All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 11

Grace....Grace....someone kept calling her.....

Grace opened her eyes aware that someone was at the door calling her name. She jumped up from the over-sized chair, realizing that she had fallen asleep, and went to the door trying to pull herself together. Her guests were standing at the door wondering what had happened to her.

“Cheers Gracie, looks like someone's been sleepin' on the job!” Erin laughed as she and Kelly came in the door.

“Oh my, I just sat down for a minute and guess I fell asleep!” Grace responded. “I'm so embarrassed,” she said blushing.

“No worries lassie, just as long as you have some good food for us hungry Dubs,” Keith shouted as he and Anna entered. “Kate and Barry will be here in a few, they are just down the road aways.”

Grace quickly showed everyone to their rooms so they could put down their bags, and headed to the kitchen to check on things. There would be no time for a shower and change of clothes at this point.

The bottle of wine was opened and Grace placed the platter of cheeses out for everyone to snack on as she finished final preparations for the dinner. The cottage had a smell of home style cooking that could not be missed. Grace put he cast iron pot of Guinness stew on the table and brought the warm wrapped soda bread out last. As everyone sat down and ate the company was friendly and Grace felt very comfortable.

“Grace, where ever did you find this food? And the bread, it's so fresh,” Anna commented first with nods from the others.

“I made it all, even the bread,” Grace replied to an astonished group of guests.

“Since when do you cook like this? Never in Dublin,” Kelly was amazed at the flavors.

“Since I found my Grandmother's recipes for the stew and bread. I'm glad you like it,” Grace boasted proudly. She was thrilled with the success of the meal.

The friends sat around the table long after the Guinness stew was gone and the last bits of soda bread were eaten. Their conversation surrounded what Grace had been missing in Dublin and all the little gossips of work. It then turned to questions about the cottage. Grace explained everything that had been going on since she arrived and her plans to get it ready to put on the market for sale.

“I wonder if the new owner would keep this as a B&B?” Keith questioned. It is a diamond in the rough and would be such a shame to not have. Considering the location, it's a perfect get away. Now that I know about it, I'd definitely make it a weekend destination. Was it a busy place when your grandmother had it?”

“Keith, as far as I can tell, she was always busy here. I have no idea who came and stayed, I'm still looking at papers that were in a drawer. Lots of jottings on paper scraps, and what looks like parts of poetry,” Grace explained what she had found. “Since you love poetry so much maybe you can take a look at some of this stuff.”

“Be glad to Grace. How about a little toast to our group right now. Time to get to some serious drinking!” Keith started pouring the Bushmill's whiskey into some glasses. “How about some ice and water for the weaklings!”

The laughter and friendship filled the cottage. Grace was pleased that her friends had come and any loneliness she had been experiencing was long gone. She loved having everyone here to share with her.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 10

Friday morning arrived quicker that Grace had imagined. She planned the day like she did her job. Grace was an organizer and had lists for everything; upstairs assignments, polishing woodwork, garden clean-up, and small handyman jobs for the guys. Rising early had not been on Grace's agenda for a few days, but this morning she was up and in the kitchen making her tea and about to try Aine's recipe for scones. This was not something she had ever made and wanted to make sure she didn't disappoint her friends. Normally if she had some of the girls over, she would just run down to the local baker and pick up some sweet breads to serve. She just couldn't do that here in Aine's cottage.

Before she realized it she had flour all over herself and her hands were covered with the moist sticky dough. Grace kept thinking here must be a better way to do this. And then there was a knock at the door.

“Yes, who is it?” Grace called as she stood in front of the closed door with her hands still covered with dough.

“It's Peter. Is everything okay?” Peter asked back through the door.

“Peter, please come in, I can't open the door at the moment.” Grace started to laugh at her predicament, and once Peter opened the door, he followed suit. Soon the two of them were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.

“What can I do for you Peter? Just follow me while I get this cleaned up. I'm making a terrible mess.” Grace explained to Peter.

“I was just stoppin by to see if use was healed up,” Peter said. “Looks like you need a little help there.”

