The Highlander's Secret(14)

Jain’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he told her about their trip, soaking up every word. It brought him a sense of pride knowing he was one of the few people that could open her up to speak – it was like watching a flower bloom.

“I wish I could have been there too,” she sighed. “I want to see those things, discovering places I’ve never even heard of as I set off on a grand adventure. Of all the places ye could have gone, why did ye choose Elign?”

Alan grinned. “I’m not sure exactly. It just ended up that way. Fer some reason Bruce took a liking to me when he visited our village and invited me back with him. There weren’t any prospects fer me there, so I had to take any job he gave me.”

“Do ye miss yer family?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “I have two sisters back at home, but I’ve found the company here is better.”

When Alan finished speaking, he looked over at her and smiled. Jain gazed back at him, her eyes reflecting in the moonlight like liquid pools of emerald green. Her lips fell open in a pout, only serving to accentuate how round and kissable they looked.

God help him, Alan wanted her.

He noticed her eyes grow dark as they stared at each other. Alan could feel the palpable yearning in the air between them and could only assume she felt it too.

When Jain turned away, Alan’s smile faltered, fading slightly when he took her by the hand. “One day, Jain. I will show ye the land ye dream about. I will take ye there with me.”

*

Jain grinned. His brown eyes gazed back at her, meeting the silent challenge. After a moment she relented, seeming to accept his sincerity once more.

Shifting her back against the tree, Jain asked, “And what do ye want, Alan?”

He leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath against her face. Cool, dark and masculine. She breathed in his scent and closed her eyes, exhaling as they conspired close together.

“To see ye smile,” he murmured. “To hear yer voice every day fer as long as I live.”

Her eyes widened. “My voice?”

“Aye, to hear ye speak is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Yer voice is like music—like the songs birds sing.”

Jain blushed, wetting her bottom lip unconsciously as she gazed up at him. “Is that what ye want? A pretty song bird to take back with ye in a cage?”

“Nae,” he said. “Birds are not meant to be locked up with nowhere to roam. They’re meant to fly with the wind beneath their wings and see the world.”

Jain laughed, her voice bubbling with carefree wonder. “And ye would set me free. Is that what ye’re suggesting?”

Alan nodded with sincerity. “Aye. I see ye. I see ye fer the beauty that ye are. Ye deserve the adventure that ye long fer.”

Her confidence waivered. A whisper of longing passed through her, tightening her chest. She turned to him and said, “Mayhap, but this is what God saw fit to give me and fer that I’m grateful.”

Gently, Alan took her by the hand and turned so they faced each other properly. “I would see that ye have the great adventure ye desire.”

“Dinnae let my da hear ye say that,” Jain warned him. “He’d hear nothing of the sort. He and Moira would have me married, settled down and with a brood of children.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he conceded. “But is that what ye want?”

Jain shook her head, biting back the smile that was fighting to break free.

“Adventure it is then.”

Jains heart fluttered from the contact as she gazed up at him and said, “I ken.”





Chapter Seven


Alan and Jain walked together along the dirt path back to her family’s farm. In the distance, a faint hooting of an owl broke through the evening silence. Neither of them spoke, but Jain felt something odd pulling her towards him like water being washed upon the shore. It was undeniable and difficult to resist. Every now and then, she would glance in his direction while carrying her bucket of water.

After they made it back to the house, they joined the others who were already sitting around the table. While eating the loaves Jain made earlier and bowls of thick pottage, they discussed the upcoming Harvest Festival. She was unusually quiet while the others ate, but thankfully no one noticed. Her thoughts were elsewhere, still lingering outside on her conversation with Alan. Every now and then, she would glance over in his direction and Alan looked back at her with a secret smile that made her stomach flip and forget everything else around them.

“I’ve heard that it’s going to be wonderful this year,” her cousin gushed. “Are ye lads planning to attend?”

The young blacksmith nodded, brushing some of his blond hair to the side of his face. “Aye, I wouldn’t be missing it. Are ye planning on going too, Aileen?”

Jain’s cousin nodded. “Aye, Jain and I have been looking forward to it fer weeks.”

Alan smiled, taking a bite of his food. “Then perhaps ye’ll do me the honor of saving at least one dance.”

She giggled at his request and said, “Of course.”

Alan’s gaze then turned to Jain as he continued. “And ye, Jain? Would ye be willing to share a dance with me as well?”

Jain chuckled, feeling the heat come rushing to her cheeks. “I suppose it would be rude to deny such a polite request. Dinnae ye think, Mam?”