Page 30 of A Highlander's Vow

Gregory smiled at her. “’Tis good to see ye eating. ’Twill help with yer healing.”

She hated how her feelings were changing toward this man. This husband. He’d been very caring and sweet—how he would hate that term—but she still couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when they arrived at Castle Leod and they both took up their daily lives.

Would she never see him? Would he be off on assignments for the laird? Would she be accepted by the clan? Would she have something useful to do with her time?

Another concern was the fact that even though they had this “marriage” it could be easy for Gunn to protest it since it was not done completely legally.

Then there was the matter of consummation. So far, everything Gregory had done in that direction had been very interesting and exciting.

And frightening.

She really didn’t want to fall in love with this man, her husband. Not until she was convinced he cared for her that way. She sighed. So many things to worry herself over.

“If ye’re finished, Megan, ’tis time we started. I want to ride as far today as we can. But, please be aware I doona want ye to ride longer than yer body can take. Because I think it will be easier on yer body, ye will ride with me again.”

One thing she continued to notice was Gregory’s tendency to order her about and decide what was best for her as if she wasn’t adult enough to make her own decisions.

Since Robert was exactly the opposite, letting her do whatever she wanted, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of this husband of hers.

Time would tell. All she wanted now was to make it to a permanent place with safety, no unexpected arrows, regular meals and a warm bed to sleep in. With her husband next to her?

*

Gregory had notplanned to feel more than an obligation to Megan and possibly friendship, and in the future, maybe affection.

However, things did not turn out that way. The more time he spent with her, and the more he took care of her, and the more he enjoyed her company, the more he was afraid what he hadn’t planned on—falling in love—was happening to him.

So far he hadn’t seen signs of his da in him. No matter how much Megan annoyed him—which she’d done little of except for her obsessions with hisduty—it had never crossed his mind to raise his hand to her.

How could a grown man, a warrior as his da was, put his fists to a small, soft woman he had vowed before God to take care of? His conversation with Daniel came back. Just because his da was terrible to his mam didn’t mean he would do the same.

Even though he knew it was not good for Megan to travel so hard, he pushed them all to travel without long breaks. He and his men had ridden before without stopping to sleep, and he made sure Megan was bundled up against him as many hours as she wanted to sleep. He was hoping the tisane the healer had given her before they left would help to make the trip easier on her sore body.

They brought food with them from Balnagown, along with fresh bandages so on their short stops he could make sure Megan ate and her bandage was changed.

Several men rode behind them, in front, and right alongside them.

There had been no reports of men following so either they had decided not to pursue them—which he didn’t believe—or the Gunn was not as adept at travel as the Mackenzies were.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Castle Leod came into view. Never had he been so happy to see a place in all the times he’d been away on various assignments for Daniel.

He shook a sleeping Megan. “Megan, we’re home.”

She sat up, looking at the castle. “Home.”

“Aye.” All he wanted to do was take a dip in the loch to clean off all the road dust, have a decent meal and take his wife to bed. Hopefully her injury was healed at least as much as needed to take care of the swollen man’s part he’d been riding on for days. And the promising kisses they’d shared.

They rode over the drawbridge, the sound of the horses’ hooves pounding on the wood music to his ears.