Page 20 of Awakened By Time

“I’m sorry. What did ye ask?”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Four. Two older and two younger.”

“Any sisters?”

“Nae. What of ye?”

“I only have a sister, Sara. “

“Yer searching for her here. Why do ye nae ken where she is?”

“She ran away, like you did.”

“Were ye trying to marry her off to some old geezer?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“No,” Zeke laughed. “She found her own love, but she didn’t tell me she was going. She knew I’d try to stop her.”

“Are ye angry with her?”

“I was, but now I just want to find her. She’s my only family and I miss her.”

“Will ye make her return with you?”

Her question gave him pause. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll try to persuade her to come back with me, but if she doesn’t want to…” He wasn’t sure what he’d do. He hadn’t thought about what she’d want. He started to look at Sara’s situation through Brenna’s eyes. He knew he couldn’t force her to come home, but he still hoped she would come back with him. “Let’s talk about something else. What do you do for fun around here?”

Brenna laughed. “I like to take a walk down to the stream. Alone. I take me shoes off and dip me feet in the water. I ken ‘tis probably not what you’d consider fun, but when I’m there, all me cares and worries are left behind and I can be free of the castle and…” She nodded her head in Greer’s direction and made a comical face.

“And do you just sit there with your feet in the water?” Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle. He was enjoying Brenna MacRae. She was fun and easy to talk with when the subject of marriage wasn’t on the table.

“Aye. I do. And I listen to the birds singing so sweetly in the trees and I spy on the fish as they swim by. And sometimes, if I’m verra lucky, an otter will join me.”

“An otter!”

“Aye. He sits on the opposite bank and grooms himself. He hasnae gotten any closer, but I have...” She corrected herself. “I had hopes that one day he would join me, but that willnae happen now.”

“I’m sorry.” He kept trying to steer their conversation away from upsetting things, but somehow it always ended up right back where he didn’t wish to go. His heart ached for her, but there was nothing he could do to save her from the plans her father had for her. He noted that Brenna still hadn’t touched her food and it didn’t appear she would. “Are you going to eat that?”

“Nae. I’m nae hungry. Ye can have it if ye like.” She pushed her food towards him.

“No. I’m just concerned that you’re not eating.” He pushed it back towards her.

“Dinnae waste yer time worrying for me. I’ll eat when I’m hungry.” She sighed as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and he guessed that she did.

He wished he could lighten her mood. If things were different, he’d want to spend more time with her, but that wasn’t possible. He was here to find Sara and once he did, he’d be leaving. There was no sense in starting something he would never be able to finish.