CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MALCOLM FOLLOWED SERENA back to Muriel’s house. That had gone well. He hadn’t been concerned, but he could tell that Serena had been. Rather than be insulted, he was flattered. She wouldn’t be so worried about what her family thought if he wasn’t important to her. He’d always been a good judge of people, though, so he’d known Jamie would be impressed by the personal interest he’d taken in the workings of the restaurant. Ian, the former Olympic rower, would respect the fact that he’d been a competitive boxer in his time.

Of course, it was sheer luck that Ian had waived the usual “right to threaten” reserved for older brothers everywhere.

Malcolm chuckled to himself as he parked behind Serena’s sedan and climbed out quickly so he could help Muriel from the car.

“Such a nice young man,” Muriel said, patting his arm. “Thank you for spending my birthday with me.”

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.” He smiled at Serena over the top of the car as she retrieved Max.

James and Andrea pulled up with Grace and Ian then, and they moved en masse into the house.

“I’m going to make coffee and cut the cake,” Serena said.

“I’ll help.” Malcolm followed her into the kitchen, looked around, and then tugged her to him for a kiss.

“And here I thought you were actually volunteering to help,” she said. “Silly me.”

“Oh, I am. Doesn’t mean I can’t do both.” He went to the cabinet, found a stack of dessert plates, and brought them to the island. “How am I doing so far? Do they approve?”

She produced a serrated knife and made the first precise cut of the cake. “I would say they do. The fact that you’re here in the first place means you score big with them.”

“I don’t understand.”

Serena looked startled, as if she hadn’t meant to say those words.

He could see the conflict in her eyes. “Serena, what aren’t you telling me?”

She didn’t look at him, instead drawing the knife through the cake again. “My family didn’t like Edward. Not least because he hated Skye.”

“I can’t say I was thrilled to come back myself.”

“You had a good reason. You had bad memories of the place. Edward disliked it because he didn’t want to be reminded of my roots here. He preferred focusing on the English side of my family.”

Malcolm settled on the stool across from her. “I thought he was Scottish.”

“He was. But most of his colleagues were English. He went to school in England. As did Ian, of course—but Ian doesn’t look down on the islands as being somehow inferior.”

“So Edward never came here with you, I take it?”

“Not often, and he did everything he could to keep me from coming back. Insisted on having birthday parties and holidays first in Edinburgh and then Inverness. My family, bless them, went along with it, or Em would have grown up without knowing them.”

Malcolm stayed silent, trying to reconcile what sounded like a very controlling man with Serena’s no-nonsense, take-charge attitude. He couldn’t imagine her taking well to anyone telling her she couldn’t come home for a visit. Was that why she was so reluctant to trust him?

“I’m sorry you went through that,” he said finally. “No one deserves to be cut off from the people they love. And maybe it sounds terrible, but I’m glad you don’t have to deal with that anymore.”

Serena picked up the knife and paused, her expression raw. “Honestly, so am I.”

Then she blanched. The knife clattered to the countertop. Malcolm followed her gaze and felt the blood drain from his face when he saw Em standing in the doorway, her expression stricken.

“Em—” Serena began, but the little girl darted from the room. “I have to go talk to her. Can you do this?”

Sick over what he’d just witnessed, Malcolm nodded. He’d had no idea that Em was there or he wouldn’t have said anything about her father. Clearly the little girl hadn’t known about the problems in her parents’ marriage, and this was undoubtedly the last way Serena wanted her to find out. He trailed her into the reception room in time to see her disappear out the front door.

“What was that about?” Muriel asked, wide-eyed.

“I think Em overheard something she shouldn’t have about her father,” he said.

Muriel exchanged a glance with Jamie and Ian. There was more to this story than simply Serena’s late husband’s dislike of Skye.

“Is there something I should know about Edward?”

“Best she tell you herself,” Muriel said. “It’s not our story to share.”

Except Serena had backed away from the topic every time it had come up. This was the most she’d told him about her marriage the entire time they’d been dating.

Since Malcolm wasn’t going to get an explanation from her family, he went to the kitchen and finished cutting slices of cake, which he brought out in pairs to the group. There he sat listening to the conversation while he wondered inwardly about what else Serena had not told him. Perhaps her caution toward their relationship had nothing to do with him.

Serena followed her daughter out the front door, her heart rising into her throat. How much had Em heard?

The little girl was sitting on the front step, shivering with what could have been cold or emotion. Serena slowly lowered herself down beside her, only then realizing that tears streamed down Em’s face.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

Em looked up at her, eyes still brimming. “Did you tell Daddy to leave?”

The question pierced Serena through the heart like a shot. She took a second to catch her breath and make her voice level. “Why would you ask that?”

“Sophie said she heard her parents talk about it. She said he died because you kicked him out. Is it true?”

Now everything was beginning to make sense. Sophie’s father was an executive at Edward’s company, the man who had moved into his position after his death. It was entirely possible that Edward had confided his marital problems before he died, and in true eight-year-old fashion, Sophie had drawn her own conclusions from an overheard conversation. Was that why Em had been fighting? Defending her mother?

