Chapter 16
Ronan could hardly pull his hand away from her. He knew that he had no business touching Cressida the way he was, and he certainly had no business thinking about leaning in and kissing her, but he could hardly help himself as those thoughts flooded his mind.
Even as another roll of thunder shook the earth, he was still thinking about leaning in and kissing her.
“We’re far from home,” Cressida said as rain started to come down around them. “I don’t think we’re going to make it back before this gets worse.”
Just as she finished speaking, lightning flashed across the sky, striking a tree close to them and sending the leaves up in flames. Pouring rain fizzled it out quickly, but as more thunder rolled and lightning flashed, Ronan knew they couldn’t stay there.
He stood and helped her to her feet. “Is there somewhere near here we can take shelter?”
“There’s a cave.” Cressida pointed to a ridge in the distance. “We can ride there quickly enough, and some of the caves are large enough to fit all of us and the horse.”
Ronan scooped up Diver, waiting until Cressida was on the horse before handing the puppy to her.
He swung up on the horse behind her, his body pressed against hers, making heat course through his veins.
As he took the reins, rain poured down more heavily, cascading down to the world around them and soaking it as more thunder roared.
The sky went from gray to nearly black as they rode hard, balls of hail falling all around them. They were only small stones, perhaps the size of cherries, but by the time they reached the cave, the size of the hail was growing.
“That one looks big enough!” Cressida yelled over the storm, pointing to the mouth of a cave that was definitely big enough to fit the horse.
Ronan urged the horse to go faster, entering the cave, breathing a sigh of relief when the hail was no longer hitting them. He got down from the horse and took Diver, setting him to the side.
For a moment, he thought Diver was going to run right back out of the cave, but the puppy seemed to know it was in his best interest to lie down in the corner with his head on his paws and wait out the storm.
Cressida got down, keeping the coat around her shoulders, but she was starting to shake. Ronan tried not to look too long as he led the horse across the massive cave, tying it off to one of the rocky outcroppings at the far end of the wall.
Thankfully, there was a pile of dry wood in the other corner. Ronan brought it to the middle of the cave, starting a fire quickly, feeding it until the flames were growing high. A thin ribbon of smoke crept out of the cave, dissipating with the hail as it came down in balls the size of walnuts.
Cressida sat close to the fire, putting her arms through the sleeves of the coat and rubbing her hands together, her teeth chattering. Ronan wanted to pull her close and hold her tight, but he was soaking wet, too, and would only make her colder.
“I haven’t seen a summer storm like this in a couple of years,” Cressida said, her voice quiet as he sat close to her, his arm nearly brushing against hers. “The summer is usually nice here, but every now and then storms like this come out of nowhere.”
“Well, it looks like the hail is turning back to rain.” Ronan flinched as more lightning cracked through the sky. “It’s best for us to wait out the storm here, though. I don’t want to risk getting hit by lightning.”
Cressida nodded, holding her hands out to the fire before taking off her shoes and putting her toes close to warm them.
“Etta is going to be worried sick. I told her I was going to the river for a little bit, but when I don’t come back with the berries and herbs, she’s going to panic. Especially with this storm.”
“She’ll be fine. I’m sure if either of us is gone too long, Tobin will ride out to check on me, and the first place he’s likely going to look is your home.”
“Did you find anything while you were out looking today?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly like she was worried about the possibility of somebody being out there and watching them.
He wanted to assure her that he would keep her safe, that he would make sure nothing ever happened to her, but it felt too soon to make such big promises, especially when he didn’t know who was looking for him.
“You’re right. I know he’ll go look for you eventually.” Cressida scooted closer to the fire, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, huddling around herself like she was trying to keep as warm as possible.
Ronan wished he had more clothing in his saddlebags, but he had only brought the coat.
Horse blanket.
He got up and went to the horse, taking off its saddle and fetching the blanket from beneath.
With the saddle sitting on the ground, he went and wrapped the blanket around Cressida’s shoulders, brushing her wet hair back so it could drip down over the back of the blanket and not down the back of her neck.
