Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) (6 page)

“It doesna have
tae be like that for Mairi, ye ken?” Quinn said, his eyes holding Sarah’s gaze
and then wandering back to the precious baby that he held in his arms.

Sarah straightened
her spine at Quinn’s words.  What did he mean by this? Was hope causing Sarah
to read into the innocent words that Quinn had just spoken?

Quinn’s eyes
flashed back to Sarah when he felt her hot gaze burn across his flesh.  She sat
rigid in the chair before the fire.  Quinn noticed how beautiful she looked
just now.  Her long dark hair was unbound and fell in loose masses down to her
waist.  Sarah had a natural glow about her, an ethereal beauty that made
Quinn’s hands suddenly ache to touch her. 

Quinn’s steely
eyes made Sarah’s pulse quicken.  Her heart beat an erratic rhythm as she
watched Quinn watch her.  Sarah felt an unfamiliar sensation as she looked at
Quinn boldly now.  She could no longer deny that she was attracted to this
beautiful man.  He had been her savior and she wanted him, rough parts and all.

Now all she needed
to do was find the courage to tell him.

Sarah swallowed
hard and then smiled shyly as she felt color flush her face.

Had Quinn seen her
emotions play openly across her face?

He smiled
devilishly as if he could tell how he affected her.

Just then, Sarah
saw something flicker in his steel gray eyes.

He wanted her too.

Sarah’s heart
raced in response to her realization.

“C’mere, lass,”
Quinn invited as he held out his hand and beckoned Sarah towards him.  “There’s
room for the both of ye,” he said warmly.

Sarah heeded his
invitation recklessly and walked towards him.  For most of her life, she had
been denied the things that she had wanted.  She had been denied a loving
family and man that loved and cared for her.  Quinn could give her all of these
things. Sarah saw a yearning in his eyes, a desire that shone only for her.

She wanted him. 

She wanted to love
him and to relish in the joy that they could discover together.

 Sarah lowered
herself onto his lap and snuggled against his chest, wrapping her arm around
Mairi.  Her body fit against his perfectly.  His firm, muscular frame was the
perfect compliment to her lush, feminine curves.  Sarah felt as if they had
been made to fit together like this, to hold each other just like this.

Quinn’s heart
began to beat faster.  Holding Sarah so intimately aroused him.  She felt so
right, so perfect cradled in his arms. 

He suddenly realized
that he held everything he had ever wanted right in his arms.  The dreams that
he had long thought to be dead had been rekindled.  He kissed Mairi atop her
tiny head and then leaned towards Sarah.  He placed a chaste kiss on her
forehead and inhaled her sweet, feminine scent.

He said a silent
prayer as hope began to kindle within him.  He had no claim upon Sarah, nor
Mairi and yet holding them like this made him feel somehow complete.  He knew
right then that he never wanted to let them go.

Chapter Four

Quinn had fought
his feelings for the lass for over a week now.  Despite the fact that he found
her achingly attractive and thoroughly enjoyed her strong-willed yet sweet
nature, he had tried to hold back his feelings for her.  The more time he spent
with Sarah, the more difficult oppressing his tell-tale emotions had become. 
Sarah had come into his life like a wildfire.  Her very presence had consumed
him.  She had single-handedly brought meaning and purpose back into his life
and like a ray of sunshine in the darkness. She had given him the gift of
rekindled hope. 

Simply put, Sarah
and Mairi made him happy. 

He needed them
now.

 Quinn burst
through the door of the small cabin and bumped directly into Sarah.  She was
dressed in a simple blue gown of Anna’s and had tied back her long black hair
into a thick ponytail. She was a strikingly beautiful woman.  Quinn felt his
heart hammer faster as he looked at her.

 She was getting
ready to go somewhere.

 Quinn’s breath
hitched as he looked at her.  She was resplendent in her simple, understated
beauty.  He could no longer deny that he was attracted to her, but he forced
these feelings from his mind.

“Are ye leaving?”
he asked, worry evident in his voice.

Sarah had Mairi
bundled up and had obviously been in the final stages of preparing to leave the
small cabin.

“I need some fresh
air.  I’m going crazy sitting around inside,” Sarah huffed, exasperated by
being house-bound.

