24. The Courage of Love

24

THE COURAGE OF LOVE

B linking, Taryn focused her eyes on her mother. She was crouched on the ground, clutching her husband’s bleeding shoulder, Lachlan’s arrow still lodged deeply beneath his flesh. Taryn considered that she and her mother had once looked nearly identical. They both sported the same strikingly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Taryn had often seen men stare as her mother walked by.

But her mother’s features had been twisted by the bitterness that welled inside her. Her eyes were no longer beautiful and kind but harsh and abrasive. Her lips, pursed and wrinkled, were forever turned into a scowl. She looked every bit her age and then some.

However, more than that, Taryn realized that she no longer saw her mother and father as she studied the two people in front of her. She only saw a couple willing to see to her death.

“How could ye be so heartless? I did nae raise ye to be so woefully ungrateful that ye would run off with this lot, nae while yer father is injured.” Rowena huffed, pointed an immaculate and bony finger at Taryn. “Dinnae make matters worse. Do as ye are told and stay where ye are. It is the least ye can do after all the problems ye have caused. Think of yer father.”

“Nay.”

The word slipped out of Taryn’s mouth before she could think it through, but it felt fitting all the same.

“I am done obeying. I am done listening to ye. To either of ye.”

“We are yer parents,” Rowena hissed.

“Nay, ye are nae. Ye are simply the woman who birthed me. A true mother and father would nae have stood idly by at the prospect of their only child’s death. Ye both are nothing but selfish cowards, too blinded by yer own greed to see the danger the rest of this clan is in.”

Scoffing, Rowena stood to argue back, but Taryn didn’t give her the chance.

“Ye have proven here today that ye dinnae care about me or this clan. And since none of ye will do what is needed to protect these people, I will. And I will ask my real family to help me.”

Leaping down from the scaffold, James reached behind him, lifting Taryn up and then lowering her to the ground. Lachlan and Aila followed suit, staying one step behind them. The team marched through the crowd, weapons in hand, eyes ahead. None of them bothered to turn and see that nearly everyone from the McGregor Clan had joined them. They already knew the tides of change were upon them, and this change would finally be for the better.

“I must be dreaming.”

Taryn’s murmurs of disbelief were lost in the wave of voices that trailed behind her. No one could hear her speak. She could hardly hear herself. It was that inability to decipher the voices and faces around her that convinced her everything that was happening wasn’t real.

She was going to wake up at any moment, jolted awake by the guards clamoring for her death. Or worse, she was going to discover at some point that she had already died, and these imaginings were the beginning of her afterlife. She would be doomed to wander the McGregor Clan as penance for being such an instrumental part of its downfall.

The only thing that secured her grip on reality was James’ warm, calloused hand wrapped around hers. He tugged her through the crowd, guiding her. He never let her get more than a step behind him, keeping their clasped hands close. His stare was enough to scare off anyone brave enough to get close. And if anyone had been foolish enough to try to get close, Lachlan’s impressive aim kept them from making themselves known.

“Where are we going?” she asked in a daze.

There was so much to figure out, so much to plan; the first, and perhaps the most important, being where they were going to go now that James had made them all enemies of the clan. Though perhaps she had long since been an enemy of the clan, hidden in ignorance of the fact.

“Away from here,” James told her briskly.

She had never seen him so determined, so focused on a task. She supposed he didn’t want to give any of the members of the clan time to change their mind. And of course, with Laird McGregor still standing on the platform in the courtyard, there was still a danger that he would call an order and send the clan plunging back into chaos.

Daring a glance behind her, she caught sight of her mother staring at her, the penetrating gaze conveying all the hatred Taryn was now certain would be coursing through her mother. Any and all signs of worry over Jonah had vanished. Taryn had stripped her parents of their loving facade in front of everyone. There would be no more pretending that they were devoted parents or devoted to each other. All they had ever cared about was power and greed. That much had been made clear to everyone within earshot.

Taryn guessed there would come a day when she would regret her words to her mother, and her father and uncle for that matter too. But today was not that day.

The crowd thinned the further away from the keep they got. Taryn turned back around, forcing herself to keep her eyes on where she was going, not where she had been. It would take a lifetime to forget the feeling of standing in front of a dangling noose, knowing that her family had prepared it for her. But she knew that James would never let anything like that happen to her again.

It felt as though their trek through the courtyard had taken a lifetime, though Taryn knew it had taken no time at all. The weight of her life had been lifted from her shoulders and cast into the wind. She was caught between floating after James and being dragged by him. Everything inside of her was a screaming contradiction.

