CHAPTER 42
The small group rode in silence for close to an hour. Jamie and Skylar both were trying to talk to William, but they only got nods or single word answers from him in response. It was clear he was very concerned and scared for his father and wanted to be helping to care for him rather than trot on horseback through 10,000 acres of land with two, basically, strangers.
Having given up for the time being on trying to make small talk with someone who was not interested, Skylar scoured their surroundings as they rode, thinking that maybe the hunting party Ian was with was nearby.
"Are ye lookin' fer somethin', a leannan?" Jamie called out to her. He had noticed her head turning in every direction for over a mile.
Skylar blushed a little at being caught. "I'm just staying on lookout in case there are any, you know…Cherokee around hunting. Or groups of them, maybe. With friends."
Jamie chuckled low to himself, understanding her meaning. "Ye and Ian have been apart for not even a week. A bit'a distance may be good fer ye both, ye ken. Makes the heart grow fonder, and such."
"Because it's so easy for you to think that when you're away from Claire, right? You've said it yourself, he and I pretty much need each other to breathe. I miss him a lot when he's gone."
"Speakin' of the Cherokee," Jamie announced, thankful for the quick subject change. He said to William, "Ye see these initials?" They stopped next to a tree with multiple different initials carved into it. "Ye'll find similar markin's all along this area. They serve as a Treaty Line between Indian land and the King's land. Ye must always stay on this side of the marked trees."
"Why are the savages permitted to remain on the land?" William asked when they started moving again.
"Well, they were here first."
"It's their land. They're the ones who are kind enough to let us stay," Skylar added.
Jamie went on, "And the Crown has already taken most of it from them. The Indians respect the King's land, and we must respect theirs."
"These Indians, they are agreeable?" William questioned, with a nervous tone to his voice.
"Some. But they can be fierce when provoked."
"Just like all other people," Skylar continued. "If you just go by the golden rule, you'll be fine."
"The golden rule?" William repeated.
"Treat others the way you would want to be treated. If you treat the Natives with kindness and respect, there'll be no reason for them to get angry."
Jamie led them to the famous spot on the cliff where you can see all of Fraser's Ridge. Though she had seen it many times before, Skylar still thought it was just as beautiful as it was when she, Jamie and Claire first came upon it, and when Jamie decided that this is where they would make their home.
William was also quite astonished by the sight. "Have you ever seen such a glorious thing, sir?" he said to Jamie.
Jamie smiled at William while he stood staring out at the scene, mesmerized. "Never," he answered.
Skylar watched Jamie watch William for a few moments. The look on his face and in his eyes was a very familiar look of love. It was the same look of love he had when he was with her or Fergus; a look of total paternal love and pride.
She so badly wanted to ask Jamie about his history with the boy and she often had to bite her lip as they rode so far to keep something form slipping out. But if her suspicions were correct and Jamie had not yet even told her, she could be very certain that William had no idea, and Skylar's loose lips could not be the way he found out. As much as it killed her, she had to wait for Jamie to bring it up.
I could be blowing this way out of proportion and just jumping to major conclusions, she thought as they continued on for the rest of the day and she kept watching William and Jamie interact. Just because William is a mini copy and paste of Dad, and he has been acting real emotional and sentimental with William, it doesn't mean that Dad has a secret kid. Jesus, is there any part of this family's life that wouldn't make a plot for a soap opera episode?
When they found a place to make camp for the night, Jamie said that he was going to go down to the river to catch fish for their dinner. But wanting to impress Skylar with how grown up he was, William "volunteered" to be the one to catch their dinner. So the three went down to the river, and Jamie and Skylar stood back while William attempted to fish. But after multiple tries and no bites, he was getting frustrated.
"I don't understand why they're not taking the bait," he complained.
"Because that's a fly," Jamie told him, plainly.
With a "yeah, duh" attitude, William said back, "Yes, one of the very best."
"Aye. But it's the wrong time of year. The fish are wise enough te ken flies are no here. Try a worm."
William's eyes flicked to Skylar and then back to Jamie. "I don't use worms, sir," he replied, as if the very idea of using a worm was childish and Skylar would think less of him for it.
"Ye did when ye were younger. D'ye not recall? After heavy rains at Helwater, we'd gather the wee beasties."
Skylar looked to Jamie sharply when he told that, taken aback by it.
So Dad does know him? And when he was younger? How young? What the hell does this freakin' mean?!
"I remember some such thing. But I prefer fishing with a fly," William forced himself to say to keep up the act of "being a man" in front of a pretty girl.
