The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance (16 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Iain threw back his whisky and wondered how things had gotten so out of hand, how they’d gone so wrong.  Duncan leaned his head on the sofa and gave him sad eyes, as if asking him why Cat had to go.

“She’
ll be back.”  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “Quit giving me that look, dog.  I’m none too happy about it either.” 

T
he paintings and journals sat there across from him, just the way she’d left them, as if taunting him, a reminder that she was gone.  If he couldn’t fix things between them, if she couldn’t forgive him, he now realized it would leave him devastated. 

And for what?  All to bail out his brother, who would likely turn around in another year’s time and get himself
into yet another mess.   Of course, it wasn’t just his brother.  No.  Malcolm had made sure to involve his father so there was more at stake than just his sorry arse.  It was no wonder his sister had fled at the first opportunity.

It was one day.  Come
tomorrow, Cat would be back and they would sort things out.  And if they didn’t?  Well it was her loss, wasn’t it?  There were plenty of women out there, and more than a few who’d be happy to distract him. 

And yet… they weren’t Cat, were they?

Damn it to hell. 

Knowing it would do no good to spend the evening sulking over her,
Iain dragged out his laptop and got to work.  Grant was taking care of most matters, but there was still plenty to do, most of it woefully neglected. 

He
shot off a handful of emails, and started to review some files when a knock at the door had Duncan skittering across the room and barking up a storm, his tail wagging.  Iain groaned.  The last thing he wanted to deal with was his brother—or Nationalists.  Grabbing the shotgun, he yanked the door open and found Cat on his front step. 

His stomach flipped
at the sight of her.

“What happened?  Are ye all right?”  He stepped to the side so she could come in
, and set his weapon down on the sideboard by the door.  Something must be wrong for her to not even flinch at being greeted with a gun.

“No.  I’m not.  Between you and James, I can honestly say I’m having a real shitty day.”
  Her entire body looked stiff, and there was a definite wobble to her voice.  “And this does
not
mean I’ve forgiven you.”

“
Aye, love.  Come have a seat by the fire, and I’ll get ye a whisky.”  With a gentle hand on her back he led her to the library, where she took a seat while he got her a drink. 

She’d been
upset when she’d left him, and it was doubtful running into James did anything to improve her mood—especially not if it was bad enough to land her back on his doorstep.  Making matters worse was that James was now working with his brother, a link back to the reason she was upset with him to begin with.

  He sat across from her and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.  “Do ye want to talk about it?”

“Am I stupid?”  She looked at him as if it were an earnest question.  “Do I have
idiot
tattooed across my forehead?”

He shook his head, dumbfounded.  “Cat, ye’re one of the smartest women I know.  I don’t understand what you’re asking me
.” 

“Why is it people think they can lie straight to my face
?  And it’s not like it’s a one-off, yeah?  It happens time and again, and I’m totally clueless.” 

When she looked away from him with hurt in her eyes, his heart broke
to think he was part of the reason she doubted herself.  “Cat, I’m sorry.  I really am.  I was only trying to do right by my family.  The men my brother owes money to aren’t exactly nice blokes, and though I should let my brother learn from his mistakes, he’s dragged my father into it, and I can’t let anything happen to him.”

She sighed.  “Of course not.  I’d be devastated to have your father come to harm.”

“Unfortunately my options are limited, and the necklace... it was the only thing I could think of to bail my family out of this mess.”

She
let out a weary sigh, tears of frustration now spilling over.  “Is there anything else you’re not telling me?  Cause I swear, Iain, I won’t forgive you if I find out there’s more.”

“There’s nothing else, love.” 
Needing her to believe him, he took her hand in his.  “I swear it on my mother’s grave.”

“
There has to be a way to pull together the money, even if the banks won’t touch the house.  How much does he owe?”

“Too much—over
a million, with the interest growing daily.” 

She made a
choking sound.  “Bloody hell, Iain.”

“
Aye.  Now ye know.”  What a mess.  The smartest thing she could do would be to run as far as she could from him and this place.  “I’m sorry I kept it from ye, but it was also the reason I needed to tell ye, if we were going to pursue something more serious.  I still want that for us, Cat, if ye can find it in yer heart to forgive me.” 

He looked at her in question, wondering whether he’d mucked things up beyond repair. 

“I don’t know if I can, Iain.  I like you, and I like your father.  And I get that you’re only trying to protect your family.  But I don’t know if we can just pick up where we left off when it was probably a mistake for me to get involved with you in the first place.”

It felt like his heart was breaking.
  “So I was a mistake?”

“Yo
u don’t think so?”  She scoffed, but he could see the pain in her eyes.  “Then you’re only kidding yourself.  I’d give you a month’s time before you grew tired and bored, and found someone new to entertain you.”

“Well thank ye kindly for reminding me of what a bastard I am.” 
Didn’t she see that the man he was had ceased to exist when he fell for her?  “Ye’re being unfair, Cat.  But I think ye already know that.  Don’t ye?”

Sh
e shrugged, looking indifferent.  “Maybe I do.  But if you think it changes anything between us, I can tell you that it doesn’t.  It was a mistake for me to fall for you, and to lose sight that I’m here for only one reason, and that’s to find the Highlander’s Hope.” 

“So that’s it
, then?  I tried to be honest with ye, Cat.  Does that not count for something?”

“Iain… I don’t know what you want me to say.  I get why you did it, but I don’t know that it changes anything.  I’d love to just forget all about this mess, but I don’t feel that I can trust you.  Maybe if we had time to start fresh, but we don’t.  I’ll be gone as soon as we find the necklace.”

