Page 45 of Healing the Highland Sinner
“Me braither made terrible sacrifices fer me,” he said slowly. “He did terrible things tae help keep me alive.”
Her face clouded over. “What did he dae?”
The memory of what his brother had to do for him was like a dagger in his heart. He knew he couldn’t tell her all the details without giving himself away and frowned. But the glimmer in Rosalind’s eyes and the look of care upon her face lightened it. A little. Seeing her concern for him helped ease some of the burden he carried.
“It daesnae matter,” he said. “We both came through it all right. He’s daein’ well now and I couldnae be happier. He deserves a good life.”
“As dae ye.”
He shrugged. “I’m livin’ the life I was meant tae live. I’ve got nay complaints.”
Ellair held her gaze as he spoke, his heart swelling. Rosalind’s hand grew warmer and the energy that crackled between them grew, making him feel almost… giddy.
“I sometimes have nightmares too,” she admitted.
“About what happened tae yer people?” he asked gently. “Tae yer husband?”
She nodded. “But sometimes, I see just him. And he’s tellin’ me that he is all right. That he wants me tae find joy in life again. I think when I’m havin’ me nightmares, he visits me just tae help me turn me bad dreams intae somethin’ more pleasant.”
The words were thick and filled with pain as she spoke. He knew how much it pained her to speak of her lost husband and how much it was taking for her to let him in. They both carried deep wounds and scars upon their hearts and Ellair felt, for the first time, that she was letting him into her emotional walls by showing him her pain. By showing him that as different as they were, that in some ways, they were the same. That their shared grief bonded them.
“What was he like?” he asked. “Yer husband.”
A fond smile stretched across her lips and a warm laugh trickled from her mouth. “He was a good man. Smart. Witty. Clever. He never failed tae get a laugh out of me when he thought I was bein’ too serious,” she said. “In some ways, he was a lot like ye.”
“How so?”
“He didnae take life too seriously. He preferred tae laugh than dwell in misery.”
“Life is hard. Sometimes, all we can dae is laugh.”
“He said that sometimes too.”
They sat together in silence for a moment, their gazes locked, and a warm feeling blooming between them. Ellair’s eyes traced her soft, delicate features. The desire to lean forward and kiss her grew, filling him completely. Her eyes shimmered in the gloomy light of his room and in the silence, he heard her breath catch in her throat as, for a long, tense moment, they seemed to be drawn forward, leaning into each other, surrendering to the desire that seemed to be overwhelming them both.
Rosalind caught herself though and abruptly pulled back. She licked her lips and cleared her throat.
“I should go,” she said. “Let ye get some sleep.”
“Aye,” he replied quietly. “Thank ye fer checkin’ on me and I’m sorry tae have startled ye with me carryin’ on like I did.”
“’Tis nae yer fault. We cannae control who and what visits us in our slumber.”
“Nay. I suppose we can’t.”
She stood up and looked down at him, her gaze lingering upon him. Rosalind’s lips parted and she looked like she had something more to say, but then closed her mouth again and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Ellair lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, trying to quell the tempest of thought and emotion raging within him.
As close as he’d felt to Rosalind in that moment, knowing that he was deceiving her made him feel more alone than he’d ever felt in his life.
CHAPTER 20
“Come on,” Rosalind called. “Hurry up.”
A peal of thunder crashed overhead. Ellair picked his away along the narrow, stony trail. The rain fell in sheets, soaking her to the bone and the frigid gusts of wind were cutting. She was shivering so hard, Rosalind half-feared she was going to shake herself off the trail, falling over the cliff, to the rocky shore below.
“Where are we bleedin’ goin’?” he asked, breathing hard.
“Tae a place we can hide,” she called back. “Unless ye’d like tae face all Ewan’s men on yer own?”
