The van stopped behind a beat-up truck. Probably a contractor. Ena slid open the van’s side door and stepped out into the rain. She dashed for the porch followed by Fiona, who was driving the van. Ciara clambered around the seat and ran through puddles to the porch while Jesse pulled the van’s door shut.
Rain pelted his face and ran in rivulets down his cheeks. He leaped over puddles and ducked under the shelter of the porch roof. Rain sluiced over the gutters in a stream that battered at the roses lining the house.
Ciara rang the bell. “Alanna, it’s us.”
Light steps came from inside, and the door opened. Alanna’s smile was strained. “You’re soaked. Let me get you some towels.”
“We’ll wait here,” Ciara said. “Barry won’t want all the water on his wood floors.”
“I’ll be right back,” Alanna said.
“She looked upset,” Fiona said, twisting her Celtic cross necklace between her fingers. “She knew we were coming, didn’t she?”
“Only for practice.”
“Maybe Barry doesn’t want us here.” Ena twisted a strand of her pink hair around her finger.
Jesse gritted his teeth to avoid saying what he thought of Barry. “Does she know we had to leave the hotel?”
“Not yet,” Ciara murmured.
Alanna’s steps signaled her arrival. She handed towels all around to her band members.
Ciara glanced at her. “What’s wrong?”
“My mum is here,” she blurted out. “At least she says she’s my mum.”
“I thought you hadn’t seen her since you were three,” Jesse said. “How do you know this woman is telling the truth?”
Alanna gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. Her green eyes nearly eclipsed her face. “Did Liam tell you that?”
Jesse laid down his towel. He hadn’t known he knew about her mum until the words were on his tongue. “Does she look like a Traveller?”
Alanna’s face went even whiter. The muscles in her throat worked, and tears filled her eyes. “How could Liam have told you?” she whispered. “He promised.”
“Your mother is a tinker?” Fiona’s lip curled.
“Fiona, you be watching your mouth,” Ciara said, glancing at Alanna’s face. She took Alanna’s arm. “Introduce us. I’ll be having a look at her.”
The group followed Alanna down the hall to the parlor. Jesse took one glance at the woman seated by the window and knew she was Alanna’s mother. Same bone structure, same shape of the mouth and hairline. He put his hands in his pockets and went to stand by the window. This wasn’t his business.
“It’s home I’d better be going,” the woman said, rising from her chair. “You come see me, lass.”
Alanna’s eyes were wide and shocked as she nodded and went to show her mother out.
“She’s up to no good,” Ciara hissed. “I bet she wants money.”
“Did you know Alanna was a tinker?” Fiona asked. “She doesn’t look like one.”
“Lass, you’re so ignorant,” Ciara said. “I didn’t know, but it doesn’t matter. Alanna is good and kind. Don’t you be changing how you treat her.”
“Of course not,” Fiona said. “It’s just—I hate tinkers. They’ll steal you blind if you don’t watch out.”
“Then you’d better get over your prejudice,” Ciara snapped.
Fiona shrugged and turned to glance out the window. Jesse didn’t understand half of what had happened. Travellers? Tinkers? The words had spilled from his lips, but the meaning of it all eluded him.
Alanna returned and sank onto the sofa. “What did you think?”
“You have her bones,” Ciara said. “You don’t remember her?”
“Like Jesse said, I was only three when she left me. I remember my older sister better.”
“Did she say anything about your sister?” Jesse asked. When Alanna turned her gaze on him, he let his breath out as if someone had kicked him. Memories flooded him again. They were sitting on a rock staring out at the Atlantic. Alanna’s fingers laced through his as she told him about her sister.
“Her name is Neila,” Jesse said. His face heated when the group turned to stare at him. “Your sister,” he said. “Her name is Neila.”
“How do you know these things?” Alanna demanded, her voice rising. “Liam would never betray my confidence. Never.”
“I told you. I-I think Liam’s feelings about you transferred to me somehow. Or he’s possessed me.”
The women took a step back when he said the word possessed, and he didn’t blame them. It was a scary notion to think Liam was controlling things somehow. “I’m right though, aren’t I?”
Alanna sagged against the back of the sofa. “Yes. Maire says Neila married a man and moved to Texas. I want to find her.”
“I’ll help you,” he said, though he had no idea how. He could barely help himself. He caught the warning glance Ciara sent his way and hunched his shoulders against the censure in her eyes. They didn’t understand. No one did.
Even he didn’t.
“Look, this is getting wonky,” Ciara said. “We have more problems than your mother. A big conference was arriving at the hotel today and they kicked us out. We brought our things with us. I hope you can find a place for us to stay or we’ll be camping on the garden. We have a bloody huge amount of practice necessary before the tour.”
Alanna’s glazed eyes gradually took on more focus. “Threw you out? You mean you have no rooms?”