Brachan braced himself as he stepped back inside their small home in the heart of the village. He knew his mother worried for him, but turning away those in need of his help was no way to protect him.

“Ach, there ye are. If ye hadna walked in that door just now, I meant to go and look for ye myself. What is the matter with ye, lad? Ye put yerself in danger last night. And for what? For the sake of some lass ye doona even know? Ye are a fool.”

He was weary from his night of keeping watch over the girl, but he had far too many questions to sleep. The travelers at the inn were a key to his past, to who he truly was. His mother’s panicked reaction to Maddock’s mention of the Isle had revealed that much to him. It was time for his mother to tell him the rest.

“I was in no danger amongst them. Where is Willy?”

“With his sheep. He left to work them at dawn.”

He nodded and reached for his mother’s hand as he led her to the two chairs near the fire. “Good, then ye may finally tell me the truth. The man Maddock claimed I resembled—Nicol Murray. He is my father, aye?”

His mother said nothing as she bent her head and began to cry.

---

“There is no way in hell I’m letting you carry me down these stairs.”

I planted both feet and gripped at the doorway with my left hand so he couldn’t pull me away from it.

“Kate, lass, doona be so prideful. Ye are as weak as a babe and are trembling as ye stand.”

“I am not…” I paused as my vision whirled and my knees buckled just a bit. It only lasted a moment, but before I could take a deep breath and regroup, Maddock already had me in his arms.

“I know ye doona take well to being ordered about, but for the next day and a half, ye will have to listen to what I tell ye to do. We will ride hard for the Isle, and I will rarely need to stop, so if ye need to halt, ye must say so.”

Mom, David, and Paton had already led their horses into the village and were readying to begin their longer ride to the Isle via the main trail. Maddock, Mr. Crinkles, and I would take a more perilous, but faster, route.

Once we were inside the stable, Maddock slowly lowered me to my feet next to the old, gentle horse I’d ridden this far.

“How do ye feel? Are ye steady?”

“I’m fine.” I reached out to pat the horse. “What will happen to this guy? We’re not taking him with us, are we?”

Maddock shook his head and bent to pick up Mr. Crinkles who’d dutifully followed us all the way out of the inn and into the stables. “No, I’ve paid a lad from the village to see the horse back to Cagair. Here. Come and see what I did for the wee beastie.”

Mr. Crinkles meowed as Maddock lifted him—I was slightly concerned that my cat liked Maddock more than he did me—and placed him in a small wooden box that was turned so that its top faced the front of the horse.

With Maddock riding in front of the opening, Mr. Crinkles would be warm while still having plenty of air and room to stand up and move about just a little. Most importantly, he would be dry.

Mr. Crinkles stood cautiously inside the small box and then walked deeper inside and curled up on what looked like part of Maddock’s kilt. He began to purr in appreciation.

It was perfect. Maddock’s thoughtfulness blew me away. I walked over to stand in front of him and wrapped my left arm around his neck in a hug. “I think I could kiss you. Thank you so much. It’s incredible.”

He stiffened just a little as I clung to him. “Ye could what, lass? Last time I said the same to ye, ye grew nervous.”

Affectionate by nature, I was prone to hugging strangers and quite often greeted close friends with a kiss. I’d thought nothing of my comment.

Suddenly self-conscious, I hurried to rectify what I’d just walked into. “I didn’t get nervous. I just…”

He laughed as he stepped back from our hug. “Ye were just worried if I kissed ye again, ye might fall for me.”

I gaped awkwardly before he winked playfully and hurried to brush both hands together before moving to pat his horse. “This here is Stella. She is the finest horse in all of Scotland, and she has already promised me to be kind to both ye and Mr. Crinkles, but we must first decide how ye will ride.”

Thankful that he’d changed the conversation, I was more than happy to oblige his leading statement.

“How I’ll ride? Do I have options?”

“Oh, aye. Ye most certainly do. The priority must be that ye are as comfortable as ye can be. We canna have ye putting strain on yerself in any way. Do ye wish to face me or the trail?”

It had never occurred to me that facing him was an option. It would be an awkward position to be sure. My legs would have to be situated around his lap, as if I were sitting on him and…ahem…straddling him, but I could see why he offered. If I rode with my back toward him, the frigid wind would whip my face the entire way, which would do nothing to prevent me from getting sick again. If I rode facing him, I could burrow my head in his chest, which would keep me much warmer. It would also be much easier to sleep that way.

“Umm…facing you, if you don’t mind?”

“’Tis the only sensible thing for ye to do, lass. Will ye allow me to strap ye to me?”

I laughed because I thought he was joking, but fell silent when he pulled out a long belt-like piece of leather. “Oh, you’re serious? Why do you need to do that?”

“So ye can rest. Otherwise, ye will have to hold on the whole way. ’Twill also make it easier for me to concentrate on the ride, lass. I willna worry about ye sliding off of Stella. She’ll be kind to ye, but if she is in the midst of a run, she willna stop for ye.”

I nodded curtly as he mounted the horse with ease and extended both hands down to me.

“Stand on the tips of yer toes, lass, so I can reach underneath yer arms.”

It wasn’t the easiest position from which to lift me, but he managed surprisingly well. Feeling rather scandalous, I swung my legs open and lay them around his own as I snuggled in close and bent to tuck my head into his chest as he wrapped the long belt around us.

“People are going to think we are crazy if they see us like this. With Mr. Crinkles on the back and us strapped together, we look like we belong in the circus.”

He laughed, and the warmth of his breath tickled the top of my head.

“They willna see us long enough to think anything. Stella moves much too quickly when bribed with a bushel of apples. We will be little more than a blur on the horizon.”