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Again, a split second of silence as her words registered in his brain, before he gasped and reached for her. “Please don’t tell me what I think you’re trying to say. Erika. Did you use your grandfather’s inheritance to pay for my surgery?”
Her chin trembled and she had a hard time looking at him, so merely nodded.
“Oh God.” His hands dropped away. Pushing furiously from her, he paced back and forth in the barn.
“I-It doesn’t matter, Jay,” she said. “It doesn’t affect the way I feel about you. I-I don’t need marriage.”
Jay spun around and faced her. His expression full of dismay. “What are you saying? You would be willing to live as my mistress?”
Never before had she ever given herself so wantonly to a man. Fear of rejection toyed heavily on her gut. “Yes.”
He had stepped so far away that she could barely make out his face in the shadows. She wished he’d come closer so that she could read his expression. He uttered a small sound, but she wasn’t able to make it out, before he moved swiftly and snatched her into his arms.
“My God, Erika,” he said, burying his face into her neck. “How the hell did I ever deserve you.”
A sense of relief flooded her, as she wrapped her arms about his neck and clung to him. “Do you still want me, Jay?”
“More than ever.” He raised his head and captured hers between his two large hands. “I can’t believe you sacrificed so much for me.”
“I would die first before losing you.”
“Never,” he tightened his grip and looked at her fiercely. “Don’t ever say anything like that again. The only reason I was able to live, to hold on as long as I did, was because I thought you might care. In my hallucinating state, I thought I heard you say you loved me.”
A fierce longing gripped her chest as she reached up and tenderly stroked his bandage. “Promise you won’t ever leave me, Jay?”
He gripped her hand and brought it to his lips. “It will take a far greater force than a brain tumor to get rid of me. I’m afraid, princess, you’re forever stuck with me.”
She smiled and felt her heart fill with joy as his lips closed over hers. Erika drank in the intoxicating warmth of his lips and clung to him.
From the distance, a slight commotion broke through her conscious. Jay’s as well, apparently, as he broke free from her lips to growl unhappily at whatever had disturbed their sweet embrace.
“What the devil?”
She arched around him to see what all t
he racket was. Her eyes grew in shock when she noticed a parade of people and wagons pulling into the Colby’s laneway.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know,” he said and grabbed her hand before drawing her outside.
His parents came from the house as well, with Garrett directly behind them. It wasn’t until the oncoming crowd was within ten feet, that Erika realized Ryan was at the helm. He beamed from ear to ear as he dismounted from his horse and approached Jay.
“What the devil is this all about?” Jay demanded, but his eyes had softened as he looked at his younger brother.
“What, this?” Ryan gave an innocent gesture to the gathering now spanning his parent’s property. “Just a few people who wanted to come and welcome you back home.”
An old man and woman broke from the group and Erika noticed them immediately as the first couple they had visited on their excursion to the remote farms.
“So glad to see you home and in one piece.” Angus Layman gestured toward the thick wrapping around Jay’s head. Jay only chuckled, but thanked the man, who surprised Jay by suddenly sticking out his hand and thrusting something at him. “It ain’t much, but we want you to have it.”
Frowning, Jay opened his hand and was startled to see a small wad of pound notes in his hand. “I don’t understand. Why would I want your money?”
Ryan stepped forward and dropped a heavy strongbox at Jay’s feet. “He isn’t the only one. Everyone here has contributed as much as they could.”
Jay looked absolutely confused now as he simply stared at his brother. “I don’t understand?”
Ryan smiled broadly. “I think you’ve spent so much effort helping others, you forgot how to ask for it yourself.”