“Where do ye
intend tae go?” Quinn asked, curious as he studied Sarah, who was now flitting
in circles as she bustled about the small room.

“Fishing,” Sarah
said casually.

Quinn laughed out
loud.  “Yer going fishing?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes.  Fishing. 
What’s so funny about that?” she asked, stopping her preparations and settling
her hands on her hips as she glared up at Quinn.  Sarah did not like to be
laughed at.

“Ye’ve just had a
baby.  Mairi’s but a week old and ye plan tae go fishing?” Quinn chuckled and
tried to keep a straight face.  He had heard of women acting strangely after
child birth and surely, this must be what was going on with Sarah.

“Don’t you laugh
at me, Quinn Murray.  I’m not used to being idle and this weather is perfect
for trout fishing.  I thought that I could help out with supper tonight.”

“And ye expect tae
be able tae catch trout with yer bare hands?” he asked, eyebrow arching
skeptically.

“My father was
full Cherokee.  I know how to catch a fish,” Sarah said impatiently as she
crossed her arm in challenge.

“Do ye now?” Quinn
scoffed.

“Yes.  I do,”
Sarah said, raising her eyebrow in return.

Quinn noticed that
she was even more beautiful when provoked.  An attractive flush had spread over
her olive-toned skin and her green-brown eyes sparkled with challenge.

“This I have tae
see,” Quinn smiled and before Sarah could protest, he scooped up Mairi and was
out the door of the cabin.

..ooOoo..

Sarah closed her
eyes and drank in the warmth of the late autumn sun on her skin.  It felt so
good to be outside in the sunshine.  It was glorious to hear the rushing of the
small creek that ran through the Murray’s land.  Sarah inhaled deeply and
delighted in the smell of the crisp air that came with the changing of the
seasons.

Quinn had settled
Mairi in a bundle of quilts next to him.  He had reclined on his back, supporting
himself with his elbows.  His steely gray eyes intently watched Sarah as she
concentrated on the pursuit of catching dinner.  He had been interested in
accompanying her fishing expedition, but mostly, he had gone with her to ensure
that she did not encounter visitors.  Sarah’s savage relatives were never far
from Quinn’s thoughts.

“Why is your
speech so strange?” Sarah asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between
them.  Her eyes scanned over Quinn.  She couldn’t help but notice how handsome
he was with his day’s growth of stubble and his thick chestnut hair tied back
at the base of his skull.  Her eyes followed the angular line of his jaw and
she caught herself wondering what it would feel like to trace her finger over
the sensitive skin she saw there.

Quinn chuckled,
dragging Sarah’s thoughts back to the question that she had asked.  “It’s no
strange.”

“Yes, it is.  You
don’t sound English.”  Secretly, Sarah found the heavy burr in Quinn’s voice
very attractive.  She loved how beautiful common words sounded when Quinn spoke
them, rolling them off his tongue when he said things like “verra” and “canna.”

“I’m not.  I’m
Scots.”

Quinn abruptly
changed the subject, not wishing to speak of his past.  He now noticed that
Sarah’s eyes were watching him closely and he wondered what she was thinking.

“Yer English is
verra good.  If yer Cherokee as ye claim, then how did ye learn tae speak sae
well?”

“My mother was
English,” Sarah said, eyes tearing from Quinn to watch the water.

Quinn could tell
from the tone in her voice that Sarah’s mother was a sore subject.  A moment
passed in silence.  Quinn was surprised when Sarah began to speak.  An unspoken
trust had developed between them over the mere week of their acquaintance.

“She died when I
was twelve,” Sarah said softly.  Her gaze was still fixed on the rushing
water.  “That’s when I had to go live with them.”

“The Cherokee?”

“Yes.  My father
was Cherokee.  He died a few years after I went to live with them.  I was never
close with him.   The Cherokee are different from the English.  In Cherokee
society, families are centered around the woman’s relatives and because I did
not have a Cherokee mother, I was an outcast.  It was as if I had no family,”
Sarah said, eyes flashing quickly up to meet Quinn’s and then fluttering away.

The hurt that
Quinn saw in her green-brown eyes was astonishing.

“I ken what it’s
like tae lose family.  It’s a pain that never leaves ye.  My mam died when I
was young and I lost my da in the rising a few years later.  All I have now is
my brothers and I’m damn lucky tae have kept them alive.”

