My Wild Irish Dragon (23 page)

“Beg pardon?”

“His face. His spirit. That's the result of many generations of your strongest ancestors. And
you
want to interfere with all of that just for some man-made tradition? Sorry. No. I can't allow that.”

“Can't allow? That's not your decision.”

Mother Nature rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. At last she strolled over to him. “You still don't get it.
Everything
is my decision. Whether you live or die is my decision. And you seem to have forgotten, I gave your family a number of options. How many sons do you have again?”

“Seven,” he answered proudly.

“And not one of the other six can take over for you?”

“It's tradition that the firstborn—”

“Oh, shut up about tradition. I have no patience for made-up rules. I understand they have their place, but it's not like you need to follow them when plain old common sense says you shouldn't.”

Gaia continued. “In this case, you did one thing right. Your son Ryan died and you kept the human population from discovering his paranormal ability to rise from the ashes. As far as they know, nobody comes back from that, and that's what I want them to think.”

Mr. Fierro seemed to relax a bit. “We try not to call attention to our abilities, because we know humans would envy us and want to study us, or hate us and want to end us. We'd never be left in peace again.”

“That's absolutely correct. See? You're not hopelessly stupid.”

He bristled. “We're not stupid at all!”

“Then I suggest you listen to what these two have come up with. They have some good ideas. Meanwhile, you can look at the rest of the young men around your dinner table and find a suitable replacement for yourself. I know you and your wife want to move to a warmer climate and avoid suspicion when your longevity comes into question. Might I suggest the Amazon rain forest?”

“Why there?”

“Less scrutiny. You'll find a few others who want anonymity hiding out there. And maybe you can stand in front of the bulldozers that keep trying to take down my beautiful trees.”

Ryan and his father shared a meaningful look.

“Oh! And if you ever expose your paranormal abilities or this club to a human, I'll find you, wherever you are, and…and…” She waved in frustration. “I'm all out of threats, but I'll think of something bad.” She nodded once, as if satisfied. “Well, my work here is done. I'd say ‘until we meet again,' but I hope we never will.” And with that, she disappeared.

Mr. Fierro glanced between Ryan and Chloe. At last he took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “I hate to say it, but she's right.”

“About what?” they asked simultaneously.

“About letting you two move to Ireland. I do have several sons.”

“Ya think?” Chloe slapped her hand over her mouth.

Mr. Fierro laughed. “Don't worry, ‘little dragon.' I love an honest quip.” He turned to Ryan. “I'll call an emergency family meeting. Come home tonight and we'll tell the others.”

“Chloe should come too,” Ryan said.

She sighed. “I may have my own emergency family meeting. Since I go back to work tomorrow, I'd like to do it tonight.”

“Fair enough.” Ryan gave her a long, languorous kiss, ignoring his father when he cleared his throat.

At last, they broke apart and grinned at each other.

“I might as well not even be in the room,” Mr. Fierro said. “See you tonight, Ryan.”

“Well, that's the last one,” Amber said when she and Eagan came out of the closet. Literally. “We really need to get a different front door with a peephole instead of a big pane of glass.”

They joined the rest of the Arish family in the B and B's living room. Shannon sat on Finn's lap on the sofa. On one side of them sat Chloe, and on the other, Aiden. They were staring in opposite directions, ignoring each other.

Rory took one comfortable armchair and Conlan took the other. Eagan and Amber pulled straight-back chairs away from the wall and over to the group.

“Good. Now we can get started,” Rory said.

Everyone remained quiet while he welcomed the family to his home and asked Chloe to make her announcement.

She squirmed slightly, unaccustomed to being in the spotlight, and then came right out with it. “I'm getting married and moving back to Ireland.”

Amid congratulations and everyone hugging Chloe, Aiden piped up. “Where in Ireland?”

She faced him squarely. “Ballyhoo, of course. We'll be rehabbing the castle.”

“We?” he asked. “You and the firefighter?”

She bristled. “I'm a firefighter too, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don't go all feminist on me. I'm just wonderin' where you're goin' to live while this rehabbin' is goin' on? It's not like the castle has running water, heat, or electricity.”

“Not yet,” she said and grinned, because she knew something he didn't.

“You intend to install those things in a castle from the fourth century? What about the structural integrity? And the historical significance—”

“Shut it, Aiden,” she barked. “Don't be causin' trouble just because I chose my heart instead of my duty. Our crown prince is fine with it.”

Rory cleared his throat. “About that…”

She snapped her gaze to her brother. “What?”

“Oh…not your decision, luv,” Rory said. “You're fine. It's about my bein' crown prince. I hereby abdicate my position, since an absentee ruler makes no sense. I choose to make my life here in Boston with my darlin' fiancée Amber.”

Aiden and Eagan gasped and turned their eyes toward Conlan.

Conlan held up his hand to halt their assumption. “I will not be takin' over. I have more important things to do, and the Erin Arishes won the castle fair and square many centuries ago.”

