To Wed a Highlander

Book 2: McTiernays

by Michele Sinclair

Genres: Historical Romance

Synopsis

Makenna Dunstan has never needed a man's protection before. But when her father's failing health places the safety of the clan in her hands, she has no choice but to marry Colin McTiernay. Fearing the emotions Colin awakens within her, she finds herself succumbing too easily to his lingering kisses and warm caresses. Yet she wonders if she can truly trust this highlander who is quickly stealing her
heart . . .



A highlander from birth, Colin McTiernay knows the Dunstan clan dislikes him, especially the laird's youngest daughter. But he is determined to save the lowlanders from their enemies even if that means marrying the willful and impetuous Makenna. Taming this fierce tigress will be a challenge that Colin is confident he can meet by seducing Makenna-and tantalizing her with a passion that will only leave her begging for more.

Release date: July 1, 2008

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 400

Sample

Lochlen Castle, Scottish Borders, 1309

“Enough!” bellowed the old laird as he rose stiffly from his chair. His commanding voice belied the weakness of his slow-moving body, as did his brightly lit green eyes. His thick hair, which had once been a dark red, was now a beautiful silver gray barely reaching his shoulders.

Emerald shards of frustration and aggravation lashed out at the two seething figures in his dayroom. Both remained unaffected by his looks of fury. They were too obstinate to realize that his toleration of their mutual detestation had vanished. No longer could they avoid the inevitable.

Alexander clamped his jaws together as a shot of fire coursed through his chest. The pains were becoming more frequent—and more powerful. His time left was limited, and before he died, he vowed his clan would be in the hands of the one man who could ensure its survival.

He glared at the powerful highlander towering motionless near the hearth, and then slid his gaze toward the obstinate redhead across the room. Her jaw was clenched and her hands were clasped behind her back as she paced furiously back and forth across the planked floor. Neither of them was any closer to conceding.

In two strides, Alexander was in front of the hearth and met the fierce gaze of two bright cobalt eyes intense with controlled emotion. Alexander Dunstan knew he was considered a large man by his Lowland peers and had often used his height to intimidate those who had raised his ire. However, the idea of his imposing figure affecting Colin McTiernay was ludicrous. The man was a giant even among Highlanders. And while Alexander would never admit it aloud to anyone, he usually avoided being in situations in which he had to look up at his son-in-law. However, right now, the anger, fear, and frustration boiling in his blood made him oblivious of Colin’s towering stature.

“Pride!” Alexander growled. “Aye, your damned, maddening, and unreasonable pride! It prevents you both from accepting what must be.” Refusing to wince as the burning pressure in his chest strengthened, he returned to the comfortable, oversized chair situated in the middle of the room.

He sank into the well-worn leather cushions hoping the man he had learned to trust above all others would now trust him. Alexander knew his people disliked outsiders, but he also knew that given time, they would follow and respect the Highlander. Colin was one of those rare men a laird was lucky enough to meet, let alone welcome as family. He was a highly skilled soldier, but even more important, Colin’s ability to train and create unbreakable bonds with his men made him an exceptional leader. Loyal, strong, and fair, the Highlander was Alexander’s undeniable choice to lead his proud people. But, more than that, Colin was the only one who could save them.

Alexander shifted his gaze to the slim athletic woman with the fiery red mane and flashing clover-green eyes. There was no doubt she was his daughter. Her long, wild, slightly curly hair matched the color of his youth. Her eyes were both proud and compelling, and her unconventional demeanor reflected more of himself than any son he might have had. But, right now, his youngest daughter’s willfulness was going to destroy not only her future happiness but also that of everyone and everything she loved.

Makenna Dunstan was not exactly ignoring her father, but whenever the Highlander was in sight, her heart raced and her blood boiled. She stopped pacing, crossed her arms, and stared defiantly at her fate looming over the hearth. She then looked at her father and shook her head firmly no, hoping to exhibit the inflexibility of her decision.

Alexander closed his eyes and after a few moments reopened them. “I love you, Áille, but your pride will give you no lasting joy,” he cautioned her solemnly.

Makenna increased the grip she had on her arms. Her father’s special epithet for her—most beautiful—had not masked the seriousness of his comment. He fully expected her to be at the chapel tomorrow, in front of everyone, and do the impossible. She would not bend. She could not bend…not on this.

