Page 26 of A Healer for the Wicked Highlander

“Ye’ll strain yer eyes starin’ out the window like a lost wee lamb.”

Michael watched as Cody turned his head, his pale face lighting up faintly as he saw his father standing in the doorway “I wasnae starin’, Da. I was just thinkin’.”

Michael stepped further in to the room, his boots echoing against the stone floor. Then, he lowered himself into the chair across from his son. As always, his movements were steady, deliberate, and masking the knot of worry coiled in his chest.

“Aye, then what’s got ye dreamin’ away?”

Cody fiddled with the corner of the book on his lap, hesitating as he searched for the right words. “Freya,” he said finally, but his cheeks immediately tined a mild pink. He hastily added, “Marissa and Abigail, too.”

Michael’s brow arched, but his expression stayed as a stone. “Yer healer and her two sisters?”

It was, of course, a rhetorical question, but Cody nodded all the same.

“Aye,” he grinned, glancing down as if embarrassed to admit it, despite it being true. “They make me laugh, Da. Freya kens how to ease the pains, and Marissa tells the funniest stories. Abigail…” He trailed off, his grin widening. “She sits by me when everyone else is busy, workin’ on somethin’. She talks to me like I’m nae sick at all.”

Michael watched his son closely, as the boy’s thin frame settled against the cushions. He could tell that his smile was warmer than it had been in a long time.

“So, ye’re fond of their company,” Michael said in a measured tone of voice.

“I am,” Cody admitted, his gaze meeting his father’s. “But…” He suddenly bit his lip, hesitating again. “I daenae want to get better, Da.”

Michael’s eyes widened in shock, the words hitting him like a blade to the chest. “What foolishness is this, lad?”

“Because…” Cody looked down again. “If I get better, they’ll leave. Freya will leave and take her sisters with her.”

Michael inhaled deeply. He was not expecting that he would have to steady himself against this ache that his son had just expressed. He wanted to tell Cody that it was all nonsense, that his health mattered more than anything else. And it was the truth. But that wasn’t what Cody wanted to hear. So instead, Michael leaned forward, his hands clasped together as he spoke in a low and firm voice.

“Lad, listen to me,” he said as softly as he knew how, “I ken it’s nae easy, thinkin’ about folk leavin’. Ye’ve had to say goodbye to too many already. Yer maither, and all those healers before. But Freya, Marissa and Abigail would want to see ye strong again, nae lingerin’ sick just to keep them here.”

Cody glanced up. For a moment, a tear glistened in his eyes, but he hastily wiped it away with his sleeve. Michael pretended he didn’t see it.

“But what if we never see them again, Da? What if I’m alone again?”

Michael’s throat tightened but he dinnae let it show. “Ye’ll nae be alone, me lad. I’m here. Always. And folk who care for ye… they’ve a way of comin’ back, nay matter how far they wander.”

Cody smiled. “Is that true?”

“Aye,” Michael nodded, without a shred of doubt. “But first, ye have to give them somethin’ to come back to. A healthy, stubborn wee lad who doesnae give up, aye?”

Michael could see that the worry in his son’s eyes lingered. He reached forward, laying a broad, calloused hand on Cody’s shoulder.

“Ye’ve got me blood in ye, lad. And that means ye’ve got strength to face whatever comes. Trust me on this.”

Cody managed a stronger smile this time, leaning into his father’s touch. He should have felt relief that his words reached his son, but a heavier weight settled in his chest.

Cody’s fear wasn’t misplaced. The women had indeed brought a light to the castle he hadn’t realized they were missing until it was here. Freya especially.

Michael’s jaw tightened as he thought of her, the healer with a steady hand and a quiet strength that reminded him of no one else he had ever known. With his mind’s eye, he could see her moving through the castle like she belonged there, though not once overstepping her place. She was sharp-eyed and practical, but when she smiled… it was like a blow to the gut.

It unsettled him, this pull that he felt toward her. Freya was no simpering lass in search of a laird to save her. No. She was a healer, skilled and strong, with a life waiting for her far from here. A life she would return to when Cody became well.

And wasn’t that the point, after all? Freya and her sisters were only here because of Cody’s illness. Once his son was strong again, they would leave. That was what he had brought them here for: to save his boy, not to linger in his halls, weaving themselves into his life.

Michael’s hand slipped from Cody’s shoulder, exhaling slowly. He could not afford such thoughts. He had responsibilities to his son, to his clan, to the legacy he’d sworn to uphold.

Cody’s quiet voice broke through his reverie. “I’ve come to see them as me own sisters. Do ye think they’ll come to visit, Da?”

Michael forced his gaze, banishing thoughts of Freya. “Aye, lad. If they care for ye as much as they say, they’ll nae forget ye.”