Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Leith
We fall into a beautiful, perfect pattern of simplicity, but every day brings me more joy than the last. I wake up beside the most lovely woman a bloke could ever imagine.
She’s curled up beside me, naked after another night of making love.
Her light brown hair falls in waves onto the pillow and all around her.
I stare at her too-long lashes, the way they frame her eyes and only gently move when she draws in a breath.
I trace my finger along her ear, her nose, and to the fullness of her lips. She doesn’t stir.
I move my exploration further south, over her shoulders, to her full, gorgeous lips and still, she doesn’t move. I smile to myself. I wore the lass out last night.
It’s been nearly a week since our run-in with the Aitkens. Mac promises he’s got news for me, and I’ve heard rumors from Tate that he’s got his eyes on one of Aitkens’ daughters. I don’t know his plan fully, but I know the Aitkens blonde doesn’t stand a chance against Mac’s wiles.
He comes to me one day when I’m chopping wood, and I don’t hear him at first for the sound of the ax and splintering log.
“Leith?”
I turn to him, panting, and slam the ax in the chopping block before I yank my sweaty t-shirt off.
“Thanks, was hoping to get a good look at those abs of yours,” he says with a wry smile. I flex, just for him, and he laughs.
Somewhere between Paisley’s injuries and Dad’s, Mac’s lost the chip on his shoulder.
He leans against one of the trees, and he looks older somehow.
Wiser, even. Though he’s always had Mum’s cornflower blue eyes and sleek black hair, he reminded me of my dad with his large frame and muscular body.
Today, he reminds me more of Mum, though.
“How are things going with your plan?” I ask.
He nods, sobering. “Better than I expected. We’ll get retribution, Leith. I promise.”
I’ve warned him to be careful, but he says he knows what he’s doing.
He says that the plan’s going exactly as he hoped, and he’s preparing to make his move. It’d better. I won’t let the Aitkens get the upper hand.
Silence lingers between us, as he works his jaw and looks over my shoulder. I pick up the ax again and line up another log to split.
“I’m sorry, Leith.”
I pause mid-swing and turn to look at him. “Why’s that?”
“I was an arse,” he mutters. “Didn’t respect you. Didn’t think it fair you took Tavish’s role, if I’m honest.”
I stare at him, as a cool breeze stings my sweat-slicked back. Finally, I shrug. “No need to apologize. You needed me to prove myself.” I lift the ax and swing it hard, relishing the heft of the blade.
“Aye,” he says, then he chuckles. “See, you’re doing it even now.”
“Doing what?”
“Being all fucking humble. It’s how I got over myself.” He sighs. “I realized you weren’t in it for the power or prestige. I suppose I reckoned you would be, with so many of us looking up to you as our leader. But I see now that isn’t it for you.”
I move the split logs to the pile and place another one on the chopping block. “Mac, I do what I have to for my family. If I could, I’d shrug this all off, let someone else lead.” I sigh. “But that’s not my choice.”
“No, Leith, it isn’t. And I know that now.”
He stands and smiles, stretching. “I want you to know you’re not alone. Tate and I’ve been talking, we think you make a cracking good Captain.” He scowls, though briefly. “Better than Dad ever was.”
He meets my eyes. “And I promise you, I’m going to make this work.”
I nod. “I know you will. We’re family, Mac. None of us does this alone.”
And from that day on, we’re on each other’s sides, as we should’ve been from day one. No man is a fucking island. We need each other.
One day, Cairstina comes back from Gran’s to find me lying on the sofa, finishing the first in the romance book series she and the other girls go on about.
“You didn’t,” she says with a smile. Though she still texts or writes from time to time, she’s becoming more comfortable with speech. She chooses her words carefully, though.
I fold the book and place it on the little end table. “Och, aye. I did.”
She giggles. I love that sound, almost as much as I love the sound of her voice, but not quite as much as I love the sounds she makes when we make love.
“Not so sure I think real men behave like that,” I say with a frown. “But it was a fun read.”
She giggles again.
“Leith, do you mind if I go into town with your sisters? The next in the series is out tomorrow, and we were hoping to get it.”
“Can’t you read the e-book version?” I ask with a frown.
I don’t like them going into town. Though we haven’t had a word from the Aitkens, I don’t trust them.
Rumor has it their mother took a stroke, and her recovery’s been difficult.
So just because they haven’t done anything recently doesn’t mean they’re not biding their time.
“We could,” she says with a wink. “But… well, we’re hoping we can somehow spy the author.”
“Spy the author?”
“Aye,” she says. “We fancy she may keep herself hidden but there’s a good chance she’ll stop by. And we’re determined to find out who it is.”
I frown at her. “And who’s going with you?”
“Islan, Paisley, yer mum, Fran.”
“When?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
I mull it over. “Fine, as long as I go with you.”
