She seated herself on a log and Kai sat next to her—uncomfortably close if truth be told—although he didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he did notice and enjoyed her discomfort. Ah, damn it, the man was insufferable.
“Did ye find anything?” Kai asked Conall as Magnus dished out fried bacon and bread.
The tracker shook his head. “Naught out of the ordinary. Just the usual travelers on the road. Ye?”
“Naught, either. The road seems clear. Mayhap we’ve been lucky and escaped notice.”
Oskar snorted. “Lucky? That would be a first.”
“Aye, it would,” Kai agreed. “But I’m not one to scorn a gift when it’s offered me. If the weather stays fine, we should reach Finn’s Cross by midday.”
Caitlin took the small wooden plate that Magnus offered her and nodded her thanks. Several strips of bacon and two large chunks of bread slathered with butter filled the plate. She made herself a bacon sandwich and tucked in, throwing manners to the wind and eating ravenously. It was delicious and only a helping of spicy sauce and a nice coffee to wash it down with would have made it any better.
She swallowed and said, “This Finn’s Cross place. What is it? A village?”
“I’m not sure,” Kai answered. “I’ve never visited but if it’s a place Leif Snarlsson uses, I would imagine it’s an out-of-the-way place that makes it easy to keep beneath the notice of the local lord and sheriff.” He looked around at them all. “We’ll go cautiously and decide on our best method of approach when we know more about what we’re dealing with.”
The men nodded in agreement. They finished their breakfast, cleaned up, and began packing their gear, ready to move on. Caitlin found herself working alongside Kai as they stowed their supplies in the cart.
“Something on yer mind, lass?” Kai asked, glancing over at her.
Caitlin looked up. “What? Oh. I was just...thinking.”
“Thinking? Didnae anyone ever tell ye how dangerous that is? Ye might start having ideas and who knows where that could lead.”
“I was actually thinking about what we’ll find in Finn’s Cross.”
Kai shrugged. “We have to be ready for anything.”
They got moving soon after that. Conall mounted his horse again now that it had been swapped out of the wagon traces. Oskar and Magnus rode in the back of the cart whilst Emeric took his turn at walking.
It was a cool, overcast morning as they made their way back onto the forest road. Overhead, the breeze rustled through the treetops, making them sigh and wave. Not for the first time, Caitlin was glad of the thick blanket that Kai had given her as she huddled down on the wagon seat, pulling it tight about her.
Anticipation and trepidation warred in her gut. They would reach their destination today. Kai and the others would fulfill their mission and then Kai would take her to his brother as promised, and she would find a way home.
By tonight she could be back in her little terraced house, sitting in front of the TV eating chocolate! It sounded like heaven and she closed her eyes, overwhelmed for a second by the thought of it.
But hot on the heels of the relief came another feeling, one she struggled to place, one that made her stomach feel like a boulder sat in it. Regret?
She glanced at Kai and the feeling intensified.
Finally, the trees pulled back and the road came out into open country. It was climbing steadily towards the uplands and the trees became scrub until eventually even this receded and was replaced by the thick heather and tough grasses of the uplands.
Caitlin looked around. She could see for miles in all directions. The Highlands spread out in a vast carpet, punctuated every now and then by the sparkling silver of a loch or river. It was beautiful. Beautiful and wild and desolate and reminded her why she’d started climbing out in these wilds in the first place. Out here, she had started to find a sense of peace. Out here, only the moment mattered.
Out here, she could forget the past.
She blinked. Irene MacAskill’s words suddenly echoed in her memory.If ye choose the harder, darker path, it will be fraught with hardship. But the destination will make the journey worth it.
The group continued on, the cart creaking and swaying on the uneven ground, and the horses snorting and nickering. As the sun rose higher, it burned away the clouds and the morning turned hot. Caitlin took off her blanket and wiped sweat from her forehead.
She was beginning to drowse in the seat, the constant sway of the cart lulling her into sleep, when Kai suddenly yanked on the reins and pulled the cart to a lurching stop. Caitlin sat up and peered around, realizing they’d reached a crossroads.
The road they’d been traveling met a much wider one, and at each corner stood a tall stone marker. Kai stepped down from the cart and walked up to one of the markers, inspecting it closely.
“Are we going the right way?” Caitlin asked, sliding off the seat and following him.
“I dinna know,” Kai admitted, running his hand over the weathered stone. “I dinna recognize this place at all and I thought I’d traveled most of the roads up here.”
