Page 17 of The Iron Highlander
“And I can pick out what I would like myself, Laird McDonald, I know what I’d like, so thank you for lookin’ out, but I got this.”
She turned to leave, but Reuben grabbed her. Freya and Willow began edging closer, looking to help their sister. Kate grabbed Reuben’s arm and yanked it off her body, knowing that she did not need him to tell her what was best for her.
“Laird McDonald, I can make choices for myself.”
“Yer too young and naïve to know what is best for ye, so listen to me,” Reuben replied.
Kate froze and stared at him, feeling her blood boil in her veins. Locking eyes with him, she asked, “Was I too young when ye killed my parents?”
A few people around them, along with Kate’s sisters heard what she had said, and they all stopped at the same time, staring at the couple as they argued. Reuben opened his mouth to speak, but the words refused to come. He was still holding her, and felt as though he would break her with a single motion, and so he let go, trying to drive his anger elsewhere. But he could not.
“How dare ye speak to me like that?” Reuben asked, barely able to hold himself back. Hudson appeared behind him, grabbing Reuben’s arm. But Hudson was a little drunk as well, and so he had difficulty keeping up with Reuben.
Kate stared back at him, not willing to back down. She had been insulted, and she fired back, and with the look on his face, she could tell that it had hurt and she loved it. Reuben turned around and marched off, with Hudson following quickly behind him. Lady Grear rose from the table and cast a look at Kate, shaking her head in disapproval.
Kate turned around to see her sisters gathering beside her. She saw the look of concern and confusion on their faces, and she realized that they had heard her. They had found out who was responsible for their father’s death, and the fact that Kate knew was something which she could not explain with ease. Freya stared at her sister, and with her eyes, she asked Kate for an explanation, but Kate dropped her shoulders. She had none, there was nothing which she could say that could take back what had already been said.
“Tell me it’s not true,” said Willow as she got close enough for Kate to hear. The fact that the music was still in full swing felt almost comical. Kate saw that the lives of her sisters had been shattered, and yet the music seemed to dull down the somber moment which they were all sharing.
“Kate, you knew?” Freya asked, her eyes beginning to water.
“I’m sorry.” Kate replied. “I’m sorry, I was the oldest and the only one who they could explain to. You were all children, and I want…”
“Yet you brought us here, Kate. You brought us here.”
Kate watched as her sisters walked away.
Chapter 9
Reuben staredout the window of his bedroom at the night sky. The stars hung low in the heavens, and a single one which he had fixed his eyes on seemed to glow a dull red color, fitting for the rage which he currently felt inside of him. Kate had embarrassed him in front of his guests, in front of his mother and friends, and had accused him of something which he was innocent of.
He let out a deep breath and walked back to the door of his bedroom, looking to head out and give Kate a piece of his mind. He had done his best for the girl, and if she was bent on embarrassing him, and painting him out to be some horrid individual, then he would have no problem doing the same to her. He would let everyone know exactly who she was, and why she was hiding there.
If Max came knocking, he would personally hand them off himself, and be done with the woman once and for all. Ever since she had arrived, Kate had made Reuben uncomfortable. She did not trust him despite all of his efforts, and yet she made herself so appealing to him that he found himself thinking about hermore than he would have liked to admit. He was smitten by a person who thought he was the worst of humanity.
“Dammit!” Reuben yelled, throwing a jar off his desk.
If he did what he was thinking he would be no worse than what she thought of him. They were running from the horrid fate which Sweeney had waiting for them, and sending them back was not something which Reuben could do in good conscience, despite how upset he was. There were lines he would not cross. Willow, Freya and Lily had treated him fairly, and they certainly did not deserve to suffer. They were just children, and he would protect them, despite Kate’s incendiary remarks.
A knock at the door drew his attention, and Reuben realized that he had been pacing. He had gone back and forth several times and found that his hands had gotten sweaty. The knock on the door came softly again, and he turned back to it to stare. It wasn’t his mother; she wouldn’t knock twice. It wasn’t Hudson, he never bothered with knocking. It was most likely a guest looking to find him.
“Who’s there?” Reuben called out.
The door clicked and began creaking open. Before he saw her, a soft breeze from outside sent in the soft smells of lavender which had been assaulting his nostrils for a while now. Her eyes appeared from behind the door, and Reuben watched as Kate walked in slowly, her eyes to the ground as she appeared incredibly timid.
“What do ye want now?” Reuben sneered, watching as she picked up the jar which he had knocked to the ground. She set it right before staring at him, her face locked in a look that appeared horrified.
“Reuben, I understand what I said to ye in there, and I shouldnae have said that. I was wrong, and I embarrassed ye in front of yer guests. That was horrible of me, and I come to ask yer forgiveness.”
Reuben stared at her in outrage. She stood next to the door, not moving away from it, almost as though she wanted to have a quick getaway if it came to it. He shook his head as he stared at her trying to make sense of it. “Ye ask for my forgiveness?”
“Aye, I do.”
“Ye think I want to do that? I’ve been thinkin’, tryin’ to make sense of it. To figure out why Katherine Sweeney doesnae like me, and it turns out, the woman thinks I killed her parents.”
“I said I was sorry, Reuben, I shouldnae have said it. If I could take it back, I would. I swear it,” Kate replied.
Reuben paced back and forth, staring at her still. It was hard to believe that she actually meant her apology. In the dim light of his room, he stared in her eyes, trying to make out what she truly meant, and realized just how hard it was to tell. She kept looking away, and from what he could tell, Kate was sorry for embarrassing him, but she was sticking with her story.
