“Listen.” Jeffrey faced him just as soon as he’d stepped inside. “I need to talk to you about Grace.”
Of course, why else would this stranger need to speak with him? “Aye, I believe I owe ye an apology. I willna lay the blame on Grace, but I dinna know that ye were married. I wouldna have…I wouldna have kissed her if I had.”
“What? Grace and I are not married. I’m not the one you need to apologize to, not at all. As long as you don’t hurt her, you go ahead and kiss Grace all you want to. I imagine it would do her some good.”
Jeffrey clasped him on his injured shoulder, and Eoghanan had to clamp down on his teeth to keep from groaning with pain. His head hurt. He’d not felt such an overwhelming lack of understanding in a very long time.
“So ye are no Grace’s husband, but ye are Cooper’s father? Forgive me, I doona think I understand the situation.”
Jeffrey shrugged and started to make his way back to the doorway. “Yes, I’m Cooper’s father, but not Grace’s husband. It’s a weird situation. Look, I already told Grace I wouldn’t say anything to you, so I’m not going to say anything else. I just wanted you to know that whatever conclusion you jumped to last night is undoubtedly wrong. Talk to her.”
Eoghanan nodded, unsure of what else to say. Nodding in return, Jeffrey turned his back to him, retreating two steps toward the doorway before twisting to speak to him once more.
“Oh, and one other thing. Grace may not be my wife, but she’s my family. I have a strong feeling that you made her cry last night. I didn’t see her do it, but this morning her head was all veiny and her eyes all red. That is not okay. You make her cry ever again, and I’ll knock you flat on your ass. I don’t care if you’re eight inches taller than me. Got it?”
Eoghanan repressed a grin. Stranger or no, anyone who would rise to Grace’s defense in such a manner had his respect and admiration. “Aye.”
“Good. Well then, have a good day. See ya around.”
Jeffrey turned and left, leaving Eoghanan smiling in the doorway. He’d gather more explanation from Grace later. He’d already heard the most important part—the lass wasn’t married and so his own hope could remain.
Chapter 15
After I’d spoken with Jeffrey, I spent the rest of the day working. I drove down the road to Conall Castle, allowing Cooper to show me the best places to take pictures after he’d told me he’d looked around especially for them during his trip there with Jerry and Morna. While not the first places I would have chosen to photograph, it thrilled me that my son was so thoughtful. I gladly followed him around, letting him lead for the day.
By the time we returned to the inn, Coop was more than ready to spend some time with his dad, which gave me the evening to work on the article. I worked steadily, determined to keep my mind off of Eoghanan and my frustration at him for not allowing me to explain myself. As much as I wanted to hash things out, I’d spent too much of my childhood around a man who wouldn’t listen to what I had to say whenever I needed him to hear me the most. Though, I didn’t believe this was a common character trait of Eoghanan, his refusal to listen made me feel like the repressed child, teenager, and then young mom that I’d once been. I was through trying to reason with someone who didn’t want to hear it.
Jeffrey knocked on every door, every time he did so, in just the same way—three knocks, brief silence, followed by three more knocks. Cooper never knocked and neither did Morna or Jerry, so as soon as I heard a knock on my door, I knew who it was. Part of me had known that Jeffrey wouldn’t keep his promise. Subconsciously, I think that’s why I asked it of him. I didn’t want him to.
Taking a breath, I stood, closed my laptop, and readied myself to give Eoghanan a full explanation, not that I believed it would make any real difference, no matter how much I wanted it to. Still, I couldn’t bear the thought of Eoghanan believing me a liar or a cheat. My little family—Jeffrey, Cooper, and me—was unusual and difficult for anyone outside it to really understand. It was part of the reason I’d avoided the dating scene since Cooper’s birth. I didn’t want to have to explain how it worked, to promise over and over that nothing was going on between Jeffrey and me, that nothing ever had.
“Grace, I need to speak to ye if ye will allow it, lass.”
“Of course I will,” I answered him as I swung the door open, stepping aside so that he would enter. I closed the door behind him, and to my surprise, turned right into his arms.