Snip

Kate nodded indicating she heard Mathilda before following Shaun out of the house. While the car seemed to have the bottom of an off roading vehicle, the top half had the appeal of an ancient convertible muscle car. “Can we take this when we go Banshee hunting,” Kate asked Shaun with a smile. “Its like a stylish but functional Ecto one.”

Kate O’Neill

“I don’t see why not, if Uncle Jeremy did it correctly this thing should be able to climb up a mountain no problem so I would think so… you ready to go up the top?” Shaun said as the pair went out as Jeremy could be seen getting out of the car, a beastly combination of parts and grit as the man seemed to to wait for the praise he was clearly expecting from everyone before he had eyes on Kate.

“I,” Kate began her reply but never finishing it. Her mouth hung open slightly seeing the young man coming out from behind Jeremy. It had to be Liam. The family resemblance was uncanny. Both Liam and Shaun had the thick, ever tousled brown locks and blue eyes although Liam’s were not the piercing blue like Shaun’s. Kate blushed slightly catching Shaun’s gaze out of the corner of her eye. It was not that she oogling Liam but more embarrassed how mentally, Kate realized how much cuter Shaun was than the cousin he often talked about back in the States.

“You must but Katie! Shaun speaks of you all the time.” Jeremy said as he came and wrapped his arms around her as he squeezed her in a bear like hug.

Kate accepted the hug. It broke the need for her to respond to the look Shaun was giving her as she saw Liam. “In the flesh. The girl, the mystery, the one that keeps Shaun out of trouble,” she giggled in the embrace.

“So… what do you think?” he asked Katie as he clearly was very proud. “Does it speak of the brilliance of us?” he asked as he put his arm around Shaun, as he squeezed him tightly.

Grecken, Doctor

“It speaks of,” Kate began but instantly was cut off from finishing her remark.

“Shaun,” a voice called out happily turning the groups attention from the vehicle to the pretty brunette about thier age coming down the driveway.

Kate’s eyes widened slightly as she saw Shaun embrace the girl in a warm hug. He seemed oddly happy to see her which was even odder because the only person Shaun ever said lived next to his Aunt Mathilda and Uncle James was some kid named Dillon. Kate stood awkwardly as Shaun began to trade laughs and small talk with the girl. Eavesdropping on thier conversation Kate began to slowly piece together the mystery. This was not some generic girl who vaguely knew Shaun. This was Dillon the person Shaun chattered on about all the time. The Dillon that dropped by on lazy Sunday afternoons to hang out when Shaun was tinkering with an engine. This was Dillon who could hock a loogie farther than anyone Shaun had ever known. This was Dillon that loved to play Call to the Federation for hours at a time. This was Dillon only Dillon was not just one of the guys as Shaun described them recanting stories about thier adventures. This was Dillon, a girl not much older than Kate and very much a girl like Kate.

“Dillon?” Shaun said, he hadn’t been expecting to see her at this time of the year. The last she had spoken she was heading to Edinburgh in Scotland to visit her older sister in college. “Why aren’t you visiting Blair at the University of Edinburgh? You told me you were all excited to get to go see her this summer.” Shaun asked, glad to see his summertime friend who lived next to James. The twins loved him, but they were not near his age. Uncle Jeremy brought Liam, Anges, Blythe, and Harris by often and there was times Shaun stayed over there and found plenty of people to hang out with, but with Uncle James it had always just been Dillon to pry his attention away.

“When I heard you were coming back I had her change my plans.” The embrace was just long enough to show caring but not long enough to indicate affection or was it? Kate let her mind wander to all the times she and Shaun had been separated. Was there ever a hug? Probably yet it was lackluster enough not to be readily available to her memory. Kate’s eyes drifted to his hands holding Dillon’s as she backed away. Casual observance not clouded by the crazy machinations of a teen girls mind would note Dillon had both instigated the hug and held on as she stepped away; however, the plight of all teens and pre-teens was being too dumb to separate fact from highly imaginative minds. “I figured I could go next month after you leave to go back. It’s just so good to have you back home.”

Home. This place is not home chica. Home is in the hills of the Appalachians and not some tree barren, rock-strewn hunk of dirt floating in the Atlantic. The idea that Ireland could ever be Shaun’s true home had Kate seeing green. Who are you slobbin’ up on Shaun? If I ain’t heard of you, you probably don’t really exist so take a step back and check yourself with a normal hello.

“Gosh you have gotten tall. Last time you were here we were eye to eye. Now I have to look up to see you,” Dillon tilted her head back for effect looking at Shaun.

Who besides an adult ever talks about how tall you have gotten, Kate wrinkled up her nose in disgust. Enough was enough. It was time to break up this weird neighborly greeting.

