Chapter Thirteen
When she woke the next morning, Skye was alone in the bed. Sun shone through the window, but it was faint, still early. She stretched then swirled the still-warm bedding over her shoulders before she got up to peek out the window.
Between the sun yesterday and the warmer air that had remained through the night, a good bit of the snow had kept up a steady drip during the night and melted enough that it was passable. The white that had blanketed the old pines and oaks had disappeared, and the sun glistened off the wet branches as the beauty of the familiar landscape washed over her. She soaked it in and tried to commit everything to memory. It would have to sustain her for a lifetime.
It had nearly ripped her heart in two yesterday when Brodie admitted he couldn’t stay. She didn’t know what held him back, but it was for the best. She had an obligation to the MacDonald clan and couldn’t indulge the delusion that they could once again be happy. And she would never put herself in the position for Brodie to leave her alone and vulnerable again.
Turning her thoughts to today’s visit to Kentillie, she took a calming breath. It had been so long since she’d seen her friends. Had they changed as much as she had?
“’Tis a beautiful sight,” Brodie said as his warm arms closed around her from behind. She smiled and sank into the welcoming shelter of his body.
“Aye. ’Tis sad to see it go.” She looked wistfully at the snow as it melted. It was a reminder their time together was almost done.
“Nae, I mean ye. I could never get enough of this view,” his voice burred into her ear.
She smiled and leaned farther into him. “It feels like a dream. Too good to be true.”
Brodie tightened his embrace and burrowed his head next to hers. “Come, love. Let’s break our fast and get to Kentillie.”
“Has it changed much?” She tightened her fists on the plaid and pulled it tighter around her while she let her thoughts drift to happy times and friends.
“Nae.” He loosened his grip and turned her around to face him. Giving her a soft kiss on her forehead, he said, “Everything is pretty much the same. Ye ken about Donella’s babe.”
As girls, they had spent many a day planning their lives out together. Donella’s dreams had come true. Hers had crashed like fragile pottery on stone.
…
The last few days with Skye had been more than Brodie had ever dreamed could be. Regret spiked through him. He had another day or two before he would have to face his lonely existence again.
Skye cut into his silent revelries. “Is something amiss?”
“Aye, love. I dinnae want to leave.”
“Och, Brodie, I ken.” Her free hand fisted on her chest over her heart, then she placed it over the same spot on him.
He opened the door and a rush of cold air blew in. As they stepped through the threshold hand in hand, his gaze drifted around to see that the melting snow was undisturbed and no threats were visible.
Skye continued to hold his hand as the door clicked behind them, and they strolled to retrieve the horse for the short journey to Kentillie. Once there, he could speak to Lachlan about protection around the cottage and Skye until he could clear the MacDonald and the laird could take her to safety.
As they neared the castle, the old oak where she’d first told him she loved him came into view, and he smiled. He drew the horse up short and jumped down, then reached up to take her hand.
“Come, love. Trust me. There is something I want to show ye.” He squeezed her hand again, and she swung her leg around to slide into his waiting arms. The ice-topped, pearly white ground crunched under their feet as he drew her to the spot.
It was the sacred place where, on that long ago day, they had snuck away from her father’s watchful eye. He still remembered the way her chest rose and fell from the exertion of the run and the thrill of finding a few moments alone unsupervised.
Her flushed cheeks had been beautiful, but the way she licked her lips as he took her hands in his had undone him. The feel of her soft body pushed against the trunk of the tree as he had pursued her there remained etched in his memory. He had carved their initials just days before she had left him.
He pointed. “I did this after the first time we made love.”
Her jaw dropped as her gaze landed on the letters. Her fingers traced the smooth etchings indented in the bark. “It looks as if it was always part of the tree.” She took his hand, pulling it to her cheek. “I am sorry, Brodie. I am sorry for everything we lost.”
He thought to pull her back toward “their” home and take her in his arms again, to never leave the shelter of her warm embrace, but the clan needed him and she deserved a normal life, not that of a spy’s wife who would be in constant danger.
“Keep looking at me like that, lass, and we willnae make it to Kentillie today.”
“Would that be so bad?”
Her eyes turned a darker shade of green, a combination of jade and deep emerald, sultry and hooded as they skimmed up and down his frame. His cock jerked in response to her gaze, coupled with the mischievous grin she shot him. Oh, he wanted so badly to turn her around and march her back into his bed.
He groaned and reluctantly pulled back. “Later. We will make time for that later. Let’s get to Kentillie before ye destroy my resolve.”