Everlastin' Book 1 (9 page)

“Get ou'! I don’t want ma
son layin' eyes on you!”

“Mum, where's ma lunch?”
boomed a voice. A tall man in his early thirties bounded into the
room. “Kelly and the boys are goin' to meet me—”

The sight of a stranger
standing in the parlor gave the man pause and a cocky grin quirked
on his mouth. “Sorry, Mum. Didn’t know we had
company....”

His voice trailed off as he
became aware of the stranger's attire. He looked into the man's
eyes. How he knew, he didn't understand, but the truth lanced him
with unmerciful accuracy. His dark blue eyes appeared enormous in
his ashen face as he fell back a step.

“Borgie,” Lachlan said,
giving the man a mocking nod of greeting. “We meet at
last.”

After several attempts to
speak, Borgie managed, “Wha' do you want?”

Lachlan searched Agnes' taut
expression. “Checkin' in on yer mither.” Looking at Borgie, he
asked, “Have you a job, mon, or are you still a worthless lump o’
flesh?”

“Get ou'!” Agnes shrilled,
blue veins mapping her brow and temples. “You can’t come
into
ma
home and
insult ma boy!”

With a smug smile, Lachlan
walked up to Borgie and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Yer
bastard's a mon, no' a boy, Aggie.” Placing his face inches from
the terrified man's nose, he grinned off to one side. “Ye're
lookin' a wee pale, lad. A pint—” He clipped Borgie in the gut with
the back of a hand. “—will stiffen yer spine, aye?”

Befuddled, Borgie shook his
head then nodded.

Straightening, Lachlan cast
Agnes a pitying look. “In the morn. It'll do you good to wait on
someone worth their spit.”

* * *

The sudsy hot water served
to ease the tension in Beth's aching body. Only the throbbing knot
at the back of her head remained. Submerged to her chin, her knees
poking above the iridescent bubbles, she closed her eyes and tried
to ignore the thoughts that had been plaguing her since she'd left
the gazebo two hours earlier.

At any time, Carlene and
David should return. Then she would have plenty to occupy her mind.
She could shut out Lachlan and the pain his inquisition had
prompted.

“Please.”

The softly spoken voice in
her head caused her to squeeze her eyes shut.

“Do it for me.”

“Don't ask me, Ma,” she
whispered.

“The pain, Beth. It never
stops.”

Beth blinked hard, refusing
to give in to a threat of tears.

“How can you ignore my
suffering. Damn you, Beth. Damn you!”

A burning sensation lodged
in Beth’s chest. “I c-can't. Don't ask me again.”

“Ask wha', lass?”

The deep voice crashed down
on her. She nearly sprang up out of the bath, stopping herself when
she spied Lachlan leaning against the doorjamb across from her. He
held a plate laden with fruits and cheese. Ignoring the crimson in
her face, he casually seated himself on the closed lid of the
toilet next to her.

“Have you eaten
today?”

She blinked at him as if
disbelieving he was in the bathroom with her. He popped one of the
purple grapes into his mouth and took his time chewing it, his gaze
studying her. When he proffered the plate, she shrank back into the
bubbles.

“Get out!”

In response to her shrill
tone, he placed an isolated finger in his ear and jiggled it. “Ma
day for bein' told where to go.”

“You can't come in
here!”

He looked about him in mock
bewilderment. “But I am in here. Have I embarrassed you?” He
chuckled when she glared at him. “Guess I have.”

“I asked you to stay away
from me.”

“I must have forgotten,” he
grinned and proffered the plate once again. A smile of satisfaction
played on his mouth when she churlishly plucked a wedge of sharp
cheddar from the plate.

She chewed and swallowed.
“Now get out! I don’t think David and Carlene will appreciate you
treating me like this!”

“Wha' would you like
for....” He frowned. “You Yanks call it supper, aye?”

“If I'm hungry, I'll fix
myself something. Get out!”

“I thought perhaps we could
picnic in one o’ the south gardens.”

“No, thank you. Get
out!”

He released a dry chuckle
and placed the plate behind him on the tank. “You plan to waste the
day sulkin', do you?”

“Leave me alone and
get out!”

“Ah.” He scratched the back
of his neck. “I would have thought you'd had yer fill o’ bein'
alone. Silly me.”

Beth sliced a hand along the
surface of the water. A wave jumped the edge of the tub and landed
on Lachlan's lap.

“Nice,” he said with a
grimace.

Anger simmered in her core.
“I prefer to bathe in private, thank you!”

“Tell me, Beth,” he began,
resting his elbows just above his bent knees, “would you have gone
all the way? In the gazebo, I mean.”

Beth glared at him, her face
dark purple.

“You see, I’ve a wee problem
understandin' women. Wha' they say and wha' they do is often
contradictory.”

“Really? And men are simply
black and white?”

“Aye.”

“You'd better get a
shovel.”

Her words perplexed him.
“Wha' for?”

“To start unloading the shit
piling up in here.”

Lachlan's jaw dropped. “Tis
no way for a lady—”

“Which you obviously don't
consider me or you wouldn't be sitting there gawking at
me!”

For the first time, she was
awarded the pleasure of seeing Lachlan brought down a notch.
Ruffled, he rose to his feet and exited the room. From beyond the
door, he called, “I'll be in the kitchen when ye’re done. Kindly
bring down the plate.”

Anger thumped behind her
chest. Without thought, she sprang out of the tub. Grabbing the
plate, she ran into the bedroom in time to see him approaching the
door to the hall. Before he made it across the threshold, she flung
the plate. Fruit and cheese scattered in all directions, but the
plate itself caught him between the shoulder blades. With a grunt
of surprise, he turned and glowered at her, but his expression
morphed into one of amazement.

