“It’s beautiful, aye?”
“Breathtaking. I’ve ne’er seen anythin’ like it ‘fore. Oh, look!” She pointed over to where the trees clustered close in the distance. A doe and her offspring grazed at the grasses peeking from the base of a mighty oak.
Errol reached his hand up and placed his finger to his lips. Gale silenced herself and watched as he dismounted. He reached his hands up towards her, expecting her to withdraw. She eyed him cautiously for a moment, then looked towards the grazing deer. Her bottom lip curled in as she accepted his help down. Gale crept in silence behind Errol. He could sense her tension just behind him, following his every move. It made him feel powerful and helped him forget her temper for a moment.
They were able to get within a hundred feet before the doe looked up to spot them. The two graceful creatures perked up and bound off into the woods. Gale ran after them with wild abandon, her face lit up with overwhelming joy. Errol watched as she gave chase, laughing at this more enjoyable child-like quality. When she turned, her face was flushed with excitement, and blood rushed through her veins. She looked like a woodland nymph to him. There was no resistance to his aid this time; her mood had lifted.
“Did ye see them?” she gasped, looking at the spot they disappeared with wide, intrigued eyes.
“Aye,” he chuckled.
“They were so beautiful! An’ we got so close!”
The smile that broke over her face was infectious. It was the first time he had seen her pearly white teeth break between her rose-pink lips. Errol smiled too, and for a moment, their eyes met in shared wonder. Her enthusiasm at seeing the world with fresh eyes stirred something in his soul. As if realizing she’d forgotten her anger and resolute disdain, she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and stayed her joy. The pink flush of virgin embarrassment tinged her cheeks as she broke from his gaze.
“Yer beautiful when yer nae complainin’, ye ken?”
She huffed at this. “As though a low-bred miscreant like you would know anythin’ about beauty.”
After the moment they’d just shared, that really stung. Errol had hoped he had melted the ice encasing her heart. This time he kept silent for the rest of the ride, unsure how to speak to her. The hostility she showed him after such a tender moment hurt deeply.
“We’ll stop there,” Errol spoke, pointing to an outcropping of rocks not far ahead.
Gale said nothing. She had remained silent and kept to herself since the deer. Errol looked over to her just in time to see her issue a sleepy yawn and rub at her eyes with her tiny curled fist. When they reached the rocks, it was she that stretched her arms out to him. His heart pounded furiously as he scooped her from the horse, and her head rested onto his chest. He felt her relax against him, too tired to fight. Her knees buckled as her feet hit the ground, and he feared she might topple over. He held her arms until she stabilized herself and walked as if partially asleep, the slack of her reins hanging from loose fingers, head bent so that a veil of hair obscured her face.
“I ken yer tired, but ye need tae help me gather wood.”
She groaned, plopping herself on the grass next to the massive boulder breaking from the green expanse, “I can’t.”
“Ye can, or we’ll freeze tae death. See that tree there? There’ll be kindlin’ under it.”
“You do it!”
If she were only traveling with him, he might have let it go and let her sleep. However, he remembered she would stay with him. This was a test of her authority. If she insisted on acting like a child, he would treat her as such.
“Get off yer arse an’ help out. I’m jus’ as tired as you are, an’ the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can rest.”
Gale sat up and gave him a look that sparkled with fury. She opened her mouth as if to say something and promptly closed it. The next thing he knew, she was speed walking away from him, kicking at the dirt and cursing under her breath.
By the time Gale returned, the fire was already blazing, and water boiled over the flames. Errol had laid out beds for both of them. She came to the fire and dropped a small handful of wood. Considering the time she’d taken, it was almost pointless for her to have gone. Still, he was glad he insisted.
“There!” she snapped.
He raised his brows. “Aye, took ye long enough for a handful. What were ye doin’?”
“None of yer business! You should be grateful I went at all!”
“Ah, shut it an’ eat ‘fore yer gruel is cold.”
Gale did not protest. She sat down on the bed of wool and fur. With each spoonful of porridge stuffed in her mouth, she glared at Errol, and her mouth twisted at the bland taste. He watched her with equal parts curiosity and frustration, wondering why he got himself into taking on such a huge task.
“Yer name isn’t Mairi, is it,” he finally said.
Gale scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “No! It means bitter. Can ye imagine? That was Declan! He no doubt thought it a jest, but I don’t find it funny one bit. He should have been grateful to have me as a guest, an’ instead, he turned me out like some—some—” she struggled, “someone like you!”
Errol nodded, trying to ignore her explosion. After a moment of thought, he said, “If ye want a different name, it’s no’ too late to change it.”
Gale stuffed another spoonful of the gruel into her mouth and started shaking with heavy, uncontrollable sobs. Errol started, feeling as if he’d somehow caused her pain. He set down his tin cup and turned to her, shocked at her sudden outburst.
“What’s wrong? Are ye okay? What did I do?”
She wiped her nose with her arm. Her words were barely intelligible, shaken by her tears. “It’s no’ you, it’s everythin’. I like my name. I liked my life ‘fore. I don’t want tae be bitter, Mairi.”
