by Vonnie Davis
“Nineteen, and four on the forehead.”
He gave a slow whistle. “Paisley allows me to call her ‘little sister.’ I hope ye will too. I mean no disrespect by it, just as I mean no disrespect by calling Bryce ‘little brother.’ ” He frowned. “Has he ever mentioned it? That it bothers him, I mean?”
“To me, aye. He’s afraid if he does to ye or Creighton, ye’ll just call him a whining baby. So he makes jokes all the time to cover up how he really feels, because you two older ones make him feel”—she made air quotes—“ ‘less than.’ ”
“Fukin’ hell. I love that kid.” The elevator stopped and they got off.
“But he’s not a kid, Ronan. He’s a grown man. A father. And damned deserving of some respect.” She marched through the exit of the hospital, mad as hell. Why, she hadna a clue why, she just was.
A whistle shrieked and she stopped in her tracks. When she glanced back over her shoulder, Ronan stood like a six-four storm cloud, hands on his hips, eyebrows dipped in anger as he slowly approached. “I’m going to say this nice because my baby brother loves ye and ye are now part of our family.” He held up four fingers. “One, dinna think for a minute I dinna respect the hell out of him, for I do.” He pointed to the next finger as he evidently planned to tick off his list of complaints. “Two, I willna put up with attitude outta any woman, even me own sister. Three, our family runs on kindness, not insults. Four, I—”
The sun and the trees spun. Sweat beaded on her chest and trickled down her back. Trembling shook her body before she leaned over a bed of flowers and threw up.
“Ah hell, Kenzie. Dinna do this to me. Bryce will kill me if he finds out I yelled at ye and made ye sick.” Ronan scooped her in his arms and ran fer the lodge’s Land Rover.
“I’m sorry.” She pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth. “ʼTis this awful headache. They said with a concussion, I might have nausea, but I havna eaten a thing.”
“Why didna ye tell me ye were in pain.” He propped her on his knee as he opened the door and all but tossed her inside. Her teeth jarred and her eyeballs inched closer to rolling down her cheeks. The man would never make a doctor, not with his bedside manner. He leaned over her, snatched open the lid of the armrest, and pulled out a bottle of water. Then he opened a first aid kit stored under the front seat and jerked out some aspirins. “Drink the water slow, now. Would some food help?”
“I dinna ken if I can keep anything down. Maybe some toast or a bowl of porridge. Mary Kate will fix it fer me once ye take me back to the house.”
He was visibly shaken by her getting ill, and at that moment he reminded her so much of Bryce. Running around the front of the vehicle, he slid behind the steering wheel and fastened his seat belt. “Sister, I’ll stop at a restaurant.” He turned the key and the engine purred to life.
“Nay. I’m in a terrible mood for some reason and am not fit company.” She swallowed three aspirins and drank the water. “Thank ye for yer kindness. I apologize fer me attitude earlier, but I willna have Bryce put down by anyone, even the brothers he adores.”
He backed the vehicle out of the parking spot. “Aye, ye’ll do. He needs a strong woman like ye. Not that he isna strong himself.” His gaze shot to hers fer a minute. “Sometimes he takes on too much.” He reached fer the radio controls. “On or off?”
She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Off, and yer a dearheart for asking.”
“Hey, any woman ready to box me ears in defense of one of me brothers is damn fine with me. Let’s get ye to Iverson Loch. Some of Mary Kate’s fine cooking, a hot bath, and some sleep and ye might even like me a little next time ye see me.”
Kenzie snorted. “The man is a dreamer.”
He chuckled softly as he pulled onto the highway.
“Nay, wait, I changed me mind. I have to see Colleen. She must be frantic over her da. Ye ken how close they are.”
“We’ve told her how he is.”
“Aye, but if I’m to be her mum, I have to see to her emotional needs. Stop at the bookstore on the way out of town. I’ll get her something to read from her da, so she kens he’s thinking of her.” She glanced his way. “And if ye can find me a cold Coke and some crackers while I shop fer her book, I’d be eternally grateful.”
— Creighton met her at the door of the lodge. Part of his hair was standing on end and his eyes bore a wild look. From upstairs, a child’s shrieking managed to fill every corner of the house. “Kenzie, sister, we’re having a terrible time with our wee sweet bairn.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the staircase. “Although right now, she’s not so sweet.”
