Cait grasped the steering wheel blindly and without thinking, turned her car towards the cove. She shuddered as she thought about what she was driving away from. Trying to pull herself back from a crying jag, she steered her car down the lane from Fiona's house. She wasn't ready to face Fiona yet was too restless to go home. Inexplicably pulled towards the cove, Cait got out of her car and raced across the fields to stand at the top of the footpath that led to the cove.

Her breath shuddered out as she stared down at the waters that refused to reflect the sun's rays as it dipped towards the horizon. Finally answering the call of the cove, Cait followed the path that led down the side of the cliffs. She skidded to a halt at the sandy beach and remembered Fiona's instructions. Cait looked around desperately for some rocks or flowers…just something to give as a gift. Finding nothing, she pulled her wallet out of her purse and dug in the side pocket. Inside lay a small tarnished silver charm in the shape of a heart. It had been foolish of her to keep it all these years, Cait thought. The charm had fallen from a bracelet of her mother’s and Cait had used to pretend that Sarah had given it to her as a gift.

Who was she kidding? Her mother never gave her gifts, Cait thought bitterly as she rolled the charm between her fingers. With a small sigh, she stepped onto the sand and slid her shoes off. Tracing a little circle, she stepped into it and felt the warm sand squish between her toes.

"Um, so, I'm here. I know that you want me to be. And I don’t even know why I'm here. But, um, I offer you this gift and ask for protection while I am here. I mean the cove nor those who rest here any harm," Cait said. With a last look at the heart, she tossed it into the water, imagining its path to the bottom of the ocean mirroring that of her own sinking heart.

Cait waited quietly for something to happen. Silence greeted her. Slowly, the tension seemed to ease from her shoulders and Cait allowed herself to take in her surroundings. The sun was a warm ball of light that was sinking between the two rocky cliffs that hugged the cove, its light shooting to the canyon walls behind her. The water lapped gently at the sand and Cait took a few deep breaths before stepping closer to the edge of the water. When the water stayed the same, Cait smiled and allowed herself to enjoy the freedom of being on an empty beach.

Too keyed up to sit still, Cait began to walk the length of the beach. As Cait paced the soft sand of the beautiful beach, she tried not to cry. What had she been thinking? She had let her powerful attraction to Shane cloud her judgment.

"I want you. I want to be with you." Shane's words drifted through her mind. Had he meant that? What about the blonde? Cait wished that she had just asked him about his relationship with that woman.

It made Cait angry to think about Shane's hands on another woman when he'd just had them all over her body. She'd never been so viscerally attracted to a man before. Yet, Cait feared that her mother was right. Cait would never fit into Shane's world. She wasn't high society or anything fancy. The only thing she wanted was to run a good business, to travel, and to start a family someday.

The thought of a family made Cait skid to a stop. Did she want a family? She had never really given the idea that much thought. Perhaps because she didn't come from a traditional family unit, Cait rarely got those maternal urges that many of her friends seemed to get. Cait dipped her toes in the water and tried to imagine what her and Shane's baby would look like. She laughed softly at herself and shook her head. How could a pub owner even fit a baby into her schedule? Stupid, Cait thought.

"I gave birth on a ship in mid-battle. I'm quite certain you'll do just fine." A voice like molasses on a knife blade startled Cait. She whipped around and her heart simply stopped. Just for a beat. When Cait could drag a breath in again, she turned her head to look for help.

"I mean you no harm, little one. You're of my blood, after all," the voice said.

The ghost? Vision? Apparition? Stood across from Cait on the sand. She seemed almost human but there was a soft translucence to the skin that showed that she wasn't of this world. In the time between day and night, the veil between worlds grew thin. Grace O'Malley stood before her, a proud woman with beautiful eyes, in an ancient dress.

"Grace?" Cait whispered.

"Of course! Who else would walk my cove?" Grace tossed her hair arrogantly and eyed the cove as though she owned it. Which she did, Cait thought.

"You're stunning," Cait said, unable to help herself.

"Why, thank you, little one. It is nice to know that my beauty holds. But, I must go before the sun slips into the sea. Why did you come here tonight?"

"I…I don't really know. It was like I was drawn here," Cait admitted.

"Ah, and your feelings? They are full of sorrow…and, I'm not sure the word today…inferiority perhaps?" Grace tilted her head and eyed Cait.

