“You were a lumberjack?”

Lying on Jackson’s chest, I comb my nails through the hair of his chest as he shrugs shyly. “Not were. I am. I can still cut down any tree.”

“Really? That’s insane. Like, real life, ya climb the tree and ya cut it?”

He grins at me. “Yeah.”

“And ya train horses?”

“Yeah.”

“So you’s an outdoorsy guy.”

“I guess,” he says, weaving his fingers through my hair. “I hate being inside.”

“Cause of yer da?” I ask, and a haunted look fills his eyes. “I don’t mean to bring him up—”

“No, it’s fine.” He wraps my hair around his fingers. “I only got an hour outside every other day when he had me. Then when I got home to my mom, my brothers were buck wild, so I escaped outside.”

“Were they that bad?”

“They burned down our house,” he says dryly, and my eyes widen. “My youngest brother, Nick, has three kids with three different women, and Ray is in an abusive relationship with this chick, and they both don’t work. They borrow a lot of money from my parents.”

“Lord,” I cry out, and he nods.

“I don’t know how I’m related to them. I tell my mom it’s because she was so worried about getting me back, she didn’t focus on raising them, leaving it to Tom, my stepdad, who wasn’t really sure what he was doing then.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It is. Meanwhile, I worked my ass off to save money to leave.”

“For yer holiday, right? But didn’t the inheritance money come in?”

He strokes his fingers along my shoulder. “Yeah, but when it was deposited, I already had the money to do what I wanted. I had a plan to work everywhere I go, so I haven’t had to touch it.”

“Not even a cent?”

“Well, I did buy my mom a new car, and I paid off her hospital bills from the cancer.”

My lips curve. “That’s nice.”

“Yeah, the boys are pissed I haven’t done anything for them. But when I came home, they really didn’t have much to do with me.”

I frown. “How so?”

“I was traumatized when I came back, and I really didn’t talk to anyone but my mom. She slept in my bed for a whole three months after I came home. I was messed up.”

My eyes widen as I hold my hand to him. “For good reason!”

He shrugged. “It drove a wedge between them and me, but when I got older and the cancer happened with my mom, Tom and I got closer. He’s a good guy.”

He exhales, and I cuddle into his side, kissing his jaw. “Ya love yer ma the most, though?”

A grin pulls at his lips as he nods. “My mom is my everything. I think she was scared I would forget her, but I never did. I still call her every day or text her.” His gaze falls to mine as he runs his finger along my brow. “She knows about you.”

“She does?” When he nods, I feel bad. I don’t talk about him to my ma, she wouldn’t have it, but he doesn’t have to hold back with his ma. How wonderful that must be. “Ya think she’d like me?”

“She’d love you. How could she not?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m a wee pain in the arse.”

“Not wee, babe. A big pain in the arse,” he says, teasing me, and I smack his chest.

“Whatever,” I snap, and when he wraps his arms around me, kissing me hard on the lips, I can’t help but grin against them. We haven’t left the bed since we fell into it the night before. Thankfully, he didn’t have to work at the stables. He does have to go to the pub this afternoon, but I am going to see my ma today, so I’ll meet him later. In the meantime, though, I am having fun getting to know him even more. I am finding that I like everything about him. His little stories, the small twitch in his nose when he thinks of something he doesn’t like. He is fun to talk to, and he gets me.

And bloody hell, he makes my body sing for him.

Tangling my legs with his, I kiss his jaw. “I’d like to meet yer ma.”

I feel him still underneath me. “You would?”

“Yeah, you talk about her so fondly. I want to meet her.”

He moves his hands down my back, grabbing my ass as he moves his nose in my hair. We’re still lusciously naked. His body swallows mine, and he’s so warm against my skin. “Maybe we can make that happen. I know she wants to meet you.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, she also wants a picture of us together,” he chuckles against my ear. “She’s one of those royal family freaks.”

I giggle softly. “She’d never heard of me until ya got here, huh?”

“Well, I told her about you, and then she did the googling.”

“We’re only famous here in Ireland. Unlike the real royals who are famous everywhere.”

“I don’t think she cares. She’s obsessed.”

I smile as I bite into his shoulder. He hisses out a breath, squeezing me in his arms. “What does she think of us together?”

“Well, I didn’t know we were really together the last time we talked.”

“Well, ya need to tell her,” I decide, and he nibbles at my neck. Closing my eyes, I lengthen my neck as he licks a path up it.

“It’s the first thing I’ll do the moment I leave this bed,” he mutters before moving on top of me, pressing his cock to my center. “First, though, I need you.”

His eyes are dark as he moves my hands above my head. “Need me, huh?”

“Oh, yes,” he says, his voice so raspy. “So fucking bad.”

Arching up into him, I open my legs for him, his cock hard against me. “Then what are ya waiting for?”

A grin starts to form on his mouth, but just as he moves to kiss me, a knock sounds at my door. His eyes widen as he looks down at me before glancing to the door.