She marched over and knelt by her father’s chair. “Your affections will not dissuade me, Father. I openly admit to my pride. It has given me self-respect and a sense of value. And with my pride, I can promise you I will never marry that overbearing bully of a giant,” Makenna huffed, locking eyes with her oversized nemesis. She rose slowly. “He might have convinced my sister to marry him, but he will never convince me.”

Colin clutched the timber portion of the hearth’s mantel so tightly he could feel the wood begin to give beneath his fingertips. Makenna Dunstan was by far the most infuriating woman in all of Scotland, and despite her impassioned claim, it was he who was refusing to marry her. “I also have my pride, woman, and it does not include latching myself to a female who refuses to know her place. I want a wife who can maintain a keep, not see it go to ruin as she rides wild on her horse trying to be a man she can never be.” Colin’s voice was level and soft, but its impact was just as strong as if he roared the words aloud.

He watched as a slim hand calmly smoothed back loose wisps of curly red hair. The action revealed insolent jade pools framed by long dark lashes. The woman was like unrestrained fire, constantly challenging him on everything. It mattered little to her what her father wanted or what her four older sisters encouraged. She had been allowed to indulge in her peculiar interests for too long. She had never learned how to be a woman, let alone a wife.

Makenna refused to turn away from his cold gaze. She would not give him the satisfaction.

Colin was unmistakably a Highlander, and definitely a McTiernay with his giant build, dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and stubborn jawline. When Colin married her sister, he had entered the Dunstan home and consequently Makenna’s life. Within weeks, he had started banning her from the few activities that gave her confidence. Even though she was better at them than most men and had been doing them for years, he deemed them unsafe for a woman. Now, for almost two years, she had been forbidden to hunt wild boar or any other beast he deemed to be dangerous. She was never to ride alone, and he had prohibited her from training with his soldiers. One by one, Colin McTiernay had stripped away her favorite pastimes, and all with the blessing of the one person who had previously championed her unusual diversions—her father. She would never marry the dictatorial colossus, tomorrow or any other day.

Makenna released the back of the leather chair, swung around, and begun pacing again. Her father had had enough? Well, she was also done with this conversation. For weeks, she had felt like a caged animal being pressured into a binding agreement that would eventually steal her sanity. Despite her stream of vocal refusals, her father had moved forward inducing her older sisters, Ula and Rona, to plan the wedding. Every local laird had been invited, and most had come. Tomorrow they would all be disappointed.

Makenna took several intakes of breath, determined to maintain her composure. “I cannot do as you ask, Father. I am not ready to pledge myself to any man, but I especially won’t to this one. Deirdre might have loved him, and I have never fathomed why. I don’t disagree that he can lead men and rebuild our battle strength. I will even admit that he should continue to train our soldiers, but I just cannot marry him. I will only make us both miserable, and that cannot be good for anyone, including our clan.”

Shocked by her flattering admission of his abilities, Colin was too stunned to do anything more than stare at her. Never before had Makenna acknowledged his skills or supported his efforts to reestablish the Dunstan army. Outside of his soldiers and Alexander, no one had verbally recognized what he had accomplished. He was about to say as much when Alexander indicated with a flicker of his fingers for him to remain silent.

Alexander understood his youngest daughter’s reluctance. Marrying a Highlander would be difficult, and promising oneself to a McTiernay would be even harder. Their enormous size, dark looks, and cool blue eyes made even the most composed of men sweat. But marrying the husband of her dead sister? It was a near impossible thing to ask. Near.

“I have heard your pleas, Makenna. I have catered to your rebellious ways for too long and now that I require you to act not only for yourself, but for others, you refuse me.”

Makenna winced. “Father, it is not for me, but for this clan that I refuse.”

Alexander’s eyes narrowed and he attacked her declaration. “It is for you. And even your sister, who watches you from above, knows it. Do not pretend otherwise. Accept for once that I know what is best and lean on my judgment. For if you do not, it will be my cousin who decides this clan’s fate—as well as your own.”

Alexander shifted his focus to Colin. “I have heard your excuses as well.” He saw the swift turn of his son-in-law’s head and the burning fire smoldering in the cobalt depths of his eyes. The man had complete control of his actions, and though Colin outwardly appeared calm and collected, Alexander knew he was suppressing his instinct to draw blood. Alexander also knew his words had to strike hard to achieve his goal. He had no more time to wait. “Aye, I said excuses, Colin. Deirdre died nine months ago, and she loved you, son, but she would not have wanted you to live this way—constantly driving yourself and the men. You have a decision to make. Keep your pride and return to your Highlands or finish what you started here. Make your choice. You’re out of time.”

