Straightening from off the counter, James flushed. He hadn’t realized that he was so transparent, but then, he had never been quite so desperate before. The woman sighed her last laugh and looked at James with a smirk.
“Just tell me straight, lad. What can I help ye with?”
Clearing his throat in an attempt to push aside his embarrassment, James opted for the truth. Well, a version of the truth.
“I have been out looking for some of my relatives. I have some verra important news for them. I was wondering if ye have seen them.”
“Perhaps. What do they look like?”
James faltered. Taryn had never mentioned that.
“Umm, ye would probably remember his horse more than the man. It’s a warhorse, the likes of which have nae been seen for quite some time.”
“Och, aye!”
James let out a breath filled with relief.
“A verra sweet, wee family if ye ask me. That is who ye were looking for, aye? A man with his wife and son?”
Nodding a little too quickly, James tried to get a hold of himself. This was the closest he had been to getting Taryn out of this mess. He couldn’t mess it up now.
“Aye,” James said. “Are they still here by chance?”
“Och, nay. They left a few days ago.”
“Could ye point me in the direction that they were headed?”
If he simply knew that much, he knew he could find them. Traveling as a family and stopping to stay at inns would have, no doubt, slowed them down. He could catch up to them.
“I wish I did, but they did nae say where they were headed.”
James’ heart sunk into his stomach.
“And ye did nae, by chance, happen to see which way they went when they left town?”
The woman cocked an eyebrow, studying him while she contemplated her answer.
“This must be verra serious news to have ye asking so many questions.”
“It is a matter of life and death,” he answered as plainly as he could. “Please. Anything that might give me a clue as to where they were headed would be immensely helpful.”
“Well,” she said, thoughtfully tapping her chin. “I did overhear them telling stories of the old battles of the McKenzie clan. At first, I thought it was only to keep the lad entertained. But the border to the McKenzies is nae too far from here.”
It wasn’t much, but it was all James had to go on. Reaching across the counter, he squeezed the woman’s hand in thanks and left to face the blustery winds once more.
A few minutes later, James was back in the saddle, his belly full and his mind racing. The clipping of his horse’s shoes on the ground filled the silence while James weighed his options once again.
By the time he reached the edge of town, James still had not made up his mind. The road split in two, leaving him with that many options. To the south were the Kincaid lands and the castle where he had first found Taryn. To the north was the McKenzie border and their Keep. It would take him until morning to reach either one, and twice that to trek back to this crossroads if he was mistaken. That was time that could very well cost Taryn her life; a price that James did not want to pay.
“Please, let this be the right way,” he whispered into the wind.
And then James set off once again.
