“No, he basically asked Mr. Oceanus if he wanted a daughter-in-law who slept with men she wasn’t married to.”
Gabriella bumped into the bureau and swung toward Fiona. “He told Mac’s father that you’re a fallen woman? The cad!” But then she suddenly smiled. “It was a good idea, though, as it obviously worked.”
“No, I’m pretty sure Trace blowing a hole in the side of his ship is what worked.”
Gabriella filled her arms with undergarments, carried them to the bed, and dropped them into one of the empty boxes. “I think it’s very generous of you to give up your apartment to Mac and Henry, but do you really want to go live all by yourself in that big house Eve found for you to rent? I know her friend Susan Wakely lived there all alone, but it’s more secluded than this place. And when Maddy drove me by it this morning, I noticed it’s surrounded by woods. Won’t you be scared?”
Fiona folded the box closed, then turned and sat down on the bed. Yes, Eve had called her friend Susan, who had run off with one of the MacKeage men last summer and now lived in Pine Creek, and asked Susan if she would be willing to rent her house. “I have Misneach, and Trace promised to show me how to shoot a gun.”
Gabriella sat down beside her. “But won’t you get lonely living all by yourself?” She nudged Fiona’s shoulder with her own. “I could still be your roommate, and we could still open a child-care business together, couldn’t we?”
“Not if you plan to be a nurse or a doctor, Gabriella,” she said, taking the girl’s hand. “I would love for us to be roommates, but it’ll be easier for you to concentrate on your studies if you live with William and Maddy until you go away to college.”
“But it’s too hard,” Gabriella said, standing up. “There are a whole bunch of difficult subjects I have to take to get accepted at a college. School’s not just about learning how to read and write; I have to study things like biology and chemistry and mathematics, all of which have nothing to do with practical living. Why do I need to know what’s inside a person’s blood to stop them from bleeding to death? And why are there all sorts of chemicals to cure a disease when plants do a better job?”
Fiona walked over to her. “You must learn everything you can so people won’t be able to take advantage of you. Knowledge is power, Gabriella, and ignorance is imprisonment. Think back to your old time, and remember how the learned ruled and the ignorant toiled.” She took hold of the young girl’s shoulders. “You must learn everything you can about this wondrous new world, so you can rule yourself.”
“You’re not going to school. Aren’t you afraid people will take advantage of you?”
“If I were eighteen, I’d be going. But right now, I have to focus on my dream before I grow too old to bear children. In the meantime, I will be haunting the library and reading everything I can get my hands on, as well as watching all of those wonderful science and history channels on television. I might not become a doctor, but I’ll never stop learning.” She gave her friend’s shoulders a squeeze. “Take your second chance and run with it, Gabriella, because the true gift of this century is that women can be anything we want.” She grabbed a box and carried it into the kitchen. “Come on, let’s take everything down to the porch so we can organize this place before Mac gets home.”
Gabriella followed, also carrying a box. “Did you see the look on Henry’s face when we drove in this morning? He got truly excited when you told him the truck had the power of several hundred horses.”
Fiona opened the door and carried her box outside. “It was very sweet of Maddy to take Mac shopping to buy Henry some new clothes.”
“I think Henry felt better about leaving you when he saw Sarah in the backseat,” Gabriella said. “And when Mr. Getze brings the children on Monday, the boy will have someone closer to his age to play with.” She dropped the box on the porch next to the house, beside the one Fiona had set down. “Oh, I forgot,” she said as she straightened. “You’ll be watching the children at your new place.” She suddenly smiled. “Maybe Mac can bring Henry over there to play with them.”
“I’m sure he will,” Fiona drawled, heading back upstairs. “He’s already offered to hire me to watch Henry while he goes to buy a truck and then learns to drive it.”
“Omigod, I hope he doesn’t let William teach him,” Gabriella said with a laugh. “Is Mac truly powerless now?”