“I don't know what I did wrong. I'm trying to make my grandmother's scone recipe.”

“I used to watch my mum all the time. I don't think you have to knead the dough. Just plop it on to the baking pan.”

Grace scraped off the dough from her hands and realized how much easier it was to just drop spoonfuls of dough on to the pan. This was so much easier. Peter helped her place the pan in the oven and soon the aroma of freshly baked goods was filling the room.

Grace offered Peter a cup of tea and they sat at the small table in the kitchen while the scones baked. Peter asked how Grace was healing and when she might like to go out for a short run. Grace explained about her friends coming to visit for the weekend and that she would be very busy, but Monday might be a good time.

The timer went off and Grace pulled the scones from the oven. They looked wonderful. She gave one to Peter and took one for herself, opened the whiskey laced marmalade that she had purchased and put that and some butter on the table. Grace and Peter dug in and took their first taste, Grace with her fingers crossed.

“Wow, these are wonderful,” exclaimed Peter. “Reminds me of the ones my mum used to make.”

“I think you are right Peter, these are pretty tasty. Grandmother really knew her stuff.” Grace agreed with a sigh of relief.

After a little more small talk Peter headed out and told Grace he's stop by on his run on Monday to see if she was up to joining him. Grace was actually looking forward to getting back to exercise again. She was feeling bad about not exercising since she hurt her calf.

Time was getting away from Grace and she needed to get busy with the preparations for dinner. Tonight she would attempt to make Aine's recipe for Guinness Stew - beef tips braised in Guinness stout, potatoes and carrots, in a cast iron pot served family style, and a plate of cheeses, along with apple slices, and one more baked item – fresh soda bread. Grace really hoped she could pull this off.

Off the guest sitting room was a sun room with tables where the guests would be seated for their breakfast. Grace rearranged the room so that there would be one large table in the middle where all her friends could be seated. A bright white linen tablecloth and a pair of silver candlesticks that Grace found gave the room a dressy feel. After hunting through several cupboards Grace found Aine's china and crystal. A thorough washing made it sparkle like new and the room looked ready for a party. Grace smiled as she looked at the room.

The cottage seemed to take on a life of its own as the aroma's of dinner wafted through all the rooms. Grace followed the recipes to a 't' and after tasting what she had made, she was quite pleased. She knew she was ready for this evening and the weekend. Now a few minutes to relax, shower, and change before her guests arrived. She took a seat in the chair in her grandmother's sitting room and closed her eyes.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 9

It was a busy end of the week for Grace. She had been changing bed linens, and trying her best to make sure the cottage was relatively clean. She knew the girls would help her do a deep cleaning over the weekend. Surface dust was gone, and she was getting bath linens set out when she heard a knock at the door.

“Ello, anybody home?” came the voice from outside.

Grace was still not up to running downstairs, so shouted that she was coming. As she opened the door there stood a stocky white-haired, blue-eyed gentleman clad in paint spattered overalls.

“Donnie's my name, lass. I see you are in need of a painter. Donovan told me to come call on you about a job,” Donnie said as he turned to wander around the front of the cottage. Grace quickly fell in behind him as he checked out the place.

“It's been left alone too long,” Grace explained apologetically.

“No worries, lass. She's a grand ole place. She'll clean up just fine. Now what all was it you was wantin?” Donnie asked.

“I do know that outside needs painting and the windows need a good washing. I can do the inside, but don't have the notion to climb up a ladder to do the upper floor. Donovan said you may do both the painting and window washing. I don't have a lot of money. Is it going to cost a fortune?” Grace now was worrying about how much of her savings she could afford to spend.

Donnie walked around to the back and then back to the front of the cottage, rubbing his chin and making some notes on a scratch pad as he walked, not saying anything to Grace. Finally, as they reached the front again, he turned to her with his response.

“Well, lassie, I know I can do it. Nice and proper it will be. I think we can agree on a price that's fair for both us. Window cleaning included. Do ya mind a bright yellow? I have some left from another job and it might just do. With a nice blue door and window trim. What d'ya think?” Donnie seemed to be trying to accommodate Grace's budget.

