“Healer?”
They both jumped at the voice, Kaiden removing his hand while Ferra worked quickly at the laces of her bodice.
“One moment, please!” Ferra called out.
Kaiden wanted to scream in frustration and laugh at the irony of the situation. He had waited months, and ever since he had met Ferra, he had thought of very little other than burying himself in her warm body.
“Cannae we just tell them tae go away?” Kaiden begged.
She gave a breathy laugh, her face flushed from what he had just done to her, and Kaiden pressed his lips to hers, feeling her start of surprise. “Another time then, lass,” he told her, promising that this wasn’t the end. “Another time.”
“Yes,” she answered, pushing at his chest. “Now step back, or they will know wot we have been doing.”
All anyone had to do was look at her rosy face and know what they had been doing.
Kaiden wasn’t ashamed at all.
Meanwhile, in the keep...
Laird Shamus McGregor leaned back in this chair, a glass of Scots whiskey in his hand. While he didn’t prefer to drink so early in the morning, today was a day for celebration.
His son—his heir—had finally walked out of the keep under his own power.
Shamus sighed as he leaned his head back on the chair, not believing that this day had finally happened. After four long months of preparing for the worst, Kaiden was back amongst the living. He was walking, smiling, even laughing.
All because of the healer that Shamus had brought home as a last chance to save Kaiden. When he had met Laird McLeish, it hadn’t been to formalize a marriage between their children. No, he had wanted just an alliance between their clans; a promise that if their rival clan started to terrorize their borders again, that McLeish would send help.
After all, up until this very day, he had thought he was losing his son. He had watched him waste away on that bed, refusing to even fight for his own life, and Shamus had been at a loss on how to help him.
The last thing he had wanted was to lose all that he had left. It was far more than just Kaiden being his heir.
He was all the family Shamus had.
But then, McLeish had mentioned how his daughter—the only daughter that was still unwed—was learning to be a healer, and Shamus saw an opportunity.
It was one that he couldn’t very well pass up given the state Kaiden had been in when he had left.
So, he had struck a deal of another kind, and one that had been challenging, to say the least. Bringing home a bride by proxy had been risky, yet Shamus would do anything for Kaiden. Kaiden was a strong warrior and hadn’t deserved the fate that had been dealt to him.
A healer was what he needed, one that Shamus himself could trust in doing what was right for Kaiden. Ferra had certainly done so, not taking his leg and forcing him to take small steps until Kaiden was back on his own again. Just this morning, he had watched them strike out together, painting a striking picture as a couple. Shamus wasn’t going to lie to himself. The tears had fallen easily at the sight, and he had taken nearly an hour to pull himself back together.
It was the start of what he had hoped for Kaiden long ago, before the injury.
Now, Kaiden would take his rightful place as laird, and they would make plans to wage the last battle against their rival clan.
Grinning, Shamus took a healthy swallow of his whiskey, congratulating himself for his quick thinking. It would only be a matter of time before Kaiden saw what he had seen in Ferra. She reminded him of his own precious wife, the one who had given everything to birth him a son. “Och, Dena,” he said softly, looking at the tapestry he kept in his own study, the one she had made for him as a wedding present. “I’m vera sorry, lass, that ye cannae be here tae enjoy this with me.” He missed her horribly, and though he could have easily taken up other wives, it was his Dena that held his heart. She always would.
Now, he hoped that Kaiden would find his own happiness in Ferra. The lass was strong, caring, and a good match for his son. She had been the voice of reason for Kaiden, something that no one else had been able to do, and Shamus knew that she would have a level head when it came to ruling this clan for the future. He didn’t anticipate now that since the worst was over, she would be asking for a break in the contract he had formed with her da. No, she was here for the rest of her days—a true McGregor.
Yes, it was only a matter of time before his son fell for her charms.
With a sigh, Shamus set his glass on the table before him and picked up the latest correspondence from his advisors. Their enemy was drawing close, and it was only going to be a week, maybe two, before they attacked. They had to come up with a plan to ensure the clan’s safety.
He wasn’t about to let his son have this fleeting piece of happiness only to be killed in battle. They all deserved so much more.
So, Shamus picked up his quill and started to formulate a plan of attack, to ready himself and the clan for what was likely to come. He couldn’t stop them from attacking, but he bloody hell could stop them from winning this time around.
10