The time Dillon and Shaun had spent in greeting each other was in reality short; however, in a teen girls mind, they had not only said hello but met, gotten married and had a few kids. “Hello,” Kate moved away from Jeremy and to Shaun’s side. “I’m Kate and you are,” she asked a rhetorical question because she already knew the answer.

This was just some chick that thought Shaun was cute. It was not unsurprising. At school, girls were always giggling and staring at him when he walked down the halls or was goofing off in class. Kate would say hello, be polite, and then they would move along with the day’s plans.

Kate O’Neill

“Hi… I’m Dillon McKinney, I live next door.” Dillon said quietly as she pointed to the house. The area they lived was rural but there was at least six homes within viewing distance from James home. Everyone was either elderly or married without kids. The McKinney and May homes were the only exceptions.

“You’re Dillon? His friend that lives in the next house over from Uncle James.” Recognition swept over Kate’s face drawing the corners of her smile into a tight line. Slowly she turned her forced smile to look at Shaun. Her tummy began to flip flop like they were about to plunge downhill on a roller coaster as a face was placed with a well-known name.

“Yes,” she shook her head in acknowledgment. Soft reddish, brown curls bobbed slightly with the movement. “I have known Shaun for years. Good to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too Dillllllloooooon,” Kate nodded returning the greeting slowly, “and no Kenny. Just Dillon. Dillon McKinney,” she repeated the name taking in the situation as she moved next to Shaun. At twelve, Kate was not sure exactly how this worked. Was it better to be next to him or in front of him? Next to him meant you could grab him if you needed to or shove him with more likely success to knock him off balance. Shaun’s current growth spurt was making it more difficult to physically compete with him. Standing in front of him meant his eyes were on your and Kate could see when Shaun actively looked at the girl because he would have to turn his head.

“Shaun you never told me Dillon was so,” Kate let her words trail before settling on, “friendly.” You never told me she was a girl either but we can talk about that later she said the second sentence to herself.

“Is there a problem,” Dillon asked now confused herself.

“No there is no problem,” Kate decided next to was the best position for now and playfully shoved his shoulder with more force than necessary. “I just can’t ever understand that weird accent of yours. I thought it was Dillon and Kenny like two pals roaming the countryside but its just you. Dillon McKinney,” she repeated the name.

“Dillon me-n-you are gonna mix.” The saying was an old Southern one meaning Kate was ready to rumble however with a dollop of smiles it sounded so friendly. Kate might not have some weird foreign language like Shaun did in his family, but she had something almost better. Southern slang which could never accurately be translated by anyone that wasn’t from the south. Glancing over at Shaun, Kate patted his arm. “Ever notice at times he can be as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.” Dillon would have no idea what Kate was saying but Shaun would have a very good idea of the real meaning behind her Southern slang.

“I guess,” Dillon laughed looking at Shaun even more confused as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Oh yeah, Kate is not sweet on Shaun at all, Mathilda laughed in her head. James and Jeremy had no idea what they were getting into taking the lot of teens out for the weekend but she was sure gonna love to hear the story about it later. “Okay time to get going,” Mathilda clapped her hands making a shooing motion towards the car. “It’s a long trip and I don’t trust you are gonna make it up there in that contraption there,” she wagged a dish rag at the car. “Dillon your mama sent your bag up this morning. I put it in the car already with Kate and Shaun’s stuff.”

“She’s coming Banshee hunting with us,” Kate locked eyes on Shaun. The fun and laid back vacation was suddenly turning into an Irish version of a nightmare. She would need some time to digest the news. “Why Bless my heart this is just gonna be the best trip ever.”

“I would make no sense for me to pitching a hissy fit with a tail on it until the cows come home right. So we should get going. I mean if you if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay under the porch right and I for one love to run. Woof woof woof,” Kate let out a silly bark, smiled, and turned on her heel sharply toward the car. Snatching Liam with the crook of her arm, she pulled him with her. “Sit by me. You can show me the countryside while Dillon and Shaun catch up,” she said. “Shaun has talked all about the really cool things here and the history behind it.”

Sliding into the car, Kate made sure that she was by the window and Liam next to her. If Shaun wanted to sit next ot Silly Dilly at least she wouldn’t have to see it.

“So Liam tell me about Killarney? Is that where they have the kissing stone?”

Kate future COS

This area had a quaint tiny village feel, enough people to not feel lonely but far enough away from the city you needed to plan to go there. No more than four hundred hundred people lived in Hogstits, but that never stopped them all going on adventures when they could. Jeremy and his family lived on the other side of the village, which in itself sounded like some far away trek, but it was no more than a half a km away from where they were now, with the tiny pubs and shops scattered in-between them.

Grecken, Doctor