All for the Heiress (17 page)

“If ye havena mucked anything up already,” Lachlan said sourly.

“Sorry,” she apologized for the umpteenth time, then smoothed Shane’s blankets.

His face was calm as he slept. When they arrived, he woke up long enough to vomit again, then she’d stitched him up, glad he was unconscious as there were no numbing agents, or even very sharp needles. She smiled at his messy hair, which she’d only had to shave a little in the back. He had two huge lumps and needed nine stitches in his head, and she’d put four stitches in his leg for good measure, recounting the boar attack while Piper assisted her in patching him up. Now that he was resting peacefully they urged her to get some hot food and tea, but she couldn’t relax until he woke up and spoke to her.

“Are you very worried about him?” Piper asked, sounding hopeful. “I mean, we are too, of course.”

Lachlan breathed out hard, and Mel saw him shake his head slightly at Piper. She dismissed their peculiar behavior and turned back to Shane.

“I think he’ll be okay. I wish he’d wake up, though. I just want to hear his voice.” She blushed at her yearning tone.

“Of course you do.” Piper hugged Mellie and patted Shane through his blankets. “It looks like everything will be fine now,” she said, more to Lachlan than her.

“Let’s go, love. The others will want to know his condition. Will ye be all right on your own, Mellie?”

“Yes,” Mellie said. “Please go.” She hadn’t meant to sound annoyed at them, but she was. They’d been different since she and Shane arrived, asking strange questions and staring at her, as if looking for clues to something. Perhaps they’d grown eccentric over the years.

“Do ye feel better now, love?” Lachlan asked Piper quietly on their way out, and Mellie saw her nod, then give her one last warm look before Lachlan dragged her away.

She wondered what that odd exchange was about, and another thing she found odd, was Lachlan knowing that Shane was with her out on the road. She figured Lachlan came back for her because future Magnus had spilled the beans, but she was positive he hadn’t seen Shane, who’d been out of sight the whole time.

Shane stirred and she forgot all about it. Leaning over him, she peered into his eyes and felt his forehead for fever. Lachlan and Piper were adamant about getting them back to their proper time as soon as possible, and as much as she hated the thought of him being jostled on the trip back to the castle, she wanted him to have proper treatment and antibiotics, not to mention pain relievers.

“Stop fussing,” he said, and his grouchy tone brought a smile to her face. “What are ye grinning about, when I feel like I got hit in the head with a brick.”

“It was a wooden club, and you got hit twice. Do you remember any of it?” she asked.

He closed his eyes. “I remember beating someone like I wanted to kill him, and now I’m here. Is this the Ferguson farm, then? Did we make it?” He sat up, clutching the back of his head, wincing harder when he brushed against his wound. “Are ye all right? That man—”

She pulled his hand away from his bandage, and felt grateful tears leaking from her eyes. “I’m okay. You however, have stitches. Don’t mess with my handiwork.”

“Ah, why are ye crying? And why are ye being so nice to me? Am I dying?”

“Who’s crying?” She swiped the tears away.

He frowned and pressed his knuckles into his eyes. “Everything’s blurry and I canna remember what happened. Did ye save us?”

She smiled and leaned in. “Oh, Shane, it was amazing. Lachlan rode up and took one of them out with a huge sword. Then Oliver pulled me onto his horse, swooped back his cape and said ‘Fancy meeting you here,’ like some sort of movie, while Lachlan dropped the other guy.”

Though his eyes were still glassy, Shane nodded appreciatively. “That does sound awesome,” he said. “Verra heroic, to be sure. I probably didna make anywhere near as good an impression on Catie when she first saw me.”

Mellie tutted and peeled back the blankets to check his leg. “Nonsense, she’s mad with worry. Oi, be still and let me check for swelling.”

“Did ye recall why ye came when ye saw Oliver again?” Shane asked, and she glanced up at his strained voice.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked, prodding at the gash on his leg more gently.

