Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
EILIDH
F ueled by my indignation, renewed hurt, and the insidious hope Fyfe had sparked—hope I knew I had to squash—I drove to Cameron’s bungalow in a mad dash to clear things up with the doctor.
“How dare you?” I pronounced as soon as he opened his front door.
He scowled. “Excuse me?”
“You told Fyfe that I was your girlfriend and that we’re serious? We’ve been on six dates.”
Cameron’s frown only deepened. “Maybe we could have this discussion inside.”
“No, we can’t. I just came here to tell you I need some space.”
“Look, Eilidh …” Cameron stepped outside, reaching for me, but I physically retreated. His expression darkened. “It seems fairly coincidental that your friend acted like a jealous arsehole today when I told him we were dating and now you need some space.”
“Don’t call Fyfe an arsehole,” I defended him, even though he was being an arsehole. Only I was allowed to call Fyfe an arsehole! “And you’re missing the point. Cameron, I’ve known you a few weeks. We’ve been on a few dates. Calling me your girlfriend, staking a claim … no. This is all going too fast for me. Sorry.”
Something ugly clouded his expression. “You think you’re so special you can have this discussion without caring how I feel about it? I mean, there’s a way to tell a man you need space, and this is not it.”
I huffed incredulously. “It is if he’s lying to people about the status of our relationship. I’ve had enough people lie about who I am and what I’m doing and who I’m seeing. I don’t need that bullshit from you. Forget the space, Cameron. This isn’t happening, full stop.”
As I turned to leave, I found myself hauled backward and spun, crashing into his chest as pain burned up my arm. He grasped my biceps so tightly and his face was a mask of fury. “Don’t walk away from me!”
The shocking transformation from placid doctor to aggressor stunned me for a second.
Only for a second, though. “Get your fucking hand off me before I scream bloody murder.”
Cameron released me just as quickly as he’d grabbed me, and I didn’t wait around. I ran toward my SUV.
“We’ll talk about this later, Eilidh!” he called after me. Calmly. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Holy crap. My entire body shook as I reversed out of his driveway and headed for home.
He had a screw loose.
Bloody hell, I knew how to pick them.
Instead of returning to the annex, I let myself into my parents’ house. Dad’s office was at the front and I noted him in there, working on a 3D digital model. He had his concentration face on and I knew if he was working late, it meant he was on deadline. With a sigh, I strolled into the open-plan living space and found it empty.
Muffled music drifted from downstairs and the sound of Lord Huron told me Mor was home. Lewis had given her a bunch of music to listen to, and it turns out she had more in common with his music tastes than mine.
Suspecting where I’d find my mum, I made two cups of chamomile tea to calm my nerves and wandered upstairs. After knocking on my parents’ bedroom door, I heard Mum call “Come in.”
Inside, I found her in bed on top of the duvet, a paperback in her hand and an empty mug of tea at her side.
She smiled affectionately, her dimples appearing. When I was a kid, I remember asking Santa for dimples like my mum’s for Christmas. Obviously, that was disappointing Christmas morning. Until I saw the electric scooter wrapped in a big pink bow.
Handing Mum a fresh cup, I rounded the bed and got in beside her. She dropped her paperback to slide her arm around me, drawing me into her side.
“You okay?”
Instead of answering right away, I asked, “Why are you in here?”
“Mor is in a mood. Your dad is stressed. And I needed some space from them both. Now, what’s up with you? You look a bit peaky.”
With a heavy exhale, I spent the next twenty minutes telling her everything. About my relationship with Fyfe, confessing my love, his rejection, Cameron, what Fyfe told me this evening, and then Cameron’s disturbing behavior.
“Before I say anything else, you need to tell your father about Cameron. And tell Uncle Mac and Walker.” Uncle Mac gave up his security job, but he used to be head of security at Uncle Lachlan’s estate before Walker took over.
“I doubt he’s dangerous.”
“When people fixate on us, they’re dangerous.”
I turned to look at Mum’s pretty face. Once upon a time, we’d all reaped the consequences of a man fixating on her. I nodded solemnly. “I’ll tell Dad. And Uncle Mac and Walker.”
“And Fyfe?”
“I don’t even know where to start with Fyfe Moray. I mean, I’m right to be pissed off. Right?”