“Miss Lena. Are ya awake?”

“Ah, fuck,” I mutter. “Yeah, Meredith, busy.”

She doesn’t seem to care, opening the door. Jackson drops back next to me, trying to cover up as I look to where Meredith is entering. Her eyes bug out when she sees me naked as the day is long. “Miss Lena!”

“You came into my room uninvited.”

“Cover up, please,” she says, averting her eyes.

I roll my eyes, reaching for Jackson’s hand to cover my center. His eyes are about to pop out of his head, but this will teach Meredith to stay out of my room. “Fine.”

She looks to me and glares. “You have tea at midday, they’ll come to do your—”

“I sent you an email to cancel. I’m going to see my ma today.”

Her glare deepens as she clicks a few things on her phone. When her face relaxes, I want to scream out “told ya,” but I hold it in as she looks at me. “I apologize, ya did.”

“I did,” I repeat, holding her gaze. “And don’t enter my room without being invited again.”

“Yes, madam,” she mutters, and then she leaves the room in a hurry.

“I need my own place.” When I look to Jackson, his eyes are still huge. “Ya good?”

“She just walked in. Do your parents do that?”

I laugh. “Oh yeah, Ma caught Amberlyn on her knees one time. It was bad.”

He whistles. “No wonder they left.”

“Yup,” I agree, rolling to my side. “But don’t worry, they won’t do that to us.”

He looks up at the ceiling. “’Cause I won’t be here when they are.”

My brows pull together. “Well, that’s not nice.”

“Lena, you haven’t invited me to your home until now, when they aren’t here. And this bed is way better than my tent.”

I hold his gaze, and I know he’s absolutely right. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to subject you to that.”

He takes me by the back of the head, kissing me hard on the lips. “It’s fine.” I don’t believe him, though. His eyes tell me it’s anything but fine. Before I can say anything more, though, he is covering my body with his, pressing my legs back as he looks down at me. “They don’t matter anyway.”

I sigh happily since I was worried for a moment there. “They don’t.”

But when his eyes meet mine, they trouble me. I can’t help but think he does feel my parents matter.

And I’m unsure what that means.

Holding my ma’s hand, I watch as my da feeds her a bit of Jell-O. “Noreen, ya gotta eat.”

“Then get me food! Not this sugary shite that will add to my arse.”

My da gives her a look as he exhales harshly. “Yer arse is perfect.”

“Well, of course it is ’cause I don’t eat sugar! Please, my love, go get me something with substance.”

“Love, they want ya to eat this. It’s easy on yer belly.”

“I’m starving. I want food.”

My da looks at his wit’s end, but he gets up, leaving the room to find someone to help. When I look at my ma, my heart hurts. She still hasn’t gotten control of her face back. It is very droopy, and her arm isn’t working fully either. They shaved her head for the surgery, but thankfully, the three cuts aren’t too big. But Ma, being ever so vain, has wigs on order. They should be here today.

Though, none of that matters. She is alive, and she is being herself.

“How ya feel, Ma?”

“Well, I have a headache, and I’m hungry.”

“They may have ripped your skull open, so a headache seems legit.”

She shoots me a deadpan look. “Whatever. I’m fine. I’ll be better when I get to leave this awful place.”

“They’re saying a few weeks, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says on an exhale. “I want my bed, and I want my food.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, and she shrugs.

“I’m alive, like I said.”

I squeeze her hand. “Ya did say that.”

She sends me a small half smile as she cups my hands with hers. “You canceled tea?”

“Yeah, to come here.”

“Oh,” she says, and I think she’s gonna fight with me, but she doesn’t. “Yer right, I’m more important.”

“You are.”

She sends me a smile. “I talked to Meredith.”

I still, watching the side of her face. “Oh?”

“She told me ya had a man in yer bed this morning.” I swallow hard. “The bartender from the pub?”

Stupid Meredith. Doesn’t she have anything better to do than talk about what I’m doing? “Yeah, his name is Jackson.”

She bites her lip. “I’m surprised security let him in.”

“They tried not to.”

She’s fuming, I can see it, but she doesn’t yell. Instead, she reaches for her iPad, holding it on her lap. “We need to discuss a few things with the schedule.”

I eye her. Waiting. Is that all she’s going to say? Carefully, I ask, “What about it?”

“We need to extend it to spring.”

My eyes widen. “Spring?”

She nods before meeting my gaze, her eyes sad. “I’ve lost feeling in my arm and leg on this side of my body,” she says, tapping my hand that is holding hers. “I need therapy since I can’t get around like I used to.”

My heart picks up in speed. I knew she wouldn’t be right back at it, but spring? “You told me that when you made it through this, I’d be off the hook, Ma, that you would take over.”

She nods. “I know, my love, but I can’t be the face of our family in a wheelchair wearing a wig. I need yer help.”

But, but…Jackson is leaving. I want to go with him.

“Until the spring, though?”

