Free Highland Games by Laura Hunsaker Page A

brother.
    He hauled her into the saddle, with
both her legs on his left side of the horse, and while it wasn’t a
side saddle, she fit just right between his thighs. There was
plenty of room as long as they sat close together. Really close
together. Placing one hand around her waist and holding the reins
with the other, he kicked Son of Fearnaught and clicked his tongue.
Piper was trembling slightly beneath his palm.
    “ What is it,
Piper?”
    “ I’ve never sat side
saddle and I keep thinking I’m going to slip off. Besides, your
ginormous horse is not exactly a smooth ride.” She squirmed until
she felt comfortable, but all that shifting about, was making
him un comfortable
    Pondering the word ginormous, he
reassured her that he’d never let her fall. “Love, you ken I’d nae
let you fall off Sonny.”
    “ You named your horse
‘Sunny?’” This didn’t fit with the large draft horse by any means,
or his rider.
    Colm laughed at that. “Nay, lass, his
name is Son of Fearnaught. I call him ‘Sonny’ for
short.”
    “ Why did you name him Son
of Fearnaught? It seems just as ridiculous as Sunny.”
    “ Because he is the son of
Fearnaught, and as that stallion has only sired mares, mine is
called Son of Fearnaught. As far as I ken, he is still the only son
of Fearnaught.”
    “ Oh.”
    Caelen, along with his men, was
mounted and waiting, his horse as impatient as its rider. Clicking
his tongue and kicking his heels into Sonny, Colm and Piper joined
the group. With no more than a nod, they rode west.
    When they came close to the designated
meeting place, Caelen wordlessly sent some of his men to double
back around the area, just in case it was a trap. When they met up,
it would just be two men and a woman, not a party of nearly a dozen
warriors.
    * * * *
    The meeting place was a small home, a
hut really, and the moon gave off a silvery glow that transformed
the landscape from beautiful to mystical. Piper was nervous, more
than just the nerves of being in a strange place, a strange time,
and with the chance of a fight breaking out. Whether it was the
atmosphere or something else, unease prickled at her, causing a
shiver to tremble down her spine. Colm felt it, and squeezed her
thigh before placing his hand on his belt once more. Glancing down,
she realized it wasn’t his belt he held, but a dagger. The
otherworldly feeling in the air, along with the men being prepared
for violence, caused her to rethink her bright idea of tagging
along.
    With her nerves stretched and her skin
tingling, she almost gasped aloud when she saw the shape of a man
on horseback riding toward them. He slowed his horse to a walk and
placed one hand at his waist, Piper assumed he was gripping his own
dagger. Behind her, Colm’s body stiffened, his every muscle taut
and ready.
    “ MacRobert.” The rider’s
voice cut through the night. It was deep and, while not
threatening, not friendly either. He sounded guarded.
    “ Aye, and who might you
be?”
    “ You ken the answer to
that already.”
    “ We’ve need of
proof.”
    “ Look to the
lass.”
    Colm’s grip on the reins loosened and
he held her waist, the reins digging into her side as his hand
tightened to bruising strength.
    “ Explain,” he
growled.
    The rider sighed, and climbed off his
horse. “Come on, then.”
    Colm passed the reins off to her, and
slid his hand from her waist up to her neck, turning her face to
meet his hard, possessive kiss. “Doona move. Stay here where I can
see you and doona come close until I say.”
    Nodding, Piper slid her leg over so
she was riding astride, using her calves to grip the large horse.
She noticed Colm frown as he saw her legs exposed, but he didn’t
say anything, and instead walked toward the man. Caelen was already
there. Having been on a horse only once, and that had been years
ago, she had to work really hard to keep the large animal still.
Piper couldn’t hear what the men were saying, but she was
concentrating on not falling