by L. A. Fiore
“He’s not a monster.”
Fergus offered his hand to Brochan. “No, he’s not.”
“He’s a werewolf,” I teased.
Fenella wasn’t so formal; she walked right up to Brochan and hugged him hard and long. She cradled his face. “That’s my beautiful boy.”
She hurried inside to hide the tears. “You’ll stay for dinner, Fergus.”
She didn’t wait for his answer.
Finnegan and Brochan shared a moment. There was love and pride in Finnegan’s gaze before he broke the eye contact and reached for his and Fenella’s bag. Watching them stirred an idea.
“I’ll help you bring in the bags,” Fergus said.
Brochan, the dogs and I remained. “How are you?” I asked.
“I wanted to kill him. I came so close, but I realized I was reacting again. We need to break the cycle, right?”
“I would have understood if…”
He held his hand out; I slipped mine into it. “I know.”
It was hard finding a place to work. I didn’t want the others to know what I was doing. I’d taken one of the bedrooms as a studio, not that Brochan wouldn’t find me. I taped a note on the door to knock and not enter.
I was painting a portrait. I didn’t usually sketch people, but I wanted a portrait of Brochan, Fenella and Finnegan. They were family and since I intended to continue the tradition of family portraits, we needed the first family.
A knock followed by, “Lizzie.”
“One minute. I grabbed the cloth and covered the painting. “Come in.”
Brochan looked at the covered easel as he closed the door. “You have your own secret.”
“Yep.”
He walked toward me as he yanked his shirt from his pants and pulled it over his head. His shoes were next then his jeans. Aches kicked off in all the right places.
“What are you doing?”
He stopped right in front of me and dropped his briefs. “Trying out my new profession as a nude model.”
My clit clenched in a lovely spasm. “I just came.”
His eyes went hot. “You better not have.”
“You should climb on the bed.”
He turned and I had to bite my lip to keep from biting his ass. In that slow, controlled way he had, he moved onto the bed like a big, lazy cat getting ready for a nap. He wasn’t sleeping. Oh hell no.
“How do you want me?”
“That is such an open ended question, Brochan.”
His smile was wicked. “I know.”
I joined him, moving my hands over his body, his chest and shoulders, down to his abs, his thighs. I avoided his cock because once I got started there it was all over. His focus seared me as he watched me play. His voice was rough when he said, “You’re a painter, not a sculptor.”
“Hush, don’t disturb a master at work.” I straddled him and pressed down.
“What’s the master doing now?”
“Determining how big a canvas I need.”
“The biggest fucking one they make.”
“Cocky. But feeling him swelling between my legs, he was right.
He grabbed my shirt and tossed it on the floor. “I don’t usually paint in the nude.”
My bra followed. “Learn.” He flipped me onto my back and smiled as he worked my jeans and panties off.
Brochan’s sated body was pressing me into the mattress, his cock still jerking inside me, my version of heaven. “What do you think about inviting the Stewarts to our home?” he asked.
His head lifted. My heart squeezed that he was ready to meet his mother’s family. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Can I ask why now?”
There was the slightest hesitation before he said, “You were the link for Brianna to her sister. I’m that link to Abigail. I didn’t get it before; I started to that day of the Highland games. Family isn’t one dimensional and when Abigail died it wasn’t just Finlay who lost her.”
“Bent, not broken.”
“We can’t get careless. We have to be vigilante…”
He was thinking of Mac and Ava. “I know.”
“We need to practice shooting some more. You’re getting good, but I want you to keep it up. And it can’t hurt to learn how to use a blade.”
“A knife?”
“You’re not always going to have a gun handy.”
It was important to him and I needed to know how to defend the baby, and myself, so I didn’t argue. “Okay. Is this party with the Stewarts your surprise?”
“No.”
“There’s another one?”
“Yes.”
“And you still won’t tell me?”
He rolled onto his back and my mouth watered seeing all that beautiful naked man knowing he was mine.
“No, but you’re welcome to try.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LIZZIE
We sectioned off a part of our bedroom for the nursery. We painted the walls a silvery blue. Brochan and Finnegan were working on the crib and Fenella was hanging the drapes on the windows. I was painting a mural on the wall—an enchanted forest complete with fairies, elves, sprites, and the big bad wolf. I was working on the wolf’s pale eyes when the memory had my hand going still. The book I had had as a child. I had wished for a big bad wolf to protect me. Maybe Brochan was right about Brianna. I was pulled from that when the men finished with the crib.
“That took far longer than it should have,” Finnegan said as he and Brochan stood back and admired their work. The beige crib looked vintage but it was new. The heavy striped blue and beige silk of the drapes would also be used as a dust ruffle for the crib.
“I love it, but you are taking a chance using blue.” Fenella had cautioned me when we were looking at color themes, but I knew it was a boy.
“It’s a boy, Fenella. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”
“I believe you, really I do. Oh and that reminds me. I have something for you, Brochan. Lizzie found it. I had it polished.”
