The drive to Shane's hometown took them further and deeper into the heart of Ireland. Keira felt like she was being transported back in time, or through a wormhole to another universe where the grass was a more vibrant green, the air more oxygen rich.
"This is my town," Shane said, turning off the small road onto an even narrower one.
Keira looked about her, squinting in confusion. "But there's nothing here."
"Sure there is," Shane laughed. He pointed at a post box surrounded by hedges that had been untamed for so many years they seemed to be consuming it. "There's the post office."
Keira laughed. Shane pointed further ahead to a small wooden structure that looked like it might once have been a bus stop but hadn't been used for a decade.
"The local nightclub," he added. "Where teenagers meet to drink and dance and smooch. At least they would if there were currently more than one of them."
Keira couldn't help herself from dissolving into giggles. She found Shane great company and his wittiness was like a breath of fresh air for her, especially compared to Zach's seriousness. Keira checked herself; she really shouldn't be comparing her tour guide to her ex-boyfriend.
"What other sights are there in your bustling town?" she asked.
"Glad you asked," Shane quipped. "We have Doris the donkey in that field over there. She's older than me, believe it or not. A local celebrity. And here on your right is an actual off license."
"So the only shop in your town sells nothing but cigarettes and alcohol?"
"Correct," Shane said.
He slowed the car and Keira saw what he was indicating. They turned from the narrow road onto what Keira could only describe as a dirt path. The car bumped along the uneven surface.
"Um…just double-checking that you're not taking me to the middle of nowhere to murder me," Keira said, feeling a little uneasy for the first time.
Shane just laughed. "Of course not. Not with Doris there as a witnesses!"
Just then, the hedges growing on either side of the path thinned out. Keira saw that the fields on both sides of them were filled with animals and barns, troughs, tractors, and plows.
"Wait," Keira said, frowning. "You don't live on a farm, do you?"
"Yup," Shane replied, sounding excited by his proximity to his home.
Keira found his excitement infectious and became just as eager to see his home and meet his family.
"You weren't expecting a farm?" Shane asked.
"I suppose I should have," Keira laughed, surveying the fields filled with cows, sheep, and pigs. "You just don't give off particularly farmerish vibes."
"No?" he said, chuckling. "Well, you haven't seen me shear a sheep yet."
Keira raised an amused eyebrow. "And I can't wait to!"
They passed a row of barns and silos and then drew up in front of a large stone farmhouse. It looked to be several hundred years old, slightly wonky, the windows bowed with age. The stone was the same type she saw everywhere, dark gray, making the house appear to be at one with the surrounding landscape.
As Shane slowed the car to a halt, several young women burst out of the front door and began jumping up and down, waving, cheering, and clapping.
"Um…?" Keira began, feeling rather confused at the welcome committee. "You have a fan club?"
"Yup," Shane said, grinning. "They're my sisters."
Keira's eyes bulged with surprise. "All of them?"
"All six of them," Shane confirmed.
Now she understood what he'd met about there being another woman in the house.
He killed the car engine and flung his door open, quickly leaping out. The women pounced on him, covering him in kisses, jostling each other to hug him. Shane laughed gleefully, batting them away, wrestling with them in a way you'd expect to see between brothers. Keira couldn't imagine being so loved, or having so many people that happy to see her.
Finally, Shane found his way out of the clutches of his sisters. "Keira, these are my little sisters. I'll introduce them in age order but don't worry about remembering all their names, they tend to blur into one."
He smirked and one of his sisters smacked his chest.
"Watch your cheek, Shane," she teased.
Shane gestured to the woman who'd just smacked him. "Neala, my first sibling, my partner in crime."
Neala shook Keira's hand. "I'm younger than Shane but everyone thinks I'm the older sibling because, unlike my brother, I actually have a shred of maturity in my body."
Everyone laughed. Shane gestured to the rest of the women in turn. "Mary, Siobhan, Aisling, Elaine." Then he wrapped his arm around the shortest girl. "And the baby of the family, Hannah."
Keira thought that Hannah looked to be about sixteen. She had a youthful face that still showed signs of baby fat. Her hair was a beautiful golden blond, long and falling down her back in waves. All the sisters were pretty, but Hannah was strikingly beautiful.
"There are so many of you," Keira laughed.
"As there should be," Neala replied. "In a good Catholic family." She crossed her chest. The siblings dissolved into giggles.
It was obvious to Keira that this family loved each other dearly. And they seemed to look up to their big brother, both literally, since he was so tall, and figuratively. Their eyes practically gleamed with respect.
Just then, an older man and a woman came out of the door to the cottage-Shane's parents. Keira could see Shane in both of them, in the eyes of his father, in the coloring of his mother. He was like a perfect blend of them both.
