“That was... unexpected,” she said quietly.
“Was it a good unexpected or a bad unexpected?” The question slipped out before he could stop it, and he immediately cursed himself for the vulnerability it revealed.
But instead of mocking him for it, Iris smiled, a real smile, warm and genuine and directed entirely at him.
“A very good unexpected,” she said softly. Then, louder, “Come on, Codie! Let’s turn ye into a proper Highland gentleman for yer first official clan outin’.”
As they disappeared down the corridor, Codie’s excited chatter echoing behind them, Elijah found himself standing alone in the empty sitting room, trying to figure out what had just happened.
I invited me son to come with us. When was the last time I did somethin’ like that with him?
He couldn’t remember. Couldn’t recall a single instance when he’d spontaneously included Codie in his daily activities, when he’d thought to share his responsibilities instead of shielding the boy from them.
But it was like scales had fallen from his eyes. And now, hearing his son’s laughter, seeing the way Codie had looked at him when he’d issued the invitation, like Elijah had just given him the greatest gift in the world, made him wonder if his careful distance was really protection at all.
Or if it’s just another kind of damage.
The sound of approaching footsteps broke through his brooding. Henry appeared in the doorway, looking curious.
“Everythin’ all right? Ye’ve been up here longer than expected, and the horses are gettin’ restless.”
“Change of plans,” Elijah said, pushing aside his uncomfortable self-reflection. “Me son. He’s comin’ with us.”
If Elijah had announced he was planning to sprout wings and fly to the village, Henry couldn’t have looked more shocked.
“Codie? Ye’re bringin’ Codie to the village?”
“He’s ten years old. Old enough to start learnin’ about his future responsibilities.”
“Aye, but... are ye sure about this? The lad’s never left the castle.”
“I’m sure.” Elijah’s tone brooked no argument. “We leave as soon as they come down.”
Henry stared at him for another long moment then nodded slowly. “Aye, me laird.”
But as his friend left to make the arrangements, Elijah caught his muttered words: “Well, I’ll be damned. She’s got him makin’ changes already.”
She.
Iris. Who had somehow managed to show him in less than a week what he’d been blind to for years. That his son wasn’t just a responsibility to be managed but a person who deserved to be included, to be treated like he mattered.
Getting’ too attached, carin’ too much. It’s dangerous.
But as he heard Codie’s excited voice echoing from down the corridor, and as he prepared to spend an entire day in the company of both his son and his wife, Elijah found himself wondering if some risks might be worth taking after all.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Where’s the third horse?”
Iris stood in the castle courtyard, looking between the two saddled horses and the three people who were supposed to ride them. Elijah was already mounted on his black stallion, looking every inch the Highland laird in his formal clan colors. But there was only one other horse, a gentle-looking mare with a sidesaddle.
Codie shifted nervously beside her, his small hands fidgeting with the straps of his traveling pack. “I... I cannae ride yet, Lady Iris,” he admitted quietly. “Faither says I’m too young for me own horse.”
“Too young?” Iris looked up at Elijah in surprise. “But ye’re ten years old. Most Highland children learn to ride before they can properly walk.”
“I was goin’ to teach him,” Elijah said curtly, “but there hasnae been time.”
Or ye havenae made time.
