Page 60 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

“The fires warned the patrols, and ye all escaped with yer lives,” Theo said gruffly. “What ye did was courageous and clever, and Gemma will pull through this. She is strong.”

There was a cough from the bed. “Well, it’s about time you admitted it,” Gemma said weakly.

Instantly on his feet, he was leaning over the bed and smoothing his hand over her forehead. Dry and cool to the touch. Her fever had broken.

Knees weak, he fell to the side of the bed and nearly wept. “Gemma, I am so sorry.”

“Save yer apologies for after,” Agnes commanded. “Lass, go and get Lorna. We need to examine her. “

She tried to push Theo out of the way, and he growled. Planting her hands on her hips, she glared at him. “Now look, I put up with yer angry grunts and threats before, but now she is awake. Go, eat, and at least bathe or ye will make her pass out all over again.”

He hesitated, but Gemma gave him a gentle smile and nodded. “I will be here when you get back. I am not going anywhere.”

Kissing her on the top of her head, he wanted desperately to tell her that he loved her, but Agnes was all but pushing him out the door.

With renewed energy, he headed to the patrol stations to give Hamish an update and went to the loch to bathe. He hadn’t bathed since the battle, so it was a wonder that Agnes let him stay at all.

Hamish brought him a change of clothes, and when Theo was dressed, Hamish grabbed his arm to stop him. “Listen to me, Brother,” he said in a low voice. “Ye gathered the most powerful clans in the Highlands to rescue yer wife and protect a small village. Ye fought for yer people and those ye love, and ye have sat faithfully by yer wife’s bed for three days while she recovered. If I ever hear that ye are wondering if ye are like our father, I will come back and beat ye senseless.”

Relief swept through him and a smile spread across Theo’s face as he pulled Hamish in and hugged him fiercely. “Thank ye.”

“Any time, Brother. Now go and tell yer wife that ye love her before her friends convince her to stay.” When Theo snapped his head up, Hamish grinned. “They arenae willing to let her go unless they know that ye will never let her go again. They seem a fierce bunch. I am relieved that they are yer people and not mine.”

With a snort, Theo turned and stormed back to the cottage. Keep his wife from him? He would see about that.

As the small building came into view, he stopped short. A line had formed outside Gemma’s home, a line of people eager to see that she had indeed recovered and was all right. These were the people who had picked up anything that could be used as a weapon and risked their lives to get her back. These people loved her, and Theo knew it from their actions.

Guilt filled him. The line eased back as he entered the cottage and gestured for a word with Lorna while the guests continued to move in, under the watchful eye of Agnes, to say their hellos. Gemma was propped up on the bed and slowly eating some broth.

“How is she?”

“The wound is starting to heal, and her fever has broken, so I’m confident that there will be nothing else to worry about. As for the babe, it will still be a few weeks before we see any progress, but I am optimistic.” She glanced behind her. “Do ye wish me to disperse the crowd?”

“Nay. She will be happy to see them.”

Nodding to the visitors, he sat on the bed by Gemma’s side and put an arm around her shoulder. She gave him a shy smile and sipped at her broth while she thanked a boy for visiting. It felt like it took forever, people filing in while Theo reminded Gemma that she was to be eating.

Finally, they were alone.

“I’m sorry,” Gemma said as tears welled in her eyes. “I never wanted to put our child at risk, but I didn’t know what Thomas would do. I knew you were coming for me, but the mercenaries were planning to betray Thomas and attack the Loch, and—”

“Gemma.” Gently, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Ye have nothing to apologize for. ‘Tis me who needs to be on my knees begging for yer forgiveness. Ye should have been by my side, protected at the keep, and instead, I sent ye here. I let my fears get the best of me, and I drove ye to real danger. When ye are ready, ye will return with me immediately to the keep, and this will never happen again.”

“Theo.” Slowly, she extricated from his arms and pulled the blankets up over him. “I don’t think I can do that.”

His heart stopped. “What?”

“I know you are going to yell and be upset, but this is my home. These people took care of me when no one else did, and I want this child to grow up knowing that kind of love. I don’t want him or her to be at the keep and see you all the time and wonder why you don’t love them.” Tears spilled over her cheeks. “I know that the mountains will run red with your fury if anyone tries something like this again, but I need more than that.”

“Gemma.” Dropping to the floor, he put his head on her lap. “I want you to be happy. If that means we live here, I will find a way to make it work. Just know that wherever we are, I will love you and I will love this child. I am not my father. I know that now. I want to be there when this child is born. I want to hold them in the middle of the night when they cry because they’re scared, and toss them up in the air until they are overcome with laughter.”

“Theo,” Gemma whispered.

“The minute I let ye go, I knew I had made a mistake. I should have gone after ye then, and I will regret that for the rest of my life. Forgive me, Gemma, and let me spend the rest of my life loving ye and our family.”

The empty bowl fell to the floor as she launched herself at him. He caught her easily and sat back on the bed, cradling her against his chest. “I love you,” she whispered. “And we will have a wonderful family and watch over the MacDougals from the keep. It is where you belong, but we will visit here often.”

“And ye will be happy?”