Their eyes sparkled at the sight of their eldest child and only son. It made Keira's heart clench to see the love they had for him. Though she deeply adored her sister and mother, her own father was nothing more than a shadow from the past, someone she barely remembered. She wondered how different she would have become if she'd grown up in this sort of environment, surrounded by this much love. Would her views on romance be different? Would she be so hopelessly romantic like Shane seemed to think he was?
Shane's dad came up to her, his hand extended and a welcoming smile on his face.
"I'm Calum," he said. "You must be the young lady Shane's working for at the moment."
Keira blushed. "Oh, working for is a bit strong. He's my guide while I'm working on a piece about the Lisdoonvarna Festival."
"Keira's a journalist," Shane explained.
She shook her head, starting to feel embarrassed. "It's not as fancy as it sounds."
"Well, for a farmer from the depths of County Clare it sounds quite impressive," Calum said.
His gaggle of daughters laughed.
"Come on, you must come inside," Shane's mother said, ushering her with a welcoming arm. She spoke quickly, her accent thick and lilting. "Neala, put the kettle on will you, love? Keira will want some tea."
"Oh, you don't need to bother," Keira said.
Shane spoke to her out the corner of his mouth. "Let her make you a tea. You'll never hear the end of it otherwise."
Keira nodded then. "Okay, tea sounds lovely."
Shane's mom grabbed her arm and steered her into her house. "I'm Eve, by the way. Shane's told me all about you."
"He has?"
"Oh yes. He said he was very surprised that the magazine sent a woman. He'd been expecting a Joshua!"
"Ah, yes," Keira said. "Joshua broke his leg slipping on a macchiato."
Everyone erupted into loud laughter. The sound of it was joyously overwhelming to Keira. People didn't usually find her so amusing and it made her tingle with confidence. Keira already felt so comfortable here she was getting the feeling that she wouldn't want to leave when the time came.
Eve led Keira through the small corridors with low ceilings, past wooden staircases and doors so low that Shane had to bend down to get through them.
"Your house is gorgeous, Mrs. Lawder," Keira said.
"Why thank you, dear," Eve replied, patting her arm. "Calum grew up here, didn't you, love?"
Calum nodded in confirmation. "Eve lived in a house down the road. We met at church when we were three years old. I knew, even then, that I'd make her my wife one day."
"Dad," Shane complained. "Can you at least let Keira sit down before you launch into your life story?"
They entered the kitchen, which was like the sort of traditional old farmhouse kitchen Keira had seen on period dramas on TV, with wooden-topped work surfaces, cracked brick-red floor tiles, exposed ceiling beams (with an array of bronze pots hanging from hooks that had been bashed into them), and a messy arrangement of plants and herbs growing in teapots and broken mugs on the window ledge. It was so gorgeous Keira had to catch her breath.
Neala, the eldest sister, headed straight for the kettle to make the tea as she'd been instructed. The youngest sister, Hannah, took a cake out of a cupboard as if by magic, and started slicing it up.
"You'll have some cake, will you, Keira?" she asked.
"Not for me," Keira said politely.
Eve gripped her arm then. "You're not watching your weight, are you? A girl like you should be eating a slice of cake every day. Keep your hips round."
Keira dissolved into giggles.
"Ma!" Shane cried, looking embarrassed.
They all sat at the table. Neala brought over the teapot on a battered silver tray with ten mismatched porcelain cups sporting a faded picture of animals or a twisty flower design on them. They looked like they'd been collected over a period of decades.
"As our guest of honor, Keira, you may have the special swan mug," Neala said.
Keira didn't understand why everyone laughed then and assumed there was some kind of family in-joke she didn't understand. She wished quite strongly that she could be part of such a unit. She'd never realized how much she'd missed this until she was witnessing it. Compared to her home life it was so completely different. Compared to Zach's as well. It was a nice contract from the smug-faced Ruth and her oh-so-important wedding.
What was even more dramatic was the fact they all seemed to actually like her. They seemed genuinely impressed by her career, by her achievements, and awed by the fact she was from New York City. They fired questions at her, especially Hannah, who seemed the most enamored by Keira's lifestyle of all the sisters.
"I want to be a model," she explained.
Eve stroked her youngest daughter's long blond hair. "We'd prefer her to stay in Ireland but she's determined to move abroad one day."
Hannah suddenly brightened then. "Keira could chaperone me!"
Keira's eyes widened with surprise. She'd had just one cup of tea and one slice of cake and already she seemed to have been inducted into the inner sanctum of the family.
"Hannah, jeez," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "Can you not jump on the poor woman? Talk about putting her on the spot!"
