Page 48 of Stealing a Kilted Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

When Fia had agreed to go on a ride with Knox, she hadn’t expected that not even an hour into it, they would be caught in a storm. When they had left the castle, the skies had been mostly clear, only a few clouds gathering in the far distance, but the weather had changed suddenly. Now the sky was the color of steel, a cold grey that seemed to encompass the entire world, and the wind whipped her cheeks as they rode down the path in search of shelter.

As if bein’ on a horse wasnae enough!

She should have never agreed to it. In fact, she should have never allowed Knox to go on a ride in the first place. What was he thinking, she wondered, going out like this, when he was still injured? What if something happened to him? What if brigands attacked him? Could he even defend himself?

But Knox had been very convincing when he had told her that he was fine and he had insisted he wanted her company. She had gone along simply because she didn’t want to leave him alone. That, more than anything else, would be too dangerous.

The fact that it was a chance to spend some more time with him, just the two of them, was irrelevant—or at least so she told herself.

“There,” Knox called as he pointed into the distance with his right hand. At least he had been injured on his left side, the one he didn’t favor as much, and he could still ride with ease, but as he pointed, tugging sharply at the reins in his excitement, the horse bucked under them and Fia had to swallow down a shriek of terror.

I’m never gettin’ on a horse again.

She didn’t know how it could be that Knox always convinced her to go for rides. Even now that she had an idea of riding, which was more than she could have said in the past, getting on a horse frightened her and she never enjoyed any of the rides enough to justify being plunged into that terror willingly. Not even Knox’s presence was enough most of the time for her to feel safe, and yet there she was, the knuckles of her fingers turning bone white as she held on to the saddle for dear life.

Following his finger, Fia saw that he had spotted a small cottage in the woods. He steered the horse towards it and they reached the squat building just as the rain began to fall in earnest, sheets of icy drops cascading unbridled around them. Knox helped Fia off the horse, the two of them running through the small garden to reach the door, and he hardly had the time to knock before the door opened and a young woman ushered them inside.

“Come in, come in,” she said. “We saw ye from the window an’ we hoped ye’d stop. Come… sit by the fire, ye must be freezin’.”

The woman, short, with plump, rosy cheeks and a pregnant belly, grabbed Fia by the shoulders and pushed her on one of the chairs by the small fireplace, where a bright, warm fire burned. Knox, a little amused smile dancing on his lips, joined her on the other chair, the two of them trying to rub the warmth back into their limbs.

“Thank ye,” said Fia as she took in her surroundings. Apart from the woman, there was also a young man in the house and a small boy who looked just like him—their son, Fia supposed, who couldn’t have been more than six years of age. “We are truly grateful, we couldnae have made it back in this weather.”

“Dae ye live far?” the woman asked, but just as Fia was about to respond that she meant Castle Stuart, Knox chimed in, interrupting her.

“Just over in Duror,” he said, much to Fia’s surprise. She refrained from showing that surprise on her face, though. Whatever his reasons, Knox didn’t want them to know that he was the laird of Clan Stuart.

“Och aye, that is quite far,” the man said as he walked over to them. “I’m Baird, this is me wife, Caitriona. An’ this wee laddie here is Hamish.”

“Knox,” said Knox with a small bow of his head in greeting. “And this is Fia. It’s a pleasure tae meet ye all.”

“That’s a nice horse ye have, Knox,” said Baird. He was a sturdy man, but much smaller than Knox, with dark hair and bright eyes that he shared with Hamish. “Is it yers?”

“Och aye,” said Knox. “Me pride an’ joy. I raised her meself.”

“Did ye? I’ve raised me fair share o’ horses in me life,” said Baird. “But nae as bonnie as yer mare.”

Fia wondered if the man could have suspected that they were not from Duror just from Knox’s horse, but he didn’t seem suspicious—only a little excited to be seeing such a strong and beautiful horse. Even Fia, who was not particularly fond of the creatures, had been impressed when she had first seen it.

Whatever concerns she had melted away, though, when Caitriona doubled over, bracing herself on the back of Knox’s chair. Her hand cradled her stomach and Fia stood just as Baird rushed to her, only to have her wave them both off.

“I’m alright,” she said, though her expression was pinched, as though she was in pain. “It’s been happenin’ all day, but I’m nae in labor yet. I’d ken if I were.”

“I’m a midwife,” said Fia as she walked over to her and placed a gentle hand on her stomach. Even if she wasn’t in labor as she claimed, she had to be close. She was big enough to be in the final stages of her pregnancy and the baby would be coming any day. “I can examine ye if ye so wish an’ give ye somethin’ fer the pain. Are ye in a lot o’ pain?”

“Naethin’ that I cannae bear,” said Caitriona with a warm smile. “Wee Hamish was worse when he was about tae be born.”

As she spoke, Caitriona ruffled her son’s hair and he beamed up at her as he hugged her leg. The sight flooded Fia’s chest with warmth, the joy that radiated from their little family infectious, spreading over to her. She longed for a family of her own. All she had ever wanted was to raise children, and she had thought she would get to have that with Callum, but now it was the last thing on her mind. After everything that had happened, any hopes of creating a family of her own any time soon had vanished and had been replaced by the necessities and duties of everyday life.

For a moment, she allowed herself to indulge in a vision of her having a family with Knox. She could imagine it with ease, the two of them raising two, maybe even three children—boys and girls who would look like them both, who would run around them in circles, who would listen to Knox’s explanations of the stars and her made up stories of them.

She didn’t indulge in the fantasy for too long. That was all it was, a fantasy that would never come true. Wishful thinking only served to further hurt her already wounded heart.

As the day passed, the storm did not. For a while, both Fia and Knox considered heading back, even in the rain, but there was no telling how long that would take them. It was dangerous, staying out in the cold and the rain for this long, and so in the end, they agreed to Caitriona’s suggestion that they sleep in the small hut next to the cottage.

It had once been used by the cottage’s only servant, before he had passed, and Caitriona’s family could not afford to have another. When Fia entered it, she saw that it was sparsely furnished, with nothing but a bed, a stove, and a chest, but when Baird lit a fire for them and she and Knox sat next to it, warming themselves, it was more than enough.