Page 29 of Surrendering to her Highland Captor
“C-can I h-help make dinner?” she offered between chattering teeth.
“Nay.”
James kept his back to her as he built the fire and started to prepare what they needed for oatcakes. She supposed she should be grateful he decided to build it close enough for her to feel this time.
“I suppose we dinnae need to fret about anyone seeing the fire?”
He peered over his shoulder at her, an incredulous look on his face. Shaking his head, he turned back to the small flame he had started.
“Dinnae fash, Taryn. I will nae let anyone take ye from me now.”
In another time, his words would have been comforting, even welcome, perhaps. But now, they silenced her and steeled her resolve to escape him.
The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving them with only the firelight to see. She didn’t make another attempt at conversation. Instead, she watched his every move, looking for the slightest hint of hesitation or regret or even weakness. When he offered her a ration of dried meat with her oatcake, she didn’t refuse it. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her meal for the second day in a row.
Tiredness clawed at her, urging her to sleep. Her muscles demanded rest and time to recover from the day. But as Taryn laid back against the tree and her eyes drifted shut, she was too consumed with plotting her escape to sleep.