“Donnie, that actually seems like what my grandmother would have liked. Let's do it. And if you do it during the next week, I'll throw in lunch each day for you too,” Grace knew she would be getting a great deal.

Grace and Donnie agreed that he would start on Monday and be finished mid week giving her time to put the cottage on the market before she had to leave to return to Dublin. She was happy that things were moving in the right direction. It wasn't long after Donnie left that she heard a vehicle on the gravel driveway. It was time to get some Internet access and cable in the cottage.

Peter had taken care of contacting the Internet company to have them come out and connect her cable. Up until now Grace felt so disconnected to everyone in Dublin. She missed all the chatter at work and evenings with her friends. One more reason she was so excited for this upcoming weekend.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 8

It was barely mid week and Grace needed to get things as much in order as possible and planned for the weekend. Her friends would not arrive until late on Friday evening, so she needed to have dinner ready for their arrival. They would be heading her way right after work from Dublin.

It was time to do some serious shopping for the weekend. Coleraine was a bigger town and Grace knew that she could find everything she needed at the Marks and Spencer store there. After deciding on which of Aine's recipes she would use, and making a list that would last the weekend and beyond, she headed off to Coleraine.

Grace was actually happy to arrive in a larger town than Swatragh for a while. She was so used to the pace in Dublin that the relaxed country pace made her feel lethargic. But she knew with all the company on the weekend, that her country pace would suddenly be full of fun and friendship. She wanted this to be a special get together for her friends. Something different than their regular Friday after work pub time.

She was thrilled to see the selection of foods available to her. She had hoped to get some fresh produce and cheese from a farmer's market, but these were held mostly on Saturday's. She did find an amazing specialty store selling local cheeses made in Fivemiletown in County Tyrone, and picked up some for appetizers. She loved the idea that these were made locally.

As Grace shopped she realized that her limited cooking in Dublin had deprived her of all the local and fresh foods that she could purchase here. Dublin did have a farmer's market, but with her small kitchen, she did very little home cooking.

Her mind wandered to the front garden that needed to be replanted and cleaned up. What if she planted some herbs and a few vegetables there. Rosemary would work well, and maybe some thyme. Those scents would be wonderful as a person walked up to the front door. Certainly that would also help potential buyers.

With the car loaded to the brim with groceries she headed back to Swatragh, listening to her favorite Celtic music while she drove. She hoped that she could do the food justice and that her friends enjoyed their time in the country. Grace made sure to pick up some Bailey's and some Bushmill's, as she felt it only appropriate since the Bushmill Distillery was so close, and a bottle of wine to serve with dinner. Since this was a weekend visit she needed to have ingredients for two dinners, and two breakfasts, along with midday snacks.

Grace was actually looking forward to doing all the cooking this weekend.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 7

Aine had a dream kitchen fully stocked with utensils, pots and pans for any kind of cooking. Grace did not cook much in Dublin, especially since her small flat only had a spot of a kitchen with counter space that a gnat could use. This kitchen was bright with windows that looked out to the countryside and hills in the distance and counters that spread the length of the kitchen. A restaurant style double stove and oven was at one end of the kitchen. Even the fridge was oversized.

Up to this point Grace was still using the simple supplies that she had picked up in Maghera at the Spar Market. As she waited for an opened can of soup to heat on the stove, Grace spotted a recipe box and cookbook tucked neatly in a corner on the counter. She knew what a great cook her grandmother had been. Were these some of her special recipes?

As Grace perused the recipe box, she recognized some of the recipes as her favorites from when she was a child. There was an amazing scone recipe that she had not had in years, a recipe for lamb stew, another for leek and parsley soup, and they went on and on. She really needed to get to a larger market and pick up some supplies to make some of these recipes. They brought back so many memories.

These were recipes that Aine cooked for her guests. They were full of flavor and always in demand. In fact after earlier reading some of the letters and notes that guests had written, she realized the reason they even stayed at the cottage was for Aine's meals. If only Grace had the opportunity to make some of these delicious recipes.

