Page 74 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
Maybe I shouldnae want love. Nae if it hurts this badly to lose it.
But had she really lost anything? She had been so certain Daniel cared for her in the way she cared for him. But caring words and gentle kisses weren't enough to make him admit it. Was she just fooling herself?
Lana shoved clothes into her bag, too angry to fold them. The person she was most worried about was Skye. She and the little girl had grown nearly inseparable, and she didn't want to upset her. The child had lost her mother once, and Lana hated to abandon her.
But then she thought of Daniel and Skye in the great hall, with the sunlight streaming through the windows. She saw them laughing together as Daniel spun his daughter in the air on his foot.
Some alone time for the two of them may not be a bad thing. Even if Daniel didn't want to admit it, he was opening up. And Lana knew Skye would continue to thaw his frozen heart.
"Ye cannae leave!"
Lana looked up as a flash of color and fabric raced into her room. She nearly fell over as Skye launched herself at her legs, holding tight.
"Och, little one," Lana breathed, dropping down to her haunches to be at the child's eye-level. "It will be alright."
"Nay," Skye whined. She was crying, and Lana wanted to do anything to make her tears stop. "It willnae be. Ye must stay here."
"I'll be back," Lana promised, stroking the girl's hair. "Ye will hardly notice I am gone."
"We need ye," Skye insisted. "Ye are the only one who takes me to the cows. And me kitten isnae grown yet."
"Yer kitten will grow all on her own," Lana assured her. "And I'll tell yer uncle Cam to take ye to the cows."
"But what about Papa?"
Lana pulled back to look at Skye, using the sleeve of her dress to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "What about him, dear one?"
"Ye are the only one who can make Papa smile. Without ye, he will only brood and scowl."
They heard someone clear their throat in the doorway, and Lana looked up to see Daniel standing there. Just as Skye had said, he was scowling at them.
"Skye, leave us," Daniel said.
Lana turned away quickly as the ache in her chest throbbed. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. It only made her feel ashamed after their time in the study, when she had shown him her heart and he had crushed it.
"I willnae leave without saying goodbye," Lana told Skye. She gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and then turned back to her packing.
She kept her eyes on the clothes scattered across the bed, her back to Daniel.
"Ye look beautiful, Papa."
The words intrigued her, but Lana didn't look up. She worried she would melt to the floor in shame if she looked up at him.
"I willnae change me mind," she muttered.
She threw her nightgown into the bag, tossing it much harder than she meant to. She had half a mind to throw the thing out the window for all the trouble it had caused her.
"Look at me," Daniel demanded softly.
Lana refused. She felt his presence at her back, but she couldn't turn around. Tears were already pricking her eyes, and a lump was forming in her throat.
"Please, Lana."
His hand rested on her elbow, and she froze. With the lightest pressure, he spun her around. Her eyes wandered up to his face, and she saw that he wasn't wearing his eyepatch.
"I was an idiot," he sighed, gently shaking his head. "Ye were so kind, but I couldnae listen. I couldnae believe ye."
She didn't speak. She only waited, wondering if he would have the courage to finally open up to her.