She winces. “Sorry, but that’ll be awkward.”
I chuckle. She’s adorable. “Right, then, I’ll bring you to the bookstore, leave you with a bloody guard, then pay a visit to Father MacGowen until you’re done.”
She nods. “Deal.”
MacGowen’s taken easily to his guard, and it puts me at ease knowing our Clan Chaplain is safe.
“Oh, good news,” Cairstina says, sashaying past me. Her voracious appetite’s padded her beautiful curves. I fucking love it.
“Oh?”
“Yup. Paisley passed all her exams.”
“Excellent.”
She smiles. “She’s very appreciative you finally said she could travel.”
“Aye, on one condition,” I tell her firmly. “Same as the last.”
“What’s that?”
“I told her you and I come with her.”
Cairstina gasps. “We will?”
“Aye. I’ve got every detail already sorted.”
Her arms come around my neck and she gives me a firm squeeze.
“Thank you,” she whispers in my ear, and I know she isn’t just thanking me for this. “Thank you.”
I kiss her cheek and hold her to me. “Cairstina, I’m the one that ought to be thanking you.”
She smiles, snuggling into me like she belongs here.
“Before you came, I was so miserable. I was mourning the loss of Tavish, and convinced I’d never measure up to him.”
She lays her hand flat on my chest. “Och, I know it, Leith.”
I hold her to me and continue my confession. It feels so good to say it.
“I never thought I could be the man my father wanted, the leader my family needed. Until you.”
She shakes her head. “Wasn’t I who taught you that, handsome. ’Twas you.”
I smile, running my hand along the back of her head. Listening to the gentle sound of her breathing.
“Aye,” I finally admit with a sigh. “Sometimes, it has to be.”
She nods in agreement. “I wanted to please my mum. She wasn’t anyone who was even worthy of my attention, much less my eagerness for her approval. I wanted someone to validate who I was.”
“God, you know I understand that.”
She sighs. “Aye. Even when she was mean, even when she hurt me, I still craved the knowledge that she was proud, that I made her happy.”
“It’s just the way humans are wired, doll.”
She nods. “Aye.”
We got the news of her mum’s illness recently. She’d been found on the steps of the Cathedral, alive but doing poorly, and was now recovering in the hospital. Seemed she hit her head, and we were advised she might not remember us.
She remembered Cairstina, and the two made their peace. Her mum never knew what happened to Dougal. Cairstina doesn’t either. But I have evidence that his body’s with the Aitkens’ casualty, thanks to a favor from Tate. He won’t ever hurt her again.
She holds my hand. “Some people wish for riches. Others, for fame. But I have everything I need here, with you.”
I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her palm, then wrap her fingers around the kiss. “And this is for you,” I tell her. “You can hold it in your palm for whenever you need it.” I smile at her. “Aye, lass. You complete me, as well.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” she says teasingly, and the next moment I’ve got her pinned to the couch as I’m tickling her and she’s giggling. We collapse in a heap beside each other. I drag her to my chest and let her nestle in. I kiss the top of her head. Relishing this. Savoring her.
“You’re like a fine wine,” I tell her, as I run my fingers through her soft, silky hair. “I like to relish the taste.”
She pushes herself up and kisses me, when a knock comes at the door. She looks at me in surprise. No one ever comes to knock at the door. I know why, though.
“How odd,” I say, knowing exactly who it is. “Let me check on that.”
I get up and open the door, to find Bailey standing on the other side.
“Bailey?” she asks. Islan brought him, then left as I instructed.
Bailey comes trotting in. The light from the table lamp gleams on the shining ring around his neck. Cairstina watches, bemused, as Bailey runs to her and leaps up onto her lap.
“What is—ohhh.”
She reaches for the red ribbon tied ‘round Bailey’s neck, her eyes growing misty. “Leith.”
I stand beside her, my hands shoved into my pockets. “I’m not a romantic guy,” I say sheepishly, but she shakes her head.
“You’re the most romantic bloke that ever lived.” She takes the ring off the ribbon and places it in the palm of her hand. She whispers, “For me?”
I drop to my knees beside the couch. “Couldn’t do this in front of the others. You’re far too private, Cairstina, and so am I. But aye, that’s for you.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Will you have me? Will you be my bride?”
She nods, grinning, and whispers an emphatic, “yes,” that makes my heart soar.
I lean in and kiss her, holding her, as I whisper in her ear. “Waiting all that time to hear you speak was worth it, if only to hear you say that one word. ‘Yes.’”
As the wind whips heartily outside the window, it’s warm and safe inside.
And that’s where it will stay. The storm doesn’t rage within me anymore, not like it used to.
I gave her family, and safety, and a place to live.
And this woman? She’s taught me to appreciate everything I already had. She’s taught me how to live.