Alexander rotated in his seat and leveled his eyes on his youngest daughter. She stared back undaunted. He had often felt enormous pride in her ability to remain staunch in her convictions. Too many times his delight with her willful behavior had resulted in him giving way to her unorthodox desires. Now she was the only one of his five daughters unmarried. “And you, my Áille, keep your pride as well, but learn to be lonely. For one day, possibly very soon, you will no longer have me to applaud your unusual accomplishments. And whom will you have then? You claim you desire no man, but I put forth that what you have always wanted was for someone to accept you, be proud of you, and love you. I have given you this, but still you want more. Someday you will realize that what you seek needs to be offered by a man, a real man, not one of the malleable ògans who follow you about professing their awe at your skills. Go and prepare yourself for a sad and solitary life, daughter.”

Alexander watched a visibly shaken Makenna absorb his words. More softly, he added, “Colin is right, Makenna. You have little knowledge about being a proper wife, but you could learn.” He paused and waited until she looked at him. “What a man seeks most in a wife you have to give in abundance. That I promise. You just must first learn to trust in him and in yourself.”

He leaned back against the cushions. “And, Colin, despite your year with my Deirdre, you learned very little about being a good husband. Aye, I know the truth. Remember, she was my firstborn, and I knew her for almost six and twenty years before she finally chose you for a husband. Do you know how many she had turned down before you asked for her hand? Do you know why she desired you above all others? Aye, it might have been love, for indeed, she did love you, but she knew even before I did that you could save our people. She waited to marry until she found someone who could do just that. If you choose to leave, her desires for her clan will have been for naught.” Alexander watched the deep blue of the Highlander’s eyes grow darker.

Colin stood silent for several moments before moving toward the large dark walnut door and pushing it open. He stopped his exit halfway into the passage’s outer stone corridor. Gravely, he pivoted and declared quietly, “This isn’t what I wanted, Alexander.”

Green eyes weakened by pain and loss captured the blue ones of the man Alexander had learned to trust and lean upon. “I know,” Alexander replied, “but it has to be. Either you and Makenna marry tomorrow or you leave. Both of you, go now and make peace with your decision.”

Alexander closed his eyes and listened to his daughter’s light retreating footsteps followed by Colin’s heavier ones. Two years ago, when his eldest daughter had announced her decision to marry the second eldest of the famous McTiernays, he never dreamed he would select Colin to be the next laird of his clan. Yet soon after their marriage vows, Alexander knew Colin was the one man who could ensure that his Dunstan lineage continued to grow and be prosperous.

His clan was not ready for another war, and yet despite Edward I’s celebrated death, a fight was coming in the shape of his son, England’s new king. Located on the Scottish Borders, the Dunstan clan was especially vulnerable. It needed a brilliant leader like Colin, who possessed the rare ability to train raw men into skilled warriors ready for combat.

Makenna, with her unorthodox habits of training with the soldiers, was the only one of his offspring who understood just how depleted the Dunstan forces had become while supporting Wallace’s cause. Without McTiernay’s leadership and legendary ability to train and build a loyal force, his people would be enveloped by another branch of Dunstans, and his bloodline would fade as if it never was. Makenna would most likely be forced to wed the man designated to run Lochlen Castle, and Colin would be obliged to return north, causing his soldiers to either go with him or disperse. Some would join Robert the Bruce’s campaign, but very few would remain loyal to the Dunstans. Most had joined to follow McTiernay, and the majority of them would follow him to the Highlands if he left. Eventually the Dunstans would be no more.

There would be a marriage tomorrow.

There had to be.

 

Colin marched out of the dayroom and descended the tower’s stone spiral staircase. Rounding the last turn, he exited into Lochlen Castle’s inner ward and proceeded along the southern curtain wall leading to the inner gate. Named for Malcolm Canmore III, the Canmore and Forfar Towers were two of the castle’s most prominent structures.

After the Viking raids, Malcolm III was one of Scotland’s first rulers to defy the Norman kings of England reluctant to accept Scottish independence. Malcolm’s leadership inspired the construction of many keeps, including Lochlen, named after the small lake located southwest of the castle’s town wall. Continually fortified for over two hundred years, Lochlen had been transformed into a small, well-fortified castle nestled between the Lammermuir Hills and the River Dye Water. Seven towers unevenly spaced to fit the rolling contours of the land formed the castle’s odd-shaped inner ring. Surrounding the main castle was a thick outer curtain wall connected by intermittent round drum towers situated to protect the two main outer gates.

