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of gratitude,” he said gruffly. “ ’Tis one I can never hope to repay.”
“Make her happy,” Bowen said simply. “ ’Tis all the debt you’ll ever have to repay.”
“Come,” Graeme said. “You’ve journeyed long and you must be tired and hungry. A feast will be prepared this night to celebrate the return of Genevieve to your clan.”
Genevieve’s mother stroked her hair and tenderly patted her scarred cheek.
“ ’Tis the most joyous moment of my life next to the day you were born. I’ll long hold this day in my memory. The day my only child was returned to me.”
Genevieve hugged her, burying her face in her mother’s neck as she’d done so many times over the years. Her scent was the same, soothing and so much like home.
“I love you, Mama.”
“And I love you, dearling. So very much.”
CHAPTER 44
Genevieve hastened from the keep as the earth was bathed in the light of a new sun. She’d not slept the night before. Too much excitement. Her mother had slept in her chamber, not willing to be parted from her for even a moment. And today they would make the journey back home to McInnis land.
They’d feasted the night before, and Genevieve hadn’t had one moment in which to speak to Bowen alone. She could not leave without seeing him one last time.
She’d searched his chamber, but found it barren. Nor was he within the keep.
She found him standing on the hillside, staring over the vast expanse of Montgomery land. She slowed her steps as she neared him, suddenly hesitant.
He heard her approach and turned, his eyes flickering as his gaze found her. Wordlessly, she flew into his arms, holding him tightly as they embraced.
“I would not go without saying farewell to you,” she said.
“I’ll be there when you ride out,” Bowen assured.
Still, she hesitated. “I said terrible things to you, Bowen. I was angry and afraid. Mostly afraid. I was so fearful of facing my family after all that has happened. It was foolish of me to ever think they’d turn their back on me. I want to thank you for sending word to my father. ’Tis not something I would have had the courage to do, and that shames me.”
He put his finger to her lips. “Shhh, lass. There is no reason to be sorry. What you endured is unthinkable. ’Tis understandable that you had fears.”
“I’ll never forget you, Bowen Montgomery,” she said, her voice nearly breaking as she tried to say all that was in her heart. “I did not think a man such as you existed.”
He smiled and lowered his mouth to hers. “And ’tis the truth I did not dream that a lass such as you existed. I do not want to let you go, but ’tis my selfish desires that fuel my reluctance. Your family has been deprived of you in a most horrible way. I cannot imagine the grief they’ve endured all this time.”
She kissed him back, a kiss filled with heartbreak and desperation. She was torn between the impossible. A reunion with the family she loved above all else, and a man who had rescued her from the very depths of despair. A man who had looked beyond the scars on her face and soul to the very heart of her.
“Be happy, Genevieve,” he whispered against her lips. “ ’Tis all I ask. I can live and die a content man as long as I know you are happy and well cared for.”
She clung tightly to him, his arms wrapped around her as the sun rose higher in the sky. There was naught to say. Their hearts were heavy with the knowledge of what could not be—and of what was.
Finally, Bowen gently pulled her away and stroked a hand over her face. “ ’Tis time for you to go. Your father and mother will be looking for you.”
He went blurry in her vision as her eyes swam with tears. “I love you, Bowen. I would not leave without telling you so. I will never love another. You will always hold a place in my heart and I’ll think of you often, in my dreams and in the waking.”
He palmed her face and kissed her fiercely, his lips moving with heated desperation over hers.
“And I love you, Genevieve. For all my days will I love only you.”
No longer able to bear the look in his eyes, she turned and ran back toward the keep, leaving him on the hillside, a lone figure outlined by the