Free MacLean's Passion: A Highland Pride Novel by Sharon Cullen Page A

life. She’d liked who she was. She didn’t like wearing gowns and sitting before the fire to mend and sew and do all that nonsense. She’d rather be out in the lists, fighting with the men, or mucking out stalls, and Evan hadn’t minded any of that. He’d encouraged her wild ways and had been proud of the little warrior he’d helped create.
    Until one day, that wasn’t the way of it; he’d started talking about how she needed to act like a lady. She’d been hurt and confused by this sudden change of heart.
    Weeks later, she’d discovered why.
    Innis.
    Innis with the perfect blond hair and perfect blue eyes and perfect figure. She never cursed. She barely raised her voice. She could command the servants with nothing more than a raised eyebrow.
    And Evan had fallen in love.
    Maggie despised Innis.
    Because from that moment on, all Maggie heard was “
Innis this”
and “
Innis that
.”
    Suddenly, it wasn’t good to fight like a man or curse like a man.
    Innis glided across the room to stand before Maggie. That was how Innis moved. She didn’t walk; she glided. It was a mystery how she did it.
    “I’m glad to see ye,” Innis said in her infuriatingly soft way.
    Maggie tucked her chin into her chest, knowing she was acting like a child but unable to stop herself. In her opinion, her idyllic life had ended when Innis had appeared.
    “Are ye well?” Innis asked.
    “Well enough,” Maggie said.
    “Evan was worried.”
    Maggie straightened until she was sitting a little more appropriately. “I suppose ye and my brother are married by now.”
    Innis folded her hands in front of her. There was no condemnation in her eyes, nothing except concern, and that made Maggie feel like a horrible person. Innis was so damn…perfect.
    “We thought about waiting, but when weeks passed and ye did no’ turn up…Well, we thought the worst. Evan was devastated.”
    “No’ devastated enough, apparently.” So her brother had thought her dead and decided to marry. That hurt.
    “He was beside himself,” Innis said, again with no condemnation. Did the woman even have a hateful thought in her head? “I’m glad ye’re here,” she said quietly. “Evan is relieved as well.”
    “He did no’ sound like it.” Maggie chose to ignore the backbreaking hug Evan had given her and instead thought of the anger in his eyes.
    “He’ll be angry for a bit, but trust me, he’s happy to see ye.”
    Silence passed between them. Maggie had no idea what to say to this person who was now part of her family and so different that she couldn’t even begin to relate.
    “Do ye need anything?” Innis asked.
    “A bath, but I suppose that will have to wait for Evan to flog me.”
    “He’ll no’ flog ye.”
    Maggie snorted. “A lot ye know of him.”
    “He’ll answer to me if he flogs ye.” There was such steel in Innis’s voice that Maggie looked up in surprise, but before she could remark upon it, the door opened and Evan strode in.
    Immediately, Maggie stood and wiped her hands down her dirty trousers. She shot a glance at Innis but wished she hadn’t. Innis was looking at Evan with so much love that it made Maggie wince. This was her
brother,
for the love of all that was holy. She didn’t need to be seeing this. Then she looked at her brother and almost rolled her eyes. He had a foolish smile on his face that made him look like an
ijit
.
    “I can leave if ye need privacy,” she muttered.
    “Do no’ even try it,” Evan said. Innis offered him her cheek and Evan kissed it as his arm snaked around her waist.
    Quickly, Innis stepped away and smiled at Evan. “I’ll leave ye to yer talk.” She deliberately looked at Maggie. “Send for me if ye need me.”
    Maggie watched Innis glide out of the room, confused by the woman. Why would she ally herself with Maggie against her own husband?
    The door closed behind her and Maggie turned to her brother, swallowing in apprehension.

Chapter 9
    Evan sighed and rubbed his forehead.