Colin had intended to continue expanding and securing Lochlen by completing the town wall surrounding the local village. While it would only protect clansmen who made their home behind the stone barrier, the wall would create a place for Dunstans and allies to come and seek refuge when under attack.

With Alexander’s decree that he leave, the wall would be completed without him.

Colin’s mood darkened with each step. He had been walking among Dunstan clansmen for almost two years and still the men and women scampered like frightened children out of his path. Today was no different as one by one they ceased their occupation and dashed out of view. He knew his black mood was clearly etched on his face, but Colin doubted his expression was the cause behind their fast disappearance. The Lowlanders darted out of sight because of who he was—an unwanted outsider, an undesired future clan leader, and worst of all—a Highlander.

Only one man in sight was brave enough to approach Colin rather than flee. With one brief glance, Dunlop discerned his commander’s ill temper and the conversation that had caused it. Wide-shouldered and muscular with thinning brown hair, Dunlop deluded many to believe he was older than a man of five and twenty years. Even Colin had been surprised to learn Dunlop’s age when he was first conscripted into the Highlander’s burgeoning cluster of men. Soon, though, Dunlop and his best friend, Drake, were true converts, learning much from the Highlander, including how to trust and follow an outsider. Colin in turn had made them both his commanders. In time, Dunlop and Drake learned how to train and then strengthen raw, inexperienced men with the necessary skills to become warriors. It was now their responsibility to observe the ranks and ensure that the skills of every man grew steadily each day.

In order to hide their multiplying numbers, Colin had split his men into two groups. Those ready for combat honed their abilities behind the Lammermuir Hills under Drake’s command. A lack of natural passes and the hills’ steep gradients, though not especially high, formed a formidable barrier. Consequently, travelers circumvented the area, unaware of the nearby force being trained discreetly. Dunlop worked with the second group, consisting of new and inexperienced recruits, in the Dunstan training fields located east of the town wall in an isolated spot to discourage casual observation.

Colin was well aware that many believed his army consisted of only those men spotted training in the fields. They thought his training slow, his numbers few, and the soldiers unprepared. He did not intend to convince them or anyone else otherwise.

Soon after his arrival, when the army’s growth started becoming noticeable, Colin and Alexander decided to keep its true size a secret known only to them and his commanders, Dunlop and Drake. Makenna was the one person Colin suspected might be able to discover the truth. Despite ending her eccentric habit of training and sparring with his men, the willful woman wanted to watch. Very quickly, she would have noticed skilled soldiers disappearing from the training grounds and would have sought him out for answers. Colin had no intentions of giving explanations, especially to where his more advanced soldiers had gone. Consequently, he had forbidden her to come near the grounds, a decision he had paid for many times with loud curses and verbal attacks.

Dunlop turned and fell into step alongside his commander. Walking beneath five raised iron portcullises, they traversed the large inner gatehouse. Entering into the wide outer yard created between the inner and outer curtain walls, they passed the armory. Dunlop took his cue from Colin and only gave a perfunctory nod to the older gentleman standing in the doorway. The action conveyed that Colin’s conversation with Laird Dunstan and his daughter had ended even worse than Dunlop had originally surmised. For it was rare that his commander did not stop and greet Camus, a sword smith Colin both respected and called friend.

Colin headed straight toward the stables located against the southwest corner of the outer curtain wall. Dunlop followed but stopped just inside the stable doors. A cold expression filled his commander’s face, and he could not discern whether he should leave or stay. Not able to choose, Dunlop waited patiently for instructions as he watched Colin prepare and then mount the monstrous black horse. Despite the beast’s size, the animal was quick and nimble and responded to Colin’s slightest commands.

Dunlop leaned against the wide door frame and gestured for the stable master to leave. Colin rarely exposed his anger, but in his present mood, it would take very little to antagonize him.

The source of Colin’s frustration was not in question, but Dunlop wondered at the exact cause of its current intensity. For the past month, both Colin and Makenna had been steadfast in their convictions not to marry, and the laird had been equally clear about his disappointment. Then again, the pressure to marry was steadily increasing as the stream of visitors continued to arrive at Lochlen for a ceremony that was supposed to happen on the morrow.