Serena took Em’s hand between both of hers. “Daddy wasn’t leaving us, sweetheart. And I didn’t kick him out. He and I were arguing, and we decided it would be best if we had some space while we worked things out.”

Instead of brightening, Em just sobbed harder. “But I heard you yelling at him about me. I didn’t mean to be bad. If I’d have been better, you wouldn’t have argued and he might still be alive.”

“Look at me.” Serena took Em by the shoulders and turned her to face her. “None of this is your fault. Daddy and I were married for a long time. And we had some problems. But we did love each other. We didn’t want you to think that you had anything to do with our arguing, so we agreed it was better that we live apart for a little while. But that wasn’t why he died. He had a heart problem that nobody knew about, and it could just as easily have happened while he was on his business trip. The two things aren’t related. And neither had anything to do with you.”

Em looked uncertain, but the tears weren’t falling anymore. “Do you promise?”

“I promise. I wish you’d told me the first time Sophie said something. You wouldn’t have had to worry about this by yourself the whole time.”

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Em said with a sniffle. “Besides, if I told you, we wouldn’t have come to Skye and you wouldn’t have met Malcolm.”

Serena couldn’t argue with that logic. She put her arm around her daughter and gave her a tight squeeze. “I love you, cupcake. You know that, right?”

Em nodded.

“And you know that you can tell me absolutely anything? No matter what it is? You and I, we’re in this together.”

Now Em managed a watery smile and leaned her head against Serena’s shoulder. Serena heaved a sigh, her heart aching. This was never what she’d wanted for her family. But now that Em knew the truth, the only thing she could do was be honest and reassure her that it hadn’t been her fault, that Serena’s first priority would always be her and Max.

They had to be, no matter what.

“So you tell me what you want to do. Do you want to go home, or should we go back inside for a while?”

“Auntie would be sad if we left early. I don’t want to upset her.”

That was her sweet girl. Always thinking of other people. Serena pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I’m proud of you, Em. I’m happy I get to be your mum.”

But Em held back. “Mum?”

“Yes, cupcake?”

“Did you mean what you said earlier, about staying here on Skye, even if you and Malcolm weren’t together?”

A note of warning crept into Serena. She should have been more circumspect in her comments. The last thing she wanted Em to worry about was whether her relationship status determined her decisions. “I absolutely did. You and Max and your happiness will always be my first priority.”

Em hesitated, then threw her arms around Serena’s waist. “Felicity was telling me about the autumn festival at school. And there’s a big Christmas program. I might even be able to play piano.”

Serena chuckled. “So I take it you’ve decided you want to stay?”

“Yes!”

Serena smoothed Em’s hair and led her back inside, where conversation immediately hushed when they entered. Em wiped her eyes with her sleeve and looked embarrassed at the attention as they rejoined the group on the sofas.

Malcolm came to the rescue. “If I’m not mistaken, not all the gifts have been opened.”

“That’s right, Auntie, you still have to open ours.” Ian stood and retrieved a large cardboard box from the top of the piano. “Sorry we didn’t have time to wrap it. We were afraid it might get opened in customs.”

Muriel took the box and lifted the flaps, unwrapping layers of paper and bubble wrap to reveal a beautiful carved wooden elephant in traditional caparison, painstakingly painted in bright colors and gold leaf.

“In Hindu culture, elephants symbolize wisdom,” Grace said. “We visited Jaipur during Holi, which is the festival of colors. We couldn’t resist bringing a piece of it back home.”

“It’s lovely. Grace, Ian, thank you.” Muriel examined it closely, then set it carefully on the table beside her. “I will display it to remind me of you while you’re overseas. Though now that Ian is again based in London, I expect to see you two more often.”

“I certainly hope so,” Ian said.

Malcolm removed a small box from the inside of his coat and passed it to Muriel. “Something to thank you for your hospitality these past months.”

Muriel untied the ribbon on the box and removed the lid, her eyes softening. She withdrew a hammered silver brooch in the shape of a thistle. “It’s beautiful, Malcolm. I love it. You certainly didn’t need to get me a gift.”

“You’ve treated Kylee and me like family, so thank you.”

Serena smiled at Malcolm. He did everything right, but it never came off as calculated. He was completely sincere in both word and action. Could anyone blame her for falling in love with him?

“Do you think we should get home?” He nodded toward Max where he lay asleep on the rug.

“Probably.” His use of the word we seemed unconscious, but it summoned a warm glow to her chest. Serena rose. “Do you mind if we go and get these two into bed?” There she went using the word we herself. In that moment she’d have given almost anything to have it be a real we.

They said their good-byes, Serena giving hugs to her brothers and sisters-in-law and her aunt, Malcolm shaking their hands warmly. Then he scooped Max up from the rug and carried him out to the car while Serena and Em trailed behind.

When the kids were safely buckled in, she held him back. He’d neatly diverted the subject away from Em’s outburst, but he must have questions. It was time for him to know the whole truth about her past. “Give me half an hour and then come over. There are probably some things you should know.”

“You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to, Serena.”

“I know. But it’s time.” She squeezed his arm, then climbed into the driver’s seat. “Thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be there.”