Conjured images dinnae moan. Did they?
“Kenna?Kenna!”
Running to her, Sean dropped beside her and pulled her into his arms.
Conjured images dinnae feel so deliciously perfect in his arms, either.
“Sean?” she cried. “I cannae believe ye’re here!” She threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him.
“I’m here,” he whispered, burying his face in her hair. He kissed her neck, her cheek, her lips. “I cannae believe ye’re back! Ye’ll never ken how I’ve yearned for ye.” He hugged her, afraid to let her go. She felt so small, so fragile. “Ye’re home, lass. And I’ll ne’er let ye go, again.”
“I was terrified I wouldnae make it back to ye,” she cried. “I was warned not tae come back tae the kirk. The witch-hunts continue and men are still combing the area looking for those who escaped, along with those newly accused. I hid, watched, and waited for what seemed forever. I prayed for the day to end and the moon to rise so I had the best chance of getting through the gate. I knew if I dinnae make it on the first try, I’d be caught. But I was seen when I tried to move closer.” She grasped him tighter. “I had to run! I had to try the gate, even though the sun had barely set. ’Twas my only chance.”
She reached up and traced his cheek with trembling fingers. “And I feared even if I did make it, ye’d be gone. Dinnae let go of me, Sean. I need tae know ye’re really here. That I’m really home.”
He dinnae ken how long they sat there. He dinnae care. Kenna had come back to him and he was content to hold her just like this, forever.
Finally, she relaxed her grip on his neck, but still clung to him. “I learned Mither and Elanor escaped Aberdeen, Sean. But they’d disappeared. I searched, but week after week of traveling, hiding, sneaking around to speak to people I felt I could trust, yielded nothing. I couldnae find any trace of them. I even went home, where I’d been warned not tae go. But they hadnae been there, either. I was told they likely changed their names and found new lives. Mayhap they did. I hope they did. I’ll never know for sure what happened to them.”
“’Tis okay, love.I do.”
She pulled back. Looked up at him. “What do ye mean?”
“Are ye strong enough tae stand?”
“I think so.” Brows scrunched, she let go of him. “I dinnae ken what—”
“Ye’ll see. Trust me.” Sean stood, helped her onto her feet and slid an arm around her waist to steady her. He stifled a gasp when he got a good look at her. She’d lost so much weight and her dress had deteriorated to mere tatters. What had she endured in the weeks she’d been gone? He vowed she’d never suffer or struggle, ever again.
“Over here,” he guided her through the newly tidied graveyard. “I just found these.” They stopped in front of the freshly exposed stones.
When Kenna leaned over for a better look, her indrawn breath was all Sean heard as her knees buckled. He caught her and helped her down as a ragged cry tore from her throat. One by one, she touched the stones, traced the letters just as he had. “They lived,” Kenna whispered, in awe.
She looked up at Sean, her eyes brimming with tears. “They lived!”
“Aye lass,” he smiled. “They did. Good, long lives, it seems.”
Kenna laid both hands on her mither’s stone and closed her eyes. “Mither,” she whispered. Slowly, Kenna’s face took on a peaceful glow and after several moments, she leaned back. “They were happy,” Kenna sighed, glancing at each stone. “I feel like they were happy.”
She reached up and Sean helped her to her feet.
“ ’Tis why I came back,” she said, curling into his arms. “Ye made me promise tae live and be happy and I promised tae fight for that. Do ye remember?”
“Aye. I remember.”
She kissed him lightly and looked into his eyes. “I fought with all the strength I had, tae come back, just as ye asked. Just asIwanted, also. I discovered my real home,my happiness,is here, with ye.”
“And mine, with ye,” Sean said, lowering his lips to hers. He couldnae begin to impart the gratitude, or the joy bursting inside him. Mayhap in a lifetime of loving this woman, he might discover a way.
“Sean?” From a distance, Sean thought he heard Owen’s voice.
Impossible.
“Sean!”
Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and looked over his shoulder, toward the kirk. “Owen?”
Standing on the rise near the kirk, Owen waved his arm. “It’s late,” he shouted, as Sean turned, exposing Kenna. “I was worried. Are you alr—”