He brushed her cheek,
unable to stay away when she’d just given him a glimmer of hope.  He’d make her see he was worth her trust.  “It could take a while to find the necklace.  We might end up with plenty of time to try and make this work.”

“
No, we won’t, Iain.  I’ll have to head back to Cambridge before long, whether we find the necklace or not.”

“Then g
ive me what little time we have to convince ye that I’m worth yer trust.”  With her just a breath away, he nuzzled her cheek, his heart racing when she leaned in to him in response.  “Please, Cat.  I couldn’t bear to leave things between us the way they currently are.”

S
he let out a weary sigh, pulling away enough to look at him.  “We can work together to find the Hope, and you can try to change my mind while I’m here, but that’s it, Iain.  We’re not just going to pick up where we left off.” 

It was all the hope and encouragement he needed, his
heart alight as he realized exactly what she meant to him.  He ran a hand down her cheek and gave her a quick peck.  “As ye wish.”

With a finger on his chest, she pushed him away.  “No kisses, no hugs, no nibbles, no cuddles.  Do you hear me,
Iain?  We’re here to look for the Hope.”

His lips quirked
into a smile, as his eyes took her in and he resisted the urge to devour her.  “Aye, love.  I promise to be on my best behavior.”

***

Iain set aside the letters and got up to stretch.  Since it was too dark to search the tunnels, they were back to looking at the letters, journals and paintings, but they’d been at it for hours, and he could take little more.  “I don’t know how ye do it, love.  My brain feels like it’s turned to mush.”

“I’m used to it.”  She barely looked up from what she was reading. 

He’d had enough.  Pulling the letters from her hands, he set them aside and hauled her to her feet, ignoring her protests.  “Come on.  I need to get out of this house or I’m going to go mad.”

“And go where?  It’
s late, and we have work to do.” 

“
It can wait.”  After what happened between them, he had to make it up to her.  “I want to show ye something.”

“This better be good,
Iain.”  He could see her struggling, trying to keep her distance, despite the smile that tugged at her lips. 

From what he knew of her, she just couldn’t stay angry or annoyed.  Her temper seemed to flair and burn out, a smile and contagious enthusiasm waiting in the w
ings for the moment when she let down her guard and got tired of being angry.  That said, he had no doubt she could truly get mad and hold a grudge—and he pitied the person who pushed her to that extreme.  He had no doubt that, if someone made her that angry, it would not fade, and there would be hell to pay.  James was a perfect example of that.

“It doesn’t often happen, but the Northern Lights can be seen just north of here
as of late, and for once, it’s a clear night.  I thought ye might like to see them.”  With the promise of a spectacular light show, all put on by Mother Nature, how could she possibly say no?  He took her hand and brought it to his lips, his eyes on hers as he waited for her answer.

She bit her lip and continued to debate, but the fact that
she hadn’t denied him outright gave him hope.  “Only if you promise to behave yourself.”

“Och, aye.  I
wouldn’t dream of misbehaving.”

***

It was about an hour drive, which ended up feeling like an eternity to Iain.  As if to guarantee there would be no chance for romance, Cat had insisted they bring Duncan along for the drive, and in his excitement, he’d been a constant nuisance with his excessive energy, drool and hair.  Matters were only made worse by Cat, who barely spoke a word to him, lost in her own thoughts and not willing to share no matter how many times he tried to start a conversation.

They pulled off the road and found a place to park.  “Can ye see them, love?”

She leaned forward to look out the windshield and up at the sky.  “Oh, Iain, it’s beautiful.”

“Come on then.  I’ve got a blanket or two in the car boot.”  He grabbed two blankets
and a flashlight, and then led the way through the heather and brush.  “Just watch yer step.  Ye can take my arm if ye need.”

When he offered it to her, she took him up on his offer.  “How is it you’re so surefooted on such uneven terrain?”

He let out a laugh.  “I’m a highlander, love.  Been walking these sorts of hills since I was a wee laddie.”

They wandered towards the cliffs
and sea with Duncan romping at their side.  When they found a small clearing, Iain laid out the blanket.  The sound of the waves could be heard breaking on the rocks, the perfect accompaniment to the show playing out above them and lighting the sky.  He waited for her to get comfortable on the blanket and then took a seat next to her.

“I’ve got another blanket if ye
get cold.”  They were sliding into November, and the temperatures at night weren’t ideal for long periods of time spent exposed to the elements, especially when the wind picked up coming off the water.  When she nodded, he spread the blanket over them.

The sky above held her attention as she spoke. 
“I can’t believe it.  It’s breathtaking, Iain.  I didn’t realize the Northern Lights made it this far south or that they’d be this bright.”

“It’s the solar storms we’ve been having.  They’
ve increased the intensity of the lights.”

Streaks of aqua and red shimmered across the
sky and up to the heavens.  They said nothing for a long while, the moment already perfect and not needing words.  Even Duncan finally mellowed, now curled up by their feet.

Cat reached out
and took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze as his pulse quickened.  “Thank you for bringing me here, Iain.  I’ll never forget it.”

“Aye, love.  Neither will I.”

When she leaned her head on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close.  She let out a sigh, but didn’t pull away.  “You know this means nothing, right.”

“Of course not.  As a matter of fact, it ne’er happened.”

“Neither did this.”  She turned towards him and kissed his cheek.

A
knot of tension in his shoulders slipped free with the thought that not all hope was lost.  He didn’t want things to end before they’d given them a fair go, but he also needed to respect her wishes.  He’d have to show her she could trust him, and from there, she’d have to take the lead—not that it had been a problem in the past.  She was by far the most forthright woman he’d met, and he liked that.  A lot.