Page 35 of Highland Sky

“I think yer hatred has blinded ye, Kellina. Even to those around ye who love ye.”

“What do ye mean?”

“I’m sure yer uncle has his reasons for the decisions he makes. Ye need to trust and support him. No’ just because he’s yer chieftain, but because ye share the same bluid. He is yer family.”

“Nay, that’s no’ true. He is no’ my real uncle. We just call him that since he raised us. We dinna share the same bluid. Besides, the whole clan is a family no matter if they share bluid or no’.”

“True. And that is why support by all the clansmembers is really what makes a clan strong. Once they are divided, they will fall fast. Trust me, I ken.”

“My uncle has no guid reasons, believe me. Ye dinna see him makin’ an alliance with the Sutherlands, do ye? And he willna. No’ ever. No’ when they killed his wife and daughters. That is how I feel about the MacKeefes killin’ my parents.”

“All I am askin’ is for ye to give Nash a chance,” said Spring. “Get to ken him first, before ye judge him. Sometimes when ye push aside yer criticism, or expectations, things look different in a whole new light.”

“Is that the way it was for ye and Shaw? Did ye end up seein’ yer enemy in a new light?”

“It was exactly that way,” said Spring. “I despised him and wanted nothin’ to do with him, until I saw what lay beneath his tough façade. I got to ken him as well as the three children he has from his late wife. Before long, I started thinkin’ of them as my family instead of the Gunn Clan where I was raised. That is, even though the Gunns, I found out, werena my real family at all. I hated Shaw at first, as much as ye hate Nash.”

“I dinna hate Nash. No’ really,” said Kellina, biting her lip and looking at the ground. She couldn’t help thinking of how he’d never pushed himself on her even though they were married. His kisses were gentle, and he was trying so hard to learn the skill of thatching that her heart went out to him every time he used the wrong name for a tool. Sometimes, he even seemed . . . adorable, in a way.

“Guid. That’s a start,” said Spring.

“Did couplin’ with Shaw make ye fall in love with him?” Kellina asked curiously.

“Nay. No’ couplin’, but makin’ love. There is a difference between the two, ye ken.”

“There is? I didna ken that. What is the difference? I dinna understand.”

Spring put her hand to her mouth in thought, as if she were trying to think of how to explain this to Kellina. “I suppose the way to explain it is that one is a physical action only. The other is no’ only physical, but emotional, mental, and, at times, a little spiritual, too.”

This all seemed too much for Kellina. She didn’t think she could ever couple with Nash and have it feel all of the ways that Spring had just mentioned. Nay, she decided. Neither did she really want it to.

“I dinna care why my uncle really brought ye here, it was all for naught,” she said stubbornly. “I will never be in love with Nash MacKeefe and feel all those ways ye’ve just described. It just willna happen.”

“Since ye seem to feel my visit was a waste of time, then I suppose there is no reason for me to stay.” Spring turned and started to walk down the hill.

“Wait. Ye’re leavin’?” Kellina ran after her, not wanting Spring to go. She liked having another woman to talk to about what she was going through. Spring was in the same position as her, and although Kellina didn’t welcome it, she truly did need her advice. “Please, dinna go yet. I like talkin’ with ye. I have no other women to speak to about these things I’m feelin’ inside. Especially where Nash is concerned.”

Spring stopped and turned back to Kellina. “What about yer sister?” she asked. “She is a woman. Talk to her.”

“Caitlin?” Kellina blew air from her mouth. “Nay. She’s just a child. I could never talk to her about these things the way I do with ye.”

“A child?” Spring raised one brow. “How old is she?”

“She’s six and ten. Actually, she’ll be seven and ten tomorrow, as it is her birthday.”

Now it was Spring’s turn to blow a puff of air from her mouth. “Blethers, she is an adult, no’ a child, Kellina. She is also yer sister. Ye need to confide in her – no’ me.”

“I dinna think I can do that.”

“I have three sisters that I never realized even existed for many years,” Spring told her. “But now that I do, I only wish I would have grown up with them and been able to share things like this with them, too. Ye have been given a gift, Kellina. Do no’ overlook the things or people who are the true treasures in yer life. If ye do, ye’ll regret it for as long as ye live.”

“I – I’ll try,” Kellina answered, taking Spring’s advice to heart even though she wasn’t sure she agreed with it wholeheartedly. “However, it might take a while before I can talk to my sister about the things we just discussed. Ye see, I need someone to do that with now. I canna wait.”

“Then confide in yer husband,” were Spring’s words of wisdom. They also were not what Kellina wanted to hear.

“I’m no’ sure I can do that either.”

“Do ye even ken how Nash feels about ye?” asked Spring. “Did ye ask him?”