Misery now stood on Maggie’s face, and Emma walked over pulling her friend into her arms. At first, the slender young woman resisted, but then her head sank down onto Emma’s shoulder and she inhaled a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry for yer pain,” Emma whispered into Maggie’s auburn hair, wondering what had happened in her friend’s past. Never had Maggie spoken of anything that would explain the pain and loss she had seen in her blue eyes just now.
All people ever talked about was how Maggie had come to Scotland to visit her mother’s clan and then had stayed because she had fallen in love with Ian MacDrummond and married him.
That was the story Emma knew, but apparently there was more to it than she ever would have thought.
Pulling back, Maggie ran her hands over her eyes and wiped away her tears. “Ye think too much, Emma,” she said, the ghost of a smile tugging on the corners of her lips. “Nothing good ever comes of it when people think too much. The heart wants what it wants, and no amount of reasonable thinking or good intentions can change that.” Grasping Emma’s hands, Maggie looked at her, her eyes intense, almost pleading. “Ye’re lucky, Emma. Ye still have a chance to marry the man ye love, and if that man is Vaughn, then I willna say another word.” Her hands squeezed Emma’s. “But if it’s not, then please, please, go and speak to Finn. Tell him how ye feel, or ye will regret it for the rest of yer life.” She swallowed. “I promise ye that.”
Holding her friend’s gaze, Emma felt her limbs begin to tremble. With what, she could not say. Maggie’s sorrow touched her, frightened her, and yet, the thought of laying open her heart and have Finn stomp on it scared her nearly witless. “Is there anything I can do?” she whispered, searching Maggie’s face. “D’ye wish to talk about−?”
“No,” Maggie said vehemently. “I’ve made my choice. What’s done is done. But ye’re still at the beginning of yer story. Make certain ye choose the right man or it will turn into a tragedy, and I dunno want that for ye.” After squeezing Emma’s hands one last time, Maggie returned to the cart, accepting a bunch of branches from Niall and Blair, who loved dragging them through the snow, giggling as they went.
Watching them, Emma was struck by the peacefulness of the sight before her, and yet, the look on Maggie’s face whispered of falsehood. Certainly, she loved her children, but quite obviously, she had not married the man she loved.
Emma sighed, wondering if she possessed the strength to do what Maggie had not.
Chapter Six
Definitions of a Kiss
As the sky slowly grew darker, they all gathered around the cart, making certain no one was left behind. Then they began the long walk back to Seann Dachaigh Tower. Once again, Finn’s insides twisted into a tight knot when he saw Vaughn approach Emma. The man fell in step beside her, speaking animatedly while Emma seemed distracted, her gaze distant.
Again, Finn contemplated Ian’s words as well as the vehemence with which his friend had spoken. Still, uncertainty remained, and Finn knew that there was only one way to rid himself of it. He needed to speak to Emma.
Tonight.
All of a sudden, after seven long years, Finn could not wait any longer. He needed to know so that he could make his choice in the best way possible.
Once they reached the courtyard, their little group broke apart. While Ian positioned the cart near the back entrance to the hall and then returned the horse to the stables, Maggie and Emma took the children inside to warm up. Vaughn took his leave, mumbling something about returning later, and walked down to the village where his family lived in one of the larger cottages.
“Ye’ll speak to her, won’t ye?” Garrett observed, a bit of a smirk on his face as he watched Finn.
Turning toward his friend, Finn sighed. “What gave me away?”
Garrett chuckled, “I dunno know. I guess ‘tis the look in yer eyes. Determined, and yet…terrified.”
Finn laughed, “Ye sound as though ye know the feeling well?”
“Aye,” Garrett replied with a deep sigh. “Love will do that to ye. But it’ll also make ye feel alive in a way ye’ve never felt before.” Then he patted Finn on the back, wished him good luck and walked off.
Heading into the hall, Finn kept to the shadows, watching as Maggie and Emma as well as a few other volunteers returned to their task of decorating the rows upon rows of tables set out for tomorrow’s feast. Evergreen branches were tied together and placed in the middle, then adorned with red ribbons and straw figurines. In between, they placed large candles. At first, Niall and Blair tried to help, but soon they lay passed out in a corner of the hall near the large fireplace, sound asleep.
Finn waited; however, not patiently as the mere sight of Emma so near, and yet, so far away was torture.
Before, he had always done his utmost not to be near her, to avoid her wherever possible, and whenever they had stumbled upon one another after all,
