Return of the Highlander by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online Page A

making an effort to get to know you.”
    “There is no crime in that,” Larena replied “The way things stand, we have no choice but to spend the next few days together in close proximity. I see no reason why we can’t at least be cordial.”
    “That’s exactly what I told him,” Logan agreed, “but he’s my big brother and he can’t help but be overbearing—although he thinks he’s being protective. To be honest, I think he’s worried I’ll lose sight of our purpose. He thinks I’ll fall arse over teakettle for your charms and make a fool of myself—which would be a problem, considering you’re betrothed to another, not to mention that you’re a Campbell. I’m not sure which bothers him more. The second thing, most likely.”
    “That’s absurd,” Larena said. “I’m sure you are perfectly capable of fulfilling your duty to your chief, and I’m not that charming.”
    “No?” he added with a grin. “Maybe I am in danger, lass. You are a bonnie young thing, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
    Larena couldn’t help but shake her head and blush a little, for she wasn’t accustomed to such blatant praise from a man. “You are a shameless flatterer, Logan.”
    “Aye, I am a smooth one,” he replied with a playful smile. “But I only say these things because they’re true.” He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and turned his face toward the sun. “But have no fear, my bonnie lass. I won’t lose sight of my duty.” His eyes met hers again. “I’ll deliver you to Leathan, no matter what it takes.”
    Larena quavered under the heat of his stare. “I do appreciate that,” she replied, then she glanced over her shoulder again. “But I am not so sure about your brother. With the looks he gives me sometimes, I fear he’s imagining a good time to shove me off the edge of a steep cliff.”
    Logan laughed. “Nay, lass. He may be a bit hardhearted sometimes, but he would never do that.”
    They were quiet for a moment, listening to the grasshoppers and bees on the moor, feeling the cool, swift breezes on their cheeks.
    “Not that it’s any of my business,” Logan mentioned eventually, “but I hope the man you’re pledged to marry is a good man, lass, and that you won’t ever feel as if you’d made a mistake. If I am to be your protector, I could use a bit of assurance, because I wouldn’t want to deliver you into a bad situation. So can you tell me… is he a good man?”
    Larena regarded Logan carefully in the late morning sunshine. “I believe so. At least from what I remember of him.”
    She couldn’t deny, however, that she was struggling with crushing doubts and concerns about marrying a man she barely knew. A man she didn’t love, when she’d always dreamed of a great, passionate romance for herself.
    At least Gregory Chatham was half Campbell. That was something. And her father would live because of Chatham’s lifelong affection for her.
    In the end, she knew it was the right thing to do, so she was determined to be content with it.
    “I thank you for your concern,” she added, shaking herself out of those thoughts. “It touches me that you care.”
    “Oh, I do, lass,” Logan replied, tilting his head thoughtfully, holding her steady in his deep, green-eyed gaze. “Do not ever doubt it.”
    She smiled at him as they broke into a canter toward the river. All the while, she was keenly aware of Darach, dark and silent like an ever-present shadow behind them, as he broke into a canter as well.

Chapter Nine

    For the rest of the day, Larena made no more mention of the argument she’d witnessed the night before, though it was never far from her thoughts. She was curious about these MacDonald brothers and the obvious friction that existed between them. Though she did not presume to understand it, she suspected there was something in their past that had driven a wedge between them and continued to plague them.
    At the same time, they seemed immensely loyal to each other, for