But they were absolutely staying overnight. Eva would never forgive him if they didn’t.
Once they’d cleared Thurles and were well and truly on their way, Dallan dove in.
“Alright, tell me about yourself. I want to knoweverything.”
Niamh giggled, looking at him in askance. “You’re going to have to be more specific, I’m afraid.”
“When did you become a healer? You never talked about healing at all, and now you’ve a reputation among the best.”
Her face paled, and Dallan’s heart sank. Why was he always getting it wrong? “I started studying herbs and treatments shortly after we left Nás.” Her voice, barely audible over the soft breeze that swept over the forests and farms, warned Dallan he’d touched on a dangerous topic. “I fell into it rather by accident but, once I realized that I could help people, I kept going. It started with helping a neighbor with a cough, or a child with an upset belly. Then more and more folk started coming by, and I kept searching for better ways to help them.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” he replied sincerely. “If anyone needed help, you were always the first one there. And often the most capable, I might add.”
“Flattery is unnecessary.”
“It isn’t flattery. ’Tis the truth. Do you think I would have trusted anyone else to help me hide Tóla’s armor after he insulted my sister? Who else would have been brave enough to run through that bull’s yard to save a duck?”
Her face lit up. “I forgot about the duck!”
Dallan hadn’t. He remembered every moment of that year.
“Alright, so you like healing. You like ducks. You have a cat. What else? Do you still embroider?”
“You remember my embroidery lessons?”
Dallan swallowed. “I remember everything.”
“Dallan—” she began.
But he didn’t like the tone of her voice. He knew she was going to push him away again. So he stopped her.
“Now, hear me out. I know that, for whatever reason, six years ago you thought being with me was a terrible idea. But that was six years ago. We’ve both changed. You wanted to start over, to move forward. What if we did it together? Would it be so awful?”
“Why?” she asked. “Why do you still want me after everything that happened? Why waste your time falling in love with someone who could break your heart?”
That very thought had occurred to Dallan. Over the past few days, he’d slowly realized the answer. “Because I’m not falling in love with you. I’ve loved you for the past seven years, and I don’t intend to stop anytime soon.”
“I don’t want to hurt you again.” The pain in her voice nearly broke him.
“Then don’t. Answer me one question, and we’ll forget this whole conversation until you bring it up again.” Dallan asked the question he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind since the day of Aodh’s attack. “Why are you wearing the ring?”
She looked down at the gold band, rolling it with her finger. “Because it feels like you’re still with me when I have it.”
Well, that cleared up nothing. And he’d sworn not to continue the conversation. So now instead of wondering why she wore the ring, Dallan was left to contemplate why she would leave him when she wanted him with her.
She seemed to sense his change of mood. “I know that probably doesn’t make any sense to you,” she admitted. “See, this is exactly what I meant. I’m still hurting you, even now, when I’m being honest.”
“I don’t know why you keep putting space between us.” Dallan moved his horse closer, so that he could reach her hand. “I see in your eyes that you still care for me. I hear it in your voice, if not in your words. If you truly feel nothing, then tell me now and I will leave you be.”
Dallan waited in the painful silence for her to deny any attraction between them. But the silence dragged on. After they crossed the River Suir, Dallan realized with relief that she wasn’t going to push him away this time.
“I discovered something when I spoke with Catrin last night.”
“Oh?”
“Catrin is fond of Aodh. Admiring, even.”
“What? That makes no sense!”
