“Now I’ve lost you to this place too. Or have I?”
“Mom … things between us can’t just magically be okay. You hurt me. And you … your actions led to the end of a relationship that meant a great deal to me, whether you agree with it or not. But with time …” I shrugged sadly. “I love you, Mom. That’s never going to go away.”
“But you are?” she pushed.
I swallowed the hard tears in my throat as I choked out, “It’s not going to happen with Thane.”
“Oh?”
“But I’m not leaving. Robyn is here, and I don’t want to leave her.”
Tears brightened Mom’s eyes, but she nodded. “You do seem better here. Safer. Your father told me about this Austin person. You know … I am here if you ever need to talk about that.”
I flinched and lowered my eyes. “It’s just like how I told it. Nothing more to say.” At my mother’s hurt silence, I sighed. Now was not the time for her to be my confidante. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She patted my hand and stood. “Robbie told us about the ancestry visa you’re applying for.”
Wait, what? I hadn’t applied for it yet.
“Seth was thinking of looking up that side of his family, maybe visiting them when we come back over for Robbie’s wedding.”
I nodded, dazed, my mind wandering.
“Can I get a hug goodbye?”
I hugged my mom. Still angry at her, still confused, still resentful, but … she was my mom. And I loved her. “Not goodbye,” I promised. “Just ‘see you soon.’”
Me crying as they loaded Lachlan’s SUV to leave seemed to soothe something in both my parents. I didn’t want them to think I didn’t miss them when we weren’t together. Mom and I definitely needed a breather from one another, but Dad was the calm in the storm. And I’d miss him like crazy.
“We’ll see you soon.” Dad kissed my forehead. “We’ll be back for the wedding.”
After they left, I sat in that big house by myself. Brodan was also gone, and Lachlan and Robyn had driven our parents to the airport. I stared numbly at the television until the front door opened a few hours later. As soon as Robyn strolled into the room, I asked her about the visa.
She gave me an appeasing grin. “I might have … begun the process for you.”
Gaping at her, I didn’t know how to respond. It was so unlike her to meddle like this.
“What was the harm? And you were wasting time taking forever to decide.” She crossed the large room to the side table near the stairs and opened a drawer. When she returned to me, Robyn clutched an envelope. She handed it over, and I saw it was a letter providing me with an appointment in Inverness next week to have my biometrics taken. “I started the process over four months ago. This letter arrived just before Christmas.”
“Four months ago?”
Robyn sighed. “It’s not a straightforward process. As it was, we’re having to use a connection of Lachlan’s to push it through before your visitor visa is up. I had to apply for copies of birth certificates for Seth’s maternal grandparents, his parents, his, as well as marriage certificates, and those took a few months to arrive. I also had to collate your income for the past six months, along with your personal information. It’s all done. All you have to do is go to this appointment, and we’ll have everything we need. Then Lachlan’s friend is going to push it through as quickly as possible.” She smirked at her fiancé. “Sometimes it pays to be an Adair.”
He smirked back and strolled toward the kitchen. “Coffee anyone?”
I stared at the letter. “Don’t I need an income for this to even matter? I don’t know if you noticed, but Thane kind of fired me.”
Robyn’s expression softened with sympathy, but before she could speak, Lachlan said, “And I just kind of hired you.”
Spinning toward him, I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
“You want to stay, don’t you?”
“Yes. But not for your brother,” I clarified, not caring how bitter I sounded. “I’m staying for me. And for Robyn.”
My sister sidled up to me and put her arm around my shoulders. “You don’t know how happy I am that you’re staying.”
“I mean it,” I promised. I was determined I could live here, despite Thane. “I’m settled here. Even without …”
“Then it’s decided.” Lachlan strode across the room and handed each of us a coffee. “Until you can find something more permanent, I have a server position open at the castle. You can start whenever you want.”
“Really? You trust me to work there?”
My soon-to-be brother-in-law smiled. “I trusted you with my niece and nephew, so I certainly trust you to work at the club.”
It was so similar to what Thane had said only days before that I had to lower my eyes to cover the flinch of pain. Yet if I was staying in Ardnoch, I had to get used to it. I was going to see Thane, Eilidh, and Lewis more than Thane realized at this point.
“Speaking of.” Robyn squeezed my shoulder. “The kids are asking for you. There’s only so long we can tell them you’re sick.”
Sipping my coffee, I moved out of my sister’s embrace and slumped down on the sectional. “Thane expects me to say goodbye to them. And I don’t want to. So … I’m putting it off.”
“My brother doesn’t know you’re staying?”
I shook my head. “He thinks I’m leaving soon, I guess.”
“Then don’t say goodbye.” Lachlan stared at me with a gleam in his eyes. “It’ll only confuse them when you never leave.”
“I’ll need to talk with them soon, though, about not being their nanny anymore. The very thought nauseates me.”
Robyn and Lachlan exchanged a look, and my sister turned to me. “I’ve got an idea … why don’t you get all dolled up for the Hogmanay party at Ardnoch. It’ll be an excellent distraction.”
The thought of pasting a smile on and socializing with movie stars wasn’t as appealing as it might have been six months ago. Plus, Thane would be there.
“Thane’s not coming,” Robyn assured me, as if she’d read my mind. “He’s staying home with the kids.”
“I don’t know.” I still didn’t think I had the energy to be the bright, bubbly, breezy version of myself. However, I also didn’t want to be alone in the house with the objects of my affection a mere stone’s throw away.
Something occurred to me. Directing my question at Lachlan, I asked, “I don’t suppose you need extra servers for this party, do you?”
35
Regan
Lachlan wasted no time putting me on his payroll. With employment came the offer to stay in one of the cabins Lachlan rented to seasonal employees just there for the summer. I knew right away he’d discounted my rent and was affronted I was being coddled again until Regan assured me it was just Lachlan’s way. He was extremely generous with his family, and he’d be offended if I refused the discount.