Free Highland Lover: Book 3 Scottish Knights Trilogy by Amanda Scott

passengers safer by beaching the coble. However, their speed had increased on the rollers. They were going too fast to depend solely on the tiller for a safe landing.
    “Mace, lock that tiller and grab an oar,” Jake shouted, grabbing for himself the oar that Alyson still held. “Face the beach, Mace, and row steerboard!”
    Standing on the midthwart, steadying himself at the mast, Jake stepped over the two sitting in front of it to the bow thwart, used the oar as a third leg when he sat, then shoved it into the portside rowlock and snapped the lock into place.
    “Pull hard,” he shouted. “We’ll aim between those two boulders dead ahead. You two stay put and hold on,” he added over his shoulder to Alyson and Will.
    Fixing his gaze on his chosen landing place, he plied his oar, adjusting his pull as needed to keep them on course. The next moments went quickly. Then the boat soared atop a huge roller and plunged toward the beach. He saw smaller rocks, half-buried in the sand, too late to avoid them. The coble landed hard, right where he’d wanted it, and shot wildly up onto the rain-and-wave-soaked sand.
    He heard rocks scraping the hull. Then came a loud crack, and their forward momentum abruptly stopped.
    Since he and Mace had experienced hard beach landingsbefore, Jake barely spared him a glance but turned his attention to their passengers.
    Will looked relieved and shot him a grin. “We made it!”
    “Aye, we did,” Jake said. “How did you fare, my lady?”
    “My legs are numb,” she said with surprise. “I don’t think I can stand.”
    When it became apparent that both of their passengers would require help to get out, Jake lifted Alyson out without ceremony and let Mace see to young Will.
    As he carried Alyson above the reach of incoming waves, he saw a shallow cave in the looming cliff face and carried her there. “Try to stand now,” he said, setting her on her feet. “I’ll hold you steady until the numbness wears off.”
    “My legs feel all tingly,” she admitted, shivering. “I got colder than I knew. But I need only stamp about to get warm. At least we are out of the rain here.”
    He kept hold of her until he was sure she was not exaggerating her ability to see to herself. Then, seeing Will also stamping one foot and waving his arms about, he said, “How is that ankle of yours, lad?”
    “Better,” Will said. “I can stand on it now.”
    Nodding, Jake went to help Mace drag the coble above the high-water mark. It would be unusable until repaired, but someone would be glad to attend to it.
    They had not seen another living creature.
    Gesturing toward the path up the cliff, Jake said, “They seem to have carved steps right into a declivity there. Are you ready to go up and find proper shelter?”

    Although Alyson was ready, she kept her opinion of the rough-hewn steps to herself. At least she was not taking a few steps up only to slip back, as she would have done on such a slope without steps. Even so, she could not be sure that she was seeing the top end of them when she tilted her head back as far as it would go.
    Mace went first, then Will, with Alyson behind him and Jake behind her.
    The rain continued but was lighter than it had been, and the wind barely caressed them on the steps. When they had found their rhythm, climbing them, Jake said casually, “What did you see, Will, before you went to help the lady Alyson? Did you see the pirates board the ship?”
    “Aye, some o’ them,” Will said, glancing over his shoulder at Alyson.
    “When Ciara said ships were approaching the
Maryenknyght
, Will and Jamie ran up on deck,” Alyson said, speaking loudly enough for Mace to hear her, too.
    “We wanted tae see what were what,” Will said. “But when they fired their cannon and yon fool, Cap’n Bear-dolt—”
    “Bereholt,” Alyson corrected.
    “Him, aye,” Will said nodding. “When he stopped the ship, Orkney said we should go below. Jamie said he wanted tae watch, but