Chapter 25
Dear Liam,
I wish to formally apologize for my actions during—
Sienna crumpled the paper and tossed it toward the fireplace in her guest room. Too stiff. Too formal. It was like drafting a council report.
She pulled out another sheet from the stationery Suzie had provided and tried again.
Liam, I can’t stop thinking about how sorry I am and how much I miss you, and I know I don’t deserve forgiveness, but please—
Another crumpled ball joined the first. Too desperate. Too much.
With a frustrated sigh, she set the pen down and walked to the window.
The Scottish countryside stretched out below, green and peaceful in the afternoon light.
Somewhere far away, Liam was tending sheep along the river flats of Middlemarch.
Did he think about her at all, or had he put those months in Cornwall behind him?
A soft knock at the door interrupted her brooding. “Come in.”
Suzie entered, carrying a tea tray. “Thought you might need fortification for your letter writing.”
“I can’t seem to find the right words.” Sienna gestured at the fireplace, where her failed attempts had landed. “Everything sounds either too cold or too pathetic.”
“Maybe because you’re thinking too hard about what you should say instead of what you want to say.” Suzie set the tray down and poured two cups of tea. “What would you tell him if he were standing right here?”
Sienna accepted the tea gratefully. “That I was an idiot. That I was so hung up on what I’d done wrong, I couldn’t see what felt right.”
“Acknowledging that is a start.” Suzie settled into the window seat. “You know, Niall has been muttering about a business problem for weeks. I think you might be the solution he needs.”
“Pardon?”
“Honey.” Suzie’s gaze lit with amusement.
“My parents started keeping bees—Niall helped them set up during our last visit because they wanted to diversify the farm. He got completely obsessed, designed better hives, improved extraction methods, the works. Now their honey production is booming, but they just want to tend the bees. They hate the idea of retail.”
Sienna experienced a hint of curiosity. “Selling honey?”
“Yes, in a proper shop. Different varieties from local producers, maybe some pottery to display them in. Niall’s been looking for someone who understands both sides—the product and the selling.
” Suzie paused. “You managed the market stall with your mother. You know how to talk to customers, how to present goods attractively.”
“But I know nothing about honey.”
“Niall could teach you everything in his sleep. He’s obsessed.” Suzie grinned. “Bear shifter, remember? It’s practically genetic.”
Despite her worry about the letter, Sienna smiled. “Where would this shop be?”
“Middlemarch. There’s a perfect spot on the main street, and the town gets plenty of tourists during the season.” Suzie’s tone grew serious. “But it would mean leaving your family. Would you do that?”
The question hit deeper than Sienna expected. Parting from her family had always seemed impossible, but sitting here in Scotland, she realized something had already shifted. Her parents and brothers had been right—she couldn’t live her whole life protecting them from a world that might reject them.
“I think I might be. What about Kitto’s art? London mentioned some online opportunities, but it might be better in person.”
“She did. Kitto could do custom illustrations, caricatures, maybe even design work. The internet makes location less important for that kind of thing.” Suzie studied Sienna’s face. “This isn’t charity, you know. Niall genuinely needs someone reliable, and from what I’ve seen, you’re exactly that.”
And it would put me in the same country as Liam, Sienna thought but didn’t say it aloud.
“Let me talk to Kitto,” she said instead. “See what he thinks.”
That evening, she found her youngest brother in the garden, sketching the castle’s silhouette against the sunset.
“Kitto? Can I ask you something?”
He looked up, pencil still poised. “If it’s about Liam, I told you—”
“It’s about New Zealand. London mentioned some art opportunities there. Would you be interested in going to Middlemarch?”
Kitto’s ears perked up—literally. “You mean doing commissions in person? Custom portraits, caricatures, that kind of thing?”
She nodded and told him about the honey shop. As she spoke, she watched his expression shift from hopeful curiosity to genuine excitement.
“I could do portraits, logos, maybe even book illustrations,” he said, already sketching absently as ideas sparked. “But if I’m working face-to-face, I’ll have to be careful. You know, with people noticing the ears and tail.”
“What about Ma and Pa? The others?” she asked.
Kitto’s ears flattened. “I’ve been thinking about that since we arrived at the castle.
They’re happy, Sienna. Really happy. Pa’s already talking about collaborating with Niall on pottery containers for honey.
Jamie’s settled in like he belongs. And Jago and Calan…
” He shrugged. “They love helping with the estate work. For the first time, they’re not looking over their shoulders, waiting for someone to stare or whisper. ”
“So you think they’ll stay?”
“I think for as long as Niall and Suzie want them. And from what I can see, that could be indefinite.” He set down his pencil and looked at her seriously. “The question is, what do you want?”
