Chapter 1
Kyleigh
Age Five
At the tender age of five, Kyleigh learned that not every child was friendly. It was a warm summer day, the sun was bright in the sky, and Kyleigh’s nanny had taken her and her siblings to the park to play. The nanny sat on one of the many benches, her nose in a book, while the four older MacLellan children ran amok and the twins slept soundly in their pram.
That day, her vibrant red hair was in pigtails that swayed back and forth while she pushed herself on a swing. She felt so proud to not need someone to push her anymore. A sudden tug on one of her ponytails had the swing turning sideways and a soft cry slipping from her lips. “Ow!”
“Crybaby. I didna hurt ya none.”
She stopped swinging and rubbed her head. “Did too!”
The boy reached out as if he was going to do it again and another boy was suddenly there. “Leave her alone.”
She watched as the one who’d been picking on her walked away, a sulking expression on his face. “Thank ye.” She smiled shyly at the dark-haired boy.
“Welcome.” He flashed his own grin and ran off before she could say anything else.
Age Seven
“Nanny? Do I really have to go to the market with you?”
“Aye, you know you do, Little Miss.”
At seven, Kyleigh was still too young to be left at the manor, unlike her older brothers. She pouted and huffed, but she put her shoes on, took hold of the pram her younger brother and sister still used, and made the short trek into town.
This day, there were more things to see at the market. Usually, it was just the usual vegetable vendors, but everywhere she looked, all Kyleigh saw was sparkly things. She stopped to look at a display, and got lost in all the shiny gems sparkling in the afternoon sun.
“Nanny? Can we get one of these, please?” She looked up, expecting to see the woman standing beside her, but she wasn’t. “Nanny?” Turning every which way, the woman was nowhere to be seen.
“Nanny! Nanny!” She started to cry as fear gripped her. She didn’t know how to get home from the market and there were so many people, how was she ever going to find her?
“Don’t cry. What’s wrong?”
Kyleigh sniffled and looked up to find a familiar pair of green eyes watching her. It was the dark-haired boy who’d helped her that day at the park. “I lost my Nanny.”
“It’s gonna be okay. I’ll help you look. She’s probably looking for you right now.”
When he held his hand out, she took it tentatively.
“You think so?”
“A’course I do!”
She gripped his hand tightly as they moved through the market. It wasn’t long before the sound of her name being called reached them.
“Kyleigh! Kyleigh, where are you?”
“Nanny!” As soon as she heard the woman’s voice, she dropped the hand she was holding and ran through the crowd.
“Oh, thank Bridgid. Child, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“I’m sorry, Nanny. I was looking at all the sparkly stones and didn’t know you’d left.” She sniffled and looked down at her feet.
“Now, chin up, child. It all turned out well. And who might you be?”
Kyleigh realized her nanny was talking to the boy who’d helped her.
