Swallowing her own fear, she reached out, taking Colin’s dagger into her hands. Amidst laugher and more jeers she stood, though it took some effort to rise to her feet. She straightened her shoulders, faced them, and then took a fortifying breath and walked toward the throng of kids, keeping her gaze fixed upon Colin for strength.
“Look, look!” another boy shouted. “The cripple can walk!”
Seana ignored the laughter and walked straight up to Colin, her cheeks stinging with warmth and her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed. She handed him his knife. His companions all gibed him fiercely, shoving him.
Colin snatched it from her.
“Where did ye get the tart?” someone asked. “Did ye steal it from Lagan’s minny like Edith said?”
Seana tried to ignore them.
They began to sing: “Colin and Seana kissing in a tree!”
“Go away!” Colin shouted at her suddenly, buckling under the pressure. “I dinna like it when you follow us, do ye hear! I dinna like you, Seana!”
Seana flinched at his cruelty, but her feet would not budge. She kept her gaze affixed to his, though she didn’t know why. Her heart felt as though it were breaking.
“Go away!” he shouted again when the din grew louder. He gave her that look—that look she couldn’t bear to see—so filled with loathing and revulsion.
This time Seana turned and fled.
“And dinna come back stupid thief!” he shouted at her back.
Seana tried to run faster, but her bad leg would not allow it. Tears coursed down her cheeks. All at once rocks began to fly at her back, but she didn’t dare turn to see who had cast them. One hit her in the back of the head, and she cried out, more in fear than in pain. Stunned, she did turn to look then, and met Colin Mac Brodie’s gaze. He was standing there with a strange expression upon his face.
Why?
How could ye do it?
She had only dared to love him—as everybody else did.
His companions all laughed at her, shouting names, but he simply stood there, looking at her, and in that instant, Seana believed she hated him.
She turned and fled again, running until she could run no longer... running until she heard her name on the wind.
“Seana!”
She turned to see Broc Ceannfhionn had followed her. Seana stumbled to the ground, tripping over her bad leg. Frustrated, she sat and wept... and Broc came hesitantly and sat beside her.
Broc Ceannfhionn was older than she was, older than Colin as well, though she didn’t think by much.
“He didna mean it,” Broc defended his friend. He was not the least out of breath like Seana was. “’Twas Lagan’s fault to be sure.”
Seana didn’t care. She began to sob in earnest.
“Och,” he exclaimed, and reached out awkwardly to hug her. “Dinna pay Colin any heed, Seana. He isna so bad.” He wiped away her tears. “Dinna cry,” he begged her.
For Broc, Seana tried not to cry, but if she lived a thousand years, she didn’t think she could ever forget that look upon Colin Mac Brodie’s face... the sound of his laughter. If Broc were to look at her that way, as well, she thought she would die.
She peered up at the awkward giant and he smiled down at her. Seana wiped her face with her sleeve.
“Ye know how it is when you’re with friends,” he tried to explain, giving her a sympathetic look. “He didna mean any of it, Seana.”
Seana shook her head. “I have no friends.”
“Aye, ye do,” Broc said. “Ye have me.”
Before today, the two of them had rarely spoken.
Seana blinked, and he nodded at her, as though to assure her it was true.
“You will be my friend?”
He nodded again, more resolutely. “And if ye should need me, only call,” he said. “Dinna suffer their taunts any longer. Come and tell me, Seana, and I’ll give them a bloody nose for their efforts.”
Seana smiled. “Truly?”
He nodded. “Truly.”
He was the only one who had ever dared call himself her friend. “You will not regret it, Broc Ceannfhionn. I swear that one day I will find a way to repay you!” She threw her arms around him, daring to hug him with gratitude.
“Och, Seana, ye dinna have to repay me.” He pried her away, chucking her beneath the chin. “That bonny smile is thanks enough.” He winked at her.
Her heart quickened and her cheeks heated, but she smiled shyly up at him. And in that instant, Seana truly thought she loved him. Someday, she swore to herself... it didn’t matter that he said she did not have to... someday... she didn’t know when or how, but she was going to find a way to show Broc Ceannfhionn how much this meant to her.
Someday...
Also by Tanya Anne Crosby
The Highland Brides
The MacKinnon’s Bride
Lyon’s Gift
On Bended Knee
Lion Heart
Highland Song
MacKinnon’s Hope
Guardians of the Stone
Once Upon a Highland Legend
Highland Fire
Highland Steel
Highland Storm
The Medievals Heroes
Once Upon a Kiss
Angel Of Fire
Viking’s Prize
The Impostor Series
The Impostor’s Kiss
The Impostor Prince
Redeemable Rogues
Happily Ever After
Perfect In My Sight
Sagebrush Bride
Kissed
Anthologies & Novellas
Lady’s Man
Mischief & Mistletoe
Married at Midnight
The Winter Stone
Romantic Suspense
Speak No Evil
Tell No Lies
About the Authors
TANYA ANNE CROSBY’S novels have graced numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times and USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two dogs and two moody cats in northern Michigan.
ALAINA CHRISTINE CROSBY is the daughter of New York Times bestselling novelist Tanya Anne Crosby. After acquiring her major in English and film studies from the College of Charleston, Alaina went to work as a copywriter and editor while raising her two boys and pursuing her own writing career. Alaina lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband and children.
For more information:
@tanyaannecrosby
tanyaannecrosby
www.tanyaannecrosby.com
[email protected]
Meghan: A Sweet Scottish Medieval Romance (Sweet Scottish Brides Book 2) Page 25