Page 34 of His Secret Highland Bride

“I took a blade to the shoulder, and it still hasna healed right. You were the one who left me there to get bashed in the skull.”

These were the men who had attacked her the first time she met Shane, when he’d come to her call.

Her heart pounded, and her palms went slick with fear. She had no weapon save the small knife she carried to clean the rabbits they’d caught. She gripped it tight, feeling it slip against her damp skin.

They were looking for her.

Knowing that kept her frozen against the base of the tree until they had passed and she could no longer hear their bickering. It wasn’t until Tre came back and she could hear Shane yelling her name that she finally moved.

“I’m here!” she said when he was close. She saw the relief on his face as he came to help her to her feet.

“Are you well? I’ve been calling for you for some time. I grew worried when you didn’t return.”

“I’m sorry. I’m fine.” She held up the rabbits, but her attempt to brush off her fear didn’t work, as the game quivered in her shaking hands.

“What has happened?”

“The men from that first day saw me. But I hid and they didn’t find me. It startled me is all.” For her it was a brief scare, but for Shane and the horror he’d lived through, he was more than shaken.

He looked toward the path that led to the river with pure rage. She placed her hand on his arm to stay him from going off to look for the men. She didn’t need more trouble with that lot. “I’m fine.”

“You shouldn’t have gone out without me. It’s my duty to protect you.” She knew how seriously he took that duty and what had happened when he had not fulfilled it. But it was time he knew he was not at fault for what happened to Maria.

“You can’t protect me every moment against everything, Shane.”

“It’s my duty,” he repeated as if it were a spell.

She shook her head. “Nay. I don’t expect it. And I’m certain Maria didn’t, either.”

“Don’t speak of her,” he snapped, but she reached up and touched the hard edge of his jaw as it jerked.

“I will speak of her. And you need to speak of her as well. This guilt has twisted your grief so it won’t allow you to think of her with joy. You need to forgive yourself for what happened.”

“I left her. I shouldn’t have.”

“And what if you hadn’t left? What if you’d been there when the French raided the camp? Could you have fought them all and saved her, or would you have been struck down as well?”

He didn’t answer.

“Things happen to people we love—horrible things. But we can’t stop that sometimes. And turning it upon yourself in this way means she doesn’t get the honor she’s due.”

He looked startled at this but said nothing yet again.

“Maria deserves to be remembered with a smile and love. Not as a way to punish yourself.”

He pressed his lips together, and she waited for him to yell at her for overstepping.

It took a few more minutes for him to finally nod and let out a breath. “You’re right. I need to do better.” He ran both hands through his hair, clenching and pulling slightly before he seemed to release the tension she’d come to expect. “Let’s go home.” He took the rabbits from her, and with his arm around her shoulders, he guided her back to the cottage.

When she looked up at him, he smiled down at her.

“Thank ye,” he said.

She leaned her head against his wide chest and allowed him to hold her close. She understood his need to protect her. To make amends for the wife he’d lost. But it was too much for him to continue to carry.

She’d been afraid today when she encountered the men. Now, she realized she’d never felt so safe as she did in his arms. This clan might not be one she wished to join, and she hadn’t wanted to make a home here. But this man was different. She could trust him. Even if he couldn’t trust her in return.

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