And then she realized. By not taking care of Mandy and Jax, she’d allowed them to flourish and become independent.
Was it possible they didn’t need her anymore?
A week after Kate had returned, she sat in the living room one evening with Mandy and Jax. Her family, the two people she was closest to in the world. The two people she’d lived for.
Was it time she tried to live for herself? Now that the restaurant wasn’t struggling, she could finally think about what she wanted.
What she wanted was for Ian to love her. For them to be together. But that wasn’t possible.
So she had to do something in this century. And that something didn’t lie in Cape Haute anymore.
“I’m thinking about leaving,” she said.
Mandy’s face fell. Jax’s eyebrows rose to his hairline and he climbed onto the couch to sit next to Kate.
“Aunt Kate, don’t you want to live with us anymore?”
“Well, your mom has been doing so great without me, I think I’ll only be a burden.”
Mandy frowned. “No, sweetie, never. It has always been the two of us against the world.”
“Yes. But I don’t think you need me to take care of you anymore. You’ve actually been doing much better on your own.”
Mandy bit her lip and picked at her fingernails. “I’ve been enjoying running things… But it doesn’t mean I don’t need you. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
“I know.” Kate smiled. “I love you, too, Mandy. But I’ve always felt out of place in Cape Haute. And you fit much better here. I think I’m going to leave and start something of my own.”
“Really?”
Kate’s smile broadened. Now that the words were out, lightness filled her body. It felt right, like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Yeah. If you’re okay with it. I’ll still send money for Jax’s college fund. But I don’t think I can stay here anymore and be happy. You were right, I’ve always wanted something else. It’s time to act on it.”
“Kate… I don’t know what to say. Are you sure?”
Kate looked into her sister’s eyes. All these years, everything that Kate had become, had been because of Mandy. To provide for her, to take care of her.
A lifetime together connected them. And Kate was grateful for the time she’d had with her sister. But she saw it in Mandy’s eyes, and they both knew, they’d outgrown each other. It was time for Kate to move on—but also for Mandy.
“I’ll miss you, Kate,” Mandy said, smiling through tears.
Jax hugged her. “And I’ll miss you, Aunt Kate.”
Kate’s eyes burned from tears. “Me, too.”
She hugged Jax back and kissed his head, inhaling the familiar homey scent of him.
“Where will you go?” Mandy wiped her eyes.
Kate wanted to say she’d go back to Ian. But Ian didn’t want her. Her stomach sank at the thought, every cell of her body hurting. She shook her head. She needed to learn to live without him. A new life where she’d be independent and could finally realize her dream of creating the restaurant she wanted. A weird one. A mix. That was what she’d always imagined New York must be—a mix of everything. Surely, she’d find her customers there.
“New York,” she said.
But her heart whispered that she may realize her dream in New York, but she’d never be truly happy or complete without the red-haired Highlander. The Highlander who was kinder and more powerful than anyone she knew—in this time or in the past.
The Highlander who could never love her back.
Chapter 32
“Nae, cousin, ye didna die.”
The voice penetrated Ian’s consciousness, strangely distant, as if echoing in a deep chamber. The voice sounded familiar, and Ian made an effort to open his eyes.
His eyelids felt as though they were made of iron, his body heavy and wet. At least he hadn’t burned to death in that hell of high fever he’d inhabited for what felt like his whole life.
“I didna die?” Ian croaked.
He finally managed to open one eye. Owen sat by his side, his face dark against the gray sunlight filtering through the window behind him.
“Ye’re alive, although ye do look like a corpse.”
“Did I ask if I died?”
“Aye.”
“Oh.” Ian smacked his dry lips. “I hoped I were dead.”
He’d hoped the misery of existence without Kate would end.
Owen brought a cup to Ian’s face and held his head. Ian drank the cool water, which felt like life being poured back into him.
“Why are ye here?” Ian asked when Owen put the cup away. “Not that I’m nae glad to see ye.”
“Ye’ve been lying in fever for days, delirious, calling fer Kate.”
Her name brought a heavy weight to Ian’s chest. Anguish stiffened him like a muscle cramp, painful and powerful. But there was no muscle he could move to make the ache go away. What was he going to do without her? He’d had a purpose before, to protect her. To help her get back home.
Now all that was left was emptiness. The last place she’d ever touched him was here. She’d lain in the bed with him, worried for him and so bonnie it had pained him to look at her.
She’d said she’d stay for him…
“She’s gone now,” Ian said. “So it doesna matter.”
Owen narrowed his eyes. “Cousin. I recognize the look. I saw it on Craig when Amy was gone.”
Ah, Craig’s new wife. The woman who’d made Craig deliriously happy. “’Tis different.”
Ian shifted to sit up, but his head spun. His wounds ached. The one on his thigh pained him the most. The ones on his chest and his arm ached and scratched—signs of healing.
“What are ye doing here?” Ian repeated the question, attempting to distract Owen from speaking of Kate…and also to think of something besides the pain.
“I came to deliver a message to Kenneth MacKenzie from the Bruce, and they told me
