Cait ran a brush down the flank of one of Flynn's horses. Taking a deep breath of the stable scents, she pressed her cheek against the horse for a moment.

God, she'd been nothing but a crying wreck for three days now, Cait thought. She'd never been one to be so weepy and now she wondered just what it was she cried for. Was it the death of a relationship that she'd never really had? Or was it that she was saying goodbye to the boundaries that she had so carefully erected for herself and trying to step into her power as a grown woman?

Stepping back, she fed the horse a carrot before quietly leaving the stall. Keelin and Flynn had decided to extend their honeymoon and had been kind enough to lend her their house for the week, though Keelin had made Cait promise that she would spill all of the details when Keelin returned. Cait didn't know how long she planned to stay away from the village, she just wasn't ready to go back to the pub and put on a happy face for customers.

Cait knew the gossip in town. Rumors ran rampant about the closing of Gallagher's pub. Some suspected that it had to do with her fight with Ellen and that Shane had closed the building. Others thought that she wasn't paying her bills. Cait had gotten all of the gossip when she had called the Donovans to tell them that she couldn't make her Monday appointment.

Cait shrugged. She was past caring what people thought about her. What mattered was what she thought about herself. The problem was, she didn't know where she stood on that end.

Cait heard the yips of the dogs and looked up as Fiona approached her over the hills, carrying a basket in her arms.

"I thought that you'd like some pampering. I don't suppose you are feeding yourself well," Fiona said sternly.

Cait just shrugged her shoulders. She motioned for Fiona to come to the long deck that wrapped the large house. Grace's Cove was featured predominantly in the view. Cait hadn't sat here yet as she didn’t want to think about her meeting with Grace. She wondered if Grace was watching her. Cait supposed that she was letting the mighty pirate queen down.

"This is a lovely spot," Fiona observed as she unpacked her basket on the long wooden table. A tureen of soup, warm brown bread, and a basket of fruit, along with plates, silverware, and a jug of apple cider.

"That's a lot of food," Cait said.

"Comfort food," Fiona said simply and ladled chunky vegetable soup into a bowl before passing it to Cait. She pulled out a crock of Irish butter, prepared two pieces of bread, and slid the plate to Cait. "Eat."

There was no arguing with Fiona's tone and Cait was surprised to feel a little rumble in her stomach as she looked down at the food. It was true; she'd barely eaten the past few days. Her appetite seemed to have disappeared.

Cait dutifully picked up the spoon and took her first bite of the soup. She moaned a little as the warm flavors that tasted like home filled her mouth. Suddenly ravenous, she gulped down a few more bites before grabbing for the bread. Grateful that Fiona said nothing, Cait concentrated on slowing her pace and allowing the food to settle.

"I went to see Sarah yesterday," Fiona said.

Cait paused with her bread halfway to her mouth.

"You did?"

"I did. Your mother is very sick, you know," Fiona said.

"She seems fine to me," Cait said. Fine enough to constantly criticize me, she thought.

"Aye, her physical health is fine. Her mental health…not so good. I found her eating a can of cat food," Fiona said quietly.

Cait stilled her hands as she felt a deep-rooted sadness fill her. Sadness for the woman her mother must have once been and grief for the fact that she would never be able to mend their relationship now.

"I…I suppose it is time to look into special care for her," Cait said. She mentally calculated the cost of doing so and shivered at the thought of the added expenses. Cait honestly didn't even know what her mother's financial situation was. Sarah had never shared that with her.

"There's a lovely assisted-housing spot in Shannon. Affordable, too," Fiona said. "I took the liberty of calling for you and I wrote down all of the information." Fiona slid a packet of papers to Cait.

"Thank you," Cait said, looking dully down at the packet of papers.

"What was she like before me? Did I really ruin her life?" Cait said impulsively.

Fiona leaned back, her eyebrows raised.

"Is that what you think, dear girl?"

"It's what I've been told," Cait said bitterly.

"Ah," Fiona said quietly. She picked up her cider and seemed to mull over her words carefully.

"Ah, is right. It's not a secret that we've had a hard relationship."

