The Mighty Quinns: Dermot-Dex

“No one ever said you were the smartest guy on the planet,” he muttered to himself.

RACHEL STARED AT THE PHOTO that Dermot had sent her, the image smiling out at her from her laptop screen. He was standing in front of his house with a silly looking cheesehead hat on his head. He’d obviously spent a few of his hard-earned dollars on a memento before he got across the state line.

He was so handsome. Even after a month apart, she could still remember every detail of the time they’d spent together. They spoke every day, sometimes two or three times, over video chat on her computer. At night, before she fell asleep, they talked about their day, Rachel recounting everything that had happened on the farm.

Without the ability to be distracted by physical pleasures, they were getting to know much more about each other. Most of the questions she’d had about his life in Seattle had been answered and discussed in great detail. She’d learned the full story of his parents’ death, about their childhood before and after they became orphans.

She learned that his grandfather had come from a tiny fishing village on Bantry Bay in Ireland and that Martin Quinn had been a widower with a son when he arrived in the U.S.

She fell asleep to his handsome face and watched him sleep in the early hours of the morning when she got up. It was almost like having him with her again. But the daily routine on the farm had become far less exciting without him there to talk to her, to help her with the work.

The boys had more than made up for his absence when it came to the farm work. For some odd reason, they seemed to delight in the early mornings in the barn. And the moment they got home from school, they were back at work, Eddie now advising them on the proper way to do things.

After a late dinner, Trevor and Taylor did homework at the kitchen table, then were off to bed by nine. Rachel kept asking if they wanted to go into town to hang out with friends, but they seemed to be most comfortable with each other. Dermot had told her that the bonds between brothers were strong and she was seeing it firsthand with her nephews. Still stinging from the upset in their living arrangements and the breakup of their parents’ marriage, they were wary of strangers.

Still, they had found a few things of interest at school. They’d both joined the chess club and the math team. And Trevor was still playing on the junior varsity football team, staying late for practice every night after school. Once football was over, they planned to join 4-H so they could learn more about showing goats at the fair.

Rachel didn’t have the heart to tell them that they might not be at the farm next summer for the county fair. They needed to know that they had found a permanent home for as long as their mother wanted them living at Clover Meadow.

At least Rachel’s life had become more interesting. She’d baked cookies for a booster club bake sale and she’d cheered Trevor on from the stands at the game. But she couldn’t help but feel that her life was incomplete without Dermot.

There was a big empty spot in her heart where he’d once resided. And though they spoke every day, she felt the overwhelming need to touch him and kiss him, to crawl into bed naked and make love to him.

Home was supposed to be where she was happy. And the only way she could be happy now was if she were here with Dermot. And since he wasn’t on the farm with her, the farm didn’t feel like home anymore. Rachel closed her eyes and tried to remember when Dermot was with her, when they had all the time in the world together. Six weeks didn’t seem long enough, and yet it was all she’d needed to fall hopelessly in love with him.

Rachel stood up and carried her plate to the kitchen and rinsed it off. Closing her eyes, she braced her hands on the edge of the counter and drew a deep breath. The screen door squeaked and she felt a flutter in her stomach.

How long would it take before she realized that he wasn’t the one entering the kitchen? She turned around, ready to greet the boys arriving home from school, then realized they were fifteen minutes early. Instead she found her sister, Jane, standing at the door. Her face was haggard and she had deep shadows beneath her eyes. She looked as if she was ready to collapse from the effort of holding her suitcases.

“Hi,” Rachel said. “What are you doing here?”

Jane set the suitcases down on the floor and looked up, her eyes filling with tears. “I— I’m—” She wiped the tears away and forced a smile. “Sorry, I was just—” A sob tore from her throat.

Rachel crossed the room and gathered her in her arms, rubbing her hand across her sister’s back. Jane had always been thin, but Rachel could feel bones beneath her starched white blouse. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be all right. You’re home now. Everything will be fine.”

Rachel gently moved Jane to a chair and sat her down, then took the place next to her at the table. Holding her hand, she tried to soothe her weeping.

“I don’t know why I’m crying now,” Jane said. “I haven’t allowed myself any tears, even when he told me about the affair. I’ve been a freaking rock.”