Grace suddenly had an idea. She wanted to cook some of these meals, but it would be much too much food for her. What if she could get some of her friends from Dublin to come up for the weekend to help her out with the cottage and have them stay over? She could cook these delicious recipes for them and they could all enjoy.

With her bowl of soup in hand, Grace headed back to the sitting room and started to make a few calls from her cell phone. Before she knew it, she had six friends headed up to Swatrach for the weekend to keep her company, stay over, and help out some with the cottage. Now she needed to plan the menu and get to the market. She had hardly thought about it, but she was having a party at her grandmother's B&B for the weekend.

Grace had a tight group of friends. Some were couples and some single girls like herself. She knew most of them either from her college days, or from work. They usually met on Friday evenings for drinks at a favorite pub in Dublin to hang out together. This Friday they would all be coming up to stay with her.

Erin and Kelly were friends from her university days. They would stay in the room with the two twin beds. Keith was a workmate. He would come with his wife Anna and they would stay in the double room. And then Kate, another school mate, and her husband would take the third room. This was what a full B&B was supposed to be. Grace smiled to herself when she thought about this.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 6

“Morning, there,” Peter said as he breathed heavily. “Since I pass here on my daily run, I thought this would be a good time to come by, eh?”

“It's just fine, Peter. By the way, I don't think I introduced myself yesterday. I'm...”

“Grace,” Peter completed Grace's sentence with a smile. “This is a small village and everyone knows everything here. Doesn't take long when someone new comes along for the news to spread.”

“Would you like to come in?” Grace was still very confused about this lad.
“Actually I'm pretty sweaty at the moment, do you mind if we sit on the step?” Peter seemed to want to stay outside.

“That's fine,” Grace awkwardly situated herself on the step easing her sore calf down as she sat. “I hope you don't mind. I need some advice on a few things where Donovan cannot help.”

“Shoot away,” Peter was curious as to what Grace could be asking.

Grace explained about the need for Internet access to keep in touch with friends and work in Dublin, and to be able to do some research. Peter told her she would probably need satellite access to broadband and that he would contact the company to come out and get her online. Grace explained that Donovan was contacting the local phone service to get a land line set up and reinstate the old phone number.

Grace also told Peter that she would like to get back to running as soon as her calf was healed and asked about running routes in the area. Peter advised her that there was not much except the route she was on. It was a pretty much a straight shot from Maghera to Coleraine. He recommended she wait at least another four days before she started to give he calf sufficient time to heal. It might feel better, but would not be completely healed. Peter also offered to run with Grace her first time out, to make sure she was okay.

Grace and Peter finished their conversation and Peter headed out to finish his run. Grace could not hep but think how Peter seemed like such a kind person, but just a little awkward.

Grace continued going through her grandmother's papers. Time after time she found out things about Aine that she had never known. This was not going to be as easy as she thought, and her time here was going faster than she had expected. Two weeks off work might not be enough to get everything in order to put this property on the market.

The next stack of papers from the desk drawer brought even a bigger surprise. The drawer was full of scrap papers filled with handwriting notes of poems and paragraphs. Did her grandmother write these? If not, who did? Were they ever published? To find that out Grace would have to wait until she had Internet service to do some more research. But for now, she put them all back in their place and headed to the kitchen to make some lunch.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 5

After resting her calf and another good night's sleep, Grace was feeling a bit better. She felt that after another day or two with rest, her calf would be better and she could get on with the work she needed to get done on the cottage. She looked forward to a visit from Donovan today to see if he knew a good painter and window washer. If she could not do things around the cottage for a day or two, at least she could see about others to help.

Grace was sitting with her tea and biscuit working on her list and realized how out of touch she was with Dublin. She needed phone service other than a cell phone and broadband for her computer. These things were now moved to the top of her list when she heard a rap at the door.

“Lassie, are you there? It's me Donovan.” called Donovan as he gently opened the door.

“Please come in, Donovan. It's best if I don't get up and down too much.” Grace replied. “I've been looking forward to your visit. I've really got to pick your brain today.”

