Chapter Twenty #2
His great shoulders heaved with silent sobs.
Something broke in Lir now too. With a strangled cry, she ran across the rocks and threw herself at her father, wrapping her arms around him.
Mannan’s brawny arms encircled her too, holding her close as both said things to the other that Cailean couldn’t hear.
Perhaps the sea god and Cailean were more similar than he cared to admit.
He too knew the all-encompassing grief that could swallow a person whole and send them spiraling into a deep, dark pit where the only things left to cling to were bitterness and anger.
But, unlike the sea god, he’d had Catriona to keep from falling into that pit entirely.
Perhaps with Lir’s help, Mannan could claw his way out of that pit too.
Rose squeezed his arm, and he turned to see she had tears in her eyes.
She leaned against him, seeming exhausted.
He pulled her close, putting his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.
It wasn’t just Catriona that kept him from the pit now.
He had Rose too. He had a second chance at happiness he never dared hope for. He didn’t intend to let it go.
At the end of the headland, Mannan and Lir broke their embrace. They turned to face him and Rose and walked towards them. Cailean tensed, edging slightly ahead of Rose, his fingers curling at his hip where his sword ought to be.
“There is no need for that,” Mannan said, seeing the gesture. “Ye have no need to fear me, Cailean MacNeil. I see now what damage my vengeance has wrought and at what cost to ye and yer people. For that I am sorry. I will do what I can to make restitution. See.”
He raised a finger and a vision enveloped Cailean.
He was suddenly back in Dun Mallach standing over Catriona’s bed in the infirmary.
Her eyes were closed, Patch curled at the bottom of her bed.
The little dog suddenly raised his head, ears pricking.
Then he leapt to his feet, tail wagging, and jumped on Catriona’s chest, peering intently at her face.
A moment later, Catriona’s eyelids flickered, and she slowly opened her eyes, blinking and looking around.
Patch yelped excitedly, rasping his tongue all over her face.
“Ugh!” Cat cried, trying unsuccessfully to push the little dog off. “Geroff!”
A heady rush of relief flashed through Cailean, so strong that his legs went weak.
He reached out to touch his daughter’s face but of course, he wasn’t really there, and she didn’t notice his presence.
He heard a gasp and looked up to see Maggie and Beatrice standing on the far side of the infirmary, looking around with awed expressions.
Every one of the sleeping patients was waking up.
Even old Drew, who’d been ill for so long, blinked his eyes open, stretched his arms over his head, then pushed himself onto his elbows, looking around with a grumpy expression on his face.
“By the seven hells,” he muttered, “I’m bloody starving.”
Then a rushing sensation filled Cailean’s head and he was suddenly standing back on the headland, Rose by his side. From the awed expression on her face he guessed she’d seen the vision too.
“Was that real?” Cailean demanded of Mannan and Lir. “Or another of yer tricks?” He couldn’t keep the anger from his voice, fear that it wasn’t real putting a bite into his tone.
“It was real,” Mannan replied. “Yer people will recover. The sickness is gone. On this, ye have my word. What’s more, I pledge myself to Barra in my love, Danu’s name. I will watch over ye to make restitution for what I’ve done. I will bring ye calm seas and good fishing. Such is my vow.”
Cailean didn’t know what to say to that. This creature had brought such suffering to his people. Was he just supposed to forgive that? He wasn’t sure he had it in him. But he could try.
He nodded tightly. “Keep yer word and I will consider it settled between us. I will ensure yer name isnae forgotten on Barra.”
The god inclined his head, sealing their bargain. Now Lir stepped up, coming to stand in front of Rose.
“Thank ye,” she said softly. “I knew ye would find a way.” Her gaze skipped to Cailean behind her. “And I knew ye would find what ye were looking for along the way. I am in yer debt. Call on me. I will answer.”
Rose nodded, tears shining in her eyes. “I will.”
To his surprise, Lir bowed to him and then Rose, before taking her father’s hand. The two of them walked to the end of the headland and dove into the water, disappearing into the waves and disappearing from view.
Cailean blew out a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Is that it?” he asked. “Is it over?”
“It’s over,” Rose replied, her voice sounding just as shaky as Cailean’s.
“Ye did it,” he breathed. “Ye really did it.”
She shook her head. “No. We did it. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Cailean. You kept me grounded, kept Mannan’s power from taking me. And without you and Catriona, I wouldn’t have worked out what I had to do.”
Cailean reached down and cupped her face in his big hands.
His chest filled with love for this woman.
How could he bear to let her go? Now that she’d fulfilled the task that Lir had set her, she would leave, return to her own time.
The thought was like a cold blade slicing through his gut.
He couldn’t let that happen. It would be the end of him.
