“This is exactlywhat I told ye yesterday,” Elijah interrupted, his voice tight with barely controlled fury. “Ye’re here to teach them. Nae to fix me family. Nae to interfere with how I choose to raise them.”
“And I toldye yesterday that I cannae just stand by and watch them hurt!”
“That’snae yer decision to make!”
“Then maybe ye made a mistake hirin’me!” Piper shot back. “Because I’m nae the kind of woman who can watch children suffer and do nothin’ about it!”
“Then maybe ye’re right.Maybe I did make a mistake.”
The words hungin the air between them like poison. Piper felt something cold settle in her stomach.
“Is that what ye want?”she asked, her voice suddenly quiet. “For me to leave?”
Elijah opened his mouth,then closed it. Some of the fury drained from his expression, replaced by something more complicated. “I want ye to do the job I hired ye for. Nay more, nay less.”
“The jobye hired me for includes carin’ about yer children’s wellbein’.”
“It includes teachin’them. That’s all.”
“That’s nae all,and ye ken it!” Piper’s frustration boiled over again. “Ye cannae separate teachin’ from carin’! Ye cannae expect me to spend every day with those bairns and nae form attachments! And ye cannae expect me to watch them break their hearts tryin’ to earn yer love and just ignore it!”
“I do love them,”Elijah said, and for the first time, his voice cracked. “I love them more than anythin’ in this world.”
“Then show them!”Piper took a step toward him. “Talk to them. Spend time with them. Let them see that they matter to ye as more than just responsibilities!”
“It’s nae that simple.”
“It is that simple!It’s exactly that simple!”
“Ye daenae understand!”Elijah ran a hand through his hair, his composure finally cracking. “Every time I look at them, I see Catherine. I see how I failed her. How I wasnae fast enough, strong enough, good enough to save her. And I think… if I let meself get too close to them, if I let meself love them the way I should… I’ll fail them too. I’ll let them down when they need me most.”
He stopped,seeming to realize he’d said too much.
Piper stared at him,her anger draining away as understanding crashed over her. “Ye think keepin’ yer distance will protect them.”
“I ken it will.”
“But it willnae. It’s hurtin’them. Can’t ye see that? Yer distance is doin’ more damage than any physical threat ever could.”
“At least they’realive to be hurt,” Elijah said bitterly. “At least they’re safe.”
“But are they happy?Do they feel loved?”
“They’re children. They daenae understand.”
“They understand perfectly!”Piper’s voice rose again. “They understand that their faither doesnae want to be near them. That somethin’ about them is so painful he cannae bear to look at them for more than a few minutes at a time. They understand that they’re somehow failin’ ye, even though they’re just children tryin’ to earn their faither’s love!”
“They daenae think that.”
“They do!”
Elijah flinchedas if she’d struck him.
“I kenye never meant it. But that doesnae change what’s happenin’.” Piper’s voice softened slightly. “Ye’re so busy protectin’ them from threats that might never come that ye’re blind to the damage ye’re actually causin’.”
“I daenae kenhow to be what they need,” Elijah admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “After Catherine died, somethin’ in me changed. And I… I daenae ken how to fix it.”
“Then learn,”Piper said simply. “Start small. Have breakfast with them. Ask them about their day. Listen when they talk instead of just givin’ orders.”
