by LAURA HARNER
Elena thought about all she had heard and all that she’d not heard, and realized none of it changed her growing feelings for Faolan. She already trusted him with her life. She needed to show him he could trust her, as well.
Out on the hill a lone wolf howled. The sound echoed around the house, and it reminded her of the dog growling the night of her attack. Then another, smaller wolf joined the first wolf, and they turned and ran together into the night. Elena picked up her kittens and went to bed.
Chapter Eight
When Elena was in foster care, she hated that transitory feeling of not belonging. You could never be sure when your caseworker, a judge, or the foster parents would send you packing. As soon as morning came, she presented Lilly, Red, and Faolan with written agreements indicating she would provide them room and board for the next year in exchange for them living on the property. No other strings attached. They could break the contract with verbal notice. Since she already had a work agreement with Lilly and Red, Elena was comfortable with the arrangement if they were.
Red and Lilly took their copies with many assurances that it wasn’t necessary. “Truth be told, lass, me and the missus are just grateful to have the old place back,” Red added gruffly. As the family’s caretakers, they would have lived here when Faolan’s father was alive, but Elena was positive they had forgotten to mention that little detail.
Faolan kept his face carefully neutral but didn’t move to take the agreement from her, so she set it on the table to give him time to think about it. His strong jaw clenched and unclenched, the only trace of his deep emotions. His tawny eyes were deep and full of secrets.
Lilly suggested this would be a good day for Elena to visit the furniture stores in a nearby town, “Perhaps even Inverness for the harder to find items, dear.”
Faolan turned his flat gaze on Lilly, and with a look that would cause grown men to crumble, growled through clenched teeth, “I will go with the lass.”
Lilly smiled imperturbably.
****
Elena wanted to buy a larger bed for Faolan’s room; she knew the room’s current twin-sized bed was too small for him. Not that Faolan would ever complain. In fact, she was sure he would object if he thought she was buying anything especially for him. Elena risked his towering rage and sent him across the furniture warehouse on an urgent mission to check the measurements of a couch she didn’t want.
Once Faolan was finally away from her side for a few minutes, she bought the largest bed available to put in his room, hoping it would accommodate the six and a half foot highlander. She enlisted the sales clerk in her conspiracy and swore him to secrecy. The clerk was more than happy to add it to her already impressive list of purchases, and he assured Elena that her husband would love it. Yikes, husband!
Faolan’s black mood was in full force, rating a category four on the hurricane scale when he returned from his errand. Perversely, he wouldn’t leave her side, even though she seemed to have gotten on his very last nerve. He glowered while Elena arranged delivery for her purchases, and they walked back outside to the Rover.
Outside, Faolan surprised her when he took her arm and directed her to a small café. They ordered lunch, and Elena prattled on about her purchases. It was a totally novel experience to have enough money to buy what she needed without giving up something else. Like food. She still wanted to buy rugs for all the rooms, and Faolan suggested a small specialty shop back in Fairth.
Faolan seemed distracted by something over Elena’s left shoulder, and she turned and saw a beautiful woman leaving the café. The tall blonde was everything Elena wasn’t: elegantly thin and dressed like a fashion model. She couldn’t compete with a woman like that.
“Would you like me to wait here while you go introduce yourself,” she asked dryly.
“Yes, doona’ move,” he ordered and stood up.
Elena’s jaw dropped. “Don’t you recognize sarcasm when you hear it, you big Neanderthal?”
Faolan looked down at Elena, back up at the door, scanned the room and street, and pulled her to her feet. He threw some bills on the table and rushed Elena out of there so fast her feet barely hit the floor. They practically ran to the Rover, where he tucked her in on the passenger side, ran around to the driver’s side, and told Elena to buckle up.
He started driving, cutting in and out of traffic, keeping one eye on the rearview mirror. He stopped at a petrol station, and got out to examine the Rover. Finally, he found what he was looking for, got back in, and drove away. He still hadn’t spoken to her, and Elena wasn’t going to break the silence. She realized he was angry that she’d made a fuss when he wanted to go meet Blondie, and this silent treatment was part of the payback. What a complete and total ass!
