Page 17 of A Promise Through Time

“Aye. I’m yer Da!” She’d called him Da. After a moment of elation, he sobered. He was fooling himself. He couldn’t be her Da. He had no room in his life for a bairn or a wife.

“Is something wrong?” Tina asked.

He shook his head, sitting down across from her.

“Something is definitely wrong. This has got to be such a shock to you.”

It was, but not for the reason she thought.

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now. Finding out your wife is dead and her parents just leaving you with the baby out of the blue. Why would they do that?”

“She’s my bairn,” was all he could manage to muster.

“Of course. And that’s got to be why they left her, but you would think they would have stayed for a while. You know, to help you out until you could get Elena settled.”

“What will I do?” he asked, his eyes pleading with her for help.

“I don’t know,” she answered.

“Could ye help me? She seems to like ye.”

Tina’s eyes went wide and he knew he had overstepped. “I won’t be here for long.” She wouldn’t look at him and began rubbing her hands on her skirt. He needed to fix this. He was going to mess everything up. He had to fix this for Elena, for both of them.

He thought he had it all figured out, but this lass was only here for a brief visit. Her sad eyes touched his heart. He shouldn’t impose on her. He was sure she would have helped him if she were staying.

“I’m sorry.”

He sincerely believed she was. There was something about this lass. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he found himself drawn to her.

“’Tis my worry, nae yers,” he said. “Truly.”

“You’ll need to get settled and find someone who can help you while you’re doing whatever it is that you do around here.”

“I’m a soldier to clan MacKenzie,” he said, “and proud to be.”

“I’m sure that’s important. Are you away much? Will you need someone to live with you?”

“I’ll have to find someone to stay with her during the day and when I am out on patrol. What I need is a wife,” he said the words while silently denying them.

“You just lost your wife. It’s probably too soon to be looking for a new one,” she observed.

He winced at that and hoped she would think it was his grief. “Yer right.”

“Are there any older women in the clan who could take on a grandmotherly role?”

“I dinnae ken. I’ve never noticed.” He hadn’t. Why would he? He preferred the younger women and until now they’d seemed to prefer him. Once word got out about Sionaid, he’d be lucky if he ever found another woman to warm his bed.

Ashley returned with an armful of clothes. “Em’s outgrown these.” She handed them to Donal. “This should do her for a while. I’ve got the bath set up for her in my chamber.” She stood, hands on her hips waiting.

Tina rose. “We’ve named her Elena,” she said.

“Oh, that’s pretty,” Ashley observed.

“You should come with us, Donal. You’ll need to know how to bathe and dress her,” Ashley said.

Panic seized him. He didn’t know the first thing about bathing a bairn and Ashley knew it. He was a warrior, and a brave one at that, but something about his wee daughter put the fear of God into him. He felt the walls closing in around him. He needed some air. “I’ve got some work to do. If ye wouldnae mind, I’ll be back a little later.” He began backing towards the entryway.

“We’ll take good care of her,” Tina said. “Say goodbye to Da.”