Page 54 of Intrigued By A Highlander

Knox dismounted, then lifted her off the horse, her hands going to rest on his shoulders as he did. Her touch went weak after barely laying her hands on him and he watched her turn a deathly pale.

He rushed to cradle her in his arms and into the cottage, kicking the door open. He looked around a generous-sized room and spotted a narrow bed tucked in the corner. Then he spotted another door on the opposite side of the room and kicked that one open to find it had a bed large enough for two people. He hurried and placed Dru on it, surprised the bedding wasn’t dusty and that the blankets appeared freshly cleaned. Had someone finally occupied the place? He had no time to think on it, though he kept it in mind in case someone should show up.

“I’ll get a fire going in here,” he said, seeing the small hearth, the size sufficient to heat the room.

Dru nodded, turning on her side and fighting back more tears as he got busy starting a fire in the hearth. Her heart felt as if it was being torn apart, the pain was so grievous. She thought she could avoid this or at least manage the grief. But memories assaulted her, happy ones and unbearable ones. But worst of all was the thought of what Knox would do when he discovered the woman—Autumn—he searched for… was his wife.

CHAPTER 15

Knox looked down on his wife cuddled beneath the warmth of the blanket asleep. Rest would do her good and help heal her… he hoped. He left the room, coming to a halt in the room they first entered. He glanced around for a moment, then left the cottage and, taking hold of his mare’s reins, walked her to a small shelter he had spotted when they arrived.

There were two empty stalls, and he led Star to one and as usual he spoke to her as he settled her there.

“Dru stirs something in me, Star, that I don’t quite understand. She makes me feel things that are foreign to me, overwhelms me, are deeply pleasurable. I enjoy having her in my arms, snuggled against me at night when we sleep, and when I kiss her,” —he shook his head— “it’s like a punch in the gut, though a good punch if that makes any sense.”

He let out a heavy breath. “I would have never thought a woman like Dru would appeal to me, but now—” He shook his head again. “My heart aches when I see tears in her eyes and when she grew pale, fear gripped me, and I have not known fear since Phelan beat it out of me years ago.”

Knox grew quiet as he finished tending his mare and she nudged him after a few moments.

“Aye, that’s a good question, Star. What do I do about it? Do I let her slip away or truly make her my wife and spend the rest of my days with her?”

Star nodded.

He chuckled. “And that’s another thing she has me doing once again… laughing. Something that I haven’t done frequently, and it feels good.”

Star nodded again.

“So, you’re agreeing with me,” Knox said, smiling. “You’re probably hungry, so I’ll let you forage for a while then it’s back in here for the night.” He went to lead the mare out when he stopped, his brow creased. “The cottage was dusty, a few cobwebs as well, what you would expect for it not being occupied for a while, but the room where I left Dru looked to have been cleaned recently. The hearth was even stocked with wood. It was almost as if it had been prepared for someone.”

He walked out of the shelter, Star following him.

“Stay close to the cottage,” he ordered and walked around the side of it to return to Dru.

He stopped abruptly when he saw a gray-haired woman standing near the door, gripping the rope handle of the wood bucket she held. She was slim and fairly tall for a woman. Her gray hair piled carelessly on top of her head and the many wrinkles that filled her face marked her as aged, but her sharp blue eyes told a different tale. She was not a woman to be taken lightly.

“It’s about time you got here,” she said and shoved the bucket toward him. “There’s a creek just beyond the back of the cottage, fill this. I need water so I can heal your wife.”

“Mave,” he said, realizing who she was.

“Brilliant. You know my name.”

“I was told you left.”

“And now I’m back,” she said with a lift of her brow. “Now do you want me to heal your wife or don’t you?”

“Aye, I do,” he said, and wondered how she knew Dru was his wife.

“Then go fetch the water like I told you,” she said. She turned, shaking her head and mumbled before entering the cottage. “Men—useless lot.”

Knox’s temper flared but calmed quickly. The old woman might be annoying, but she could help Dru and that was all that mattered. He turned and went to get the water.

“I know you’re not sleeping.”

Dru’s eyes shot open. “Mave!”

She hurried to sit up but got struck with a dizzy spell and dropped back on the bed.

Mave shook her finger at her. “Took too much wolfsbane, didn’t you?”

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