She was thrilled to be alive, but worried about what that meant for her people. She couldn’t believe that James had returned to her, but where had he gone in the first place, and why had he left her for so long? Taryn had never been happier to see Aila and even Lachlan, but where was Sorcha? And how had they been brought into this entire mess?

The freedom from her family felt as if she could take a deep breath for the first time in a long time, but the irrevocable loss of her parents was a stumbling blow. She felt everything and nothing all at once.

“Climb up, love.”

James’ softly spoken order had Taryn shaking herself out of the fog, only to realize that they were several paces away from the courtyard and from any of her clan members. Lachlan was still standing guard, but Aila was already on Knight’s back, reins in hand. Directly in front of her, was James’ horse and saddle, waiting for Taryn to climb into. She hadn’t realized that James had let go of her hand and was now nudging her towards the stirrup.

When she didn’t move quickly enough, James hoisted her up, placing her in the seat before climbing up behind her.

“Let’s get out of here,” he told Aila and Lachlan, kicking his horse into a run.

Taryn held on, but she didn’t have to. James’ arms had already wrapped around her middle, holding her close and firm to him. They had spent nearly a week riding like this. Those days felt like a lifetime ago. Even farther still were her days traveling the Highlands with Aila by her side. It felt entirely strange and foreign to have both Aila beside her and James behind her as they rode. It was a distinct reminder of everything Taryn’s mind was working so hard to forget.

Try as she might, she simply could not leave behind the fact that her clan was still in grave danger, as was Laura. And from the speech James had given, there were a few more clans to consider as they made their plans. No matter how much Taryn wanted to run away, disappear and start a new life somewhere that no one knew her, she couldn’t abandon her duties. Even more surprising, the longer Taryn thought about it, as she recalled the faces and voices that had cried out for her pardon, Taryn realized she didn’t want to run away.

Her time in the prison cell had reminded her just how much she loved her clan. Though she had seen very little of the McGregor lands and even less of the castle, her journey home had renewed her love for her people. The graceful white coated trees and sharp mountains of her homeland blurred by as they rode, reinforcing the fact that for the first time in so long, she had felt at home once again.

But seeing just how far her parents and uncle had allowed things to fall made it abundantly clear that she was the only one willing to do what was right, what was needed to save the McGregor Clan from ruin.

“Taryn.”

Her mind snapped back to the present moment. It took several slow blinks for her thoughts to catch up to where her body was. Still sitting on the horse with James cradling her, but they were no longer racing away from the home she was desperate to save.

“She has had quite the shock,” Aila answered, not even bothering to mask the concern in her eyes as she studied Taryn’s face.

“It may take her some time to come out of the fog,” Lachlan answered knowingly. “I ken it took me a while every time I felt I had narrowly escaped death.”

“Taryn,” James tried again, this time as a whispered breath of warmth against her ear.

She sighed and leaned into him, allowing his scent to completely envelop her once more.

“I thought I would never get to hold yer hand or hear my name on yer lips again,” she admitted softly.

Her eyes fluttered close. Slowly, she evened out her breath and relaxed every muscle in her body that had been clenched for the past several weeks.

“Give us a moment, aye?”

The question, directed at Aila and Lachlan, was a welcomed reprieve for Taryn.

“We will water the horses,” Lachlan answered.

James eased out of the saddle, leaving Taryn feeling bereft and cold. The clearing was surrounded by thick evergreen trees that were kind enough to block the winter wind from Taryn’s face. And with the sun shining bright in a cloudless sky, she knew there was little reason for her to feel as cold as she did, but still, she shivered.

“Come here, my love,” James beckoned, reaching up to her.

She went into his arms willingly, grateful to be encompassed in his warmth once again. Aila took the horse’s reins and led them all away, leaving James and Taryn alone. As alone as they could be in an otherwise empty clearing, at least.

“Och, Taryn,” James sighed.

The pads of his thumbs brushed across her cheeks, smearing a wetness on her skin she hadn’t noticed before.

“Why are ye crying?”

“I-I did nae realize I was,” she told him, blinking only to find her eyelashes heavy with tears.

Her newfound awareness of the tears sent a fresh wave tumbling down her face. James pulled her into a fierce hug, his arms wrapped around her, holding her in place. He squeezed her, as if that would be enough to fit together all of her broken pieces once more. She gladly buried her face in his tartan, the thick wool absorbing her sadness so completely that there was little trace left of it on her cheeks.

