Page 6 of The Highland Heir

“I’m a man grown. I guess it’s time I stopsniveling about my father’s contempt and marry. Perhaps I’ll beblessed with a son of my own. If I would be so lucky, I promise ye,I’ll do things differently.”

“I fear your child with be spoiled rotten forall the affection you have bottled up ready to unleash upon thepoor bairn.”

Kieran smiled at her wide grin.

Since he’d become a man, he’d recognizedEllie as his opposite. A woman. It was impossible not to when theirbodies had changed so drastically.

When once they’d been so similar, two oddforms had evolved. Her with breasts that captured his attention atthe most inopportune moments. And he continued to grow and growuntil he towered over her.

“Do you remember when you used to be tallerthan me?” he asked her as she brushed a stray lock of brown hairback from her pretty face. Only out here in the sun could one seethe threads of auburn hiding amongst the sable waves.

She rolled her brown eyes as she usually didwhen he got to reminiscing.

“For all of three days, maybe.”

It had been longer than that. He’d beenworried she would always be taller, but that hadn’t come to be.Once he started growing, it seemed he would never stop. It felt asif he grew since he’d left the castle in the morning and when hereturned.

“What if my new wife doesn’t wish us to befriends any longer?” He blurted out the worry he’d been trying tokeep silent.

It seemed strange to be fixated on such athing when he faced marriage to a person he’d never met as well asall the things that came with being a husband. But since thoseother things seemed too large to tackle at the moment, he graspedon to this worry particularly.

She seemed to freeze in the act of tossing astone. The pebble landed just a few feet from her.

“I never thought of such a thing,” she said,but he knew she was lying as only he would be able to tell. “Thatis, I did think of it, but we know we are friends andnothing more; most people don’t even blink an eye in doubt. Iforget that someone else—your wife—might question it.”

Several years ago, one of the hired retainershad said something to Kieran about Ellie. He’d assumed she warmedhis bed. He and Ellie had brushed it off as most people seemed toknow better.

And the truth was that, other than oneawkward kiss when they were twelve, they’d never been physical.

That kiss had been experimental for both ofthem. They had known they would be called upon to kiss someone atsome point and decided to try it out with someone who could providedetails for the betterment of the act.

The women he’d kissed since had nocomplaints. As for Ellie, he didn’t think she’d yet had theopportunity to test her knowledge with anyone but him.

He felt a rush of guilt at this thought. Heknew men avoided his friend for a number of silly reasons, but oneof those reasons was him. Anyone who dared to hurt her would facethe end of his sword. As if Kieran wasn’t a daunting enoughdiscouragement, her father was the war chief.

“I’ll make sure this Isla knows the truth ofit,” he said. “And if she does take issue with our friendship, thatis just something she’ll have to get over. I’ll not change who Ichoose to spend time with because of a wife.”

Ellie laughed. “I have it on good authorityfrom the women in the kitchens that many married men like others tothink they are the head of their household, but, in truth, thewives are the neck that allows the head to turn.”

Kieran could believe it. The women in thekitchens were formidable. He couldn’t imagine any of them takingorders from a husband.

“I’ll not give my wife any reason to distrustme. Therefore, when I tell her we are friends, she’ll not takeissue.”

Ellie nodded, but it lacked the assurance hewas hoping for.

“We are no longer children, Kier. Perhaps itis time for us to stop tossing rocks to the sea and make our livesinto what we wish them to be.”

He stood there, a few pebbles left in hishand. He knew she was right. While it made him feel more at ease,standing on the beach tossing stones did nothing to help himnow.

He was a man. It was past time for him toface things as such.

He suddenly felt that he and Ellie had beenwasting time these last few years. They should have been betterprepared for this next stage of becoming adults.

He didn’t even know what Ellie wanted. Hecould see now how they’d avoided certain discussions they weren’tready for. But the time had come.

“And what do you wish of your life?” he askedher. For all the years they’d been friends and all the longdiscussions they’d had, where he’d told her how he’d wanted to be acaptain or a crofter or even a laird, he couldn’t recall Elliesharing any of her dreams with him.

She shrugged.