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"Rowen’s never been involved with any of that?"

"No He’s never even seen the inside of a prison cell, soenerations can claim"

The trail splits off Most visitors veer to the left I’ht, toward the lower of the two lakes, a trail lined with gnarly-rooted trees cliht Ahead are the soft green rollinglike the ones that looed and capped with snow even in the summer months "Your mountains are so different from mine"

"How so?"

"They’re softer, war"

"You should see the Cliffs of Moher They’re i up there" I only have four full days left in Ireland I probably should have gotten there already My days here have disappeared, consu leads us down to the water’s edge, to a crop of stones that reach into the water, their surfaces dry and bathing in sunlight It’s ht sheen of sweat to gather along the back ofnear the water on a warm day So I peel off my jacket and pick my way over the rocks until I’ve found a perch on a sizeable boulder off to the left, under the canopy of a leggy tree

"I’ll take you, if you want," River offers, his strong arle to send a s the water’s surface "To the Cliffs"

I don’t answer hi sip from the water bottle tucked in my purse

Because I just don’t know

"Co my boulder, which is perfect for me but too narrow for two people to sit on Unless one sits behind the other, which is what River has figured out He settles his wrap the outsides of ainst ht out ofIrish bartender I knew froo would do with ease "I’h Is he? I desperately want hi I no about him, he still affects me I know that I still affect hiainst my lower back

"Please let me You’re only here for a fewhis chin ona pattern ona drop of spilled water

And then I’land, Spain, France, and Italyand a bunch of other countries Will I be thinking about hi what he’s doing?

Wishing I’d just accepted these days for what they are and enjoyed his co There was always an expiration date Yet I think, subconsciously, I hoped that the fairy tale would prevail That somehow this could turn into more Some romantic ind that would withstand distance and tiain, am I? You can never come to America They’ll never let you in" A spikey lump forms in my throat, because I already know the answer

His chest falls against ainste just outside Dublin--co cobblestone streets and vibrantly colored storefronts--I finally ask the one question I haven’t yet asked "What are you going to do, River?" I dip h to avoid the attention of the server puttering behind the counter "Duffy already suspects your brother,to end well?" I hear h into Jesse more than once Obviously under different circuht thing

"It’s not," he agrees, his finger tracing the bright red circles that s onto his shoulders