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“I just wanted to make sure ye understood what might happen,” Conner said as he wiped water from his face. Leading the horses was harder than he expected. A small part of him wished he didn’t bring them at all. But he knew that if his family were in the small house, they would need a horse to get out of there.
“There it is,” Damon said as he stopped at the clearing. Conner’s heart dropped into his stomach as he noticed the ribbon of smoke coming up from the chimney. Suddenly, he found it difficult to move. He paused, not due to the mud caked on his boots, but from the fear that bubbled within him.
“Yer sure?” Conner asked as he tried to see through the heavy sheets of rain.
“This is the place,” Damon said as he reached up and pointed to the fabric tied to the branch.
“Keep watch, I’m goin’ in,” Conner said, handing the reins to Damon and pulling his dirk from its sheath. Uncertain of what he would find, Conner was ready for anything. Slowly stalking the house, he tried to peek inside the window, but found the view shrouded by the curtains.
Inching around to the front, he swallowed hard.
Should I knock? Or barge in?
Mustering his courage, Conner lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles on the door. Taking a step back, he braced himself for the door to open.
“Careful,” a female voice called from inside. Immediately Conner dropped his dirk and held his breath. The door opened just a sliver as a young woman peeked through the crack.
“Aye?”
Conner’s throat closed on the words in his mouth as he looked at the girl. He shook his head as he studied her. There was so much that had changed, but in the pit of his stomach he knew exactly who he was looking at. Even through the smudged cheekbones and scraggly hair, Conner knew.
“Sadie?” Conner’s voice cracked, forcing him to clear his throat to try again. He spoke her name once more but in a clear, confident tone. Her eyebrows scrunched to the bridge of her nose as her eyes shifted about.
“Aye?” she answered a bit confused. “What is that I can dae for ye?”
“Sadie? Who is at the door?” Conner’s heart fluttered and skipped as he heard Astrid’s voice coming from the house.
“Daenae ken,” Sadie answered as the door opened wider. Conner stepped back, feeling the strength in his legs failing him. He wanted to reach out for them and hug them, but found himself too stunned to move.
“Conner?” Astrid mumbled as her eyes turned red and glossy. “Is that really ye?”
Unable to speak, all Conner could do was bob his head. Tears streamed down Astrid’s cheeks as she reached for him and stopped with a jerk. The sound of chains rattling caught his attention. Conner moved swiftly to his mother and embraced her. Feeling her arms around him was surreal. It was as if he’d stepped into the dream and couldn’t quite accept that his hunt for them was over.
“I cannae believe this,” Astrid said as she pulled away and cupped her hands to his face. “It’s really ye.”
“Aye, Maither, it’s me,” Conner said as he found himself fighting back the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.
“Conner?” Sadie mumbled his name as if it were a name she had heard before, but couldn’t place. Slowly, the light in her eyes sparked like lightning. Sadie jumped up and threw her arms around Conner’s neck as she showered him in kisses.
“I thought I’d never see ye again,” he said.
“How did ye find us?” Astrid asked as Sadie released him.
“Ye can thank Damon for that,” Conner said, stepping back and waving to Damon in the tree line.
“And we will tell ye the grand tale as soon as we get ye out of here,” Conner said. “Now, quickly gather yer things. We must make haste.”
“We cannae go,” Astrid said, grabbing a handful of fabric and pulling it up to reveal the chain tied to her ankle. “There is only one person who has the key.”
“I did nae come this far and hunt for ye for so long to be deterred by a mere chain,” Conner said as he stepped into the house. Sadie closed the door behind him. Scanning the small home, Conner’s heart sank as he saw the living conditions his family suffered.
“Has it always been this bad?” he asked as he noticed the hole in the roof that dumped water into a trough. The beds his mother and sister slept on were nothing but loose stacks of hay and grass with only a thin, tattered wool blanket. But it was the stench that made his nose wrinkle and pushed him to get them free as fast as he could.
“It has been a hard life,” Astrid said woefully. “But yer here now. After all this time.”
“Maither, who took ye?” Conner asked as he toiled with the small pouch on his hip, hunting for a tool that would help him pick the lock. “What happened that night ye left?”
“We didnae go by choice,” Sadie said as Conner sat his mother down to pick the lock at her ankle.
