Page 38 of Ruining a Highland Healer
But before either of them could make the first move, Torrin pulled back abruptly, clearing his throat. Then, he reached forthe next branch, hauling himself up before he helped Valora climb, too. Like that, they made their way up the tree, Torrin leading and Valora following him, letting him help her along the way.
"Are ye alright?" he asked as they reached the middle of the tree. "Dae ye need tae stop?"
Valora shook her head. "Nay. I’m alright, dinnae fash."
"Nae too high fer ye?"
Torrin’s tone was teasing, but when Valora looked down, vertigo gripped her once more. For a moment, she swayed on the branch where she stood and Torrin had to steady her with a hand on her waist, keeping her feet solidly on the tree.
"Is it too high fer ye?" he asked, his voice now tinted with concern.
Valora shook her head. Once the initial panic and surprise at the height she had reached subsided, she was left looking at the view through the branches in awe. They hadn’t even reached the top yet, but the view was more stunning than anything she had ever witnessed before—an endless sky and a vast sea stretching into the horizon, meeting like long-lost lovers, the castle with its glinting stones in the distance, the green grass on the meadow that swayed like the ocean waves in the wind. The sight of it took Valora’s breath away and for a while, all she could do was stare in silence, breath catching in her throat.
"It’s so bonnie."
"Aye," said Torrin, but when Valora turned to face him, he was at her, not the view.
All the views in the world couldn’t make Torrin take his eyes off Valora. Her auburn hair resembled the blaze of a fire, one that could keep Torrin warm in the cold days or threaten to burn him with its intensity.
Either way, he would consider it a bliss.
When their eyes met, his breath stopped and so did his heart, his chest aching with a feeling he had never had before. It was akin to fear—a sharp, heavy sensation—but unlike in times of fear, now it was accompanied by a warmth that seemed to spread through him at a mere touch, at a mere glance from her.
It was more than desire. It was more than he dared to name.
Before he could do something foolish, Torrin pulled himself up to the next branch, climbing higher and higher and pulling Valora along with him, until they both reached the uppermost branches that could still hold their weight. Then, he leaned against the trunk of the tree, gazing into the distance, one of his hands steadying Valora by resting on the small of her back.
They were quite a distance from the ground, and Torrin couldn’t help but be impressed by that. Though he knew plenty of women who could climb a tree with as much ease as any of his soldiers, none of them were noble-born. To see Valora climb up with him so fearlessly, trusting him to hold her when she faltered and not let her fall sparked something within him—a desire to protect her even more fiercely, to keep her safe no matter the cost.
And that was why he didn’t think he could tell her about the auction. She deserved to know—that much was true. She and every other woman in that auction deserved to know they had been taken there to be sold off to the highest bidder, to be used as currency, as cattle. But every time he was close to telling her the truth, he would take one look at her and decide it was better to keep it a secret, to spare her the pain.
She never had to know. She could simply live the rest of her life thinking Torrin had won her hand by being the best match for her, not the one who had paid the most gold to have it.
Even if the guilt of keeping that secret ate him alive.
As they stood there in silence, Torrin felt Valora shiver under his hand. Shrugging off his jacket, he draped it over her shoulders and she, not paying attention to him, startled for a moment before she relaxed into the warmth of it.
Softly, she laughed. "This is the second time ye’ve given me yer clothes."
"Well, a lass should never be cold," Torrin pointed out. "Especially nae in the company o’ her intended."
In the soft light of the afternoon, Torrin could see the soft blush on Valora’s cheeks, her skin turning a pretty shade of red. There was something incredibly precious about her—something that drew him to her like a moth is drawn to a flame.
"Why were Keith’s men here?" Valora asked then, and Torrin found himself unprepared to give her an answer. Perhaps it was best to be honest with her, he thought—at least as honest as he could be, given the circumstances.
"They came tae discuss about ye an’ yer future," he told her. "Laird Keith still wants ye an’ so he sent his men tae negotiate."
Immediately, terror clouded her gaze.
"I sent them away," he assured her. "I have nay desire tae negotiate yer future with anyone. I asked fer yer hand an’ I intend tae keep it… if ye’d be so inclined as tae wed me when the ten days are over. There is naethin’ Keith can offer me that will change me mind."
The blush on Valora’s cheeks seemed to turn deeper, a glowing shade of red. She was still staring at the horizon, that thin line of blue on blue, but now Torrin had the suspicion that she was also avoiding his gaze.
His mind scrambled for something else to say, something that would melt away the tension. In the end, he settled on the only subject he could think of that seemed safe enough, something that he could easily share with her.
"Ye ken, I dinnae have any siblings," he said. "But I can imagine how ye feel about yer sister. Daisy an’ Col , they may nae be me siblings, but we grew up together. That’s why I’m so close tae them."
"They grew up here?" Valora asked. "With ye?"
