“She’ll be back.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Quit giving me that look, dog. I’m none too happy about it either.”
The paintings and journals sat there across from him, just the way she’d left them, as if taunting him, a reminder that she was gone. If he couldn’t fix things between them, if she couldn’t forgive him, he now realized it would leave him devastated.
And for what? All to bail out his brother, who would likely turn around in another year’s time and get himself into yet another mess. Of course, it wasn’t just his brother. No. Malcolm had made sure to involve his father so there was more at stake than just his sorry arse. It was no wonder his sister had fled at the first opportunity.
It was one day. Come tomorrow, Cat would be back and they would sort things out. And if they didn’t? Well it was her loss, wasn’t it? There were plenty of women out there, and more than a few who’d be happy to distract him.
And yet… they weren’t Cat, were they?
Damn it to hell.
Knowing it would do no good to spend the evening sulking over her, Iain dragged out his laptop and got to work. Grant was taking care of most matters, but there was still plenty to do, most of it woefully neglected.
He shot off a handful of emails, and started to review some files when a knock at the door had Duncan skittering across the room and barking up a storm, his tail wagging. Iain groaned. The last thing he wanted to deal with was his brother—or Nationalists. Grabbing the shotgun, he yanked the door open and found Cat on his front step.
His stomach flipped at the sight of her.
“What happened? Are ye all right?” He stepped to the side so she could come in, and set his weapon down on the sideboard by the door. Something must be wrong for her to not even flinch at being greeted with a gun.
“No. I’m not. Between you and James, I can honestly say I’m having a real shitty day.” Her entire body looked stiff, and there was a definite wobble to her voice. “And this does not mean I’ve forgiven you.”
“Aye, love. Come have a seat by the fire, and I’ll get you a whisky.” With a gentle hand on her back he led her to the library, where she took a seat while he got her a drink.
She’d been upset when she’d left him, and it was doubtful running into James did anything to improve her mood—especially not if it was bad enough to land her back on his doorstep. Making matters worse was that James was now working with his brother, a link back to the reason she was upset with him to begin with.
He sat across from her and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Am I stupid?” She looked at him as if it were an earnest question. “Do I have idiot tattooed across my forehead?”
He shook his head, dumbfounded. “Cat, you’re one of the smartest women I know. I don’t understand what you’re asking me.”
“Why is it people think they can lie straight to my face? And it’s not like it’s a one-off, yeah? It happens time and again, and I’m totally clueless.”
When she looked away from him with hurt in her eyes, his heart broke to think he was part of the reason she doubted herself. “Cat, I’m sorry. I really am. I was only trying to do right by my family. The men my brother owes money to are scum and thugs. And though I should let my brother learn from his mistakes, he’s dragged my father into it, and I can’t let anything happen to him.”
She sighed. “Of course not. I’d be devastated to have your father come to harm.”
“Unfortunately my options are limited, and the necklace... it was the only thing I could think of to bail my family out of this mess.”
She let out a weary sigh, tears of frustration now spilling over. “Is there anything else you’re not telling me? Cause I swear, Iain, I won’t forgive you if I find out there’s more.”
“There’s nothing else, love.” Needing her to believe him, he took her hand in his. “I swear it on my mother’s grave.”
“There has to be a way to pull together the money, even if the banks won’t touch the house. How much does he owe?”
“Too much—over a million, with the interest growing daily.”
She made a choking sound. “Bloody hell, Iain.”
“Aye. Now ye know.” What a mess. The smartest thing she could do would be to run as far as she could from him and this place. “I’m sorry I kept it from you, but it was also the reason I needed to tell you, if we were going to pursue something more serious. I still want that for us, Cat, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”