He turned to Daisy, who shrank further under his gaze. “What have I told ye about runnin’ away?” he chided, crossing his arms sternly.
“That I shouldnae do it,” she whispered.
“And?”
“And that I’m safe here, but…” She sniffed. “Ye were mad at me.”
“Mad? Nay, Daisy, I’m nae mad at ye,” Finlay said. “Ye’ve had me worried sick, but I’m nae mad.”
She sniffled again. “Yeweremad! I heard ye! I heard ye sayin’ ye’d take me to the cabin!”
Finlay was taken aback. “What?”
“Ye told yer man-at-arms, ‘Maybe I should take her to the cabin.’” She lowered her voice in an attempt to mimic his. It was almost enough to make him laugh in relief.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his amusement in check, then knelt down so they were at eye level.
“I would never do that to ye, lassie,” he said. “When ye overheard me—and we’ll talk about yer eavesdroppin’ later—I was talkin’ about me horse. She’s grown bored of our easy rides, and I thought a trip to the dense forest might be good.”
Daisy blinked up at him. “Oh.”
“Oh? Is that all ye have to say for yerself?”
“I’m… sorry?”
He stood, ruffling her hair with affection. “‘Tis all right. Now, go wash so ye can have dinner.”
Daisy smiled, her face brightening, and then ran off to Rowena. The older woman enveloped her immediately, peppering her kisses across her face.
“Oh, ye wee troublemaker. Ye had us all so worried!” she cried, and the two went back up the steps into the castle.
Finlay turned back to Thalia to thank her properly, but the glare on her face stopped him.
“What happened to her maither?” she asked.
“Careful, lass,” he warned, but she kept going.
“Did ye abandon her? Left her at this ‘cabin’? Daenae think I daenae remember all those stories about ye.TheHighland Wolf.”
Finlay scoffed. “What sort of man do ye think I am? Her maither is dead. Her faither, too. There’s a hunting cabin out deep in the woods, and I found her there. She’s the daughter of the previous Laird.”
Thalia’s glare faded, replaced quickly by shame. “I see. So ye took her in?”
“Is that so surprisin’?”
“Nay…” she trailed off. “I just never thought I’d see ye so responsible. Ye’d always seemed so…”
“So…?”
“… carefree,” she finished, though it seemed she had thought of saying another word. “I’d never thought I’d see ye tied down by a woman.”
“Still havenae. Daisy’s just a wee girl.”
Thalia rolled her eyes at the correction, and he smirked. It had been years since they’d last seen each other, but she was just as fun to tease now as she had been then. Just as pretty, too, even though she looked as if she’d been out in the forest for several days.
“How’d ye manage to find yerself at me castle anyway?” he asked. “Were ye visitin’ Ava when ye ended up here?”
She shook her head. “I didnae realize I was headin’ here. That is, until I saw ye come up to greet us.”