But Skylar could see through that and she wanted him to know she thought nothing bad of worms. So she said, "And that's a great method. But in my own opinion, I always choose a worm." She looked around at the ground and quickly found one. She picked it up and looked at William, whose mouth was agape. She laughed at his reaction and went to stand next to him. "May I?" she inquired, pointing to the fishing rod. He handed it to her and she replaced the fly with the worm, then cast it back out.
William was so in shock that the lightest breeze could have knocked him over. "I've never seen a lady fish before. Or have anything to do with, let alone touch, a worm or any other kind of crawler."
"Skylar is verra unlike any other lass ye could ever meet. She is truly one in a million," Jamie bragged. Skylar smiled at him over her shoulder.
"And living in the woods long enough, you kind of have to learn to be comfortable with bugs," she followed.
"My cousin, Dottie," William compared, "she wouldn't fare well living in a cabin in the backcountry. She pales and nearly faints at the mere sight of an insect."
"Then it's definitely a good thing she didn't accomp – woah!" She felt a large tug on the line and turned all her attention to reeling it in. The prize came flying out of the water, and she was able to catch it before it hit her in the face.
"One down, two to go," she said, grinning, as she held up the fish still on the line.
William looked at her in awe. "That was incredible."
"Dad taught me how."
"There's another way that I've only just recently learned meself," Jamie told them. "From our Indian friends. They dinna bother with line and hook. Sometimes, they place branches te stop the fish from crossin'. Then they stand wi' sharp sticks, spearin' 'em."
Skylar nodded. "Once Ian learned that, it's become one of the only ways he'll fish. And every time he uses a speak, I have an awful feeling that he's somehow gonna fall onto it and be impaled. I love that boy so much but, I swear to God, he will be the death of me."
Jamie suddenly stood up from the tree he was sitting under and took off his coat. He went to a spot a few yards away from where William had been trying. He knelt down next to the river and stuck his hand in the water.
Skylar had seen him do this before, but William was confused. "What are you doing?" He went closer to Jamie to see better.
"Catchin' our dinner. Highlanders can catch fish wi' bare hands and a tickle."
"A tickle? Please, sir, I'm not a child."
"He's serious," Skylar promised. "It works every time. Watch, it'll happen."
William seemed skeptical, but he didn't look away from Jamie with, now, both hands in the water. Then, not five seconds later, Jamie shot up to standing with a fish in his hands.
"Told you," Skylar teased William, but he didn't her. His eyes had widened immensely as he watched Jamie handle the fish.
Trying to keep a grip on it, Jamie said, "Now, we'll have te make camp fer the night, and then rise before dawn te find the best deer." He walked off, taking the fish back to where they had left their belongings.
"Are we to hunt deer?" William asked, excited. He chased after Jamie, leaving Skylar alone by the river.
"No, no, it's okay. I'll catch the third fish myself. It's no problem," she called after them.
That night, after the fish was cooked and they had sat down around the fire to eat, William surprised his companions by asking them, "If you don't mind my asking, are you two actually father and daughter?"
After taking a beat to reflect on that question, Jamie responded with, "What do ye mean by that?"
"Well, Skylar calls you Dad, and I haven't heard it used very much, but I do know that that is a term some use when speaking with their father. And both you and Mistress Fraser call her your daughter. Yet, she does not speak like or resemble either of you, and she calls your wife by her name and not 'mother.' I apologize for asking if it is out of line. I was just curious."
Both Jamie and Skylar gave smile smiles at the question. "It isna out of line, lad." He looked at Skylar to see if she wanted to tell the story; and so she gave the abridged version.
"So, my parents died a few years ago, and since I had no other family in Scotland, Jamie ended up finding me on the streets and took me in. We became veery close very quickly, and I thought of and treated him as a father, and he thought of and treated me as a daughter. I ended up calling him Dad one day and it just kinda stuck. And since Claire is his wife, I was around her almost as much time as I was him, so she came to see me as her daughter as well. I love Claire as a mother, and in fact she is my second mother. But I just haven't started calling her Mom yet. Does that make sense?"
"It does," William answered. "Do you still miss your real parents?"
Only one of them, she thought.
But out loud, she said, "I do. But I keep them close to me always." She stretched out her necklace so that he could see it. "My mom gave me this very soon before she died. I never take it off." She squeezed the charm and then let it rest again.
"My mother died not too long ago. She got sick." William looked down at his plate, just poking the fish with his fork.
