Sighing, she dropped back against the wall. “I ken ye’re right. But I cannae seem tae find an appetite.”
He fought for a smile. “I ken if anything can help ye find one, ’tis Owen’s exceptional talent in the kitchen.”
“Aye, he does have a gift. I’ll miss him for so many reasons.”
With the basket in hand, Sean sat, pulled off the cover and reached for one of the sandwiches Owen had wrapped this morning. “He said he was making these for lunch, but I dinnae ken he meant ours.” Sean unwrapped one of the sandwiches and handed half to Kenna. “Start on that, while I see what else we have.”
After a moment, he glanced over at her. “I dinnae see ye chewing.”
She took a wee bite and made exaggerated chewing motions.
“That’s better,” he smiled and held up a couple of this morning’s scones.
“I’ve been wanting tae ask about that drawing ye started, here at the kirk,” Kenna said, picking at her sandwich. “What were ye sketching when ye had tae stop and come tae my rescue?”
“Och!” He winced. “ ’Twasnae much tae see, was there.”
“But there would have been. What would I have seen, if ye’d been able tae finish?”
Unsure how to put it into words, his gaze swept the graveyard. “I willnae pretend I could’ve captured the feelin’ I had when I first sat here, gazing at the remnants of so many forgotten lives. All those souls who lived, dreamed, fought, cried, laughed, and loved. And yearned for more.” He looked at Kenna. “Just like us.”
Uttering a self-conscious laugh, he set the basket aside. “Listen tae me. Ye must think me daft. Besides, ’twould take a far better talent than mine tae capture such a thing and commit it tae paper.”
Kenna set her sandwich aside and looked at him with such yearning, he became alarmed. “Sean, ye’re proof that souls live on after death. But do ye ken the souls of people from such distant centuries as ours, could ever find each other? Ye know?After?”
He searched the depths of her emerald eyes, his pulse kicking up a notch. Could she really want eternity withhim? “I ken if both souls want tae bad enough, Heaven couldnae be wide enough nor deep enough tae keep them apart.”
She held his gaze for several seconds, leaned over, and pressed her lips to his. Before he could react, she pulled back. “I’m going tae hold ye tae that.”
“No’ so fast.” He drew her into his arms. “Ye’ve my vow on it. But I’m goin’ tae need a bit more of this, tae tide me over.” He lowered his head, pressed his lips to hers and tried to show her all the love he wouldnae be able to give her, in this lifetime.
’Twas impossible. He couldnae get close enough. Kiss her deep enough. He trailed his lips across her cheek and buried his face in her hair. “I love ye, McKenna Kincaid,” he whispered. “No matter how many centuries away ye go, my love goes wi’ ye. Ye must ne’er forget.”
“I cannae forget.” She slid her arms around his neck and clung to him. “My heart will be here, with ye. ’Twill never be whole until we’re together, again.”
Sean held her close, unable to let her go lest she witness the sadness leaking from his eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
Glancing at the sky, Sean groaned, kissed Kenna’s forehead, and released her. Time had slipped by unheeded. “ ’Tis getting late, love. I must fill in that hole before Owen returns for us. ’Twould please me greatly if ye’d stay here and work a bit harder on that sandwich.”
She sighed as he got up. “I should change clothes. Again. I ken I’ve changed them more times in the last three weeks than I have in the last three years.” She glanced at his plaid. “I should get a kilt. They seem tae work in any century.”
“Aye,” Sean laughed. “ ’Twould be interesting tae see ye wrapped up in sixteen feet o’ plaid. But,” he winked. “I’m rather partial tae those tight fittin’ jeans.”
“Go dig,” she grinned, shooing him away.
Sean walked down the slope, his head as full of conflicting thoughts as his heart was of contrary emotions. More than ever, he wanted to protect Kenna from another experience like today. He wasnae sure she could endure another disappointment. But he also kenned she couldnae stay, regardless of what either of them wanted. No’ knowing what happened to her family would haunt her forever. He knew what living with regrets was like. He dinnae want that for her.
Above all else, he wanted her to be happy. Content. So, he must stop at nothing—no matter how remote or preposterous—to help her find her way back.
He grabbed the iron from where Kenna fell, laid it near the hole he’d dug and picked up the shovel. If only he’d found more pieces. Something to indicate what the iron was. Or wasnae.
Stabbing the shovel into the mound of dirt, Sean scooped a blade-full and tossed it into the opening, following shovelful with shovelful. Focused on getting the job done, he almost missed the hunk of dirt that dropped faster than the rest of what he’d just tossed. No’ sure what he’d seen, he stepped into the hole, dropped to his knees and sifted through the top layer of dirt with his fingers. His hand closed over a fist-sized piece of something. At first it just seemed like a large clod, but after knocking off the outermost crust of dirt, he found an object mayhap four inches at the widest point, oddly shaped, packed with dirt, and pitted with corrosion.
Afraid to hope, Sean pulled out Da’s knife and carefully scraped away the packed soil. As the piece took shape, he could barely contain his excitement. Even with the deterioration, he could make out the gentle curve on both sides, leading to a point.
—curved to a point at the top, like a stained-glass window in a church—Kenna had said. Sean could barely contain his excitement.Thiswas thetop of the gate! He glanced at the larger piece Kenna had held. Why hadnae it helped her? Mayhap their hopes about the gate being a key, were just that. Mere hopes.