Her eyes met mine as she pulled the medallion from her pocket. It looked brand new. Brochan’s hand closed around it. “Where did you find this?”
“At the estate, in the rubble.”
He was quiet for a few minutes, his expression thoughtful, then he turned to me and lifted the necklace over my head. The medallion settled between my breasts. Tenderness looked back from those pale eyes. “She’d want you to have that,” he said softly. Brochan and I shared a moment then he announced, “Lizzie and I were thinking it might be time to connect with the Stewart clan.”
I wasn’t the only one to see Fenella’s face pale when Brochan asked, “What’s wrong?”
She tried to wave it off then stopped and confessed, “What if they’re bitter that we didn’t try to reach out sooner? I mean, we did raise you but it could look like we kept you from them.”
“If they do feel that way, then we didn’t miss anything all these years.” I agreed with Brochan. Fenella still looked nervous.
“I think it’s a good idea. There’s a baby on the way and he has Stewart blood. Seems like a good time to mend the fence,” Finnegan said then added, “And if they give us shit for doing the best we could, for giving Brochan a family and a home, we kick their arses from the house.”
Silence before Brochan said, “What he said.”
Fenella looked shocked for a second then laughed. “Okay.” She checked her watch. “Oh, the roast. Finnegan, I need you to peel potatoes.”
“My work is never done,” he said then winked and followed her out.
I turned back to the mural. I loved it. I captured the tall pines that surrounded the castle; whimsical creatures darted in and out of them. There was a full moon above the forest. It felt enchanted and magical, it felt like home.
Brochan’s arms came around my waist. “Is that wolf supposed to be me?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m not in the mural.”
“You should be.”
He looked like a wolf when he grinned. “For the big bad wolf to eat.”
BROCHAN
I stood in the library looking out at Lizzie playing with the dogs, they were playing tug of war, Lizzie was losing. Her stomach swelled now. My bairn. I knew now that my father hadn’t been right in the head, not from the beginning, because I haven’t even seen my child and the thought of bringing harm, of doing to my child what my father had done to me…he was a monster, a sick one.
I reached for my cell when it rang.
“Brochan, Rodney Danton. I lost eyes on Norah.”
Annoying, but I’d expected that. Norah was shrewd; she’d have known she was being followed. I was surprised she’d allowed it for as long as she had, which meant she was getting ready to make her move. “When?”
“This morning. He thought she was home. He sat on the house like usual, but she didn’t follow her schedule. He slipped inside; she was gone. He said it looked like she was going somewhere.”
“Here.” I’d been expecting that too.
“My thought as well. I don’t think she intends to storm the castle, so to speak, but she’s up to something,” he replied.
“I agree. I’ll have my guy look into her finances. Just how much she’s in need of money will play into how she proceeds.”
“Sounds smart.”
“It might be a good idea if you come for a visit. More eyes.”
“Wheels went up twenty minutes ago.”
Canny motherfucker. “I’ll have a car waiting at the airport.”
“See you soon.”
I disconnected then called Gerard.
“What’s up?”
“I need you to look into Norah Calhoun’s finances. How much, where she’s got it invested, what her disposable income is.”
“On it. I’ll send it later tonight.”
“Thanks.”
“You just thanked me. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Fuck off.”
“That’s better.”
I disconnected. Norah had her own eyes on Lizzie, so to speak, but not anymore. Her coming here was inevitable, so was her next move. What remained a question was how she intended to make that move. Lizzie wasn’t going to like hearing her mother was on the way. I detoured to the kitchen.
“Dinner will be done soon,” Fenella offered.
“Lizzie’s father will be arriving later tonight.”
Fenella looked up from the bread she was kneading. “He is? I don’t have a room ready.”
I gave her a look. Every room was meticulous; she made sure of it.
“Okay fine, I want everything just right. It’s Lizzie’s father.”
“Estranged father.”
“That is why it is even more important that everything be just right.”
I didn’t want to add to the work she insisted on doing around here so I asked, “Do you need me to do something?”
Her expression softened. “Thank you for asking, but I’ll handle it.”
But she just said she…I didn’t understand women at all. “Thank you.” I said that almost like a question.
She looked like she might start to cry, so I hauled ass out of the kitchen by way of the back door. I heard Lizzie before I saw her.
“You’re so handsome, both of you. Soon you’ll have a little one to play with. He’ll be able to keep up with you better than me. I’m tired all the time.”
I rounded the house, then leaned my shoulder against the wall and watched her.
“I hope he looks like his daddy, that black hair and those pale eyes. My heart might not be able to handle two of them.”
Her voice turned soft and I knew she was crying. She cried a lot these days. She had a hell of a row yesterday when she learned the shortbread was gone. She had been the one to eat it, but she wept so badly Fenella immediate baked another batch.
Lizzie rubbed her neck then turned. Her smile took my breath away.
