Drums of Autumn (Outlander, #4)

by Diana Gabaldon

‘I was dead, my Sassenach – and yet all that time, I loved you.’

Then Ian turned to Jamie. ‘No, Ian,’ he said. ‘God, no, lad. Let it be me!’ Ian smiled, though his eyes were full of tears. ‘Ye said to me once, that my life wasna meant to be wasted,’ he said. ‘It won’t be.’ He held out his arms. ‘I willna forget you, either, Uncle Jamie.’

‘Do you know how rare such a thing is?’ he asked quietly. ‘That peculiar sort of mutual passion?’ The one-sided kind was common enough.