Winter's End Part 8

"I was worried," he whispered softly against her hair. "And we seem to be stepping on each other's toes lately."

She sniffled against his shirt. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I have been just as bad."

"You've been so good to us, Richard. I feel sometimes I take advantage of it. Now more than ever. Maybe once you've settled with your own family, I might be able..."

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. He ran his fingers through her loose auburn hair. "I think I probably am going about this the wrong way." He let go of her and began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Richard, what is it?" she said, baffled. "Where are you going?"

"To take a cold shower," he replied, his voice husky as he tried to stifle a primitive beat in his heart. She had affected him yet again.

The next four days were different from the initial days of Richard's arrival. Emma found herself to be enjoying them. She was laughing more and cherishing the days Richard was spending with them. She discovered that both, she and Richard had entered an unspoken, new level in their relationship.

They and the children were seated on a floor rug before the fire in the conservatory while they lightly bickered and brawled over the games they should play. Richard was laying comfortably, his head resting on Emma's lap, his mouth curved into a small smile as his eyelids fluttered, drifting him into a pleasurable sleep.

The door bell rang and Jai offered to answer it.

"Gran!" he screamed with delight at the elderly woman.

"Hi there, lad," Ethel smiled. "Where's the rest of the clan?"

"In the conservatory," he answered cheerfully. "Uncle Richard's here."

"Oh," said Ethel, her brow raised. "Who is Uncle Richard?"

"Oh, my dad's brother."

"Ahh, okay," said Ethel, nodding her head. "Let's go and meet him."

She followed the excited, young boy into the conservatory. But she stopped short when she saw the rather intimate way in which the man was laying on Emma's lap.

"Ethel," said Emma glad to see her friendly neighbour.

"I'm sorry," said Ethel, frowning. "Have I come at a wrong time?"

"Not at all," said Emma, shaking Richard awake. "This is Richard."

Ethel browsed the man who was now standing by Emma, with her eyes. He was good-looking, almost handsome. She wondered of their closeness.

"Jai, tells me you're late Mr. Robert Winston's brother," she said, once they were introduced.

Emma grew slightly fl.u.s.tered.

"I am," said Richard. "Robert's older brother."

Ethel nodded and seated herself onto a couch.

"Emma, I would kindly like a cup of tea, thank you. Probably something citrusy for this beautiful mid-afternoon. What do you think, Richard?"

Richard gave Emma a brief glance. "If it isn't too much trouble?"

Emma nodded. "No, no trouble at all."

"Jai," said Ethel. "Theodore has brought you a new game. Why don't you have a whack at it with your sister?"

Jai gave a squeal of delight as he raced off to find Theodore with Hannah following close at his heels.

"You didn't have to Ethel. You do spoil them," said Emma.

"Aah," Ethel sighed. "I don't know how long I would be able to keep up with it. Let me enjoy it while I can."

Finally alone, Ethel watched the man across her. "How long have you known Emma?"

"Isn't that something I should be asking you?" said Richard. "From what I gather, she has only been your neighbour for barely four months and the children are already calling you 'Gran'."

"An old woman wants grandchildren to love. She has none of her own so she adopts them. There isn't much interest or suspicion in that, is there Richard? But from what I have seen a while ago, I cannot say the same for you."

A muscle twitched in his jaw."What goes on between Emma and myself, Mrs. Kinnaird, is solely Emma's and my business. We owe no one an explanation," Richard said firmly.

"Of course not," Ethel answered. "But I do love the la.s.s like she was my own. You understand why I am protective of her."

"I do. And I am very appreciative of that. I was worried when Emma relocated to Skye. She has no one here to rely on. But the children told me about you and I must say that your kindness to them has eased me tremendously."

Ethel smiled. "I can see that you play a major part in their lives. Far greater than what most uncles would normally do."

"Richard and I were friends before I married Robert," interrupted Emma, walking in with a tray of delicious edibles and tea. She sat it down on the coffee table. "After our marriage, Robert got busy in building a new architecture firm of his own so I had to depend on Richard for most things. He was there, at every precious moment of the children's lives."

"And what is it that you do, Richard?"

"I head the family architecture business after my father's pa.s.sing," replied Richard, somewhat drily.

"Oh, and Robert didn't want to be a part of the family business?" Ethel asked curiously.

"Robert always was independent," Emma replied. "He was a free thinker. He hated being constrained to anything. He disliked rules and policies that bound a person. He believed they were needless obstacles that prevented a person from being creative. That is why he split from the family company to make something of his own. I liked that about him."

Ethel watched Richard. He was quiet and appeared distant. It seemed that it was a sentiment not equally shared.

Two hours later, she was sitting in her own parlour evaluating the conversation with Emma and Richard.

"Theodore," she said. "Find out more of Mr. Winston's architecture business, will you."

"Yes, Madam," said the butler, now retired in his favourite chair in the corner of the room.

She flapped the local newspaper. "Christopher seems far left out of the local social scene, don't you think?"

"Ahem," Theodore coughed.

"Maybe I should get him to come over early this spring. Well, the faster he gets here the better. Have we tried the fracture?"

