To Love A Wild Irishman

Chapter Forty-Four

"I know!" Cassandra bit her lip and then threw her arms around Finnegan as they both laughed and let the realization of what had just happened sink in. They were rich. Filthy rich. Rich beyond even the wildest of the dreams they'd had.

Cassandra pulled away from Finnegan and hugged Seamus and Calvin in turn. "Thank you both! Thank you so much!"

"If not for you we never would have gotten as far as we had, Cassandra. If not for you I'd still be trying to kill Finnegan and he'd be riding around with a map and no idea how to get to where it was leading him. This treasure is more yours than anyone else's."

"And yet ya only saw fit to give us half.." Finnegan grumbled.

"Ignore him." Cassandra sent a glare to Finnegan. "This is just amazing..." Cassandra walked back over to the burlap sacks and simply stared down at them in wonder.

"What is this about a pub in California?" Calvin asked.

"That's what me and Little Cass are going to do. We're movin' to California and we're gonna start out own pub."

Cassandra walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. "We can really do this now, Finn. We can have our dream life..."

Finnegan crouched down in front of her and rested his chin against her leg as he looked up into her eyes. "Any life spent with ya by my side is a dream life, Cass. Thank ya for takin' a chance on a man like me."

Cassandra smiled and laid her hand against his cheek. "Thank you for proving me right and being worth the chance."

"You got room in your traveling party for two more?" Seamus asked. "Calvin and I were thinking of headed west ourselves."

"Of course!" Cassandra stood and went to them. "You should come with us and settle down there with us..."

"Uh.. Little Cass? My dream life doesn't include wakin' up to my brother every morn,"

"Be quiet, Finn. Your dream life is about what I want."

"Is that what it is then?" Finnegan demanded with a laugh.

Cassandra smiled sweetly and nodded. "Of course it is, love. If I'm not kept happy then I'll make sure you're miserable."

Finnegan snorted. "Maybe I'm the one that picked the wrong partner. Young Calvin is seemin' a much better choice."

"No," Seamus shook his head and glanced at Calvin before looking back at his brother. "He's even harder to please than Cassandra."

"Come on, Calvin," Cassandra looped her arm through his. "We'll let them fight amongst themselves over who has the worst life while we go get something to eat."

"You wanna be seen with me?" Calvin questioned. "I'm filthy and you look real pretty."

Cassandra glanced own at the fancy white dress adorned with crystals and lace that her mother had insisted she wear tonight. She nodded as she smiled up at Calvin. "I'm sure. I was just seen at a high society party with Finnegan as he wore nothing but a sheet. I think my reputation will survive being seen with a dirty man."

"A woman gets a bit of money and she forgets all about the man who stood by her when she didn't have a thing," Finnegan lamented sadly.

Cassandra smiled and blew him a kiss. "You're welcome to join us. I'm sure Calvin is willing to share."

***

Finnegan sat in the restaurant while his brother, Calvin and Cassandra spoke about California but his mind wasn't on what they were saying.

Instead he kept thinking about that stormy night so long ago when he'd stumbled upon Murphy's shack and the old man had given him that treasure map before falling over dead.

Finnegan had wanted that treasure so desperately, the thirst for that gold had been as wild in his blood as the thirst for whiskey and an easy, willing woman. He'd been fighting to outrun more than one person who wanted him dead and he hadn't cared. He had simply wanted more. More gold, more whiskey, more women, more bets, more gambles, more, more, more.....

The only reason he had even considered going to find Cassandra was because he had known she was smart and educated and he had thought that his best friend would tell him what he wanted to know and then send him on his way.

Thank the Lord that he'd been wrong.

Little Cass was now all he craved, all he desired, all he truly needed in the entire world. It was amazing to him, in this moment, to realize just how he had changed; how she had changed him.

He had given up every single thing that he had thought he couldn't live without and he'd been happier than he'd ever been in his life. Who would have thought that the Lord would repay him by allowing him to have his wife and his treasure and a future that including building a dream with the woman he loved and the family they were creating?

"Finn, are you listening?" Cassandra asked with concern in her voice as she leaned toward him.

Finnegan pulled himself from his thoughts and squeezed her hand under the table. "I was daydreamin' I suppose," he replied. "What were ya sayin'?"

"Calvin and Seamus were saying that they'd like to come to California with us. They would help us build the pub and they want to buy some land and see about setting up a ranch."

Finnegan shivered. "Ya want to spend the rest of your life shoveling up horse manure?"

Seamus frowned. "As opposed to running off drunks and watching grown men make fools of themselves at gambling tables?"

Finnegan winked. "I'll be makin' money off of every fool that steps inside."

Cassandra smiled as she leaned into him and Finnegan slid his arm around her shoulder. "This is great! The four amigos are together again," the happiness in her voice was infectious.

"When are we leaving?" Seamus questioned.

Finnegan shrugged. "Well we should probably square things away here and rest a bit and...."

"There should be a train leaving west in the morning," Cassandra spoke up quickly. "I think first thing in the morning sounds just right."

"I don't believe I've meant a more impulsive woman then the one you got yourself," Calvin mused to Finnegan.

Finnegan grinned. "And a good thing that is too. A woman who thought before she made important decisions would have never wanted to come along on a treasure hunt with a man like me."