Page 50 of A Healer for the Wicked Highlander

“Maybe,” Abigail said in a soft voice, “but he loves ye more than anythin’.”

“And maybe things will be different from now on,” Freya said, hopeful for them all.

Cody’s lips wobbled, and for a moment, he looked as though he wanted to argue. Then, with a deep sigh, he flopped backward onto the blanket, staring up at the sky.

“Still daenae want ye to go,” he muttered.

Freya smiled sadly. “Aye, lad. Neither do I.”

And for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t sure if she was speaking just for Cody’s sake.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Michael had barely set his quill down when the door to his study burst open.

“Da!”

Cody stormed in, his small face flushed, as his eyes were burning with determination. Michael leaned back in his chair, lifting a brow at his son’s abrupt entrance.

“Cody,” he said. “Is somethin’ wrong?”

“Aye.” Cody marched up to his desk, planting his hands on the polished wood. Michael had never seen him so… grown up. But the following words confirmed it. “Freya’s leavin’.”

Michael went utterly still.

For a moment, he thought he had misheard.

“Leavin’?” he repeated, his voice even.

“Aye.” Cody’s brows knitted together. “She said I’m better now, so she and her sisters will be goin’ home.”

Michael exhaled slowly, masking the sharp jolt of surprise that struck him. He should have expected this. Freya was a healer. She had done what she came to do. But the thought of her walking away, of never seeing her again, settled in his chest like a weight he hadn’t prepared for. It was soon… far too soon.

Cody’s voice softened. “Can ye nae make her stay?”

Michael studied his son. Cody rarely asked anything of him, not like this. But now, he looked at his father as if he truly believed Michael had the power to change this.

And the truth was… perhaps he did.

Michael exhaled, rising to his feet. “I’ll speak with her.”

Cody’s face lit up. “Ye will?”

“Aye.” He placed a steady hand on Cody’s shoulder. “But I make nay promises, lad.”

Cody nodded quickly, though his excitement was clear. Michael watched him go, waiting until the door closed before allowing himself a single breath of hesitation.

It was an unfamiliar predicament. He was a man who made decisions based on reason, not sentiment. A man who weighed risks and rewards with precision, ensuring that every choice he made was the correct one. And yet now, he found himself grasping for something that had no clear solution.

“Michael, what the hell have ye done to yerself?” he asked aloud, raking his fingers through his hair.

Freya would be leaving.

There was no fault in it. She had come to heal Cody, and she had done so. Her duty was fulfilled, and with it, she would return to her own life, her own path.

And yet…

The thought of her absence gnawed at him. It was a slow, unwanted ache.