Ever since her family came over from Ireland when I was fifteen, Alannah has been part of my life. Our fathers had been close back home, and when my da needed someone he trusted beside him in Boston, he sent for Seamus. After that, our families were always together. At first, I barely noticed her. Her brother Mick was loud enough for both of them, forever dragging me into some scrape or another, while Alannah was quiet, usually staying close to her mam or mine at dinners and gatherings. Then somewhere along the way, without me realizing it, that changed.

It wasn’t until a couple of years after they arrived that my father sat me down to talk. That wasn’t unusual. I was his heir, and by then, conversations about the future were part of my life.

But this one surprised me.

He told me that he and Seamus had noticed I was always looking her way when our families were together, and that I kept close to her whether I meant to or not.

Mick had been giving me hell over it for a while, saying I always found some reason to look out for her at school, in the neighbourhood, wherever she happened to be. I figured he was only running his mouth, but once my father said it, I couldn’t deny it.