Page 73 of A Virgin for the Beastly Highlander

“Damon did what he thought was best,” Olivia said placing her hand on Conner’s shoulder. “But now ye ken where they are and ye must go to them.”

“There are five men at the house,” Damon said. “Even at my best, I could have only taken three at one time.”

“How far is the house?” Conner asked as Olivia reached her hand to him. Conner took Olivia’s hand and squeezed it.

“Nae far, a few hours ride,” Damon answered. “Took me all day by foot.”

“Can ye find it again?” Conner asked as he felt his chest wanting to explode. His throat tightened as did his chest. There was just so much swirling about his head that he couldn’t think straight. All he knew was that he wanted to get to them, to see for himself.

“Of course,” Damon huffed as if he were insulted by the question and pointed to his ragged tartan. “Ye think I wouldnae leave behind little bread crumbs?”

Conner’s eyes focused on the strips of cloth missing from Damon’s tartan and smiled.

“Then we must nae delay any further,” Conner said crushing the small note in his hand. “After all these years, I’ll have finally found my family.”

Whipping his head around, he looked to Olivia.

Conner rushed out of the room with Damon on his heels. With his mind torn, he wished he could bring Olivia with him, but she was in no shape to ride. Nor did he know what he was walking into and the thought of putting her in danger caused a chill to race through him.

“She’ll be alright,” Damon said to reassure Conner. “We will be back in nay time at all. Ye’ll see. And just imagine what yer maither will say when she finds out that yer nae only married, but have a child on the way. Ye daenae think that will brighten her day?”

The idea of reuniting with his family had plagued Conner’s mind for years. It was a fantasy he constantly played with when he couldn’t sleep. And now, here he was rushing off into the wild to collect them.

Conner’s heart pounded in his chest as he raced to the stables. Saddling the horses seemed to take forever. Every loop of the strap frustrated him. Finally four horses were saddled and ready.

“Are ye sure ye daenae want to brin’ a few of the guards wit’ us?” Damon asked as he mounted his horse.

“We need to be quiet,” Conner said. “The less people that come wit’ us the better. The goal is to get in and out without causin’ a scene. If we can avoid bloodshed, all the better.”

Conner climbed into the saddle as a servant handed him the ropes for the spare horses. He looked over his shoulder at the empty saddles and realized he was actually living out his dreams. Pulling in a deep breath, he turned his head to the road and kicked off.

The road was windy as the clear sky turned a darker gray. A crack of thunder rumbled over their heads as they charged through the fields towards the woodlands. Every mile they took threw Conner into a whirlwind. He couldn’t help but wonder if his mother would even recognize him. In his fantasies, he never once thought about how he would ride up to her. What words he would say. Instead it was always instant recognition and embraces.

“We are almost there,” Damon called over his shoulder as the rain poured out from the heavy clouds. The horses galloped on through the mud. Conner knew that if they weren’t careful they could easily lose one of the horses due to a slip.

“Damon,” Conner called. “We need to slow down.”

“But we are nearly there,” Damon answered. “All we need to dae is cut through the woods. There.” Damon’s finger pointed to the thick, dark trail that cut through the tall trees. “See?”

As they made it to the tree line, Damon slowed his horse and moved to one of the trees. A smile slipped over his lips as he leaned over and untied a piece of cloth from the branch.

“This is where we go on foot,” Damon said as he jerked back on the reins causing his horse to stop.

“We cannae leave the horses unattended,” Conner said as he too stopped and slipped off his horse. He landed hard and sank in the mud. Conner struggled to get one foot out as the rain continued to drench them.

“Daenae worry,” Damon said with a smirk. “We’ll brin’ them wit’ us. But we cannae ride through this part. The branches hang too low.”

“And how much further?” Conner asked. Although he was excited to finally see his mother and sister again, he knew that getting there would be dangerous.

“Relax,” Damon said. “We are almost there.”

“Aye, ye mentioned that before.”

“A bit impatient, arenae we?” Damon teased as he flashed Conner a wink. “I ken ye want to see them. But be careful. Wit’ the rain comin’ down, the last thin’ we need is for ye to slip and break a leg or somethin’.”

“And are ye certain the cottage is nae guarded?” Conner asked as he followed closely behind Damon. Where Damon climbed over, Conner climbed over, trying to stay in Damon’s footprints as he moved.

“Well, seein’ as how I left this mornin’,” Damon answered as he pried his boot from the mud with the help of one of the branches, “I daenae think anyone will be there. But what daes it matter? If there is someone there, we kill them.”

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