Skylar felt a pain in her chest when he said that. She could see just how much grief he still felt and how heartbroken he was from losing her. She wished so much she could tell him how her mother actually died, that she understood completely how awful it is to lose your mom to a sickness.
But because she couldn't, she just took a breath and said, "I am so sorry, William. I'm sure she was such a wonderful woman and mother."
To bring the spotlight off of him and back to Jamie and Skylar, he said, "I can't imagine ever having to care for someone else's child. The idea of it seems…strange somehow."
"Sometimes, the circumstances around the situation are out of yer control," Jamie started. "The true parents may want wi' their whole heart and soul te raise their child, and would do or give anythin' they had te te make it happen. But somethin' may stand in the way and prevent it from bein' possible. So, they have no choice but to give up their child." During his speech, he looked back and forth between the ground and William, but Skylar knew he had meant for William to be the recipient of that message.
Still, she couldn't help but think, Is he only talking about Brianna? Or could he also mean…
Jamie hadn't been joking about rising before dawn. William may have been excited at deer hunting the day before, but now that he was being woken up to go do it while it was still dark, he was less than thrilled.
Skylar very graciously told Jamie to take William without her. "This will give you some extra quality time with him on your own," she claimed. And then as soon as they were gone, she fell right back asleep.
William's attitude had started to change during the day. When he and Jamie came back to the camp with a stag, he had been all proud and bustling over having helped to kill it and gutted it himself.
But as the day went by and into the night, his energy and spark dwindled. He became very quiet and solemn, preferring to sit by himself most of the time. He didn't find excuses to be near Skylar and he didn't want to help cook the meat when Jamie offered.
At dinner, he didn't say a word unless he was prompted.
To try to get him to talk, Jamie asked him, "How's the liver?"
"Delicious, sir," he answered, simply.
"Aye, my dad always said it tastes better when ye've earned every bite."
He was quiet again, but Skylar could hear him sniffling; either trying to hide that he was crying or trying to force himself to stop.
"Are you alright, William?" she asked him, delicately.
Without looking up at her, he told her, "I'm fine."
Jamie could tell he was upset too and went to kneel in front of him. "Do ye feel warm or feverish?"
"I'm quite well, sir." He didn't look Jamie in the eye either and his voice sounded very choked up.
Skylar knew he was thinking about his father and was getting scared all over again. And now knowing that his mom had died from being sick, not knowing how his father was, health wise, at this current moment must be agonizing.
Jamie knew this was about John Grey as well. But he also knew that William would never just want to talk about how he was actually feeling, so he continued with the "are you sick" bit.
"Those dried apples no sit well? I have a potion that will cure ills of the stomach." He went back to his seat next to Skylar to look through his bag for the medicine. "It'll no take long te brew. Claire made it. She's a fine healer."
Mentioning Claire seemed to work with getting him to talk. "She said Papa would live. She…she gave me her word."
"Then ye may depend upon it."
"I can guarantee that she is doing absolutely everything she can to get you dad healthy as soon as possible," Skylar assured him.
He didn't respond to her. "I've had enough of sleeping under the stars as savages do. I want to go home."
"Dinna fash, my Lord. We'll begin our journey home in the mornin'," Jamie told him.
"I-I want to see my papa now." The tears he had been holding back were going to fall at any second.
"It's too dark."
William stood up and started yelling at Jamie. "This is all your fault! If my papa hadn't come to visit you, he never would have fallen ill. And…and now he's going to die." Not saying anything else, he threw himself to the ground in the small makeshift tent Jamie set up for him.
Jamie stood up to go speak to him, but Skylar stopped him.
"Dad, wait. He's not going to listen to you right now. Let me try."
His eyes looking watery as well, he nodded and walked away to give them space.
Skylar looked back to the terrified young boy huddled in the half tent. "William?" she softly called to him. He didn't answer. She went closer and sat next to him. "William, I know-" She had put a hand on his shoulder o comfort him but he pulled away. She tried again. "I know how scared you're feeling right now. Believe me, I do. I was once forced from someone I love and I didn't know if he was okay. That time apart from him was one of the scariest times of my life and I didn't know how I was going to get through it. But I did and I got to see him again, and he was okay. When we get back to your dad, you're gonna see. He is going to be strong, healthy, and better than ever."
Through tears, he mumbled, "How can you be sure? The doctor said Mama was going to get better. And then she died."
"She didn't have Claire with her. Claire is the smartest, most resourceful doctor your father could ever have working on him. He is in the best possible hands. And I know for a fact that she can do wonders with the measles."
"How?"
