The Highlander's Time

stalked her with his hard on and his wolfish smile. “Iaen, it's not fair to the kids.”
    “Is it fair to you?”
    “Of course it isn't.”
    “Will you cope?”
    “Do I have a choice?” Jenny winced when Lila threw something against the adjoining wall. It was amazing how the acoustics of the Keep worked. There were at least eight inches of stone separating them and she could still hear the commotion. “You know I don't.”
    “Neither do the children. On the morrow, she will be moved to a cottage in the village.”
    “You can't be serious.”
    “I am.”
    “She'll wreak havoc on those poor innocent people. I know her, Iaen. She'll get so drunk,” her voice caught. “She'll kill herself with alcohol.” Memories of her father being rushed to the Emergency Room after a weekend long bender brought all the horror home. He'd had his stomach pumped so many times, promised her he'd go into rehab after each time he was released that she felt like she'd failed him. She had failed him . She couldn't infuse his life with her mother's steadying presence or get him to give up mourning the woman he'd loved to distraction. In her opinion, she'd practically-held-a-gun-to-his-head, killed him. “Don't do it.” Tears stung at her the corners of her eyes. “Don't make me go through that again.” The last time he'd gone into the hospital played through her mind like a super-high definition movie. He'd been throwing up blood but refused to tell her what was wrong. When he finally confessed he was sicker than he'd let on it was too late. His heart gave up just before his kidneys failed.
    “Lass, you are no more responsible for her actions, than she is able to control herself when she is deep in her cups.” He grabbed her arm, steadying her on the lip of the bed a split second before she fell to the stone floor. Gathering her in his arms, he held her through the emotional storm. “There isnae aught you can fix.”
    “I hate you, Jenny. Do you hear me? I hate you.”
    “She's screaming out the window,” Jenny explained. “She can't get to me, but she is in her own way. She's tearing me up inside.”
    “Jenny, you cannae let her destroy you.”
    Easy for you to say. You don't have to live with yourself after she pukes blood and blames you for all her mistakes . Curling into his embrace, Jenny wanted to run, just not back to the future or the past or out of the Castle Kincaid. Nope. She wanted to escape the memories that wouldn't ever leave her alone.
    “Tell me,” he prompted her when she started to babble in a nonsensical mish-mash of English, French and Gaelic. She threw in some Latin here and there, confusing the mix even more. She couldn't center on a specific language, that's how deep her confusion went.
    It wasn't so much he could understand her. Exhausted to the point her teeth ached and her body moved in robotic form, she sobbed. It was that he was willing to listen to her.
    She poured out all her worries, grief and fears in a gush. “I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to have us live like this.”

    ***

    Iaen listened to her. The smattering he understood told him a story he detested. His lady had been put through hell, and at each turn, she'd been left very alone with her guilt. “Shh,” he whispered when her tears were finally spent.
    Laying her back on her pillow, he held her close. The whole time he waited for her breathing to even out, he came to grips with a bitter truth. Jenny had faced as much, if not more, than he had during her life. She was a warrior, but she was also a woman. She needed to be held—to have someone hear her—the penchant reminded him of his mother.
    Brushing the remaining tears from her cheeks, he kissed her forehead. Assured she was fast asleep, he exited the bed. He knew exactly what he was going to do and precisely where he'd begin to heal his lady's troubled heart.
    Lila was about to spend her last moments in their home.
    Shoving his legs into his chauces, he strode out of the room bare-chested. He noted the people standing on his balcony. “Patricia, is Mary asleep?”
    “Nay. 'Twould take death for her to sleep through all the caterwauling. Miss Lila is in a fit tonight. That be for sure, milord.”
    “See Mary is placed with milady and don't leave them until I return.”
    “At once, milord.”
    “Elspeth, stay with Patricia's elder children. They may worry for her safety and try to leave the room. Malcolm, go with her. I'll not have frightened