Binding Vows(93)

She had returned, and was even now on the back of a horse accompanied by Finlay, Cian and Ian bringing her home.

Lora stood beside Tara, with Amber poised and waiting.

Amber smiled in a wistful way, frequently looking up at Tara as if she had a big fat secret that was about to be revealed.

The unmistakable sound of horses’ hooves clapping on the stones of the yard could be heard over the loud thumping of her heart.

One horse moved forward and into the torch light by the door where they stood.

Myra, dressed in a skirt, not long enough for this time, but appropriate for the century from which she had returned, jumped off her horse and ran to her mother’s waiting arms.

Tears of joy sprang to Tara’s eyes as she watched their reunion  . The moment Myra glanced up and into Tara’s waiting face, the joy she saw there, mixed with something else. A small cut of 278



Binding Vows



pain was laced in Myra’s expression.

Tara answered her with a look of concern.

Myra gave a pensive smile and a little shake of the head, as if to say, “Later, I will tell you.”

The sound of the other two horses came slowly.

Tara had to squint to see why they moved at such a snail’s pace.

Her heart beat a bit faster. She took a few steps down the stairs. Duncan held her hand so she wouldn’t slip on the newly fallen snow.

Two other riders were being helped off the horses. When Fin helped his passenger, he looked down at the obvious female form and kept his hands on her waist a fraction too long.

The woman stared at him, nodded a quick thanks, and then looked at Tara.

Tara clenched Duncan’s arm. Her breath came in small sharp clouds of forced air. “Lizzy?” she whispered in shock.

“Lizzy!” She chanted her name with every running step it took to get to her sister.

Everyone watched the women embrace, no one unaffected by the expression of love they saw between the two sisters.

Simon waited patiently for his turn, inspecting the faces of the strangers surrounding him, and then he took in the steep walls of the Keep.

Tara pulled him into a fierce hug and smothered his eleven-year-old face with embarrassing kisses.

“How? Why?” Tara asked.

Lizzy choked back a sob. Tears streamed down her face. “I made Myra promise to bring us. I had to see you safe with my own eyes.” Lizzy peeked over Tara’s shoulder to Fin. “It’s only a visit, Tara. Only a short visit.”

Fin lifted a brow, and then turned and walked away.

“You’re here now. That’s what matters.”