"Because I had the measles and she cured me."
William turned to face her. "You had it?"
"I did. About a month ago. I had it just as bad as your dad and Claire was a miracle worker with getting me better."
"She really helped you?"
"She saved my life." A couple extra tears fell down his face and he wiped them away quickly. Skylar pretended she didn't see. "Whenever Ian can't sleep, I sing to him to help him calm down and relax. Do you want me to try that with you?" he nodded. "Okay. Can you close your eyes?" When he did, she started singing. "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green. When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen. Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so? Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so."
By the third verse, Skylar could see that he was starting to drift off. A deep maternal instinct in her took over and she stoked his hair as she finished. "I love to dance, dilly dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen, dilly dilly, you'll be my king. Who told me so, dilly dilly, who told me so? I told myself, dilly dilly, I told me so."
She saw he was breathing very evenly and not moving around, so she knew he was asleep.
She was caught off guard by a tear falling down her own face. She sniffed and wiped it away. For a very brief moment, she let herself pretend that William was her and Ian's son that she was comforting, and coming back to reality hurt.
She was brought out of her head by Jamie appearing next to her with a blanket. She stood up to get out of his way and he laid the blanket over William.
"Is he alright?" he whispered.
"Yeah, he'll be fine," she replied, whispering also. "He's just worried about John."
"I dinna blame him." They both went back to their original spots by the fire. "He hates me/]," Jamie stated.
"He doesn't hate you.
"He didna say it in so many words, but I could hear it in the words he did say."
"I promise you, he doesn't hate you. I screamed much worse at my mom when I was angry and needed someone to blame. Kids yell at their parents when they don't mean it. It's bene happening since the dawn of time, and you and William are no exception." She then heard what she said and wanted to evaporate into the air.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Shit, shit! What do I say?!
She tried to backtrack but could only get out stutters. "I-I-I…I'm…I didn't-I…I'm so sorry. I didn't…I didn't mean…" Her entire body felt like it was on fire. It felt worse than when she had her fever.
Jamie finally spoke, saying only, "It's alright, Skylar." A deafening silence enveloped them for an uncomfortable amount of time. But Jamie broke it with a very low, almost inaudible, "How did ye know?"
It took Skylar a minute to find her breath after hearing him say that. But when she did, she said, "So it's true? William is your son?"
"Aye, he is. When did ye figure it out?"
"The first day he and John were here. He's just like you, dad. His face, some of his mannerisms, the way he carries himself. The similarities aren't exactly subtle."
"I ken. That's why I had te leave him in the first place. If it came out that I was his father, his life would've been ruined."
"So, John Grey…"
"I asked him te care fer Willie as his father. John's wife, Isobel, was Willie's true aunt. But she cared for him as his mother."
"And his birth mother?"
Jamie paused. "She was te wed a man her father promised her to. He wasna the kind of man she wanted te give her maidenhead te, and so she…convinced me te be the one. Tis not a night I look back on fondly."
"What happened to her?"
"She died the same day Willi was born, as did her husband."
She then asked the questions she was nervous for, "Does Claire know?"
She was relieved when he said, "Oh, aye. She kens eveythin' about him."
They both looked at the boy sleeping peacefully in the tent.
"Can you ever tell him?" Skylar asked.
"No. No, he can never know. No one else can ever know. Even Ian. Ye must swear te me, Skylar, that ye willna tell Ian. Or Fergus or Marsali."
"I swear. I won't ever tell anyone."
"Good."
Skylar ended up falling asleep with her head in Jamie's lap and him still sitting upright. When she woke up, she sat up slowly, stretched and rubbed her eyes. She looked to William's tent was suddenly wide awake when she saw he wasn't there.
"Dad! Dad, wake up!" yelled to Jamie, hitting him as she stood up.
"Whats'a matter?" he muttered, still half asleep.
"William's gone!"
That made his power switch turn on and he bolted up. "Willie?" he called. When there was no answer, he did a 360 and shouted louder, "William!"
"He can't have gotten far. The horses are still here," Skylar said, trying not to panic.
Jamie then noticed something. "There." He got closer to the ground and saw William's footprints. "This way." They took off, following the prints and praying that they would lead to wherever William was.
They were led past a tree with similar initials on it as the one Jamie pointed out a few days earlier. Just past the tree was a downward slope that led to a different part of the river than they had been at before, a part of the river they were not welcome at.
Skylar glanced down the hill and yelled, "Dad! He's there," stopping Jamie before he went too far past the spot. At the river's bank was William. Jamie and Skylar went down to him, and as relieved as they were to have found him, they now had another major problem.