"We did, My Lady. Last summer."

"Oh well. Maybe we could go with a cold then," Ethel shrugged dismissively.

"You came out of that in early winter, Madam."

"Good, good," said Ethel. "Which makes it all the more convincing... and true."

Emma and Richard walked along the pebbled beach that skirted Emma's property. The children ran ahead playing on the edges of the small waves that splashed against the sh.o.r.eline.

Richard carried a small smile as he watched children from a distant, his eyes often glazed with a thought. Unconsciously he put a hand around Emma's slim waist and pulled her close to him.

Emma loved the feel of his warm body and gladly tucked herself into it. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"It's not a bad place for the kids," he said.

She pulled away, grinning. "Richard Winston, don't tell me you agree with this move after all that fuss you created back in London?"

He grinned back. "I like it. But I can't say I won't miss you all when I'll go back to London."

"When do you go back?"

"In two weeks." He lifted her chin with a finger. "But I will do my best to come over as much as I can." He turned towards the house that sat higher than the sh.o.r.eline. The bay was also clearly visible from the house and he admired the blue it exuded, particularly on a good day as this one. "And I was also thinking of making adjustments to the property. Probably build myself an office. That is if the owner doesn't mind."

Emma laughed as he put an arm around her shoulders to pull her back to him. "Send me a requisition, Mr. Winston and I will think about it."

The bells of the phone reverberated outside the walls of the house. Richard could barely understand Emma's m.u.f.fled voice as she spoke into it. He was standing outside the perimeter of the house, observing it's sides. He then started circling it, paying close attention to the walls and roof, often throwing glances at the bay.

"Richard," he heard Emma call out for him.

"Here," he answered, peeking his head out from the side of the house so she could see him.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, puzzled.

"Figuring a good spot for that office we talked about," he smiled.

"But we haven't quite discussed it, have we?" she said.

He stepped back, a little disappointed. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

She laughed. "Oh, Richard, I just meant you haven't quite thought it through. Are you sure you want to spend your days in Skye conducting office work?"

"I like Skye," he said grinning. "And as long as you and the kids are here, I'm happy to conduct some of my business from here."

Emma nodded. "Very well. I suppose it's alright considering that the kids would love to have you around more often."

Richard gave a small frown. He dipped his head, trying to focus on the seams in the walls but his mind refused to pay any attention.

"By the way," she rambled on. "Lisa Johnston called."

"Who?" Richard grumbled. His mood was fouled and he really did not want to hear anything this 'Lisa Johnston' might have said.

"My neighbour. From number 17 down the road," said Emma. "Well, she gave me two tickets to a couples dance in Dunvegan last week and I completely forgot all about them. Would you like to go?"

"When is it?"

"A week from now. You'll still be here, right?"

The sun was shining brightly and he moved slightly to shield his eyes from it. He looked at her from the top of his brow. "Do you want to go?"

"I don't mind a night out. I haven't been anywhere in a long time."

He remained silent for a few minutes. He watched the rays of sunlight dance on her auburn hair creating a golden halo over her, mesmerising him. Emma always had this effect on him, bewitched him like the first day he had laid eyes on her at her apartment.

He had returned home from their first meeting at her quaint flat, unable to go to sleep as he continued to replay Emma's beautiful face in his mind. And when he finally did, he dreamt of her smile and how she turned her head to the side whenever she tried to follow what he said.

When he did go to work the next day, it was the first time he ever paid very little attention to his tasks. He wanted to race to her door and declare his attraction for her. But from the little conversation they had that night, he quickly learnt that Emma wasn't like any woman he'd known. She had a heart that was created from ancient clays and legends; a time where maidens waited an eternity for the love of their lives to save them from the sorrows of ordinary living.

He needed to be careful. He wanted to become hers forever.

He painstakingly waited three days and on the fourth evening, he almost sprinted to her flat.

She opened the door and from her surprised expression, he could tell that she had not expected him to return at all.

"Richard," she said. "Hi. Did you need something?"

He held up a bottle of red wine and grinned. "I drank all your wine so I thought I might replace it."

She grinned, her smile reaching her eyes, lifting it at the corners. "That was a cheap bottle of merlot. You're giving me an expensive cabernet sauvignon. I can hardly call that fair."

"Oh," he said, looking confusedly at the label on the bottle. "Alright. How about I drink this up over a conversation with you and I get you a cheap merlot next time."

She chuckled. "Oh, very well," she said with a pretentious sigh as she accepted the bottle and let him into her flat.

He sat on the couch in the square foot living room. "You're alone again tonight," he said noticing the silence in the tiny flat.

"I usually am," she answered. "That's why Lauren and I have lasted for the three years we've been together." She looked at the bottle. "Would you like a drink now or later?"

Richard smiled. "No, I'm fine. I think I'd rather have a cup of coffee if you don't mind."

"You sure you won't mind me pouring your expensive wine on a leg of lamb roast?" she teased.

He chuckled. "Sounds delightful. Let me know when you do, so I can come around to share a piece of it. That sounds fair now, right?"