Free IntoEternity by Christina James

head, Alexander Sutherland looked at the old man
who had brought Augusta Sinclair into his life. A silent understanding passed
between them. With no need for words, they nodded at each other. A moment
later, the older man faded back into the trees and disappeared. Gusty still had
her face buried against his chest and she shuddered in his arms. He held her
close. A precious treasure had been entrusted into his care and he would guard
her with his life.
    “Easy, love.” He whispered in her hair, holding her as she
cried.
    * * * * *
    The hour had grown quite late by the time Gusty pulled
herself together. She tried to ease off his lap but he tightened his arms
around her.
    “Stay. There is no need to hurry.”
    Alexander was not ready to give up the soft body he had held
as Gusty sobbed out her anger and fears until only a shuddering hiccup escaped
her. The time had given him an opportunity to think. A boyhood memory came to
mind as he’d held his new bride and listened to her weep. A memory of another
time and place, long ago, and a pair of children who’d played together and wept
together over childish insults. He was a boy when his true love had been stolen
away before he could say goodbye. She also had black hair and golden-brown
eyes. And she’d depended on him to take care of her. Alexander glanced down at
the woman resting so trustingly in his arms.
    “ There once was a boy… ” The words slipped from his
lips before he could call them back and he paused.
    “Was he you?” she whispered.
    “Aye.”
    At his answer she relaxed back into his arms with a sigh. A
half-smile tugged at his lips and he continued his tale.
    “He found a wee lass sitting on a large rock just above the
swirling, surging foam of the incoming tide. She swayed from side to side, a
small forlorn figure, lost in her secret misery. Her lovely wee face lifted stoically
in the force of the brisk sea breeze, wet with tears that flow in great
torrents from her eyes as she wept brokenheartedly.
    “’What is it, lassie?’ the lad asked. ‘Why are you so sad?’”
    Gusty turned to look up at him and Alexander paused in his story
to brush his lips against her forehead.
    “His quiet-spoken words startled her from her solemn
reverie. Her movement stilled and a deep sigh escaped her lips as she slowly
turned to look at the boy she had befriended only weeks ago. She quickly swiped
the tears from her cheeks.
    “‘How long have you been watching me?’ she asked
indignantly, her voice cracking with emotion. Turning her face away from him,
she scrubbed at her eyes with the hem of her tunic.
    “’Long enough to know something has upset you greatly.’”
    “‘That just shows how much you know.’ Her voice wobbled in
her denial. ‘Do not fash yourself; I am just a little sad today.’
    “He barely caught her words as she turned away. He sighed
heavily as he stared down at the small lass with her hunched shoulders and her
chin drooping to her chest. Without warning, the boy reached for her and lifted
her into his arms and carried her to a rock shelter up the beach. There he sat
down, holding her small shivering body on his lap. He gathered her close to his
chest with his bony arms wrapped around her to keep her warm. Being older by a
good six years and nearly a grown man, he felt it his duty to deal with
whatever foolishness brought his little lassie to this plight.
    “’Tell me. What is wrong, lassie?’ he whispered against her
ear. ‘I will do my best to make it right for you.’ At his words, she turned her
sorrowful face to give him a tremulous smile.
    “‘We are friends, are we not, laird? And we always will be?’
    “’Of course. We have sworn it.’
    “Since the boy had first discovered the wee lass at the
seashore, they had become close and she came to depend on him whenever she
needed a friend. He was someone to whom she could tell all her whimsical dreams
and on occasion she dampened his broad shoulder with her despised