“Speaking of the devil,” she said as she strolled toward me.
“Talking to yourself again?”
“I was talking to the dogs.”
It was the same thing in my mind, but I didn’t argue.
She walked right into me and pressed her lips to mine. She was like a drug, just a taste and I wanted more, but we had to talk. Threading my fingers through her hair, I kissed her again, and then reached for her hand.
“I just spoke to your father.”
Her head jerked to me. “You did?”
“Your father’s guy doesn’t have eyes on Norah.”
Her hand tensed, I stroked the back of it with my thumb. “It was only a matter of time.”
“Do you think she is on her way here?”
“Yes.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Let her come, but I want you to practice your shooting.”
“I had a feeling you would.” She sounded so disgruntled I almost smiled. She wasn’t going to like the next part. “I want you to carry.”
“No.”
“Lizzie, just until we know what’s going on with Norah. We don’t know what she’s up to, we have to be prepared for anything.”
“I don’t want to carry a gun.”
“I won’t be with you every second, but your father will be when I’m not. I want you covered and I want you to be able to protect yourself and the bairn.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Using the baby, that’s low.”
“I know. That’s how strongly I feel about you having a gun.”
“Fine, but just until this shit with Norah is over.”
“Deal.”
“I’m visiting Fergus tomorrow. Before we pack up Brianna’s things, I want to make sure he has everything of hers he wants.”
Cait and Ethan were taking the cottage. It would be a home again. Brianna would have wanted that. Lizzie thinking of Fergus was just her way. I brushed her cheek with my thumb. “Good idea.”
“Fenella had some really great ideas for the wedding, including using the barn for the ceremony.”
Wedding plans, that was a fucking buzz kill. I was giving up my peace for the day; that was my contribution. She chuckled, “That bad, huh? I won’t bother you with the details.”
I yanked her close. “Bother me with the details for our wedding.”
She went completely still.
“Our wedding?”
She looked adorably confused. “Aye.”
“But you never asked me to marry you.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring, a simple emerald cut stone. It was the other reason I went into Edinburgh. Her eyes filled with tears. I lifted her left hand and held the ring at her third finger. She looked up in my eyes.
“Be the voice in the dark, Lizzie.”
She touched my face. “And the one in the light.”
My own eyes burned. “Aye.”
Tears rolled down her face when she whispered, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I slipped on the ring and kissed it on her finger. She threw her arms around my neck. “I do love you.”
Lifting her off her feet, I started for the house calling for the dogs. “We’ll show Fenella and Finnegan, then I’ll show you how much I love you.”
“I like this plan.”
LIZZIE
Resting my head on Brochan’s shoulder, I stared at my hand. I still didn’t quite believe it.
“When did you get this?”
“My trip to Edinburgh.”
Glancing up, he was looking at my hand too. “When I got the call from Fenella that you were missing. I thought I’d tempted fate, like Mac, I reached too far.”
Turning into him, I didn’t like the shadows in his eyes. “You have to stop thinking that way.”
“I know, but after how I have lived my life, finding a happy ending seems wrong.”
“After the life you endured, I think you deserve a happy ending more than anyone.” I sat up, took his ha
nd and played with his fingers. “When I was little, I wished for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was so cruel, but the day my father finally told her he was leaving her, they had a terrible fight. After he stormed out, she came to my room. Stood in the doorway and just stared at me so dispassionately. All the rage and anger my father had stirred in her, that was gone. She was ice, which made her words even more terrifying.”
He cupped my chin and yet I felt his muscles humming. He was pissed. “What did she say?”
My eyes lifted to his. “She said she wished I was never born.”
“Son of a…”
“I had been looking through Little Red Riding Hood and I wished that night for the big bad wolf to protect me from her. I had forgotten about that, well, maybe subconsciously I didn’t.”
Brochan had the oddest expression on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“I think we need to do some research on Brianna. Was she born or did she appear?”
“I think you might be right, but careful Brochan because you’re starting to sound like me.”
He pinned me under him.
“I think you deserve the happy ending. I think we both do,” I whispered.
I took his kiss to mean he agreed.
Fergus’ house was the same cottage I had spied my first day of sightseeing, the one near Brianna’s with the stream that ran behind it. I understood why he didn’t want to give it up. He was out front chopping firewood when I pulled up. He dropped the ax and walked to me as I climbed from the car.
“This is beautiful. I walked here when I first arrived and fell in love.”
“First time I saw it, I had to have it,” he declared.
“I understand why.”
He pressed a kiss on my head then reached for my hand. “It looks like congratulations are in order.” His eyes found mine. “Brochan proposed?”
It was a Brochan kind of proposal. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “Yes.”
“Brianna would have loved that.”
“I think she planned it,” I muttered.
“I don’t doubt it. Come, let’s get some tea.” He led us inside. We hit the living room and I stopped following. There were pictures everywhere. A lifetime captured in moments. “Can I look around?”