The Rock by Monica Mccarty Read Free Book Online Page A

open and then silence. He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. What in Hades was Johnny doing? He was just standing there with his mouth open. The door blocked Thom from seeing who was on the other side.
    Thom stood and was about to ask him who it was, when a familiar voice made his spine stiffen and every nerve ending stand on edge.
    “Johnny? Is that you?” She gasped and threw her arms around the stunned lad. “My goodness, you’ve grown so tall, I would hardly recognize you.”
    Johnny nodded, seemingly incapable of speech.
    Thom’s jaw clenched. What the hell was she doing here? He hadn’t even been sure she knew where he lived. Not once in all the years he’d known her had Elizabeth ever been to his home. He’d always met her at the forge. He’d never thought about why until now. Seeing her here was . . . wrong . She didn’t belong in a place like this. She never had. Only now did he realize it.
    The simple two-room cottage had never looked as humble as when Lady Elizabeth Douglas in her white—who the hell wore white to the home of a smith?—velvet gown stepped across their threshold. The room seemed darker, the walls more black with smoke from the peat, the rushes on the hardened dirt floor seemed more in need of freshening. The simple furniture with the pillows and hangings that hadn’t been replaced since his mother died suddenly looked worn and threadbare. No one would ever accuse the MacGowan men of tidiness, and dishes from the previous evening’s meal, as well as dirty clothes, were scattered throughout the room.
    “What are you doing here, Elizabeth?”
    His voice came out harsher and colder than he intended. Her head jerked in the direction of his voice; she hadn’t seen him until that moment.
    Releasing Johnny, she gave him a fond ruffle of the hair and turned to face Thom. “I need to speak with you.”
    “Now is not a good time.”
    Her gaze fell to the open leather bag on the bed, half-filled with his clothing, before lifting those big blue eyes back to his. “Jo said you are leaving.”
    “Tomorrow morning,” Johnny filled in, finally finding his voice.
    Elizabeth turned to the awestruck lad. “Would you mind giving your brother and me a few minutes in private? There is something I should like to discuss with him. I think I saw some boys heading down to the river to fish.”
    Johnny looked to him. Thom was tempted to shake his head but nodded.
    A few moments later the door shut behind him, and they were alone. Someone who didn’t know her might think she was as cool and confident as she appeared, but Thom could see from the way her fingers were gripping the edges of the fur-lined cloak draped around her shoulders and the slight quickness of her breath that she was nervous.
    He had no intention of easing it. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms formidably, waiting.
    She looked around. “So this is where you hid yourself all those years. How come you never invited me here?”
    As if it weren’t obvious. He hadn’t missed the tentative way she’d moved into the room, as if making sure she didn’t accidentally step in muck or brush her pristine skirts against something dirty. She wasn’t comfortable, and it showed.
    His gut twisted. “What do you want, Elizabeth? Say what it is you will and go. As you can see, I’m busy.”
    She frowned. Her nose was not much bigger than it had been all those years ago, and it had only a few more crinkles. He’d never spoken to her so brusquely, and she didn’t seem to know how to respond. “We need to talk.”
    “There is nothing to talk about.”
    She moved toward him. “Why are you being like this? Why are you so angry with me? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “I’m not mad at you.”
    What right did he have to be mad at her? How could anyone blame her for not considering him as a suitor? No one would. He was so far beneath her as to make a match between them not only laughable but condemned. Aye, he had no right