“Ye best leave Scarlett be. She has all she needs to fulfill her,” he responded in a quiet brogue, using some of the phraseology Scarlett had used upon him in years past. “And worries aplenty wi’oot ye heaping more upon her.”
“You expect us to just walk away from our biggest moneymaker?”
“Aye, I do. Wi’ haste,” Laird’s accent held a hint of warning. This man with his carefully trimmed goatee and smarmy smile had once been both ally and adversary of his wife. A protector. Which side he was on now was difficult to ascertain, but Laird needed to make sure the battle lines were clear. “I warn ye, I may allow Scarlett to fight her own battles wi’ her mother, but I willnae let anyone hurt her in any way. If ye bring pain of any sort upon her, my wrath will be returned upon ye tenfold. Ye hae my promise.”
“Are you serious?”
“Serious? I would gi’ my life to protect her.”
“Give your life?” Tyrone shook his dark head as if Laird’s phrasing were as foreign to him as many modern idioms were to Laird. “Who says things like that anymore?”
“Is protecting those ye love such an old-fashioned concept?” he asked. “Scarlett is mine and what is mine, I safeguard.”
To Laird’s surprise, the man smiled and relaxed. “As much as a feminist Scarlett is, I never thought I’d see the day when she let a man call herhislike that. Does she know you do that? Claim her like that?”
“She is my wife.”
“Damn.” Tyrone crossed his own arms and smiled, this time with genuine humor and a touch of approval. “You’re actually in love with her, aren’t you? Not just with Scarlett Thomas superstar, but withher.”
This man didn’t deserve any affirmation of the personal feelings shared between him and Scarlett. Laird continued to stare at him. To his surprise, the man smiled more broadly.
“Good for you then. For her. I’ll lose a mint if she doesn’t come back into the fold, you know.”
That reference Laird understood. “She willnae. I can promise ye.”
“Yes, I can see that now. Perhaps even understand it to a degree.” For a split second, something akin to desolation crossed the man’s face before the fleeting expression was gone and the oily smile was back in place. “For what it’s worth, I’ll try to cushion the worst of all this for her. If I can. And her mother, too, though that will be more difficult. She’s a regular bitch.”
The overture surprised Laird after all he’d heard about the man from Scarlett. “Ye’d hae my thanks if ye could manage it.”
“If there’s anything else I can do to help, give me a call.” Tyrone withdrew a rectangle of stiff paper and held it out to him.
Laird took the calling card then shook the man’s extended hand. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m well able to protect my family wi’oot yer assistance.”
“I’ll bet you are. I would love to hear how you met her and managed to hide all of this someday.”
“I wouldnae count on it.”
Tyrone laughed, humor and approval in the sound. “I like you, James. You really might be just what she needs.”
“Aye, I am.”
“Keep her humble, will you?” Tyrone turned and took a few steps down the hall before turning back. “I kind of like knowing she’s met her match, you know? She’s put the fear of Scarlett Thomas into too many men over the years.”
Laird’s nod was brisk but inwardly he smiled at the man’s sentiment. Aye, his lass had answered every push with a shove when he’d first met her. Every meeting between them fought like foes on a battlefield. The habit had aggravated and intrigued. The years since had never been dull with his spirited lass at his side.
God help him, he wished he were as confident they had many more years to come, but ill feelings had beset him that he couldn’t dispel.
Something far more malevolent than his mother-in-law was coming for them. He could feel it with a dire foreboding.
Scarlett
“I don’t care whether theNational Enquireris posting pictures of me in articles of celebrities aging badly, or whether every damn person on this planet is analyzing every last bit of video of me from the past year trying to pinpoint the moment they should have noticed I was pregnant. I care nothing about them. Nothing.” Scarlett repeated the word with solid emphasis. “All I care about is making sure my daughter is healthy and taking her home.”
“Back to Memphis?” Olivia cried. “And that man, too, I suppose? I have no idea what you’re playing at, Scarlett, but you need to get over this nonsensical rebellion of yours and get back to work.”
“No, Mother. I told you already, I’m done with it. All of it,” Scarlett reminded her. “I will not change my mind, so please stop pestering me.”
“Of all the…!” Her mother huffed. “Ungrateful.”
