Irish Mist - Sean's Story (Mary O'Reilly Short Story), Terri Reid [best summer books .TXT] 📗

Irish Mist - Sean's Story

Mary O'Reilly [9.50]

Terri Reid

(2013)

Rating: ★★★★☆

What would you do to win a game of hide and seek? After all, as the oldest child in the family, Sean O'Reilly had a reputation to uphold. Besides, the things his grandmother said about the woods beyond her fence line were just fairy tales. Stories to frighten children into doing what's right. Or were they?

Irish Mist – Sean’s Story

(A Mary O’Reilly Short Story)

by

Terri Reid

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

           Terri Reid

Irish Mist – Sean’s Story - (A Mary O’Reilly Short Story)

Copyright © 2013 by Terri Reid

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

Note from the author:

As I was working on Book Ten in the Mary O’Reilly Series and was looking forward to the books in the future, I realized I needed to share a little back story with you, my wonderful readers.

You might remember when Bradley spent the night at Sean’s apartment in the book, “Natural Reaction” and spoke about the scars on his arms. Those scars and how he received them are going to be opening up a whole new world to Sean and some of the other characters in these books.

If you’re just finding this story, I would suggest you start your journey with “Loose Ends” and read the rest of the books – through Book Nine (Twisted Paths) in order to understand and come to know this family.  However, this story can stand alone.

I hope you enjoy Sean’s adventure!

Sincerely,

Terri Reid

Chapter One

(20 years ago)

“Eleven, twelve, thirteen…”

Sean could hear his sister’s voice clearly as he loped across the pasture towards the stone fence that marked the edge of his grandmother’s property.  When she reached twenty Mary would open her eyes, turn around and start hunting for her brothers.  And, even though Mary was the youngest, she was the most competitive of the O’Reilly family. Sean grinned as he pictured his eight year-old sister searching for him.  She would never give up, but she was not going to find him this time.

He took a deep breath of air. The air smells different in Ireland, he thought, like it has something extra added to it. Maybe magic.

He grinned at his own flight of fancy. Now he was sounding like his grandmother; magic and the fey. You must show respect for the little people, she’d said.  Sean snickered to himself. If she lived in Chicago, his mother would probably have to put her in a home if someone heard her talking like that.  But, for some reason, the people who lived in Ireland actually believed in stuff like that.  He rolled his eyes. Yeah, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

A few more steps and he finally reached the stone wall.  He marveled at how all those different sizes and shapes actually worked together to create a wall that was hundreds of years old.  He placed his foot in a depression and grabbed the wide top of the fence, pulling himself on top.  He looked back for a moment; Mary was nearly done with the counting.  He could see his younger twin brothers hiding near the cottage. Arthur was behind the well and Tommy was in the shed.  Shaking his head, he grimaced.  What idiots! If he could see them from where he was, Mary would find them in a minute.

He shrugged, he was sure they were still spooked.  They were ten years old, and believed the stories his grandmother had shared the night before.  Beware of the forest, she had warned, there are things that go on in there that no human can explain.  Scaredy-cats, they wouldn’t go very far from the cottage, Grandma sure pulled one over on them.

He rolled over the top and jumped down. His feet hit the soft loam on the other side and it felt squishy, like he was walking on carpet. He hurried away from the fence. They were never going to find him.  He would win the game so well it would be epic.  They would talk about it for years.

The air was cooler on this side, like the sun didn’t shine quite as brightly. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Mary in the distance heading towards the shed.  Grinning, he nodded his head.  Yeah, they’d be caught in a few seconds. Losers.

Turning from the fence, he followed the narrow path that led into the woods.  Once he stepped onto the path and turned towards the thick trees and dense foliage, his heartbeat quickened. Strange things happened in those woods.  He could hear his grandmother voice the warning as if she were standing right behind him.  Pausing for a moment, he weighed his options. He didn’t really need to go into the woods, he reasoned.  Hopping the fence was enough.

“Sean, you’re next,” Mary yelled, “you left your trail in the grass.”

He spun around and looked over