Free Heir of Earth (Forgotten Gods) by Rosemary Clair

that coffee gets in his system. Serves him right for staying out all night.” She wagged a finger at Phin as she made her way down the steps.
    “Now, Rose, you know it isn’t in an Irishman’s blood to refuse a free drink. The whole town would’ve been wondering what was wrong with me if I had come home with you last night and left that drink at the bar,” Phin countered in his defense.
    “Oh, I’m not saying I expect anything less of you. I’m saying it serves you right if your head is about to explode off of your neck!”
    She gave him a stern look but had to fight to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up when he jokingly began to bow down in front of her like she was the queen of England.
    “Anything you say, your majesty.” He bowed low and when he heard her choke back a laugh he quickly swept her up in his arms and planted a big kiss on her. I turned away embarrassed by their display. My parents never behaved like that in front of me.
    “Come on then.” Phin looked at me and jerked his head to the door, squinting his eyes in pain because he had moved his head too quickly. He walked to the side of the truck and fumbled with the door. I quickly assessed his current state and remembered the horror of driving with Phin on a good day.
    “Hey, didn’t you say the farm wasn’t too far away from here? Think we may could walk it so I could get my bearings?” I asked, but pleaded with my eyes and hoped I was convincing him somehow in the process.
    Phin looked down and all around him. He patted the pockets on his jean jacket and finally agreed with a nod of the head. I wasn’t sure if he was too exhausted to put up an argument or if he realized he probably shouldn’t be driving either. He grunted, and we were off.
    After five minutes of walking quietly beside me and taking large gulps of coffee, Phin began to return to his old self, stretching his neck out and whistling a familiar tune as we continued in silence.
    I nibbled my biscuit and marveled at Ireland’s lush beauty, something I had always tried to imagine. That morning, seeing it with my own eyes for the first time, I realized my imagination could’ve never done it justice. The green pastures were just as unreal from this angle as it had been from the airplane yesterday. Everything around me was green, but I had never known there were so many shades. There were hundreds of hues in the grass alone, ranging from bright lime to a green so dark it was almost black. In the distance, the trees appeared brownish moss while the scraggly shrubs growing along the crooked stonewall were a shade close to mint. All this stretched out to meet an unnaturally blue sky on the horizon. At this hour, the sky was a deep teal color, not yet diluted with the full strength of the sun’s rays. When we reached a small crest in the road, I stopped in my tracks.
    Below us on the valley floor spread a regal looking estate of epic proportions. It wasn’t merely a castle holding court among the endlessly rolling green fields. It was like a fairytale kingdom with white walls stretching as far as the eye could see and swirling turrets reaching up to the heavens. To one side lay a pond where swans swam in the rising morning mist. Circling the house were forests and fields where animals, both wild and tame, were stretching their limbs after a good night’s sleep. The sun shone down on the sparkling white walls, making them glisten like diamonds. A massive manner house rose from behind the walls, so large it held yet another field inside. The manicured land around reached beyond the horizon and I wondered if it ever stopped.
    “I never get tired of going to work.” Phin squinted in the sunshine, holding his hand up to block the strongest rays.
    “This is work?” My head jerked back to him and I stared with an incredulous look at the smile dimpling his whiskery chin.
    “Welcome to Ennishlough, Faye.” He bowed before me, rolling his hand in a grand gesture as a court page