Eagan's eyes rounded. “What could possibly be more important than taking over as ruler?”

“A little matter of finding a way to continue the species.”

Aiden glared at Chloe. “We
had
a way.”

“We never had a way, Aiden.” Chloe rose and paced. “Look. There are certain truths that should be stated.” She held up one finger. “First, close relatives should not reproduce. Their offspring could be idjits.” Holding up two fingers, she said, “Second, the royal lineage passes down through the family from eldest to youngest, be they male or female. The two eldest have abdicated their claim. That leaves me next. Since I intend to actually live in Ballyhoo and restore our childhood home, I will accept the title of crown princess—in name only.”

Rory cleared his throat. “I don't recall hearin' anythin' about our parents in the last eight hundred years.” His expression became somber. “They came for a visit dressed as beggars. I've since wondered if it wasn't a disguise. Since everyone who could possibly recognize them has long since died and they could have returned at any time, I think we can safely assume they've met their demise.”

Conlan solemnly added, “Quite right, Cousin. I have thought so as well.”

Aiden moved to his side quickly and whispered in his ear. Since dragons have such sensitive hearing, Chloe caught the gist of it anyway. What she heard surprised her.

Conlan rose and said, “Long live Queen Chloe!” He dropped to one knee and reverently placed his fist over his heart. His brothers did the same. Rory followed suit.

Shannon giggled but slipped off Finn's lap and onto her knees. “Long live me queen sister. May she remember where she came from and never get a big head.”

Chloe couldn't help smirking. “All right, all right. I can see how it's goin' to be. Get off your feckin' knees. Let's all return to our seats and speak as equal adults.”

As soon as everyone was reseated, she said, “There's one other thing I should let you all know. I have decided to accept Gaia's offered position of muse of fire safety.”

Aiden's jaw dropped. “You mean to tell us, you're not only a queen now but a goddess as well?”

Chloe shrugged. “Minor goddess…and the queen thing was your idea.”

“Actually, it was Rory's—”

“The jig's up, Cousin,” Rory said. “And the others should know. It was Aiden who came to me with the suggestion that we declare our parents dead and make Chloe queen when I formally abdicated tonight.”

Chloe turned her surprised gaze on Aiden. “Is that true, Cousin?”

He nodded. “I want you to know that I said nothin' until
after
I knew you were lost to me and goin' to marry the firefighter—I mean the
other
firefighter.”

Her smile grew as did her respect for Aiden. He didn't seem to hold a grudge.

“So what does the muse position entail?” he asked.

“I will encourage people to protect themselves from fires, encourage inventers to come up with new and better ways to help them do that, and look after firefighters everywhere.”

“That sounds like a tall order,” Conlan said.

“'Tis. But not as tall an order as yours. Am I to understand you mean to find another female dragon? How do you expect to do that?”

Conlan smiled. “I'm goin' on a grand adventure. Eagan and Aiden can manage the whiskey-makin' business. I know there's another dragon out there. I can
feel
it.”

“Um…I might not return to Ulster right away,” Aiden said.

“Why not?” Eagan and Conlan asked simultaneously.

“There's this friend of Amber's I'd like to get to know better.”

Amber clapped her hands. “I knew it! I saw the chemistry between you and Candy Marie.”

“We took bets on you,” Rory added.

“Did you now?”

“Is she a flight attendant too?” Conlan asked.

“Yes,” Amber said with a grin. “So she can visit Aiden wherever he is.”

Aiden's eyes lit up. “So you think she'd be willin' to fly all the way to Northern Ireland just to see me?”

Amber laughed. “I'd say you could count on it.”

Aiden grinned and leaned back in his chair.

“So, Chloe, how long do you think it will take to restore the castle?” Eagan asked.

“A while. There's no rush. Ryan will work with the volunteer fire department in Ballyhoo, updating and improving their methods, while I attend to my muse duties. When we have free time, we'll restore the castle, together.”

Aiden scratched his head. “It sounds like you won't have much free time at all.”

She glanced at Amber. “Oh, you may be surprised. We have a few tricks up our sleeves as far as time management is concerned.”

“It sounds as if your duties have already begun.”

“Not yet, but my training will begin soon. Amber will be teaching me whatever I need to know.”

Eagan chuckled. “Like how to fly people from the other side of the ocean and land in closets?”

Rory laughed. “The closet is just because disappearin' and reappearin' in full view of a front door, which has a glass inset, is against Mother Nature's rules. I intend to replace that door with a solid one.”

“I'll help,” Finn offered.

“Thank you, Finn. Now that Chloe is so busy, I'll take you up on that.”

“I could help after my four-day shift is over,” Chloe said.

“I wouldn't dream of askin' your highness to do manual labor,” Rory said with a wink. “You might break a nail.”

She frowned. “I might break one on your head, if you tease me like that, Rory Arish.”

“Ah, it's good to know that rulin' isn't goin' to change you a bit.”

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Ryan stood on the emerald-green grass looking out to sea. Chloe strolled up beside him and slipped her arm around his waist. He welcomed her warmth. The breeze off the ocean was a bit chilly, even in May.

