Page 105 of Intrigued By A Highlander

Brack tried to find a response, his mouth opened ready, but words failed him. He watched Knox and Dru walk toward the cottage thinking at least Knox would be no match for Torrance when he returned.

“What about be careful, do you not understand, wife?” Knox demanded once he closed the cottage door behind him.

Dru ignored his question on purpose and asked, “You saved Elden’s life?”

“That doesn’t work with me,” he said, shaking his head.

“What doesn’t work with you? Was it during battle you saved him?”

Knox grabbed his wife by the waist, lifted her off her feet to set her down on the table in the confined space, then he braced his hands on either side of her. “You will not avoid my questions.”

She went to kiss him, and he turned his head away.

“And you will not distract me.” He watched her eyes shift over his shoulder. “And there will be no pleasure in that bed tonight if you don’t explain and right now.”

“Oh, all right,” she said, capitulating. “Elden was about to give Mara’s son a beating simply for being curious, so I had no choice but to step in. I called him a coward, told him he was fat and ugly and that he stunk. Then I asked if he shite himself. I told him he could never catch me, and I threw whatever was bubbling in the cauldron on his hand to make him drop his dagger. He shouted for help to other warriors, and I may have said something about how he proved himself a coward needing help against a wee bit of a lass. The wise person that I am, realized things could turn badly if I continued to humiliate him, so I offered a truce.”

He shook his head. “Could turn more badly than they already were?” He shrugged. “How did you get yourself into that much trouble in so little time? Wait,” he said before she could answer. “I forgot my wife’s penchant to save everyone while worrying her husband senseless.”

She tapped his chest with one finger. “Have I changed since we wed?”

He looked at her oddly. “Nay.”

“Then why should this surprise or upset you?”

“That’s easy to answer. Because when we first met you were nothing more than an annoying waif but now—now you’re my wife, the woman I love deeply. The woman I can’t bear to see harmed. The woman who should consider her husband before creating or charging into a foolish situation that could end badly. Could end with him losing her.”

She rested her hand against his chest and pressed her brow to his. “I understand. I truly do and I know how frustrating that must be for you, but—” She raised her head and looked into his eyes, eyes that flicked with worry, annoyance, and love. “I don’t know how to walk away when I see another suffer senselessly.”

He kissed her gently, her soft response reminding him of her soft heart. “We need to have many sons.”

She shook her head confused. “Why?”

“Because we’re bound to have a daughter just like you and I want her to have an army of warriors around her, so I have help keeping her safe.”

Dru smiled. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Her stomach grumbled.

“Didn’t you eat?” he asked concerned.

“A bit of bread and cheese.”

He lifted her off the table. “Let’s get you more food.”

The air felt colder to Dru when they stepped outside, the clouds overhead promising rain or would they get a hint of an early snow tonight?

“I feel a touch of snow in the air,” Knox said, their arms hooked snugly.

“I thought the same myself and I am glad we will have a roof over our head tonight and a warm bed to sleep in.”

“I forgot to ask if you learned anything helpful before getting yourself into trouble,” he said.

“Mara told me that everyone wonders if Lord Torrance intends to spend the winter here since he had repairs made to the village and the food sheds stocked. Otherwise, why would he make such changes? She says he’s still quick-tempered and harsh when angered and that his actions puzzle the lot of them.”

“He’s not a man who trusts easily or speaks openly about his plans. He never told Brack that he sent a dozen men to escort me here,” Knox explained.

“I wonder why the mystery and why summon you when you have yet to complete your mission. Unless…”

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