Page 17

As the night wore on, she saw Douglas sneaking away. She skipped after him.

“Are ye trying tae escape?” she called after him.

He turned and looked at her. They were standing in the shadow of a building. Behind her, the glow of the fire lit up the night sky, casting her in an orange hue. Douglas looked better than he had before, now that his belly was filled with meat and he was invigorated by the air of the Highlands.

“Just taking a wee break, lass,” he said.

Brenda sauntered up to him and remembered Sigrid’s advice. Even so, it was difficult to talk about these things when she knew that if she made a misjudgment, then she would look a fool.

“I’m glad to see that you’re in better spirits. I wasn’t sure that you were happy about being back in the Highlands at all.”

“I am, I am…it’s just strange tae be back here after sae long. There were moments when I never thought I would be back here again. I used tae dream of this place, and it’s just as I remember it. Sometimes it feels like no time haes passed at all, and then other times…well…other times I see how much it haes changed.”

His head dipped, and his face fell. Sigrid felt the sorrow exuding from him. She moved even closer and lowered her voice. There were barely inches between them now.

“You know that no matter what’s happened, it’s still your home, though. These people missed you and love you. You belong here,” she said.

Douglas nodded. “I wish that were true,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Douglas looked at her for a long moment. She searched his eyes to see if she could glean the truth, but nothing was being revealed to her. The reflection of the fire danced in his eyes, and she was seized by his gaze. Her breaths deepened, and her chest heaved. While they were together, like this, it seemed as though anything might happen. When he didn’t answer her question, Brenda took it upon herself to keep talking.

“It’s strange…when I found you on the beach, I asked myself so many questions about who you were and how you came to be on my island. I assumed that when you recovered, I would know more about you, but you keep yourself so closed off, Douglas. I want to know you more. I want to understand the way you feel. But it’s as though some of you is still left submerged in water. Are you ever going to show me the real man underneath?” she asked.

“I dinnae know if I can,” he gasped.

She sensed real anguish in him and knew that she couldn’t stop now.

“I want to see Douglas. I want to know you.” Her voice was a soft whisper, and as she spoke, she reached out and clasped his hand. His flesh was tough and leathery and just as warm as a fire. Their fingers found each other and caressed each other. She tilted her head back to look up at him while he looked down at her. The fire in his eyes grew more intense, and then something happened. The world seemed to shimmer around her as Douglas dipped his head and then pressed his lips to hers. It happened so suddenly that she had been unable to stop it, although the taste was so sweet and passionate that she wouldn’t have wanted to stop it at all. His trim beard tickled her soft cheeks while his ardent lips pressed against hers. Their breaths mingled, swirling together as one, and her eyes closed as she lost herself to a dream. A hand reached around to her lower back, pressing her against his tall body. She felt the hardness and the heat of him. For a moment, it seemed as though it was going to last forever before he took his lips away. She rolled back on her heels, stunned by the intensity of the sensations that were whirling through her mind. She blinked and raised her fingers to her lips as though she had to touch them to make sure that what had just happened had really happened. A smile broke upon her face as she looked at him.

“I will see you in the morning, lass,” he said as he slunk away into the shadows, leaving her swooning and smitten. She might have doubted the way he felt earlier, but there was no way she could doubt his intentions now. Her heart was light as she stepped away, and she almost felt as though with every step, she was going to leap up to the moon and dance among the stars.