“He means to shoot them?” asked Colin.
“Only if he has to. The moment he shoots one, they ken we are here and we dinnae want that.” He released Bethoc and crouched down in front of Cathan. “And how have ye been doing?”
“Fine,” the boy said. “It wasnae so bad there.”
“Glad to hear it. As ye can see, I was nay fit to be caring for ye. How did ye get away from the men?”
“They were drinking and I slipped outside but then got taken by their da.” He glanced at Colin then looked back at Callum. “He kenned they would be looking for me but I think he thought he could hide me.”
Callum nodded and looked at Bethoc. She still looked badly shaken. He hated to think of what she might have seen or heard but did not ask. The others did not have to hear it. He could tell she grieved for the man but was not sure he understood why. It was possible it was just years of thinking of him as her father that did it and he could respect that even if he felt the man did not deserve it.
Simon came in and put the bushes back then glanced at Bethoc. “Is that the way they go?”
Blushing faintly, she went to the doorway and made a few adjustments. “I was trying to make it look as if they were growing here and nay just tossed in front of the cave. They are dead now but dead things still hang on to where they are growing from.”
“Ye wanted it to look natural.”
“Aye.” She stood up and brushed off her hands. “I dinnae suppose I ought to cook anything.”
“Nay, though ’tis tempting. There is cold meat, cheese, and bread in the basket ye brought. There is enough for everyone to have a little.” He rubbed his thigh in his broken leg. “I need to sit down, I fear.”
Bethoc hurried over to lend him a hand. He looked a little pale and she suspected he had spent most of the day standing up. Once he was settled with his back against the wall, she took his walking stick. She was thinking of putting it somewhere he would have to ask for it before he could get up and walk around, when she took a good look at it. It was now covered in carvings the like of which she had seen on ancient headstones in the graveyard.
“What have ye done?” She touched a carving of a dragon that curled sinuously around the stick. “This is beautiful.” She traced her finger over the carving.
“I was a wee bit bored,” he said, smiling faintly at the way she kept tracing his carving and trying to ignore the tightening of lust in his groin, something he was too tired to do anything about.
She gave him a cross look and set the walking stick next to his bed. Then she went about the business of setting all the food out. Carefully dividing it up left everyone with a nourishing but small meal. As she passed out the food she noticed that Colin was seated next to Simon while Margaret sat on his other side. Setting aside the food meant for Robbie, she took hers and Callum’s over to him and joined him on the pallet.
Callum bit back a smile when Bethoc joined him on the bed as if she belonged there. He had no intention of pointing that out, however. It would make her too aware of what she had done and she would leave. It was good that she was so comfortable with him and he wanted to do nothing to spoil that.
“What should I do about your friend Robbie’s food?” she asked.
“Leave it. He will return soon, once he is certain those men didnae track the boys here.”
“How can he be certain of that?”
“He can ken how long it would take for them to get here according to all the boy Colin told him, even if the fools get badly lost. He has a skill for things like that.”
She had absolutely no idea how, but said, “Weel, that is convenient.”
Once done with his food, he took her hand in his, and asked, “Will ye introduce me to the boys?”
“Oh! I am sorry I didnae do that. Just thought they had introduced themselves.”
“Nay, they just burst in and told us what was happening. Then ye arrived.”
She sat up and signaled the boys to come over to the pallet where they lined up nicely. “Ye ken Colin, aye?” Callum nodded and shook the boy’s hand. “He is the eldest at sixteen. Bean stands next to him and is fourteen. Then there is Liam, the boy with all the freckles, who is twelve. Gavin is next at ten. Georgie here”—she rubbed the boy’s head—“is newly turned eight. Magnus is six and has a knack for recalling whatever he has seen. Then there is your Cathan.”
They were a varied lot. Colin looked most like Bethoc even if Callum knew they were not related, only his black hair was straight. Bean was fair-haired and blue-eyed. Liam had red hair and brown eyes to go with his many freckles. Gavin was surprisingly handsome even at ten with his thick, rich brown hair and smoky gray eyes. Magnus was the sort of child who could get whatever he wanted with his curly blond hair and wide brown eyes set in the face of a little angel.
Bethoc had a fine horde of boys to care for, he thought. He also suspected they would stay with her until they were old enough to set out on their own and, even then, would not go far away. A man who took her on would have to take on the whole lot of them. It would be a daunting chore.
Yet Callum realized even that did not stop him from thinking of taking her with him when they finally cleared this mess away and he could return to his lands. What he really needed to think on was what he intended to do with her when he got there. There was something between them, something that pulled at him, but he was not sure what. Until he was, and knew in his heart what he could offer, it would be cruel to take her away from the only place she had called home.
One thing he was sure of was that he had never felt for another woman what he felt for her. He wanted to give her things, to take care of her, and keep her safe from the harshness of the world. He certainly had liked bedding her, gained more pleasure from it than he had ever had, even including his first time with that talented dairy maid. But more than that, he had no urge to get up, dress, and leave when it was done. In fact, he had dreams of waking up in the morning curled around her, waking her up slowly with kisses so that they could make love again in the early morning light.
Margaret appeared at the side of the pallet, went around to the side that was not wounded, and crawled on the bed. She inserted herself between him and Bethoc and settled down, closing her eyes. Bethoc said nothing, just idly played with the child’s curls and sipped her cider. Nothing could make the situation clearer to a man than that. If he took Bethoc with him, he took on the whole family. It was another reason to be absolutely sure what he wanted before he gave in to impulse.
