Free Once Upon a Misty Bluegrass Hill by Rebecca Bernadette Mance Page A

family lived somewhere else you might not be think ing that way. "
    Jolene felt her temper rise swift and hot .  She heard her d addy talk a lot about those things with Tommy before he left .  This foreigner had no right to talk about it like that.  L ike as if he knew more than her d addy and Tommy .  " Maybe if you were not a foreigner coming over here t aking over my family farm you might know something.  You lived in Ireland…you have no right coming over here and saying stuff like that.  My d addy was in Vietnam and I know he was a hero and I don ' t care what you think about anything! "
    Saturated with pain and confusion, Jolene turned and ran back to her old home that was now her new home trying her best to hold back the burning sobs that threatened to embrace her tighter .
    She didn ' t need to stay here and listen to this crap from him.  Her d addy wou ld be rolling over in his grave.
    She slammed the door behind her and ran to her parent ' s bedroom that was now her own newly decorated room and flung herself across the daisy quilt bedcover and cried so hard she thought her rib s would pop out.
    A few minutes later she heard a heavy knock on her front door .
    " Jolene, I am sorry , " Patrick called from the porch.  " Come on out to the porch and talk w ith me. "
    " You are a foreign jerk! "   She yelled so he would be sure to hear.
    A muffled chuckle penetrated the door and danced into the room to her ears.  " Jolene, listen, if yer come outside and talk I will put up a flag pole and we will get a flag. "
    Jolene shot up from the bed and went to the door lifting away the lace curtain that graced the window.  She looked out to find Patrick regarding her with his big violet eyes that made her heart flutter and her breathing quicken. 
    He blinked earnest.  " I am really sorry Jolene. "
    Jolene moved closer to the glass .  " You promise you will get a flag pole? "
    " We will go order it tomorrow along with a flag. "
    Jolene shook her head.  " No Irish flags now. "
    Patrick laughed and tilted his head.  " What der ya mean girl, I canno ever have an Irish flag… "
    Jolene suddenly felt ashamed.  " Well…maybe somewhere we can put one…. "
    Patrick laughed hard.  " We ' ll put yer American flag on the flagpole then. "
    Jolene put her hand on the doorknob and negotiated one last concession before opening it.  " How about a POW flag, can we put one of those too? "
    Patrick grinned.  " Arah girl!  Now next you ' ll be a ' wantin to put every state flag down the pole too. "
    Jolene didn ' t laugh .  S he just stared through the glass at Patrick ' s laughing blue-purple eyes.
    " Oh alright Little Red , if yer come on out we ' ll be getting you a POW flag as well…I hope you know how to put them up with all those rules and such. "
    Jolene grinned and swung the door open.   " I sure do…my d addy taught me a long time ago.  I can show you how! "
    Patrick shook his head and laughed.  " How am I going t o explain that to me mam and pap? I am the Earl of Meath, I should have me own coat of arms on a flag pole . "
    Jolene hesitated choosing her words carefully in the face of his concessions.  " Maybe we can put your flag on a pole out in back. "
    He tilted his head.  " How nice of you Jolene, I am sure my parents will feel very happy about that part. "
    Jolene grinned.  " You worry about your parents and your Earl flag… I am going to go look on the internet for the biggest flags I can find….so you better get a great big flagpole Patrick . "   She threw her arms wide.  " I mean, really, really big. "
    " Aaarah girl, you donno have to get the biggest flag pole. "
    " Well, you can get a big pole for your Earl flag…so long as it is not next to my flag pole…E arl of Meath flag?  Really Patrick ?  That is just weird.  What are you doing here in the first place? "
    He sighed.  " You let m e worry about th at and you worry about find'in yu r flagpole. "
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6
    His groom