Page 26 of Promise Me This

“Might want to head this way before it gets too bad and your power goes, too.”

With a groan of frustration, I walk to the kitchen and peer out the window, quickly noting the power line dancing in the wind. “Right, yeah. Let me get Niamh ready and then we’ll be heading that way.”

“See you soon.” Click.

I pivot on my heel and march back down the hall, accepting that I’ve gotten just about all the sleep I’ll be getting tonight, which is exactly zero. Upon returning to my bedroom, I flip on the bedside lamp and gently shake Niamh’s delicate shoulder. I’ve barely managed to rouse her and slip her shoes onto her feet when the room goes dark.

Shrugging out of my coat, I hang it up on the rack by the door before doing the same with Niamh’s comparably tiny one. The matching gray peacoats look comical next to one another. I glance down at my little girl, and she gazes back at me with sleep-laden eyes. “Come on, love.” I scoop her up.

Her head falls against my chest, and soon she’s soundly asleep once more. I make my way down the hall, the sound of the wind muffled by the many rooms of the large inn. A handful of guests have already congregated in the living room, where they sit scattered about on different furniture, all soaking up the warmth that the fire offers. A quick scan of their faces comes up empty. I’ve just resigned myself to embark on a search for my mother when she steps into the room with two bleary-eyed gentlemen behind her, their arms linked together under the plaid blanket they’ve wrapped around themselves to keep warm.

“Have a seat over here, on the chaise. You’ll be toasty in no time,” Mam offers, gesturing to the lounge chair adjacent to the hearth. The couple nods and follows her directions, snuggling closely together on the old floral chaise.

“Everyone all right?” I whisper, trying not to wake Niamh again. I smooth a hand over her hair, which has nearly completely fallen out of the plaits from this morning, but she insists on keeping them in so she can match Leo.

“Everyone’s grand; just a bit of frostbite here and there. Who needs toes anyway?” She chuckles at her own exaggeration.

“I’m sure everyone’s toes are intact, Mam.” The winters here are mild enough, although I wouldn’t be choosing to hang out in five-degree weather without heat if given the choice. Clearly, since I’m here.

Something registers in my mother’s thoughts, rippling across her expression. She crosses her arms and surveys the room. “Now, I haven’t seen Leona.”

Electricity sparks down my spine at the mention of her name, reaching all the way to my fingertips, which clench onto Niamh a little tighter. I do my best to maintain a neutral expression, but I see the moment Mam notices my reaction because her lips stretch into a Cheshire grin.

“Why don’t you go up and check on her?” She drifts over to the one open sofa, collapsing onto it as though all energy has suddenly left her. “I’d do it, but I’m just absolutely knackered from all this running around.” Her arms stretch out, and she makes grab-hands at me. “Give Niamh to me; us two gals will warm up by the fire.”

“Convenient,” I grumble. I shift my weight from one foot to another, weighing my options. I don’t know how to face Leo after ignoring her in the market, but that’s not exactly something I can share with my mother. “I’m sure if she were cold, she’d come down here.”

“I wouldn’t have known there was a fire going if Siobhan hadn’t come to tell us,” one of the gentlemen—an American, according to his accent—offers from his spot on the chaise. “We were resigned to cuddle naked for warmth.”

His partner gives a cheeky grin that’s a bit too suggestive for me to feel comfortable witnessing. Or perhaps it’s the mental image of Leo and I doing the very same that causes me to flush.

Either way, leaving the room and the plethora of watchful gazes behind before my skin crawls right off my body suddenly seems like the least awful option.

“Fine, I’ll go get her.” I settle Niamh beside her granny and head for the hall, my steps echoing back to me. I don’t let myself think about what I’m doing—can’t, really. If I do, I’ll never make it past the second-floor landing.

When I’ve finally reached the top of the stairs, the backs of my knuckles bounce softly off Leo’s door, barely penetrating my eardrums, let alone the solid wood. I shake the tension out of my shoulders and try again, this time firmly rapping my fist in a staccato of knocks.

There’s no sound on the other side of the door. No bed creaking or footsteps tiptoeing my way. I close my eyes tightly and let out a resigned sigh before clearing my throat. I knock once more and call out, “Leo?”

Nothing. Surely she’s not grown to be this hard of a sleeper. Is she ignoring me on purpose?

Right, she can freeze then. No need for me to stand on this landing shivering while she makes a point with her grudge by giving me the silent treatment. I’ve made up my mind to leave her when suddenly my hand moves of its own volition, reaching for the doorknob and turning it. Before I can come to my senses, I’m over the threshold, standing in the chilled moonlight of her room and staring at a sleeping Leo for the first time in a dozen years.

I can’t explain the feeling that takes over my entire body in that moment. I stagger forward, drawn to her inexplicably, even as my brain roars that this is a mistake. Leave her be, it urges, the exact opposite message from this afternoon. Let her suffer.

But she is suffering, and that’s why I can’t stay away.

She’s dreaming, I can tell that much. With a moan of pain the likes of which I’ve never heard, she tosses and turns in her sleep. Her legs thrash beneath the sheets, and despite the cold, she’s broken out in a thin sheen of sweat that sets her forehead to shimmering in the moonlight drifting through her window. The wind rattles it in the frame, but the noise isn’t reaching her wherever she’s gone. Neither is my voice, calling to her.

“Leo? Leo, love, it’s Callum.”

My forward motion only stops because I’m now at the edge of her bed, drawn to her as I always have been. Except she used to be a sun I wanted to orbit, and now she’s a whisper I have to lean close to understand.

I reach for her shoulder, suddenly desperate to break her free from whatever dream has her face wrenched in such suffering. I hesitate when a slow tear spills over the apple of her cheek and down, down, down into the hollow of her throat. My mouth goes dry all of a sudden, and I forget my own name. There is only Leo and Leo’s pain and my desire to protect her from it despite everything.

I shake off the foreign feelings, coming back to myself with a snap. I’m being a creep, staring at her like this while she sleeps. I need to wake her, get her downstairs to warmth, and then go stand out in the wind and rain for a bit so I can calm the fuck down.

“Leona,” I say, much as it pains me, and give her shoulder a gentle shake. With a jolt, she comes alive, fear flashing in the blue abyss of her eyes before recognition and confusion swirl together in her expression.

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