| �Will you be all right?� �Yes, I�ll be fine. He won�t hurt me. He may not be able to show his love, but daddy guards and protects his property. I�m his link to my mother, he won�t let anything happen to me.� They stood against her car. Brian�s arms were wrapped around her waist. It was early evening and the moon played hide and seek between the shifting clouds. They had reached a new plateau in this ever-changing relationship between them and Moire liked how it felt. She had stayed much longer than she had planned. It didn�t take much persuasion on Brian�s part to convince her to spend the afternoon and then have dinner with him. But now, she was faced with the reality of returning home and seeing her father. �I better go.� �I don�t want you to leave.� The moon slid behind the clouds and darkness descended upon them. Moire could feel Brian�s breath on her face and the pressure of his body against her. �I can�t stay. I�ll see you tomorrow.� She turned to open the car door but his hand covered hers. Moire looked back and Brian cupped her chin in his hand. His lips brushed hers and Moire linked her arms around his neck as his lips teased her, sucking and nipping and drawing her sweetness into his mouth. She pushed him back, her breathing sporadic. �Stop, or I won�t want to leave.� Just then the moon peeked from behind the clouds and she could see his lips curl up and a grin spread across his face. �That�s my plan.� He pulled her towards him again and this time the kiss was harder, demanding that she respond back fully. His tongue circled her lips and Moire moaned against his mouth. His body was flush with hers. As he continued to assault her mouth she felt a warm rush spread through her leaving her flushed and aching for fulfillment. �Brian, I have to go,� she pulled back from his embrace. Her breath came in short spasms. �I have to go.� He released her from his grasp and held the door as she got in the car. �Tomorrow?� She nodded. He watched as she sped down the drive in a stream of dust. ~*~*~*~*~ Colin sat staring at the darkened window as he swirled the brandy in the large bowled glass. He had been locked up in this room since his return hours ago. His dinner still sat on the tray Louise had brought him and he knew he had consumed a little too much alcohol. He had nearly lost his daughter today. Never one to reflect on the actions he had taken in the course of his life or do any real soul searching, Colin found himself for the first time coming face to face with the fact that he how he handled this situation with Moire tonight would determine their future. He couldn�t lose her. Littrell wasn�t worth the fight. So he had made up his mind. He had come very close to hurting him today but somehow when he pulled off the road to the entrance to his farm, Colin stopped as he reached the arch at the head of the drive. All the anger that had fueled his response to Walker�s failed attempt just evaporated as he sat in the truck. Nothing would be gained from his attacking the man. Moire would surely leave and he would be alone. It was as simple as that. Upon returning home he had been angry at his own weakness. But somewhere in the back of his brain, he could hear Fiona�s voice telling him to be gentle. He had never been gentle, except with her. She had a way of making him melt and never question the decisions he made because of her guidance. So here he sat, brooding over the fact that he had backed down from confronting Littrell. He would never tolerate him as a possible suitor for Moire, but if he continually forbade her from seeing him, he would only push her further and further away. He felt her threat to move out had been made in the heat of anger and she would never really leave unless he provoked her. So he needed to cajole her into staying and come to some kind of compromise with regard to this situation with Littrell. He heard the front door close and rose from his chair. He opened the door and found Moire headed up to her room. Upon hearing the door open, Moire turned. �Good night daddy.� She said softly and then continued up the stairs. �Moire,� his strong voice broke the silence in the dark house. �Please, I would like to talk to you.� Moire hesitated. She refused to let him ruin her day. All she wanted to do was go to her room and remember how wonderful the day was and how good it felt to be in Brian�s arms. �Daddy, please, I don�t want to�� �I don�t either Moire. I won�t yell or set outrageous demands. Just hear me out.