Errol clasped his hands between his knees and thought for a moment. “It doesnae have to be Mairi. Like I said, it’s still early enough to choose somethin’ else, ye ken.” Then he looked at her, serious and trying to remain understanding.
“I want to be me. I want my name! My father named me.” She pressed her hand to her heart and started to cry harder than before between massive, panicked gulps of air.
Errol knelt beside her and touched her knees. He felt her stiffen as his fingers sought to console her. He lifted her chin so that her eyes met his.
“I’m sure it’s a pretty name,” he said as she calmed her sniffles and stared back at him with the look of a small, helpless animal, “but if anyone spreads word aye lookin’ fer a gal with yer name an’ with blond hair an’ blue eyes, it won’t be long ‘til they find ye. Do ye have a middle name?”
Gale calmed herself with a mighty inhale. “Anne,” she said forlornly.
“We’ll call ye Anne then.”
She burst into tears once more. Errol did not like feeling as if he could not help her. “What’s wrong now?”
“I miss me father!” she screamed out, her head tilted to the heavens.
Errol rubbed her shoulder. “Shh, ye’ll see him again.”
It was the wrong thing to say. She turned to him with eyes filled with fury. “No, I won’t, ‘cause he’s dead!”
Gale covered her face with her hands and sobbed bitterly into them. Errol tried to touch her shoulder again, but she jerked away. He leaned back onto the heels of his feet and considered her for a moment.
“Ye ken, I lost ma father too.” He looked at the embers crackling. “An’ me mother as well, but she left us long ago. That’s why I was visitin’ Aggie an’ Angus.”
The young woman peeked up at him and sniffed back her tears. Errol could not look at her. Her sympathy seemed too much like pity. He turned away from her and sat back down, picking up his cup.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Errol shrugged, trying to remain calm and blasé. “He was mean—would hit me all the time, an’ thought I couldnae do aught right.”
Gale looked out at the stars for a moment, and said in a soft voice,
“My ma was the same way. It weren’t her fault. She lost a child when I was jus’ a bairn, an’ ever since then, hated me—it were like if she loved me or grew too close to me, she’d lose me too, I think. I’m sorry fer cryin’; I’m jus’ tired.” She leaned her head on her arms and knees.
“Get some sleep,” Errol said. “We still have a long way to go ‘til we reach Skye.”
Errol laid there a long time, staring at Gale and thinking about the day. He knew nothing about her. All he knew was that he placed himself in mighty danger. It crossed his mind to leave her as Declan planned to, to rid himself of her problems and this mother who had it in her to resent her own child.
Chapter Five
Gale awoke the next morning with a panic. She forgot where she was, and when she remembered, found Errol’s bedroll missing. Her heart clenched tight as she looked around, confused, and afraid he had abandoned her.
“Errol!” she screamed, the name choking in her throat.
The embers were buried in damp soil. Gale could see the tiny wisps of steam still rising up from the freshly disturbed earth. She called his name out again, clutching tight to the wool blanket sheltering her from the morning breeze.
“What is it?” Errol ran from the other side of the rock face, his face flush from sprinting to Gale’s side, “Are ye alright?”
Gale blushed, realizing he thought she was in danger. She was too stubborn to tell him the truth and seem even more vulnerable than she was already. Before she thought, before she could bite back on her words, her sharp tongue got the best of her.
“You’ve buried the fire an’ I haven’t had anythin’ to eat yet.”
The tension rolled out of Errol with a heavy sigh. “Is tha’ all, then?”
The tall Highlander ripped the wool bedding from her. Gale squealed as he rolled up the bedding, unphased by her complaints. The blatant disrespect prickled Gale. She wished she could retract her complaint, but now that the stage was set, her stubborn and impulsive nature was determined to see through the act. She stood up and kicked a bit of dirt at Errol before stomping off towards her horse.
Gale was not hungry. It was a lie to cover up the fear she’d felt when she found him missing from her side. She stood next to her horse, petting its long, dusty neck and staring out at the horizon. Her mind filled with daydreams, and a strong part of her wished she could just mount her mare and ride off into a fantastical adventure, leaving all of her cares and conflicting emotions about Errol far behind her.
“Good mornin’ tae ye too,” Errol growled as he strapped Gale’s bundle to her horse.
“I see yer not a mornin’ person.”
“Aye, an’ yer temper is sweet as honey at dawn.”
When he picked her up this time, he was not gentle like before. Her tailbone bounced on the saddle, and she grimaced at the pang. Gale didn’t know how to turn the morning around. Her pride prevented her from apologies, so she pinched her brows together, pursed her lips, and kicked at her horse.
“Ye don’t even ken where yer goin’!”
“I’ll figure it out!”
Errol let out a heavy sigh and mounted his coal-black stallion. Gale didn’t know what she was doing, but she didn’t want to face him and have him see her cheeks burning. He had seen too much of her as it was. When she heard him grow close behind her, she kicked her mare into a run. At that moment, her hair being licked back by the fresh summer air. She felt free like she was flying on the back of her mount.