“Bloody hell. How long has she been like this?” Ronan kept his hands at Kenzie’s waist as if he thought the force of the child’s wailing would knock her over.
Kenzie was more concerned about her head splitting in two.
“As soon as she found out ye went to the hospital without her. I ken ye explained the rules to her, Ronan, but she canna understand the rules.” He covered his ears. “Och, what a temper!”
“Take me to her so we can talk. Can one of ye hold me up? Everything wants to spin.” Ronan scooped her into his arms and hurried up the steps behind Creighton, who was all bluster about her coming over when she obviously needed to be in bed. “Shush, do ye want Colleen to hear ye and become more scared? Ronan, set me down just outside her room.” Both brothers looked at her as if she was about to crumble. “I can do this. Me future daughter needs me.”
Ronan set her feet on the floor and led her into the child’s bedroom, where Colleen lay on the floor, kicking and screaming. Her arms thrashed. A fine sheen of perspiration coated her face.
This was worse than Kenzie had imagined. “Creighton, can ye get me a wet washcloth? Use lukewarm water to moisten it so I can calm her a wee bit by stroking her with it?” He hurried off. Cook wrung the hem of her apron and the lines around Fiona’s eyes bore fatigue.
“Leena?” Kenzie sat on the floor next to the child and prayed the room would hold still fer five minutes. “Leena, I’ve come to talk to ye about yer da, but this behavior has to stop.” She opened her arms. “Come to Mumma and let me hold you.”
Almost like magic, the horrible shrieking ebbed. The child scrambled from the floor and slid into her arms, hiccups punctuating the sobs. Kenzie started to rock to and fro, but her headache would have none of it and her stomach threatened to empty, so she stopped the movement. “I have a message fer ye from yer da, but ye need to stop this crying so ye can hear me.”
“I…I will. I…” Colleen reached to touch the bandage at her neck. “What happened to ye?”
Creighton charged into the room with a wet cloth and handed it to Kenzie. She wiped off the child’s face and spoke to her in hushed tones, hoping she’d have to concentrate to hear and stop the wailing in the process. “A mean man, who smelled like sulfur, hurt me. He cut me with a sword.”
“Like in the movies? A sword fighter?”
She nodded, lifted Colleen’s damp auburn hair, and held the cloth to her sweat-soaked neck. “Yes. Only I didna have a sword to fight back. Neither did yer da. I had to get a lot of stitches in me neck, and they look like the ones on me forehead. Do ye want to touch them with yer fingertip?”
Her daughter was a curious one, so she was. Eyes wide with wonder, she trailed a little fingertip over the four stitches on Kenzie’s forehead. It was a touch she’d preferred woulda been more gentle, but the child didna know she was causing any pain.
“They feel like stiff, jaggy thread.”
She gave Colleen a quick hug. “Och, see how smart ye are? The stitches are a type of thread, and they use a needle to sew them in.”
Colleen rewarded her fer the compliment with a small smile. “Will ye have them forever?”
“Nay, the doctor will remove them in ten days. He said I might have to wait fourteen days fer the ones in me neck, but he’s not sure.”
“Will they be out in time fer the wedding?”
“Aye, me l
ittle one, they’ll be gone by then.” She moved the washcloth to the child’s arms and slowly wiped them off. “Now we’ll talk about yer da.”
“Okay, Mummy.”
“First, he said I was to kiss ye three times.” She smacked kisses to Colleen’s forehead and each of her chubby cheeks. “Then he said to tell ye that ye will always be his special, sweetest luv.”
“He…he tells me that a lot.”
“I’m betting ʼtis ʼcause he means it from his heart.” She touched her finger to the end of Colleen’s little nose. “Now, the bad man’s sword hurt yer da’s leg more than me neck and forehead. He had to have surgery. Do ye ken what that means?” Colleen shook her head. “They give ye medicine that puts ye in a deep, deep sleep so ye feel no pain. Then a special doctor fixes ye in layers, like from the inside out. Yer da had stitches too and canna walk on his sore leg for a few days. He sleeps most of the time from all the medicine they give him.”