She didn’t want to talk about Oliver. Their original plan made her feel slightly sick to her stomach, but a rush of guilt made her feel obligated to go ahead with it, for Shane’s sake. She’d promised after all, and she did want him to be happy. It seemed more than a few days ago that all of this had sounded like a good idea.

“I’ll still be bait, if you want me to,” she said, risking another look at him.

She couldn’t make out what he felt when she locked eyes with him. He looked like he was in pain and she carefully inspected his leg to make sure nothing jabbed at it.

“That isna what I—” he paused and rubbed his eyes some more. “I dinna think—”

A dainty throat clearing from the doorway made her drop the blanket and quickly cover him back up, though she instantly felt ridiculous. Catie knew she had nursing experience, there was nothing to hide.

She got up as Catie moved forward, her gentle eyes full of concern, a questioning smile on her face.

“I hear ye had a bit of trouble on the journey,” she said, sliding into Mellie’s vacated seat.

Mellie made her way to the door, to give them privacy for their reunion, but something wouldn’t let her leave, and she stood in the middle of the room, trying to catch Shane’s attention to let him know she’d be back later.

He only had eyes for Catie, and the way he looked at her made Mellie feel like she was under water. She couldn’t breathe and her arms hung heavy at her sides. Her eyes burned and she finally found the will to get out of the room, unable to look at the happiness on his face. Happiness brought on by Catie.

“Oh, no,” she whispered as she fled down the hall.

She made it to her room and sat down in front of the fire, unable to get warm from the shock of her horrible realization. She was in love with Shane.

***

She washed her hands and face with the water someone had kindly left for her, actively denying her feelings the entire time. She paced the room, muttering to herself that it wasn’t possible. Of course she liked Shane. Even though they’d grown apart, she’d never disliked him. Even the bitchy villagers who talked about his antics liked him. You couldn’t not like Shane.

But love him? Not like a friend, not like a brother. She wanted him to look at her the way he’d looked at her out on the road, right before he’d kissed her. She wanted him to kiss her again. More than anything she wanted back in that room with him, finding the thought of him and Catie alone unbearable.

A sharp pain made her stop pacing and she pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart actually hurt. She was a fool of the first order, and needed to get her confusion under control. There was no way she was in love with Shane Brodie. She was deeply unsettled by all she’d been through, that was all.  

She sank into the armchair, tears leaking from her eyes. Memories assaulted her, images of Shane in the background of her life, doing little things for her at every turn. She leaned over and buried her face in her skirts. They’d been friends, real friends, the kind who truly liked the same things, who felt completely at ease with the other. Now she didn’t feel comfortable around him at all. Just as they were settling back into the friend zone, that kiss had thrown her, heaved her into a place she could never return from.

“Please, tell me what I can do for you,” Oliver asked.

With a start, she sat up straight to see him sitting on the edge of the chair beside her. If he’d knocked, she hadn’t heard him. She snuffled up the last of her sorrow and turned on him.

“Why haven’t you married Catie yet?”

His jaw dropped and he stammered a bit, taken aback. “We, that is I … the truth is, she doesn’t want to get married,” he finally admitted.

She felt lower than a snail. He didn’t have to answer her rude question, he certainly didn’t have to be so honest. She stared at him, far past having manners, and tried to drum up some of her old feelings toward him. Had she even had any? She’d wanted so badly to be in love. Everyone around her seemed to be, and for them it was wonderful.

He was as gallant as ever, and he’d risked his life to help save her from the bandits, but she didn’t feel anything toward him that could be described as love. She only felt a mild gratitude, as she would to anyone who helped her. The way she thought being in love should feel was the opposite of how it really felt.

It felt awful.

“I’m sorry, Oliver. I’m so very tired. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“Not at all,” he jumped to say, once again amazing her with his kindness.

It was easy to be nice to people who didn’t matter, though. While it always seemed the ones who were most important were the ones you wanted to throttle half the time.

