Page 72 of All In Good Time

“’Twas a simple question. Are ye happy?” He seemed afraid of what her answer might be.

“Of course, I’m happy,” she said, shifting in his arms and turning slightly to look into his eyes.

“So, what were ye thinking of?”

“Nothing. Just stuff.”

Logan tipped his head and cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Logan, tell me about your family,” she said.

“There’s nae much to tell,” he answered.

“Have you always lived at Breaghacraig?”

“I was born at Castle Treun, where Dougall MacRae’s father is laird. When I was about eleven or twelve, Dougall and I went to live at Breaghacraig. Aisla and her Da also lived with the MacRaes and decided to move on at the same time. So, the three of us, Dougall, Aisla and I became the best of friends.”

“Why did you move to Breaghacraig? Did your family move there too?”

“Nae. Me family stayed with the MacRaes. Both Dougall and I were fostered out to the MacKenzies. ’Tis a tradition among families here to send their children to live and work with other families.”

“I’ve read about that. Was it hard for you to leave home?” Sara couldn’t imagine being a child and being sent away from your parents to live with strangers.

“It was, but ’twas also an exciting adventure. The MacKenzies are a good clan and they treated us well. ’Tis nae always the case with fostering, so I considered meself lucky.”

Sara’s thoughts went to her own childhood and how lucky she’d been to have a grandfather to care for her and Zeke. “And what about your family? Your mother and father. Where are they?”

“They’re still with the MacRaes. They work fer the laird. Me ma is the alewife fer the castle and me da is the master huntsman for the MacRaes.”

She had so many questions to ask him. So many things she didn’t know about him. So many questions about what it would mean to live in this time. Her parents had abandoned her and Zeke when they were young, but at least they were with her grandfather. If she and Logan had children here would they expect her to send them off to live with strangers? Is that what Jenna and Ashley were planning to do?

She watched as Logan drifted to sleep, his arms tight around her. She loved him. But she wondered if she could ever feel at home at Breaghacraig. Could she live in the past and leave her brother all alone? The thoughts and fears continued to swirl around in her head until she fell into a fitful sleep.