Celtic Knot

by MacLeod, Shannon

  Eyes still closed, Ian snapped, “I can hear both of you, you know.” He blinked, and turned to better see Meg. “She told me the rope was cut and she said to tell you in the spring.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Meg hedged, avoiding meeting his eyes.

  “Dunno. She said you’d know.” Ian shrugged then winced, directing a calculated, sorrowful look at Dr. Thorne. “If I promise not to operate heavy machinery, can I have something more for the headache? And a pint, maybe? It’s almost a clear liquid.”

  Dr. Thorne laughed. “You won’t be getting any Vitamin G in here, lad, but I’ll write you something a little stronger for pain,” he said with a wink, “and I’ll see you again this afternoon.”

  As soon as he’d left the room, Meg paled and sucked in a deep breath. “Coffee. I need coffee. I’ll be right back. I’ll bring you some,” she said, snatching up her purse and bolting out the door.

  “Um…okay, then.” Lily scratched her head, likely at Meg’s odd behavior, but then smiled. “So that was who you were talking to last night. I couldn’t understand a word. It’s a beautiful language.”

  “Most folks would think I’m mental, but I do talk to Grandmother now and again. Da too, sometimes.” He searched her gaze. “Do you believe me?”

  “I don’t doubt it for a minute,” Lily said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

  He smiled warmly at her touch. “She likes you, says you got a good heart.”

  “What a coincidence,” she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “I think her grandson does too.”

  * * * *

  Minutes later, the nurse came in and injected the stronger medicine in Ian’s IV. It wasn’t long before he drifted off, remembering what else his seanmhathair had said, words meant for his ears alone. When the time comes, use your glamour, she had said, but before he could discern what she had meant by the cryptic words, he was fast asleep.

  21

  A parade of visitors came and went during the morning–Beth, Renaud, grooms and performers from the Castle and John O’Sullivan, Ian and Dan’s golfing partner. Sully teased Ian unmercifully. “Don’t be thinking you’ll get sympathy strokes out of this, pup,” the stout man chortled in a thick brogue.

  Just as Meg was leaving to pick up lunch for her and Lily, the painters from the Castle work crew stopped in. Reef whistled. “Just look at all these machines you’re wired into. Are you picking up radio stations up there?” the diminutive Latino man asked, tapping Ian’s forehead with a callused fingertip.

  “Yeah,” said Ian, “some Spanish station out of St. Pete, I think it is. It’s giving me a fierce craving for chorizos and eggs.”

  “You got a mighty pretty nurse there,” another painter said, grinning at Lily.

  Taking her by the hand, Ian agreed, “She makes it bearable being in here, that’s of a certain.”

  Their break nearly over, the men said their goodbyes and feel betters as Reef herded them all out, leaving Ian and Lily alone once more. She sat in the chair beside the bed, still holding Ian’s hand. “Feeling any better?” she asked.

  “Mmm…” he sighed, eyes half closed and a relaxed smile on his face. “Maybe a little. I’m having trouble seeing you, sweetheart. Would you mind coming a wee bit closer?”

  Lily lowered the bed rail and moved closer. “Should I call for the nurse?” she asked, worried.

  “No. Closer, please? I can’t seem to focus very well.” When she leaned in, he stealthily brought his hand up behind her, pulled her close and into a deep, smoldering kiss.

  “Ian,” she scolded. “Damn your hide, you scared me to death. You were very nearly dead less than twenty-four hours ago and you’re supposed to be resting.”

  “I cannot resist you, I’m afraid,” he said with a lazy smile. “Tu es tres belle, ma petite.”

  “That’s French,” she blurted out.

  Her wide-eyed look of shock made him chuckle. “Mais oui, ma chere.” He yawned, stretching gingerly. “My great grandmother was French.”

  “That explains a lot,” said Lily darkly.

  “Are you suggesting the Irish aren’t as romantic as the French?” Ian demanded. The mischievous twinkle in his eye told Lily he was not nearly as offended as he pretended to be.

  She sniffed delicately. “Not at all, but in your case the combination of the two is lethal.”

  When she made to slide back off the bed he captured her hand in protest. “Stay with me,” he begged. “Please?”

