Heron's Cove by Carla Neggers Read Free Book Online Page A

distillation to laying down in the cask. “It’s good to be back with your brothers, isn’t it?”
    “It is,” Colin said with a heavy sigh.
    Finian pushed back an unexpected memory of hiking in Ireland with his brother on a sparkling autumn morning. He and Declan had just turned twenty and were filled with hopes and dreams. They had paused to appreciate the view of the Atlantic and the surrounding countryside and decided then and there they would do it; they would find a way to start their own distillery.
    “Brothers are to be cherished,” Finian said. “Mike especially has good instincts about people.”
    “Mike hates people.”
    “‘Hate’ is too strong. He’s a loner. An observer. That’s why he lives the way he does. Being here in Rock Point helping your parents with their inn, with their worries, has worn his patience.”
    “Have you been out to the Bold Coast where he lives?”
    “Not yet, no.”
    “It’s way down east on the Bay of Fundy. Strong tides, huge rock cliffs. Remote. Stunning scenery. Mike deals with people just enough to make a living, then spends the rest of his time on his own. He’s always been like that, even before he joined the army.”
    “He came home from the military a different man?”
    Colin shook his head. “Same Mike, just more so. What’s going on with him and Emma?”
    “My assessment? She looks at him and wonders if she can fit in among the Donovans. He looks at her and wonders if he really knows his brother, perhaps wonders if he’ll ever have a relationship in his own life such as the one you and Emma have.”
    Colin frowned, then grinned suddenly. “I think I actually understand what you just said.”
    “This Russian woman, Colin…”
    “Not your problem. Worry about your bean-hole supper. I’ll worry about Emma’s Russian.”
    “She’s making pies for the supper.”
    “The Russian?”
    Finian sighed. Colin, of course, knew better. “Emma.”
    Colin hesitated, just for a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Finian could see that his friend wasn’t so sure about his new love inserting herself into his life in Rock Point, perhaps less sure than he had been a few weeks ago in the heat of their first days together. It was only natural, Finian thought.
    “I’ll clean up here,” he said. “You’ve had very little to drink. You’ll be fine to drive.”
    “I walked down here.”
    “But you’ll be driving to Emma in Heron’s Cove.”
    “So I will.” Colin rose, a spark in his gray eyes. “Thanks for the whiskey. It’s good to be back.”
    Finian studied his friend, noted the clear pain he was in, the depth of his fatigue. “How bad was it, Colin?”
    “I’m here drinking whiskey with you, so it could have been worse.”
    “Your brothers know you didn’t get your cuts and bruises in Washington.”
    Colin grinned. “You don’t think I can convince them I tripped on my way to a cocktail party?”
    Finian gave up and smiled. “Go, my friend. Be with your woman.”
    “An excellent plan.” But as Colin pulled on his jacket, he pointed a finger at Finian. “If this Russian jeweler shows up again, you call me. Got that, Father Bracken?”
    Colin left without waiting for an answer, and Finian corked the Bracken 15 year old, then poured himself a glass of water. He had to remember to keep a clear head when dealing with a Donovan. He put the uncomfortable conversation out of his mind and looked around the quiet restaurant. An elderly couple was sharing a piece of wild blueberry pie—a local favorite—and two young sisters he recognized from the church were talking themselves out of ice-cream sundaes.
    His previous life in Ireland seemed so long ago, so far away.
    He shook off his melancholy before it could get him in its grip. A woman on Hurley’s staff edged over to his table with a plastic tray. She was slender and shapely, with deep gold-flecked hazel eyes and a thick golden-brown braid hanging down her back. “I’ll get these glasses,