"William," Jamie spoke out. The boy turned around and was holding a spear with a fish on it from a Cherokee trap.
"Look what I found!" he exclaimed.
This is bad. This is very bad, Skylar thought, still trying to hold back the panic.
Jamie was looking around to make sure there was no one else around as he went to William with Skylar right behind him. "Ye shouldna be here."
"It's to break our fast," William tried to explain.
"William, you need to put that back now. It is not ours to take," Skylar told him.
"I thought I told ye-" Jamie started to scold him, but William interrupted him.
"Savages," he announced, looking behind Jamie.
Jamie and Skylar spun around to see a group of Cherokee that they had never met coming down the hill towards them.
Jamie pushed Skylar and William behind him. "Stay back, the both'a ye."
When the Cherokee came right up to them, Jamie pulled out his knife and threw it away to show he meant them no harm. He tried to speak words of peace to them in Cherokee, but they were not interested. Two had rifles pointed at him and the others just stared at him. Skylar felt chills spread all through her body.
She held tight to William to keep him safe and tried to remember anything that Ian had taught her. But her mind was totally blank.
Jamie took the spear with the fish and handed it to one of the men as an apology, but he just took it and threw it in the bushes. He spoke to Jamie in Cherokee and another repeated in English, "The boy took fish from place of Cherokee. He must pay with his blood."
"What? No! He's just a child! He didn't know!" Skylar yelled at them.
Two of the Cherokee grabbed Jamie to restrain him while another held Skylar and a fourth pulled William forward.
"No! You can't do this! Stop!" Skylar kept screaming.
Jamie then yelled, "No, no, no! The boy is my son! His blood is my blood. Take mine instead."
Skylar pulled to get away from the man but he was stronger. "Dad, no! No, you can't! Please! Dad, don't do this!"
The one who spoke English translated to their leader who accepted the tradeoff. The man holding William threw him to Skylar. She death gripped him with one arm while her captor held her around the waist and onto her other arm.
Now sobbing, she screamed, "There's another way! There must! Please!" When the two holding him pushed him to his knees, she cried, "I'm his daughter! Take me, please! I beg you, let them go and take me!"
"Yer not blood, Skylar," he told her simply.
William tried to get to Jamie but Skylar wouldn't let him. "I won't leave without you!"
"Yes, ye will."
"No!" Skylar fought.
"Yes, Skylar. I am yer father and ye'll do as I say. Take Willie back te Fraser's Ridge. Ye ken the way." He then added a quick prayer, "May the Lord protect her, her and the children."
When the Cherokee raised his axe, Skylar screamed so loud she thought she would lose her voice, "Dad, no!"
At the last second, William broke from Skylar and shouted, "No! No, he's not my father!" Another in the group caught around him but he continued, "He's not my father. He showed me the boundaries but I did not respect them. I alone stole your fish."
While his words were repeated in Cherokee, Jamie warned him, "Stand down, Willie."
Skylar was close to throwing up or passing out, and the tears were flowing steadily. She didn't know what to say, think or do. She could only watch as the scene played out in front of her.
The leader nodded at the man holding William and he pushed the boy to the front. Jamie started screaming and fighting again, and Skylar was just frozen in petrified fear, unable to move.
He raised his axe again, but when he brought it down, he stopped it halfway. He made a small cut on the hand William had raised in protection. He wiped some of the blood from it and rubbed it between his fingers. He spoke to William, though he nor Jamie and Skylar knew what he was saying, and then walked away. That signaled for the others to follow and they let go of Jamie and Skylar, then went back into the woods.
When they were gone, Skylar turned towards the river and violently vomited. She took a couple minutes to catch her breath and feel her heart return to normal. When she turned back, she saw William hugging Jamie and Jamie embracing him as well. She didn't say anything so she wouldn't ruin this moment. But when it did end, Jamie looked at his daughter and stretched his hand out to her.
"M'annsachd," he called to her.
She collapsed into his arms and cried into his chest while he held her against him and stroked her hair. When she pulled back from him, she looked up at him and said, "I can't keep almost losing you like that, Dad." She then looked at William who was off to the side. "And you!" She crushed him against her in a massive hug. "You need to listen and do as your told! Got it?" She looked down at him and held his face. "Are you okay, William?"
He nodded. "It's just my hand." He held it up and she could see the cut was not serious.
"Let's get it cleaned and bandaged." She put an arm around his shoulders and they all went back to their camp.
