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“Look at him,” Keir remarked, nodding down toward the beach and the feline. “Look into his eyes. He seems far too… wise and knowing for this to be his first life. Get to know him, and ye’ll see what I mean.”
In that moment, Loki was approaching the water’s edge but quickly retreated when the waves came rolling toward him. His soft paws dug into the ground, pushing aside pebbles until he found something. With a rather authoritative meow, he pointed it out to the girls. Immediately, Augusta, Dorothea, and Bonnie came rushing over, then snatched up whatever Loki had found and held it up to the sun. Most likely, it was another seashell; yet the joyous expression upon the girls’ faces suggested it was rather pretty, or perhaps a rare one.
With thoughtful eyes, Eoghan nodded. “Well, I see what ye mean.”
For a long moment, the two men simply sat side by side before Keir asked what had been on his mind for a while. “Would ye ever consider… marrying again?” He shifted to look at his friend.
A rather curious expression came to Eoghan’s face. “What makes ye ask me that?”
Keir shrugged. “I know well what ’twas like between ye and Fiona, and when ye lost her…” He did not quite know how to put his memories into words, for he did not wish to cause his friend grief. Still…
Eoghan nodded, a wistful expression upon his face. “Well, I canna quite answer that right now. I mean, I’m not set against marriage, against marrying again.” He sighed, and his gaze moved to look at Keir. “But it needs to feel right, ye know? It needs to feel just as right as it did that first time.”
“Ye still love her, do ye not?”
Eoghan’s nod came without hesitation. “Of course I do, and I always will.”
“Do ye think it possible… that ye could love another the way ye loved Fiona?” Even though Keir had always known that there had been the deepest sort of love between Eoghan and Fiona, he had never quite understood what that meant. At least, not before meeting Sarah. Now, the thought of losing her felt crippling.
Worse even.
Seated beside his friend, Keir listened to the girls’ squeals as they delighted in their treasure hunt, and he looked at Eoghan, wondering for the first time how his friend had been able to go on after losing Fiona. How had he stayed sane? How had he been able to rise in the morning?
Keir’s gaze flickered to the little red-haired girl beside Augusta and Dorothea, and it seemed, perhaps, the answer was quite simple.
Bonnie.
Keir had never been the man to fear the future, to fear what might come or happen. He had experienced his fair share of unexpected events, good and bad. And yet, only now, with the thought of losing Sarah upon his mind, did he realize how vulnerable he suddenly was. It was a new sensation that lingered these days, one he could not make sense of quite yet. Still, it felt good to speak to Eoghan about it. Better than anyone, Eoghan knew the risk of giving one’s heart to another.
His friend smiled at the sight of his wee lassie. “I suppose everything is possible.” He turned to meet Keir’s gaze, the hint of a smile teasing his lips. “Is that not what yer grandmother always says?” His smile stretched into a grin.
Keir nodded, breathing in deeply of the familiar Scottish air. “Aye, that’s precisely what she says.”
Chapter Twenty-One
THE GATHERING
Sarah felt every inch of her skin crawling with nervousness. She was not necessarily concerned, but she also could not help the flutter of her nerves. Her hands trembled, and every few steps, she almost tripped over her own feet. “Oh, perhaps I simply should not attend,” she exclaimed to Loki, who sat in the corner by the windows, eyeing her curiously. “This can only end in a disaster.”
A quick knock came on the door, and before Sarah had even taken a single step toward it, Keir’s voice asked through it, “What can only end in disaster?” A chuckle followed his question, and he added, “Ye’re overthinking things again, aren’t ye, lass?”
Blushing in spite of herself, Sarah hastened to open the door, then quickly pulled Keir across the threshold. She did not care for the thought of the entire castle hearing their conversation. “Would you lower your voice?” Sarah hissed as she closed the door behind him, not even daring to peek out into the corridor.
Keir chuckled, clearly amused by her fluttering nerves.The scoundrel!“Sarah, look at me,” he murmured, his hands reaching out and gently cupping her face. He moved closer, his blue eyes fixed upon hers, gentle and kind and yet insistent somehow. “Ye’re safe here… in every way. I assure ye.” He held her gaze a moment longer, and Sarah felt her tense muscles relax.
Closing her eyes, Sarah counted to five, exhaling and inhaling slowly. When she looked up at Keir again, she felt a smile tease her lips. “I can’t help it,” she murmured, shrugging her shoulders.
Keir nodded. “I know, lass.” Stepping forward, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, allowing her to breathe, to calm herself.
“A part of me would rather stay here,” Sarah admitted, grateful that she did not have to see his eyes in that moment. She felt like a coward, and she did not wish to see whether he agreed. “The idea of walking into a room and having everyone look at me, knowing they…” She shivered.
Grasping her chin, Keir tipped her head backward. “If ye run now, ye’ll be running for the rest of yer life. Ye know that.”
To Sarah’s relief, she saw no disappointment in his gaze. “I know.”
The corners of Keir’s mouth quirked in amusement. “Ye faced moments much more trying than this one before. Remember that, lass. As I said, ye’re safe here. ’Tis time ye believe that.”
Sarah nodded and then allowed Keir to pull her out of her chamber and into the corridor. Instinctively, her gaze went up and down the long hallway, on the lookout for people watching her every step, judging her every step. Alone with Keir in the woods or on the road, Sarah had not felt so self-conscious. Yet, back among people, it was second nature to her to doubt herself.