� The glow from his office cast enough light for her to see that he seemed calm. She slowly came down the stairs and went into the room. She noticed the tray of uneaten food and the nearly empty bottle of bourbon. She watched as he joined her and even though the evidence proved otherwise, Colin seemed to be in control of all his faculties. He offered her some brandy, but Moire refused. He motioned for her to sit on the sofa but Moire shook her head and took her place near the desk. �Before you say anything, I want you to know I spent the afternoon with Brian at his farm. And I�ll be going there again tomorrow. I won�t have you dictate to me who I can see and when. I�m a grown woman and even though we share this house, I expect you to respect my privacy and my judgment. I haven�t always agreed with your business practices, and you always managed to point out that it was none of my concern how you handled things around Claddagh. Well, the same goes for me. I want you to stop having me followed and let me live my life. Because if you don�t, I will move out.� Moire was surprised he hadn�t interrupted her. It could only mean one thing, he had already decided on his next course of action. Moire folded her arms to steal herself against his inevitable comeback. �Are you finished?� She nodded. �I realize that my behavior the night of the gala was a bit overboard and I acted in haste.� �Really,� she replied sarcastically. �I let you speak without interruption, so I would appreciate the same courtesy.� �Of course, I�m sorry.� �In hindsight I realize you were just being escorted home and receiving a simple goodnight kiss, nothing more. I apologize for embarrassing you. And under the circumstances what young man wouldn�t have wanted to kiss you, you were the most beautiful woman there.� Moire knew what he was doing. Throw a compliment here and some praise there and get your defenses down before he unloaded his ultimatum. �I only want what is best for you and your future. I still think of you as my little girl and I�m only trying to protect you. But it is very obvious to me that if I continue the way I have been lately, I will only drive you away.� She could feel her guard dissolving at his attempt at sincerity. �I don�t want you to leave. This house needs you. You give it life and beauty. To live here without you would be unbearable.� Slowly she felt the push. He knew just how to use the right words to make her yield. �I know I have been distant and don�t show my love the way you want or need. And I�m sorry for that. I try Moire, but there are times, well,� he studied her for a minute and then shifted his gaze, �it�s just so hard to look at you.� She was paying the price for being too great a resemblance to her mother. �With all that said, I�ll back off. Go ahead and see Littrell if you want. Have a fling or a casual affair. Get him out of your system. You�re still young and even though I would love some grandchildren, I was young once myself and know how the pull of the forbidden can entice you. So have some fun and when it�s over, I�ll expect you to make a good match and settle down and give me those grandchildren.� A small smile spread across his face. Moire thought he looked very smug and very pleased with himself and his decision. �That�s it? You�re going to let me do as I please� �Yes. I give it six months and he�ll tire of you and you will realize I was right about him all along. He doesn�t really want you, Moire. You�re a new distraction for him and a wealthy one at that. You know his reputation. He�s bedded half the women in the county, but never more than twice. He�s broken hearts left and right, so why should you be any different.� �How do you�� she stopped, �never mind.� �I have my ways.� He came to her. �Listen, princess, I don�t want you to get hurt. You want a little fun, go ahead and have casual sex with him if that�s what you want. And once you do, you�ll see I was right.� �Oh daddy,� she moved from his grasp. �Did grandfather give you this same speech when he found out about mother?� �No, times were different then, Moire.� �Daddy you talk like it was the dark ages. It was only the sixties when mom and grandfather first arrived from Ireland.� �That may be true and we were still a fledgling farm, one to be reckoned with mind you, but still not of the caliber we are today. I�ll admit that Fiona stole my heart from the moment I set eyes on her but it was sheer madness then to show my feelings. She was only a child. It wasn�t until she was 15 that my father realized I was taken with her.� He walked to the window and Moire could see he was lost in the moment of remembering times gone by. �I had been riding the farm checking for broken fences and decided to water my horse at the lake when I spotted her. She was going to for swim. I kept a discreet distance as I watched her slip out of her clothes. When she discarded all but her underwear she looked around cautiously and then slipped the last two articles to the ground and ran into the water. She was the most beautiful sight.