“Yes,” she says, her eyes locking with mine. “We all knew I wouldn’t bounce back right away.”

“Yeah, but the spring is almost four months away.”

“Ya have somewhere to be?”

I don’t answer her, looking away as I chew on my lip. Jackson is adamant about leaving, but surely, he can wait for me. It would only be an extra three months here. He loves it here. He loves his jobs, and he is loved by everyone.

Surely, he can wait.

“You haven’t forgotten about the gala tomorrow? Yer dress should be at the house.”

“It is, and I’m going—” I pause, watching her. I’m unsure if this is a good idea, but then, I don’t want her to find out anyway but from me. “With Jackson.”

Her eyes cut to me, her lips pressing together. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Jackson is taking me.”

“The bartender?”

“Yeah,” I say, holding her gaze. I refuse to be shy about him. I’m proud of who he is. “And he isn’t just a bartender, Ma. He is actually a jack-of-all-trades. He’s on holiday, working to pay for his adventures.”

Her eyes are narrowed, glaring into mine. “I don’t care what he is or what he does. He is not of noble birth.”

I scoff. “Neither are we! We just have old money, and someone somehow scammed this town into thinking we were royalty.”

“Lena Élodie!”

I laugh. “It was probably great-great-great-grandma Élodie.”

“Nonetheless! You will not take some bartender to the Dublin Cancer Gala. Everyone who is anyone will be there.”

“Yeah, along with Jackson and me.”

“Lena!”

“What, Ma?” I ask, and then I hold up my hand. “Please calm down, yer face is turning red.”

“’Cause yer killing me! You know better. Go with someone from the list I gave you. All good, noble men.”

“But they aren’t Jackson,” I tell her before looking at my hands. “He’s important to me. He is amazing—”

“Ah, Lena, I’ve heard this, and then the boy raped ya. I won’t have it happen again.”

I gawk at her, my heart falling into my gut. “Jackson would never.”

“And we thought that of the gobshite Casey.”

“Ma, no. This is different. Jackson is a good man.”

“He’s after ya for yer money.”

“No, he isn’t, but everyone else is!”

“Ah, Lena, if they have money, they don’t need yers.”

“He has money,” I yell, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Lena, don’t lie about him to make him seem better. I know what a piece of shite looks like—”

“He is amazing,” I sneer, and then I stand. “And for someone who wants my help, you’d think you’d treat the person I am with—”

“Yer with! What in the world, Lena? You aren’t with anyone.”

“I am with him,” I say firmly. “And there is nothing you can do about that.”

Her eyes widen as much as they can, her mouth parting as she shakes her head. “You have a duty to this family.”

“And I will honor it, like I said, but if you want me to do more than what we agreed on, then I suggest you watch how ya speak of him.”

“He is nothing, Lena. He is just a plaything for ya.”

“No, he is way more than that.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Don’t ya walk away from me.”

But I’m already leaving.

My body is trembling, my heart is in my shoes, but I refuse to let her know that her words hurt me. I thought that we were getting somewhere, that she was starting to accept I couldn’t be what she wanted me to be. But her eyes, the judgment and hatred that swirl deep within them, make it clear she believes there is no other way but her way.

And that doesn’t work for me.

I don’t get far down the hall when my da falls into step with me. Grabbing my arm, he stops me, his eyes meeting mine. “Lena—”

Tears threaten to fall. I thought we had made progress, Ma and me, but no, we are right back where we were at the start. I’m sure I knew this would happen, but yet, my heart aches. Not meeting his gaze, I say, “I’ve got to go.”

“No,” he says sternly, holding me close. “I heard it all.”

Unable to hold in my tears, I say, “She’s impossible!”

“That may be, but, my dear, we need you.”

My face scrunches up. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s worse off than she lets on,” he says then, and when his eyes start to fill with tears, my heart twists in my chest.

“What?”

“They aren’t sure she’ll regain any movement in her arm or leg. They told me not to hope for the stars and moon because the damage in her brain is extensive.”

“But she is fine!”

“But it won’t be like that. With the tumor they took out, she could start to lose her memory.” I press my hand to my chest. “It’s an uphill battle from here, and I need both of my children to help me.”

“But, Da—” I start to say, but then he begins to sob.

“I can’t do this all on my own. I need you, I need you to do what she can’t, or she’ll never be happy.”

But what about what makes me happy?

Reaching for me, he holds me close to him, hugging me tightly, and I wrap my arms around his large body. Unlike when a lass hugs her da, I don’t feel safe. I feel alone. I don’t have the relationship with my da the way some lassies do. He was always so busy. Always working. My ma was my best friend before I left. Before I found myself in Dublin.

But he is my da, and I love him.

My heart aches for my ma. While she pisses me off, she is my ma, and I don’t want her to suffer. I thought we had beat this thing, but apparently, we hadn’t. I don’t know what will happen, but I do know one thing.

I can’t leave my family.