Free My Tempting Highlander (Highland Hearts #3) by Maeve Greyson Page B

face. “How much?” He had no time for the cross old woman. Mairi wouldna stay in one place verra long. He worked open the leather pouch slung against his hip and pulled free the small clutch of gold pieces Granny Sinclair had sent for him through the fire portal.
    “The sign says
fiddy quid
.” The scowling matron rapped her cane against the bit of parchment again. “I’ll no’ take a bit less for one o’ these fine lads. Ye’ll find none nearly as grand in all Scotland.”
    Ronan wasna sure how much
fiddy quid
was but he felt certain a couple of gold pieces would properly take care of the old woman’s troubles.
Lore a’mighty—’tisn’t as though I’m buyin’ a horse.
He clicked two shining gold pieces against the glass. “For the wee dark one still biting at the door. Aye?”
    The elderly woman’s face lit up as she pulled the door open wider and plucked the gold pieces out from between Ronan’s fingers then closed the door again before any of the dogs could escape. She adjusted her spectacles, held the coins up close, and squinted as she slowly rotated the money in her hand. Her thin lips moved as she stared at the gold, as though muttering a silent curse.
    She stole a quick glance through the glass at Ronan then placed one of the coins between the only two teeth she still possessed and bit down hard. She cackled out a happy chortle and stuffed the payment down the neck of her oversize shirt then patted the spot between her sagging breasts. She scooped up the dog, opened the door, and shoved him into Ronan’s arms. “The wee bastard is all yers. All sales final.” She slammed the door shut and yanked down the shade. Her delighted cackle echoing from the other side of the door until it gradually faded away.
    Ronan looked down at the alert little dog trembling in his hands. “So yer a wee bastard, are ye?”
    The pup promptly rumbled with a ferocious growl and sank its needlelike teeth deep into Ronan’s thumb.
    “Son of a bitch!” Ronan passed the snarling buzz saw between his hands as though palming a red-hot coal. He finally pulled his plaid from about his shoulders and immobilized the snapping little demon. “Come, ye vicious wee bastard. Ye have a task at hand far more important than eatin’ me alive.”
    Tucking the growling bundle under one arm, Ronan headed for the last place he’d seen Mairi. Just as he’d feared, she was gone. Ronan loped across the stretch of rolling green to higher ground. It hadna been that long. Surely Mairi would keep to this place with trees and greenery, hoping to find the wolf. And he was right. There she was just up ahead.
    If he doubted it before, he doubted it no longer. The mere sight of her soothed him to the deepest level of his soul. Mairi was the one he’d needed all these years. She already possessed him. Completely.
    Her soaked, bedraggled curls framing her pale face made her eyes seem even larger. His heart hitched as Mairi stumbled, hugging her jacket tighter around her slight waist while chewing on her bottom lip. She’d been crying. The tip of her nose was bright red and the deep green of her eyes was rimmed in red as well. The poor lass. All because of the wolf. Ronan’s heart swelled. He had to win her. He could nay imagine anything less.
    Before Mairi spotted him, Ronan unwrapped the still grumbling pup and held him up to the cold rain. The snarling puff of gray black fur melted down into a shivering rain-slicked creature. Ronan chuckled. “Yer a sight now, wee bastard. Ye look t’be more rat than dog.”
    The puppy flattened its tiny ears against its bobble head, bared his teeth, and growled even louder.
    “Mind yer manners now. Yer about t’meet a verra special woman. Ye must win her heart for me.” Ronan reached down, raked his fingers through the wet grass, then smeared bits of dried leaves and debris all over the little dog. There. Now the wee beastie truly looked to be a stray.
    “Mistress Mairi.” Ronan hurried to catch up with