With a deep intake of air to hold his temper and his tongue, Caelan remained silent in the doorway. He stared up at the ceiling, narrowing his eyes as he promised himself to teach the lass a few lessons in wifely manners once they returned to his beloved keep in Scotland.
The toilet seat thunked. Thank the gods and goddesses. The woman had finally given up and sat her fine round arse on the porcelain chamber pot. He pulled in another deep breath and blew out a victorious snort.
“I hate you!”
But her tone said otherwise. She sounded weary, injured, and in sore need of love. He would give her that and anything else she needed no matter how many times she swore she hated him. A slow smile teased at the corner of his mouth. He shifted his weight and leaned against the doorjamb. Hate was a powerful emotion, as strong as love, and more often than not, there was a very fine line between the two. As the sound of tinkling water filled the air, he allowed himself to smile even broader.
The roll that held the paper for wiping rattled, then the toilet flushed. He would not turn until she told him she was ready, but he kept alert and slyly watched her out of the corner of his eyes to make sure she remained steady on her feet.
She pulled herself up by hanging on to the sink, washed her hands and face, and dried them. Her pallor concerned him, but he would give her the space she needed as long as he could.
He tried not to smile at her stolen glances to make sure he kept his back turned. Little did she realize that years of war and skirmishes with other clans had trained him to almost be able to see out the back of his head. She held tight to the sink as she sidled over to her robe hanging on the hook. Her grimace as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it around her broke his heart and made him long to turn and hold her.
“Are you going to let me out of here or what?” she said hoarsely with her head bowed.
He turned, once more scooped her up into his arms, and carried her back to her bed. After settling her gently against the pillows, he helped her adjust her robe and covered her with the blanket. Then he perched on the side of the bed and took her chin in his hand to force her to look at him. “I am here to care for ye and to help ye heal. Nothing else. I am not one of those bastards from your past who mistreated ye so. I am a good man who intends to protect ye and keep ye safe with everything I have in me. Ye will allow me to do this. Ye will trust me, and ye will stop behaving as if ye are the only person in the world who knows what is best for ye. I did not come all this way to go back to Scotland empty handed, ye ken?” He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, then handed her another pill and the glass of water from the bedside table.
“I’ll be bringing ye some toast and a bit of coffee now,” he continued in a firm tone she would do well to heed, “then ye can go back to sleep. Take your wee pill now so ye can get the sort of rest that will mend your body.”
Her glare locked on him, she popped the tablet into her mouth and downed it with a swallow of water. Then shenarrowed her eyes into a leery squint. “What do you mean bygo back to Scotland empty handed?”
Shite.Well, he couldn’t very well un-ring a bell, now, could he? But now was not the time to explain, so he ignored her and headed for the kitchen.
CHAPTER 6
Propped in a ridiculously enormous amount of pillows in the middle of the bed, Rachel sat with her hands folded in her lap, narrowing her eyes to better focus on her plotting. This had to stop. Immediately. All she remembered of the past three days were brief periods of frustrating consciousness between lengthy fogs of drug induced sleep.
When she wasn’t awake and fighting for her independence, she was passed out cold thanks to the pain pills. Which was good since they had controlled the pain, but it was also bad because of the number of times she’d awakened to find herself protectively cradled in the arms of one very large enticing Highlander—and enjoying it a great deal more than she should. She would not get involved with that man. What was the point? He was returning to Scotland…eventually. She couldn’t remember if he had ever said when. She wanted to say that the sooner he left, the better—but she’d be lying to herself, and she knew it. The stubborn Scot had already worked his way through her armor. She clenched her teeth tighter and shook her head. No. She would not...She closed her eyes and fought the four-letter words filling her mind and her heart. No. Absolutely not. No way would she allow herself to love him. With a determined nod and an oath to makeit so, she decided there would be no more pain pills. Time to get over it the old-fashioned way of grinning and bearing it. In five days, she had to go back to work at the mill. Vacation time was almost up, and she couldn’t afford a leave without pay.
