The Carpenter's Widow

Having been found shipwrecked and injured on the Isle of Arran, John Kurr finds himself in a troublesome situation as he is bed-bound in the home of a young widow by the name of Elaine Innish. Hiding away from the world was one thing but hiding away from the world while living under the same roof as a woman and her two energetic children was another. The situation was anything, but ideal. John had decided that once his injures had healed he would be on the next ship back to the mainland, so what was it that was keeping him there?

Elaine was exhausted and nearing the end of her rope. Since the death of her husband two years ago Elaine had struggled to keep up and she feared she was failing. There were now more holes in the roof than she could count, her children would not stop growing out of their clothes and they were in danger of starving to death if she could not come up with a way to make some coin. Adding the bed-bound John Kurr to the mix did not make her troubles lessen. To her, he was yet another mouth to feed. At least she was being given a little help from the village priest as well as her family, but it wasn't enough to keep clothes on her children or food in their bellies. In her mind, the sooner John would leave the better. So why was he looking at her like that, and why was her heart beating so fast?