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Cam whimpered and squirmed against Finn’s hold as Aiesha studied him. Long seconds passed. “He has taken my ability to scrape and prepare the hides purchased from him. He must do the work until I am recovered.”
“No,” Cam wailed. “That’s disgusting. I won’t do it.”
“Let not yer heart be troubled, laddie,” Finn grinned and patted his arm. “I’ll watch over ye every step of the way.”
Old Man nodded to Aiesha. “It is done.”
He turned to Taran. “Now we will speak of the thefts of your property. Your dirk. The damage to your sporran and the money taken.” He pointed at Austin. “This man is responsible? If so, what do you require as recompense for these crimes?”
Taran glanced at Paige whose pained expression cut to his heart. He dinnae want to hurt her further, but he couldnae let Austin go unpunished. But how could he punish him wi’out punishing Paige?
The crowd waited, Paige watched him, and Austin trembled beneath his hands. When he stepped in front of Austin, the murmuring crowd quieted. “For the crimes committed against me, I take from you, your anger. Your bitterness. Your grudges. And I require from you, respect for your sister, for the people of this community. And mostly for yourself.” He heard Paige’s soft cry behind him as he stared into Austin’s pale eyes. “Do you pledge these things?”
Austin’s shocked and confused gaze shifted between Paige and Taran.
“Do you pledge these things?” Taran repeated.
“Yes,” Austin answered.
“A man is naught wi’out his word,” Taran warned. “’Tis time ye were a man.”
Without another word to anyone, he left the circle, left the village and the surrounding fields, and walked up the hills to where he first arrived in this new world.
’Twas time to evaluate some things for himself, as well. He wasnae the same man who Soni freed from Culloden Moor. Nor the man who walked away from Wickham’s ranch. Nor even the man he was when he met Paige. This journey had changed him.
So, who was he now, inthisworld? And who did he want to be?
Some answers came easily. An honorable citizen. A trusted friend. A contributor to the good of the whole. A husband.Paige’shusband.
He shook his head, remembering his thoughts when he left Wickham’s. He’d planned tae see the world and partake of all it had tae offer. Just that short time ago he couldnae fathom bein’ tied down tae anyone or any place.
Now he couldnae fathom life wi’out Paige. But what if she dinnae feel the same?
* * *
Paige gaveTaran an hour before she followed him to the mountain where they’d first arrived. Had it only been a few days? It felt like a lifetime. So much had changed.Her, most of all.
She supposed she’d needed Austin to burst her bubble of misconceptions. He was right. She hadn’t grown up. She hadn’t really done anything but wait for him to make life fit her fantasy.
No wonder he ran. She couldn’t blame him. And didn’t. Not anymore. She could simply love him now, warts and all, and allow him to go his way. When her blinders came off, she’d discovered she had a few imperfections herself. But she planned to work hard to remedy them. Hard enough that she’d be worthy of someone like Taran.
Her stomach knotted with the thought that it might be too late. How could she possibly live here, with him in the village, but without him as part of her life?
She wanted to build anewlife with him. She’d spent her past life tucking everything into little tidy, logical boxes and categories in order to make sense of her life and world. It helped make everything predictable. And predictability meant safety.
But now she wanted to throw caution to the wind. See beyond the walls and limitations and reach for the unpredictable sky. And she wanted to do all of that with Taran.
She found him at the circle of stones where they’d spent their first night in their new world. Knowing he’d have been watching her approach for some time, she wondered if he welcomed her, or wished her away.
Walking to him, she slipped silently into his arms. Home. This was home no matter what sky they stood under, or what sun warmed them.
He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close. “I’ve plans for this place, Paige.”
“This place?”Justthis place? The ache in her chest grew as she waited for him to say more.
“ ’Twill only be a log house tae begin with, ye ken. Something like Finn’s that can grow wi’ us.”
She looked up at him. “Us?” Did he mean that literally?