Colin sat bareback for a moment staring at the black mane of his horse. Pulling the reins to depart, he realized Dunlop was still calmly standing at the entrance. Lines of frustration deepened along Colin’s brows and along his forehead. “Ride with me, Dunlop, but I warn you, I am not prepared to speak of my exchange with Alexander.”

Dunlop gave a light shrug in agreement. “Aye. Where do we ride?” he inquired, moving to jump onto his preferred brown stallion.

“We’ll follow the river,” Colin replied as he urged his black out of the stables and toward the town gate. Once outside, he drove his horse over the green and gold grassy knolls and headed south toward the River Dye Water.

Dunlop assumed Colin would ease the force at which he rode once they reached the river’s rocky banks, but Colin just turned east and continued hard beside the water’s strong current. Dunlop had begun to wonder if Colin was planning to ride all the way to the North Sea before he finally reduced his speed.

Slowing to a stop, Colin slid off the animal’s wet back and stared into the setting sun. The ride had done nothing to end the war raging in his head. Two incompatible options loomed before him, both with unacceptable consequences.

Instinct said to return to the land that spiraled into the sky with frigid cold lochs and men and customs he understood.

Pride required he stay and complete what he had started. Honor was forcing him into doing the unthinkable.

He needed to keep the promise he had made to his lovely wife, Deirdre.

She had been so weak for most of their marriage, but in her last hour, she had suddenly become strong in her desire to have him understand what he needed to do. “My dearest Colin, you have taken such good care of me. I fell in love with you when I first saw you. I will never regret one moment of the time we have shared.”

Her voice had been soft, but unusually firm. It scared him. “Don’t speak, my bean si. Just conserve your strength and get better,” he whispered, clasping her pale, cool fingers as he knelt by her bedside. Fear gripped him. He was going to lose her.

Her hazel eyes smiled at him. “I have been so unfair to you, my Colin, so incredibly unfair, and yet you never wavered.”

He kissed her lips lightly and smoothed back the pale gold strands of her hair, fingering their softness. “You have never been unfair to me, Deirdre. I never wanted to marry until I met you, and never once have I had a single regret.”

Deirdre reached up and caressed his cheek. “No, I have been selfish, Colin. I was never the wife you needed me to be. I was just lucky to be the one you loved.”

“I was lucky to have found you.”

She lowered her hand and smiled, shaking her head. “Ah, Colin, you deserve someone who can match your passions, stand by your side when needed, and be a true friend. Until now, I could not be that for you.”

“You have always been more than enough for me.”

“It is kind of you to say, Colin. You may even believe that, but I know the truth.” Deirdre put a finger against his lips, preventing him from arguing. “I needed you, Colin, and you were there for me, but when did you ever need me? I mean need me. I know you don’t understand, but I pray that someday you will and that you will need your wife as much as she needs you.”

Colin placed a warm, tender kiss against her palm. “Shhh. You are speaking nonsense. There will be no one else. I want only you, bean si.”

Deirdre sighed at his pet name for her. Fairy woman. “For everything that you have given me, I want to give something to you in return.” Deirdre took his strong fingers into her own and squeezed them. “Colin, I want you to marry Makenna.”

Instinctively, Colin retreated several inches. “Marry Makenna! Are you mad?”

Her eyes danced. “I thought you said I was the sanest of the Dunstan daughters, and Makenna was the crazy one,” she chided him softly.

He released her fingers and sat back, running his hand roughly through his hair. “She is! She’s wild and crazy and completely without control. She does nothing but argue and fight against everything I do. The woman…”

“Makes you come alive. Listen to you. Even now you show more life at the mention of her name than anything I have ever done.”

Colin was about to argue that he preferred her quiet nature when Deirdre began to cough. She was failing fast and the last thing he wanted to do was argue with her. He silently vowed to agree with whatever she said.

Deirdre fought to suppress her coughing attack and said firmly, “A marriage to Makenna will protect the clan, and despite what you think, she will make you a good wife. And, Colin, when you find yourself falling in love with her, I want you to know that it is a good thing, a wonderful thing, to find love twice. And when you find yourself happy—happier than you ever were with me—know that I am looking down with joy. That it’s what I wanted. That above all other things, yours and Makenna’s happiness is my last wish.”

All these months later, he could still see the look of peace on Deirdre’s face after he agreed to consider her request. Even today, he could not fathom why his lovely, gentle wife had thought he could be contented with such an irrepressible creature as her sister.