“Stop!” He called. “Slow down!”
It only spurred her to go faster, determined to break from the control everyone seemed to implement over her life. She did not look back. The sense of freedom rose in her and lit her face up with glee. The world looked beautiful from this view, and the chase roused her sense of competition and excitement. Unfortunately, she failed to hear the panic in Errol’s voice.
“Anne!”
Errol gained on her. She tried to push her mare faster to outrun him, determined to make the feeling last. He sidled up beside her, screaming her name. Gale laughed carelessly in his face. When she turned, her heart dropped into her stomach. The hillside dropped into a sheer cliff. She could hear the rushing of water down below. She pulled up on her reins, the horse skidded in the dust, neighing and screaming in fright.
The strong Highlander was quick. He maneuvered his stallion in front of Gale’s mare, putting himself between the cliff and her horse. Gale held her breath as his stallion slipped backward, stopping just within the edge of the cliffside.
Gale’s entire body shook from the close call. Errol dismounted and paced back and forth. She could see he was irate, beyond anger. It frightened her and shamed her. She never intended to put them in danger.
“Wha’ the devil were ye thinkin’!” he screamed, still pacing back and forth, “Ye could’ve killed both o’ us! Are ye mad? Ye think this were funny! The Highlands are dangerous if ye don’ ken them.”
Gale’s lip quivered, and the tears threatened to bubble out beyond her control. Errol’s voice softened, “Oh, no. Don’ do tha,’ lassie.” The teary glaze dried from her eyes immediately.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I jus’, I—” she didn’t know how to express the intoxicating feeling she’d experienced in fleeing like that. “I mess everythin’ up. I didn’ mean to snap at ye this mornin’, an’ now I almost killed us both.”
Errol let out a heavy sigh. He pulled the cap from his head and beat the dust from it against his leg. When he had readjusted it, his anger melted away. He walked up to Gale and her horse and leaned his arms onto the saddle. Gale could feel the heat radiating off him. She could smell the salt of his sweat. Her blood rushed through her and made her heart skip an uneven beat.
“Look at me,” he said.
Gale tilted her head up and shook her head. Inside herself, she was chastising herself worse than he could ever do. She was embarrassed and afraid of how close they’d both come to dying.
“Anne…” The way he said her name lifted the hair on the back of her neck and arms. “Look at me, Anne.” Gale peeked up at his bright green eyes. “Ye have tae listen to me, alright? I ken ye don’t want to. I ken you don’t like me, an’ ye think I’m low-bred an’ all that nonsense, but fer both our sakes, ye gotta listen to me. Can ye do that? At least until I’m not responsible fer ye?”
Gale bit her lip and nodded. She wanted to hug him, or anyone for that matter. The near-death experience shook her to the core.
“Yer shakin’.” The concern in his eyes made her feel small and weak.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“No,” he ran his hand over her lower back. The touch sent quivers down Gale’s thighs. She hated her body for betraying her and tried to pry his fingers away. “No, ye aren’t.” Errol pulled her from the saddle.
Gale fought him, kicking out wildly. “Put me back!”
He overpowered her, holding her in his strong arms, and carried her to a nearby patch of grass dappled with magenta blooms. “Sit,” was all he said, and in a tone that made Gale swallow her snarky retorts.
Gale watched him with wide eyes. She tucked her hands between her knees and squeezed them tight to qualm the shaking. Errol walked over to his horse and calmed it in Gaelic. Gale hung on every soothing word despite not knowing what it meant. He pulled something from his saddlebags and walked back over to her.
“Take a sip.” Gale scrunched up her nose in disdain at his gift, knowing it was hard spirits. “Just do it. It will calm yer nerves. Here.” He sat down beside her and swept the cap from his head, laying it over one knee.
Gale took a sip. It was something her mother would have never let her live down. The thought of drinking anything so hard would have been distasteful to her. Despite her knowing it was beneath her, the idea sent a thrill of excitement through her. She would never let Errol know that, though. The whiskey lit a fire in her chest and made her cough. Errol laughed. The sound of his laughter shook her, made a smile light up her face despite her
self.
She tried to hand him the bottle, but he shook his head and touched her fingers, gesturing for her to drink another. Gale stared the whiskey down and drew a deep breath. She closed her eyes and took another swill. The fire lit her throat this time and made her cough harder than before. This time it settled faster, and the warmth it lit in her belly did calm her. A light giggle of delight at this new adventure passed through her lips, and she caught herself looking at Errol with her guard down.
“Yer awful bonnie when yer nae gripin’ at me.”
This time Gale took a sip of her own volition, and the discomfort was less, “Maybe I wouldn’t have tae gripe so much if ye didn’t anger me all the time.” She stared at him a moment, realizing she knew nothing about him or where he was from. “Where are we goin’?”
Taken by her Highland Enemy: He was running from his past; she was fighting for her future... Page 28