The small voice caught his attention as he was running toward the jungle gym, but it was the rougher voice of an older boy that made him stop in his tracks.
“Crybaby. I didna hurt ya none.”
Lauchlan approached the swings just as the little girl responded.
“Did too!”
When the bully reached out to grab one of the little girl’s ponytails, Lauchlan was there to stop him. “Leave her alone.” Even at the age of eight, he had an air of command about him.
The smile the little girl gave him when she thanked him made him feel warm inside. He kept an eye on the little girl until her nanny gathered her, and several other children, up and they left.
It wasn’t long after that he had to return home himself, and he put the day behind him.
Age Ten
Lauchlan knew he was going to be in so much trouble when his Papa found out he’d snuck out of the castle with one of his cousins just to go to the market, but it would be worth it. He hated being cooped up inside all the time while his younger siblings got to have fun. It wasn’t fair!
He wandered through the market, taking in all the sights and smells. Vendors sold everything from fresh baked breads and pies to shiny little trinkets. He had a little coin and found a shiny bauble he thought his baby sister, Isobel, would like. He pocketed it just as a familiar voice reached his ears.
“Nanny! Nanny!”
The fear in the familiar voice moved him to action. He found the little girl from that day at the park, wiped her tears, and took her hand. He kept a tight grip on her as he helped her find her nanny. He didn’t want her to get lost again.
“Lock, there you are. We gotta go before your papa gets mad.”
He glared at his cousin but he knew his cousin, Conall, was right. He took one last look at the girl before he turned and ran from the market. With any luck, his papa hadn’t even noticed he was gone.
Age Thirteen
if there was a season Lauchlan liked best, it was summer. It as the one time of the year his father loosened the iron grip he had on how he spent his days.
“Father, some of the cousins are meeting up for a game of Rounders. May I please join them if I promise to be back in time for training this evening?”
He waited patiently, back straight, for his father’s answer.
“You may go, but if you’re not back in time, there will be consequences.”
“Of course, Father. Thank you.”
He left as quickly as he could, without appearing too eager, but the moment his back was turned to his father he couldn’t hide his grin. He’d been looking forward to the game of Rounders for days.
It was a twenty minute run to the hollow, where his cousins were meeting up with some other boys the game. He’d not met most of them, as of yet, so once he arrived he let Conall make the introductions.
“Are we here to play or not?” one of the other boys asked and there was a resounding chorus of ‘aye!’
Teams were chosen and the game began. There was a lot of friendly banter back and forth as the game progressed. Lauchlan kept close watch on the time—he had no interest in angering his father—but he would be lying if he said it wasn’t the most fun he’d had in a long time.
One of the older boys on the opposing team hit the ball hard enough that it almost sailed past him. He’d had to run hard, and managed to snatch it seconds before it would have landed in some bushes at the edge of the field they were playing in.
A pair of familiar gray eyes blinked up at him, shock and fear evident in their cool depths. He stared for a fraction of a second before he grinned and winked. If she was hiding in the bushes to watch the game, no doubt to keep her brothers from telling her to go home, who was he to rat her out? What the other boys didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
Half an hour later, he grumbled at the time. “Gotta go! I promised my father I’d be back by a certain time. Thank ye for letting me join the game.”
He spared one last look toward bushes and he was off. It seemed odd that he kept crossing paths with the same red haired, gray-eyed girl, almost like it was fate.
Chapter 3
Kyleigh
