“We won’t be alone at the cabin for a few days. My brothers are coming to join us.”
“Oh, wow. Meeting the family already,” she joked, trying to hide how uneasy she suddenly felt.
“Yes. Sorry for the short notice, but I just found out while I was on the phone with Fergus, my oldest brother.”
“You know, we haven’t really talked about family. How many brothers do you have?” she asked, though she knew the answer from the research she’d done on him prior to stalking him that first night at the Temple Bar.
“I have three, all older. Fergus, Olcan, and Niall, in that order.”
“Are they as sexy as you are?” she purred, still trying to keep her calm so he didn’t pick up on her rapid pulse at the thought of being subjected to questions she might not want to answer.
“Sexier, but they are all married with kids, so you are stuck with me.”
“Will their families be coming with them?”
“Not this time, but you’ll meet them soon.”
“Well, I hope they like me.”
“What’s not to like? They’ll love you.”
“I’m getting pruney,” she said, feeling like she needed to move away from the conversation and regroup. “I’ll let you finish up here while I get dressed and pack. How long before we leave?”
“Checkout is in an hour. We’ll grab a bite to eat downstairs before the car arrives.”
“Great. I best get moving then,” she said, turning to step out of the shower.
Ronan stopped her, wrapping his hand around her wrist.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” she said, smiling and leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.
He let go of her wrist and nodded, though the look on his face let her know she hadn’t been as good at hiding her emotions as she thought. She dried off outside the shower door and went to get ready to leave. She suddenly felt like some sort of caged animal, waiting for an opening to run away.
She was half-finished dressing and drying her hair when Ronan emerged from the shower and began his own packing. She quickly joined him, putting together her things and getting them sorted into her suitcase. They were both silent, and she had to wonder what was going through his mind.
The imprint gave them a level of connection that went well beyond that of a normal couple, so it should be no surprise that he was so in tune with her inner turmoil, but what would he make of it? A part of her wanted to come clean with him, just tell him the truth and hope for the best. It wasn’t like she was still intent on doing him or his family harm.
“You ready?” he asked as he closed his bag.
His tone wasn’t angry or upset, but definitely cautious. She smiled at him as she packed the last of her things and closed her case.
“Ready!” she replied, trying to sound much more enthusiastic than she was. The truth was that she was excited about the next leg of their adventure together. She was just also extremely apprehensive.
“Okay. Let’s get this show on the road. Grub and then headed for the hills we go.”
“Let’s do this,” she laughed, doing her best to reframe the mood between them as they exited the room for the lobby and whatever came beyond that.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ronan
“Oh, wow. This place is a mess,” Ronan remarked as they pulled up to the cabin.
They had been paying some locals to keep the place up when they weren’t using the cabin, and, apparently, they’d abandoned their post. The grass was overgrown, and the house looked far more dilapidated than he remembered. He tried to remember the last time anyone had been up there, but he couldn’t.
“A bit of a fixer-upper, huh?” Maeve said, looking at it with furrowed brows.
“Not usually. We have caretakers, but I’m going to guess they’ve decided not to come to work lately. Come on, let’s see what the state of the insides is.”
Stepping out of the car, they made their way to the house and went inside. The smell as they opened the door was overwhelming, a combination of decay and dirt. Ronan could feel his blood pressure rising as he fished his phone from his pocket and made a call.
“Fergus, when is the last time anyone was up here at the cabin?”
“I don’t know. A few months, I guess. I think Eimear and I brought the kids last. Why?”
“It’s a fucking mess. Did we lose the caretakers?”
“Not as far as I know. We’ve been paying them,” Fergus told him.
“Oh, Jesus!” Maeve exclaimed from nearby as she walked around the living room. She stopped in front of the fireplace and put her hands over her mouth as she looked at something on the floor.
Ronan walked past the sofa that was blocking his view to see what she was gasping at and felt ill. He looked at it in disbelief for a moment before uttering “fuck me” into the phone.