Page 25

ROSE WAS ON her hands and knees, pulling out weeds from between rows of onions, when the ground started to vibrate.

Glancing up, she caught sight of a lone rider heading down the hillside toward her. He had pale-blond hair and rode upon a leggy bay courser.

Her heart leaped, and she clambered to her feet.

Kerr.

Three days had passed since she’d seen him last, and she’d started to worry.

It had been a long, warm afternoon, and she’d busied herself in weeding.

She’d even told herself that if another day went by without any word from him, she’d travel to Dun Ugadale to find out what had happened.

She had to know Kerr had survived the clash with The Black Wolves.

But there was no need, for here he was, his hair whipping around his face as he slowed his horse, jumped the burn at the base of the valley, and headed toward her.

Dusting dirt off her hands, Rose watched him approach.

Hades, her belly was all in knots.

What had come over her these days? Somehow, she’d developed an infatuation with the Captain of the Dun Ugadale Guard. But was that all it was? Did infatuation make her knees go weak with relief, or make her chest ache at the sight of him?

She’d told herself she’d be calm and collected when she saw Kerr again, but all composure fled now. She hurried down the path to greet him, ripping open the gate and going to him as he swung down from his courser and turned to her.

Rose had expected a wide smile, yet Kerr’s face was serious, his gaze intense as it speared hers.

She halted, suddenly self-conscious. “Is something amiss?” she asked, her belly tensing as she readied herself for ill news. “Did ye find The Lost Valley?”

“Aye,” he replied roughly. “We did … thanks to ye.”

Rose let go of some of the tension she’d been holding in her shoulders. “And the outlaws?”

“All apprehended. They’re in the custody of the king’s men now … and will be executed at Edinburgh Castle.”

Her gaze searched his face. “I’d have expected to see ye grinning from ear to ear at such news, yet ye are so serious, Kerr. Why?”

His mouth curved, even as his gaze remained somber.

“It just wasn’t the way I foresaw things going, that’s all.

” He raked a hand through his shaggy hair before shrugging.

“I thought we’d fight them, and then Iver would strike off the heads of those who survived.

” He pulled a face then. “I didn’t get my reckoning, lass. ”

“Aye, ye did,” Rose replied softly. “Just not in the form ye wished.” She paused then, her gaze roaming over his face. “But the most important thing is that those outlaws are gone now. Travelers can pass through these lands without fear, and we can all sleep easier in our beds.”

“I know.” He sighed then. “I’m sorry for not coming to see ye sooner as I promised … but I was in a foul temper for a day or two after they left, and in no fit state for company.”

“I was beginning to worry,” she admitted shyly, shifting her gaze from his face to his chest, where the laces of his lèine had opened, revealing a triangle of lightly tanned skin.

“Ye were?”

“Aye, although don’t ye go getting smug over it, Kerr Mackay,” she replied, flustered now. Revealing that she’d been thinking about him over the past few days made her feel vulnerable. She didn’t like the sensation and now sought to claw back a little control.

“Oh, I won’t,” he murmured. Suddenly, he was standing right in front of her, and his fingers slid under her chin, lifting her face so that she met his eye once more. “I’m still in awe of the fact that ye no longer snarl at the sight of me.”

The teasing note in his voice was at odds with the serious look on his face, the searching expression in his eyes.

“Captain!” Kenna’s voice reached them then. “It’s a relief to see ye.”

Kerr dropped his hand and drew back, letting Rose turn to greet her aunt. Kenna walked down the garden path behind Ailis. Both women wore aprons and were wiping their hands on damp cloths.

“Aye, and ye’ll also be relieved to know that … thanks partly to Rose … the outlaws have been captured,” he replied. “The king’s men have taken them back to Edinburgh.”

Kenna nodded, her gaze flicking from his face to Rose’s. Next to her, Ailis’s lean face broke into a wide smile. “That does lift a weight from our shoulders,” she admitted. “The Drum Crags are far too close to us for comfort.”

“They are,” he said gravely. “Ye are fortunate The Wolves left ye be.”

Rose suppressed a shudder at this. Indeed.

Her aunt’s cottage was nestled away in the fold between two hills, and most travelers west took the glen farther north rather than bother to go this way.

Even so, if the outlaws had dwelled in the Drum Crags for much longer, they may have turned their focus upon this cottage.

“We’re all grateful ye apprehended those criminals,” Rose murmured.

Kerr glanced her way, a look passing between them.

Warmth crept across Rose’s chest. The impact of their gazes meeting, and the warmth in his eyes, made her breathing grow shallow.

