Page 81 of Her Forbidden Highlander Husband

“It would be worth a try,” she said and reached across the children to rest her hand on his upper arm. He reached over and laid his hand over her hip.

This was another of those things he’d imagined that wasn’t the same in reality. When he thought of his family, he’d thought he’d be able to save them from anything that would cause them unhappiness. But he was only a man. The best he could do was offer comfort and understanding.

As he nestled into the warmth of his family, he thought perhaps that might be enough.

…

Evelyn woke to whispering, though the two children doing the whispering didn’t seem to realize it was supposed to be done quietly. Liam shushed them and then frowned when she opened her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a wince.

“It’s not your fault. I’m sure you didn’t wake them so early.”

Another wince. Even more guilty than the first.

“Liam! You woke them?”

“Well, not outright. But I may have disrupted them a bit.”

She could only laugh. He was excited to see them, and she couldn’t blame him really.

“We’re at the part of the tale where the bunny gets on a leaf and goes to see the seals,” Shea provided and turned back to Liam. “What is a seal? Like a selkie?”

“No, these would be regular seals,” Liam answered.

“They look like rocks and sound like a dog,” Evelyn helped as Gwennie made the sound and giggled.

Liam went on with the story, ending as requested with the bunny meeting up with the seal.

“What did they do next?” Shea asked.

Liam’s brows raised and he looked at her as if for assistance. She shrugged so he knew he was on his own.

“After the bunny made friends with the seal…he uh…” His eyes lit and he smiled. “A gull came down and scooped him up from his spot on the leaf and flew off with him.”

“Where did the gull take him?” Gwennie wanted to know.

“The gull took him to London and the bunny found work and a home there and was happy with the other bunnies.”

Evelyn frowned but said nothing. She didn’t understand why the gull would have taken the bunny to London of all places or why the bunny needed to find work. After all, being a bunny seemed to be the main job of a bunny.

She brushed it off and got out of bed. Getting two children ready and dressed took much longer than she would have thought. Gwennie and Shea were easily distracted as they dressed and washed their faces. Fortunately, Liam stayed to help. He carried Gwennie while Evelyn held Shea’s hand as they went to the hall to break their fast.

Shea looked at his plate with big eyes and then looked up at her. “This is all for me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have to share it?” He glanced down at Gwennie sitting next to him with her own serving of food.

“No,” Evelyn said. “We’ll see that you’re not hungry again.” Tears of shame burned her throat and she swallowed them down as she looked at her husband. When he mouthed the words, “Thank you,” to her she shook her head. She didn’t deserve his gratitude. She should have checked on them after she moved back to the castle. With her husband gone, Evelyn had assumed Madra and Shea were safe. She’d been very wrong.

She reached across to him. “I’m sorry. I nearly missed this chance. I’m so blessed.”

“We all are,” Liam said.

After the meal, Evelyn took the children to the solar and joined the ladies as they sewed new clothes for Shea. They were always willing to stop working on the clothes for their own growing brood to help someone else.

Kenna smiled at the children. Shea was playing with her boys. “He seems to be settling in well.”