When James pulled away, several minutes later, he studied her face, searching and scanning for any signs of injury. Content to find none, he stepped back even more, pushing her to arm’s length. He studied her again, searching the rest of her body for injuries too. Only once he was satisfied with her torn and muddied dress, tangled and matted hair, and dirt and tear streaked face, did he pull her back into him.

“Tell me how I can stop these tears,” he softly whispered.

Taryn shook her head, unsure of why she was crying in the first place, let alone how to soothe her raw emotions.

Clutching the sides of her face, James continued to brush away her tears with his thumbs, cleaning the evidence of her time in the cell from her skin while he did so.

“I thought ye would be pleased to see me,” he joked, the corners of his lips creating a ghost of a smile. “But it seems that the sight of me only reduces ye to tears.”

“I am so verra pleased ye are here,” Taryn blurted out, horrified that he would think she was anything but glad to see him. “It is all too much. I cannae get my mind to stop moving.”

Before she knew what he was doing, James tugged her into him and pressed a firm, warm kiss to her lips. He stole her breath completely and then moved again, releasing her from his touch before she could settle into him.

“Did that help?” he asked, serious but with a gleam in his eye.

She blinked, her emotions having been tugged in a new, sweeter direction. Unable to come up with a response quickly enough, James bent his head and kissed her again, longer and slower this time. Her body answered him in a way that her words never could. Her hands, having been cold fists pressed against his chest, unfurled and splayed across him. She sighed and let his warmth seep into her.

“How about now?” he tried, having pulled away once more.

Her cheeks flushed as a more genuine smile emerged on her face. James smiled back at her, the twinkle in his eyes whisking away all the turmoil she had been burdened with only moments before.

“Once more, for good measure.”

Despite the warning, Taryn was still not prepared for the passion and heat that now infused their kiss. James took his time, wooing her into a complete state of relaxation. Mercifully, her mind focused on nothing but him, relishing his touch. Her bones and thoughts melted away until only James existed. She didn’t hear the birds chirping, or the gentle rushing stream several yards away. She wasn’t thinking about Lachlan and Aila and if they had averted their gaze to give the new couple privacy. She could only think of James.

When he ended the moment, Taryn nearly grunted in frustration, every part of her craving him as though he were the tonic to ease all of her suffering. James chuckled and pressed his forehead into hers, keeping her as close as he could.

“How did ye… Why did…” she stammered, trying to get the words to form on her now swollen lips. “What made ye think to kiss me?”

“Because I ken that when I kiss ye, I can think only of ye. I suppose I was hoping it would be the same for ye.”

The simple truth in his answer melted her almost as much as his kisses had. Her eyes drifted shut, finally content to be at rest with him, her tears gone with no sign of returning.

“Taryn,” he said after a moment, her name sounding like a cry of anguish rather than a beckon of love. “I will never be able to apologize enough for what I have done, the part I have played in all of this. I was an idiot for coming after ye. I should have let ye be, happy in the life ye were building for yerself.”

She shook her head against his, but James carried on.

“When I saw ye standing on that wretched platform, I could nae breathe. I thought my life was going to end right alongside yers. I thought I was too late. And I hated myself for having to leave ye, abandoned with nay promise that I would return. It is by pure luck that I found Lachlan and Aila, but I still hate that it took so long to get back to ye. I am so sorry, my love. I am so verra sorry.”

Their roles reversed, Taryn caressed his cheeks, shushing him and his regrets away. She pressed a kiss to his right cheek, then his left before moving up to kiss each eye, the tip of his nose, and finally captured his lips.

“I am all right,” she told him after another breathtaking moment. “I am safe, thanks to ye. The entire time I was in my cell, I thought of nothing but my family, my real family. It was yer courage and determination to save the clan that made me brave. I thought of how much Aila and Sorcha love me, I thought of the way the children laugh and play games. I thought of how much I love ye.”

Her last admission was a whispered one, the words foreign and vulnerable.

“It is because of all of ye that I did nae fall into despair. Even as I stood in front of that noose, I kent that I had lived a good life, having felt yer love. I did nae feel alone.”

“Och, my verra brave lass. I swear to ye, for the rest of my days, I will never leave ye alone again. I will stand by yer side if ye will have me. I love ye, Taryn. My life is pointless without ye, and I want to spend the rest of it with ye, protecting ye.”

“What are ye saying?” She asked, her breath hitched in her chest.

“Will ye marry me, Taryn McGregor?”

Once again, he had stolen her ability to speak. Nodding furiously, Taryn did the only thing she could think of—she kissed him.