But for now, she was here, in his arms. He couldnae let his fear of losing her, crowd between them. No’ today. Today was for laughter and kisses. Some stolen, some given. And exploring. Lots of exploring. He kissed his way to her shoulder—
“I’ll take this kind of punishment, any time,” she whispered, tipping her head to give him better access. “If I’d known this would be the result, I’d have worn that crazy hat from the beginning.”
He chuckled, gave her neck a tiny nip, and released her. “I dinnae ken I could have stood it.”
When his stomach grumbled, Lauren laughed and fell back several steps. “We’d better go find those ruins and get you fed. I can’t have a weakling on my hands.” She slanted a teasing glance, at him. “I like it when you hold me tight.”
Grabbing the basket, he followed her, enjoying the view as she all but skipped ahead of him.His butterfly.
“Come on.” She called back to him, holding out her hand. “I can’t wait to see if there’s anything left of the croft. I love exploring old places and imagining what living there would have been like. Do you ever do that?”
“Aye,” he muttered closing his fingers over hers. “As if I’d actually lived there.”
“Exactly!” She raised her sparkling gaze to his. “I believe that’s a gift, don’t you? I’m glad we have that in common. That we’re both interested in other times.”
Could he ever tell her ’twas more than just an interest? That he’d actually lived in the very place they were going to see? “If ye could choose tae live in another time, Lauren, would ye?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean ‘live there’ literally,” she scoffed. “But in my head and my heart, I’ve lived a delicious number of lives in many places. Isn’t that what reading and studying history is all about? Time-traveling in your mind?” She gave him a dubious look. “Thatiswhat you meant, right?”
He released the breath clogging his chest. “Aye. ’Tis exactly what I meant.”
She gave his hand a tug. “So, come on. Stop dawdling.”
As they neared the ruins, Reginald slipped his hand from Lauren’s for fear she’d feel the dampness on his palms. His heartbeat echoed so loud in his ears, he half-expected her to hear it.
“Oh, look!” Lauren ran ahead to the few scattered stones that were left, stopping in the middle of a faintly defined foundation. “This must be it.” She raised her arms to her sides, palms out, as if judging the width. “It’s rather tiny, isn’t it? Can you imagine a whole family living their lives, inside these lines?”
Reginald’s vision blurred. “Aye,” he choked.
Lauren strolled the small perimeter, stopping occasionally to peer at something that caught her interest, sometimes tracing her fingers over the surface of a stone. “What courageous people they must have been.” She knelt to examine a corner that still held a small, ankle-high stack of stones. “Their lives must have been incredibly difficult. We take so much for granted that for them, would have been unimaginable luxuries.” She turned to Reginald, her brows drawn. “Do you think they thought it was? Difficult, I mean.”
He had to look away for fear she’d see something in his face. “I ken they were happy with what they had. Each other. The glen.”
She sighed, almost happily. “I’m sure you’re right. Who wouldn’t be?” She reached for some scattered stones and added them to the short wall. “Help me stack some of these. We can use them for a backrest while we eat.”
While he stacked them, she smoothed the ground, laid out a wide cloth, and their picnic. Hungry as he was, he wasnae sure he could eat. The last time he’d eaten here…
Nae! Enough! ’Twas foolish to keep dwelling on something he couldnae change. He’d needed to come here. Needed to see it again. But that life was over.
’Twas time to live this one.
* * *
Lauren had longsince put away the remnants of their picnic, but they still lounged against the rocks, warm now, from their body heat. As twilight settled over the glen, she was struck again by the unique beauty of this small, tucked away piece of paradise.
“ ’Twill be getting cooler, now,” Reggie commented, surprising her.
He’d been unusually quiet, and she hadn’t wanted to intrude on his thoughts. Besides, she loved listening to the leaves rustling in the light breeze and knowing someone had sat, slept, or worked in the very spot she was sitting.
“How much cooler?”
He looked at her, his eyes dark with intensity. “No’ as much as the ravine, but enough that I wish I had my plaid tae wrap us in.”
“Let’s improvise.” When she scooted closer, he raised an arm and tucked her against his chest. She slipped an arm around his waist and sighed with contentment. “We can generate enough heat to stay a while, don’t you think?”
She felt him brush his cheek across her hair. “I ken we can manage.”
He held her tight, just the way she liked, his thumb making lazy circles on her back.
