Derric gagged, holding his arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding, then coughed to draw the man’s attention away from Dyna. “You think you can hold her down? She’s tougher than you’ll ever be, you ugly old bastard.” Hellfire, his bollocks hurt. He did his best to push himself to his knees, but it was a struggle.
The man called Hamish spun around and tried to kick him, but Dyna tripped the man, her glorious long legs knocking him to the floor in an instant. Hamish’s head hit the stone hard.
So hard it knocked him out, which would have been excellent if not for one problem.
The man had fallen directly on top of Derric, knocking him back down onto the floor and pinning him. He landed with an oof, the tumble leaving him breathless for a moment. “Well done, wife,” he said between breaths, trying unsuccessfully to move the unconscious man. “But couldn’t you have pushed him the other way?”
“Pardon me, husband, but if you have not noticed, my hands are tied.” She hopped in her chair, trying to get closer to Derric.
“Kick him off me, the big piece of lard is dead weight. He’ll suffocate me for sure.”
“I’m trying,” she mumbled, jumping with her chair.
“Hurry because my bollocks still hurt. I don’t know if I can heave enough to move him off of me.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Derric. They’re just hairy sacs. Can you not just suck it up? Why must you act like they’re made of gold?” She made it over to Derric and managed to put both feet on Hamish and push.
Derric gritted his teeth and said, “They’re harder than boulders right now, Diamond, but they may get squished to naught if you don’t help me. If that happens, there’ll be no bairns for us.” He gritted his teeth, ignored the pain in his sacs, and pushed for all he was worth at the same time. “And my arm is still bleeding, or haven’t you noticed?”
“Quit crying like a bairn,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Crying like a bairn? How would you feel in my place?”
“I’d still be able to push harder than that. What happened to your muscles?” she asked as she clenched her jaw. “I have to getmy feet underneath him somehow. Can you move him with what few muscles you have?”
“My muscles are buried under the flab and fat of an old man, doing their best to crush the breath out of me.”
The two pushed at the same time and a sudden storm erupted outside the cottage, flashing bolts of lightning illuminating the hut just before a heavy downpour started. At the same exact time, the two managed to heave together and pushed Hamish off of Derric, sending him airborne quite a distance. Derric rolled over onto his side, gasping for air. “I thought the bastard was going to suffocate me.”
“Untie me, husband.”
Derric could barely see straight, but he managed to find the dagger on the floor and cut her free. She threw her arms around his neck and said, “My thanks for saving me.”
Derric nuzzled her neck, grateful to have her in his arms. “I think you saved me, Diamond.”
A voice from behind him said, “So you two are supposed to save Scotland? I’m going to have to ask Maddie about this.”
“Grandsire! You’re hale.” Dyna rushed to his side and hugged him tight.
But the old man pushed her back and said, “Dyna, would you like to explain to me how you know what his bollocks look like?”
Derric quickly stepped in front of her and asked, “Alex, may I have your approval to marry your granddaughter? We handfasted, and we both agreed to abide by it, but I would like your approval of the match. Though I’d also like your approval to chew her arse out for leaving without more guards.”
“That depends. Did you meet your quest?”
“What quest?” Dyna asked, her head jerking from one face to the other.
“Never mind,” her grandsire said. “I posed the question to Corbett.”
“Aye, I’ve seen it more than once. With her sister and especially with you. You opened my eyes.”
Alex gave him a stern look, but followed it with a nod. “Then you have my approval, Corbett, but she’ll get an arse-chewing from more than one person. You can count on it.”
“Fine. Chew my arse out. At least we found you,” Dyna said, staring at her beloved grandfather and kissing his cheek. “I thought you were dead.”
“Nay, I’m fine, lass. He gave me a potion to make me sleep. ’Twas hard to stay awake. You may have to help me get on a horse, though. He did a fine job battering me.”
“We’ll do whatever it takes, Grandsire.”
