“Thank you,” I whisper.
He reaches for my hand. “I’ll bring you out. And remember, you behave yourself. That’s my sister and adopted mum out there, you hear?”
I frown at him. “What do you think I’ll do, curse them out or something?”
He rolls his eyes. “I don’t know. That mouth of yours is a bit unpredictable, you know.”
I stick out my tongue, and he gives me a playful smack to the arse. It does little to soothe my fraught nerves.
They must’ve heard me when I lost my mind. They know that I’ve been… addicted and… loose.
When he reaches to open the door, I bury my head against his arm and can’t look up.
“Oh, Tiernan.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t do it.”
He doesn’t scold or lecture or force the issue. Instead, he releases my hand so he can cup my face between both of his. His eyes bore into mine, making my heart stutter. We’ve only been this close for a few days, but something about my depending on him, his watching over me, has drawn us closer together. I can feel the intensity in his gaze that hits every nerve in my body, the possessive, wild look he gets when he’s intent on something.
“What?” I whisper.
“You can do this,” he says in a vehement whisper. “And you must. I know you’ve got what it takes to be brave, Aisling. You do. And those women out there are the fiercest, strongest women I know.” He kisses me full on the lips, and I come up on my toes, immediately drowning in this kiss. He releases me, and I exhale, coming back to earth. “And you are brave and fierce enough that you belong among them.”
I shake my head. “How can you say that?” I whisper. “Tiernan, I—you saw me at my worst.”
“I saw you battle fucking demons full-grown men can’t battle. You’ve been brave before. Be brave again, Aisling.”
Tears well in my eyes. I look away so he doesn’t see. Drawing in a deep breath, I square my shoulders. What’s the worst that could happen? They hate me? I’ve been there before.
“That’s my girl,” he says with a note of unmistakable pride in his voice.
He opens the door and we walk out, hand in hand. The chattering ceases. I swallow hard, but force myself to keep my eyes trained forward.
Be brave.
Fiona’s older than she was the last time I saw her, of course, but she’s got the same fetching eyes, flaming red hair, and roguish grin.
“Aisling,” she says warmly. “Y’alright?”
She rises and comes to me, crossing the room as if no time’s passed at all. Tiernan lets go of my hand and Fiona wraps me in a hug. I lean into her embrace, and my throat gets tight, my nose all tingly.
“Had a right go of it, didn’t you?” she says, pulling away so she can hold my hands and look into my eyes. The intensity of the bloody Hurston’s will do my head in.
“Aye,” I say, my voice thick with emotion. “I did. But you’ve done well for yourself, I hear.”
She shrugs modestly.
“Now, Fiona, come share the lass, will you?”
Maeve’s sitting, perched at the end of a loveseat. She smiles and rises to her feet. Her reddish hair’s gray at the temples, twisted in a bun at the nape of her neck. She looks older than when I knew her, but her eyes are still young and childlike.
“Do you remember me, lass?”
I nod shyly. “I do.”
Like Fiona, she embraces me warmly, but she kisses each of my cheeks.
“Come and sit with us,” she says. “I’ll introduce you to Caitlin.”
Caitlin’s Keenan’s woman, wife to the chief. A matriarch-in-training, then, one might say.
Thankfully, she doesn’t rise, but stays seated, her hands clasped over a knee. It puts me at ease.
“Pleased to meet you,” she says in a soft voice. She doesn’t have the Irish brogue like the others, but speaks with an American accent. Caitlin’s tall and willowy with dark black hair that contrasts dramatically with her pale complexion and stark blue eyes.
“Hello,” I say shyly. I don’t know where to sit or what to say next. Thankfully, Tiernan does.
“Tea, girls?” he asks.
“And this is why you’re my favorite,” Maeve says with a grin. “Still calls me girl. Seamus would’ve liked you, son.”
“Aye, Tiernan, please.” I’m suddenly exhausted.
I look around the room, and Fiona pats the seat next to her. “Come here and sit beside me, Aisling.”
I do.
“Now, then,” Maeve says, still smiling. “You’ve grown up to be a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.” I feel shy and reserved.
“We’ll speak plainly, Aisling,” Caitlin says, her pretty eyes sober. “We know that you’ve seen Tiernan take a life. You were chief witness.”
I swallow hard and nod. “I did.”
Maeve’s eyes look troubled. “Are you alright, lass?”
I sigh and nod. “I’ll pay you the courtesy of speaking plainly as well, then. The night of that fight, I wasn’t sober. I was high as a kite, to be honest. And I don’t remember… much of anything except making a damn fool of myself.”
Fiona’s brows draw together. She sighs. “You looked like you were in so much pain. I felt so terrible for you.”
There was a woman who wept in the hallway when I did. It was her, then.
“It was bloody awful,” I say, my voice hoarse. “But Sebastian and… and Tiernan helped.”
Fiona’s eyes go from me to Tiernan, who’s putting teacups and saucers out.
Maeve leans in, her eyes twinkling. “Makes a bloody good cup of tea, he does.”
“Good. Could use a cup laced with the good stuff.”
Caitlin giggles, and Fiona grins. Tiernan frowns. “I don’t think so, lass.”
I roll my eyes. “It was sarcasm, Tiernan.”
“Saw that,” he mutters. I shake my head.
“Oh, they’re all the same,” Fiona whispers. “Goddamn bossy, eh?”
We share a smile. “Oh, aye.” I used to give her crap about the way Lachlan bossed her around. Now it looks as if I’ve got a caveman of my own.
“Now, we’ve come to help, Aisling. If you’re to be a woman of the Clan, we wanted to give you a proper Clan welcome.”
“Ah, no,” Tiernan says, pouring the steaming hot water. “She’s coming with me to St. Albert’s.”
“Doesn’t have to be anything formal, Tiernan,” Caitlin says. “I just meant that the women wanted to welcome her is all.”
Why would I need a Clan welcome when I’m only here for a brief time?
What will happen to me after this?
Caitlin smiles. “Would’ve brought Megan and Aileen as well, and even Sheena would’ve liked to see you again, but we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
I nod. “Appreciated.”
“Now tell us, Aisling,” Maeve says, her eyes growing sober. I can see why she’s garnered respect from the highhanded men of the Clan. “Are you sober?”
“Aye,” Tiernan says. “Fully.”
I nod and swallow. “Aye.”