Her anger plummeted to a
feeling of utter vulnerability. Suddenly aware that she was naked
and alone with a man she knew very little about, she took a
hesitant step back.

Lachlan crossed the room,
his chest rising and falling with each breath. Never had Beth seen
anyone's eyes betray such intensity they seemed to possess the
ability to see into her soul.

He dodged into the bathroom
and returned with a towel. Standing in front of her, he wrapped it
around her and positioned her hands to hold it in place. All the
while, she could not move or look at him.

“Feelin' better?” he asked
huskily, taking a step back.

“S-somewhat.”

“Hmm. Afore you set foot in
this house, I was o’ the impression you were o’ a gentle
nature.”

Beth lifted her chin in
defiance. “I'm a little...out of sorts.”

“Bitchy, you
mean.”

“Bitchy. Yes.”

“Jet lag.”

She moistened her lips with
the tip of her tongue. “Possibly.”

“Perhaps you should go by
sea next time, lass.”

“There will never be a next
time.”

A shadow fell across his
face before he sharply turned away and began to gather up the fruit
and cheese. Beth watched him warily, her arms tightly folded across
the towel section covering her breasts. She remained silent as he
returned everything to the plate. This time when he looked at her,
there was a disquieting air about him that elicited a chill to move
up her spine.

“I regret ye’re so unhappy.
I'll leave you be.”

Beth stood very still for
some time after the door had closed behind him. He'd been right
about one thing. She'd never known she possessed a temper until
she'd arrived in this house. Or was it temper? Anger would spear
her from out of nowhere over the littlest thing, and she felt she
had no control over her actions.

By the time she dressed in a
pair of jeans and a baggy cotton top, she felt drained. Incapable
of self-examining her uncharacteristic behavior, she brushed her
hair into a ponytail then stood at the window and peered out across
the gardens. After a time, she spied movement down by the nearest
trellis display of ivy.

A breath gushed from her
nostrils.

So her reunion with Carlene
hadn't gone as she'd planned, but it was no excuse for taking out
her disappointment on Lachlan. He'd tried his best to entertain
her. Anyone else would have turned their back on her.

She exited the front of the
house and walked directly to where she'd seen him from the window.
But to her dismay, he was nowhere in sight.

Serves you right, you
idiot. Dammit, Beth, what is going on with you?

She seemed to have a
tendency to fall into his arms at the first signal he was going to
kiss her. And yet, whenever he reached out to offer her emotional
comfort, she lashed out at him. She'd always considered herself a
level-headed woman. Now she was beginning to wonder if she knew
herself at all.

She had never experienced
such a powerful sexual attraction until she met Lachlan. It was as
if they shared a bond that was certainly beyond her
understanding.

A cool breeze swept around
her, and she crossed her arms and drew in her shoulders. After a
moment of inspecting her surroundings for a sign of Lachlan, she
sat on the ground and curled her legs close to her.

The ache thrumming at the
back of her head reminded her she'd forgotten to take some aspirin.
She considered going back inside the house for them, but couldn't
bring herself to move from this spot.

Not a sound stirred. Above
her, white, fluffy clouds were shredding across the azure
sky.

Bringing up a knee, she
folded her arms atop it to pillow her head. Deep fortifying breaths
moved in and out of her lungs. Although she could feel the sun on
her back, her skin felt unnaturally cold, as were her
insides.

Carlene, please hurry back.
I think I’m losing my mind, kiddo.

Lulled by the serenity of
the outdoors and the fragrances of flowers and evergreens, she
closed her eyes. She was almost in sleep's embrace when something
fell across her back. Lifting her head, a half-smile played along
her lips. She drowsily watched Lachlan sit across from her, his
legs bent to each side of her, his hands gripping the corners of
the blanket he'd draped over her shoulders.

“I was thinkin', lass,” he
sighed. “I've been too impatient wi’ you.”

“I shouldn't have thrown the
dish at you.”

His smile caused a pull
within Beth's heart.

“I've had worse done to
me.”

“Never by me...I
hope.”

A somber mood came over
Lachlan. “Ye're lookin' pale again.”

“I can't help worrying about
Carlene and David. You don't think something happened to them, do
you?”

“No.”

“Shouldn't they have been
back by now?”

He gave a negligent shrug.
“Hard to say. They're young and in love.”

Drawing up her other knee,
she linked her arms about them. “I guess I really don't know her
anymore. Eight years is a long time.”

“I dinna think she's changed
much.”

“How long have you known her
and David?”

“Little more than a
year.”

“You've worked for them that
long?”

He nodded. “I come wi' the
house.”

“You do, huh?” she chuckled
then sobered. “Why aren't you married? I mean...I know this is kind
of personal, but men like you don’t grow on trees.”

Lachlan's eyebrows quirked
upward. “Och, lass, a compliment. But I was married
once.”

“What happened?”

“She died.”

“I'm sorry.”

“It wasna a good
marriage.”

“Why?”

“I was a rash young mon.
Married her for all the wrong reasons.”

“How can there be wrong
reasons for loving someone? You did love her, didn't
you?”

Lachlan stared deeply into
Beth's eyes. “I thought so at the time. But things happened. For a
long time, I was bitter.” He adjusted the blanket about her
shoulders and inched closer. “I had this notion all women were like
her. Heartless. Greedy. Wantin' mair’n a mon could ever give
them.

“A lot of couples have come
and gone from this house, Beth. I had resigned maself to bein’
alone until David and Carlene came along. They're a good match.
He's the quiet, deep sort; she's fire and air all
awhirl.”

Beth laughed at his
description. “I guess she hasn't changed. She was a hell-raiser in
school.”