Whether or not the chivalrous Caelan MacKay liked it, his days as her primary caregiver were at an end. She had to get stronger, and the only way she would accomplish that was to get out of bed and start moving. The longer she idled away under the critical eye of her self-ordained keeper, the weaker she became. There was no other choice. She had to get back to work.
Tilting her head toward the partially opened bedroom door, she listened. All appeared to be quiet in the house. And if she wasn’t mistaken, the back door had closed with its usual squeaky thud after Caelan had pressed an entirely too tender kiss to her forehead while he thought she slept. A hard swallow did nothing to dislodge the lump of emotions that memory triggered. That mountain of a man was the most gentle and caring anomaly she had ever encountered, and he scared the living daylights out of her. She snorted away the whirl of insecurities churning through her. Now was her chance to start her more aggressive approach to her full recovery, not sit here thinkingwhat if...
“No daydreaming,” she ordered herself quietly.
As she eased out of bed, it pleased her to discover that her back and shoulders were loads less stiff and painful. Enough twinges remained to remind her of the failed battle with the stump, but she could at least move around now without clenching her teeth and probably even manage a sneeze without crying out in pain.
She crossed to the dresser, found a sweatshirt and jeans, and dressed as quickly as she possible. Dizzying weakness made her stop twice and lean against the bedside chair. “Too many days in bed,” she groaned as she leaned over and pulled on her socks.
Her clogs would be easier than sneakers, so she slipped those on and made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. She rolled her eyes at the memory of her most recent battle with Caelan when he had insisted on standing in the doorway while she bathed. He was so stubborn. But his worry for her and his caring was eating away at the walls she’d built around her heart.
“Damn him,” she muttered, rubbing her chest which had gone all warm and tingly at the thought of him.
She brushed her teeth, then attacked the tangles in her hair. Her attack softened as she remembered last night when he had taken the brush out of her hands and gently ran it through her long tresses until the curls shone and slipped through his fingers like ribbons of ebony silk—his words. Not hers.
She couldn’t remember a time when a man had aggravated her so much and also possessed the power to make her tingle with yearning whenever he walked into the room. Onecome hitherglance from those emerald eyes of his, and she felt the embers smoldering at her core. How could a man she had known for such a short time have the power to bring her to the point of bursting into a sexual bonfire by just smiling at her?
As she pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail, she huffed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Don’t even think about getting involved withMr. Scotland.He told you he’s only here for a short time. Remember?” Sad thing was, she feared it was too late. Already, she couldn’t imagine a life around here without him.
Sensing a pair of beady little eyes boring into her back, she turned to find Sam sitting in the doorway. He cocked his head, watching her intently.
“And you! The only male I ever fully trusted! You totally betrayed me, Sam.” She eased down into a squat and smiled as the wriggly pup balanced his front paws on her knees andcovered her face with kisses. “I know. I know. He can be very persuasive. I don’t blame you for doing what he asks.”
She lifted her chin to dodge more fervent kisses and scratched behind his ears. “But now I’m better, and it’s time you were back on my side. So, when you see him coming, you let me know before he gets here. Okay?” She pointed at the hallway, then couldn’t help but smile as Sam trotted ahead of her like the grand marshal of a parade.
After a deep breath to brace herself against what part of her would probably hurt, she yanked open the solid back door that always stuck during this time of year. The blinding sunlight angling into the house made her squint, but a smile came easy as she filled her lungs with fresh spring air. Sam nudged the broken screen door open with his nose and bounded down the steps. Ears perked and tiny body trembling at attention, he stood guard like an immovable sentinel in the middle of the cracked sidewalk.
Rachel propped open the main door with a kitchen chair, enjoying the warm breeze sweeping into the kitchen through the screen door. “The wind is out of the south. Maybe I can get the window over the sink open too. That’ll give us a much needed airing.”