“It appears so. He told me Trace persuaded his father to give him a year to learn how to be a father himself, but apparently the deal didn’t include getting his powers back.” She headed into the second bedroom. “Personally, I think that’s a good thing. Here, help me take the door off this cupboard.”
“Why is it a good thing?” Gabriella asked, frowning at the cupboard.
“Because now Mac will be forced to deal with Henry like any normal father. Here, put this mattress over the porch rail to air it out.”
“Why do you have a mattress in a cupboard?”
“Because bogeymen never think to look in cupboards.”
Gabriella just blinked at her. “Then why are we taking off the door?”
“Until Mac can get Henry a proper bed, I thought the boy might like sleeping in here. It’ll be cozy and make him feel protected, but I want to take the door off because I don’t want him to think he’s hiding from anything.” She nudged her friend to get her moving. “I hope Maddy remembers to buy Henry some books and toys today.”
They spent the rest of the morning preparing the apartment for Mac and a good deal of the afternoon preparing several simple meals Mac would only have to heat up on the stove. By three o’clock, Fiona and Gabriella were sitting on the porch, throwing a stick for Misneach to chase as they talked about all the different things Gabriella could be—including, but not exclusively, a mother.
Maddy finally pulled into the dooryard and shut off the truck, and Mac got out and opened the back passenger door. He leaned inside, and when he straightened, Fiona smiled at the sight of his sleeping son in his arms.
“Take him upstairs,” she whispered, “and put him in the cupboard in the second bedroom. There’s a bed all made up for him in there.”
She saw Mac hesitate as he eyed Trace’s kitchen door and gave him a gentle nudge toward her stairs.
No, they were his stairs now, she reminded herself.
“Everything’s ready in your new home, Mac,” she said, giving him another shove. “And you need to begin as you intend to go on.”
He walked off carrying Henry, and Maddy and Sarah and Gabriella came over with their hands full of shopping bags.
“It was quite a day,” Maddy said with a tired sigh. “I swear I don’t know who was worse, Mac or Henry. Mac wouldn’t even consider buying stone-washed jeans, insisting that his son wasn’t wearing pants that looked used, and Henry kept wandering off to gawk at everything.” She nudged her daughter with her hip. “If it wasn’t for Sarah dragging him back every five minutes, we’d still be hunting for the kid.”
“Mr. Oceanus sure can holler loud,” Sarah said, grinning.
Maddy laughed. “Once, when we couldn’t find either Henry or Sarah, Mac shouted Henry’s name so loud everyone in the store stopped in their tracks. I’m surprised you didn’t hear his roar in Midnight Bay.” She stepped closer to Fiona and lowered her voice. “He was a ball of sweat the entire time, and I thought he was going to break down and cry when I said we could go home. He pulled me aside and offered to pay me a month’s salary if I leave him behind the next time Henry needs something.”
“We can’t let him buy his way out of his responsibilities,” Fiona whispered as they walked toward the stairs. “Surely he’ll calm down once he realizes Henry’s not going to break if he makes a mistake here and there.”
“You know, I actually caught Henry patting Mac’s arm a couple of times. I’m afraid the poor kid’s going to end up parenting his father.” She stopped and handed her bags to Gabriella. “You guys take everything upstairs and leave it in the kitchen. Sarah, you can show Gabriella w
hat we bought.”
Maddy turned back to Fiona when they left with Misneach racing up behind them.
“Mac said Trace told him about a woman in the mountains who runs a camp for single parents and their kids. And he said Trace suggested he and Henry should attend a few of the sessions. I really like the idea, but Mac said he doesn’t want to leave Midnight Bay. What do you think?”
“Oh, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Fiona said. “But probably not right away. Mac needs to learn to drive and get more comfortable with Henry. Maybe in a month or two.”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing,” Maddy said, nodding. “Come on, let’s put your boxes in my truck, and I’ll drive you over to your new house and help you get settled in. Gabriella and Sarah can stay here and babysit Mac.”