Grace offered Donovan a cup of tea from the hot pot she had set beside her and the two of them worked on her plans. Donovan said he knew a friend down the road who could both paint and clean the windows for a reasonable price and would have him come by to see Grace. Donovan explained that Aine had a telephone and a call to the local service should get Grace set up. As for broadband, Donovan knew nothing about that or computers. Grace explained that Peter would be by sometime during the day and she could ask if he knew anything about that.

When Grace brought up Peter, Donovan raised an eyebrow. Grace did not miss this.
“So tell me about Peter. He's an awfully quiet guy,” Grace plunged in with her question.

“A nice lad, Peter is,” replied Donovan. “He's lived down the road for all his life. Loves the running, he does. I think he's done a race, or two, and done quite well. He is a quiet one. It's just him and his da. His mum passed away when he was a wee bit of a lad. Helps his da with the sheep and herding, and runs. That's pretty much if for him.”

Grace figured that would explain his sharp tongue when he passed her up, and his lack of some manners when she could have had some help into the car. When she was doing better, maybe he could direct her to a better running route.

When Donovan left Grace started looking through the papers she had pulled out of a desk in the sitting room. This must have been where Aine kept all her records of guests to the cottage. Some of these items came from one drawer in the desk that was full of cards. As Grace looked over some of the cards, she could see why Aine was so popular with her guests. All of them were thank-you cards with beautiful notes about the wonderful times her guests had at the cottage. Each and every one made Grace smile. Her grandmother had a huge impact on everyone she came in contact with.

As she read, she heard the crunch of the gravel on the driveway. It was Peter as he had promised. She got up to answer the door. He was in his running clothes and seemed to be in the middle of a run.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 4

Grace stretched to give he wrinkled body the movement it needed after being curled up in the chair all night. She made it a habit to work out in the gym in Dublin at least 3 days a week and she was starting to feel the need for a good workout. There was no hope for a gym in Swatragh, so she decided a good run would do just as well.

She changed into some workout clothes, pulled her hair up, plugged her music player in, and headed out the door. As she stood at the road, she looked south toward Maghera where she had come, and then north toward Coleraine. She didn't want to get lost, but figured if the road north was as straight as the road south had been, she would have no trouble. So north it was.

Grace easily would run three or four miles on a treadmill, but knew road running was a little different and she may not get as far. She could run a twenty minute mile when she was training, but set her goals for forty-five minutes for the day. About 20 minutes out she noticed her left calf was starting to pull. As she slowed down she realized how much it really hurt. At this point she turned around and started walking back to the cottage.

After a few hundred feet she could hear the padding of a runner behind her.
“These flat lands too much for you?” he laughed and shouted as he passed her up. Grace didn't like the implication that she was slacking off and attempted to start running again. This time the pain seared through her calf. She had definitely pulled something and was now limping. Her cell phone was in her pocket, but who could she call out here from this country road. She didn't even now enough about the area to tell someone where she was and there were no other homes in sight. She found a large rock to prop herself up against and considered her predicament when off in the distance she could see the runner heading back her way. She hardly wanted to flag down this rude bloke, but really had no choice.

As he approached he had this devilish look on his face and before Grace could say anything he blurted out, “So you've given up entirely now, have ya?”

Grace tried to control her anger at this overly ego bloated lad, but needed his help and new she had to keep her cool. “I've pulled my calf muscle and can't even walk. I need to get back to my cottage down the road,” She replied pointing in the direction from which he had come.

“Oh, are you the one staying in Aine's place?” he asked.

Grace was surprised the news had traveled so quickly through the area. “Yes, that's me. I'm Aine's granddaughter.”

“Me name's Peter. I'll run down to my place and get the car to take you home. Can ya wait here for a few? It's a couple of miles,” he stated as if he had done this before.

“Not going anywhere at the moment,” Grace begrudgingly answered, and made herself comfortable figuring she would be waiting for quite a while. It was only about twenty minutes later when she spotted a compact car coming down the road. Either Peter was lying about how far he had to go, or he was a pretty fast runner.