Elena risked a glance in his direction, and his clenched jaw confirmed he was royally pissed off. She stared out her window again and blinked hard against the sting of tears. She was angry and hurt with no one to blame but herself. If she’d kept her big mouth shut, he wouldn’t have known she was a virgin until it was too late to stop and they would have had terrific sex, even if they both couldn’t call it making love. Now she realized he would keep her at arm’s length because she wasn’t the type of woman he wanted.
One of the tears spilled over and ran down her cheek. She kept her head turned so he wouldn’t notice. She wasn’t his type. He probably considered her obvious fascination with him as nothing more than a schoolgirl crush. No wonder he didn’t want to tell her the rest of his story. Faolan didn’t want to furnish a room because he didn’t want to stay. He was only staying because he wanted his revenge on Worthington. Elena finally had a story that fit the facts. How could I have been so blind?
“Take me home, Faolan,” she said in a small, choked voice.
Without a glance or another word between them, he did.
****
As soon as they arrived back at the farm, Faolan went to find Red, and Elena went to go check on her kitties. She needed some unconditional love. Their personalities were very different. The orange tabby rarely needed attention, he would love on her for a few minutes when it suited him, and the rest of the time, he was nothing but trouble. She’d named him Rascal. The black kitten was much more needy. With his white boots and a wisp of white on his chest, he followed her wherever she went, earning the name Shadow. As predicted, Rascal came over, gave a quick head bump, and then went in search of something to stalk. Shadow howled for her to pick him up, licked her chin, and began to purr loudly.
Her mood restored by the kitty loving, Elena began to plan the arrangement of the new furniture. She realized, good intentions aside, the bed she bought for Faolan was too big for his room. She would have to switch and put her current bed in his room and put the new king in hers. With such a large mattress, if Faolan changed his mind and wanted to make love with her, there would be plenty of room for both of them. Holy show! She blushed at her thoughts and for what Faolan might think about her getting such a large mattress.
Faolan didn’t show up for dinner that night, but the rest of them ate together in the kitchen. Elena described the new furniture, but left out the details of the tall, leggy blonde. She accepted an invitation to Red and Lilly’s flat the next evening for dinner and a little house-warming party. They all worked together on the dinner clean up before the older couple left for their own apartment, and then Elena got to work.
She went to the library and finished pulling all of the books out of boxes, dusting them as she went, and stacked them on shelves or on the floor. There had to have been nearly three hundred books and still more left in the steading! She wanted to categorize them so she could put them on the shelves in a logical order. For now, she ran her hands lovingly over the fine leather covers, randomly picking up one book after another, thumbing through it before moving on to the next book.
She flattened the boxes and carried the stack out to the steading. Elena grabbed another box of books to bring inside and started for the back door. Midway between the house and th
e barn, caught in a proverbial no-man’s land, she froze in her tracks. No more than fifteen feet away, a giant wolf watched her progress. His lips drew back in a feral grin and his yellow-brown eyes locked on her in silent appraisal. His reddish fur was a lighter mask around his eyes and muzzle, and gold on his chest. He was a magnificent animal, bigger than anything she’d ever seen.
Elena’s heart pounded, and the adrenaline was rushing with need for fight or flight. She had no weapon, even if she had been willing to use one, so fight was out. That left flight, but with a quick glance in both directions, Elena knew she could never outrun the beast. Elena did the only thing she could think of, inhaled sharply and began to speak, “Hi there, big fellow. Why don’t you run along now? I need to get back in my house.”
He looked for a minute longer, shook his head, as if to clear it, then turned and loped easily into the night. Elena’s heart was still racing when she finally convinced her feet to cross the yard.
****
The next morning Faolan was at breakfast and as usual said nothing about where he’d been the previous night. Conversation turned to the various projects each of them was working on, but Faolan appeared not to be listening.
