glint in his eyes. “Funny.” She slapped his shoulder playfully. “You are such a comedian. You’re so funny, I forgot to laugh.”

“Can we just clear something up here?” Ronan asked. “Are we boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“No,” she said. “We’re more than that. We’re…together. ‘Boyfriend and girlfriend’ sounds so juvenile. I don’t know how to express it any better.”

“And you like me more than you like Danny, right?”

She laughed again. “Yes. A ton more. A bazillion times more.”

“And when you kiss him tonight at the end of the play, you’re going to be thinking of me?”

“Absolutely.”

He bent close and brushed a kiss across her lips. “All right. I’m cool. But I want to let you know, if he picks a fight over you, I have no problem beating the shit out of him.”

A laugh burst from her lips and she pushed up on her toes and kissed him again. “I’ll keep that in mind. I didn’t realize you were such a scrappy guy.”

“There are lots of things I haven’t revealed about myself yet. I’m a man of mystery.”

“You are a man who makes me smile even when I feel like tearing my hair out. That’s much more important.”

He handed her the goldfish. “Here. You can carry this. We’re going to get some of your mom’s oyster stew and then we’ll go home and practice your lines. I’m thinking I could offer you a few tips on that kissing scene.”

“I think I could use the help,” Charlie said.

As they walked toward the Mistry Bay booth, Charlie laced her fingers through his. There was no doubt about it now. She’d fallen in love with Ronan Quinn. Against all odds, he’d arrived in Sibleyville and found her.

Somehow, there had to be more at work here than just a strange coincidence. Whether it was fate or karma or destiny, some power greater than luck had put him in her path. But was she ready to ask him to stay?

* * *

T
HE
AUDITORIUM
WAS
filled to the rafters for the world premiere of Leticia Trowbridge’s new play, “The Curse of Bridie Quinn.” Charlie had reserved a block of seats for her family, but Ronan had been too nervous to sit and instead, had found a place to pace near the back.

After a lunch of oyster stew, he and Charlie had gone back to the apartment and spent the afternoon running her lines and talking through the staging. She’d left at four for a dress rehearsal and Ronan had decided to stay behind, knowing that watching her with Danny would probably be an unnecessary annoyance.

As the lights came down and the curtain opened, he found a place to stand near the doorway. As Charlie performed, he found himself reciting her lines with her. In truth, he was probably more nervous for her than Charlie was for herself. He wasn’t quite sure why that was and it seemed to defy logic. But Ronan decided that it must have something to do with his feelings about her.

Maybe when a person was in love, the connection was so deep that they could feel each other’s emotions, they could sense each other’s insecurities and fears. Like experiencing sympathetic stage fright.

As the play was coming to a close and Charlie was reciting her last lines, Ronan felt himself relax a bit. They still had the kiss, but he was well aware of Charlie’s abilities in that area. A girl didn’t forget how to kiss no matter how nervous she might be.

But when the kiss did come, Ronan wasn’t prepared for the audience reaction. Though a few people clapped, the rest of the audience reacted with absolute silence followed by a low murmur of dissatisfaction.

When it came time for the curtain calls, the cast members stepped forward one by one. He noticed that they clapped the loudest for Charlie and when the mayor stepped out on stage, he gave her, Maxine and Lettie each a bouquet of roses. But the mayor had more on his mind that just congratulations. He motioned for the crowd to quiet and when they did, he cleared his throat.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m happy to see so many of our townsfolk come out to see this wonderful little play, written by our own Leticia Trowbridge. But we have some serious business to do here tonight. As mayor of Sibleyville, I have been authorized to sanction a marriage. A marriage that I hope will put an end, once and for all, to Bridie’s curse.”

Ronan felt his stomach twist. Where was this going? Were they going to make Charlie stand up on the stage while they put her through yet another plea?

“Ronan Quinn!” the mayor shouted. “Are you in the house tonight!”

Ronan raised his hand and walked halfway down the right aisle. “I am,” he called.

“Good,” the mayor said. “Then we have both parties here. Now, I know we’ve made several offers to you two over the past week, but we are prepared to sweeten the deal.” He withdrew a paper from his pocket and opened his mouth to speak.

But Charlie grabbed his arm, then whispered something to him before he could continue. He frowned. “Well, just let me finish the proposal before you refuse, Charlotte. You owe us at least that much.”

“We have a contract here that we’re willing to offer to you and Ronan. We’d like you to consider marriage in the hopes that it might finally serve to put aside the differences between the Sibleys and the Quinns and make Sibleyville whole again. I’ve been authorized to offer you fifty thousand dollars, which you can split anyway you choose, for one year of marriage.”

The audience erupted in wild applause and shouts of “do it, Charlie!” and “marry him!” The mayor motioned for everyone to be quiet, then peered out into the audience at Ronan. “Mr. Quinn, what do you think?”

Ronan looked at the stricken expression on Charlie’s face. She looked like she wanted to find the nearest hole and crawl inside. He slowly walked down the aisle, his gaze fixed on her face. The time had come for him to make his intentions clear. He knew what he wanted and there was no use putting it off any longer.

“I would love to marry Charlotte Sibley,” he said, “if she’ll have me.”

Charlie gasped, staring at him as if he’d just sprouted horns. “What?”

“I’m asking you to marry me, Charlie,” Ronan said.

“Wait a second,” Danny said. “Just wait one second. Who says we need a Quinn in order to break this curse? Both Charlotte and I are residents of Sibleyville. I want to marry her. I think we could break the curse.”

This caused a major rumble in the crowd, but Ronan didn’t take his eyes off of Charlie. He took a step closer. “What’s it going to be?” he asked, speaking directly to her. “Are you going to marry me, Charlotte Sibley?”

“Marry me, Charlie,” Danny said.

“Well now, this is an unexpected turn,” the mayor said. “Perhaps we should put this to a vote. Let’s have a show of hands. How many people think Charlotte should marry the Quinn?”

“Stop!” Charlie cried. “Stop this. I’m not going to let the citizens of Sibleyville determine my future. I’m the one who’ll make those decisions.”

“All right,” the mayor said. “What is your decision? Is it going to be Danny Merrick or Ronan Quinn?”

She slowly shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “Neither one,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion. “If you want the curse to end, just stop believing it. It’s as simple as that. There is no curse if you don’t believe there is.”

With that, she turned and ran off the stage. Ronan saw her mother, seated in the front row, get up and make her way to one of the side exits along with her brother Isaac and sister, Abby. Ronan strode up the aisle to the theatre lobby, avoiding the encouraging words from the crowd. He ran to the front doors and stepped out into the warm September night, searching the street for Charlie.