Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
There wasn’t anything he could say that would improve the situation so DJ stayed silent and let himself enjoy the care he was receiving.
“What do you want to eat? I’ll bring it to you.”
Smiling, he turned back over and placed his hand on Seamus’s. “I don’t need breakfast in bed. I’ll go out there and eat in a little bit.”
“Okay.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just sharing space. It was nice. DJ had never done that with anyone. For that matter, he hadn’t ever spent the night with anyone. Quick hookups were the only thing he’d had time for and even those had been few and far between.
“Why did you choose Hope?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I know why you left Claddagh, but why Hope? Did you know someone out here?”
“No.” Seamus shook his head. “We grew up on the East Coast and I wanted something totally different. ‘Go west, young man.’ That sort of thing.”
DJ nodded. “But why Hope?”
“Well”—Seamus flipped his hand over and rubbed his fingertips back and forth over DJ’s wrist—“as much as I wanted to leave home, I liked living in a small town, so I researched places in Arizona that were around the same size as Claddagh. When I came across Hope, my gut told me it was right, so I moved here.”
“That’s it? You found a random small town out West and moved there sight unseen?”
“Yep. And I’m glad I did. My gut has never steered me wrong.”
“That’s kind of crazy. Especially for someone in the community.”
“I’m a trailblazer.” Seamus grinned. “But it all worked out.”
“To be a trailblazer, someone has to follow your trail. I’m the only person in Hope from Claddagh and I was probably already here when you came. You were eighteen, right?”
“Yes. A couple of months shy of my nineteenth birthday. It was good timing because by the time I bought the building and set up the bar, I was old enough to serve drinks.”
“I got here right before you. They let us wait for the school year to end before making us move.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“That’s weird, right? That we both ended up on the opposite side of the country in the same small town at the same time?”
“My sister called it fate.” DJ grinned.
Seamus laughed. “My parents said the same thing. I thought someone was scamming them.”
“That probably seemed more likely than them finding you a groom from the community out here.”
“It really did.”
“I laughed when Kaira said it to me too and she told me blood is thicker than water so fate made sure I’d have someone from the community to marry even if I wasn’t in Claddagh.”
“I heard that idiom a lot growing up,” Seamus said. “The full saying is the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. It means that when we share experiences, tribulations, and trials with people, when we bleed with them, we form bonds that are stronger than those that come just from a shared lineage, the water of the womb. Kind of the opposite of how they mean it.”
“That’s interesting. I’ve never heard that.”
“They never tell us the whole thing because their point is that we need to stick together and marry our blood.”
DJ considered what Seamus said. “When you think about it, the community has both blood and water though. The people in it have a shared heritage, but they also have shared experiences. They have both.”
“Hmm.” Seamus furrowed his brow in thought. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe that’s why the community is so insular, so tight, so committed.” He gazed into DJ’s eyes. “Blood and water joined together.”
Suddenly, his sister’s insistence that fate led him to Seamus didn’t seem so far-fetched.
Chapter 10
“Does DJ know when he’s coming back?” Richard Davis asked through clenched teeth.
Talking to him about what was happening to DJ had been the right decision. The sheriff was furious, and he promised he’d stop the loan shark from harassing him again.
“It could be a few days or it could be a few weeks. DJ said his visits aren’t consistent,” Seamus said tensely. Explaining the situation in detail had reminded him how mistreated, alone, and at-risk DJ had been. He was furious at the man who had taken advantage of his vulnerability, and he was committed to ensuring that DJ would never be in that position again.
Looking thoughtful, Richard nodded. “In that case, I’ll wait to deal with him in person. I won’t use the phone number you gave me, but I’ll look him up and see what background I can find. If he calls or texts, don’t respond to him. When he tells DJ he’s in town, call me. I’ll go meet him instead.”
“I want to come too.” Seamus squeezed his hands tightly, making his knuckles crack. “I’d like to have a few words with him.”