Highlander's Trials of Fire

“Of course nae,” she said sharply. “I just happen to ken ye have an ulterior motive for everythin’ ye do.”

“Alas, ye happen to be wrong this time. I only wanted to come back here again. It’s been a while since I’ve last visited.”

Jonet’s expression fell. She looked in front, kicking her feet a bit. Matthew watched the ripples in the water, overly aware of the fact she was once again thinking about something.

“When was the last time ye’ve been here?” she asked softly.

Matthew sighed. Again, he did not know why he was so comfortable saying this, but he decided to follow his instinct. It had never steered him wrong before. “The last time I came here was when me Maither died. It had been her favorite spot, so I thought it was only fitting.”

“I take it ye two were close?”

“Quite so. In fact, she was me closest friend. She had all the delicacy of a lady, even though she could curse and hunt like the rest of the men. She really commanded a lot of respect.”

Jonet smiled softly. “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“Aye, she was. Though she was quite protective of me. She might have tried to scare ye off if she were alive to ken I have taken ye to our spot.”

Jonet giggled. “With the way she sounds, I might be in awe as much as I’m scared.”

“That’s her usual charm. I could never truly understand it.” Talking about his late mother was making him sadder than he thought it would. He quickly changed the subject. “It takes nay smart guy to ken ye and yer Faither are as close as a pack of wolves.”

“We are,” she smiled. She reclined back on the heels of her hands, still kicking her legs in the water. “But that doesnae mean me and me mother arenae close. I go to see her nearly every mornin’, actually, and we talk about all sorts of things.”

“Is the Laird’s wife sick?”

“Aye, she is. She’s been sick for a while. She’ll get better though. I just ken it.”

Matthew nodded at the fierce determination in her voice. “I’m sure she will. I would love to meet her.”

“I’m nae goin’ to make that happen unless—” She broke off, her eyes going wide.

Matthew lifted his brows. “Unless?”

“Nothing.”

“Ye were goin’ to say somethin’.”

“It’s nothin’. Let’s move on.”

He turned to face her fully. Jonet sighed.

“Do ye nae want to tell me because ye still daenae trust me?”

“Aye,” she said without hesitation. “That is one reason…”

Matthew studied her for a moment longer, watching her eyes fall, and growing distant. Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly. A shadow of sadness passing over her face. He took a wild guess. “And ye daenae want to risk a repeat of her past.”

Jonet did not look as alarmed as he expected her to, which made him wonder if he might have made the wrong assumption. She sighed. “How do ye always manage to ken what I’m thinkin’?”

“Ye are nae as closed off as ye think he are.” Matthew took this as his moment and scooted closer to her. She did not flinch away this time. She looked at him, meeting his eyes. “Open up to me, Jonet, and maybe ye’ll find that I’m nae so bad as ye think.”

“It isnae ye that I’m worried about. It’s me.”

“Ye think what happened to yer first two betrothed will happen to me if ye give me a chance, daenae ye?”

She said nothing and everything at the same time.

Matthew stared at her. Her beautiful face, her sad eyes. He could tell she wanted to wear her heart on her sleeve again, and her fear of the consequences stopped her. Here was the woman he had expected to find when he had first shown up—self-conscious, and sad.It bothered him to see it. Without stopping to think about the consequences, Matthew cupped her chin and kissed her.