� Moire caught the crack in his voice. �Somehow father found out I had seen her and dragged me into his study upon my return. It was then that I told him. Later I found out Fiona had seen me watching her and told her father. Seems she had been hiding her feelings as well. Within a few weeks of her 18th birthday we were married and then we were blessed with your arrival two years later.� As if waking from a trance, Colin blinked and turned to face his daughter. �The whole point to all this is that, by marrying me your mother gained position and comfort. I don�t want you to lower your standards.� �Why is it always about money; what about love? With all you have daddy you�re not really happy. You long for the past, but it�s gone and all your money won�t bring it back.� �Love? You think he loves you? You are nothing more than another notch on his bedpost. Don�t let your heart be broken, Moire, you�re smarter than that. Play his game, if you must. Satisfy your hunger and then walk away.� She could see there was no way to make him understand. She walked over and kissed his cheek. �Goodnight daddy.� �Just think about it Moire, please. I love you princess.� �I love you too, even though I believe you are wrong about this.� Moire left and Colin poured more brandy into the snifter. It was done. He still wasn�t happy with the idea of Moire spending time with Littrell, but she would see in time that he was right. And when he crushed him and he was left with nothing but his precious pride, Moire would see him for the impertinent, yet insignificant horsebreeder that he was. Pleased with how their meeting had gone, he sat down and worked on some papers on his desk. Yet the ache from his recollections pulled at him and his mind wandered until he slammed his fist on the desk and let out a groan and buried his head in his hands and wept for his love long gone. ~*~*~*~*~ Moire sparked an ache within Brian he had never felt before. It wasn�t that the idea of settling down didn�t appeal to him, it was he couldn�t seem to find a woman that could hold his interest long enough to pursue a steady relationship. But here she had him anticipating when he would see her again which was something totally foreign to him yet he liked it. He had let her go that night reluctantly and found that even a cold shower before retiring didn�t do much to quell the passion she stirred within him. The last ten days of the fall racing season at Keeneland were busy ones for Brian. He had Lyric�s Dream slated for a modest stakes race on Saturday. Each morning he was up early to supervise the workouts. Every race so far he had come in the money, but never first place. With the Derby a mere seven months away Brian knew he had to start making a better show. In his heart he knew the horse had what it would take to make his mark at Churchill Downs. So he kept the workouts hard, yet fed him well and made the horse show him his true strength and heritage. True to his word Colin let Moire go about her business as usual. She spent her mornings at the hospital and became a regular fixture around the barns at Brian�s farm. She nurtured the bond she had forged with the young foal and began to work with him using a simple rope and her voice. Late one afternoon at the end of the week Brian found her giving the chestnut a bath at the back of the barn. Tall rubber boots covered her legs to her knees and her shirt was rolled up to her elbows as she used the soap filled brush along the horse�s back and flanks. She was talking softly and every now and then the horse would whinny and flip his tail at her banter. Brian leaned against the stall and just watched, mesmerized by the sight in front of him. There was as much soap on her as the young horse and as she rinsed him off she yelped as the water bounced off the animal�s side and into her face. Brian let out a laugh and Moire turned and doused him good. �Hey, what did you do that for?� He pulled his soggy shirt from his chest. �For whatever was going through that mind of yours and made you laugh.� She turned back to the chore at hand and finished rinsing off the foal. She turned off the nozzle and dropped the hose on the floor. �I was only thinking that I can�t quite decide which way I like you more. All turned out in one of those pretty dresses of yours, or all wet and sweaty after working here.� He stepped closer to her. �Is that so?� He nodded as he took her around the waist. A bit of soap was on her chin and he wiped it with his finger. Moire was still getting used to his arms around her and she could feel her heart skip a beat as his hands held her waist. �But there is one way that beats those two hands down.� She furrowed her brows. �This way.� His lips rested on hers lightly, when he felt no resistance, he applied more pressure letting his tongue tease her. Moire relaxed against him and inwardly agreed that she liked this way too. |