Page 6 of Highland Spy

“Oh, I’m worried, all right,” he said under his breath and headed toward the gate. “Worried that by the time we get to Hermitage Castle, the competition will already be over.”

Chapter 3

“Please, slow down,” begged Bridget after traveling for hours at a pace that was much too fast for her father to endure for very long. While his horse basically just followed the others, and he could see far distances, that wasn’t what bothered her. She could see he was tiring and knew he needed to rest. Something happened to him about a year earlier that had affected not only his body, but also his mind lately. He’d learned to hide his disabilities, one being he often had trouble gripping on to things because of an injury with his hand. But what he couldn’t hide from her was that lately he seemed to be forgetting more and more things. That concerned her greatly. “We need to stop and rest. This is too much. Please,” she called out to Caleb.

“Rest?” Caleb asked, looking back over his shoulder. “Nay, no’ yet. We’ve got a lot more ground to cover before the sun sets. We need to keep movin’.”

“Aye, I have no’ even worked up a sweat yet,” called out Logan from his horse.

“Logan, she’s right,” said Rhoswen, sticking up for Bridget. “You and Caleb might be used to riding at this speed but you need to remember that you have women and an older man along. We should stop and rest. We haven’t even had anything to eat since we left the MacKeefe camp.”

“Fine,” growled Logan. “Caleb, the lassies need to stop.”

“All right,” agreed Caleb. “But no’ for long. We’ll stop at the water’s edge up ahead, and grab a fast bite to eat. But then we need to keep ridin’. We’ve still got some guid hours of sunlight left and we canna waste them. I wanted to make it to the Horn and Hoof and spend the night there.”

“The Horn and Hoof? What’s that?” asked Brigham with a chuckle.

“Faither, ye remember,” said Bridget, trying to cover up his sudden loss of memory. “It’s the tavern that Auld Callum MacKeefe owns. We’ve been there no’ long ago.”

“Who?” he asked, making a face.

“Storm’s great-grandfather,” she said, losing patience with the man. She gave him a look, her eyes darting over to the others and then back to him. He finally caught on.

“Aye, yes, of course I remember,” he said. “I’m just too tired to think straight, that’s all.”

“Well, after a bite to eat and a stretch of yer legs, ye’ll feel better,” Caleb assured him, jumping off his horse and hurrying over to Bridget. He held out his arms to guide her from the horse, even though she’d never asked him for assistance.

“Yes?” She looked at his arms but stayed sitting in the saddle.

“Let me help ye from the horse,” said Caleb with a big smile, almost too eager to help. “After all, I ken how tired ye are and I would no’ want ye to fall.”

She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t the one who was tired and that she didn’t need help dismounting her horse. Bridget felt at home atop a horse. If her father hadn’t been along, she’d be the one leading Caleb instead. She could outride him, she was sure of it. Still, she remained quiet to keep the attention off her father.

“Thank ye,” she said, reaching out for Caleb’s shoulders for balance as his hands closed around her waist. Although Caleb wasn’t very tall, he had no trouble lifting her out of the saddle and putting her feet on the ground.

“There ye are,” he said, still smiling. His hands lingered at her waist and she could feel the heat emanating from them. She was about to scold him for that, but when she looked up into his dark eyes staring back at her, she found herself unable to speak. He was mesmerizing so close up, and she’d never noticed this before. In his eyes, he held mystery, playfulness, and even a little lust if she wasn’t mistaken. It was almost as if he were looking straight into her soul, making her feel suddenly vulnerable and naked. Still, she liked the feeling for some odd reason. Being in his hold made her feel safe and secure. It was nothing to fear. What she saw deep in his eyes was naught but admiration and an attraction to her. It intrigued her since no man had ever looked at her in this manner before. Then again, by wearing clothes that were too big for her and constantly braiding her hair like a child, no man ever thought of her as a woman she supposed. But it was her intention to keep the men away from her. She didn’t want to be married, because it would only bring disappointment in the end.

Bridget was so close to Caleb now that she could smell the leather from the travel bag he carried on his shoulder, and the scant scent of ale on his breath. She could also see every hair in the stubble scattered across his chin. He looked handsome and even more manly close up. Never had she noticed his chiseled features or the slight dimple in his cheek when he smiled. In the past, she’d been too focused on his silly ways, since he seemed to like making people laugh.

Her fingers slowly grazed down his shoulders, sliding past thick, corded muscles of his upper arms before her hands stilled over his hard chest. An odd sensation flitted through her that she didn’t quite understand. She shivered slightly and lowered her eyes to the ground. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice the blush she felt rising to her cheeks just from the feel of his hands on her waist.

“Are ye all right, lass?” Caleb raised his bushy brows and leaned forward, trying to see into her eyes.

“Aye, I’m fine.” She flashed a smile. “Just hungry, I think.”

He slowly released his hold on her, and with it went the warmth of his embrace. A tinge of disappointment washed through her, making her heart flutter. Why did she feel as if she wanted him to touch her again? And why was she feeling suddenly attracted to a man that she thought of as nothing but a hindrance up until now?

“Bridget,” said Lady Rhoswen, causing her to turn around. Logan helped his wife from the horse and she started to untie one of the travel bags. “Would you like to help me lay out the food and ale for the meal while the men tend to the horses?”

“Aye, of course,” she said softly, heading over to Rhoswen, thinking perhaps it was better to make distance between her and Caleb for now. She needed to focus on her father and also the mission of recording events in the chronicles for the king. If her concentration wavered, she could become careless and her secret would be discovered.

“Did I hear ye say ale?” asked Logan, gathering two of the horses to lead them down to the water to drink. “I could go for a little Mountain Magic right now.” Mountain Magic was the strong whisky that Old Callum MacKeefe brewed that was rumored to have kept him alive so long.

“There will be plenty of that once we get to the Horn and Hoof,” said Rhoswen, handing Bridget a bundle that contained food.

“Should we make a fire to warm up some of this food?” Bridget asked Rhoswen. Before the woman could answer, Caleb called out to her.

“Nay, no time for a fire. We need to get back on the road.”