Gift of the Realm by Mackenzie Crowne Read Free Book Online Page B

pressed
against the hat that had tilted to the side when her head whipped around at his
greeting. A frown pulled at her mouth.
    “What
do you want?”
    Okay, he thought , maybe she was a little angry.
    He
pushed open the gate. Donovan was up and at his side in a flash. He scrubbed at
the dog’s wiry head.
    “I
want to talk to you.”
    “Why?”
she demanded. “Didn’t I humiliate myself enough for you yesterday?”
    “Keely,”
he crooned his regret at her accusation.
    “You
want more?” she asked in a stiffly pleasant tone flying in the face of the
sparkling fire in her green eyes. “Fine. Why not have it all.” She turned back
to the garden. “That night in the gazebo,” she began, raking at the thick stalk
of a healthy weed, “when you accused me of playing games? I’d come to beg you
to help me figure out the dreams.”
    Donovan
abandoned him to trot to his mistress, dropping to the ground at her side. He
rested his head on his front paws with a pitiful expression in his big brown
eyes. Colin knew just how he felt.
    “I
was seventeen,” she continued. “I was frightened. I was desperate at the
thought of leaving Ireland, because I knew I was leaving something
undone—something I didn’t understand, and had no way of figuring out.”
    “I
didn’t know, Keely,” he said softly, trying to explain.
    She
ignored him.
    “You
said we were friends, of a sort.” Her laugh was a humorless snort. “What a
joke. Other than a handful of friendly acquaintances, I don’t have friends, Colin, not really. What I have are the dreams. But you’re right. You
didn’t know, so don’t worry about it. You can walk away with a clear
conscience. I’ll handle them, just as I always have.”
    She
tossed a thick stalk onto the small pile at her feet and set the claw at
another. Her continued silence said she was done with him and expected him to
go.
    He
abused her of that expectation by taking a seat at the small table beside the
garden. He sat with his legs spread, elbows propped on his knees. Donovan
lifted his head to stare at him, his dark brows puckered above darker eyes that
seemed to plead with him to bring peace to the garden once more.
    “I am your friend, Keely,” Colin told her, “and I’d like to help if I can.”
    She
paused at her chore, tilting her head to eye him suspiciously from beneath the
brow of the hat. “Why would you want to do that?”
    He
rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Well, now, there’s a question. It turns out I’m
not the sort of man who can ignore a mystery.”
    “That’s
not the impression you gave yesterday.”
    “Yesterday
I was near to being speechless.” A slow smile spread across his face as he
decided how to break through her pique. “A man can be excused for being a bit
rattled when sitting across from a lovely woman who’s just admitted to dreaming
of him for the better part of a decade.”
    She
fell back on her heels, her eyes widening. “I didn’t admit to dreaming of you, Quinn.” She jabbed the claw in his direction. “I said you joined me
in the dreams.”
    “You’d
consider that a distinction, and yet you admit you’ve been dreaming of me. I
prefer my own interpretation.” Confusion knit her brow, and he could see she
wasn’t sure if she wanted to blast him for being an arrogant ass, or smile. He
pressed the advantage. “I’ve a clearer head this morning, darlin’. I’m here to
offer my help.”
    She
didn’t react to his use of the endearment, but he didn’t miss the flash of
interest in her eyes at his offer of help. “How, exactly, do you propose to do
that?”
    “These
dreams we share.” He paused, pleased to see a faint blush spreading color on
her cheeks. “They always take place at the Door?”
    She
nodded.
    “The
way I see it, you’ve made Dunhaven your home, but you’ve spent little time
here. I, on the other hand, have lived the whole of my life in Dunhaven, except
for the time I spent at university, and you’ll not be holding that