  Relenting, she curled up next to him on the bed. “I’m sure the nurses won’t approve,” Lily warned.

  “I’m sure I don’t care. You are what will make me feel better, sweetheart.”

  She sighed happily and placed her head on his shoulder. “What else don’t I know about you?”

  “Mmm…quite a bit, I’m afraid, but where’s the mystery if I tell you everything up front?” He pulled her closer. “What don’t I know about you, ma belle?”

  She threw his words back at him and he chuckled. “Well, then I’ll just have to discover your mysteries for myself. For example, I know you like this a lot.” He slid his hand under her blouse and stroked up her spine with his long fingers. “And this, I believe,” he said, reaching around her to cup her breast with a gentle hand.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Lily laughed, pulling herself upright. “No more pain medicine for you.”

  “But I’m feeling much better…” Ian protested.

  Just then, Meg strolled in laden with carry-out bags and grinned at Lily. “You’re blushing like you’ve been caught with your hand in the cookie jar and yon wee fool is grinning his head off. Must be the patient is improving,” she said with a nod.

  Lily joined Meg on the couch and the two women began talking while Ian settled back down to watch TV. “It appears he’s likely going home tomorrow…” Meg said between bites of chicken salad, “…so I wanted to ask if you’d mind helping out with him. Apparently there’s still a world of mischief he can get into.”

  Ian made a face more befitting a five-year-old at his big sister behind her back. When Lily burst into shocked laughter, Meg whipped around to look at him. Oblivious to both women, he stared stoically ahead at the TV.

  Giving him a warning glare, Meg turned back to Lily and continued. “I can stay with him…” Ian rolled his eyes dramatically while Lily struggled to keep a straight face “…during the day, if you wouldn’t mind giving me a few hours at night to do my things at home.”

  “Please…save me,” Ian mouthed, giving Lily his best pitiful hound dog eyes. “Don’t let her get me.”

  Lily had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud at him. “Actually, I was going to volunteer to stay with him until he was better,” she admitted with a smile.

  Ian’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “How about asking him what he thinks about it?” he asked.

  “No, because he’s not thinking with the correct portion of his anatomy,” Meg shot back.

  Ian grinned wolfishly at his sister and waggled his eyebrows at Lily, who gave up and burst into laughter. “Amadan,” Meg said, giving his hair an affectionate ruffle.

  One soft rap on the door announced Dan’s arrival. “’Afternoon, all. How’re you feeling, brother?” he said, crossing the room and giving Meg a kiss on the forehead.

  “Better than yesterday,” Ian moaned, “but they won’t let me eat. ’Tis wasting away, I am.” His eyes fluttered closed as his head flopped over dramatically.

  “It’s because they don’t have enough cooks on staff to feed you,” he teased, pulling up a chair alongside the bed. His face grew somber. “Reef showed me the ropes you were using yesterday. Looks like somebody took a razor to them.”

  Ian nodded. “I’m guessing you’ve already called the police.” He was answered seconds later when a sharp knock came at the door.

  Dan rose to answer it. Standing at the doorway he turned and cleared his throat. “Why don’t you ladies go downstairs for some coffee?
I’ll sit with him.”

  Meg and Lily exchanged swift glances as they stood and grabbed their purses. Meg gave Ian’s arm an affectionate squeeze, and Lily’s lips brushed his cheek in parting. They exited the room without speaking, walking quickly past Dan and the two detectives standing just outside.

  * * * *

  Down in the cafeteria, Lily and Meg shared a cinnamon roll and drank their coffee. “I have to go by the office today and let them know I’m going to be out the rest of the week.” Lily sighed.

  “Can’t you just call?” Meg asked, nervously twisting the plastic coffee straws. Once she finished mangling hers, she helped herself to Lily’s discarded ones.

  “Wish I could. I need to clear my desk of the pending policies and get them over to Janice or Irena to work on,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to going down there.”

  “I’ll go with you if you like. Truth be told, I’d like to get a look at Lucas,” Meg admitted.

  “I don’t want to put you out. It’s okay–I’ve got to run by and check on Bella too, take a shower, get some fresh clothes.”

