Page 33 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
And maybe, just maybe, because of the concern in his gaze, Leana said, “I just want to help him, Kenneth, and I’m doin’ me best.”
“I ken,” he sighed.
“Then please let me help ye… Him and ye.” Leana looked at his shoulder and then back into his good eye. “I’m askin’ ye to please trust me…”
“I do, lass.”
There was something in his answer, so simple yet sincere, that made her heart race.
She didn’t show it, but it surprised her as much as it pleased her to learn that she had earned his trust.
“Then stop gettin’ in the way of me takin’ care of Hunter. Trust me, just this once,” she pressed.
Kenneth did not respond. He seemed somehow defeated, tense, and tired of the whole situation. Annoyed, but also drained of any emotion.
Looking at him, Leana didn’t know how to feel. Thousands of emotions warred inside her.
She decided it was best to leave it at that and retreat to the castle. She went to the kitchens to prepare a tonic for Hunter's cough, hoping that it would make him feel a little better.
All the while, her thoughts drifted to Kenneth, whom she would see once again when she went to his study to check his wound.
She only hoped that she was not establishing a new routine for them and that frustration would not push them to kiss each other again. She longed for it terribly, but she knew it should not happen again.
She hoped, for both their sakes and Hunter’s, they would simply keep their distance.
CHAPTER 12
Kenneth drummedhis fingers on the desk in an uneven rhythm. Annoyance was written all over his face, though his good eye was steely.
Maybe Leana is right…
He grew even more annoyed because it was not in his nature to give up control, let alone admit he was wrong. But he could see the flaws in his logic.Andin his temperament, when it came to dealing with Leana.
And yet the notion of admitting that Leana might be right about the way he did things rankled. He didn’t like to think about it, because it implied that he’d been acting like a cad, and that was not exactly something he liked.
But he had to admit, at least to himself, that the healer’s questions had been on point. At least to some extent. Andhe could see, as she examined Hunter, the way she skillfully extracted information from him.
She did it gently and with utter caution. She approached him in a way no other healer had ever tried before. And in return, she got accurate answers from the boy, who usually didn’t open up about his ailments to anyone outside his family.
That was a point Kenneth had to concede, but to do so would mean making another mistake. And he didn’t like that notion very much.
“Me Laird?” Jonas, his man at arms, called.
“Aye,” Kenneth said dryly, remembering that he had more pressing matters to attend to than the temper of the impertinent healer.
In front of him stood his man-at-arms with a stack of papers he had to sift through.
“We must plan everything for the council meeting, me Laird. It will be held this week.”
“Aye,” Kenneth uttered, massaging his temples with his fingertips. His head hurt like hell, and he was quite distracted, which was not very common for him. “Repeat what ye told me about the council meeting.”
Jonas gave him a strange look. A hint of amusement flashed in his blue eyes, yet his thin reddish beard did not twitch.
The man-at-arms was generally jovial, but when it came to his job, he was rather serious, loyal, and unreadable. But he and Kenneth had known each other since they were children. They had been best friends for years, and because of that, Jonas could read him as easily as a book.
Something was bothering Kenneth—Jonas could see it. His reddish beard twitched, the smile tugging at his lips. But it might as well be a sneer.
He probably guessed that Kenneth was thinking of a certain healer. A woman who had come to the castle to shake everything in her path.