“We’re making supper, Captain,” Kenna announced. “It should be ready shortly. Would ye care to join us?”

Rose suppressed a wince. Supper, as always, would be plain vegetable pottage. Kenna was a good cook, but there was only so much one could do to pottage. She was sure Kerr would have preferred to return to the broch and dine on better fare.

However, before she could make an excuse for him, he flashed her aunt a warm smile and inclined his head. “Aye, thank ye, Kenna.”

They ate their supper outside in the garden, at a small table, perched on stools. Bees buzzed around them, and the evening sun warmed their skin as they dipped pieces of bannock into the pottage.

Rose and Kerr sat next to each other, so close that their knees kept brushing whenever one of them leaned forward to take another wedge of bannock.

“It’s a fine evening,” Kerr commented as he picked up a cup of ale and took a sip. “The loveliest of the spring, so far.”

“Aye, it’s good to have some dry weather at last,” Ailis replied. “Just in time for Beltaine.”

Rose nodded. With all the excitement of late, she’d forgotten that they’d been marching through April. The first day of May and the Beltaine festivities were just a couple of days away.

Longing constricted her chest then as she recalled how much she’d enjoyed Beltaine in the past. She’d joined Eara and the other village women, ladling out caudle and giving out honey cakes before dancing around the fire.

But she was nervous to join them this year. Would she be welcome?

Of course, Eara would be happy to see her, and Rose’s throat tightened as she thought of her friend. She’d missed her greatly of late.

Glancing up, Rose noted that Kerr was watching her, a groove between his eyebrows. He’d seen her gaze shadow, and she wondered if he realized the cause.

They finished supper with a small wedge of bannock smeared with heather honey each. Rose usually washed the dishes in the burn after meals, but Kenna waved her away on this occasion.

“It’s too beautiful an eve for scrubbing plates,” she murmured, her gaze twinkling as she nodded to Kerr. “Why don’t the pair of ye take a stroll and enjoy the sunshine a little?”

Embarrassment prickled Rose’s skin. God’s teeth, her aunt was as subtle as a mallet to the head. However, Kerr didn’t hesitate before smiling. “That’s a bonnie idea, Kenna.” He met Rose’s eye once more. “Would ye like to?”

She nodded, deliberately not glancing her aunt’s, or Ailis’s, way, for she knew they’d both be wearing smug smiles. She’d been careful not to bring Kerr up in conversation over the past few days, for she was private in nature and wary of being teased, but Kenna missed little.

Wordlessly, Rose took the arm Kerr offered, and together they walked off down the path and away from the cottage.

As soon as they were out of earshot, she cast her companion a sidelong glance. “Sorry, about that.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “About what?”

“My aunt’s meddling.”

He laughed. “She did me a favor … for I was summoning the courage to ask ye to take a walk with me anyway.”

Rose snorted. “Ye need courage to ask me such a thing?”

“Aye.”

Rose shot him an arch look, not sure if he was teasing her or not. But Kerr’s expression had sobered, and he was looking at her with disarming directness.

They continued down the valley, alongside the bank of the meandering burn, before stopping to watch a pair of dragonflies flitting amongst the reeds. Sunlight gilded the hills and burnished Kerr’s pale hair.

The pair of them stood in silence for a few moments, watching the dragonflies, before Kerr eventually spoke. “Ye looked wistful when Beltaine was mentioned earlier … does it remind ye of yer kin?”

“A little,” she replied, “although more of my mother than my father and brothers.” In truth, all she remembered of her menfolk on such occasions was them drinking too much and either getting into brawls or spewing their guts out.

Like Rose, her mother had gotten involved with the festivities, preparing and handing out food and drink to revelers. She’d loved to dance.

“It’s something more then?”

“Things have been … tense … of late. I worry how the villagers might react to me.”

Kerr’s brow furrowed, his jaw tightening. “Ye mustn’t let those MacDonalds worry ye, Rose. Ye belong at the Beltaine fire as much as anyone.” He paused then. “Would ye attend … with me?”

Warmth kindled in her belly at the offer, her pulse quickening. “Ye’re inviting me?”

He knew, as well as she did, that it was no small thing for a lad to ask a lass to attend Beltaine with him.

It was as clear a show of interest as there could be.

Many weddings took place during the moon following Beltaine, and plenty of bairns were born nine months after the night that represented the beginning of summer.

“I am … will ye do me the honor?” Kerr stared down at her, hope and tenderness in his eyes. There was a hint of wariness too, as if he feared she’d refuse him.

But she wouldn’t. “Aye,” Rose murmured, smiling up at him. “With pleasure.”