  Meg reached across the table and took Lily’s hand. “Darlin’, I’m worried about you going down there alone, things being as they are. Even if I didn’t like you–which I do, mind–you’re important to Ian, so that makes you important to me. We look out for our own.”

  Lily fought down a sudden wave of emotion at the familial inclusion and smiled. “Well, I would welcome the company,” she said.

  Meg called Dan on his cell and explained where they were going. “Ask Himself if he wants us to bring him anything,” she said. She waited a moment, then snorted when Dan relayed Ian’s request.

  “What does he want?” asked Lily.

  Meg rolled her eyes. “He’s definitely on the mend if his appetite is returning. Cuban sandwiches, he’s wanting now. I can hear him carrying on in the background. He’s convinced it’s all a grand conspiracy and the hospital staff is trying to starve him to death.” Turning back to the phone, she asked Dan, “Would you make sure he can have solid food and let me know? We can stop on our way back.” She listened for a moment and her eyebrows shot up. “Are you feckin’ serious?”

  Lily laughed outright at her comical astonishment. “Now what does he want?”

  Meg waved her hand to let her know everything was okay then dug around in her huge purse. “Yes, I’ve got them,” she told Dan, pulling something shiny from its depths. She blew a kiss into the phone then, moving cautiously as if she were holding a live snake, handed Lily the keys to the Mercedes. “Ian says for you to take his car.”

  Lily felt as if all the blood had drained from her face. “No way–I cannot drive that car. What if I hit something? Or someone hits me? What if I scratch it? He’d be…” she searched, but couldn’t find a strong enough word. “…very upset with me.”

  “Darlin’,” Meg gave her a tender smile, “In Ian’s eyes, ’twas you that hung the moon and all the stars. I’m thinking you’ll do just fine.”

  * * * *

  “You’re asking her to drive your brand new car?” Dan blinked incredulously, pocketing his phone. “Since when have you ever let a woman do that ?

  “Maybe I’ve become more open-minded in my old age,” Ian drawled. “Besides, I want that sonofabitch to see her driving my car.”

  “Ah, so there is an ulterior motive,” Dan said. He dropped down on the couch and propped his feet on the chair. “So you said she’s going to stay with you until you’re better?”

  “She is, and who knows how long that could be. Days, weeks, maybe even years,” he finished with a satisfied grin.

  Dan’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying, exactly?”

  “I’m saying I’m moving her in. I love her, she loves me. The common sense thing to do is combine households,” Ian explained, as if it were obvious. “This way, she doesn’t have to keep running back to her apartment and everybody’s happy.”

  Dan stared at him for a long time before he began to chuckle. The chuckles turned to howls of laughter, and the laughter continued until his face was red and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

  “Did I say something amusing?” Ian asked haughtily.

  When he was able to regain a little control, Dan wiped the tears away and said, “This might be a first for you. I know you’re not accustomed to being told no by women, but you are setting yourself up for disappointment on this.” He started laughing again. “Lily is a nice girl. You’ve swept her off her feet and I believe she loves you madly, but she’s not going to move in with you unless you put a ring on her finger, my brother.”

  Ian pressed his lips together in a firm line. “My head hurts,” he muttered.

  Dan chuckled. “And I believe it’s going to get worse now that you’ve had a healthy dose of reality.”

  “Reality, my arse. That’s my sister talkin’, not my friend.” Ian turned his head to stare out the window.

  Dan said quietly, “You know, it’s not as bad as you think.”

  Ian didn’t look away from the window. “What isn’t?”

  “Being married.”

  “It’s different for you, Dan. It always has been. You and Megs were made for each other, and you’re perfect together. I just don’t know if…if I’d be any good at being married.”

  “We didn’t start out being perfect for each other. We had to learn,” Dan assured him. “Every relationship takes some adjustment on both sides. Lily’s a sweet girl and she loves you. I think you two would be good for each other.”

  Ian shook his head. “It’s too soon to be talking marriage. And I seem to recall you saying Chantal was sweet, too.”

  Dan shuddered. “The French girl you dated in college? No, I’m certain the word I used to describe her was psychotic.”

