Chapter 34 Lachlan
LACHLAN
“Don’t, Eilidh.”
“I just want to say hello.”
“He’s sleeping.”
“Oh … he smells funny.”
“Eilidh, come on. Dad said not to disturb Uncle Lachlan.”
“But I want a cuddle.”
A weight spread across my chest. “Morning, Uncle Lachlan.” I felt the whisper of breath across my neck.
I peeled my eyes open, the blurry ceiling the first thing I saw before the aching pound started in my head. Dark hair came into my vision, and I glanced down to see my adorable niece sprawled across my chest like a sea star. Her chin rested on my upper chest, her big blues locked with mine.
She beamed up at me. “Morning, Uncle Lachlan,” she repeated.
Despite the throbbing in my head and edges of the room tilting slightly when I moved, I couldn’t help but grin at Eilidh as I wrapped my arms around her. “Morning, angel. Where did you come from?”
“Sorry, Uncle Lachlan.” Lewis appeared at the side of the bed. “Dad said not to wake you.”
I reached out to ruffle my nephew’s hair. “It’s okay. What time is it?” My mouth felt like it was filled with cotton wool balls.
“Eight. We’re just getting ready for school.”
“I thought I told you not to come in here?” Thane strode into his guest bedroom.
The house Thane designed was situated on Adair land outside Ardnoch in a small, barely populated area called Caelmore.
While the other homes in the village (if it was big enough to be called such) were situated near the main road that led into Ardnoch, Thane’s home sat above the sand dunes, overlooking the sea.
It was a contemporary structure, built with larch cladding and lots of glass.
He and the kids’ mum, Francine, built it together while she was pregnant with Lewis. Thane also designed my home—the one I never used, situated on the land next door.
“I wanted a cuddle.” Eilidh pouted at her father, somehow growing heavier on me. I realized why when Thane tried to lift her off, and she refused to go without a fight.
“Eilidh,” Thane admonished, sweeping her up before she could protest. “Uncle Lachlan’s not well. Leave him alone.”
She scowled over her father’s shoulder but gave me a cute wave. “Feel better, Lach Lach.”
I winked at her, and I saw her smile before she disappeared out the door with her father.
“You okay?” Lewis asked.
Always so serious, that one.
Like his father and eldest uncle.
Brodan and Arran had missed out on the serious gene.
While Brodan easily played the cocky, charming, laid-back Scotsman, I shrugged on the persona like a mask. I presented myself to the world in the way I wished I was.
But I wasn’t that man.
Though I’d felt like him for real when I was with Robyn. She freed something in me.
“Uncle Lachlan?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I replied, hoping there was a kernel of truth in it.
Thane strode back into the room. “Lewis, breakfast.”
His son left without argument.
“Make sure Eilidh doesn’t try to pour her own cereal,” he called after him.
“Will do,” Lewis called back.
Then I was the focus of my brother’s attention.
Vague memories of the night before came back, shifting at the pounding bass in my skull.
“You owe me a bottle of Clynelish.”
I smirked unhappily. “I gathered as much.” Groaning, I sat up, swinging my legs off the bed only to let my head fall into my hands. “Fuck, I feel like I might owe you three bottles.”
“Nah, just the one.”
The bed depressed at my side, and I glanced out of the corner of my eye to look at Thane who sat beside me. “Did I get drunk in front of the kids?”
“No,” my brother assured me. “They were already in bed.”
We were silent as bits and pieces of our conversation last night returned to me.
As if reading my mind, Thane offered, “I meant what I said, Lachlan.”
I met Thane’s gaze.
My brother gave me a bolstering nod. “If I had the choice to go back and start a life with Fran knowing I’d lose her in the end, I’d do it anyway.
Not just because she gave me the kids but because she helped make me who I am today.
And my life was infinitely better for having her in it.
” Thane placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“A decade of happiness is better than a lifetime of emptiness.”
Emotion choked me.
My brother’s strength was humbling.
Nodding, I patted Thane’s hand and tried to get a grip on the thickness in my throat.
“Does that nod mean you’re going to pull your head out of your arse and go to Robyn?”
My pulse leapt at the thought. “Aye.” I nodded. “Let’s just hope she’ll take me back.”
“Well.” Thane stood, grinning at me. “You’ll have a better chance if you go to her not smelling like a distillery.”
I grimaced. “Right. Food, shower, brush my teeth first.”
And then I’d go to her.
Because Robyn was wrong.
She was the one worth fighting my fears for, and I refused to be another person in her life who didn’t put her first.
After enduring breakfast with my family (my head was killing me and as much as I loved my niece, she was going through a phase of shout-talking), I decided to cross the land between our homes and use my place for once.
Letting myself into the large home, I pictured Robyn here and wished I’d brought her to see it and made love to her in the large master that overlooked the inlet.
While there was a large, open-plan living space from the front to the back of the house—the kitchen and lounging area set against wall-to-wall bifold doors that opened out onto a deck that looked out over the Ardnoch Firth—there were also smaller rooms behind the kitchen.
There was a small viewing room with a giant picture window and window seat where you could sit, lean against the glass, and look out over the water.
Robyn would love it.
Hurrying upstairs to the master that sat above the kitchen with its own overhanging deck, I moved with urgency. Shower, dress, get to Robyn.
Two days was far too long as it was for her to think I didn’t love her the way she loved me.
I shook my head in wonder as I stepped into the shower.
Robyn loved me.
How did I get so goddamn lucky?
It seemed implausible, but I wasn’t going to question my good fortune.
In the walk-in closet, I chose clothes without my usual care for appearance.
In fact, I was so focused on Robyn, the sudden explosion of pain across the back of my head and the lights sparking in my vision came out of nowhere.
Confusion was the last feeling to absorb me as I stepped into my bedroom, the floor the last thing I saw, coming toward me at speed, before everything went dark.