"No, it's not. And, I'm sorry for that. I've done what I can to pick up the slack. But, I would hardly say that you ruined her life. Sarah has always been a bitter, unhappy woman. Becoming a mother did little to change that in her."

Cait felt her heart grow a little lighter. So, perhaps she wasn't the reason for her mother's bitterness after all.

"Really?"

"Oh my, yes. She had very few friends. Typically she had nasty things to say about most people in town. She's only grown more reclusive over the years. Frankly, it's a miracle that you turned out as well as you did," Fiona said briskly.

Cait's cheeks flushed and she blinked as tears pricked her eyes.

"I don't think that I'm doing so well," Cait whispered.

"You're doing just fine, Cait Gallagher. You're a fine business owner, a loyal friend, and you're an old soul. You should be proud of yourself," Fiona said.

Cait raised one shoulder slightly and pursed her lips.

"You can't tell me that one man has taken all of your confidence? Where is my sassy, full-of-life Cait?" Fiona said worriedly.

Cait just shrugged. "I guess that I am trying to figure that out."

"Nobody's approval defines who you are, Cait. Not your mother's and certainly not a man's. You have to stand for yourself first," Fiona said softly.

"I'm trying…it's just…" Cait tore a piece of bread to pieces on her plate. "It's just that my mother thinks that my ability is the gift of the devil. She looked at me in complete disgust. That bitch of a woman Ellen called me a freak. And then, I finally told Shane about me and…he walked away. Said that I lied to him." Cait hiccupped out a small sob.

"It's been a tough week," Fiona said, gesturing with her spoon.

Cait was surprised to find that she could laugh.

"It has at that," Cait admitted.

"Well, from where I am sitting, I see a beautiful woman both inside and out. Your gift doesn't make you a freak. It makes you powerful beyond words. Don't let anyone else define what that means to you," Fiona said fiercely.

Cait smiled for the first time in days as a sense of power snuck through her.

"You've dealt with this…this whole being different thing," Cait observed.

"Aye, my whole life. I struggled with the same things that you did. But once I decided to step into my own power, nothing else mattered. People fell in line or they didn't. The ones that mattered, they stayed by me. The ones that didn't, shunned me. I'm forever grateful that I stopped hiding from myself. It has led to immeasurable happiness. Finding love after that only heightened it for me," Fiona said.

"Shane might be right. I didn't just betray him, I betrayed myself. I couldn't tell him honestly what I was," Cait said.

"Well, Shane has some growing up to do himself. It sounds like he expects an awful lot from you but I don't see him rolling out the red carpet for you around town," Fiona said huffily.

Cait eyed her.

"Keelin told me that you didn't like Shane. Why is that?"

"I didn't like him for her," Fiona amended.

"Do you for me?" Cait demanded.

"Only you can answer that." Fiona smiled wickedly at Cait and Cait laughed.

"Now, how long are you going to lick your wounds here?" Fiona asked.

"I don't feel right operating a business in Shane's building that he owns. I'll need to look around for a new spot, I think," Cait said.

"That's nonsense, Cait Gallagher. Business is business. You need to open up your bar and host a big party is what I think. Show the world that you don't care," Fiona suggested.

"I can't do that. Nobody even knows about half of what is going on," Cait said.

"Oh really? Well, you forget the small town we live in. Half of Grace's Cove is convinced that Shane kicked you out of the building. The other half is convinced that you have no money. Then there are the whispers that Shane cheated on you with Ellen and your heart is broken."

"What!" Cait pounded her hand on the table.

"Well, he has been seen kissing you around town, Cait. The assumption is that you had a huge lover's spat and now you're nursing a wounded heart," Fiona said.

"Well, that is the most ridiculous thing. Like I'd sit here and cry over a man!" Cait fumed.

Fiona raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, well, maybe partially over a man. This…" Cait swept her hand across Flynn's estate, "had just as much to do with baring my soul and dealing with insecurities as it did with Shane," Cait said.

"And are you done soul-searching?"

"Aye, I think I might be at that," Cait said.