Page 37 of Highlander’s Dangerous Love

“And I appreciate that! Gemma, I have missed ye,” he said, stepping toward her. She took a step back, and his face fell at that. “I dinnae mean tae hurt ye, please!”

She shook her head, swallowing back the sobs that threatened to rack her body.

“Nay. Ye kent exactly what ye were doin’. Ye chose tae hurt me.”

She didn’t stay to listen to his explanation, whirling out of the blacksmith’s shop like a storm at sea. If he ran after her, she did not notice for she let the hustle and bustle of the village swallow her up.

What was she to do now?

The journeyback was just as easy as the journey there, but upon arriving at her home, she knew she’d be in grave trouble. She didn’t use the tunnel this time, since it was daylight. Instead, she took to the forest and trudged across the meadow to her seaside home.

Her mother was outside hanging things on the clothesline. At the sight of her, Gemma’s heart sank, and a coldness entered her body. As her mother turned around, the glare she gave was the most ferocious she’d ever seen.

“Ye have a lot of explainin’ tae do, young lass,” she said in a grave voice.

“Ma, please let me explain—” Gemma began, but her mother exploded.

“Explain? Ye were gone for four days! Ye left no note, ye dinnae tell anyone, not even Muriel! I had half a mind tae send yer brothers after ye!”

“I’m fine, nothing happened!” Gemma cried.

“Oh aye, I can see that now, but ye won’t be when I tan yer hide!” Mrs. Gordon stomped angrily over to Gemma, but she screamed and blurted out an excuse.

“I was with Bryce!”

Mrs. Gordon stopped just short of Gemma, who was taller than her mother by a few inches.

“Were ye? If I find out yer lyin’—”

“I…I wanted tae ken more about him,” she said weakly.

“Have ye not been friends for years?” Mrs. Gordon asked.

“Aye, but marryin’....’tis different. Since the betrothal feast, we havenae…been alone taegether.”

Mrs. Gordon sighed and ushered her daughter inside the house through the kitchen door. Gemma was a little confused at her mother’s actions, as she could not yet tell whether she was in trouble. It looked like the answer was no, as she put the kettle on and brought out the tin of shortbread biscuits.

“I was afraid tae be married as well,” Mrs. Gordon confessed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Gemma gingerly followed suit.

“Ye were?”

“Aye. I was an only daughter, like ye. It afforded me some freedoms. I was the apple of my mother’s eye. So ye might say, I was used tae havin’ things done my way,” she said with a chuckle.

“I woulda never guessed,” Gemma said slyly.

“Ye’ve got yer father’s cheek,” Mrs. Gordon remarked. “When I met yer father, I wasnae sure I liked him at all. As we courted, I found him braw enough. It wasn’t until after marriage that…I truly saw him for the man he was, an’ still is.”

“Aye, that’s good,” Gemma agreed, still unsure of where this story was heading.

“But ye ken what I wished for?”

Gemma shook her head, and her mother sighed deeply.

“I wished I’d kent yer father better ‘afore marriage. It took me too long tae truly fall in love wi’ him. Had we had some moments alone, it woulda made for a happier marriage right from the start.”

Gemma wasn’t even sure she was breathing at that point. Even her heart felt like it was standing still.