“I’ve been alone
most of my life, Quinn,” Sarah confessed.  “The English called me a half-breed
and my mother was the only one who ever accepted me for myself.  Since she
died, I’ve been alone in this world.  The Cherokee never trusted me and it took
me years to master speaking in their tongue so that I could get by in their
world.  I’ve been an outcast most of my life.  That’s why Mairi is so important
to me.  She belongs to me and I belong to her.  If we can stay together, we’ll
always have each other.”

“I’ve told ye that
ye’ll be safe here.  I willna let them take her from ye, Sarah,” Quinn vowed,
steely eyes locking intently with Sarah’s. 

“Coming here has
been a new start for me.  I have you to thank for that,” Sarah said, smiling
appreciatively up at Quinn from here she sat on the bank.

Quinn nodded
briskly.  Should he tell her now what a gift finding her had been to him? 
Should he tell her that when all had been bleak, she had brought the lifeblood
back to his veins?

“I’m done with
that life, Quinn,” she said sternly as she set the line of her jaw and looked
at the rippling water of the creek.  “I’m done listening to the rules of
society and putting aside my own happiness.  I’m going to live my life by my
own rules now.  I owe as much to Mairi,” Sarah vowed, looking back at Quinn now
with conviction.

“That’s a verra
noble pursuit,” he said, smiling ever so slightly as he admired Sarah’s
defiance.  She was a strong, intelligent lass and he was proud of her for
vowing to chart her own course in life.

Suddenly Quinn
found himself hoping that he was included in Sarah’s dreams of a new life. 

“Ahh!” Sarah
squealed in surprise as a trout took her line and jerked the end of her fishing
pole, tearing her from the intense conversation with Quinn.  “I’ve got one!”
she gasped proudly as she turned her full attention to landing the struggling
fish.

Keeping the line
taut, she flipped the silvery fish onto the bank.  The fish writhed frantically
from side-to-side, silver scales glistening in the autumn sunshine as it fought
desperately to return to the water.

“Grab it, lass. 
It’ll get away!” Quinn coached enthusiastically.

Sarah giggled and
set down the stick that she had used as a fishing pole.  Smiling proudly, she
grasped the slippery fish with her hands, trapping it against the grass so that
she could remove the hook that was embedded in its mouth.

“I told you that I
could catch a fish!” she gloated triumphantly as she removed the hook and held
up her prize for Quinn to admire.

“I’m impressed,”
Quinn said honestly, a genuine smile spreading across his face as he watched
Sarah hold up her prize.  Her dark hair had fallen loose from its binding, and
cascaded down her side.  The radiant smile that graced her face made Quinn’s
breath catch in his throat.  Damn was she beautiful.

Just then, the
slippery fish wriggled free from Sarah’s grasp and shot through the air like a
cannonball.  Sarah’s smile was replaced with a look of shocked disbelief as the
silvery missile flew through the air and struck Quinn right in the chest before
falling to the ground at his feet.

Sarah burst into
laughter when her eyes met Quinn’s.  A wry smile had overtaken his rugged face
and Sarah raised her hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle her
uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Quinn thought that
Sarah had never looked so beautiful.  Her laughter made his heart happy. 
Happiness was a feeling that was almost forgotten to him.  It felt completely
foreign.  It had been so long since Quinn had been happy.  The emotions boiled
up inside of him as he watched Sarah’s fit of laughter and he soon found
himself overtaken by a strange sensation.  He too began to laugh.  It started
as a chuckle and then developed into a deep belly laugh that matched Sarah’s
completely.  It had been so long since he had laughed.  So long since he had
felt unbridled joy and indulged in silliness.

And all of this
was because of a stupid fish.  And also because of a beautiful, captivating
girl.

Caught up in the
moment and surprising even himself, Quinn reached down and captured Sarah’s
lips in a kiss.  His lips brushed against hers, tender and fleeting in their
caress.

She took in a
breath swiftly and stopped laughing.  Quinn’s kiss had caught her completely
off guard, but the sensation of his lips on hers sent fire coursing through her
blood.  She opened her lips and kissed him back. 

Sarah’s response
sent Quinn abruptly back to rational thought.  He broke the kiss suddenly and
drew sharply away from her as if her lips had burnt his skin.