“Men are emotionally constipated sometimes.” Mum grimaced. “Your dad made me so mad when we first started seeing each other. And he hurt me. Deeply.”
I gaped at her in disbelief. “Dad hurt you?”
She nodded, looking down at her lap. “He loved me so much, but because of our age difference, he thought I couldn’t possibly love him back the same way. That I’d grow bored with this ‘simple’ life in the Highlands and leave for an adventure elsewhere.”
“Well, that’s the most patronizing thing I’ve ever heard,” I snapped, indignant on her behalf.
Mum chuckled. “I thought so too at the time. But when I realized how much he loved me, I knew it was just his insecurities talking. It was shocking to me that someone as intelligent and charismatic as your father couldn’t see his own worth.”
Oh my God.
“Are you telling me, I’ve fallen for a man like my dad?”
At my horrified tone, Mum’s whole body shook with laughter.
I playfully smacked her shoulder. “Stop it.”
When her laughter died off, she tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and offered quietly, “Think about it, Eilidh. Your birth mum cheated and it completely blindsided him. When someone betrays you in that way, we can’t help but wonder why. Is the problem within ourselves? Are we good enough? Are we not lovable enough?”
My heart hurt at the thought of Dad ever believing that of himself, and even worse that my birth mother might have made him feel that way. Had I ever made Fyfe feel that way? No. No, I knew I hadn’t. I’d always treated Fyfe like he was someone special to me.
“Fyfe’s situation isn’t a cheating wife. It was a mother who abandoned him, so I reckon that cut is even deeper.”
“You don’t think he just wants me because he’s afraid to be alone with Millie?”
“No.” Mum shook her head. “I think he’s just no longer emotionally constipated. I think Millie showed him he’s capable of being responsible for another human, capable of committing to someone. And maybe even worthy of love.”
“That’s what he said.” I rested my head on her shoulder, aching so badly. “The thing is, his rejection was a brutal hit because I’m still trying to love myself, to be kinder to myself. Perhaps it was foolish to even try to love someone else while I’m still on that journey.”
“Oh, darling, there is no trying or stopping when it comes to love. You just either do or you don’t. It’s not in our control, and it usually happens at the most inconvenient time.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“I think … you need to put you first. And if you need some time to untangle all your feelings, then you take that time. If Fyfe really does love you, he’ll wait for you.”
The bedroom door opened and Dad halted at the sight of me cuddled up next to Mum. His expression softened. “Everything okay in here?”
“Just girl talk.” Mum kissed my forehead before I straightened.
“I can do girl talk.” Dad climbed into the bed on my other side, making me laugh. He drew me into his side and I cuddled against him, feeling like a wee girl.
It was kind of nice after the day I’d had.
“I’m in love with Fyfe,” I blurted out.
Dad gave me a squeeze. “I know, Eilidh-Bug.”
“But now he might love me back and I’m scared shitless.”
He was silent for a few seconds and then he said, “Ach, then let him work for it. Can’t make it too easy for him now, can you?”
Glancing up to find his cheeky grin, I chuckled. “I guess not.”
“Oh, and tell him about Cameron,” Mum added, tone concerned.
“I’ll deal with it,” Dad promised in his scary Dad voice once I’d told him about Cameron’s reaction.
“How will you deal with it?”
“I’ll have a perfectly civil conversation with him. And I might invite all your uncles to said conversation to remind the wee fucker that you have men in your life who can make him disappear, no questions asked, if he doesn’t stay away from you.”
I met Mum’s gaze.
She just shrugged as if to say, “I’m with him.”
A knock at the door had us looking up as Mor peeked her head in. “You’re all in here?”
Mum patted the bed beside her and Mor bounded onto it like she was five. “Feeling better?” Mum asked, hugging her into her side and smoothing her hair back.
Mor wrapped an arm around Mum’s stomach and melted into her with a nod.
“What are we, the Waltons?” Dad teased.
I snorted as my sister wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Who are the Waltons?”
Mum laughed and reached out to smooth a thumb over Dad’s cheek. “Dude, you’re so old.”
Cackling and then apologizing in the face of Dad’s mock hurt, I let my worries of the day melt away. I’d be fifty and married with my own kids, and still I knew my family could cure any ailment with just the reminder that they existed and that they loved me.