Cait flushed at the assessment and nodded.

"Um, yes, I suppose inferiority would be close. Insecurity is really the word we use now," Cait said.

"And you feel inferior to a man?" Grace raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"Well, not really. Yes and no. I feel like I can never really step into his world, he is so rich and I am barely getting by," Cait admitted. She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"Is that so? And that is the only thing that is holding you back from this man?" Grace put her hands on her hips and waited.

Cait gulped and raised her hands before letting them drop to her sides. She felt like she was at a therapist's office or something of the like.

"I, okay, no, it probably isn't just the money," Cait said.

Grace waited silently.

"Okay, fine. I just don't see myself in relationships. I was raised in a bad household, I didn't have an example of a good relationship growing up, and I just don't really know how to do it. If…if I can do it at all," Cait whispered. Tears pricked her eyes. Surprised, she dashed them away quickly with her knuckles.

"Ah, yes. There we have it," Grace said.

"Yes, there you have it," Cait said forlornly.

"Do you think that you are not worthy of love?" Grace asked.

"What? No, I mean, of course I am." Cait's head shot up and she met Grace's eyes.

"Do you not think that you are a bright and interesting person?"

"Well, sure I am," Cait said.

"One that is capable of running a business, interacting and dare I say…having relationships with hundreds of customers on a regular basis?"

"Yes." Cait nodded.

"One that has lifelong friendships?"

"Yes, ma'am," Cait said.

"And a woman that is descended from my own blood…a blood that ran in the bones of one of the proudest women in the history of Ireland? I chose my suitors. Never did I wait for them to choose me nor did I wonder if I was good enough. I knew that I was deserving of love and picked based on that alone. You, my dear, are of my blood and are powerful beyond belief. Choose, my little one, choose love," Grace said before fading silently into the darkness as the sun slipped below the edge of the water.

Cait's mouth hung open and she gaped at where Grace had stood. Whirling around, she faced the water to see a faint blue glow emanating from the depths of the cove. A shiver ran through her. But, instead of fear, it was power. Cait smiled and nodded at the water. She knew an ass-kicking when she saw one.

"Okay, Grace, duly noted. I'll do my best to make you proud," Cait said to the water and laughed as the light brightened for a moment. Cait raced to the path before she lost all light for the climb back to the top of the cliffs.

Cait was overwhelmed with the enormity of what had just happened. Was this why the cove had called to her for so long? Had Grace always wanted to meet up with her? Cait wondered if Grace was just a figment of her imagination. Maybe the stress of the day had caught up with her and tipped her over into crazytown, she thought with a soft laugh.

She'd always been one to dismiss her gift, as well as all of the mysticism that surrounded Grace's Cove. And yet…tonight had been undeniable proof of what was. Quite simply, Cait couldn't argue her away around what had just happened. A strange sense of joy filled her. It was almost as if having the ghost of Grace O'Malley claim Cait as her own gave her a sense of belonging that her mother had never been able to impart to her. Mulling over Grace's words, Cait made her way across the fields to her car. She saw the light glowing in Fiona's cottage. Knowing that Fiona would see her emotions, but unable to stop herself, Cait drove the short distance to check in on the old woman.

"Why, Cait! So good to see you!" Fiona said as she opened the heavy wooden door. Pulling the door open wider, she gestured for Cait to step into the cottage. Cait bent to give the old woman a brief hug and worried that her bones seemed frail.

"What brings you here?" Fiona stepped back and assessed Cait carefully. Her face fell as she got a read on Cait's emotions. "Oh, poor girl. Your mother?"

For what seemed like the gazillionth time that day, tears jumped into Cait's eyes. Cait nodded once before allowing Fiona to wrap her arms around her.

"I don't know why I let her get to me," Cait whispered into Fiona's neck.

"Because she is your mother and she'll always get to you," Fiona said briskly and stepped back, patting her shoulder. She motioned to her two wooden rocking chairs tucked in an alcove of the cozy room. "Come, sit. Whiskey?"

Cait nodded and made her way to a rocking chair, slipping into the worn wood seat and allowing the arms to envelop her. She stared blindly into the flickering flames of the small fire that Fiona had going in the stove. Though it was warm out, the fire provided just enough heat to keep the cottage cozy, not unbearable.

