“I will.” Just not yet.
Another incoming call appears on my screen.
Declan.
“I’ve got to go, Car. Declan is calling me.”
She nods. “Tell the fucker that if he doesn’t step up, he’ll have me to deal with.”
Carol ends the call.
I’m so excited and apprehensive about speaking to Declan that I lean against the horse for support and almost lose my phone in the hay when it slips through my fingers.
“Amelia?” His voice literally sends shivers down my spine and sucks tears from my eyes. “Are you with Sheriff?”
A sound somewhere between crying and laughter slips out before I can stop it. “I wanted to get out of the house for a little while.”
He smiles, and it’s as if someone has smoothed out all the tension lines from his face while he has been away. “I miss you so much, baby.”
“I miss you too. When are you coming home?”
Home.
I said it without thinking. Because this house feels like home when I’m with Declan.
“Tonight. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.” He looks like a kid who is saving the best news for last. “Everything is going to be alright, Amelia. I promise you.”
If he only knew…
12
DECLAN
I wake Amelia with a kiss.
It happens in fairy tales. Princesses get woken from deathly slumber by true love’s kiss. But believe me, the reality isn’t some magical moment that makes the audience go aww.
She’s in such a deep sleep on the couch in the living room, a blanket thrown over her, no doubt by Orla, that when my lips touch hers, she jolts from her dream with such a start, that her fist collides with my nose. Pain shoots between my eyes, and I feel blood trickling into my mouth.
“Oh my God, Declan, I’m so sorry.”
Amelia tips my head backward, pinches the bridge of my nose between her thumb and forefinger, and mops up the blood with the corner of the blanket.
“Does it hurt?”
I take the blanket off her and touch my nose gingerly. “I’ll live.” Then I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head.“I’m sorry for scaring you. I didn’t think. It’s just, you looked so beautiful lying there, that I couldn’t wait any longer to hold you.”
She nestles against me like she’s preparing to hibernate in my lap through the winter. “I’m glad you’re home.”
I tilt her face toward me, and there are tears in her eyes. “Hey, what are these for?” I catch them on my fingertip.
“I…” She sniffs loudly. “I missed you.”
“I came back as soon as my business was resolved.”
It turns out I was wrong about the Murrays. My family’s long-standing rivals didn’t kill Ruairi, and I have Eoghan to thank for finding the real killer.
Because while I was here falling hard and fast for Amelia, Emily Murray was being held hostage by my eldest son’s murderer. Eoghan formed his own alliance with Emily’s family, and together, they avenged Ruairi’s death and put the Irish feud behind us. Now, we can all move on, and I know exactly who I want by my side.