“I'd like to bury the power lines if we can,” Ryan said. “That way it wouldn't block Shannon and Finn's view, plus the cables should hold more securely against winter weather.”

“Winters aren't nearly as bad here as they are in Boston. I can't believe how much snow fell and how heavy it was.” She shuddered. “We were lucky there weren't more roof collapses.”

He kissed her hair. “They really knew how to build solid roofs in the past.”

She chuckled. “Yeah. If one sprung a leak, they just slapped another roof over it. You should have seen all the layers Rory and I uncovered when we looked at buildin' a roof deck on top of his B and B.”

“Hey. Maybe we could…”

“If you say build a deck on top of the turret, I'll have to talk you out of it. I'd like to keep the integrity of the castle on the outside. You can make it as modern as you like on the inside.”

He gave her a side hug. “I was going to suggest a patio on the grass, but your idea of modernizing the inside is welcome news.”

“Oh. You don't want rock walls and dirt floors?”

“Not so much.” He wandered toward the site of the future staircase, taking her with him. “I can see floor-to-ceiling tempered glass windows. Wide wood floors. Sheetrock with modern, but sophisticated wall treatments… Modern plumbing will be a trick, but one I'm willing to puzzle out.”

Suddenly they weren't alone.

Gaia stood on his other side. “My muse hasn't picked out her reward yet. Perhaps I can help you with that.”

Chloe faced her. “My reward will be toilets?”

Mother Nature shrugged. “Unless you don't want them. After all, your ancestors were used to peeing in cold porcelain bowls which they kept under the beds—”

Chloe gagged. “Ah, no, Goddess. You have the right of it. I became used to indoor plumbin' decades ago and would welcome your help bringin' it into the castle.”

“Good. It would be a shame to mar the beautiful facade with whatever waste you had to toss out the windows.”

“What facade?” Ryan asked. “I imagine working on the inside will be tricky enough. I can't ask anyone to put themselves in danger by working on the outside walls.”

Gaia rolled her eyes. With a wave of her hand, she created a beautiful stone stairway that led to an oval patio below. “Go ahead. Take a look over the side.”

Ryan gaped at Chloe. “Should we trust it will hold us?” he whispered.

Gaia's back stiffened. “If you think I'd allow you to set foot on a structure that might collapse and send you falling to your deaths, you don't have a very high opinion of me.”

“It's not that, Goddess. I just imagine you haven't had a lot of building experience.”

She snorted. “How you humans try to restrict me with your own limitations! I can do anything you can do, only instantly and better.”

“Sorry, Goddess,” he said and bowed. “You're absolutely right.”

Chloe elbowed him and whispered, “Those are smart words. Keep talking that way.”

“I can hear you
think
, little dragon. Never mind whisper.”

She aimed her smile at Mother Nature. “I know. I was teasin' my husband.”

“Oh. I may never get the hang of this ‘teasing' you speak of.”

“Mayhaps that's a good thing, Gaia,” Chloe said.

Mother Nature nodded. “Yes. And getting back to your reward for taking the modern muse job, I think I can do better than providing bathrooms for your joint project.”

Ryan and Chloe focused their attention on her.

Gaia waved her hand and a huge pile of lumber appeared. “I believe you wanted wide solid hardwood floors?”

Ryan breathed deeply, “Shit. Yeah, I did.”

She waved at another spot on the grass and a pile of sheetrock appeared. “And walls…” Then suddenly a structure popped up between the two piles of supplies. “Inside you'll find tools, glass panels, fixtures…basically everything you'll need down to the finish nails and caulking.”

“I'll be damned,” Ryan mumbled.

“No, you won't.” Mother Nature said. “I don't do that to people. Oh, by the way…” A man appeared before them. “Here's an architect to help you design your dream.”

The man scratched his head and mumbled something about not realizing he'd had that much to drink.

“Will you need laborers, or do you two want to build the whole thing yourselves?” Gaia asked.

Chloe squeezed Ryan's hand. “I think we want to be involved as much as possible, but we could use one completed bedroom and bath.”

One side of Ryan's lip curved up. “I can think of six strapping young men who'd be willing to help.” He turned toward the architect. “We'll need to build a few guest rooms for family visits.”

“Mayhaps ten or so?” Chloe added. “We've cousins as well.”

“True.”

The architect whipped out his pencil and a pad of paper and started jotting down notes. “Maybe a few guest suites, with their own baths?”

“To be sure.” Chloe looked to Gaia. “How many baths did you provide for?”

Mother Nature rolled her eyes. Suddenly the storage shed doubled in size. “Eleven,” she said with a smug smile. “Let me know when you get to the furnishings. It sounds like you'll need a huge dining table. I think the one from Camelot might be about the right size.”

“Camelot?” The architect gasped. “I thought that place was a legend.”

Ryan, Chloe, and Gaia all answered at once. “Legends have to come from somewhere…”