He took a deep breath, steeling his courage. “Dinna leave me,” he whispered, the words coming out in a desperate plea. “Stay with me, Rose. Will ye marry me?”
*
Rose stared at Cailean, unable to quite believe he’d just said those words.
Will you marry me?
She could see everything he felt for her dancing in his eyes and knew it must be mirrored in her own. It crackled in the air around them, this undeniable pull between them. Rose wasn’t sure what it was called. Chemistry? Attraction?
No. It was love. Simple as that. She’d fallen in love with Cailean MacNeil and now she couldn’t bear to think of leaving him, of returning to her lonely life in her little cottage by the lake.
Will you marry me?
Was it possible? Could she really stay? Could she really marry him?
Cailean’s eyes suddenly clouded with uncertainty. “Rose?”
She closed her eyes, took a juddering breath. The word yes danced on the tip of her tongue, demanding release. She wanted nothing more than to build a life with this man and grow old with him by her side.
But she’d thought that once before and look how that had turned out. She was newly divorced. How could she countenance jumping into another marriage?
You might be newly divorced, she told herself, but your marriage ended a long time before that. And life is too short to not take chances.
She looked up at Cailean. This was how it was meant to be, she thought. This all-encompassing ache, this need to be with somebody like they were the air you breathed. This was love. She had never felt it before. Not with Dennis. Not with anyone.
Perhaps ye will find what ye were looking for all along. They were the words Lir had spoken to her that day when she’d come to fetch her. Now Rose knew what she’d meant. She’d been looking for this. For him. For a place to belong.
And now she’d found it.
“Yes!” she gasped. “A hundred times yes. I’ll marry you, Cailean MacNeil.”
A smile of pure joy lit his face. “Say that again, lass,” he breathed. “I didnae hear ye properly.”
“You big idiot,” she laughed. “I said I’ll marry you. Was that loud enough for you? Or would you like it louder still?” She threw back her head and shouted at the sky. “I love Cailean MacNeil and I’ve agreed to marry him! Will that do?”
He scooped her into his arms. “Aye, lass,” he breathed. “That will do.” Then he bent his head and kissed her.
The ride back to Dun Mallach passed in a blur. Snip followed along behind while Rose rode on Arrow with Cailean. She sat in front of him in the saddle, leaning back against his solid, reassuring bulk while he kept one arm clamped protectively around her waist.
That was just fine with her. She couldn’t seem to stop touching him. Or looking at him. Or kissing him. Every so often she turned in the saddle and their journey came to a grinding halt while they kissed.
So it took a long time to get back to Dun Mallach, but finally, the keep came into view. As they neared the gates, two figures came bursting out, one small and four-legged, the other two-legged with flying red hair.
Cailean pulled Arrow to a halt, a low gasp escaping him. He swung his leg over the horse’s back, jumped to the ground, and knelt just in time to catch Catriona into a hug as she cannoned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight as Patch danced around excitedly.
“Oh my sweet girl,” Rose heard Cailean murmur. “Thank all the gods that ye are all right.”
The sight of the two of them brought tears to Rose’s eyes. She dismounted, knelt in the mud by their sides, and threw her arms around them both. After a second, Cailean’s arm shifted to include her in the three-way hug and Catriona turned to bury her face in Rose’s shoulder.
She had no idea how long the three of them remained like that. She only knew that she was reluctant to let either of them go. But finally, Cailean released them both.
“How are ye feeling?” he asked his daughter, his eyes scanning up and down as though searching for any sign of sickness.
Catriona shrugged. “Bored. Sister Beatrice wouldnae let me out of the infirmary but it’s so dull in there! I snuck out when she wasnae looking.” She sounded very proud of this fact.
Cailean shared a look with Rose and the two of them burst out laughing. It was the laughter of relief, the laughter of hope restored after despair and Rose felt it blast through her like a gale, taking with it the last of her doubts.
“Catriona,” Cailean said, putting his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. “Rose and I have something to tell ye.” He glanced at Rose and took a deep breath. “We are getting married.”
Rose didn’t know what kind of reaction she’d expected to this news, but the exasperated eye roll Catriona gave them wasn’t it.
“Papa, that’s not news,” she said in the all-knowing tone of a nine-year-old. “Of course ye are getting married. I did see ye kissing, ye know.”
Cailean blinked, taken aback, and glanced at Rose. She merely shrugged. She had forgotten to tell Cailean that little detail.
Catriona clapped her hands together. “I’ve already got it all planned out! There are going to be games and competitions and dancing. And I’m going to be bridesmaid of course.” She gave Rose a defiant look. “Aren’t I?”
Rose laughed. “Of course you are! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“That’s good then. Me and Patch have been practicing. He’s getting very good at it.”
“Getting good at what?”
“Carrying the train, of course! After all, he is going to be brides-dog.”
Rose found she had no answer to that.