And for one brief moment, I forgive him his violence and I forgive myself for my betrayal. For one brief moment, I give thanks that we’ve made it as far as we have. Because any woman who’s somehow earned the love of a man of the Clan is a lucky lass indeed.
I will do everything I can to keep his love, to earn my place in the ranks of graceful women of the Clan.
I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to, but I’ll do whatever it takes.
A large, burly bloke with wavy brown hair comes to the side of the car, grinning at Tate like he’s a long-lost friend. They do the man-hug thing, smacking each other on the backs so hard I wince, then Tate puts his arm around me.
“Lachlan, meet Fran.”
Lachlan smiles at me and shakes my hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
That’s one that seems okay enough with me being here, I guess. I wonder if they know who I am and what I’ve done? Will they all be as cordial as they are now when they find out? I’ve kept the McCarthy Clan mostly out of the books but have definitely spied on them as well.
I sigh, as I slide in beside Tate.
Wow. Tate wasn’t kidding, Lachlan really has gone all out. While the guys talk easily about their friends and recent events since they last saw each other, Tate holds my hand, and I take in every detail. Leather-clad interior, a sunroof, pristine condition.
“I’d reckon this isn’t the car you use to take the bairns out for a spin, eh?”
Lachlan snorts. “Hardly.”
They talk about the children, his wife Fiona’s recent completion of a graduate degree, and how Keenan, the Irish leader, is considering yet another addition on the huge home. And while I listen with one ear, my mind is preoccupied.
Broken bones. Blood-laced spittle. A call to come pick up a body or a witness, whichever the choice.
Tate’s Clan… the Clan I’ve idolized and glorified in my fiction, is a band of brutal, vicious brothers, who’ll stop at nothing to get what they want. How have I not seen this, not really known this until now? I’ve seen the way they’d burn full kingdoms for their loved ones, the fierce, unfettered passion in their eyes.
The women tried to tell me, of course, though they never knew they did. Both Islan and Paisley have tried at times to warn me about who their brothers really were, what their brothers really did. And at the time, I thought they only needed a good friend to talk to.
I never dreamed that they were trying to warn me. But of course they were. Isn’t that what good friends do?
“Fran?”
Tate’s looking at me with concern, and I realize he’s been talking to me and I didn’t notice.
I give him a smile. “Sorry. Was just looking out to see what kind of view I could get.”
“Bloody gorgeous, isn’t it?” Tate says. “Wait until it’s daylight and you can see so much more.”
From where we are, I catch the barest glimmer of white-capped waves and a sandy beach. I roll down my window, the crisp night air flooding the car, inhaling the salty air. Tate doesn’t admonish me or ask me to close my window. He merely laces his fingers with mine as we look out the window in silence.
We arrive at the McCarthy family home when night’s fully settled around us. I take in every detail, dumbstruck. The Cowenhomes, nestled in the Highland mountains, are where I’d like to settle for the rest of my life. But here, with the sea at our backs and the salt air christening us in benediction—well, I’d settle for a summer home.
“You’re smiling,” Tate says, tugging a lock of my hair. “Good to see you smile, lassie.”
I shrug. “Just imagining where we’d put a summer home so we’re not obstructing the McCarthy’s view.”
Tate’s deep, manly chuckle makes my toes curl.
“I think we’ll make it work.”
Lachlan and Tate take our bags and we head up to the main house. We’ve come through a wrought-iron, heavily guarded gate to get here, which doesn’t surprise me in the least.
“The Cowen’s should invest in a gate like that,” I say to Tate, then quickly dismiss the thought. It wouldn’t work as well with sprawling homes along a mountainside.
“Why gates? We’ve got Bailey.”
I nod with a smile. “Och, aye, Bailey will keep us safe, won’t he?”
