Free Irish Secrets by Paula Martin Page B

you wouldn't have those forty shades of green."
    "Aye, that's true." He led the way into the lounge bar, and gave his name to the girl standing at the small desk near the entrance to the restaurant. "I called this morning to make a reservation."
    "Yes, your table's ready, Mr. Brady. May I take your coats?"
    After she'd hung their wet jackets on hangers, the girl escorted them to a table next to a window overlooking the lough.
    Kara gazed through the rain-spattered window. Everything apart from the stretch of water closest to the restaurant was blotted out by the relentless rain, grey mist, and low cloud.
    Ryan grinned as he handed the menu to her. "You'll have to imagine the view of the hills on the far side."
    "I'm sure it's beautiful in fair weather, but the mist gives everything a kind of ethereal quality. I can understand why the Irish have so many myths and legends about giants and fairies – and the little people, of course."
    "And do you know what colour jackets the little people wear?"
    "Green?"
    He shook his head. "No, that's the modern version, probably invented by Hollywood. The traditional leprechauns wear red jackets, and here in the west, because of all the rain, they wear frieze overcoats over them."
    "What's a frieze overcoat?"
    "It's a coarse, woollen fabric with a raised nap on one side. Good for keeping out the wind and rain."
    "Have you always been a taxi driver?"
    His eyes widened. "Whoa, that's a quantum leap from the little people. Why do you ask?"
    Embarrassed that she hadn't thought first before asking her impulsive question, she gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry, but you're knowledgeable about so many different things, you could be a tour guide, or even a teacher."
    "I'll take that as a compliment." He gave a quick laugh and went on, "I read a lot, and I enjoy finding out about Irish history. Anyhow, have you decided what you want to eat?"
    As she studied the menu, an uncomfortable sensation tightened her stomach muscles. She wasn't sure why, except Ryan hadn't answered her question about being a taxi driver.
    His voice broke into her thoughts. "Spoilt for choice, are you?"
    She dragged her concentration back to the menu and nodded. "Yes, but I think I'll try the Connemara crab claws, and then the Atlantic seafood crepe."
    "I'm going for the crepe, too, but I'll have the Skelleen mussels for starters."
    After he gave their order to the server, Kara glanced down at his tablet in its leather sleeve. "May I look at the certificate while we're waiting for our starters?"
    "Aye, of course."
    He switched on the tablet and swiped the screen a few times before handing it to her. She stared down at the scanned copy of the certificate. Her mother's birth certificate. Mary O'Brien .
    "It's such an Irish-sounding name compared with her adoptive name," she said.
    "Remind me of her name."
    "Linda Jane Howard – and I forgot to show you this when we were at Ballykane. It's the earliest photo I have of her." She scrolled through the photos on her phone. "Here you are. On the back of the original photo, someone has written, Linda Jane, May, 1960, aged 13 months. It was taken on the porch at my grandparents' house."
    Ryan looked down at the phone. "She looks very serious, doesn't she? What's she holding?" He enlarged the black and white photo. "Is it a teddy bear?"
    "I think it's a knitted rabbit. She's holding one ear, and it looks like the other ear has been chewed. I can't help wondering if her birth mother knitted it for her."
    "Or it was the first gift from her new parents."
    "If you scroll down, there are more photos of her."
    She leant across the table and commented on some of the photos. "That was her first day at school, and I think that was her first bike, and that's her school Prom." She giggled. "Look at all the frills on her dress. No one would wear anything like that these days. It's hideous."
    "Is that your dad with her?"
    "No, he must have been a high school boyfriend. She didn't meet my dad until they