Page 19 of Wild Irish

“What’s wrong? Is it about the car?” she asks again.

“Ye didn’t get car insurance?”

“What?” Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open, and I can see the trickle of fear mixed with denial. She shakes her head. “Of course I did.”

“Tommy said he contacted the rental place.” I hand her my phone to let her read the message. “Ye’re not insured, sweetheart.”

“No…” She takes my phone from my hand, scrutinizing the message. “That’s not right…” Her eyes squeeze closed like she’s trying to remember. “When they asked me, I said yes. I’m sure I did.”

“Do ye have the paperwork?”

“It’s in the glove compartment.” Her bottom lip is quivering, her eyes full of panic.

I take the phone back and text Tommy again, asking him to double-check. He gets back to me almost immediately.

Damn.

“There’s no paperwork for the insurance. Just the rental agreement.”

She shakes her head again, eyes starting to tear up, and she reaches out to steady herself on the counter. “This can’t be happening.”

“I wouldn’t panic until ye know what the damages are.”

“I ran the car through a brick fence and down the side of a hill into a field of sheep. I’d say it’s going to cost me.” Her fingers wrap around the edge of the counter, and her shoulders slump forward, starting to shake.

I’m about to reach out and comfort her when I realize she’s not crying, but laughing. It starts out small, but only gets louder, until she has tears streaming down her face.

“Ye think it’s funny?” Maybe the woman really does have a few screws loose in her head.

“No.” She wipes at her cheeks with her palms and takes a few steadying breaths. “Not at all.”

The way she says it, I know her outburst is about more than just the car.

“Ye can stay here for a couple days until ye figure out what ye’re going to do. Or at least till Tommy can give ye a better assessment of how much it’s going to cost.”

I expect her to argue. Instead, she says softly, “Thank you.”

Nodding, I turn my back to her, rubbing the back of my neck as I wince. Letting her stay here is the least I can do.

I’d taken that corner too fast, but it wasn’t just that. I’d had more than enough room, but I’d been an ass, almost daring her to hit me.

Guilt and a sense of responsibility weigh on me. That’s why I’m letting her stay. It has nothing to do with the fact that all I can think about is that damn list of hers.

Chapter 7

Delaney

This whole tripis turning into one giant disaster. I came here to try and find myself, to create a new me, but the only thing I’ve managed to create is more trouble for myself.

Cillian has been on the phone for half the day with his mechanic friend, and I know by the way he’s been acting that the news isn’t good.

He let me borrow his laptop, and I made the mistake of Googling how much it would cost to replace the car. I didn’t think it was that bad until I did the conversion from euros to dollars. I have no idea how the hell I’m going to pay for it if it comes to that.

Groaning, I shut the laptop on the kitchen table and bury my face in my hands. “I can’t believe how stupid I am. Who doesn’t get car insurance?”

Me, apparently.

“Have ye called yer family and let them know what’s going on?” Cillian asks, leaning against the counter, legs crossed, sipping from his mug.

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