“They can wait.”
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that the last of the sun was fading. She felt like she’d lived three days in the last few hours.
Black Cat appeared from somewhere and was sitting in the middle of the room, the tip of his tail swishing as he stared at her in disdain.
“I don’t think Black Cat likes ye here,” she said.
“He’ll have to grow accustomed to it.”
“How often will we have to accustom ourselves to yer presence?”
“However often I can get away.”
She wasn’t sure she liked that. She wanted a routine so she could plan her day. “I’ll no’ be stopping my chores and such whenever ye decide to pop in and out.”
“I’ll not ask that of you.”
Damn him. Every time she thought she could throw a roadblock into his plans, he just rode right around it or plowed his way through it.
“You’re panicking,” he said drowsily.
“I’m no’ panicking.” She was panicking. The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want her nice, calm life disrupted.
Iain kissed the top of her head. “Relax,mo gradh.”
“Ye’re asking me to change everything I’ve known for the past four years.”
“We’ll take it slow,” he told her. She sighed in agitation and Iain chuckled. “You think too much.” He tightened his arms around her. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she raised her head to listen as rain softly pattered against the roof.
“It’s raining,” he said as he laid his head back against the settee.
“It is,” she said.
“I prefer not to ride home in the rain.”
“It would be terribly cold and uncomfortable,” she admitted.
“Aye. That it would.”
“I suppose ye’ll have to stay the night.”
She could feel him draw in a silent breath, and she grinned, turning her face to bury it in his warm, solid chest. He smelled of leather and horse and the outdoors. The anticipation of him spending the night made her warm on the inside.
“I should probably bring some firewood in,” he said, his voice resonating through her. “Before the rain gets too bad.”
“There’s some stacked just outside the back door.”
“I need to bring Ord into the stable and make sure he is fed and bedded down for the night.”
“Aye.”
Neither of them moved until the thunder rumbled closer.
Cait reluctantly rolled off of him, and Iain left to get the firewood and tend his horse. She felt like she’d been dragged by a horse. She’d had no idea that facing her emotions and her past could hurt physically as well as spiritually.
She had a lot to contemplate, but Iain was right. Every time she thought about it, she panicked. She didn’t want to think about it tonight. She wanted to enjoy being with Iain and explore the possibility of more time with him. One day, one moment, at a time.
Those would be her new words to live by. One moment at a time.