“Climb in lassie,” Peter leaned over and pushed the door open. Grace cringed as she limped over to the car and helped herself in. Clearly Peter had no idea what a proper gentleman should have done. “I'll have you home in no time.”

During the quick ride back to the cottage, Peter apologized for his rude remarks.
“I'm sorry that I thought you were slacking off. I don't often see a walker on these roads.”

At least when they arrived at the house, Peter helped Grace into the cottage and asked if there was anything he could help her with. Peter was not a talkative lad, but had changed his tune and seemed more concerned about her injury. Grace used his strength to help herself get situated on the over-sized chair and propped her leg up on an ottoman. He found a first aid kit in the kitchen and wrapped her calf with a bag of ice to keep the swelling down. Grace took some mild pain medication she had in her purse. No more running for her at least until her calf healed.

Peter promised to stop by the next day to check on Grace when he was out for his run. He suggested that she not try to climb the stairs or push her leg other than for some essential things. Grace was thankful that the bedroom she would be using was downstairs. She mentioned knowing Donovan, and Peter nodded that he also knew him. He would let Donovan know what happened so that Donovan could also keep an eye on Grace.

Peter didn't stay to chat and kept his conversation to Grace's situation. Grace was curious about Peter and decided that when she had a chance to talk to Donovan, she would inquire about this quiet lad.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 3

After Donovan left Grace realized that the growling in her stomach had been ignored for too long. All she had packed to bring with her were some granola bars for snacking on while driving up here. She had totally forgotten about bringing some food with her. And now that the fridge was working she could actually buy some groceries for the week. She had passed a small market down the road a ways from the B&B and decided to head back there to pick up a few things. After looking in the cupboards she realized that other than some old dry goods, there was nothing to salvage.

The Spar market was small and closer to Maghera than Swatragh, but it had the necessary items for Grace to stock up on for a few days. She decided she might have to go south into Magherafelt or north into Coleraine to get some things that the Spar Market didn't carry. But tea, sugar, milk and bread were staples along with some ingredients for quick meals. It was into the evening when Grace returned and even though it was summer and light out, the weather was getting a bit cool. She found some peat logs and set the fire in her grandmother's small sitting room where she settled down to work on her list of things to do and snack on her toasted cheese sandwich and cup of Barry's Tea.

As far as she could tell the inside of the cottage just needed a good cleaning. Grace wanted to focus on the outside to make it more presentable to prospective buyers. her funds were limited so she planned to do some of the work herself during these two weeks, and hire out what she could not handle. It really was in need of a coat of paint and the windows needed a good washing. Then there was the garden. Grace decided to hire out the painting and window washing since she really didn't want to tackle windows on the upstairs rooms. She would attempt to redo the garden on her own. Grace knew her grandmother loved gardening and this front garden had been a place of pride.

Sitting in front of the peat fire with a blanket pulled over her knees she knew she had a big job on her hands and worried about getting everything done. She wanted to make her grandmother proud of her for taking care of this special cottage. As the embers glowed, Grace relaxed and fell asleep in the over sized chair that she knew was her grandmother's favorite. She dreamed of her grandmother wandering around the cottage taking care of all her clients and spending days cooking delicious meals in the kitchen. The early morning sun was just peaking through the cloudy window when she realized she had slept through the night.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 2

Grace had taken a couple of weeks off from her marketing job in Dublin to visit her grandmother's property and decide how best to handle liquidating the contents and selling the property. At this point she felt this was the best way she could take care of things. She had driven almost three hours to get here and now she stood in front of the B&B shaking her head in disbelief. It was worse than she had imagined. The outside was in need of a paint job and the garden was so overgrown. How could she possibly put this place on the market as it was? She took a deep breath as the put the key in the door to enter.

While the cottage had been closed up for almost a year as Grace entered the main foyer there was a feeling of warmth to the inside. Where the sunlight could get through the cloudy windows the covered furniture seemed to want to come to life again. Grace walked around the front room pulling covers off of beautiful antique furniture pieces. Time had stood still here. She could feel the spirit of her grandmother.