“I dinna understand why I canna go see him.”
“Rules are hard to understand, arna they?” She leaned closer. “I’ll tell ye a secret, Leena, just between ye and me.” She placed her lips to the child’s ear. “I snuck into his room last night so he wouldna be alone. I held his hand and squeezed it every time he cried out for ye in his sleep. It was against the rules, and when the nurses came in this morning, they made me leave.”
With youthful indignation, Colleen placed her fists at her waist. “The evil black-hearts! They didna!”
“Aye, they did. They told me I’d broken a rule and pushed me out the door.”
Colleen turned, cupped her hand around Kenzie’s ear, and whispered, “The bitches.”
Both of them laughed. “Now, there will be no more screaming and crying. Even adults have to listen to rules. And, yer right, ʼtis not always fair. But rules are rules. Now, yer da asked me to stop at the store and get ye two books to read and he wants ye to know his love is between every page, floating out to ye as ye turn them. So, crawl up on yer bed and read yer new books.”
“Will ye read them to me?”
Kenzie had been fighting the headache and dizziness during her entire talk with the child. Her vision was blurring. “Nay. I have medicine I must take that will make me sleep. Uncle Ronan is driving me home. Kiss me and promise me no more tantrums, Leena.”
Arms entwined around her neck and Colleen burrowed against her bandage. Och, the pain. “I promise, Mumma.”
Kenzie stood and stumbled fer a second as the room spun. Ronan was beside her in an instant, grabbing her arm. “What can I do, sister?”
“Get me out of Colleen’s room so she doesna see me faint,” she whispered.
He held Kenzie up and hurried her out. Once they were in the hallway, she released her firm grasp on control and allowed blackness to take over.
The sound of the door opening and warm air rushing into the vehicle woke Kenzie. Mary Kate’s gasp pulled her further into the moment. “Och, miss, yer face and neck.” The cook started to cry, blotting her eyes with the hem of her apron.
Kenzie blinked and looked around fer a minute, trying to get her bearings. They were at Iverson already? She must have fainted. Although the cutting edge of her headache remained, at least her eyeballs felt like they were going to stay in her head.
“She needs something easy on her stomach to eat. She threw up soon after she stepped into the sunlight.” Ronan touched Kenzie’s arm. “Stay where ye are. I’ll carry ye inside.” He got out of the SUV and scooped her into his arms, talking to Mary Kate as she led the way inside. “Later, Kenzie passed out. I think Bryce’s intended took ten years off me life today. Is Effie home? I could use some of her bawdy spirit.”
“Nay. Paisley called and said the doctor wanted her kept in the hospital fer a couple more days fer observation and a few tests on her heart. I plan to go see her tonight.” She winked at Kenzie. “I’ll take her a thermos of her hot chocolate and some of her favorite biscuits. Ronan, do ye think ye can carry Kenzie upstairs? I’ll help her get ready fer her bath.”
“I can walk. I was cut in the neck, not me kneecaps.”
“Ye fainted because ye insisted on going to see Colleen. I never saw anyone calm her down as quickly as ye did. Ye will make her a fine and loving mum. Now, shut up and let a man take care of ye. In our family, ye need to get used to it.”
As soon as he set her on her bed, Ronan kneeled in front of her. “Little sister, ye are one of us. Call if ye need anything. I’m heading back to the hospital to see Bryce and then I’m going to yer old apartment to paint where we patched the walls. Mary Kate, thanks fer taking care of her. She’s a mite testy today. Just so ye ken, she’s in a hide-peeling mood. We’ll indulge her, because it stems from her pain.” He kissed the top of Kenzie’s head and left.
More aspirins and a hot bath with Mary Kate washing Kenzie’s hair did wonders. The compassionate cook was careful about not getting her bandages wet, fussing and clicking her tongue all the while Kenzie told her about Fauste and all that had happened. Mary Kate helped her into a nightgown before hurrying downstairs to make her something to eat. A scone with cream and a cup of tea later, Kenzie could barely keep her eyes open. “I want to go back to the hospital.”
