All Roads Lead to Swatragh - Chapter 53

Grace lie in bed that night once again in one of the upstairs guest rooms. She could hardly believe what was happening to her. She must be dreaming. This was not what she expected at all. Why did she feel she could trust this man?

Below her in the downstairs bedroom Quinn was going through similar thoughts. This was not a woman he would consider just for dating a few times and not getting serious about. He was worrying that he was already getting in too deep with this woman. But for some reason he really didn't care.

As both Quinn and Grace drifted off to sleep full of questions and doubts they both slept better than they had for many nights. No more hesitations running through their minds. They awoke refreshed the next morning, ready to deal with whatever life had in store for them.

Monday morning came early and Grace was up in the kitchen making breakfast for Quinn and herself. She rarely ate with guests, but Quinn was not really a guest. In fact, Grace was not sure what to call him.

There was a knock at the kitchen door and it opened slowly. “I thought I'd let you know it was coming in the room instead of startling you like I usually do,” Quinn chuckled as he stood in the doorway.

“Quinn, are you okay? You're up and walking!” Grace smiled with surprise.

“I'm not ready to run, or ride my bike yet, but I seem to be able to get myself around today. Less pain and I seem to have found the strength in my legs, although a little weak still,” Quinn explained.

“Here, have a seat. Don't push it too much,” Grace pulled a chair out at the kitchen table for Quinn and walked beside him as he slowly moved to sit down.

Quinn reached up to take a hold of Grace's hand smiling as he thanked her for the help. She smiled back and as she started to move away from him, brushed her hand on Quinn's shoulder. There was a closeness between them without much being said.

Once Grace put breakfast on the table and poured them both a cup of tea, she sat down next to Quinn. There was a feeling of familiarity between them. They sat and talked about the cottage and how Grace came to be running it even though she had a job in Dublin. Quinn explained how he was getting burned out with web design and Internet safety and while he felt he had made his mark in the business industry, he wanted to look for something else to do that would be fulfilling and still allow him time to do his biking around the countryside. Biking was a huge passion of his.

It was almost noon when they finished their last cup of tea and Grace had cleared the table of their breakfast. Grace needed to get some supplies for the week, but was hesitant about leaving Quinn alone. He assured her that he was good and wanted to take a shower and get a change of clothes. He told Grace that he hoped to move back upstairs to his original room. Grace protested saying Quinn was not ready to climb the stairs yet. They agreed he would wait one more day and see how things went. Grace would hang around until Quinn had finished his shower, just in case, and then she would run to Maghera to pick up groceries and produce for the rest of the week.

While Grace listened to the shower running in her room, she busied herself with checking supplies and checking the Internet for reservations in the coming weeks. There were so many requests for weekdays, Bank Holidays, and long weekends, she worried about accommodating all the guests.

As she finished, Quinn came in the downstairs room where she was working.

“Now I'm feeling better,” he stated. “Do you mind while you are gone if I use the computer for some work? There's a lot I can catch up on while I'm here. It's nice not necessarily being tied to the office.”

“Of course, you can use the computer. I'm sure you are anxious to check into your office and make sure things are going well without you,” Grace agreed and headed off to Maghera.

When Grace returned she was surprised to find Quinn sitting on the front porch chatting with Donovan. She was sure this could mean trouble, just not what kind of trouble was what worried her.

“I can use some help here,” Grace called to Donovan as she opened the trunk of the car. “And that does not mean you, Quinn.”

“I'm coming lassie. Slow, but I'm coming,” Donovan called. “You sir, can open the door for us.” Donovan commanded Quinn to be doorman.

Donovan and Grace unloaded the car and set all the supplies on the counters in the kitchen. Grace knew this was not going to be free help, so she invited Donovan to join her and Quinn for dinner that night. Donovan would never turn down one of Aine's recipes, and now would not turn down one from Grace.

While Donovan and Quinn continued to chat on the front porch, Grace began the recipe for Shepard's Pie that Aine had, but with a few changes of her own. She got the potatoes on to boil and started cooking the minced lamb with carrots and onion. She found that if she added a bit of Worcestershire sauce to the lamb mixture it heightened the flavor more. She also added some roasted garlic to the potato mixture. Once it was in the over, she got the table set and cut the bread she bought at the store. Normally she made her own bread, but the store had some multi-grain bread that she loved having once in a while.

Grace knew that Donovan would be grilling her at some point, and was not looking forward to it. She hardly expected it in front of Quinn at the dinner table. They had no sooner sat down and she had served everyone when Donovan blurted out, “So are you two together?”

“Donovan, that's a little personal, don't you think?” Grace was blushing as she looked across the table at Quinn. Quinn was looking down at his Shepard's pie so his eyes would not meet hers.

“Well, if the lad is from Dublin and you are working in Dublin, I'm thinking the chances for this cottage are back to sale again. Just trying to be prepared for changes here,” Donovan didn't hold back with his feelings.

Grace really couldn't expect Quinn to respond here, so she continued to try and diffuse Donovan, “Donovan, no decisions have been made. Besides, Quinn and I have just really met each other. He's....”

“Lassie, I know what I see. If you don't want to admit to anything, I understand, but I have been chatting with the lad here. He's much more talkative when you are not around,” Donovan looked at Quinn who just stared him down.

“Quinn, what have you been telling Donovan?” Grace questioned.

“Nothing really,” Quinn shrugged his shoulders. “I just explained how you have been so generous to take care of me after the accident.”

“Don't take a bit to see there's something there, lad.” Donovan countered.

“Could we just drop this for now and enjoy our dinner?” Grace was once again trying to get off the subject of herself and Quinn, but she realized it was going to have to be addressed between the two of them.