“Thank you, but Kenzie plans to take me over later, so he can have a good look around and make sure everything is safe. You and Sarah and Gabriella can head on home.” She chuckled. “Mac will probably have a nap after his trying day, and I think I’ll sneak downstairs and watch my show on Trace’s new television while I wait for Kenzie,” she said, anxious to be alone so she could … think.
The dooryard was hauntingly quiet less than ten minutes later. But instead of going inside to watch her show, Fiona sat down on Trace’s porch steps and buried her face in her hands on her knees with a sob.
Dammit, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to be the indecisive lout’s girlfriend!
Chapter Twenty-two
Trace shut off his truck and stared through the windshield at the lights blazing out of every window of his upstairs apartment, and decided he wasn’t an ass or an idiot or even a gullible chump.
No, he was an outright coward.
He dropped his head on the steering wheel with a groan, not wanting to walk into an empty house that didn’t smell of delicious food cooking, or spend an evening in front of his brand-new television guzzling beer until he finally staggered down the hall and crawled into an empty bed.
He wasn’t sure exactly when he’d fallen in love with Fiona, only that he had.
She’d certainly gotten his heart’s attention when she’d crawled into that tunnel to save him, and then when he’d watched her firing the gun he’d given her back into the tunnel. And his heart had to have been soundly engaged when he’d run out on her that day in the safe room. What else would have sent him running to a bar three towns away to drown his sorrows if he hadn’t been half in love with her then?
But if he had to come up with one defining moment, he’d have to say it had been when she’d told him how she’d walked halfway across Scotland, all alone and heavy with child, that his heart had started pounding with the realization that he was soundly and passionately in love with her.
So, how the hell hard would it have been to say four stupid little words last night, anyway? He’d been repeating them like a litany all day, for chrissakes, as he and Rick had hauled in trap after trap teeming with giant lobsters. He’d tried out I love you at first, but thinking that sounded a tad presumptuous—considering she might not feel the same way—he’d eventually settled on Move in with me, having decided that had a far less threatening ring to it.
Because he really didn’t want to scare her off; he just really wanted her.
Any way he could get her. If Fiona wanted him to hold her hand and steal kisses when no one was looking, then he’d live like a monk the rest of his life—just as long as he was still holding her hand on his deathbed. And if she wanted babies, then, by God, he’d give her a dozen. But if she discovered she did need a ring on her finger, he’d marry her tomorrow, just as long as he could wake up every morning with his arms wrapped around her inviting body.
How in hell could he have let her go?
Trace straightened and got out of his truck, and quietly stood staring at the empty barn before sliding his gaze to his pitch-black windows.
Christ, he was a coward.
He finally went inside and walked through the house without bothering to turn on any lights, dropping his clothes where he shed them on the way to the bathroom. After flipping on the light, he turned on the shower, then stepped under the spray without even waiting for it to heat up—figuring it had to be warmer than the ice in his veins. He stood stiffly, letting the water beat his tired muscles as he tried to decide what to have for supper other than a six-pack of beer. He felt around for the shampoo and squirted some into his palm, but he stopped with it halfway to his head when he smelled roses.
“Goddamn it,” he growled, washing it off under the spray.
There was no way in hell he was going to spend the night smelling her.
What was rose-scented shampoo doing in his shower, anyway? Had she picked up on his cue last night about girlfriends having to drop a few hints when it was time for a relationship to move to the next level, or had she sneaked in and deliberately left behind a little reminder of what his silence had cost him?
Opening one eye, he grabbed his shampoo with a snort, deciding that he hadn’t needed to save her from Mac’s father after all, since she obviously knew more about fighting dirty than all of them put together. He lathered up, washed his hair and rinsed off, and shut off the water; his blood nearly boiling now because he could still smell her.
