Free His Heart's Home by Stephanie Sterling Page B

back to. You know that!”
    “That is no concern of mine!”
    Eyes wide, Ciaran hurried toward the men, who stopped speaking when they saw her standing there.
    “What is it?” she asked, her voice soft and fearful.
    Duncan’s jaw twitched angrily. “Monsieur LaSoeur and I were just…having a friendly conversation.”
    “About me?”
    Duncan looked uncomfortable. “Aye - about you and some of the rest.”
    “Some of the others , the Claibers and Munros, are heading back,” Donaid MacNab explained to her.
    “Oui ! And she is going with them!”
    Ciaran blanched. “Going with them? Where? How ? WHY? ”
    LaSoeur chose to answer the last question first. “Because you and the children cannot come alone. They are enough trouble already! If not for the little boy slowing us down, we would not have been attacked!”
    That wasn’t true. LaSoeur hadn’t waited for Aidan, so it wasn’t fair to give the little boy the blame. Ciaran tried to tell him so, but was drowned out by a booming:
    “NO! It is in the agreement! ONE man with a rifle for every family. No exceptions. You place us all at risk.”
    Ciaran looked desperately between the men, refusing to believe their words were true. Sean was dead, but it wasn’t her fault. They couldn’t simply leave her here!
    “You will go with the Munro’s!” LaSoeur barked.
    “But Avery can-!”
    “ That is a boy, not a man!” LaSoeur said coldly. “It is not enough!”
    Duncan gave the Frenchman a black look, “And what if the rest of us say it is?”
    “I don’t know, Duncan…”
    Laird MacRae’s eyes went wide with shock as his cousin tentatively disagreed. “LaSoeur may have a point.  If we have to fight the Indians again, who is going to be looking after her brood? And who is going to contribute to their defense? I’m not saying I like it, but it isn’t fair to the rest of the men, we’ve got families of our own to look after.”
    “But-!” Ciaran was beginning to feel desperate. Surely they wouldn’t really make her go? Sean had sold the shop, and the home upstairs where the family had lived. They didn’t have any money . Everything had gone to buy supplies. “Please!” she begged. “You have to take us with you! We can’t turn back now.”
    “One man per family,” LaSoeur repeated.
    There was a beat of silence. Then, the rich brogue that Ciaran was learning to love broke the stillness again.
    “ They’re with me.”
    A murmur ran through the crowd. Ciaran thought most of the sounds were disapproving, but only the Frenchman had the gall to voice an outright “No!”
    Duncan narrowed his eyes at the trapper. “You said one man per family. I’m a man, and they’re a family. I don’t have anyone to look after on my own.”
    LaSoeur’s skin flushed an angry red as he tried to think of a way to contradict this logic , but he couldn’t in the end.
    “Fine!” he spat.  “It’s your neck , but if you change your mind, we’re leaving her wherever we are." He shot a glare at Ciaran, and then he stalked away.
    “Are you sure you want to be doing that, Duncan?” Ross asked in a wary voice. He continued, as if Ciaran wasn’t standing there. “The lass isn’t your responsibility, and-”
    “I’m sure!” Duncan cut him off.
    “But-!”
    “I’m on watch,” Duncan said gruffly. He nodded in Ciaran’s direction, but then turned and walked away in the opposite direction from where the Frenchman had gone.
    Ciaran stood staring after him, not believing - not understanding what had just happened.  Why would Duncan do this for her and family? 
    A little heat stole into her cheeks when she recalled how he had kissed her , when she recalled how possessively his arms had wrapped around her waist, but- but if that was what he wanted then he was borrowing a whole heap of trouble to get it.
    Ciaran had always understood men found that particular activity a lot more pleasurable than women, but surely Duncan didn’t think her body was worth quite so