Hannah pulled a face of mock offense. "Keira doesn't mind, do you?"
And Keira realized with surprise that Hannah was right. She didn't mind being jumped upon by this family of joy and happiness, and she certainly didn't mind feeling so respected and cared for. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been made to feel so interesting, or have her cheeks ache from smiling so much. The thought of having the bright, bubbly Hannah under her wing in New York City was an idea she was surprised to find herself loving. She wanted to be part of this family. To never leave.
She had fallen in love with this place, this feeling. Maybe there really was such a thing as love at first sight.
Just then, Eve reached across the table and took Shane's hands in hers.
"I have a very serious question to ask you," she said.
Shane looked suddenly pale and afraid, like he was expecting something awful and bracing himself.
Eve's face cracked into a huge grin. "What have you done to your hair?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"I'm glad you said it and not me!" Mary laughed. "You look like a scarecrow, brother."
"I was thinking the same," Neala exclaimed. "Come on, let's get you trimmed and shaven."
She grabbed him and jostled him to standing. Shane turned a bright shade of red.
Eve tutted and shook her head at Keira. "He's terrible. So used to having a woman there to keep him in line. If it's not a mother it's a sister, if not a sister then it needs to be a wife." She laughed.
Keira laughed too, and waited with anticipation for the big reveal.
*
While Shane was off having his makeover, Keira took the opportunity to speak to Eve and Calum about their love story. She got out her notebook and pen.
"So you met when you were three, is that right?" Keira began.
Calum nodded. "Love at first sight. For me anyway."
"What about you, Eve?" Keira asked.
"Goodness, no. I thought all boys had germs," Eve said with a chuckle. "And continued to think as much until I was approximately fifteen years old."
"What happened when you were fifteen?" Keira asked.
"I was kissed by a boy," Eve said. She reached out and touched Calum's hand. "This boy!"
Keira scribbled down their story, which she found quite delightful. "So it's only ever been the two of you? You've only ever had eyes for each other?"
They both nodded. Keira once found these stories suspicious, but she was starting to accept that they were real, that there were some couples who didn't embellish their love stories or pretend their marriages were happier than everyone else's.
Keira took a sip of her freshly brewed cup of tea. "So, what's your secret? How have you made it last for so long?"
It was Calum who spoke. "It helps that we have a lot of similarities. Our faith, for example. We both have lots of siblings so we always knew we wanted to have as many kids as God chose to bless us with."
Eve interjected. "And we were both raised on a diet of meat and potatoes so there's never any arguments about what to have for dinner!"
Keira laughed. She found Eve and Calum refreshing. They were so grounded, so filled with humor and light.
"But didn't either of you want to see more of the world? Maybe try living in a city for a while?"
Calum shook his head. "It just wasn't done when we were growing up so it never crossed our minds. Holidays abroad were things rich people had. For us it was an annual trip to a campsite in Kerry! If we were lucky."
Keira wrote her notes down and considered their words. Was it easier in the past to find true love, without all the cultural influence and tempting opportunities people like she now had? Was that the compromise her generation had to make for the way technological advances had shrunk the world? Eve and Calum had never had to argue about how many kids they wanted, let alone whether they wanted any at all! They never had to deliberate about uprooting the family for a job opportunity far from home. In many ways their paths had been set out for them. Provided they followed those paths true love was more or less an inevitability.
Keira was on her third cup of tea when she heard the sound of footsteps thundering down the staircase that indicated Shane's pampering session was complete. She put her notebook away and turned in her chair, looking over her shoulder at the door to the kitchen. Eve looked up from her cup of tea.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed as Shane emerged from the shadowy hallway into the room.
Keira's eyes widened and she stifled a gasp. Without his chin hidden by straggly hair his strong, pronounced jawline was on display. After his eyes it was probably his most attractive feature and Keira wondered why he'd hidden it under a beard. His hair had been trimmed short and close to his scalp. Either his sisters were very talented at cutting hair or Shane had the sort of forgiving face that could carry any style whatsoever.
Keira felt a tingle deep inside of her. It was so alarming to her she had to avert her eyes from Shane.
"Doesn't he look gorgeous?" Eve exclaimed, nudging Keira across the table. "Take a look at him!"
Keira flicked her gaze up shyly and smiled. "It's nice."
"What do you mean nice?" Eve cried with unflagging enthusiasm. "He looks like a film star!" She jumped up from the table and rushed to Shane, then kissed him on both his cheeks.
Shane's sisters crowded behind him, laughing and looking very pleased with themselves.
"What do you think, Keira?" Neala asked. "He'll be getting hitched in no time with his new do."
