“All the more reason to be cautious, sweetheart. Promise me you’ll be more careful. If he tries to contact you again, I want to know about it immediately.”
“Okay, but I don’t think he will.” No, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t. She’d humiliated him twice; he wasn’t going to give her a third opportunity. Once again a feeling of unease took hold – the same one she’d been trying to shake ever since Spencer had arrived on her door earlier that morning.
Whatever the purpose of his visit had been, it was lost now. Maybe it had been as innocuous as a simple visit to see how she was doing and things just getting out of hand. It wasn’t totally impossible, however improbable. A more likely explanation was that Spencer was going to make another attempt at gaining her land before her marriage. Once they were wed, the property would become Michael’s as well, and Spencer had to know that as unlikely as it would be to convince Maggie to sell, it would be impossible to go up against the Callaghans.
She explained as much to Michael. He admitted it was possible, as did Ian, but neither seemed wholly convinced.
“He’s jealous, that’s all,” Maggie concluded, hoping to convince herself as much as them. “He doesn’t like to lose.”
*
“You’re probably right,” Michael said, pulling her close to him and rubbing her back gently. Looking over the top of her head, he caught Ian’s gaze. Unspoken words passed between them. Ian nodded in understanding.
“Come on, love,” Michael said, rising, but keeping his arm protectively around Maggie. “Spencer Dumas doesn’t deserve any more of our attention today. Let’s go home. You can tell me all about what you and Taryn came up with today.”
Maggie gave him a blank look.
“Weren’t you going to meet with the florist today after Lexi’s?”
Maggie threw a desperate look at Taryn, whose expression was way too blank for his liking.
“Maggie.” His tone was soft steel. Maggie tried to take a step back, but his arms were like iron bars loosely caging her in. The most Maggie could do was wriggle a bit; escape was not an option.
Taryn was already slipping toward the door. “And you - ” Michael pinned his gaze on Taryn and spoke the command so sharply she obeyed instantly “ – stay right where you are.”
Both women tried desperately to look innocent and failed miserably.
“Want to tell me what you ladies were up to today?” Michael’s voice was forcibly calm.
“No, not really,” Taryn said almost immediately, offering a quick smile. Maggie shook her head in silent agreement. Both women seemed to find their shoes suddenly fascinating.
Who knows how long the game might have continued if Jake hadn’t walked in at the moment, oblivious to the warning signs Taryn tried to flash him.
“So,” Jake said, smiling. “How’d the tat come out?”
Ian coughed, probably in an attempt to stifle his laugh, but it came out more like a choking sound. Michael’s normally implacable expression was frozen somewhere between shock and disbelief, his mouth hung partially open. Taryn slipped behind her large husband, making sure he was in between her and Michael. Maggie was cornered, biting her lower lip even while managing to suffuse her obvious anxiety with a touch of defiance.
“You got a tattoo?” he growled, abandoning any previous effort to keep his voice calm. Ian snorted, then looked away.
“Yes.” Maggie spoke softly. Her eyes were large and wide as Michael pinned her.
“She was awesome,” Taryn piped up. “She never even flinched, even when he - ” Michael’s laser-like eyes swiveled in her direction. Jake quietly pushed Taryn behind him, managing to cover her mouth as he did so.
Michael turned back to Maggie. “Why, Maggie?”
Maggie straightened her shoulders slightly, stood a little taller. That put her face to face with his collarbone, so she tilted her head upward bravely. “Because I am going to be your wife.”
Michael searched her face, saw the resolve, the pride beneath her fear of his disapproval. “Taryn says that everyone in your family wears the crest,” she continued before she lost her courage. “That it’s a symbol of the love and loyalty you have for one another. I – I wanted to be part of that, too.”
No one was laughing anymore. Maggie’s eyes were bright with moisture.
“Show him, Maggie.” Taryn spoke softly, nothing but a disembodied voice from somewhere behind Jake’s massive frame.
Maggie carefully lifted her sweater above her head, leaving only the silky camisole beneath. She angled her body away from his, revealing the stark engraving behind her right shoulder. The Callaghan Family crest, complete with Michael’s custom caducis. Beneath the medical symbol lie a perfect rose, the traditional symbol of a Callaghan bride. The whole design was framed by intricate Celtic knots.