A Ceilidh on Conroy Island: The Conroy Island Series, #2

By B Burton

Clean & Wholesome. No swearing or intimate scenes. PG-Rated Romance.

 

Claire returns home to Conroy Island seeking a brief winter break from her big city life. Two years working hard on her nursing degree has left no time for romance...not that any man could meet the bar Grant Conroy unwittingly set in her heart. The closer she gets to her dreams, the farther she seems to get from home and the love she's always wanted.

 

Big city graphic designer Grant has returned to Conroy Island to help look after his sick mother. While nobody knows her prognosis, he knows it's only a matter of time before their private family pain becomes very public knowledge. He's looking for a break from his family drama, from living in Boston, and from the fact he can't find a woman who makes his heart race...aside from Claire.

 

When they both volunteer to help with the Conroy Alight project, Claire and Grant discover that their attraction for one another is still off the charts. They're only home for a week and as the days race by, it becomes harder and harder to imagine saying goodbye. Will Claire's studies on the mainland keep them from being together? Will Grant's family obligations rule out a happily ever after? Is this just a holiday romance, or are they teetering on the edge of something utterly incredible?

 

Please be advised this is part of a trilogy, so it does not stand alone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B Burton
• Release date: Feb 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224788217

Book preview

A Ceilidh on Conroy Island

B Burton

Copyright © 2024 B Burton

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.  For information, address the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a piece of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter One

Claire

✽✽✽

Claire stepped off the boat and onto the wide planked dock, shivering in the whipping wind. Thankfully, her hair had been pulled back in a braid effectively buried under her favorite green visor beanie. Pulling the hat down over her ears just a touch more, which wasn’t an easy feat given the matching set of cable knit mittens covering her fingers, she tucked her gray puffer coat around her more tightly.

She looked to the end of the dock to see…nothing. Aside from the three-person crew on the ferry, the only thing around her was the gentle lapping of waves, the darkened homes that dotted the coastline, and overall silence. Sure, it was only seven o’clock island time, but the cold had driven everyone inside on a frigid night like this.

All but her, of course.

She began walking down the dock to keep her body moving. Conroy Island was ten miles off the coast, making it even chillier in wintertime.

Pulling out her phone, she reread the text from Silas, just to be sure she hadn’t gotten their plans wrong.

SILAS: I’ll meet you off the ferry!

CLAIRE: Appreciate it! Thanks so much!

Flicking her eyes upward, she saw nobody waiting for her.

Rolling her eyes, she kept moving forward. Silas Robertson had been her childhood friend despite him being three years older. Claire and Silas’ mothers had grown up on the Island together and were close friends, even to this day. Over time, she and Silas became the kind of friends that could count on each other no matter what.

A couple of years back, and probably all through high school, Claire would grudgingly admit that she had fallen a little in love with Silas. Much like every other girl in school, it was hard to resist the handsome boy with wide-mouthed brown curls that he wore on the longer side. His sparkling blue eyes were always full of mischief and, as he grew, his features seemed to harden, landing him on the rugged end of the scale with a strong jawline and perpetual five o’clock shadow.

At the time, she had convinced herself she was meant to be with Silas. It was easy, given they were family friends and had been close all their lives. Yet, no matter what she did, she just couldn’t get his attention. There was always someone more beautiful he was after, more vibrant, more enchanting. And each time he looked past her, it added one more dent to her heart.

Ironically, what made her realize that she needed to let go of Silas was when her roommate, Robin, had returned from class one day, utterly frustrated with a guy who wouldn’t give her the time of day. Claire had gotten angry at the very notion that bright, fun, and smart Robin was being passed over by anyone. She was delightful, and everyone benefited from her company.

How dare he look past her!

And then a little voice inside Claire’s head asked then why do you put up with it, too?

It was then she allowed herself to let go of her crush. And she discovered that being solely friends with him was not only freeing, but it was also something beautiful that they could continue to share.

When Silas found out Claire wanted to surprise her mother by coming home for the winter break early, he insisted on being part of it. They came up with a plan for his mother to keep hers occupied at home, effectively distracting her from anyone seeing Claire walk off the ferry. The fact that he offered to pick her up at the ferry station was nice of him, even though she knew the Island like the back of her hand and could probably walk home with her eyes closed.

Hearing a muted rumbling, Claire looked up from her walk to see the headlights of a seriously old truck bouncing away down the old dirt road in front of her. Conroy Island’s roads were meant primarily for walking as the Island was small and the village smaller, making vehicular travel nearly unnecessary. In fact, most of the residents here didn’t own a car.

So, when the powder blue truck pulled up next to her and jerked to a stop, she nearly fell over.

Looking for a ride? he asked, opening his door and popping his head over the top of the truck.

Silas! she exclaimed, shocked that he hadn’t walked from his house to meet her.

His face lit up into a grin as he hopped down, ran over to her, and enveloped her in a hug that pulled her straight off the dock.

Sorry, I’m late. Took a few tries to get the old girl running. He lovingly patted the hood of the Ford.

You didn’t have to go to all the trouble, she insisted, looking over at Silas’ prized possession. He had the truck since he was a teenager, forever launching him into the stratosphere as the coolest guy at Conroy Island Consolidated School. "It’s only a