Fiona handed Cait a small glass of whiskey and settled into the seat next to her. They held their glasses in the air.

"Slàinte," Cait said and admired the way the whiskey caught the light of the fire before taking a healthy sip. The liquid burned a trail to her stomach and she allowed the familiar comfort to ease the tension in her shoulders. Never a big drinker, she'd always enjoyed a single glass of whiskey at the end of the night to wind down.

"I saw Grace," Cait blurted out as Fiona began to speak.

"What? When?" Fiona said, deterred from asking about Cait's mother.

"Um, just now. At the cove," Cait said and fidgeted with her jeans. Her mind was still reeling from what she had seen though Cait swore that her heart felt stronger because of the encounter.

"Why, that is just wonderful. She rarely appears anymore, you know," Fiona said and looked carefully at Cait. "You must have been in a fair level of distress then for her to appear."

"I suppose that I was," Cait demurred.

"Your mother? Or something else?"

"I…I don't know. All of it, I guess. My mother. Shane. Life. My ability or lack thereof to handle normal relationships," Cait said and shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah, I see. That's quite a lot for one evening," Fiona said.

Cait huffed out a laugh. "Yes, yes it's been quite a day indeed."

"And what did Grace have to say about it all?"

"She pretty much gave me a kick in the ass along the lines of… ‘no descendent of mine is unworthy of anything…don't you know how awesome I am?’" Cait laughed into her whiskey. There was no denying that Grace O'Malley was one tough cookie.

"Yes, that certainly sounds like her. No time for sniveling or bemoaning your fate on her watch," Fiona laughed at Cait.

"Why does the cove glow blue?" Cait blurted out.

"Oh! Well, now, isn't that interesting?" Fiona smiled widely at Cait. Cait felt a little like a mouse about to be pounced on by a hungry cat.

"Is it? I thought that I was imagining things the other night but then I saw it again today," Cait said.

"What night? When did you see it?" Fiona swatted away today's occurrence.

"Um, well, at Keelin's wedding. I walked down there to catch some air," Cait said.

"And with whom did you walk?"

"I was alone," Cait said staunchly.

"Liar," Fiona said smoothly and Cait laughed.

"Ah, lord save me from women with mystical powers!" Cait said.

"Oh, it wasn't my powers, my dear. The cove only glows blue in the presence of love. Today would make sense as Grace loves you…but the wedding?" Fiona raised her eyebrow and took a small sip of her whiskey.

Cait felt heat creep up her cheeks at the mention of love. So, that was the secret to the glow, she mused. Part of her felt a sense of awe at being loved by a ghost and the other part of her felt sick to her stomach as she thought about being in love with Shane.

"Shane came to find me. He was worried about me being too close to the edge and having been drinking," Cait whispered.

She jumped as Fiona clapped her hands and laughed.

"Perfect! Love it is. Now, go get your man and tell him what you are," Fiona said. Cait stared at her as if she had grown two heads.

"I…what? I can't go get him and I certainly can't tell him about…this," Cait said and pointed to her head.

"Why not?" Fiona asked.

"Because…because…it's insanity, is what it is," Cait stuttered out.

"The Donovans don't seem to think so," Fiona said, referencing the couple that Cait had helped.

"Yeah, but I don't have to live with them. Imagine any man wanting to be with me once he knows that I can read his every thought if I want," Cait said furiously. Her old feelings of not being good enough bubbled to the surface.

"You won't know that until you ask," Fiona said.

"Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee you that's a no," Cait said and stood to go.

"I don't think that you give Shane enough credit," Fiona said and Cait stopped.

"It's not that I don’t give him credit. It's just that…no man could put up with this," Cait said helplessly.

"No normal man. But this man loves you. Don't you think that is enough?"

"I don't know if I believe in love," Cait said stubbornly.

"Ah, well, then. I suppose you know it all," Fiona said serenely and pulled out her knitting basket.

"I didn't say that. I just…listen, it's been a long day and I just wanted to check on you," Cait said, standing over Fiona's chair.

"No need to check on me, dear. I'm not the one having a breakdown," Fiona said. She accepted Cait's kiss on her papery cheek without comment and Cait made a beeline for the door.

Having a breakdown? Cait scoffed at the idea and turned the music all the way up to drown out her thoughts on the way back into the village.