Page 20 of Fence

I asked, “You read the language? I mean, you seem to know it very well.”

“I know it well enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve used it.”

“Are you originally from Scotland?” I thought I could get a little information out of him while he was distracted by what he read.

“Mm-hmm.”

“How long ago did you go to America?”

He drew in a breath, like he was about to answer, then turned his head just enough to catch my eye. “It’s been a long time. Most of my life.”

“That can’t be too long,” I reasoned. Unless he had aged well. Just my luck, to develop a crush on a guy who looked ten years younger than he was.

“Long enough,” he murmured, going back to reading. “What happened to them? The clan, I mean?”

“Lots of things.” I pulled out another book, this one considerably older. “Part of the clan split off roughly eight hundred or more years ago.”

“Did they?” He nearly tore the book from my hands, he was so eager to read. “How many? Does it say?”

“You have a vested interest in all of this. I can tell.”

“You had your bedtime stories. I had mine. Let’s leave it at that for now.” He was almost brusque.

I bristled at his tone, even as my eyes drank him in. He was somehow even more attractive than ever.

“You don’t need to bite my head off over it,” I grumbled anyway.

My words seemed to seep into his consciousness, and he lowered the book with a sigh.

“Let me apologize. I don’t want you to think I’m completely boorish. I’m not used to spending time with people like you.”

“Like me? I don’t know how to take that.”

“As a compliment,” he insisted. “I spend most of my time with my family—my brother, my cousins. We’re all sort of… forceful.”

My thoughts darted back to Miles and Gate. If they were an example, I could see how he’d forgotten his manners. “I see. A bunch of guys, testosterone flowing like a river.”

“Like an ocean,” he grinned before tapping his fingers to the yellowed pages. “This is fascinating. I never would’ve known there was a breach in the clan if it weren’t for you.”

I let my attention go back to the issues at hand. “It doesn’t seem like a breach—at least, not to my understanding. More like… a spreading out. Although there are very few records of the branch which moved to Wales. They seem to have disappeared.”

“Disappeared.” He hung his head, just a little.

Enough for me to sense that the little bit of history I could provide had stung his heart somehow. The hand I placed over his was out of instinct, the need to comfort him in any little way I could. He flinched, but didn’t move away.

“I’m sorry.” I felt like such a fool as I let my hand slide from his. It was all so stupid. My imagination was running away with me. There was no way he could feel attachment to people who’d lived and died nearly a thousand years earlier, even if they were distant relatives. There was nothing romantic about him outside the tricks my lonely, loveless heart was playing on me.

“I suppose we could spend all day on this, couldn’t we?” he asked, gesturing to the spread in front of us. “I had no idea.”

“More than one day, for sure.” Weeks, even. My heart fluttered a little when I imagined spending weeks poring over research with him. Preferably in a confined space. I could’ve sworn my toes tingled at the thought.

He looked at me—but instead of a warm smile, indicating that his thoughts were moving in the direction mine were, he looked troubled.

What was he worried about? Maybe he’s wondering how much longer he can stomach pretending to like you. I wanted to ignore that voice, but it only taunted louder.

I raised my voice to drown it out. “Or I could just give you the edited version, if that would make it easier.” I was nearly shouting, and everything came out in a breathless rush. If we hadn’t been so secluded, I would’ve gotten dirty looks from the people around us.

He sat back with a look of surprise. “Are you all right? You seem flustered. Did I do something awkward?”

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