“It’s okay.” Amelia reached for the seatbelt. “Just tell me your sizes and I can–”
“Don’t be daft. I’ll not have you hobbling ‘round on your knee, makin’ things worse.”
“So bring me in with you and I’ll sit on a chair near the changing rooms.”
Daniel laughed. “You think there’s going to be a chair waiting in there for you?”
“Why wouldn’t there be one?”
“Little girl, I dunno where you’ve come from or what things are like in whatever place it is you live, but this is a small shop – a boutique shop. I highly doubt they’ve got chairs waitin’ for people to sit on near the dressing rooms.”
“Whatever.” She shook her head. “Don’t argue with me. Get in there, get yourself some clothes, and come back out. Simple. And I’m not a little girl.”
“Bloody bossy lass,” he mumbled, pushing the driver’s side door open and exiting the car. One last look, then he shut the door and turned to the store.
Daniel’s hulking frame slipped through the door and into the small store. She watched him in a combination of respect and longing, tinged with a hint of sadness.
She checked the world clock app on her phone for the time back home. Too early to call and check in. Instead she fired off an email to let them know she was fine. After that, she emailed a trusted friend to investigate the charges against Daniel. If she was going to help him fight for his future, she needed all the facts.
Twenty minutes after he entered the store, Daniel returned to the car carrying a bag in each hand. “There,” he said, dropping into the driver’s seat. His shoulders hunched over; this time out of exhaustion.
“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Amelia reached for him, but thought better of the action at the last moment. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to treat him the way he deserved to be treated. She wanted to see him smile again.
“It was horrid. Shopping is the worst.”
She smiled. “On that note, you and I agree.”
Daniel treated her with an amazed stare. “You’re a lass though.”
“So? I’m more comfortable with computers than people, and shopping involves going out in public, where there are lots of people.”
Again, he shook his head in amazement. “You don’t like crowds?”
“They make me itch. And most of the time in public, I feel like I could throw up, to be totally honest.”
Daniel laughed. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. Some people like the quiet. Prefer it.” He paused and the moment drew out. “So…where to now?”
Amelia shrugged. She had no route in mind when she took on the task granted to her. All she knew was her final destination – Malin Head – and she didn’t want to get there too quickly. “Is there someplace in particular you need to be?”
“Eh…” Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair. “No, not really. And, besides,” his words hastened, “you can’t be driving about with your knee as it is, can you?”
“No, I can’t,” she agreed. “So I guess that means you’re stuck with me then, huh?”
A bubble of tense laughter shook his shoulders. “Uh, that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose.”
Her smile came smooth and easy. Amelia reclined the seat. “Okay then, it’s settled. You and I are driving around the coast of Ireland.”
Daniel sighed but she caught traces of relief in the sound. Knowing what she knew about him, she didn’t blame the guy.
“Just drive south. Take the scenic route. I’m not in any hurry, if you’re not.”
She meant the question as a challenge. Daring him to stay.
“Fine,” he said and turned the key. “Fine.”
Secretly, Daniel was glad to keep by the water. Driving alongside the River Boyne gave him a sense of peace. The fluidity of water made him feel freer. He drove until the river emptied out in Muir Éireann, or what Amelia might call the Irish Sea. It called to him, summoning him to the beach.
Parked at the edge of the dirt road close to the water, he shut the car down, leaving the keys in the ignition, and stretched out as much as the small vehicle allowed. “Do you uh, do you mind if we just walk along the beach for a bit?”
“Actually, that sounds good. I have something I need to do. Well”– She looked over her shoulder at the urn strapped into the back seat –“every so often I need to stop at the water and…and sprinkle…”
Ah hell. Bad enough she had no one here, but the lass took on the task of spreading her grandfather’s remains. He never got the chance to pay his respects when his family was killed. No one mentioned a damned bloody thing to him for months. He found out through gossiping twat-faced guards too long after the fact.