Elena told Lilly about the hundreds of books she’d found, and her plan to start sorting them by topic, maybe after dinner tonight. Faolan looked up and asked, “Do you mind if I help with that?”
Without looking at him, Elena said, “Of course not but don’t feel obligated. You don’t work for me.” It was the first comment he had directed at her since the café, and her response was sharp with pent-up hurt. Faolan stood and left the kitchen, letting the back door close with a bang. Saying nothing further, Elena helped Lilly clear the table before getting ready for the furniture deliveries.
Elena dressed in jeans and a sweater, so she could push up the sleeves when she got too warm. She pulled her black curls into a ponytail, all the while thinking about what a jerk Faolan was being. When she came out of her room, someone had already laid fires in all of the rooms, and Lilly had started sweeping and mopping the lounge.
“Why don’t you wait until after they deliver? I’m sure they’ll be tracking in mud from the yard.”
“I will be laying down somethin’ for them to walk on to reduce the tracking, and this way I know ‘tis clean underneath. I will most likely be doing all the rooms twice today. Mebbe you would like to go talk to Faolan while you wait for the truck,” Lilly added, slyly.
Elena sighed. Clearly, Lilly wanted more for Faolan and Elena than she was going to get.
“Lilly, he doesn’t need me to go chase after him to try to cheer him up or anything else.”
“Och, but you were a bit sharp with him this morning lass, I thought perhaps you might be wanting to apologize.”
Elena was stung. “Maybe I was a bit sharp with him, but you weren’t there yesterday when he asked to be excused to go talk to a beautiful woman. He’s made it clear; I’m not his type.”
“Is that what you think? That he had eyes for another? I doona’ believe it.”
“Lilly, you want to believe that I have feelings for Faolan and that he has them for me, but it just isn’t like that. He wants his revenge on Worthington, and believes I’m the key to making that happen. Once he gets his vengeance, he’ll leave, and I’ll be left alone. I’ve been there, done that, and gotten the badge.”
“Doona’ be an idiot, girl. Go to him, say you’re sorry,” Lilly said, sounding cranky, then stormed out of the room, leaving Elena alone with her thoughts.
I’m not going to chase after that man!
She did decide to get Rascal and Shadow and take them to the barn while she worked on her piles. There might be mice or other adventures for a couple of rambunctious kittens. She told herself she was not going out there in hopes of seeing Faolan.
With one kitten in each arm, Elena struggled out the kitchen door and into the center part of the barn, closing the door behind her, to keep the kittens and the warmth inside. Someone had started a fire in the wood stove and it was warm inside. Both kittens crouched low to the floor, tails puffy, looking around to see if it was safe. Of course, Rascal was the first to recover, and he charged off in search of adventure. Shadow stayed by her feet a little while longer; just to be sure it was safe.
Thunk, crash, clunk.
It was coming from the south wing. “Bloody hell,” then thunk, crash, clunk again. Soon it was a smooth rhythm, interspersed occasionally with a salty word. Elena walked over to the corner where the east part of the steading joined to the south wing.
Faolan had his back to her, and his shirt off. He glistened with sweat, and his muscles rippled as he swung a heavy axe. Good Gawd! Was there a finer specimen of man anywhere on the planet? He was splitting and stacking firewood, and he looked angry. He didn’t just look angry; he sounded angry. He muttered to himself, between swings. Elena couldn’t quite make out most of the words, but then one phrase sounded clearly, “I will bloody well kill her myself.”
Elena turned and left without saying a word.
Leaving Rascal out in the barn since he was stalking across the beams in the open ceiling, Elena took Shadow back to the house. Lilly looked at her expectantly, but Elena just shook her head and stormed into the library. Kill me himself! I can take care of myself, and if he thinks he can use me for his own benefit, well, I’m nobody’s fool anymore. Worthington hadn’t gotten the best of her, and Faolan MacGailtry wasn’t going to hurt her either.
