Emmy cast her husband a wry look but stopped short of a full eye roll. “In this case, I do.”
Connor’s gorgeous dimples winked at her, teasing a jolt of lust from deep within.Ugh, they were supposed to still be on their honeymoon! Instead of beds and lovemaking, all she could think about was everything that could go wrong.
“What is it?” Scarlett asked, barely away from the little miracle she’d born.
Who could blame her? The babywasa miracle and tugged at Emmy’s heartstrings and maternal instinct. Knowing children awaited her, but not having the forethought to askwhenwas maddening. But her foray into motherhood wasn’t the issue weighing most heavily at the moment.
“We’re here and of course Donell is nowhere to be found. So, assuming we’re stuck here for the time being…” God, she prayed it was only for the time being.
Scarlett looked over the incubator at her husband who cradled their sleeping toddler in his arms. Her expression was troubled.
Rhys leapt up on the bed, crossing his legs at the ankle and his arms behind his head. “Keep trust. Keep faith. That’s the Hepburn motto. We’ll make it home soon enough.”
Laird nodded but without his brother’s humor. “Aye, our family motto should be shared by us all forthwith. Faith we will make it home. All of us.”
“I’m sure we will,” Emmy agreed, thoughsurewas a pretty strong word. Prayed was more accurate. “But what do we do in the meantime?” she pressed. “I mean, look at us. A set of scrubs is all well and good. We’re not getting stared at anymore, but this is literally all we have. No money, no place to stay.”
“Could we no’ continue staying here?” Rhys asked.
Emmy’s brows rose. “Would you want to? This room may be the best they’ve got but is too cramped for all of us. Even if we could stay. I think we can all attest to that after sleeping on cots last night.”
They’d overcrowded the room and one another, but where else were they to go? Reporters still crawled the hospital, looking for an in. A chance to get at Scarlett.
Shaking her head, Emmy continued, “They’re being lax in the rules here probably because y’all scare them to death, but we’ll have to go sooner or later.”
Rhys nodded his agreement. “Aye, I’ve explored these halls to my heart’s content already. My legs could use a satisfying stretch and my belly more hearty fare than the…what did ye call it? Cafeteria? What they serve here.”
Laird and Connor both agreed wholeheartedly. Big men with healthy appetites. They were probably starving for meat and ale. And fresh air, too, as Rhys said. Neither Laird nor Rhys seemed the type to spend time indoors. Connor certainly wasn’t. “So how are we going to manage?”
“I doubt I’ve coin enough in my purse to suffice. And we’ve already seen it wouldnae be accepted anyway. Mayhap we could sell it, as it might be considered antique at this point in time,” Connor suggested. Clearly he’d been thinking about their situation as well. “Our traveling clothes wisnae worth much, but the three of ye wore significant gems and jewelry. We could pawn some of them.”
Rhys scratched his short beard thoughtfully. “The gems on my doublet were but wee chips but on the whole may fetch a pound or two.”
Or a thousand in today’s exchange. If they could find a buyer. Emmy grimaced. So many ifs. “Maybe.Ugh, if I’d known all this would be happening, I would have brought my purse along, though I doubt my debit card is still active.”
Scarlett, finally registering the conversation, tore her gaze away from the baby. Her brown eyes rich with awareness. “But mine is, I bet.”
“What? You said you’ve been gone five years.”
“But Marius at the castle said I’d only been gone for a few days, right?” Scarlett pointed out. “There’s a chance, maybe a good one, all my stuff is still here. I didn’t take my purse back with me when Donell sent me the second time.”
“Aye, ye did,” Laird countered. “I remember it.”
Scarlett shook her head. “No, that was just a small handbag with my car key, room key, driver’s license and museum pass. I’m talking about my big cross-body one. You know? The brown leather one I had before?”
Rhys nodded. “Aye, I remember it. Laird maun be getting too doddering in his advanced age to recall.”
“You were saying, Scarlett?” Emmy cut in before the two brothers descended into another war of words. Rhys did love to get a rise out of Laird.
“My point is, my wallet, my phone…everything was in it. It should still be here. Somewhere.”
“In your car?” Connor suggested.
“But you didn’t see the car in the parking lot,” Emmy reminded her, and Scarlett shook her head again.
“No, I wouldn’t have had them both with me. It must be at my B and B.”
“What’s a B and B?” Rhys asked.