Shane turned a deeper shade of crimson. Keira felt uncomfortable suddenly, realizing that Neala was right. Clean-shaven Shane was even more of a catch then the scruffy Shane had been. He would have women lining up to date him on his return to Lisdoonvarna.
Shane took a big step forward then and Keira realized one of his sisters had shoved him closer to her.
"Shane, when are you taking Keira on the tour of the farm?" she said, her tone one of urging.
Shane scratched behind his neck nervously. "Well, I don't know if Keira wants a tour of the farm," he said, suddenly shy.
"Of course she does," the same sister said. "Don't you, Keira?"
"Sure," Keira said. "That sounds nice."
"Fine," Shane said a little stiffly. "Why don't we go now?"
He gestured for Keira to take the lead down the corridor, and brought up the rear behind her. Keira could hear the loud whispers of his sisters as they went.
They reached the front door and Shane opened it up for Keira. Once he was also out the house he shut it behind him and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry they're so crazy," he said.
"Don't be," Keira replied. "I loved it. I've never felt so welcome."
Shane smiled shyly. "Hospitality is certainly one of their fortes. How many cups of tea were you force fed while my sisters cut my hair?"
"Only three," Keira said.
Shane laughed. "Thanks for swinging it so we could come here," he said. "I didn't realize how much I missed home."
"No problem," Keira replied, confident that the benefits had definitely been greater for her.
They walked along the path, passing fields of corn and wheat, sugar beets and lettuce.
"Your farm is amazing," Keira said. "I can't believe you got to grow up in a place like this."
"Bit different from NYC, huh?" Shane teased.
It was the first time he'd mocked her all day, and it occurred to Keira that he'd been keeping the teasing on the down low. She wondered if that was out of respect for her bruised heart. She couldn't be sure but she certainly had appreciated having a bit of a break from the constant barrage of put-downs!
"Here, follow me," Shane said, suddenly grabbing her hand.
Keira felt no instinct to let go. In fact, her hand in his felt comfortable, like it always was supposed to be there. His hands were big and rough and warm, and her own smooth, delicate ones seemed to fit perfectly inside them.
He pulled her gently along, suddenly alive with energy. She followed him, skipping to keep up, until they were both full on running through the fields. The wind whipped through Keira's hair and her cheeks stung from the cold. She'd never felt so awake and alive.
Shane led her to a small stream beneath a weeping willow. The leaves surrounded them, creating a tent like environment. He sat down, pulling her down with him.
"This is a great spot to watch the sunrise," Shane explained.
Keira realized then how dark it had become. The whole day had passed her by and she hadn't even noticed. She'd been so filled with excitement and fun that the hours had disappeared from her.
She checked her cell phone and saw she'd missed several calls from Bryn. Her sister had also texted her a stream of photos of attractive men to cheer her up. She laughed aloud, somewhat shocked to discover she hadn't needed her sister to cheer her up after all, that the company of a good Irish family and their copious amounts of tea had the power to lift her from her gloom.
She looked through the leaves of the willow at the sky as it turned pink and purple. It really was beautiful.
"Have my parents given you any good material for your article?" Shane asked, breaking through her reverie.
Before Keira had a chance to reply, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at it and saw that an email had arrived from Joshua. Her heart instantly sank.
She quickly read the message.
Nina told me you wanted to change course on the article, make it about you and your boyfriend's breakup. I think it's a stupid idea. She's shown me what you've written so far and though it's a pitiful amount it's better than your suggestion of changing course. No one wants to read about your drama. Is that what you've been doing over there all this time, crying about your breakup? I want a new draft in my inbox by the morning.
Keira wanted to write back and tell him, hotly, that she'd been given an impossible assignment, but she swallowed her frustration and stowed her phone back in her pocket.
The email made Keira's happiness shatter. How could she rip this place apart now? There was no way she could turn Eve and Calum's love story into a sappy romance. No way she could tear apart the festival that brought so many lonely and desperate people together, giving them second chances at love that had, for a variety of reasons, been stolen from them.
But she had no choice. She had to write the scathing piece she promised Elliot and Joshua. The one Nina was pushing her in the direction of. And the thought made her hate herself.
"I don't know if their story will make it into my final draft," she mumbled.
"Why not?" Shane demanded. "It's great. Hollywood film stuff."
Keira shifted uncomfortably, wanting desperately on one hand to reveal to Shane the real tone her piece would take but knowing to do so would shatter his trust in her.
"Well, next time I'm submitting a script to Hollywood I'll consider it," she said, trying her best to cover her discomfort with a joke.
Shane laughed and dropped the subject. He turned his face from her, looking out the leaves of the willow tree at the sunset. She studied his face, taking in the contours his trimmed beard had revealed, feeling suddenly like she was double-crossing him, like a snake who couldn't be trusted.