The furniture truck arrived to interrupt her gloomy mood, and soon she’d forgotten all about anything making her unhappy. There is nothing like a truck full of brand new stuff to warm a woman’s heart. Shallow, maybe. Therapeutic, definitely.
The deliverymen were only too happy to take a bit more money to move the furniture Elena restored from the barn into the house. Once everything was sorted into its proper room, and the truck had gone, Lilly, Red, and Elena moved the furniture from one spot to another, trying out different floor plans. Eventually even Faolan came in to help, and soon they were all bossing each other around, pushing and pulling, and generally having a good time.
Elena had the lounge and library situated and was ready to move on to the bedrooms. Lilly went to move the sheets from the washer to the dryer so they could make the beds. Red went to bring in some firewood, and suddenly Faolan and she were alone in his bedroom. “Elena, I…” he started.
Her anger flared instantly. She did not want to hear him tell her she shouldn’t have bought furniture for his room. She raised a hand to interrupt, “Don’t. I will see to my own room. You can set yours up however you want it. Or not. Sleep on the damn floor for all I care.”
She went into her room and pushed the dressers to where she wanted them. Then she pulled the ironwork headboard and attached the legs to the bed frame. She moved the rocking chair in front of the fireplace and pulled the nightstands to either side of the bed. It was only then she saw what she had done. In her anger at Faolan, she had dragged all the furniture around the room by herself, leaving long scratches in the waxed finish.
In dismay, she dropped to her hands and knees and began to rub frantically at the marred surface. As she rubbed, everything she’d been through since coming to Scotland crashed down on her. Someone she hated was trying to kill her. She‘d been badly beaten and nearly raped. She’d nearly made love, too. Now the man who spoke to her soul had dismissed her. He said he wanted to kill her too.
She started to cry. Some part of her recognized this was not her usual behavior; she didn’t cry and she never fell apart. Above all else, she was a survivor. She just couldn’t seem to stop herself. Shadow crawled out from under the bed and climbed into her lap, purring. Elena heard the door to her bedroom open, then close, but no one was there when she turned to look. Elena took a deep breath and decided it was time to pull herself together.
Chapter Nine
They ate dinner that night in Red and Lilly’s flat, and the design of the unit fit the two of them perfectly. T
he small table in the kitchen was set for dinner. The little windows had cheery café curtains, and the kitchen counter had a small washer and dryer under the kitchen counter. In the lounge, they had set up a television in one corner and had a love seat and two easy chairs in a semi-circle. Elena noticed two recent-looking pictures of Faolan on the end table. The little radiators hanging on the walls seemed to be working just fine, and the flat was warm and cozy.
Everyone was already inside the flat by the time Elena had arrived. She’d taken extra time to get ready, sending Faolan on ahead when he’d knocked on her door. She’d used every trick the stylist back in Phoenix had taught her to make sure she looked the confident, sexy woman she wanted to be tonight. So what if I’m not exactly Faolan’s type?
Elena was feeling more like her old self. She’d given herself a stern talking to while she’d been dressing, and she was more than ready to declare herself over her recent moodiness.
Rascal had still been in the barn when Elena came over, hunting some imaginary creature or another. He raced her up the stairs and through the door as soon as Lilly opened it, as if he owned the place.
Elena laughed and said, “I didn’t get you a housewarming gift, but it looks like one showed up anyway. Would you like him, Lilly?” Lilly’s smile was lovely as she picked Rascal up and crooned softly. He bumped her chin with his head, purring loudly.
In the kitchen, Elena offered to help, while Faolan and Red poured drinks. Of course Lilly shooed her out of the kitchen with a laugh, saying everything was nearly ready. They all sat together in the lounge, enjoying small talk. Elena was determined not to let the tension between Faolan and her carry over into the evening.
Apparently, Faolan was too, because he was behaving like a different man. He was funny, engaging, and flirted shamelessly with both Elena and Lilly. He wore the faded jeans that he’d worn the night they almost made love and a steel-blue cable knit sweater. His hair was unbound, the mahogany mane falling to the middle of his back, the red and gold highlights more visible with it loose.