The Mystery of the Claddagh Rings Read Online Free PDF Page B

it was enough. “Just sealing the deal with a kiss, sunshine.”
    “Whatever,” she said, clearly rattled. At least she hadn’t pushed him away. “I’ll get my things.”
    Ryan followed her around while she gathered her unpacked suitcase, backpack, and shopping bags. “You’re sporting a different look since I saw you this morning. Very nice, but what’s with the new clothes and makeup?”
    She handed him her rollaway, staring at the floor. “I needed a morale booster before greeting Poppy’s guests.”
    Sure she did, especially if this had anything to do with Ramsey Carlyle. Ryan had checked him out earlier. The guy was a pervert with two complaints filed against him for inappropriate behavior with teenage girls. The charges were dropped in both cases, but he suspected large amounts of money had changed hands to make it happen. “Is this about your stepfather?”
    “Let it go, O’Shea.” Determination tightened Fin’s jaw as she locked up the guesthouse. “I’ll handle him myself.”
    Ryan scanned the shadows as they walked, a hand on his weapon. While it bothered him Fin planned to go up against Ramsey, what concerned him more was how the gorilla in the guesthouse had known she had the rings. A gnawing feeling clawed at his gut. Either the security system had been high-jacked and someone had seen Poppy give her the rings, or one of the wedding guests was involved.
    He entered the main house through a side door, following Fin up a narrow back staircase he imagined was used by the servants. Noise filtered from the front of the house. The party was in full swing; raucous laughter and voices carried on the steady thump of drums and riffs from electric guitars. Paul must be getting his groove on with his band.
    Fin paused at a door on the second floor, seemed to steady herself before turning the handle. He understood why when she flipped on the lights. “This is my room. Welcome to the time warp.”
    No kidding? Ryan couldn’t believe his eyes when his gaze landed on the frou-frou canopy bed, frilly curtains, and shelves of Barbie and Ken dolls with accessories lining a far wall. Everything was pink, from the pleated shades on the lamps to the scatter rugs on the floor. “This is the room of a seven or eight-year-old girl.”
    “Oh, I know.” Fin’s mouth curved into a sad semblance of a smile. “Poppy kept it the same after I reached puberty. She didn’t want to acknowledge I was growing up, since that meant she was getting older, too.”
    “I’m sorry.” For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words.
    “Don’t be. I survived.” Fin opened a cupboard door, shook out the new clothes she pulled from shopping bags, and hung them on hangers. “But maybe now you’ll understand why I’m so protective of my mother. She lives in her own world most of the time.”
    True . And Ryan understood a lot more. His heart expanded in his chest for this woman who had somehow survived an unbearable childhood and grown into the person she was today. Jesus, how could anyone be so level-headed and strong under the circumstances? She deserved more.
    For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to be the man to give it to her. He knew she wasn’t someone he could mess with—a convenient and pleasurable hookup. No, Fin’s emotions were raw, on the surface for everyone but a blind man to see. He wouldn’t betray the tenuous thread of trust he saw growing in her eyes whenever she looked at him. She’d been disappointed too many times, but wouldn’t be by him.

Chapter Three
    Fin opened her eyes and turned on a lamp, shuddering when she realized she was back in the pink room. The good news? She wasn’t a kid anymore. The bad news? She couldn’t lay in her childhood bed another minute. Dressing in sweats, she took the back stairs to the dining room, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t run into anyone. The house was quiet. The others must still be sleeping. She imagined the party had lasted most