Johnny had been vanishing around lunchtime and for an hour or so in the evenings for the last few days. No explanation, he simply wasn?t around the store or the house. Sometimes a few sandwiches and a couple of bottles of root beer would vanish with him ? other times, not. He would duck out of the house or the store when Sianna was distracted or in lessons, and turn his steps south.

The studio was to the south, and if pressed he was intending to claim that was where he was going. Johnny fretted over that as his boots crunched through the layer of ice over snow in the streets. Sianna could generally tell when he was lying ? he never had been any good at it. But this was a surprise he wanted to keep for her, and with only three weeks left until Valentine?s Day, he couldn?t afford to miss any time.

Emerald green eyes turned up when he reached the harbor, and he halted in front of a warehouse with a distinctive emblem emblazoned over the door. He didn?t understand heraldry to know what the symbols meant specifically, but he did know it was the Yransea shield. Johnny gave a nod to the workers as they ate their noon meal, and he took the stairs to the second-story offices two at a time, with a cheerful call of greeting as he did so.

?Heya, bro! Ya abou? ready fer another lesson?r two? Ain? no time ta waste!?

Johnny was beginning to hear Gaelic in his sleep. Which, given his dismal progress, was probably just as well. He muttered the words to himself every time Sianna was out of hearing, and he?d almost been caught a time or two. ?Tha mo chridhe maille ruibh? nah, tha? ain? soundin? righ?. Lor? an? skies, why?d th? woman hav?ta pick such a difficul? language ta speak??

It was the tone of exasperation in Johnny?s voice that brought a wry smile to Hudson?s mouth. ?Ye ken of course that ?tis my language as well ye be disparaging? Although ye were verra close on th? last.? Shadows were in his gaze, but the tight lines of pain at the corners of his eyes were mostly eased. There was some comfort in these lessons, in the easy company Johnny provided.

?An? it?s still a flippin? difficult language. Bha e na ?i?e seun?a? bha e na ?i?e seunta? bha e na ?ite seunta. There! Tha?s better. Can even hear th? difference. Hudson, bro, I owe ya big. Ya doin? righ? t?day? Missed th? las? coupl?a lessons.? Johnny didn?t normally like to press, but there was concern in his voice. Sianna had passed along the reason for Hudson?s dark mood of late, and the reminders of love all over the town couldn?t help matters.

Hudson scowled briefly at the unwelcome reminder, but he answered with courtesy enough. ?I didnae ha?e th? heart for it, sae I admit tae my shame I ha?e been avoiding ye. But I could nae let ye gae completely unprepared, tae embarrass my teaching. Sae how dae ye feel in readiness fer taenight?? It was a diversionary tactic, and didn?t answer the question Johnny asked at all.

Blonde eyebrows lifted at the evasive answer, but it wasn?t in Johnny?s nature to press further. He would leave that to Sianna or another if necessary. ?Ready as I?m ever goin? ta get. Even if?n ya still think I soun? like a drunk Irishman slurrin? m?words t?gether.? There was a tease in that, to ease the brooding feel of tension in the room.

A brief chuckle was managed at Johnny?s self-deprecation. ?Nae, ye dinnae sound drunk any more. Ye still run yer words taegether as th? Irish dae, but at least ye dinnae sound drunk intae th? bargain.? It was with an absolutely straight face that Hudson delivered the condemning verdict. Johnny reeled back in mock-horror. Hudson was about to continue with the office door opened.

Kayle, the shift foreman who had been raised to the position of Rhys and Hudson?s assistant, leaned into the room. ?Hudson? Sorry t? bother ya, but Rhys is shouting for ya something fierce. Seems like one of the orders with that new lady trader came in broke and nobody caught it in time. Accepted the delivery and all.? Kayle was a good man, but didn?t yet have the experience to deal with the problems that would come from this. There was some obvious relief in his eyes that Rhys had summoned Hudson rather than letting Kayle try to deal with it.

Rush of breath escaped in a sigh, and Hudson levered himself to his feet with an apologetic look for Johnny. ?Th? best o? luck tae ye taenight, mi braithair-tae-be. I had best see tae this.? With no further farewell, Hudson left the office and followed Kayle down the stairs and over to the sight of the uproar. Rhys had almost finished letting loose a scathing reprimand on the shift foreman who had replaced Kayle, and the poor man was shaking.

Johnny left the office more slowly, after gathering up the remains of their lunch and packing the crumbed napkins and empty cider bottles into the basket. He paused on the stairs to watch the confrontation with emerald eyes. The barrel-chested, silver-haired Rhys was gesturing, pointing out damages, and now and then glaring at the hapless foreman. Hudson nodded, crouched to inspect the contents of one box more closely. Johnny couldn?t hear the conversation from this distance, but one thing was obvious. Black moods and brooding wouldn?t distract Hudson from his work. Or perhaps the work was a distraction from the darkness.

When Johnny finally strode out, his expression was thoughtful ? and he was muttering words in Gaelic to himself.