“Why do you stay, if she won’t marry you?” she asked.

“I love her,” he said simply, and fresh tears formed in her eyes. “It’s enough for me for now. I think she loves me as well, but there are things she wants to do first.”

She nodded as the tears splashed onto her folded hands. “So, you’ll just wait?”

“I’ll wait,” he said. He took a handkerchief and mopped her face for her. “Get some rest.” He smiled and stood up. “I’m very glad to see you again, Mellie. Catie speaks of you often. You were a good friend to her when she arrived in your time, and I believe you helped her in more ways than one.”

His words had the twin effect of cheering her up and making her feel worse. If Catie had never glimpsed her so-called modern, independent life, perhaps they’d be happily on their way to a family by now. But he seemed content, loving Catie in his one-sided way. Perhaps she could learn to be content as well.

As he left, Catie came in, and she could see by their exchanged looks that it wasn’t a one-sided love. Catie could deny it all she wanted, but her eyes told the truth. It was probably what gave Oliver so much hope. She felt sorry for Shane and sorry for herself. She didn’t want to be his consolation prize.

“Piper’s sitting with him,” Catie told her when she stood to get back to Shane’s room, terrified to leave him alone. “Let me visit with ye for a bit since my tyrant brother’s going to make ye go back tomorrow.”

They chatted and caught up for a while. Mellie didn’t have much to report since it had only been a little more than a week since she’d seen her, but for Catie several months had gone by. She even made her laugh at some of Quinn’s foibles as he settled into full time leadership of the clan. In the summer, she planned to visit her Aunt Abernathy, and hoped to go to France if she could learn more than three sentences of its slippery language.

“Quinn’s being verra patient right now, so I need to strike while the iron is hot, and get everything done that I want to do. I doubt he’ll let me get to twenty and remain unmarried, even though Lizzie’s a great help with that argument, being on the shelf for so long herself.”

“I hope all your dreams come true, Catie.” Foolishly, she started crying again.

“Ah, Mellie, please dinna cry, it’s so unlike ye. I know ye’ve been through a harrowing ordeal, but ye’re safe now.” Flustered, Catie patted her hand, and offered her another handkerchief.

Lizzie peeked her head around the door, and came in holding a loaded tray. Seeing the waterworks, she rushed to Mellie’s side, plying her with tea, and showing her the hot, savory food she’d brought.

“A nice sausage fixes everything right up,” she said, holding out a greasy, delicious smelling piece of meat. “And we have a brilliant herb woman who lives on the property. This tea will knock you out better than any modern sleeping pill.”

“I’m all right,” she said, waving off the embarrassing attention. “Thank you.”

She took a bite of food and sipped the tea so they would leave her alone. As soon as they left, she planned to park herself at Shane’s bedside, sleep on the floor if she had to, in case he got a fever or needed anything. It stabbed at her heart, the thought of being near him, but it stabbed deeper to be away.

Since Lizzie refused to leave until she ate every last scrap of food, she finished the meal and made a big show of feeling much better, so they finally left her alone. The few sips of medicinal tea she’d drank really did make her feel sleepy, but she went back to Shane’s room to check on him.

He was asleep, only the top of his head poking out from his mound of blankets, and Piper sat diligently by his side. She smiled tiredly at Mellie, and for the first time, Mellie realized she was at least six months pregnant.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have come after me in your condition.” She exchanged places with her while Piper stood up and stretched.

“I’m fine. As you know, it’s not my first rodeo.”

Mellie felt Shane’s forehead for fever, and his eyes blinked open for a moment, but he rolled onto his side, still asleep. Piper watched her from the doorway for such a long time, she felt as if she might burn a hole in her, and turned questioningly.

Piper shrugged. “Just glad to see both of you together,” she said. “I mean, both of you safe.” She yawned. “I have to get some sleep before I fall over. You should, too. I’m sure a maid can sit with him, if you’re worried.”