She chased the thought from her mind, or else it would consume her, beat her down, and devastate her all over again. She couldn’t allow that to happen; she had people who counted on her. Which reminded her that she had a decision to make in regard to the American.
She had never turned away anyone in need of help. But why did he need to know about her homeland of Scotland? What had brought Mr. Longton to its shores? She had to be careful whom she trusted. There was a bounty on her head, but surely a man from America would know nothing about that. Would he?
Shortly they would arrive at their first destination and she would need to make a choice. Let him join her group or cut him loose. She drifted back until she walked alongside him.
“Made your decision yet?” he asked.
“I’ve thought on it.”
“Anything I can do to sway your choice?”
“Tell me what brought you to Scotland.”
His brown eyes glared down at her. “I’m here to find my half brother and I don’t intend to leave until I do.”
Chapter 3
“It’s a long story and I don’t want to bore you with it. Needless to say, it’s imperative I find my half brother, and I’ve been told that I might find him in Dunwith,” Burke said. He would feed Storm what was necessary for her to help him, for now, especially since he had discovered there might be a bounty on his brother’s head.
“Does he know you search for him?” she asked.
“He doesn’t know of my arrival.” That his brother didn’t even know of his existence wasn’t something he was willing to share with her just yet. Her suspicion of his explanation was obvious in the tight set of her rosy lips and the squint of her turbulent blue eyes.
“What exactly do you want of me if I grant you permission to remain with us?”
He could tell that she was giving it thought, so he was confident he could convince her to let him stay; besides, she intrigued him. She was a pint-sized bundle of courage and damned fair on the eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder how she’d look without the stocking cap.
“I need to learn what I can of your land and its people.”
“What in particular?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know exactly what will help me locate my brother. I think if I familiarize myself with Scotland and its people, it might help me to understand my brother and then eventually help me to find him. Otherwise I feel like I’m shooting at a target in the dark.” That all wasn’t exactly true, but it wasn’t necessary for her to know that he had hired detectives to help locate his brother and they had given him a starting point.
She smiled, and he felt a catch in his heart. It was such a sincere smile and sparked a beauty in her face that he found hard to ignore.
“Targets can easily be hit in the dark, Burke.”
Damned if he didn’t like the way his name rolled off her tongue in her sweet Scottish burr.
He took a step closer to her. “You’ll have to teach me the secret of hitting a target in the dark.” Not that he didn’t already know, but it would make for an interesting evening.
She shook her head, her smile never wavering. “I think you already have such skills.”
Burke rubbed his hands together and grinned. “I think we’ll get along well together.”
“As long as you can obey me.”
“Back to that again?”
“If you want to remain with my group, you will follow orders like everyone else,” she said firmly.
“So if I agree to obey you, then you’ll let me join the group?”
“Remain with the group,” she corrected. “You won’t be joining in any rescues.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
She laughed. “We’ll see about that, Burke.”
Damn, he really liked hearing her say his name.
“So what do you say? Follow my orders and I’ll help you find your brother for an agreed-upon fee.”
He held out his hand. “I accept.”
She hesitated. “I’d rather hear you say you will follow my orders.”
She was going to be a challenge for sure, but, hell, he lived for challenges. Besides, she had amended “obey” to “follow,” so he could live with that.
“I’ll follow your orders.”
She accepted his handshake. “Then we have a deal.”
“As to the fee?”
“We’ll talk on that later. I have things to see to.”
“Anything I can help with?” he offered. He wasn’t out to impress Storm, but he did want to show her that he would pull his weight.
“Something tells me you’re a good hunter.”
His grin turned to a low laugh. “Something tells me you’re perceptive.”