Page 38 of The Laird's Dark Obsession

“Always,” he promised. “I’ll stand for ye against anyone. Always.”

Kira managed to hold her head high at breakfast the next morning, with Hunter’s reassuring touch on her knee under the table. Laird MacDougal sat right across from them, eating in silence as he studied the pair.

It was only when he wiped his face with a cloth napkin and tossed it over his place that he spoke. “I’ve given it much thought, and I suppose ye are right. Lady Kira should nae be punished for her faither’s crimes. And given that ye are both so serious about this union,” his eyes hesitated on Kira, who confirmed with a nod. “I will give ye my blessing. And with my blessing comes my alliance.”

Hunter let out a long, relieved breath. “Thank ye,” he said.

“There will never be a day that I dinnae remember the valor of yer faither,” the Laird said, looking at Hunter. “And the nefariousness of yers,” he said to Kira. “And so with that, I think it is in everyone’s best interest to neutralize the threat one way or another.”

Neutralize was a kind way of saying “kill”—Kira wondered if she should feel anything in that moment. Her father had always been the dark shadow cast over the trajectory of her future. For that to be gone… Well, it was a very enticing thought.

Laird MacDougal went on, “My men need only a bit to prepare for departure. Set course for home, and my men will follow.”

“Ye have my endless thanks,” Hunter said, putting a fist to his heart.

The Laird waved away the gesture. “Yer faither and I were good friends, Hunter. I would nae be serving his memory if I dinnae step in and help his son.”

Kira was elated but she remained placid externally. With MacDougal’s help, they wouldn’t be standing against her father alone. He was known for being brutal and his men were trained to be much the same.

The meal eased into chatter about MacDougal’s own children and how they were faring, his annoyance that his son had yet to wed, as well as some memories of the past with Hunter’s parents. They were idyllic not only to her childhood mind, but it seemed to all those who had known them. Their marriage had been arranged, but their love was strong and real and bound them together in more than law and name. And for the first time since their deaths, Kira didn’t feel riddled with guilt hearing about them. Was it possible that through Hunter’s acceptance, she was learning to forgive herself?

One could hope,she thought.

After they had their fill and had sat for a while with drinks and chatter, Laird MacDougal walked them to the entrance of thecastle. “Do stop by the loch before ye go, for old times sake. Nae much has changed there, and the same goes for the memories.”

“Aye, we shall take a walk before departing. Many thanks, my Laird,” Hunter said.

The men shook hands and held one another’s wrists. A look of understanding passed over both of their faces and Kira hoped that this was not only the beginning of the end of her father’s torment but also the beginning of close bonds forged for Hunter in his lairdom.

The path to the loch was a simple dirt one, with large flat stones to help the way in case of rain and its muck. Her arm was resting in the crook of Hunter’s, the air between them as light as the morning breeze.

“This has nae been as painful as I thought it would be,” he confessed. “Coming here, I mean.”

“Because of asking for help?” she queried.

Hunter shook his head. “Nay. I am a proud and stubborn man, but I can humble myself to ask for help when it’s needed.” He nodded ahead at the loch coming into view through reeds and swaying willows. “My family made a pilgrimage here every year. It’s where my faither asked for my maither’s hand.”

Her brow furrowed. “I thought that their marriage had been arranged.”

“It was. But love predated the arrangement.” His eyes were gleaming as he looked over the lake. “They were childhood lovers. My maither had been promised to another Laird, nearly twice her age. Faither stormed to her faither’s study and demanded for her to be his just a week before maither was to wed.”

He sighed and continued. “Of course, Grandfather appeased him and Faither rode right here, where MacDougal had been keeping my maither safe from the stunt he knew my faither was about to pull. And it was on this very bank that Faither told her they were to be wed in a week’s time.”

They stood in the sand, looking out over the tranquil water as the sun rose higher above the horizon. “We came for a visit each year to mark the anniversary of their marriage. To celebrate the fact we had been a family in spite of it all.”

“That’s so romantic,” Kira breathed, a hand placed over her beating heart. “I hate that I never knew their story. Yer faither was always very stern but warm.”

“He had his hands full so he could be a bit rough around the edges. But he was a good, loving man.”

“It is nae right to have favorites, but yer maither has a very dear place in my heart,” she commented as they walked along the edge of the lake. “It felt as though she was always pushing us together, while I was too shy to do it on my own.”

He crinkled his nose. “She was kind but meddled far too much in others’ affairs.”

“What else is a Lady to do but meddle?” Kira giggled.

“True,” he said with a chuckle of his own. “But ordering her angsty teenage son to bring flowers to a young lady is going too far.”

“It meant the world to me when ye would bring me flowers. Does nae surprise me in the slightest that she was the mastermind behind it. Ye and Edine were the only ones who ever made me feel… seen. And ye always talked to me like I mattered. It was intoxicating.”