Maybe I’ll get lucky, and he’ll come into the pub.

Maybe he could be my risk or my something drastic.

Later at dinner, I settle into my seat beside Fiona as my aunt serves us. Like I knew I would, my body aches from where the sun has caused havoc on my skin. I should have never stayed as long as I did, but I couldn’t stop watching Kane and his friend on the boat. I’m almost positive Kane’s friend was waiting for me to leave because when I got up to go, he started to row the boat back to the bank. I may be flattering myself, but it made me smile nonetheless. I’ve had a grin on my face that won’t go away, even after rubbing aloe all over my burning body.

As Shelia loads my plate up with sliced pork and potatoes, I looked over at Fiona to say, “I saw Kane today.”

She glanced over at me as Shelia asks, “Who’s that?”

“Ma, just a second,” Fiona says, turning to me. “Where? What was he doing? He wasn’t with someone, was he?”

I roll my eyes. “He was out on a boat and yes, with some guy. I’ve never seen him before.”

Her brows came together. “The lake? Outside?”

“Yeah, that’s usually where lakes are.”

She smacks me playfully as my uncle laughs from across the table and my aunt asks once more, “Who this is Kane fella?”

“Some guy, Ma, I fancy him a bit,” Fiona says quickly before looking back at me. “What was he doing on the lake, in a boat?”

“Fishing.”

She is confused, that is obvious, as she turns to her father. “Da, why would Kane Levy be on the O’Callaghan Lake?”

Michael shrugs his shoulders. “Hell, I don’t know, darlin’. I don’t even know who Kane Levy is.”

“Who? Alice and Paul Levy’s Kane?”

We all look up at Shelia as Fiona says, “Yeah, ya know them?”

“Of course I do. Kane is over there because he works there. He’s been friends with the young O’Callaghan lad since they were wee bit babies. It was probably him that Amberlyn saw.”

Fiona smacks her hands together as she nods. “That’s right, I knew that. Yeah, it was probably him. They are best pals, but I can’t believe you saw him. No one sees Declan.”

I don’t touch my food when it is placed before me. Instead, I ask, “Why?”

“I don’t know. He just disappeared a couple years ago. Rumor is he has locked himself away for his bride who is coming in another couple of years.”

So he is engaged? That’s depressing, but I am also confused. “Locked himself away?”

“Yeah, up in that big ‘ole castle of his.”

“Castle?”

Fiona laughs as she covers her mouth. “Yeah, he’s the Whiskey Prince.”

“He’s a prince!” I exclaim. “That’s so cool!”

Michael chuckles before saying, “No Amberlyn, he isn’t like real royalty. That’s just what he is called around her. The O’Callaghan’s are basically our royalty. They are kind of like your Kennedys. I don’t know why only Declan is called the whiskey anything. It isn’t as if we are calling his parents the king and queen or even the daughter a princess. It’s weird really, but that’s the Irish folk for ya,” he says playfully, but he gets a smack by my aunt anyway.

“I don’t know why we’ve done that either, we just have,” Shelia says as she sits down. “I think his grandda said it once when he was born, and it stuck.”

I’m extremely interested in this because I was attracted to him, but also because it is interesting and I want to know more. “Is his dad the president or something similar?”

He shakes his head. “Senior O’Callaghan was in politics for a bit, but the reason they’re a big deal is because they are very, very rich. Whiskey is a good business to go into. Everyone loves to drink. Because they are so rich and they do so much for the town, they are worshiped.”

“There was a festival when Declan and his younger sister, Lena, were born,” Shelia adds. “The whole town shut down just to get a glimpse of the next heir to the business, and then they did it for Lena because Noreen O’Callaghan wanted to show off her beautiful baby girl.”

“And everyone talks about them. They are a big deal around her,” Fiona says as she tears apart a piece of bread.

“If that’s true, then why haven’t I heard anything about them in the last month?” I ask, surprised by it all. He seemed so normal, hanging out on the lake, fishing.

“That’s ’cause he doesn’t come out. The rest of his family does, but Declan keeps to himself, only stays on the grounds. It’s like its own world over there. No one is allowed on unless invited,” Fiona says as Michael nods his head.

I’m interested and disappointed at the same time. Disappointed because my chance of ever seeing him in the pub has died, but interested because I want to know why and more than anything, I want to know him. Deciding that I have thought way too much about a person that has no connection to me and probably never will, I reach for my fork and dig into the amazing food that my aunt cooked.

But soon my thoughts drift back to the guy on the lake.

The Whiskey Prince.

It’s busy, like uncommonly busy this afternoon, and I blame it on Shelia for serving her famous cottage pie. I don’t like it much but apparently, the whole town does. Every table is full of men and women, loud and boisterous as they eat and drink. I made the joke that I couldn’t believe people drink in the middle of the day when I first started at the pub, but I soon learned there really isn’t a time when a person doesn’t drink in this country.

As Fiona takes orders quickly, I fill them just as fast, passing out the dishes before filling pints and basically looking like a chicken with my head cut off. When everyone is served, Fiona and I lean against the bar and take in deep breaths. I reach for my cup of water and drain it as she drains a beer before flashing me a grin.

“I need a drink after that. Curse ma for making her pie today; people are here from three towns over! I wouldn’t be surprised if some came from Dublin!”

I nod in agreement. “You’re probably right.”

She laughs as she fills her beer a little from the tap, draining it and standing up. “Okay, I am going to go get plates. You refill drinks?”