FicWad

Chapter One

Gerald Boyle smiled widely as he read the letter he had just received. He couldn't believe it. He laughed out loud. He just couldn't believe it.

His wife walked into the room, and he grabbed her arm. "Look at this," he laughed passing her the letter. She quirked her eyebrow at his merriment and began to read the letter in silence.

As he watched her read, his mirth diminished some into puzzlement. Her face had paled considerably and her chest rose and fell rapidly with her breathing. Surely the letter couldn't have affected her so.

"Eryn?" he asked concerned.

She jerked her head up, and the piece of paper fell from her slender fingers. "Hmm?"

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head and flipped her hand dismissively, but she still seemed less than composed. "I've just been feeling a little ill lately." Her eyes drifted back down to the letter, and she bent and picked it up from where it had fallen.

"What do you think?" he asked her as she handed it back to him.

She smiled. "It's wonderful." Her voice was soft, and she appeared to be lost in thought. Gerald wondered if it was the letter or something else she was thinking about.

"It is. I just can't believe it," he said, and his former humor was back, his wife's strange behavior forgotten. He was ecstatic.

"Neither can I," Eryn said in the same soft voice, "Brannon's coming home."

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Brannon whistled happily as he walked along the dirt road. It was a bright sunny day, and he was home. He had enjoyed traveling and seeing the world, but one of the things he had learned on his travels was that no place could compare to the emerald green fields of his homeland.

He had just been to his old house. His parents had changed a little. They had grown older and weaker, but all in all they were still the same as he remembered. His younger sister though had surprised him. McKenna who had been only twelve when he left was now a beautiful woman of 23 years. She was married, and she and her husband were expecting a baby in the winter. He had not yet got to see either of his brothers.

Now, he was off to see his best friend. He had missed Gerald greatly in his travels, maybe even more so than his family. Often he had found himself wishing his old friend were with him so they could go drinking at a pub or cause some kind of mischief together. He would certainly be glad of the reunion.

A broad smile graced his handsome face when he saw Gerald's home. Grinning like a boy, he broke into a trot, eager to once again see the face of his friend. Before he got to the door it burst open.

"Brannon McAlister, you rotten bastard, I can't believe you're home!" Gerald jumped off his porch and ran out into the yard to meet him. They were immediately locked in a firm embrace.

"Ah, it's good to see you again," Brannon laughed. He pulled back and looked his friend up and down. In his eleven year absence, Gerald had changed quite a bit. He was still shorter than Brannon by a head, but he had expanded greatly in width. His tanned face was even more freckled than Brannon remembered, and it had gained a few wrinkles around the mouth and the corners of the eyes. "You've changed," Brannon commented.

Gerald laughed, a booming sound that Brannon remembered from his past. He patted his full stomach. "That's what having a good wife who can cook will do to you," he said.

Brannon gaped at him. "You've married?"

Gerald beamed proudly. "Aye, the prettiest lass in all of Limerick. I'm a lucky man." He turned back toward the house. "Eryn!"

Brannon stared disbelievingly at the woman who appeared in the doorway seconds later. Long, lush, auburn hair fell in waves down her body all the way to her lovely hips. Her skin was fair and creamy and unblemished. And those eyes! She had a pair of eyes that rivaled the beauty of the Emerald Isle itself. Her face was stunning, complete with pouting pink lips, elegant high cheekbones, and finely arched eyebrows.

"Do you not recognize me, Brannon?" Her voice matched the rest of her. Beautiful. A small smile played on her lips.

Gerald had called her Eryn, and now as he looked at her face closely, Brannon could see it. Why, she had been a little slip of girl when he left. "Little Eryn O'Connell," he breathed in amazement. She had changed so much.

Gerald laughed again. "Eryn Boyle now," he said triumphantly as he walked to her and put his arm around her waist, "We were married this past spring."

Brannon was still amazed. Both by the changed in Eryn and her marriage to Gerald. In her younger years, she had hated him, and he had teased her maliciously. Much must have changed in his eleven year absence.

"Congratulations," he finally managed.

Eryn was still smiling at him. God, he thought, How did she turn out to be such a beautiful woman? "Come inside," she said, "I'm making a stew, and it should be ready within an hour. You can tell us of your travels."

"I couldn't pass it up for the whole world," he replied and followed them inside.