Page 35 of Scot of Desire
“Fer always trying tae take care of me. Is it nae time we took care of ye? Ye act like the faither of us all, but sometimes, ye need taking care of, Bran.” She whipped him with the handkerchief again for good measure. Bran felt so surprisingly well though that he simply chuckled at her attempts to reprimand him.
As he laughed, she stopped hitting him and moved forward to embrace him instead, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Ye had me very worried fer a while there, braither.”
He held her back, laying his chin on top of Catreena’s head.
“Naught tae worry about,” he assured her. “I’m sorry I worried ye.”
“Speaking of that,” she pulled back and nodded at Ilyssa across the room. “She hasnae left yer side.”
“She hasnae?” Bran looked toward Ilyssa, his heart aching in his chest. The last time he remembered seeing Ilyssa, she was bending over him, her lips practically in the palm of his hand as she leant toward him.
That almost feels like a dream now.
“Maybe it’s time ye stopped parenting us all, and did something fer yerself instead,” Catreena said with a knowing smile. “I’ll go and arrange some food fer ye and let Tad ken how ye are feeling too. I may be gone some time.” She continued to smile as she picked up an empty tray of food that she and Ilyssa had evidently shared and left the room.
Bran waited until he could hear Catreena’s footsteps vanishing down the corridor. He turned to wash up a bit and change, pulling on a fresh set of trews, though he didn’t bother with a shirt, checking constantly that Ilyssa was fast asleep. When he felt fully clean and refreshed, he moved toward her, sinking down to his knees in front of the bench.
He didn’t wake her right away but gazed at her face in the firelight. Her eyes may have been closed but there were deep shadows under them. Clearly, she had stayed awake for long hours, helping to nurse him.
She cares fer me. As I dae fer her.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he reached out and laid a soft hand over her cheek. At once, her eyes shot open.
“Bran?” she whispered; her voice soft as her gaze found his.
“Evening, Ilyssa.”
“Evening? Ye just sayeveningtae me like that?” She brushed his hand away.
Bran leaned back, his stomach clenching tight as he feared he had done something wrong.
“Ilyssa, I –”
“Never, ever dae that again.” She thrust her hands down into his chest.
“If ye are trying tae hurt me, ye might have tae dae that a little harder.”
“Argh!” she raged loudly. She pushed against him, and he fell back, sitting down on the hearth rug as she fell into his lap. She punched him one last time in the chest and then flung her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. The strength of her hug made his smile so big that his cheeks ached.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her as close as he possibly could.
“If ye ever, ever try tae save me life again and end up dying, I’ll kill ye.”
“Ye realize the madness of that?” he whispered with a laugh as they ended up rocking from side to side.
“Dinnae ye realize the madness of what ye did?” she cried aloud, leaning back. Her legs slipped down, and she ended up with her knees on either side of his hips.
Bran couldn’t take the smile off his face as he rested the palms of his hands at the top of her thighs, looking up at her.
“Ye could have died! Ye have been in bed with a fever fer days, and… and…” She had plainly now realized their position too. Her eyes widened as she looked down at his bare chest, then her eyes drifted down to where her legs were settled on either side of his hips, and his palms rested on her legs. “Bran,” she whispered. “Ye dinnae ken what it has done tae me these last few days, sitting here, watching ye fight this.”
“It is over,” he said firmly, needing her to be sure of his safety. “I am well.”
“We could have lost ye.”
“And ye think that thought wasnae on me mind when I saw ye in that water? I would have done anything tae get ye out of there.”