Colin had buried Deirdre on a cool foggy October morning truly believing her to be his first and last wife. Never did he imagine that nine months later he would be forced into the one thing he vowed never to do again—marry. And in truth, his oath had very little to do with Makenna.

He had been in Ayrshire fighting alongside Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Loudoun Hill when he met Deirdre, who was visiting her sister to celebrate the English’s defeat. He thought he had finally found a woman with whom he could enjoy a marriage similar to his parents’. Beautiful as she was, petite, and with a smile that could warm the coldest of nights, Colin believed he and Deirdre would eventually create the unique bond only soul mates shared. Instead, he had watched Deirdre become ill again and again, becoming weaker each time, never able to do anything about it.

“Dunlop?” Colin asked abruptly. The sudden noise startled both his guard and horse.

“Aye, Colin,” Dunlop responded after recovering.

“Do you know the laird’s cousin? Is Alexander correct in his belief that his cousin would challenge me as laird if I remained unwed to a Dunstan?”

Dunlop took a deep breath and exhaled. So that was where Colin’s mind was at…the possibilities of continuing his work here without having to marry. “I wish it were not so, but the man would undoubtedly oppose your being laird. Robert Dunstan swore an oath, as did Alexander, that only descendents of their blood would inherit Lochlen. He respects you and the McTiernays, but only if you were to marry and have children with a Dunstan would he support your claim.”

Colin recognized the truth of his words. “Who would Robert name?”

Dunlop played with the hair on his chin, the one place it grew in abundance. “I assume you mean who besides Cedric would Robert name as laird,” he stated, receiving affirmation by Colin’s nod. “Aye, that is the struggle. I doubt there is anyone else. And while Cedric is likeable, he is no leader and definitely no warrior. Another reason why Robert would not interfere if you were married to Alexander’s heir.”

Colin flexed his fists. Cedric was an agreeable lad, but young and inexperienced. Despite his good intentions, Alexander’s clan would collapse at the first sign of any battle—whether with neighboring Lowlanders or the English. Most Dunstan allies were at least a two-days’ ride away, and it took time to muster forces and move them. For Alexander’s lineage to survive, the Dunstan clan had to be capable of repelling an unexpected attack for several days, if not weeks. Even then, it was risky, as current allies were pledged to Alexander, not Cedric. Only since Colin had taken over the training and continued the fortification of the town wall was the idea of a safe and growing Dunstan clan becoming feasible.

Colin flexed his hands again. He needed more time, the one thing he did not have.

Dunlop grimaced and voiced the dreaded option of marriage. “Colin, I do not envy you or your decision. Makenna is a wild beauty and would be difficult to tame.”

Colin felt his jaw clench. “Damn near impossible. And she is no beauty. There is defiance in everything about her, from her unruly red hair to her insolent green eyes.”

“Aye, I’ve seen them, and it’s not insolence, but fear you see,” Dunlop disagreed, his tone hesitant.

Colin fought from snorting aloud. “Fear? Dunlop, are you crazed? That woman fears nothing, no one. Even when she should.”

Dunlop shook his head. It was dangerous to counter Colin, but it was important that his friend understood Makenna—especially if they were to wed. “Nay, she fears anything she cannot do well, including marriage. And she definitely is a beauty. Unconventional maybe, but unquestionably bonnie, especially when she leaves her hair unbraided. Many men think so, including Laird MacCuaig. It is rumored that he has more than once tried to convince her to marry him. She is probably the only person in the world more against the concept of matrimony than you.”

Colin looked at the departing sun and twisted the dark mane of his horse in his fingers and easily swung onto its back. “She will have to get over it, then.”

Dunlop moved toward his own mount. “You have made your decision?”

“I have. Ride and inform Laird Dunstan to find his daughter. We wed tomorrow.”

“Aye,” Dunlop answered, swinging onto the brown stallion. “Are you riding on?”

Colin nodded woodenly, still digesting his decision. “I’ll tell the men later. Right now, I need to think.” And thinking meant a long, cold swim.

 

Makenna took a step toward the edge of the small loch her home was named after and dipped her bare foot beneath the surface to test the temperature of its hidden depths. Despite the early summer’s warmth, the water was still cool.

It was late and the dark night sky would blanket her path home, but at least she was finally alone. It had been difficult to elude the two guards Colin had ordered to watch her whenever she ventured outside Lochlen. At first, it had been easy to sneak by them, but they had learned her tricks faster than she could dev. . .