But if he thought he was fired up with righteous indignation over shampoo, it was nothing compared to the feel of a knife plunging into his heart when he grabbed a towel so soft and fluffy he nearly dropped to his knees. Only half dried off before he couldn’t stand the softness of the towel any longer, he noticed that his hand was trembling when he went to pick up his comb.
He stopped in mid-reach.
All of his toiletries had been pushed to the right side of the vanity, and on the left side, perfectly organized, was a bunch of … girly stuff—a wooden hairbrush, a tiny basket of barrettes and ribbons, a bottle of perfume, a jar of hand cream, and what appeared to be tubes of lip gloss lined up like little soldiers according to height.
He pulled open the medicine cabinet and found that it had also been reorganized, his stuff shoved to the right and more girly stuff neatly stacked on the left.
He shot out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, snapped on the light, and yanked open the closet door. Again, his stuff was shoved to the right—though mostly just piled on the floor as usual—and on the left were women’s clothes hung on hangers according to length, sweaters folded on the top shelf by color, and four pairs of shoes and a pair of slippers lined up on the floor, toes pointing out.
He spun around to the bed and found it perfectly made, with half a dozen crisp pillows stacked in descending order by size, and on the right nightstand was his alarm clock, a lamp with a ratty old shade, a dog-eared paperback, and other small items haphazardly strewn as usual. On the left nightstand was only a box of tissues and three books neatly stacked—with the smallest on the bottom and the largest on top.
Trace stiffened and slowly turned around.
If he’d thought her beautiful golden eyes had been scared and vulnerable the day she’d become his tenant, it was nothing compared to the stark fear in them now. He watched her gaze lower and then snap back to his as two tiny flags of pink appeared on her pale cheeks, and he realized he was standing there naked, staring at her.
And still he didn’t move, afraid she might vanish.
“I can have all of my things gone in five minutes … if you want,” she whispered, going completely pale again as she clutched her hands to her stomach.
“No.”
“If I stay, my brothers are probably going to kill you.”
“They’re welcome to try.”
“You have my word of honor, I won’t mess with any of your stuff.” Her gaze darted to the pants he’d shed on the hallway floor, then back to him. “But I could wash your clothes when I wash mine, if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
“And I’ll tell Mr. Getze that I can’t watch his children anymore. Or I could rent a place in town to watch them, if I g
et enough children to cover the expenses.”
“This is the best place for kids, with a big yard that’s far off the road.”
A good deal of color returned to her cheeks, but he didn’t miss that her hands, still clutching her stomach, had tightened. “I saw on television that there’s a pill that prevents a woman from getting pregnant, and I intend to ask Maddy to help me find a doctor so we won’t need to … worry.”
That knife still piercing his heart twisted painfully. “The pill raises havoc with a woman’s hormones sometimes, so don’t bother asking Maddy anything.”
“Can I buy condoms at the grocery store, then, when I go shopping for food?”
“I’ll take care of the birth control. And I’ll stop swearing,” he offered, figuring he’d better cough up a few concessions of his own before she realized what a bum deal she was getting.
He saw her shoulders slump. “Does that mean I have to stop swearing, too?”
“For chrissakes, no.”
And there it was, just a hint of a smile as she shoved her hands into her pockets.
“I have only two questions,” he said quietly. “One, would you mind very much when you’re organizing your things to straighten mine up, too?” he asked, knowing that if he didn’t let her keep a perfect house, she would eventually explode. Or burn it down in sheer frustration.
“Oh yes, I’d love to do that for you. What else?” she asked eagerly.
“I want you to tell me why.”
That sure as hell dampened her mood. “Why what?”
When he said nothing, her hands shot out of her pockets and started clutching each other again, and she dropped her gaze to his feet. “I found out that being strong and brave and independent is really quite lonely.” Her eyes lifted to his. “And decided I would very much like to wake up every morning wrapped in the arms of a handsome, sexy man that I never dreamed I would fall in love with.”
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