Grace wandered from room to room. Downstairs there were two sitting rooms, one a private one and one for guests. There was also a huge kitchen for preparing meals for the B&B, and a large bedroom that her grandmother used. The stairs creaked as she climbed to the upper level. It seemed they were happy to be used once again. Upstairs were three bedrooms, all en suite. One had a double bed, one a double bed and a twin, and one with two twin beds and room to add an additional. If the windows were cleaned the sun would have streamed through the lace curtained glass to brighten up the beautifully decorated rooms.

Grace smiled to herself as she walked the cottage. She could feel her grandmother's welcoming touch everywhere. But there was so much to do. Grace sat down in the large room downstairs and started to make a list. She was an organized person and needed to consider all that needed to be done in order to put this B&B on the market. As she did this she hear the crunch of the gravel driveway outside. She no sooner stood up and there was a quiet knock on the door.

“Hello?” came a voice from outside.

“Yes?” answered Grace as she opened the door to find an elderly, small framed, white haired man standing on the entry pad.

“I'm Donovan, who are you?” he asked curtly.

“I'm Aine's granddaughter, Grace,” she replied just as curtly.

There was a sad look that came over Donovan.
“I do miss her so,” he said almost in a whisper. “We've been neighbors here for so many years. So you are the one she talked about all the time?” he finished as he perked up some with a slight smile.

“I guess that would be me. Please come in Donovan, I have so many questions,” Grace was glad to meet someone who Aine had known.

Donovan looked around the sitting room as if he expected Aine to be there. Grace could tell he felt awkward knowing his friend was no longer in the house.

“Oh, please forgive me,” Grace suddenly stopped as she stood in the doorway. “I haven't even checked, but would you like some tea? I'm still finding my way around here.”

“We can do tea another time,” Donovan said casually. “Is there anything you need?”

Grace had not thought about much since she arrived. But there was the issue of having electricity and gas for heat and light as the evening approached. She would be staying her to get things in order and needed the basics to care for herself. Donovan showed her where to locate the electricity and gas switches on the outside of the cottage, and helped her get them turned on. He also made sure she lit the pilot lights where necessary and checked to make sure everything was working. Grace thanked him for all his help as he left. He pointed across the way and told her that if she needed anything to come knock on his door.

All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 1

A new year and a new story. Hope you like it. :)

Grace stood at the front of the cottage shaking her head. What am I going to do with this? This is not what I had planned. The place looked a shambles. Things had not been taken care of for quite a while. Grace had not visited here for a few years as she had been busy with university studies and getting her career off the ground. Besides who would want to live way out here in the countryside when they could be living somewhere like Dublin where everything was so alive and vibrant?
................
Three months earlier

The solicitor walked up beside Grace at the funeral, "When you have some time, please stop by my office. There is a matter of your grandmother's estate. She left me explicit instructions for when she left this earth."

Grace had always been close to her grandmother and her death hurt her deeply. While they had not seen each other much over the last couple of years, she and Grace wrote to each other regularly and often talked on the phone. When Grace needed someone to talk to, she called her grandmother. She listened quietly as Grace went on and on about her troubles and mostly allowed Grace the time to work them out through the conversation.

Aine was Grace's paternal grandmother. Since the time Grace's father had passed away, she and Aine had became closer. Grace and her mother had a tentative relationship, to say the least. After her father's death Grace's mother retreated from most of her friends and shut down. She moved through her daily routines, but closed herself off from relationships where she might get hurt again. Grace understood this and while she loved her mother, she needed someone to relate to through her university years and since. This person was her grandmother, and the loss of Aine was devastating to Grace. After many calls from the solicitor she finally gave in and went to his office.

Aine did not have a lot. Until she got ill, she ran a B&B in the small village of Swatragh in Northern Ireland. The clients dwindled and it was closed down when Aine could no longer manage the daily routines of a business. It was this property that Aine left to Grace along with all it's contents. Grace had no idea how this gift of generosity from her grandmother was going to affect the rest of her life.