Keira's Fire

Chapter 28

Cecily invited Stephen, Jeremy, and me to stay with her for as long as we wanted. She was prepared to offer the same to the rest of the men, but her husband reminded her, not unkindly, that they weren't running a hotel.

Not any more comfortable in the castle than I'd been before, I was only too happy to take my sister up on her offer. I was also grateful for her husband's interference, since I needed to put as much distance between Owen and myself as possible. I wanted some space from William too.

After I cooled down from my confrontation with Owen, I had a little time to think about what William said to me and I didn't know how to feel about it. I could admit that I had feelings for him, but I couldn't fully identify them yet. Maybe it was just respect and friendship. Maybe it more than that. I could even admit to the possibility of a future with him. But again, I had no idea as to what kind of future it might be. After everything that happened, I didn't know if I would ever be capable of being what he wanted, and I was sure that I cared enough about him to not want him wasting his life, waiting around for something that might never happen.

At least I knew that if I was ever able to get to that place, it would most likely be with him, since I couldn't imagine ever trusting anyone else that much. Not after Owen.

Right now I was allowing myself to forget all of that and just enjoy the time with my sister and her family. I couldn't believe how easily I fell in love with her children.

I loved Michael and James, of course. And with the age difference, multiplied by our situation, I almost felt like a parent to them. But it was sort of a duty with my brothers. I watched them grow up and I'd always felt responsible for them. But after spending very little time with my niece and nephews, I knew I'd kill or die for them in a heartbeat, the same as I would for my baby brothers.

Little Samuel was the sweetest baby and Cecily told me that he only laughed the way he did, for me. Richard, who was named for his father, reminded me a lot of Michael, who you couldn't help but love. And as Cecily hinted before, Keira was headstrong and independent, like me.

I almost felt sorry for my sister. She seemed doomed to deal with stubborn little girls who didn't want to act like little girls, and who didn't appreciate the attempts to make them. But to her credit, she didn't seem to mind, and she was much better at handling her daughter than she was with me at that age.

She also seemed better at handling me now than she used to be. But maybe she just learned to pick her battles.

"Leave it for the servants, Keira," Cecily said as I was reaching for my empty plate. I tried again and again to clean up after myself and help around the house the way I would any other time, but Cecily always thwarted my efforts, insisting that the servants wouldn't like it.

"I told you. They take it as an insult if you try to help them. They want to do what they're paid to do."

Sighing, I sat back and allowed the dish to stay. I wasn't comfortable living this way, even temporarily, but I guess I could appreciate their work ethic.

"Any idea when you'll be ready to leave?" I loved spending time with my sister and her children. After all the years we were forced apart, I never wanted it to end, but I had to go home.

I wasn't particularly sure where my actual home would be since there wasn't really a need for me to stay in hiding any longer. I would never be able to tolerate living with Miles though. Especially not if he would be supporting me. But I needed to see my mother and the boys. They all must be worried sick by now and I simply couldn't wait to return with Cecily.

It broke my heart to think that Michael probably wouldn't even remember her beyond what he'd been told. I wasn't sure that James would remember very much either.