Page 14 of Saved by the Cruel Highlander (Lairds of the Loch Alliance #1)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“ Q uick, come to me!” Holly shouted, holding her arms out to the boy.

The boy looked at her and ran into her arms. Holly wrapped her arms around him.

Elias sensed the safety the child felt from the simple act. He had no reason to feel any way toward the boy, but seeing the way Holly cradled him made him want to protect the lad on her behalf.

“What’s ye name?” Holly asked as Elias waited for the beast to appear.

“Cole,” the boy replied. “Cole McDuff. I’m eight years old, and I live in a house with a straw roof.”

“Dinnae worry,” Holly assured him. “Ye’re safe now.”

Cole nodded, tears still in his eyes, and buried his face in Holly’s midriff. She placed a hand on the back of his head to comfort him.

There was a slight rustle in the direction the boy had come from, not enough to be significant, and Ollie appeared. He stopped, looked up at Elias, and continued toward Holly.

“Ye silly thing,” Holly told him. “What are ye doin’ out here when there’s a beast in the trees?”

He didn’t look any fatter, but there was a satisfied look on his face, suggesting he had found food within the castle walls.

“Get over here,” Holly ordered him.

Cole looked from Holly to the approaching cat, and he shrieked again. “Ach, the beast! He’ll get me with his claws!”

He started chasin’ me and wouldnae stop,” Cole said, sniffing. “He hissed at me.”

“Och, he’s fine,” Holly said. “This is Ollie. He can be a troublemaker, but he willnae snipe at ye or bite ye. Look.”

Cole flinched as the cat approached and pressed himself against Holly. He was small for his age, appearing younger than eight. His hair was cut short, though not very well, and he wore clothes that clearly had been made from other garments or fabrics— perhaps an old tablecloth or curtains. Still, he looked clean and well-kept.

Cole flinched again when Ollie rubbed up against him.

Elias placed his dagger back in its sheath. “This is the beast?” He shook his head.

“Anythin’ can be a beast if ye are small enough or scared enough,” Holly replied.

“It’s a good thin’ I didnae stab him with me blade,” Elias commented.

“Ye dinnae have to speak like that,” Holly complained. “Nay one meant any harm.”

Elias wouldn’t have stabbed either of them with his blade. He had killed before, but never one who didn’t deserve it. He might be called a beast, but he was not in that regard.

Holly looked back at Cole. He was crouching down, petting Ollie, scratching above his hind legs and along his back. Ollie was reveling in it all as if it had been his plan all along.

Ollie suddenly flopped onto the ground and rolled back and forth on his back, picking up dirt and small bits of dried grass on his coat.

Who would have thought such a wee beastie could cause so much trouble?

Cole looked like a child reborn. He plopped down on the ground beside the cat and gently rubbed his belly. Holly walked over to Elias, and it was clear she wanted him to feel happy for saving this child from a perceived beast, but it only annoyed him.

“Look at them,” she said.

The passion was gone for the moment. Elias wished to pin her back to the tree, his lips ready to devour her. But it was over for now. He promised himself that next time, he would act with more haste. He knew what he wanted and had slowed down to enjoy it, only to not get to enjoy it at all.

“Oy!” Elias called to the boy. “What were ye doin’ out here?”

Holly looked shocked that the Laird would talk to the boy in such a way, but she also looked over at Cole expectantly for the answer. It was a mystery why he was out here all by himself.

“I was on a walk with me parents,” Cole said. “They wanted to show me somethin’. I dinnae ken what it was.”

“What do ye mean?” Elias huffed. “Where are they now?”

“I dinnae ken,” Cole admitted. “They took me to a part of the forest I havenae been afore and told me to sit on the grass. Then, they said goodbye to me.”

“What?” Holly gasped. “That’s it? They left ye there and went away?”

“He mustnae be rememberin’ it right,” Elias said. “Where are they now?”

“I dinnae ken,” Cole replied. His lip trembled as he spoke, his hand hovering above Ollie. “They told me I was big enough to look after meself. I stayed where they told me to and waited until the cat came and chased me away.”

“How long were ye there?” Holly asked.

“Since the sun went down,” Cole replied.

Holly placed a hand over her mouth.

“Ye mean since the sun came up,” Elias corrected.

“Nay, Sir. It got dark, and then it was quiet, and I didnae dare move because me pa once told me stories about the creatures that live in the woods. Then, it was mornin’ again. I was warmer, but I felt very tired because I hadnae slept. I thought they would have been back by now.”

Holly’s heart broke for the boy. He didn’t know what had happened, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him.

“It’s all right,” Elias assured both of them. “We’ll find yer parents, and when we do, I’ll have strong words with them. Which side of the castle is yer village on?”

“It’s nae beside a castle, Sir,” Cole said. “We came from far away—we had to ride on a horse. I was excited because I thought it would be somethin’ braw they were showin’ me to take me so far to see it. Do ye ken what it is? It cannae be the beast, though I do like him now.”

“Elias,” Holly whispered, holding back the tears.

“When I find them,” Elias muttered under his breath, “he willnae have parents anymore.”

“How could someone do that?” Holly asked. “We have to take him back to the castle.”

“Aye, we do,” Elias replied.

The ease and speed at which he agreed to the request surprised her.

“Ye mean it?” Holly asked. “We can really take him back with us?”

“Aye, but he willnae be me responsibility,” Elias told her.

“Nay, that’s fair,” she said. “I’ll look after the lad until we work out what can be done for him.”

“When he’s been fed and got some rest, I want to speak with him,” Elias warned. “I will find his parents, and they will be punished for what they’ve done.”