Page 60 of Desire of a Highlander

“Chief!” the young man called. “There ye are!”

Ronan’s stomach tightened with dread. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Naught. I came to tell ye that David’s awake.”

Ronan felt something inside him loosen. “He is?”

“Aye. Faye thinks he’s going to make it.”

Ronan closed his eyes briefly. Thank the Lord. Relief washed through him so strongly his knees felt weak and he had to brace himself on a nearby tree trunk. Eamon, he noticed, was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

“What’s troubling ye?” Ronan asked.

The young man shifted awkwardly. “I’m sorry, chief.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“If I’d been paying more attention—”

“Eamon.”

“I should have spotted them. If I’d been more careful, then David wouldnae have been hurt.”

The guilt on the lad’s face looked painfully familiar. “It wasnae yer fault,” Ronan said sternly.

“But—”

“It wasnae.” His voice hardened. “Those men were lying in wait. They fooled all of us.”

Eamon looked unconvinced so Ronan put a hand on his shoulder. “I need ye to listen to me. I’ll say it again just so it’s clear. It wasnae yer fault. Understood?”

Slowly, Eamon nodded and the tension left his shoulders.

Ronan removed his hand. “Good. Have ye seen Elodie?”

“Aye, she went out to the clearing near the burn.”

Ronan let out a slow breath. The thought of how he’d left things between them made his stomach twist. “Get back to yer post. Take the dogs with ye.”

Eamon nodded and walked away, calling Bran and Skye to heel. Ronan watched him go then turned back towards the Steading. He slowed as he approached the clearing and peered through the trees. Just as Eamon had said, Elodie was sitting by the burn with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them, the sun glinting in her dark hair.

Ronan slowed and simply stood looking at her. The sight of her hit him with the force of a hammer blow. The wounded look in her eyes after their argument earlier cut him like the sharpest dagger. He never wanted to hurt her. Never.

He cleared his throat and Elodie looked around, her expression brightening when she saw him. His chest constricted painfully. God help him, he didn’t deserve her.

“Any news on David?” she asked him. That was Elodie through and through, her first thought always for others.

“Aye. He’s awake. Faye thinks he will be all right.”

Elodie closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. “Oh thank goodness.”

Ronan sat down cross-legged beside her. The stream burbled softly nearby, filling the air with its gentle speech. There were a hundred things he wanted to say but now that he was here he couldn’t seem to put them into words.

Finally, he cleared his throat. “I came to apologize.”

She cocked her head at him. “Apologize? For what?”

“For being an arse.”