Summer searched the small gathering in the chill dawn, hoping for one last glimpse of Isaac’s face, one last chance to promise she would come back to him. He was the one stable thing in her life, she felt in these few weeks of topsy-turvy changes, and she desperately wanted to touch her rock once more.
But she could not find him.
The horse she was mounted on pranced under her, keeping her attention split, and she still had not seen him by the time her father blew the horn to signal their departure.
Just as he’d begun his descent down into the stables, a loud horn sounded out to the extent that he jumped, and he whirled around in horror. He hadn’t realised the time, and had originally feared that he’d slept through her departure, but apparently, he’d misjudged the hour.
Forgetting all about his previous plans to fight away his frustrations, he ran towards the sound, hoping to at least catch one final glance of his beloved before she left.
Even as the column of horses began to walk out of Hale Castle courtyard, Summer continued to look for Isaac. Was it too painful for him to see her leave? The very thought of that twisted her heart, and she wanted nothing more than to leap from her mount and rush to find him.
Perhaps fortunately, his appearance at the entrance to the stables precluded that idea, and her gaze snapped to him. Her lips shaped his name, and she lifted a hand to reach out to him — and her horse stepped out, next in line. The distance between them widened, and hopelessly she dropped her hand, fighting back tears.