“Fool,” she mumbled.
“You or Cullen?” Teresa asked.
Sara looked over to where her sister sat on a blanket under the shade of a pine tree and walked over to join her. Teresa warned her to be quiet, pressing a finger to her lips and pointing to a sleeping Alexander beside her.
“He just fell asleep, morning nap,” she explained softly.
Sara sat beside her sister and kept her voice low. “How long did it take you to realize you loved Shamus?”
“From when I first laid eyes on him.”
“Love can happen that fast?”
“Only a strong, sustainable love,” Teresa said.
“How do you know if it is sustainable?”
“That’s the catch, since only time will tell.”
“So you take a chance no matter what when you fall in love?” Sara asked.
“You have to take a chance when you fall in love or you may never find love.”
Sara shook her head. “Love confuses me completely.”
Her sister laughed gently. “Then love is surely nipping at your heels.”
Sara glanced over at Alexander sleeping on his stomach, his rump up in the air, his full cheeks rosy. “I could love him and his father so very easily.”
“Shouldn’t you be saying you already love him and his father?”
Sara cringed. “Is it obvious?”
“I thought you both in love when I first saw you together, and was surprised when you told me the truth of the situation.”
Sara shook her head. “The love you see in Cullen isn’t for me. It’s for his departed wife. He’ll never love another. Would you if you lost Shamus?”
Teresa shivered and rubbed her arms. “The thought chills me to the bone. I don’t know what I’d do without Shamus. I love him dearly. I think the real question is, would Shamus want me to wed again, or I him if I departed first?”
“Would you?” Sara asked. “Want him to wed again?”
“I can’t say the thought doesn’t sting my heart, but then the thought of Shamus being alone for the rest of his life hurts my heart, and it’s a hurt I wouldn’t want him to suffer. I would want him happy, and that, I believe, is true love.”
“I wish I had more time with Cullen before he leaves so I could see if love had a chance between us.”
“You haven’t given an ounce of thought to what I told you about going to America with Cullen and Alexander?” Teresa asked.
“Not really,” Sara admitted. She hadn’t wanted to, since Cullen had never once suggested the idea to her, and she certainly wasn’t going to ask him. She wouldn’t go where she wasn’t wanted.
Her sister seemed to have guessed her thoughts. “You’re being stubborn,” Teresa said. “He hasn’t mentioned it to you, so you won’t mention it to him.”
“He tells me often enough of how he will see me safe before he leaves,” Sara replied. “His plans are for him to go off to America with his son and for me to remain behind. He couldn’t have made it any clearer. Our marriage was simply a means to an end for us both.”
“That was before you both started falling in love,” Teresa clarified.
“We barely know each other.”
“We’ve already made it clear that time has no meaning when it comes to love,” Teresa reminded her. “Besides, he’s not leaving just yet. Use what time remains to you wisely. See what develops between you both, and don’t be stubborn about it.”
“Cullen wants to be intimate,” Sara blurted out with a sense of relief.
“He is your husband, and you should see if you are compatible.” Teresa giggled softly. “Shamus and I are very compatible.”
“Sex is a good thing then?” Sara asked apprehensively.
“With the right man, it’s superb,” Teresa said dreamily.
“I don’t know,” Sara said, shaking her head. “I fear being stuck with memories that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“Good ones or bad ones?”
Sara grinned at her sister’s teasing.
“Seriously,” Teresa said, “you need to find out. You need to find out many things these next few weeks and seriously consider going to America with Cullen, whether he wants you to or not. I fear for your safety once the truth is learned.”
“Cullen plans to eliminate any threat to me.”
Teresa took her sister’s hand. “There’s always someone left who seeks revenge. You will not be safe here once it is known what you’ve done. And while the prospect of never seeing you again tears at my heart, the prospect of your death pains me even more. At least in America you have a chance, and who knows…” She shrugged. “…Shamus and I may come to visit you one day.”