To Love A Wild Irishman

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Finnegan stood and threw the pillow across the room, breaking the picture on the wall as it fell to the floor and shattered across the gleaming hardwood.

He couldn't do this! The storm had lessened outside, now only a slow and steady rain, and it was hard dark, going on eleven o'clock at night. Finnegan could not sit here doing nothing while Cassandra could be being harmed. Sitting here twiddling his thumbs was simply not an option.

Finnegan adjusted his gun belt and strode toward the door. He jerked it open to find Seamus and Calvin standing in the hall. "We heard something break...." Seamus stated glancing over Finnegan's shoulder and into the room.

"Aye, that would be the picture that was hangin' on the wall there. For a nice hotel this place could certainly use some tougher nails."

"Where are you going, Finnegan?" Calvin questioned hesitantly.

Finnegan sighed. These two acted as if he had lost his mind, which he had, but he didn't like being treated as if he had. "I'm goin' to go and find Cassandra. Sittin' here all night is not somethin' I can do."

"Finnegan, it's dark, it's raining..."

"I don't give a flyin' fuck, Seamus. Now ya will either get outta my way or ya will force me to make ya."

Seamus shook his head and stepped aside. Finnegan wasted no time in rushing down the hall, taking the steps three at a time and bursting out onto the boardwalk. The air was heavy and thick with the recent storm and it was hot and muggy.

Finnegan's boots squished and slid across the mud as he strode down the street toward the livery. He had mud splashed up to his knees by the time he entered the large barn. He saw the stable hand sound asleep on a back stool but it didn't matter. Finnegan knew where Theo was.

He went to the stall and the gelding snorted a greeting. "Hey there, Theo."

Finnegan opened the door, grabbed the horses reins and pulled him out of the stall. He led Theo outside and placed a hand on either side of his face, pressing his brow to the gelding's brow. "I need ya to help me, Theo. We have to find, Little Cass. They took her and ya have to help me find her. Can ya help me, Theo?"

Theo snorted and tossed his head up and down in a nod. Finnegan kissed the beast's nose and patted his neck. "Let's go then, Theo."

It took a little doing to get up on the horses back with his broken hand but Finnegan managed it and he let Theo have his head and the gelding stood still a moment before taking off down the road seeming to have a clear idea of where he was going.

It didn't take long for the slow steady rain to soak through Finnegan's clothes and plaster his dark curls to his head. It also didn't take long for Seamus and Calvin to catch up with him.

"Where are we going?" Seamus asked after a while as Theo led them off the road and into the trees.

"Theo is takin' us to Cassandra," Finnegan replied.

"Finnegan, you've lost your mind..."

"You're free to go on back to town then, Seamus," Finnegan snapped.

Silence fell over the trio and time clicked on. The rain stopped, frogs began filling the night with their sound and still Theo walked on.

Finnegan sat up straighter and came more alert when Theo's ears pricked forward and he heard movement up ahead.