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“Callum?” Her voice is firm. Her gaze set.
She’s not letting this go.
Why did I say anything at all?
What good does it do, telling the truth now?
“I just mean you coming here and all…it worked out for the best, didn’t it?”
“That’s not what you meant at all. Don’t ye lie to me. Even about something small.” She goes to rise, and my hand shoots out without thinking about it, grabbing hers to help her up. She stands before me, brushing dirt from her hands and the pretty pink apron she wears to protect her clothing.
I go to wrap myself around her, but she holds me at arm's length.
“Just a tick.” A hand rests on her hip, a gesture and saying she’s picked up from Freya. “You said that it always worked out in my favor whenever you've tampered in my past. I know you brought me here to pay off my father’s debts, but I don’t think you’d consider that tampering. I think you’d call that collecting a debt that was owed to you.”
“Aye…”
Her gaze bores into mine. “So, what did you mean?”
Chapter Sixteen
Fiona
I wait, hoping, wanting him to come clean, to offer some silly reason he interfered in my life.
“Seriously. Nothing. I only meant that I tampered with your life when I first brought you here and look at us now. Have you ever been happier?” he asks.
I think. “No,” I say. “I haven’t.”
“Neither have I. So, it all worked out.” He smiles.
I study his face, deciding to let this go. “Alright.”
“I’m a very lucky man.” He goes to hold me, to kiss my cheek. I soften to let him. He stands to leave me. “Let me make you a cup of tea,” he says, having learned my love language.
The idea of a fresh cup brings a smile to my face. It always tastes better when he makes it. “Thanks. Two sugars?—”
“And a cow-udders worth of milk. I know, I know.” His nose crinkles in disgust.
“I can’t help it. I hate to burn my tongue.” I laugh, knowing that he, Carol Ann, and Kitt all have one thing in common: they hate how much milk I pour into tea. “I’ll finish up here, and then we can shower to get ready.”
“Shower.” His eyes brighten. “Together? Save some water?”
“Aye,” I laugh, knowing how much he enjoys using his two-headed shower together. I bend down to retrieve my trowel, feeling something hard poke into my side. “Oh!” I say. “I almost forgot!”
“What?” He comes back to where I kneel. Offering me a hand, he helps me up from my gardening pad.
"I made you something,” I say, feeling shy. “A seal.”
I pull the gift from where it's been hiding in my apron pocket and hand it to him. He holds it close to his face, investigating the little picture on the metal seal that I carved just for him. “It’s a Viking ship sailing the seas,” I say. “But the waves are made of long strands of the island’s Strawberry Grass instead of water. The ship shows how the clans arrived, and the wheat represents the island’s fertile grounds?—"
“The reason they stayed.” He finishes my thought. “I love it.”
“I’m glad.”
“It’s perfect. Just like our wee island.” He leans in, kissing me. “I’ll be happy to thank you in the shower. Come up as soon as you can. Tea and a naked Viking will be waiting for ye.”
“Oh Lord!” He wiggles his ass as he leaves, giving me a taste of what he’s promised me. Honestly, I’m so tired from gardening. I’m looking forward to the tea, but whenever I see Callum with no clothes on, I’m instantly in the mood.
