Be brave, sweetheart. Mum’s beautiful face flashed in my mind.
Okay, Mum.
I pulled back, meeting Quinn’s eyes. They were bright with tears. “I want to be brave with you, Quinn.”
“Yes.” He pressed desperately. “Taran …”
“I’ll be brave with you. Let’s … let’s try again.”
He bent his head, kissing me with all the relief and longing he felt. The salty taste of my tears only made him kiss me deeper. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sank into him, body and soul.
For years I’d been terrified of this. Fearful of the light that Quinn had brought into my life … because there was nothing but shadows when it went away.
His love was like a drifting dawn I’d been afraid to anchor to so it could transform into sunrise.
But I didn’t want to be afraid anymore.
The light was worth battling the fear.
44.Quinn
The charity shop construction was causing a bit of a ruckus on Main Street. People kept trying to get too close to it, and we were constantly waving them back while my team put the framework together.
Ramsay had a good mind for engineering, so he was directing the team using the plans the kit-build maker had sent over on how to piece the building together.
It had been almost two weeks since the night of the storm that had changed everything between me and Taran. We were together now, which brought me no small amount of contentment mixed with an excitement I hadn’t felt since I was a teenager. There had been no public declarations, though our friends knew we were in a relationship, and the rest of Leth Sholas were catching on quickly enough.
Especially as Taran brought coffees over to the site every day and wasn’t shy with her affection.
In other fantastic news, Eoghan McCall had left Glenvulin. He would be charged for dangerous driving and vandalism, but it wouldn’t go to trial. With him gone, we’d hopefully never have to see him again. Since his departure, there had been no more disturbances, proving my theory that he was behind the attackin Oban too. It galled me we didn’t have the evidence to put that one on him.
Even though he was a bastard, I’d once felt a tiny spark of sorrow for a man who genuinely seemed to be grieving his son. Now, however, I had no sympathy for him. The rage in that man was a danger to everyone around him. I didn’t want him near Taran.
Good fucking riddance.
It was a drizzly day, not the best weather to be working in, but if we didn’t work in days like this, we’d never work. Taran had been back and forth with coffees for the crew, and I turned to watch her hurry toward me in her rain jacket, two more cups in hand.
One for me and one for her.
She leaned up on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss before handing the coffee cup to me.
“Thanks, Mo luaidh.” My voice was a bit rough with emotion because it was still surreal that Taran was here, kissing me … that she was mine again.
“It’s almost finished.” Taran beamed toward the store. We were just fitting windows now.
“Start the interiors after the weekend.”
“I can’t believe how quickly this has come about. I’m so excited to start tabulating inventory and taking in donations.”
Affection warmed through me. “It’ll do a lot of good.”
Something flickered over her expression, and she exhaled a bit shakily. “And provide you all with better equipment.”
When she didn’t meet my eyes, I understood.
The fears Taran lived with weren’t just going to magically disappear because she decided to take a chance on us. Grief and loss had been a part of her life since she was eight years old, and losing her mum was a second life-altering trauma. It had hit me like a lightning bolt that day at the lighthouse, realizingthat Taran wasn’t pushing me away because of the past anymore. She was pushing me away because of her fears for the future. I couldn’t protect her from those fears; I could only support her through them. However, after much deliberation these past few weeks, I’d decided I could do my best to minimize her anxiety.
“Aye for the team … but that won’t be me anymore.” I took a casual sip of my coffee, enjoying the heat of it.
