Page 49 of A Healer for the Wicked Highlander

Michael was a laird. His world was one of duty, of blood and steel, of decisions that allowed no room for hesitation. And she… she was a healer, a wanderer, tied only to her sisters and the work that called her forward.

Still, the thought of leaving Cody—and Michael—left a hollow space in her chest she did not know how to fill.

“Freya?”

She blinked, realizing Abigail was watching her with quiet curiosity.

Cody looked up as well, tilting his head. “Ye look sad,” he observed.

Freya forced a small smile, reaching over to smooth his unruly hair. “Nae sad, just thinkin’.”

Cody wrinkled his nose. “Thinkin’ about what?”

She hesitated, then said gently, “About how much we’ll miss ye when we leave.”

His face fell, and for a moment, the lively boy before her looked much younger, more vulnerable. “Ye’re leavin’ soon?”

Freya swallowed. “Aye…”

Cody frowned, glancing down at his hands. He was quiet for a long moment before he mumbled, “Then I daenae want to get better.”

She wished she could give him the answer he wanted, but she had never been one to lie, least of all to a child.

“Cody, me darlin’,” she said gently, tilting his chin so he would look at her. “Ye ken ye daenae need to be sick for us to stay.”

He frowned. “But if I get better, ye’ll leave.”

Freya hesitated, but then let out a soft breath, knowing there was no use in delaying the truth. “Cody, yearebetter.”

He blinked. “I am?”

“Aye,” she said with a warm smile. “Ye’re strong again. Yer color’s back, and I can hear it in yer voice, see it in how ye run about. The fever’s long gone, and there’s nay weakness left in ye.” She squeezed his small hands. “Ye’re healed.”

For a moment, Cody didn’t say anything. Then, slowly, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he pulled away from her touch.

Freya sighed, glancing at her sisters. “It means we’ll be able to go home soon.”

Marissa and Abigail nodded in understanding, but they, too, looked wistful. It had been easy to settle into life here, easier than any of them had expected. The castle was strong and well-kept, the land wide and beautiful, but it was Cody and his father who made the thought of leaving difficult.

Cody’s hands clenched into fists on his lap. “I daenae want ye to go.”

Freya’s heart squeezed, and she exchanged a glance with her sisters before turning back to him. “Oh, sweet lad, I ken. But this was never our home.”

“It could be,” Cody argued stubbornly.

Freya stilled. The boy had spoken so simply, as if the thought were an obvious one. As if there were a place for them here beyond her duty as his healer.

BeyondMichael.

She swallowed, pushing that thought away. “Cody, ye ken we travel where we’re needed.”

“But Ineedye,” he insisted, his young voice thick with emotion.

Freya let out a breath, as she shifted closer to him. “Ye’ll always have us in yer heart,” she murmured tenderly. “And ye have yer faither. There’s nay man in the world who would fight harder for ye.”

Cody lowered his gaze, scuffing his boot against the edge of the blanket. “Da’s always busy. At least, that was how it was before I got ill.”

Freya frowned, glancing at her sisters again, unsure how to respond.