"They let me talk to Rob earlier, you know." Sarah's gaze moved to the window, where Connor and Jamie played with her lads. "And because of that, I knew I had to make the decision to stay for my sons' sakes, no matter what." She paused, clenched her fingers into fists, and continued, "He flat out refused to even try to behave. Swore he'd do anything to get free and said he didn't care if the dragon bastards killed us all. It'd be better than being their slaves, or some such shite." Her voice was low but still angry as she murmured, "Not even me pleading for him to think of our sons was enough to change his mind."
Cat yearned to reach out to Sarah but held back. She sensed the female was desperately trying not to cry. And as she'd learned with Lachlan, touch wasn't instinctively confronting for the MacKintosh siblings.
Sarah shook her head. "And if Rob won't even try to be kind to the dragons here to protect his sons—let alone try to make plans to keep us together—then he's lost to me." The human sighed and moved closer to the window until she could grip the small ledge. "Especially now that I see Mark and Joey out there playing in the garden. They're happier than they've been in months, with two complete strangers. More at ease than I've ever seen them with their own bloody father." She turned back toward Cat. "I was trying to make it work, hoping I could fix things. But I'm done. My boys need me, and that's all I care about."
Cat took a step closer. "And they're lucky to have you." Sarah looked dubious, but Cat added, "I know we barely know each other, but I hope we can become friends, Sarah. I want my child to know his or her cousins, not to mention their aunt." She took another step closer. "And I think you could use some friendship and maybe a wee bit of fun."
Sarah laughed bitterly. "Fun? That's something I've long forgotten, if I've ever had it at all."
She tentatively reached a hand to touch Sarah's shoulder, and the human allowed it. Cat squeezed in reassurance. "Aye, well, that is something my family has in abundance. And before long, you'll rue the day you met us."
Sarah gave a hesitant smile. "I doubt that. If you can make my brother happy, as he seems to be, then I will always be grateful."
Despite everything, Sarah still loved her brother.
And that thought warmed Cat's heart a wee bit.
One of the boys squealed in the yard, and they both watched as Connor did a complicated series of flips before landing on his feet, just as Jamie headbutted the football to him.
Both of the boys clapped, and then they all started kicked the ball around.
Cat gestured toward the small table. "Let's have some tea and biscuits before they come in. With four males, the biscuits will be gone in seconds."
Sarah smiled, carried the tea over, and they sat down at the table.
As Cat asked more about Sarah's sons, and Sarah asked her some more about how she and Lachlan had met, the tension in the room slowly faded away.
It was a small step forward, but one Cat would gladly take. She may have only met Sarah recently and didn’t know her well. But she was Lachlan’s sister and Cat would do everything she could to help the female and her sons find a wee bit of their own happiness too.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The arrival of the artists and getting them settled into both their housing and art spaces had gone off without a hitch. Nearly a month had passed, and all of their art projects were well underway. Today was actually the beginning of the tours given to approved visitors, showcasing the murals and selected artwork.
And being the first day, some of the more important visitors from the DDA, important business figures, and the British government were due to arrive at any minute.
The fact everything had gone smoothly to date pleased Lachlan, given how much time he'd spent on putting this entire event together.
And yet, as his eyes passed over Cat talking with one of the human artists, all he could think about was his mate and keeping her safe.
Not that Lachlan had extensive self-defense training—although Faye MacKenzie had been giving him lessons twice a week—but he wished Cat would've reconsidered and stayed home.
But of course she wouldn't. This project was hers as well. Not to mention she glowed when talking with the other participants or how she radiated happiness whenever she worked on a piece or helped with painting a mural.
She would go mad being cooped up all the time. And because he loved her, he hadn't met with Finn to press for her to remain safe at home.
Although his gaze lingered on her belly. To most, they could barely tell she was pregnant, thanks to her apron. But Lachlan knew there was a small bump there, the beginnings of their child making itself known to the world.
At one time, he'd been horrified at the idea of being a father. And now? He couldn't wait. Especially after all the extra time he'd spent with his nephews recently. He'd learned how he did okay with children when he wasn't constantly worrying about a strict schedule, checklist, and narrowing down every second of his day.
Although he thought the visits helped his nephews more than him, given how their father had decided to leave rather than stay on Lochguard once the human criminal gang had been taken care of. Finn and the others had tried to convince him to stay, to avoid the dragon hunters, but Rob had declined.
While Sarah wasn't the happiest she'd ever been, she wasn't as sad as Lachlan had imagined she would be at her husband abandoning her.
He wondered if his sister talked to anyone about what she'd suffered during her marriage. Lachlan still didn't forgive himself for being absent when Sarah had dated the bastard when he might've been able to scare him away to protect her.
But as Cat always told him, he needed to focus on the here and now, as well as the future, because they couldn't change the past.
The male voice of Adam Keith, the dragonman from Seahaven who was going to help him with the tours, garnered Lachlan's attention. "Everyone's nearly here, gathered in the Protector building. We should go."
He nodded. "Aye, just a second. I want to speak with my mate first. Go ahead, and I'll follow soon after."
Lachlan strode toward his dragonwoman before Adam could say anything. He reached her side, and she paused in what she was doing to smile up at him. "If you're here to check on my stomach yet again, I'm fine. I told you, the vanilla oils I put above my upper lip helps hide the paint smell."
"I know I'm protective, but I last checked only twenty minutes ago. I'm not that bad."
She raised her eyebrows. "Aye, you are. As bad as any dragon male, for sure."
The words were said with a smile, though, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll take that as a compliment." He nodded to a passing artist and guided Cat to an empty side of the room. He said, "I'm about to meet the first round of guests before bringing them here. Can you let everyone know and get them ready?"
"Aye, of course." She glanced at the wall of completed murals. "I only hope they like what they see; otherwise, they'll send everyone home and cancel any future events like this one."
Even though he tried to limit touching Cat in front of all the other artists, he couldn't help but take her hand in his and squeeze. "They'll love it, lass. Maybe not as much as I love you, but that would be fairly hard to do."