“Why not sleep fer a couple hours first?” Mary Kate covered her with cool sheets and closed the blinds, blocking the sunlight. “Bryce’s family will be in and out, plus he’ll be under heavy sedation too. After ye wake, Hamish could drive ye there and ye could spend the night in Bryce’s arms again.” She exhaled a wistful sigh. “I’m thinking that will be the best medicine fer both of ye. But first, indulge me and take a few hours’ rest. Ye need to heal fer yer wedding.”
“Paisley’s going to be me matron of honor, and Colleen the flower girl.”
“Och, how nice.”
Kenzie reached fer Mary Kate’s hand. “Will ye be me bridesmaid?”
“Me, miss?” A wide smile split her face. “Och, how I’d be honored.”
“Sit with me while I tell ye the wedding details.”
—
It was eight-twenty when Kenzie blew off the elevator onto Bryce’s floor. Feeling refreshed after hours of sleep, she wore a pretty floral sundress with thin tie straps, the aching in her head and throat barely manifesting itself and her grumbling stomach eager fer food. In one hand she carried an overnight bag. In the other was a bag of cheeseburgers loaded the way her guy loved them and one fer herself with cheese and pickles. Feeling as improved as she did, she’d driven herself.
She pushed open the door to Bryce’s room and found three young, attractive nurses fluffing his pillows and laughing at his jokes. Damn if the man—King Studly himself—wasna holding court. Her heart crumbled. This man would never be faithful, no matter what he claimed. He was what the Americans liked to call a chick magnet, and she doubted she had the metal to hold his attraction.
“Excuse me.” Four pairs of eyes shifted her way. “I thought this was my faithful fiancé’s room. I’m sorry to interrupt. Since there’s no one here by that description, I’ll just drop off these burgers and leave.” She was so damn pissed, so disappointed in him, and so confused, she trembled inside and out.
“Kenzie.” He dragged out her name as if it were a threat.
The three nurses scurried around her. One of them looked directly at her face, then whispered to her coworkers, “Och God, a witch. Did ye see her eyes?” The nurse cast her one last glance before leaving the room.
What was she doing planning a marriage to a man she couldna trust? Not when every time her back was turned, he was charming every woman he met. She blinked away the tears. Damn if she’d let him see her cry over this.
“Ye still dinna have faith in me, do ye? After all we’ve been through these last few days, ye still expect me to toss ye aside.”
He kent her, kent exactly how badly her heart had been crushed and how easily she doubted men, and herself. Deep down, she still feared he’d ultimately move on to someone else.
“I understand
women will always throw themselves at ye. Yer a charmer and I dinna ken ye can help it. I’m not so sure I’m pretty enough or sexy enough to hold yer interest, yer sole interest, for a few years, much less forever.” She heaved a shuddering sigh of pain sharper than she’d experienced since the loss of her bairns, fer a lifelong dream was dying.
If she ended the engagement now, she could leave Mathe Bay and wait fer Fauste to find her. Then Bryce’s entire family would be safe from the unbeatable witch of black magic.
“Come here, sweetheart. Let go of the door handle and come here.”
Yes, leaving Bryce would be best. He’d be safe. Colleen—Leena, her little girl—would be safe too. After all, it was Kenzie Fauste wanted, as the only remaining person with his blood, the only person able to pay the dues fer another twenty-four years of depravity.
Would he threaten to harm the two people she loved most in the world to get her to agree to go with him? She’d give herself up in a minute to save them. If Fauste gave her the chance, that is. He was so depraved, he might kill them first just fer the thrill of it. So, what was she to do? Stay and love Bryce and Colleen or leave so they’d be safe? Truthfully, her emotions teeter-tottered back and forth. She had some serious thinking to do in the next few days.
She held her head high and showcased a fake smile. “How is the patient doing tonight?” She waved the bag. “I brought ye burgers from Big Buns, loaded just the way ye like them. I ken yer appetite. The hospital is probably starving ye.”
“I wasna flirting. Every time I talk to a pretty woman doesna mean I’m flirting or trying to get in her pants.” His jaw was set in anger, his eyes narrowed.
She supposed he had a point there. Besides, she had a bigger problem to deal with. She feigned nonchalance. “Of course not. Nor does it mean the same thing when I talk to a handsome man or laugh at his jokes.” Opening the paper tote, she pulled out her burger before passing the bag to him. “I’ve also got two cold Cokes.”
