Hole In The Ground {ON HOLD}

Prologue- Goodbye Carraroe

Teagan Carran sat on the beach, knees pulled up to her chest, looking out at the ocean. She was sitting just past where the water met the sand, but she knew she was safe. The water was only up to her ankles, after all. Occasionally a wave would crash against the beach and threaten to push her back further up the beach as punishment for encroaching on its territory, but she had done this many times before. She knew how to stand her ground against the waves. She'd have to leave before the high tide set in, but for now, she could sit on the beach and pretend that time didn't exist.

In three days, Teagan and her family were leaving Ireland. Her mother said they were going to the United States, and while Teagan had heard good stories about the country, that didn't mean she wanted to go. Truth be told, she was scared. She could count the number of times she had left Carraroe on her fingers, and only two of those times had she ventured outside of County Galway. And now she was leaving Ireland altogether, something she had never even dreamed of doing when she was a child.

She loved Ireland. She loved her simple life in County Galway. When she was little, she had never dreamed of traveling the world. The furthest she wanted to travel was to London. She had wanted to marry a nice farmer boy and settle down and raise her kids in Carraroe. But that was all being changed. Now she was leaving her home, her country- hell, she was leaving her continent. All for a place she knew nothing about. And no matter how many tantrums she threw (she was pretty sure it was rounding on fifteen), they weren't staying in Ireland.

She looked out again at the water, wondering if they had beaches like this where they were going. She didn't even know where in the United States they were going. She knew it was a big place- where would they settle down? Did her mother even know? Or were they playing it by ear? That was one of the worst things about all of this. The uncertainty. Teagan hated uncertainty. She sighed, and just played with the water a little bit, trying to calm her frazzled nerves.

In the distance, she saw a Galway Hooker sailing by- probably trying to get ready for racing season. Her brother had always wanted to be on the crew of a Galway Hooker- winning a boat race had always been on his bucket list. And now that he was old enough to possibly join a crew, they were leaving. It almost didn't seem fair. As soon as some of their Irish dreams were coming true (Teagan had captured the attention of one of the local farmer boys, and she had already fantasized about their epic romance), they were being crushed by the Carran family leaving.

She understood why, she really did. It was her father's dying wish that his wife would take their two children and go to the United States. He had wanted to do it himself, but then an ER visit had changed all of that. And now he was gone, and that was what hurt Teagan the most. They were just leaving her father behind. They were all going to the United States, and just leaving her father behind in Ireland, so she wouldn't even be able to visit his grave if she needed to.

A warm sea breeze started to blow in her face, and she took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of salt. Maybe Teagan and her brother should just sneak onto a Galway Hooker and sail off into the distance. Though he couldn't officially join a crew, he still knew how to sail one, so it wasn't a  completely crazy idea. Though she wasn't sure her brother would actually agree to it. So far, he seemed to be a lot more accepting of the move than she was. Either that or he just hid it better than she did.

"Teagan?" She looked up to see her brother walking down the sand towards her, and she smiled softly. Once he was close, she patted the spot next to her, and he settled comfortably into the sand, letting out a sigh. "What are ye doing out here?"

"Ná labhair liom mar sin. [Don't talk to me like that.]," Teagan said callously, and her brother barked with laughter.

"What is it with ye and refusing to speak English?" he asked, and she shrugged.