Shoulder the Skye (Skye Druids #2)(29)
Author: Donna Grant

 

Finn nodded at Elias. “Direct that at him. It was Elias who saved you.”

 

“It was all of us,” Elias explained without taking his gaze from her. His blue eyes burned brighter. “I remembered a healing chant I heard one of the MacLeod Druids use on my sister.”

 

MacLeod Druids? That stunned her. It seemed there was a lot about Elias she didn’t know. She owed him her life—twice now. It might have irked her that he’d been spying on her, but she was alive and away from Sydney because of him. “I appreciate it. Truly. My thanks to all of you.”

 

Carlyle caught her gaze and grinned. “Hope you don’t mind us making use of this amazing kitchen.”

 

“Not at all. I’m glad to see it’s being put to use.” And, oddly, she meant it. Maybe it was because the house was so blissful. That had to be the reason.

 

Finn set aside the bowl and found another place setting. He then pulled out a chair next to Sabryn. “Come, sit. I hope you’re hungry. Carlyle only knows how to cook for an army.”

 

Bronwyn walked to the chair and lowered herself. “I am very hungry.”

 

“You should be. You slept the day away, and you didna eat much this morning,” Elias told her.

 

Bronwyn looked up as he set a glass of water before her. Had his eyes gotten bluer? She hastily looked away and brought the water to her lips, drinking deeply. The minute she swallowed, she realized how thirsty she had been.

 

“They like to fuss,” Sabryn said with a grin. “I’ve learned to let them do it. It makes them happy.”

 

Bronwyn set the empty glass down, which Elias quickly refilled. She met Sabryn’s gaze. “I see that.”

 

“It’s hospitality,” Carlyle said as he focused on his cooking. Then he glanced at her over his shoulder with a teasing grin. “And a little fussing.”

 

The smile that pulled at Bronwyn’s lips was so foreign that she reached up to feel her mouth. No wonder the atmosphere in the house was relaxed. It was hard not to be with the four of them near. Their bonds were thick, their trust evident. Their friendship deep.

 

The conversation picked back up, and while Bronwyn wasn’t part of it, she didn’t feel excluded. Mainly because each of them took turns looking at her as they spoke, bringing her into the different stories they told about one another. By the time Carlyle set the food on the table, Bronwyn knew that he went out of his way with comical measures to ignore his father’s near-constant urging to take a wife and have an heir, that Finn had the worst taste in women, which ultimately always led to some kind of dating disaster, that Elias had a book-buying habit, and that Sabryn had some of the best lines to turn men and women down when they came on to her.

 

“Oh, come on,” Sabryn said with a roll of her eyes. “You guys make it sound like I get asked out all the time.”

 

Elias, Finn, and Carlyle replied in unison, “You do.”

 

Bronwyn laughed out loud at the seriousness of their expressions versus Sabryn’s dismayed one. Bronwyn also discovered that she enjoyed the food. She ate until she couldn’t put another bite into her mouth.

 

“Where did you learn to cook?” she asked Carlyle.

 

He shifted his chair to the side, then leaned back and stretched out his legs as he looked at her. “When I was a lad, one of the cooks made the best pastries. She was French, and I’d wake up every morning smelling the fresh bread and sweets. I’d sneak down to steal some. She found me one morn, and after that, she always left a stash just for me. It wasn’t long before I woke earlier and earlier to go down and watch her. Then, I asked if she’d show me how to bake. She did, and I even made some things myself. But I soon realized that my real love was food. Our cook saw that and went to my parents. My father wasn’t thrilled, of course, but Mum convinced him it would keep me out of trouble. And it did. For a while,” he finished with a wink.

 

“The meal was excellent,” Bronwyn told him. “I hate cooking. I don’t really like food.”

 

Carlyle gasped at her. “How is that possible?”

 

She shrugged. “If I didn’t have to eat, I wouldn’t.”

 

“Ugh. I wish I were like that,” Sabryn replied with a twist of her lips. “I have such a sweet tooth.”

 

Finn quirked a brow. “I thought it was bread you loved.”

 

“It’s both,” Sabryn lamented with a dramatic eye roll.

 

Bronwyn joined in on the laughter. She looked around the table, noting the empty plates, the smiles, and the relaxed banter. Again and again, her gaze went to Elias, who sat on the other side of the table with the guys. Each time it did, she found him staring at her.

 

She was surprised to discover they had talked for almost two hours after the meal. But everything had to come to an end, and, unfortunately, the dinner did. With all five of them pitching in, they cleaned the kitchen quickly.

 

“We’ll be in touch,” Sabryn told Elias as they walked from the room.

 

Bronwyn followed at the rear of the group as they made their way to the front door. She stood off to the side as Carlyle, Sabryn, and Finn put on their coats. Bronwyn was sad to see them go. She’d been having such a good time that she wanted them to remain, to keep the merriment going for another hour—or forever.

 

She had thought she was fine on her own. And she had been—sort of. The dinner and the people who took part had helped her in ways she hadn’t realized she needed. For the first time ever, Bronwyn felt a part of something.

 

Sabryn turned to her. “There’s an envelope of cash for Elias’s stay. It should get him through the week. If you require more, let him know.”

 

Bronwyn nodded, unsure how to reply. Then, the trio was gone, leaving her and Elias alone. The silence was deafening.

 

“Are you sure about this? About me staying?” he asked.

 

She wasn’t, but there was no going back now. She met his gaze and decided to be brutally honest. “Not really. I’m used to being on my own. Are you sure about staying with a drough? One who does blood magic?”

 

“Truthfully, I’m no’.”

 

“Fair enough. Thank you for being candid.”

 

He nodded once. “What I am sure of is that we need each other right now. I never got a chance to thank you for earlier.” He glanced at the door. “When my friends came and told me about the…”

 

“Murder,” she supplied after he trailed off.