Grace’s Beaus

By Donna and Toni

 It was the day after the storm, and like many people, Grace and her sisters were working on their home, which had been damaged in the storm. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, but as the repairs wore on, they all wished they had some help of the male variety to lift some of the heavier objects (like tree limbs!) off their home. 

 Grace could not help but think that if that nice Captain Bourke were in town, he would be there in a heartbeat to help. But both of the ships had been caught out in the storm, and all she could do was to light a candle for their safety. As she and her sisters struggled to move some of the tree limbs from around their house, another acquaintance of the older MacDonald girl game riding up. Finley MacNab had come into town to get some supplies to do his own repair work.  

The Scottish Texan, upon seeing what was going on, dismounted immediately and started pitching in; his strength moved things along a lot faster, and Grace smiled, "Thank you so much, Finley; I had prepared some lemonade, would you like some?" 

"Wouldn't that be absolutely grand?" he said with a charming smile. Faith, who was sweeping the porch, had to giggle. He sounded a lot like Fiona!  

Ignoring the giggling, Grace led him inside and into the kitchen. As she poured them both some lemonade, she looked up at the interior repairs that had been made to match the outdoor ones, and said, "At least if it rains again the roof won't leak. How about your home, did it come through in not too bad a shape?" She looked at him with concern, ready to go and help him if he needed it. 

"My auld house stood firm,” he chuckled. “'Tis the barn that is needing a wee bit of attention."  

"The barn...well, if it's not too high up, maybe I could - well, come and help you with some of the repairs. Everyone is trying to get things fixed as soon as possible, in case more rain comes." She knew she was blushing slightly at the thought of being alone in a barn with him, but she didn't care. 

“Nay, lass,” he laughed merrily. "Now don't ye be worrying yer pretty head over me barn, Miss Grace. Won't a few nails set it right again?" He downed the lemonade in one gulp. "I must be goin' now. But I was wonderin'. Would ye be after going out to dinner with me one day?"  

Her eyes lit up in answer even before she smiled,  "I'd love to! Thank you so much for asking. Maybe after everything is a bit more settled and the normal way of life has returned, we could go to the Hotel and relax together over a dinner that neither one of us had to cook." Steady, Grace, she told herself; don't make a fool of yourself now. 

They made a tentative *date*, much to the amusement of her younger sisters, and then after thanking him for him help, Grace saw the Texan off.  

***

 Several days after the Dòchas returned, the Bounty did as well. To everyone's surprise, they had rescued people too! Only instead of European immigrants, these were Oriental. Most of them had stayed in the village that Captain Bourke had taken them too, but there were a few that for various reasons, did not want to stay. One of them, a tiny Chinese woman, had lost all her family in the ship wreck except for one nephew, who had accompanied her. Upon hearing that they would be building a railroad, he and the two other young men that had came back with the Bounty had volunteered their help. 

After getting his passengers taken care of, Captain Bourke briefed Methos on what had happened, and then with a carefully wrapped package, made his way to the MacDonald house and knocked on the door.  

Grace opened it and smiled, "Why, Liam! Welcome back; I'm glad to see you made it home safely! Come in, rest yourself for a few minutes." She served him tea of course, and as they drank it, they told each other the adventures they had had during the storm.  

"Oh, I ha' a bit of a gift fer you," he said with a shy smile. "One of the ladies we rescued made this for me." He handed her the package, and when she opened it, she found a necklace made of shells and pearls.  

Her eyes showed how pleased she was with it, as she smiled, "Liam, it's lovely! Thank you! I will think of you whenever I wear it." She put it on carefully right then and there, and her smile got bigger as she looked in a nearby mirror. She truly did like his gift! 

They visited for a while, and then he took his leave. But not before he too asked her out for a dinner date! As she cleaned up the dishes from their visit, Grace could not keep the smile from her face even after he was gone. She had never had a real beau, aside from the one in her arranged betrothal, and now she found herself with two! Yes, as so many people had said, life here in their new world was certainly better than on their old one!