"There. That's the last one for tonight," Aoife declared, blowing a wayward curl out of her face. Once she dropped the cardboard box of old seed catalogs on the truck bed, she wiped her hands on her grimy jeans. Chibs secured the back gate on the pick-up and turned, catching Aoife around the waist. He pressed his dry, chapped lips to hers and prayed that the fact that they were both equally dirty and sweaty would keep the fact that he smelled like week-old roadkill from bothering her. When the kiss ended, he smiled down at Aoife and used the tip of his blackened thumb to wipe a smudge of grease from her freckled cheek. She nodded her head in the direction of the house and urged," Come on. Neither of us is fit for human companionship as filthy as we are. The first room I cleaned was the master bath."

"That's my smart lass," Chibs grinned. He let Aoife take his hand and lead him inside. "I still can't believe your aunt never sorted through all this shit."

"I know she meant to, but running the shop always came first. She practically lived at the shop, and when she would get home she was bone tired and all by herself. So she just maintained the rooms she lived in and left the rest for later. She didn't think that there might not be a later." Aoife said sadly. Rois had purchased the property, contents included, at auction many years ago, and had never gotten around to fixing the place up. The extra rooms upstairs and down the back hallway were stacked with old furniture, antiques, and junk, all covered with a thick layer of dust. In addition, they had to clean out the barn, the greenhouse, the summer kitchen, and three sheds. The house's structure remained sound, but it would take months to do all the repairs and redecoration. Aoife's simple "it needs work" was an understatement. Whenever Chibs could escape from club business in the early evening, they would come out for an hour or two and work on the house. Tonight he would take the old paper for recycling on his way back to Teller-Morrow.

"How's your arm?" Chibs asked, sliding his finger tips up her still-skinnier arm, finally free from its cast.

"Getting stronger fast with all this hard work," she assured him as she pulled her grungy t-shirt and sports bra over her head and dropped them in the laundry basket sitting next to the enclosed tub. Her jeans and underwear soon followed. Chibs dumped his discarded clothes on top of hers in the basket and joined her under the hot water. The shower was a tight fit for the two of them, but he couldn't lie and claim he minded. As the grime turned the water a dingy gray, he pumped a dollop of shampoo into his hand and lathered it into Aoife's hair. She relaxed against him, her warm, soft skin leaning back against his broad, muscled chest. She stayed there while he washed his own hair. Chibs soaped up a washcloth and gently rubbed Aoife's neck and shoulders, letting the water wash away the suds before lowering his mouth to her pulse point and nipping gently. She responded by turning and throwing her arms around his neck, their water-slicked bodies sliding over one another. The steam rose around them as Chibs hoisted Aoife up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He thrust inside her without ever breaking their kiss, using the shower wall to hold her up. Aoife and Chibs stayed in the shower wrapped around one another until the water turned cool.

Chibs lounged on the frame that surrounded the separate double bathtub and eyed Aoife's curves and soft skin with desire while she fluffed her curly dark hair with the towel. He cast about in his brain, trying to remember if he had seen sheets on the queen size bed in the master bedroom.

Aoife's eye caught his. "Penny for your thoughts?" she offered.

He winked. "All terribly lustful, lass."

Her phone interrupted her chuckle, and she draped her towel over the bathroom counter as she answered. "Aye?" She listened for a moment, and then said, "Aye, I think that will work. I'll see you in the mornin'." Snapping the phone shut, Aoife answered Chibs' raised eyebrow. "That was Cole. He needs to move his schedule around a wee bit because of exams."

"How is the lad working out?" Chibs asked, forcing his voice to stay level. He was happy that Aoife had hired help for the shop, but the Scotsman didn't like the admiring way that the college student, Della's eldest grandson, gazed at Aoife.

Aoife shook her index finger at him. "You're not hiding your jealousy very well. He's working just fine, like I told you he would."

Chibs rose lazily from his spot and crushed Aoife against his chest, planting a kiss on her hairline. "Sorry, a chuisle. Protecting what's mine just comes naturally to me."

She rolled her eyes. "That lad does not want me. He's gay, silly. He just doesn't want his grandmother to know."

Chibs raised an eyebrow. "Gay, eh? Well, that makes me feel a hell of a lot better." His burner phone vibrated against the bathtub ledge and he flipped it open and answered. "Aye?" Aoife slipped into clean clothes while she listened to him make a number of affirmative grunts into the receiver. "Aye, Juicey. I'll be there as soon as I'm able." He turned a wry smile to Aoife.

"Club business?" she confirmed. Chibs nodded and sighed.

Aoife's phone vibrated in her apron pocket. "Cole, can you take over at the register?" she asked, and the young man nodded with a giant smile. She answered her phone. "Aye?"

"Morning, love," Filip's voice was tight, and she could hear voices in the background.

Aoife's heart clutched. "What's wrong?"

"Gem's been in a car accident. We're at the hospital now."

Aoife covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her squeak of surprise. "Will she be alright?"

"Aye, I think so. She walked in here on her own two feet, but she's shaken up bad."

"I can come over after we close." She heard the hesitation. "Is there something else?"

"Aye. You seen anything of that new shop going in down the street from your place?"

"Impeccable Smokes?" Chibs gave a grunt of confirmation. "Aye, they've stepped in a few times for coffees. An older slimy guy and a snotty little blonde." Aoife wrinkled her nose. "Something about them smelled off."

"Watch out for 'em. That's Ethan Zobelle and his daughter. They're making some trouble for us. Bastard showed up at Bobby's party and threatened us." As if taking a cue, the little bell over the front door of the coffee shop jingled as the Zobelles and a broad-shouldered, frowning man stepped inside.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Aoife whispered into the phone. "I have to go."

"Be careful. Tá grá agam duit."

"Tá grá agam duit," Aoife replied warmly. As long as she had Chibs, there was nothing she couldn't face.