“It’s because you feel safe here,” Rachel said.

She glanced around. “Where are the boys? I don’t want them to see me crying.”

“They’ll be home soon. Trevor has a game tonight. He’s going to be so excited that you’re here.”

“He told me about the football team,” she said. “Rachel, I can’t thank you enough for doing this. You’ve spared them so much heartache letting them live here.”

Rachel took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “They know what’s going on.”

“You told them?”

“No, they told me. They’re aware of a whole lot more than you give them credit for. And we’ve talked. I’ve been honest. And they’re confused, but they know this doesn’t have anything to do with them. And they’re worried about you. And really angry with their father.”

Jane threw her arms around Rachel’s neck and gave her a hug. “I know I don’t deserve your help after the way I’ve treated you. About the will and the farm. And I’m so glad you didn’t sell. The boys and I would be homeless now if you had.” She drew a deep breath. “And I’m going to do everything I can to help out around here.”

“You’re going to stay?”

Jane nodded. “I—I’ve been thinking that this might be a good place to raise my boys. I mean, they seem to like it here and—”

“They love it here,” Rachel said. “And they love working the farm. They want to join 4-H and they’re starting to make some friends at school.”

“You were right to keep the place,” Jane said.

“I think I was.” She shrugged. “I was kind of lonely here at first, but now there’s a whole family living here.”

“What about that guy, the one I met when I dropped the boys off? What was his name?”

“Dermot.” Rachel drew a ragged breath. “He’s gone. Back to Seattle. We still talk every day, but it’s been impossible to get together. He’s really busy with work and I can’t leave the farm right now.”

“But you can soon. I’m here now. I’m going to learn everything about raising goats.” Jane sighed. “It’s all right that I’m here, isn’t it?”

Rachel nodded. “It’s your home, too. And I think Dad would be happy that you and the boys are here. He talked about them a lot.”

“I’ve been so… selfish. I should have brought them to see him when he was sick. I just didn’t think he’d… well, I thought he was going to live forever. Nothing is forever. I guess I’ve learned that.”

A rumble sounded from outside. “The bus is here,” Rachel said. “Why don’t you go say hello to your boys. I’ll make something for them to eat. I can’t tell you how much Trevor and Taylor eat. They have a meal when they get home from school and then another after milking is finished and then another before they go to bed.”

Jane stood up. “Well, I’m here and I’m going to start contributing. I’m getting the proceeds from our house to use for child support until their father can start paying. It should keep us going for a while.”

As she watched her sister run out the door, Rachel felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If Jane was really serious about staying, then Rachel could have her own life and keep her promise to her father. She felt a surge of emotion as she thought of his pride that his grandsons might one day run the farm he’d loved so much.

She walked to the back door and stepped out onto the porch, watching the scene unfold at the end of the driveway. Her sister met the boys with her arms outstretched, then gathered them both into a hug, laughing and crying at the same time.

Rachel felt tears threaten and imagined how it would feel the next time she saw Dermot. Would she throw herself into his arms? Would she cry happy tears? For the first time since he’d left, she’d begun to believe there might be a chance for them.

“Soon,” she murmured. “Soon.”

The boys hurried down the drive, then dropped their backpacks on the porch before heading to the barn, their mother in tow. “Hey, change your clothes before you start working,” Rachel called. “And, Trevor, you need to come in and eat early if you’ve got a game tonight.”

“We just want to show Mom the goats,” Taylor said. “We’ll be right back.”

“Don’t go out into the barnyard with your school shoes,” Rachel warned.

Jane turned and smiled at her, then mouthed a thank-you. She slipped her arms around her sons’ shoulders and headed across the yard to the barn.

Rachel rubbed her arms against the chill in the air, then turned and walked back inside. The responsibility of parenting the boys had injected a lot of worry into her day-to-day life. But now that Jane was here, she could relax a bit.

The experience hadn’t been all that difficult. In fact, she’d been able to see that she might not make a bad parent one day. But part of her success had come from Dermot’s insights. From the moment the boys had arrived on the farm, he’d taken them both under his wing.