He had been shocked to see her confronting the man in the market. He had first thought to intervene, then was amused at how easily she had handled the fool. So he had watched and waited and enjoyed the show.
She was a remarkable woman, who stood her ground with courage and confidence, and he admired her more each day.
With a fatigued sigh, he collapsed to the blanket beside the fire. She sat on the opposite side munching on bread and dried fish. He saw that she’d arranged a portion of the food for him and left it on his blanket.
She looked exhausted, her blue-green eyes lacking their usual luster and curiosity, but then, it had been a long day.
“You’re tired,” he said.
She licked fish crumbs from her fingertips. “We both are. We need a good night’s sleep. In three days’ time we’ll arrive at my home, and soon after you will be reunited with your son.”
“Alexander is close by?”
She nodded. “He is near and you will be with him soon.”
Cullen felt a twinge of guilt. She would keep her part of the bargain; not so he, and he didn’t like the thought. He had given his word, and today had protected her. How could he walk away from her and leave her unprotected, vulnerable to her father discovering the truth, once again placing her in danger?
Perhaps seeing her courageously defend the young lad had made him realize she depended on no one but herself. And why? Had it been a necessary learned trait? Had she always had to depend on herself? Alone? No one to help her?
And had it been that learned strength that enabled her not to think twice about rescuing his son?
“I can’t wait to be with him,” he said, eager yet grateful.
“It is good he is so young, just about eleven months, he will know only you and not remember the people who cared for him the first year of his life.”
“Good people, right?”
“The best,” she said with an affirmative nod.
Her confidence gave him confidence as well, and while he would have liked more information, he knew she’d give him only what she deemed necessary. He’d been patient, having no other choice, and besides, he trusted her. She had proven herself truthful and trustworthy, and he was grateful his son had landed in her arms.
A sudden thought hit him. “The couple won’t mind me taking him?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. They expected me to come for the child.”
He eyed her strangely. “You intended to raise my son?”
Her head snapped up. “Of course. I didn’t plan on deserting him after having rescued him. Besides, I had hope that his mother would return for him.”
“And his father?”
“I knew nothing about him. Had he truly loved the woman giving birth to his son or had he merely used her? I planned to be cautious where he was concerned. If the time ever came.”
“It has, and you’ve certainly been cautious.”
“I didn’t protect him to see him hurt in the end.” She yawned and stretched.
“You should sleep.”
Sara stretched out on the blanket. “So should you.”
“I will,” he said, and thought to say more, to thank her for her bravery and unselfishness, but he didn’t feel he could, not unless he gave as unselfishly as she had. How he’d be able to do that, he wasn’t sure. He only knew he had to try. He owed her so much more than she realized.
He watched her drift off to sleep, her eyes closing slowly, her breathing growing steady. She rested on her side facing the fire, facing him. The fire’s heat tinged her cheeks pink and gave softness to her sharp features.
Something in him swelled and twisted his gut. He didn’t know what to make of it, or if he should make anything of it. He’d been so busy tracking down his son that he had paid little heed to anything else, especially his feelings.
He stretched out on his back on the blanket and gazed up at the night sky sprinkled with stars. Alaina had been his world. and when he lost her, he’d lost himself. If it hadn’t been for his son, he wouldn’t have wanted to live.
As the months passed, his pain subsided, thanks to his determined search for his son. That was all he thought about, all he wanted to think about—finding Alexander, leaving Scotland, and most of all, avenging Alaina’s death.
He had not intended to marry. He turned and looked at his wife.
It still unsettled him to think of Sara that way—as his wife—and yet today at market his first instincts had been to protect his wife. She had good qualities and was a woman a husband could depend on.
If he chose to wed for the mere sake of having a wife, a companion, Sara would be a good choice. She had even cared enough for his son to protect him, a motherly instinct. She was a good woman.