  “Psychotic is a better fit, I think.” Chuckling, Ian closed his eyes and thought back to the day in the office with Meg and Dan, when he’d watched their easy relationship with envy. He thought about Lily and how happy she made him, decided he couldn’t think about anything anymore and drifted off to sleep.

  * * * *

  Lily enjoyed Meg’s company, chatting much like she thought sisters would. Bella took to Meg right away, rubbing against her legs and meowing until the petite redhead sat down on the couch and lavished her with attention. “This is such a cute place. I love how you’re decorated it,” she said.

  “It’s a big contrast with your apartment. Yours is just huge,” Lily exclaimed. “I couldn’t imagine having that much space.”

  Meg laughed merrily. “We thought it was huge too when we bought it but then we got all of our furniture in and now Dan complains it’s too small. I love the high vaulted ceilings. The lowers ones have regular flat ones. Once Ian got a look at ours, he insisted on a top unit too.”

  Lily turned to stare. “I thought those were rentals.”

  “Oh, no,” said Meg, obviously oblivious to Lily’s confusion. “We bought ours when we first moved here. Ian bought his right after we announced we were building the Castle.”

  Lily reeled from the admission Ian owned his apartment. He said working at the Castle has its perks. I thought he meant they were paying his rent. She bit her lip, wondering what other assumptions she might have made.

  Meg continued to talk, giving Bella a deep scratching. “He contracted to do all the artwork and design for us. He does such beautiful work, don’t you think?”

  Distracted by her confusion, Lily nodded. “He is very talented. I told him I thought he could be a famous artist one day.”

  Meg gave her an odd look. “We rely heavily on his expertise. He’s quite knowledgeable about the medieval and renaissance periods. To be honest, everyone thought he was mental for pursuing joint honors in both Art and History but he got very high marks in both. We were all very proud of him for working so ha–” At Lily’s suddenly intent gaze, her sentence died midword. “We should probably go,” she said. Sliding out from underneath Bella, she jumped to her feet. “You know,
if we–”

  “I didn’t know he studied history,” Lily interrupted. “He doesn’t talk about himself much at all. He only wants to know about me, my life, my family. I just found out today he speaks French.”

  “I’m sure he just forgot to mention it, is all.” Meg glanced around and saw Lily’s necklace. “Is that the necklace he gave you? It’s lovely.”

  Lily touched it and nodded. “I told him I thought it was too expensive, but he wouldn’t hear it. I just don’t want his generosity to get him into trouble.” She sighed. “In all the times we’ve been out, he wouldn’t allow me to help pay at all. He just gives me that great big beautiful smile of his, says not to worry darlin’ then changes the subject.”

  Meg’s eyes widened. “I’m sure there’s a good reason for that too,” she murmured without raising her eyes to meet Lily’s questioning gaze.

  22

  The ladies pulled up in front of the insurance agency and Lily cringed when she saw Lucas’s SUV in the parking lot. Meg’s sharp eyes didn’t miss the subtle gesture. “He’s here, isn’t he?” she asked, an edge to her tone.

  Lily nodded and tried to laugh off her apprehension. “Yup. ’Fraid so.” Her voice sounded shrill to her own ears.

  “Would you like for me to go in with you? I’d be happy to, you know,” Meg said, eyeing the door.

  “It’s okay. I shouldn’t be more than a few moments,” Lily answered, silently adding I hope when she got out of the car and strode across the parking lot.

  When the tinkle of door chimes announced Lily’s arrival, Janice grinned wide. “Hey, sweetie. We missed you yesterday. Everything okay now?”

  “It’s a little better, thanks, but I’m not going to be in the rest of the week.” Lily smiled.

  “Great,” Irena muttered, making Lily tense, “So now I’m going to be doing your work too.”

  Oh, she did not just say that, Lily thought. Feigning ignorance of the unkind remark, she picked up the pile of policies needing service out of her inbox, stacked them neatly in front of Janice and ran through the requested follow ups with the older woman. When she’d finished the work portion of her already tense visit, Lily squared her shoulders, walked to Lucas’s office door and knocked.