Page 25 of The Speed of Lightning
All humor drained out of him, and he glanced down at the time-worn pouch, suddenly exposed. “Aye. ’Tis empty now, I’m afraid.”
She pinned him with her eyes for a long moment, released the cord, and stepped back. “I cannae believe ye kept it.”
Fumbling with the ties of his tunic, he tucked it away again. “It was the only thing I had of home.”
A breeze teased the loose ends of her hair, and she brushed it behind her ear before lifting her basket. “Yes, I’m still stitching. I bring these to Gavina MacSorley on Wednesdays, pick up my coin, and collect next week’s commissions.”
He remembered her younger self, forever walking with needlework in hand, her embroidery coveted by wives across the island. “Only Wednesdays?”
Her gaze flicked to him, lips catching nervously between her teeth. “Ever since… Papa keeps a close watch. Says there’s no need for me to be running about.”
He understood her meaning without further explanation.Hewas the reason she was only allowed out of the house on Wednesdays.
Staring up at him, she placed her basket down, then picked it up again, clearly conflicted about walking away from him but wanting to do nothing else. He should let her go, keep running, but questions pressed against his ribs, a thousand of them, all about her.
“It’s good to see you again. I almost didnae recognize you.”
A blush bloomed across her cheeks, ripe as raspberries. “Forgot me so quickly? We saw each other only the other night.”
Without thinking, he caught her hand—then released it. “There’s no forgetting you, Freya MacSorley. I’d know you anywhere.”
Her gaze flicked up, her mouth quirking. He realized too late he’d contradicted himself. To cover, he forced a grin. “I mean—not the way you look?—”
She gasped in mock outrage. “Repulsive, am I?”
“To be honest…” he let the words hang, enjoying the spark in her eyes, “…a wee bit rough at the edges. I preferred the trousers.”
A laugh burst out of her—so unladylike it startled him. He froze, caught like a frog in a beam of light, awed by the width of her smile, the curve of her lips, the way her eyes crinkled with unrestrained amusement. It was the same smile from the skiff—and God help him, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
She wiped her streaming eyes, still grinning. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in years. Rough at the edges.” She chuckle-snorted as if she were still the awkward lass he remembered. “Perhaps I should ask Papa to cut my hair when I return home. Improve my appearance.”
He caught the silken end of her hair, giving it a playful shake. “Heaven forbid. I cannae deny—it’s lovely.”
Threading her arm through the basket, she tossed the compliment aside. “Thank ye. Grew it myself.”
He inclined his head toward their tree. “Glad to see it still stands. Apt that we ran into each other here. The last I remember, you were eight years auld, crying beneath it, wounded and worried about your father.”
She blinked slowly, her gaze drifting from him to the rowan. She said nothing.
“Have ye forgotten that day?”
She shook her head. “Of course no’. That day changed everything.”
It was the day they slipped from enemies to allies, the day he began searching her out wherever he went. The day that wouldlater cause Freya to disobey her father for the first time. A choice that gave him freedom—at the cost of her own.
“I suppose it did.”
A heavy silence fell between them. Calum drank deeply from the skin of water slung at his side, then held out a hand toward her basket. “May I carry that for you?”
She shook her head. “Gavina’s is just around the bend, and it’s not heavy.”
Ignoring her, he lifted the basket and started down the path toward Fraser’s cottage. She lingered beside the rowan, watching him walk away, and he turned back, feeling as though he were coaxing a skittish pony. “Are you afraid I’ll sail away with you?”
Her mouth twitched, half-pursed, half-amused, before she followed after him. “Where were you off to? I ken you must have more important things to do today.”
“No’ until Friday do I have anything to do. Da has gone south to deal with a clan matter and left instructions with Maw that I am to rest until he returns.”
They leapt over a muddy stretch in the road.
