Highland Revenge (Fated Hearts Book 1) (13 page)

She had to admire how he wished to protect her grandmother though. But the idea that he thought he would have to protect Innes from Grace was worrisome. Now Grace feared she had only made it worse. She sat down and put her head in her hands as she realized she had just stirred the ire of another laird’s son.

Eoin MacKay’s younger sister Anna’s story continues in the third book in the Fated Heart series, Highland Angels, due for release Summer 2015

Northern Highlands, Late February 1342

Anna MacKay knelt with the child at the loch’s edge, looking up at the MacLeod warriors who surrounded her. Numb with cold from the icy loch water soaking her wool chemise, she was painfully aware she had made a terrible mistake. After fighting with her brother, at the midday meal she was angry and just wanted solitude. Eoin never allowed her to ride alone but as long as she was on foot and didn’t go too far, her brother assumed she was safe.

She had walked westward out of the village surrounding the MacKay stronghold, Naomh-dùn , then turned north once she reached the top of the bluff rising out of the east side of Loch Islich. She should not have walked that direction because it took her very close to the disputed MacLeod border. Her brother would be furious when he found out but she had wanted him to be as angry as she was. It would serve him right. She also wanted to be alone and no one would follow her onto the windy bluff on this bitter cold day. She didn’t intend to actually enter the disputed land by the strait where Loch Islich and Loch Uarach joined together, but that was before she saw the wee lad.

Lost in her thoughts, she had walked along the bluff until it began to slope more gently toward the northern tip of Loch Islich and the strait. Aware that she had come much farther than she intended, she started to turn towards home when the bright colors of his plaid caught her eye. He seemed to be alone walking on the thick ice covering the strait. He wielded a wooden sword as he pretended to do battle with an invisible enemy. She was momentarily amused by his antics but became worried as he moved off of the thick ice covering the strait and further onto the deep loch where the ice thinned dangerously. Anna had yelled at him to go back, but he didn’t seem to hear. There was nothing else to do, she lifted her skirt and ran headlong towards him, down the slope to the loch’s edge, straight into the disputed territory. Trying to get his attention, she waved her free hand and continued to yell.

She was too late. As he lunged forward, thrusting his sword into his invisible prey, the ice gave way. He plunged into the loch screaming and flailing just as she reached the shore. She ran out onto the solid ice as far as she dared. Knowing she would need something dry to wrap him in, she pulled off her mantle and plaid, hurling them backwards onto the solid ice. She threw herself onto the ice on her stomach, distributing her weight over as wide an area as possible before she slid to the broken edge. While her body weight pushed the sheet of ice under the surface of the water soaking her, it didn’t completely give way. She was able to stretch far enough to grab the back of his tunic just as he slipped under the surface. Staying as flat as she could, she pushed backward, dragging him with her onto the ice, the edges breaking away as she moved.

Finally reaching ice thick enough to hold their weight, she scooped him up, grabbed her dry clothes and carried him the nearest shore. They were on the eastern bank of Loch Islich, in MacKay territory. She whispered a prayer of thanks. The child was unconscious and blue with cold, but still breathing. Vaguely aware of the sound of horses approaching, she quickly pulled his wet clothes off, wrapping him in her dry plaid and mantle. She rubbed his limbs gently through the cloth trying to warm him. His eyes blinked open and his little body began to shiver violently.

She smiled at him. “You’ll be all right now little one.” Looking up, she saw the source of the pounding hooves, men on horseback thundered down the western side of the strait. In an instant a tall, broad shouldered warrior with golden hair, a closely trimmed beard and angry crystal blue eyes was off his horse and had crossed the strait. Several of the others were not far behind him. The angry warrior pulled the child from her arms. These were clearly MacLeods, the clan with whom the MacKays had feuded for years and this was exactly why she wasn’t supposed to have walked northward. In a moment of terror-filled realization, it was abundantly clear—she stared trouble squarely in the face.

Highland Solution

The first book in the Duncurra Series, available as
e-book
,
audiobook
and
paperback
.

Laird Niall MacIan needs Lady Katherine Ruthven’s dowry to relieve his clan’s crushing debt but he has no intention of giving her his heart in the bargain.

Niall MacIan, a Highland laird, desperately needs funds to save his impoverished clan. Lady Katherine Ruthven, a lowland heiress, is rumored to be “unmarriageable” and her uncle hopes to be granted her title and lands when the king sends her to a convent.

King David II anxious to strengthen his alliances sees a solution that will give Ruthven the title he wants, and MacIan the money he needs. Laird MacIan will receive Lady Katherine’s hand along with her substantial dowry and her uncle will receive her lands and title.

Lady Katherine must forfeit everything in exchange for a husband who does not want to be married and believes all women to be self-centered and deceitful. Can the lovely and gentle Katherine mend his heart and build a life with him or will he allow the treachery of others to destroy them?

Highland Courage

The second book in the Duncurra Series, available as
e-book
,
audiobook
and
paperback
.

Her parents want a betrothal, but Mairead MacKenzie can’t get married without revealing her secret and no man will wed her once he knows.

Plain in comparison to her siblings and extremely reserved, Mairead has been called “MacKenzie’s Mouse” since she was a child. No one knows the reason for her timidity and she would just as soon keep it that way. When her parents arrange a betrothal to Laird Tadhg Matheson she is horrified. She only sees one way to prevent an old secret from becoming a new scandal.

Tadhg Matheson admires and respects the MacKenzies. While an alliance with them through marriage to Mairead would be in his clan’s best interest, he knows Laird MacKenzie seeks a closer alliance with another clan. When Tadhg learns of her terrible shyness and her youngest brother’s fears about her, Tadhg offers for her anyway.

Secrets always have a way of revealing themselves. With Tadhg’s unconditional love, can Mairead find the strength and courage she needs to handle the consequences when they do?