Free Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series by Tricia Daniels Page A

Ethan picks
up his glass and downs the last mouthful.
    “She has barely left her house in three
years, except to work. She’s still a little… umm... skittish around
men.” Rachel starts feeling a little protective of her best friend.
“She deserves a good man.”
    He reflects on her words a moment,
understanding that there is an unvoiced warning in there. “Yes, she
certainly does.”
    Rachel has a strong feeling that Ethan is
exactly what Olivia needs. Against her husband’s wishes, she’ll
continue to try to steer them towards each other. She cautions him.
“If someone wanted to get close to her, they would have to take
things really slow and be patient. It would be like trying to catch
a frightened rabbit.”
    He leans back in his chair and wipes his
mouth with a napkin. “So she isn’t a lesbian?”
    Rachel chokes on her drink and almost sends
it shooting out her nose. “Oh my God! NO! Where did you get an idea
like that?”
    “Scott.” He answers in a nonchalant
manner.
    Rachel puts her hands over her face and
growls. “I’m going to kill him. Ethan, you need to know that
Olivia’s last boyfriend hurt her in more ways than just breaking
her heart. And... Well...Scott introduced them so he feels
responsible for what happened.”
    Ethan rubs his hand over his whiskers. “What
exactly happened?” He wants to know. He needs to know. It will give
him a better idea on how to handle her.
    Scott arrives back from the bathroom and
meets the icy stare of his wife. Concerned, he pulls out his chair
and sits down. “What did I miss?”
    Rachel pounces on him. “You told Ethan that
Olivia was a lesbian?”
    Scott panics. “Um well… what I said was that
it was entirely possible.”
    Her temper explodes and a liquor-fueled
argument ensues. Ethan gets up and goes to the bar, safely out of
range. When he returns, Scott is gone. Ethan looks at Rachel
suspiciously. “Where’s Scott?”
    “He left.” Her arms are crossed in front of
her in anger and she pushes the chair back from the table and gets
to her feet. “Order me another drink. I’m going to dance.”
     
    The phone rings and startles Olivia out of a
sound sleep. Who the heck is calling this late? She tilts the phone
so she can see the display. It’s Rachel! It’s after midnight! There
is only one reason she would be calling.
    “Hello?” Her voice sounds tired and
weary.
    “Hi, Olivia. This is Ethan.“
    Her eyes pop wide open at the sound of his
raspy Irish brogue. “I’m sorry to bother you so late but Rachel
asked me to call you.”
    She can hear muffled music in the background
and her heart starts to beat quickly. “Is she ok?”
    “Yes, sorry I didn’t mean to alarm you.
We’re at the Headwaters bar. She’s had a bit too much to
drink.”
    “Where’s Scott?”
    “They had a fight and he left. I’ve been
calling the house but he’s not answering. I was going to call a cab
but I can’t find my wallet. I hate to ask you to come out this
late, but could you pick us up and drive us home? If it was just me
I would walk but I’m sure Rachel wouldn’t make it.”
    Olivia is already on her feet and putting on
her shoes. “I’ll be right there.” She rubs the sleep out of her
eyes, ignoring that they are still red and burning from crying. She
grabs an elastic, pulls her disheveled couch hair into a ponytail,
and throws a hoodie on over top her t-shirt, not bothering to
change out of her Pink Kitty pajama pants.
    It’s only a few blocks to the bar from her
townhouse and when she gets there, they aren’t waiting outside.
She’s alarmed at the thought that she might still be drinking, so
she parks and heads in. She has never had another female friend
that could down the booze like Rachel. She can drink most of the
men she knows under the table. Olivia makes her way into the bar
searching for her friend, the music is so loud it hurts her ears
and makes her head pound. Finally, she finds her dancing up a storm
on the floor.
    Continuing