After Skylar wrapped William's hand, they packed their things and started back to Fraser's Ridge. William wanted to ride with Jamie, so they tied William's horse to Skylar's horse to lead it along.
After three days, they made it back at last. Jamie had William wait outside with Skylar while he checked to make sure it was okay for him to go inside.
Skylar could feel William's anxiety as she held his shoulders.
Please let him be okay. Please, please let him be okay, she pleaded in her head.
When Jamie said that it was safe, William sped into the house. "Papa!" he said with such happiness at seeing his father and went right to him and hugged him. John did look much better. He still had the rash but it was in its last stages and he was able to stand on his own. He hugged William in relief at having him back safe again.
"I trust he was well behaved for you?" he said to Jamie.
I mean, other than almost getting himself and Jamie killed by some Cherokee, yeah, he was a perfect angel.
Jamie answered with, "William was a very brave travel companion. Ye've raised him well. Yer a good father."
"As are you," John said back, glancing at Skylar. Skylar gave Jamie a tired smile and laid her head against his arm.
The guests stayed until the next morning when Claire deemed John was well enough to travel.
When they were all saying goodbye, John came to Skylar and said, "It was so wonderful to officially meet you. I do hope we will see each other again soon."
"I can't imagine we won't."
"Your suitor will demand it, I'm sure." John gestured behind her. She turned around and smiled when she saw William approach her.
When he reached her, he bowed to her and she curtsied back.
"Skylar, it was truly an honor to have been in your company these last few days. Your father was right to say you are one in a million. You are honestly one of the most special and lovely, inside and out, women I have ever met."
In response to the 30 year old in a 12 year old's body, she bent down and kissed his cheek. "You are going to make some girl very happy one day."
His whole face and neck turned tomato red and he had trouble forming any actual words. So he just bowed to her again and walked away.
Once everything was in place, John and William went off. But before they got too far, William looked back over his shoulder to Jamie. Skylar looked up at Jamie and his expression of content, pride and hope made her tear up. She silently prayed that William would find his way to Jamie again, and that one day he could know the truth.
Once they were gone, the now three went back inside to help clean up Claire's pop up hospital.
They had a small dinner that night where Jamie and Skylar told Claire everything that had happened while they were gone, including Skylar finding out about William's true parentage.
After dinner, Claire came to Skylar and said, "Darling, you know Jamie and I love you so very much and we love having you sleep in here with us. But would you hate it terribly if you slept in the shelter tonight so we can be alone for a bit? It's just been a very long time since we've been alone."
Skylar got the message loud and clear. "Say less. I'm out." She said goodnight to both of them and went outside to the shelter. She climbed into Ian's bed and wrapped the blanket around her. After all the major excitement, she was very thankful for this moment of quiet and peace.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, but what felt like seconds later, she was woken up by a faraway voice calling to her, "Skylar. Sky. Wake up. Yank, it's me."
Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Ian standing above her. Her smile took over her face and she sat up, hugging him tight. "Ian!" she exclaimed. "You were gone longer than I thought you were going to be," she told him when they separated. "I was worried you decided to run away and join the Cherokee."
Ian laughed and sat down next to her, holding her hand. "Why are ye sleepin' out here? And where's Murtagh?"
"Murtagh went back to Woolam's Creek, and Dad and Claire kicked me out last night."
"They kicked you out?"
"Yeah, they wanted some time to be alone, if you understand what I mean."
He gave a nod. "Ah, aye. I ken yer meanin'. However, I have no issues wi' that because it means I can have some time te be alone with ye." He leaned into her and they kissed like they had been apart for years. "I missed ye," he said to her when they had to catch their breath. "I hate bein' away from ye."
"Then stop leaving me." They both smiled at the one they loved so desperately and whole heartedly, and kissed once more, but more tender this time. Skylar had to break it though when she couldn't hold in a yawn.
"Are ye tired, Yank?" She nodded. "I'm sorry fer wakin' ye."
"No, I'm so glad you did. I love your face being the first thing I see when I wake up." She gently touched his face and he took her hand to kiss it.
"I'm verra tired as well. Will ye stay wi' me te sleep?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
They laid down facing each other. Ian wrapped his arms around her to pull her in close enough so that she could curl her body into his chest and have her head in the crook of his neck.
He very softly drew small circles on her back as he asked, "So, how was life here at the Ridge while I was away?"
"God, Youngin'. You have no idea how much you missed."
Remember when I said "shorter" part 2? LOL whoops
Chapter 43 this Saturday! See ya'll then
