Jennie nodded to Loki. “Why do you not continue and take Braden to his mama.”
“Nay, I will not leave you unprotected with this brute, Lady Jennie.” His chin came up and he squared his shoulders, justlike his sire did so many times, his sword still drawn at his side. Braden had stopped crying and was staring at the stranger with wide eyes.
Jennie smiled. “My thanks, Loki, but I can handle myself.”
Loki nodded and continued on his way, tugging a whining Braden behind him, but he watched Jennie over his shoulder. Loki had grown quite a bit over the last couple of years, and he was mighty protective of his adopted family.
Chapter Fourteen
You just never know where you’ll find Loki next.
Jennie strolled along with Ennis, taking the turn toward Brenna’s garden, away from the crowd in the bailey. She trusted Ennis more than her first two suitors combined, and she had to agree with Brodie. Perhaps it was good for her to compare men. Ennis MacKenzie happened to be the only other man who’d captured her interest to any degree, so why not see how it felt to be in his arms?
“May I call you Jennie? And please call me Ennis.”
“Of course.”
“Jennie, I would love to bring you to my home to meet my mother. She would enjoy talking about healing with you.”
Jennie rubbed the back of her neck. Hellfire, but the dancing had heated her up. Sweat dripped underneath her hair. She knew it was not quite ladylike to be dripping with sweat, so she tried to wipe it away.
“Would you be agreeable to discussing such an arrangement with your brother?”
Jennie glanced into his kind eyes. “I only just arrived home, so I am not quite ready to travel yet. Mayhap in a sennight or so.”
She wasn’t ready to leave while Aedan was here. That was the truth of the matter. Ennis was nice, but there was something different between her and Aedan, something special. She needed to discover if Aedan had any interest in her at all, and if she left for MacKenzie land now, there was a possibility that she would never see him again.
Nay, she had to stay here for a while. Somehow, Jennie was just now noticing that they had wandered quite a ways from the main path. The sky around them was dark, and Ennis had managed to maneuver her under a big tree. Before she knew it, her back was pressed against the trunk of the tree, and one of his hands had settled on her shoulder.
His lips descended on hers, and she allowed it. He tried to angle his mouth against hers to force her lips apart, but she denied him because it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t enticing either.
He was a fine lad. The problem was that he wasn’t Aedan.
Suddenly, a loud growl met her ears. She jumped back just in time to see Aedan grab Ennis by the back of the neck and hurl him across the stone path, where he landed in a stunned heap on the ground.
“What the hell, Cameron!” he bellowed. “Tend to your own affairs.”
But Aedan threw himself on top of Ennis, his fist flying and connecting with the other man’s face. “Jennie’s mine. Do notevertouch her again.”
Another loud whoop rent the air, and something dropped out of the tree next to the two of them.
Loki. He came to a stop next to the two men. In moments, his sword was out and aimed at MacKenzie.
“You can both stay away from my aunt,” Loki growled.
“Loki, stop! Aedan, cease!” Jennie shouted just as Brodie came down the pathway.
“Hellfire. Jennie? Loki? What goes on here? I heard Loki’s whoop just as I walked outside.” Brodie stood with his arms crossed and his legs planted.
All other movement had come to a halt since Loki still brandished his sword at the grappling men, forcing them to put a stop to their fighting. “Get up,” Brodie said to the two men on the ground.
Aedan stood and moved to Jennie’s side. “Are you all right?”
“Aye.” She stared at him. “I’m fine. What is the meaning of this?”
“Defending your honor. He had his hands where they didn’t belong.”
Ennis jumped to his feet and brushed off his clothing, a sheepish expression on his face. “My apologies. I did not do anything against the lady’s will.”
