Page 56 of Married to a Highland Brute

It is my duty as a stepmother to tell her the truth. But she is so young. Nora found herself in a predicament that she had not been prepared for catering to the curious mind of a child.

“I have a twin sister,” she blurted out, hoping to distract the girl.

It worked. “What’s a twin?”

“Well, you know how most people have a brother or sister?”

“Aye. Da has Uncle Allan and Aunt Fiona.”

Nora nodded. “But they are not as old as your father, are they?”

“Nae. Auntie Fiona is the youngest of them.”

Nora was impressed by the little girl. “Well, I have a sister that was born at the same time as me. Well, she was born a few minutes before I was. That’s what a twin is.”

Leah’s eyes widened. “Wow…”

Nora smiled, happy that Leah was no longer asking difficult questions.

“Is yer sister as beautiful as ye?” Leah asked with eyes full of admiration.

“Thank you, sweet child,” Nora said, rubbing Leah’s dark hair, making the girl laugh. “My sister and I are identical twins. It means that we look the same way. People cannot tell us apart.”

Leah opened her mouth in shock. “I want a twin sister!”

Nora laughed at the young girl's unrealistic request, but she did not chastise or smother her dream, as she envied herinnocence and curiosity.

“A twin sister is a great thing to have.” she said, her chest aching.

“Where is she, yer sister?” Leah pressed further.

“Well, you know how there are different clans?”

“Aye and sometimes, they battle… Mae said me father might have to fight other men. Do ye promise that he will return?” Leah then asked her. Nora was astounded by how quickly a child's mind could jump from one topic to another, but she nodded. She hoped, like the girl, that there would be no war and that Jonan would be safe.

“Yes, your father is the strongest man I have met,” Nora answered her. That train of thought reminded her of Jonan's towering physique, which always captivated her interest whenever she dared to look at him. It gave her the assurance that only a few men could challenge him.

Leah smiled, but then her face went sad. “I would not like to lose me da.”

“What about your mother?” Nora asked, trying to get her to speak. Sharing her burdens with Amelia had always relieved her, after all.

“Father says she was kind, but I never met her,” Leah answered. Her eyes were sad and held a pain that was all too familiar to Nora.

“I never met my mother also,” Nora replied. She lay back on the cloth, burdened by the sad thoughts that had plagued her and her sister for years.

Would mother have loved us, or would she have been as mean as Father? Neither she nor Amelia had ever accepted anyone's response. They had told them that their mother was kind, but it was of no useto the daughters who never knew her.

“Amelia,” Leah called. “Are ye me ma now?”

Nora's chest clenched.She sat up and wrapped her arms around Leah andkissed her head. “Yes, if you would like me to be.”

“I have always wanted a ma.” Leah smiled.

“Well, now you have one.”

She slipped her hands into hersand gently squeezed. They spent the rest of the afternoon lying on their backs, watching the clouds pass by.

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