Page 22 of Hold a Candle

Pauley nodded and blinked, trying to make sure traitorous tears didn’t threaten her tough image again. It wasn’t just his physical state she was worried about. What if he had nightmares? “Thank ye.” She leaned over and gently hugged Luca. “Goodnight then, honey.”

As the adults all left, Pauley glanced back to see Luca staring after her, indecision on his face. What was going through his mind? At times he seemed so grown up, and other times he was still her baby. What the heck was he mixed up in?

“He’ll be in good hands here, lass,” Jamie murmured in her ear as he put his arm round her shoulders.

“I-I know that. It’s just that...well...he never took a life before,” she said, stiffening under Jamie’s arm. “I worry about how it will affect him,” she confessed, not used to putting her feelings out there for others to inspect.

They all nodded soberly. Lucerne touched her arm. “We’ll watch for that too, Pauley. He may need counseling later on, as I’m sure ye know. But we are all aware of the effect it can have on a person.”

Pauley nodded but didn’t say anything else. They all walked with her and Jamie to his car where he opened the door for her. She got in and started buckling her seatbelt. Then he closed her door and shook hands with Darro and Angus. Once again, she felt taken care of in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. It felt good, but strange.

As they pulled away from Neamh, she smiled up at the other two couples and then waved at Luca who was coming around the corner of the house. He stared back at her, a strange look on his face. Something like regret tinged with determination, as if he wished he could talk to her but something was holding him back.

With a sigh she turned her head away and faced the front, waiting for the heater to start blowing some warm air for her feet. She shivered in trepidation when a cold chill shimmied down her spine. Her grandmother had always described that as feeling like someone was walking over her grave.

Gramma Caulfield had definite Celtic origins and she’d sworn she had the second sight. Pauley had found her fascinating, especially when she told her once that she could have it too if she would just dial in. Dial in? How daft was that?

Pauley’s mother denounced it all as hogwash and an old woman’s imagination after she’d married her father, who was a prim and respectable minister. But Pauley had always found Gramma Caulfield a warm and loving person. She missed her greatly since she died a few years ago.

“Are ye alright, lass?” Jamie asked gently, reaching over and covering her hand in her lap. “Ye just did a full body shiver.”

She looked over and smiled. “Do ye believe in the second sight, Jamie?”

He shot her a side eye. “Why do ye ask?” He braked suddenly as a rabbit flashed across the road in front of them.

Pauley gasped and reached for the dashboard. “Why do animals do that?” she complained, her stomach swirling. She groaned and leaned forward with her head close to her knees.

Jamie quickly pulled over towards the side of the road. “Do ye need to open the door?” He pulled her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Pauley shook her head, waiting for the nausea to settle. “Nay,” she finally gasped. “I-I’ll be fine. It was just the sudden movement.

“When is the last time ye ate something?”

That was a reproving tone if she ever heard one. “Probably this morning,” she snapped. “I had my usual cop donut we’re so famous for.”

Jamie tsked. “No need to be snarky, firebrand. Sit back a minute.”

When Pauley sat back, Jamie opened the glove box and took out a package of Jacobs Crackers. “Here, nibble on a few of these.”

Her eyebrow shot up. “Ye carry crackers in yer glove box? Are ye a secret food hoarder or something?”

He shot her a sizing up glance, the likes of which had her stomach swirling for a different reason. “Nay, I have a pregnant daughter who gets carsick when she rides with me.”

Pauley smirked. “Mayhap it’s just yer driving.” She bit half a cracker in two and chewed it down, then popped the rest in her mouth. It was a little dry, but the salt on it tasted really good.

Jamie stared at her while she chewed a second one and she stared back. She could see the thoughts flickering through his expressive eyes. Calculating. Considering.

“Are ye trying to provoke me?” he asked at last, a warning gleam in his eye.

The pink flush crept up Pauley’s throat as he somehow hit the nail right on the head and rammed it home. Shewaspoking him like the proverbial bear. She did it with every man she met, and she was intuitive enough to realize she was unconsciously testing their strength and reactions. She was looking for a reaction she wanted, but just hadn’t found the right man with right response yet. Her chin lifted; a decision made. For the second time that day, she threw out a little test. “And if I am?”

His smile was almost evil as it slowly lifted the corners of his mouth like the grinch at Christmas. His eyes glinted in the moonlight streaming into the vehicle. “Then let me tell ye a little about myself. I can be as kind, patient, and tolerant as ye could possibly want, but when ye push beyond my boundaries, ye’ll find yerself over my knee and getting yer disagreeable little bottom spanked. If ye’d like to push and find my boundaries, then by all means, feel free to do so. Just don’t say ye weren’t warned.”

Every nerve ending in Pauley’s body lit up like an electrical charge had buzzed through her. Merciful heavens! Jamie MacNamara was simply too good to be true. With the luck she’d had with men, how could she trust him to be the real thing? She wanted to, but it was way too soon. They had only met this morning.

Her Gramma Caulfield’s words marched across her brain with a soldier’s precision. “Pauley, my darlin’ lass, why did ye ever marry Peter MacBride? That man isna strong enough fer the likes of a woman like ye. It will never last, mark my words, child. Ye need a strong man, a man to watch over ye with kindness, love, and above all, a firm hand.”

Gramma Caulfield had been sad and her head shaking as if Pauley had lost her mind. She hadn’t believed her Gramma all those years ago, but now she wasn’t so sure. Gramma had been right about Peter. But was Jamie the man she needed today?

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