Page 84 of Tee’d Up For Trouble

The interviewer became serious then. “You never talk about your personal life, yet you’re doing it now. I’m assuming this is a serious relationship.”

“Yes, I am serious about both Dee and the village of Ballybeg,” he replied cheekily.

By mid-afternoon, the village green was a hive of activity. People were everywhere, carrying signs, setting up tables, and hanging banners that read things like “SAVE BALLYBEG” and “BALLYBEG: POPULATION US, NOT A FECKIN’ RESORT!”

There were others like: “NO TO GOLF, YES TO GUINNESS!" and "RICH YANKS, GO BUILD SOMEWHERE ELSE!" (Jax took mild offense to this one.)

My favorite was: "BUILD A RESORT HERE & YOU’LL NEVER SLEEP SOUND AGAIN!" (Someone added a doodle of a banshee wailing.)

Seamus had put up the one that said, "CILLIAN, YOU’RE STILL A GOBSHITE!" Unnecessary, in my opinion, but no one was taking it down.

Paddy had brought his tractor and parked it right in the middle of the green, draping it with a massive Irish flag for good measure.

Mrs. O’Leary had somehow wrangled Angus’s ancient sheepdog, Finn, into wearing a little vest that said, “Protest Mascot.” Finn looked unimpressed but dutiful, which, to be fair, was his default expression.

“Dee!” Ronan called, jogging over with a roll of duct tape. “Where do you want this?”

“Anywhere but my hair.” I swiped a stray strand out of my face. “What’s the status of the speakers?”

“Seamus has them working, but the mic keeps cutting out.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. We’ll just yell louder.”

“Of course we will,” I muttered, turning to check on the banners.

Jax came up to me, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement. “You’re doing great, darlin’ Dee.”

“I’m used to dealing with drunks and broken barstools,” I told him, feeling panicked at the undertaking. “What the feck am I doing here, Jax?”

“Managing a protest,” he replied unhelpful.

“This is chaos.”

“Good chaos,” he whispered, his mouth against my ear, which sent a shiver of awareness down my spine.

“No seducing the protest manager,” I told him, pushing him away. “I can’t believe you can go again after last night.”

We’d spent a good amount of the time making love, which was another reason I was a little cranky—I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. We had to find a way to stop wanting each other so much because it was getting out of control. And aye, I was loving every minute of it, I thought smugly.

“Alright.” I clapped my hands together. “Let’s get this parade on the road.”

By the time everything was ready, the green was packed. The entire village had turned out, along with a surprising number of people from the neighboring towns. Word had spread faster than I’d expected, thanks in no small part to Jax’s social media efforts and my calling everybody who would listen in County Clare.

Seamus tapped the mic, grinning when it let out an ear-piercing screech. “Ladies and gentlemen.” His voice boomed through the speakers. “Welcome to the Ballybeg Stand!”

A cheer went up, and I felt a flicker of pride as I looked around at the sea of faces. This was what made Ballybeg special—its people. They might bicker and gossip and drive each other mad, but when it came down to it, they showed up. Every single time.

The speeches started with Ronan kicking things off. He was a natural, cracking jokes and weaving stories about the history of Ballybeg that had the crowd laughing and nodding along. Mrs. Nolan followed, her voice trembling with emotion as she talked about the importance of keeping the village intact for future generations.

Then, it was Jax’s turn. I’d insisted he speak, and when he told me he wasn’t from Ballybeg and I should do it, I told him I wouldn’t fuck him for a week if he went around saying shite like that.

He stepped up to the mic, his confidence, an aura around him, but when he started to speak, his humility came through.

“I came to Ballybeg by accident.” He glanced around the crowd. “My car broke down on the way to Dublin, and I ended up here, in this village I’d never heard of. At first, I thought it was just a place to kill time until I could leave. But then I met all of you. I saw what this place is, what it stands for, and I realized I didn’t want to leave.”

“I think it was Dee that kept you here,” Seamus cried out.

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