Her cheeks were a bright shade of pink in the firelight as she looked up at him. “You should take the blanket. You’re as soaked through as I am, and it’s going to make you sick if you’re not careful.”
“The fire is warm enough for me,” he said as he sat back down beside her.
Cressida opened one side of the blanket. “I know it’s hardly proper, but the last thing either of us needs is you catching your death of cold, and I think God would forgive us for the impropriety given this could be life or death.”
Ronan’s lips twitched, but he tucked himself beneath the other side of the blanket, careful to keep a few inches of distance between them even as they tried to warm up.
It was difficult to think straight when she was that close, and all he could smell was the citrus and peppermint scent that lingered on her.
It reminded him of lemonade on a hot summer’s day.
Out of nowhere, Cressida looked at him and started laughing. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t stop his own laughter either.
“Look at us,” she said through the laughter, a tear leaking from her eye and rolling down her cheek. “We’re dripping wet and in a cave with a puppy and a horse.”
Diver got to his feet and ran over to them, climbing into Cressida’s lap and settling down.
Ronan smiled, reaching out to pet the dog’s head. “Well, you always wanted a dog. I guess this is God’s way of saying that it’s finally time for you to have him.”
“You should take him. You need a dog.” Cressida looked down at Diver wistfully, running her fingers through his wet fur.
How could Ronan even think about taking the puppy from her when she looked like she was half in love with it already?
Ronan wished that she would look at him like that.
It was a thought that came from nowhere, but when he considered it for another second longer, he knew that it was true. Cressida had captured something in him, and he was interested in exploring how drawn he was to her, but it was dangerous.
“You’re going to keep Diver,” Ronan said softly, knowing that nothing was as simple as just giving something to her when she thought someone else needed it.
She was selfless to a fault. “I need a dog that’s big and thick.
One that’s good at chasing off coyotes. This boy here is made for hunting ducks, see his webbed feet and how slick his coat is? ”
Cressida ran her fingers through the dog’s fur. “I guess you’re right.”
“He’s going to grow to be a big boy with the size of those paws, but he’s not much use for guarding livestock, so it would be best if you kept him and gave him a good home.”
“All right, if you really think you don’t need him, then I’m keeping him.” Cressida’s gaze locked onto Ronan’s, her full lips turning up into a pretty smile. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do. You always seem to know what to say. I guess lately it’s looking like you know me better than I know myself, and I have to admit that I don’t know how to feel about that in the slightest.” Her head turned, her attention locking on the rain that poured down outside, making it hard to see the trees that were only a few feet away.
“I know what it’s like to feel lost,” he said, feeling the pocket watch against his chest.
“You do?” She eyed him, her tongue darting out to wet her lower lip.
“I do.” He swallowed hard, his heart hammering in his chest, blood rushing in his ears. “I’ve felt lost since I lost my parents, to be honest. When they died seven years ago, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I had always existed as their son, and then they were gone.”
“I can understand that. I think I felt a little of that when my parents died, but I had Etta. The loneliness really only sank in after my husband died and then Etta had her accident, and then it felt like me against the rest of the world.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re doing a good job of running the house and taking care of Etta,” Ronan said, his voice low as the rain roared outside, the fire popping and crackling. “I don’t know that I could do it in your position, but you make it look easy.”
“I’m glad to know that, since I feel like I’m falling apart most of the time.”
Cressida kept petting Diver, her fingers weaving through his fur.
She glanced at Ronan. “I was supposed to have children by now. Etta was supposed to be married to a man who loved her and off living her own life. And I was going to keep teaching, too. I know it’s not normal once you have children, but I was going to do it. ”
“I’m sure you would’ve been wonderful at it.”
She rewarded his comment with that stunning smile of hers, the one that made him feel like there was a herd of wild horses stampeding through his chest. “I was good at it. I love children and teaching them and getting to see all of their personalities develop over the years.”
“Why aren’t you doing that now?”