That night, Sienna sat at the desk again, but this time the words came more easily.
Dear Liam,
I’ve written this letter a dozen times, and nothing feels like enough for what I need to say. But Suzie told me to stop overthinking and be honest. So here goes.
I’m sorry. Not just for taking you from the gathering—that was unforgivable—but for every moment after when I was scared or too proud to be honest about what was happening between us. I was so caught up in my guilt, I couldn’t see past it to what we might have.
You once asked if I was sure we weren’t mates. I said no, but I think I was wrong—not about the instant recognition some couples have, but about the quieter bond that grows slowly. The kind that makes you miss someone’s voice when they’re not there. One that makes you look for them in every room.
I miss you, Liam. Your laugh and how you made my brothers feel normal. Watching you with my parents, seeing the respect you showed them. I miss the way you kissed me and made me feel like maybe I deserved something good.
Niall has offered me a job in Middlemarch—running a honey shop for Suzie’s family. Kitto wants to come too, for the art opportunities London mentioned. We’d be leaving our family for the first time, which terrifies me. But not as much as the thought of never seeing you again.
I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, let alone anything more. But if you think there’s still something worth exploring between us, I’ll be in Middlemarch by the end of the month.
With love and hope,
Sienna
She read it through twice, her heart hammering. It was honest—maybe too honest—but it felt right. Before she could second-guess herself, she folded it and slipped it into an envelope.
“Saber Mitchell, Middlemarch, New Zealand,” she wrote on the front, then added a note asking him to forward it to Liam wherever he might be working.
Three weeks later, Scott met Liam at Lake Tekapo.
They’d driven from opposite directions—Scott from Middlemarch, Liam from Cam’s high country station—meeting halfway on one of Liam’s rare days off.
The autumn air was crisp, the lake a startling blue under the clear sky, and the mountains stood sharp and snow-dusted in the distance.
“You know,” Scott said, settling beside him on a rocky outcrop, “for someone hiding out from civilization, you look like hell.”
Liam wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his glove. “Thanks. Real morale booster.”
“Just calling it.” Scott pulled a thermos from his pack and poured two cups of coffee. “When’s the last time you slept properly?”
“I sleep fine.” Mostly true. The farm work knocked him out most nights—it was the dreams that messed with him.
“Uh-huh.” Scott handed him a cup. “So. Interesting news from home. Saber says we’ve got some new arrivals from Scotland.”
Liam stilled. “Scotland?”
“Yep. A young woman and her brother. Something about a honey shop venture with Niall.” He shot Liam a look. “That’d be your Sienna, then.”
The coffee sat heavy in his stomach. “She’s in Middlemarch?”
“They’ve been there a couple of weeks. Her and the artistic brother—Kitto? He’s doing caricatures at the weekend market and is a huge hit with the tourists.” Scott kept his tone light. “Saber says she seems determined. And a bit lost. You planning to do anything about that?”
“Like what?” The words came out sharper than he meant. “She made her choice. She wanted to stay with her family.”
Scott took a sip of coffee. “Funny thing about choices,” he said. “Sometimes people change their minds.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the light change across the lake. Eventually, Scott checked his watch.
“I should head back,” he said. “Early start tomorrow. But Liam? Don’t write her off completely. From what Saber says, she’s taking an enormous risk coming to New Zealand. That’s got to mean something.”
After Scott left, Liam drove back to the station alone, their conversation echoing in his head. When he pulled up at the homestead, Cam emerged from the office with an envelope in his hand.
“Mail came while you were out,” Cam said, handing it over. “This came for you via Saber Mitchell.”
Liam’s heart stopped. There was only one person who would write to him through Saber.
With shaking hands, he opened the envelope and read.
By the time he finished, the afternoon light was fading. The tightness in his chest had loosened, breaking the weeks-long grip.
Cam appeared in the doorway, took one look at Liam’s face, and grinned. “Good news, I take it?”
“Yeah.” Liam folded the letter carefully. “Cam, I need to ask a favor. Could you post a letter for me on the next supply run?”
“Course. Taking your time to think it through, eh? Smart man.”
Liam nodded, already composing his reply in his head. He had two months left on his contract, and Sienna was building a new life in Middlemarch. Maybe slow was precisely what they both needed. Time to get to know each other properly, without a crisis or guilt clouding everything between them.
He had so much he wanted to tell her—about the mountains, about the work, about how he’d figured out what home meant to him. And if her letter was anything to go by, she had things to tell him too.
For the first time since leaving Scotland, Liam felt like they were moving in the right direction—together, even if they were taking the long way around.