Page 58 of Desiring the Highland Laird
“It isna necessary now, lass.”
He wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Perhaps his mind was too mottled with grief and despair to think about it. But he rose from the chair and turned to her, taking the items out of her hands and placing them on the floor at their feet. Then he tugged away the linens, dropping them too.
It was easy to see how her chest rose and fell with each quickened breath. Her cheeks were pink as she looked up at him and he thought he saw her hands shaking.
“Did you…want me to stay?”
He wasn’t sure what he wanted. On the other side of the room was another chair. He went to it, dragging it toward the hearth and placing it across from the one he had vacated. He motioned her to it. Without a word, she sat, smoothing her skirt under her as she did so. She crossed her feet at the ankles, perching on the edge, and placing her hands in her lap. An expectant look crossed her face.
He sat across from her, frowning and staring into the fire, which was starting to die. He reached for a small brick of peat and tossed it on, watching the flames reignite. She remained silent, waiting for him to say something. Anything.
But he didn’t know what to say.
“When Hamish is laid to rest,” he said finally, “I will ride out to speak with the clan leader.” He cut her a glance, meeting her gaze. “Will ye come with me?”
Her face remained impassive for a long moment until she finally nodded. “If that’s what you wish.” Then she gave him a ghost of a smile. “It will give me a chance to practice my riding skills.”
He turned back to the fire, his hands resting on the arms of the chair to keep from reaching for her. All he wanted to do was run his fingers through those fiery locks, letting the strands fall through his fingers like the day when she arrived and he had held her close.
“Callum,” she said, her voice soft. “Is there anything I can do?”
He gave her a questioning look.
She spread her hands. “To help.”
His initial thought was to say no, but when he looked at her, her expression one of concern and care, he changed his mind. “Stay with me here.”
She nodded, though he saw the apprehension in her face. He wasn’t sure why. Mayhap she worried staying would bother him in some way. Or that being in the same room with him would not be wise. He was aware of the fact she didn’t return to his room the night before. That she had stayed in the guest bedchamber with the tapestries.
The truth was, though, he was comforted by her presence. He needed her there with him.
To put her at ease, he said, “Hamish…his last words were of ye.”
Her eyes flew wide with surprise. “Me?”
“He asked me if I believed in the prophecy.” He curled his fingers around the end of the chair arm, peering into the fire to avoid looking into her eyes.
“And do you?” she asked finally.
“I think I have to,” he said. “Then he told me to protect the stone and protect ye, too. And…” He turned to look at her, at last meeting her lovely gaze. “That ye would do the same for me.”
*
Callum’s words madeher heart thud hard in her chest. “Hamish said that?”
“Aye, he did.”
He looked as though something else was on his mind by the way he pressed his lips together. There was contemplation in his eyes. Something had shifted in him to accept her for who and what she was, though she was uncertain what that something was. Had Hamish said something to him on his deathbed that had made Callum change his mind about her, the stone, and the prophecy?
There was also the matter of him asking her to visit the clan leader with him. Why he wanted her with him, she had no idea. She could barely sit a horse, much less ride. When they saw the men riding toward Dundale earlier that day, it had taken everything she had to keep the mare under control while they galloped back to the keep.
“There is more,” he said at last.
She took that as a sign that he wanted her to stay. He needed someone to talk to who had a different perspective. Someone who was not of his family. She was definitely an outsider.
She relaxed in the chair, resting her hands on the arms and waiting while he collected his thoughts. And for a brief moment, sitting there with Callum seemed so right, so perfect. As if she had done it before. As if she had always been a part of his world and would forever be.
That thought terrified her. Despite being out of her element with no running water, no electricity, and certainly no toilet paper, there was something comforting about being here with him in Dundale in the past.
