Redeeming Vows (MacCoinnich Time Travel Trilogy #3)(22)
Author: Catherine Bybee

“What has captured your attention?” Fin’s soothing voice asked as if he truly wanted to know.

There was no way in hell she was going to reveal her true thoughts. Slipping Fin into the image of a man in her bed came to easily lately. Having him discover that wouldn’t bode well for his inflated ego, or her resolve to keep her distance from him.

Liz didn’t answer his question, instead she asked her own. “Do you think Grainna will come back?”

For a moment, Liz thought she saw Fin smile in the dark before his head turned toward the small bed holding Briac. “We have to assume she didn’t get what she came for. She will be back.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say.”

“We need to be prepared for her return.”

“How can we be?”

“We’ve been honing our skills.”

Liz nodded toward her son. “And discovering new ones.”

“And we’ve learned her strategies or some of them anyway.”

“Which ones?” She hadn’t thought they’d learned much in the way of Grainna’s tactics.

“She uses the weakest link to draw us in. She kidnapped Simon and attempted something tonight with Briac.”

“Which means she might try with Amber or Cian.” She hadn’t thought of that.

“Or any of you women. Don’t forget about Tara’s abduction.”

“You’re right.” Liz would love to counter him, but couldn’t. She realized her shoulder had nestled up against his during their conversation. Pulling away would make her look foolish. And in truth, she didn’t want to. Not yet anyway.

“Does it hurt to say that?”

“To say what?”

“That I’m right?” he chuckled.

Quiet laughter shook her frame and the terror Grainna had placed in her earlier that evening finally started to drift away. “It pains me deeply.

And if you go around telling anyone I said that, I’ll deny it to my death,” she joked.

“I’m sure you will.”

Their laugher ebbed and silence followed, not an awkward quiet, but a peaceful one.

Fin reached up and drew her head to his shoulder. Once there, Liz felt her eyes start to drift closed. She should move back to her bed, but couldn’t find the strength.

Liz felt the pad of his thumb stroke her cheek.

“Sleep,” he whispered. “I’ll watch over you.”

Chapter Nine

“My ass is so sore from sitting on this horse I could scream. Somewhere in my sick, twisted mind, I looked forward to getting away from the keep. Now at least I’ll know what I’m talking about when someone suggests a visit to the coast.” Tara’s complaints matched Liz’s thoughts exactly. They’d been riding for four days, four long, tiring days. It didn’t help that sleep didn’t come easy with the threat of Grainna hanging in the air. She hadn’t come back, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before she did.

“I could use a bath,” Liz added her own complaints.

“Duncan thinks we’ll be camping by a river tonight. We can bathe there.”

The thought of clean water, even cold, frigid water brought a smile to her face. “Maybe Duncan could stand upstream and heat the water.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Like no one would notice that.”

Still, the thought had merit. From her sister’s expression, Liz knew Tara considered how her husband’s gift might aide her in a warm bath.

Up ahead, Simon rode alongside Cian. Lizzy’s son appeared asleep in the saddle, a term she’d only heard of in old westerns until she’d nodded off herself after the first night on the road . Now she knew a person could actually sleep while riding a horse. Not a peaceful sleep, but a few minutes of shut-eye helped break up the day and rejuvenated what the night neglected.

It was crazy how she no longer stressed when her son rode a horse or lifted the sword he had strapped to his waist. And to think she balked at a pocketknife back when they’d lived in California.

Simon’s head jerked up, as though he’d awakened suddenly. His gaze shifted above him where Ian’s falcon soared. Even from her distance, Liz noticed Simon’s shoulders stiffen.

He turned in his seat and met her eyes over the riders separating them.

Mom, his voice sounded in her head. Someone’s coming up ahead.

Just then, the falcon squawked. Ian’s eyes shot to his flying weapon.

Grainna?

I don’t know.

Liz watched as Simon attempted to get inside the falcon’s head and see through the bird’s eyes.

What do you see? she quizzed him.

Riders, oh geeze. I can’t hold on. They have swords like us. Lots of men.

“Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?” Tara asked, unaware of her silent conversation with Simon.

Liz glanced over her shoulder, noticed Gregor riding up alongside them, and thought better of voicing her concerns. “I, ah, need to use the little girl’s room.”

“Again? We stopped less than an hour ago.”

Gregor rode ahead, unconcerned with their conversation.

“Tell Duncan to stop us,” Liz told Tara in a hushed whisper. “Simon sees people ahead.”

Tara’s eyes grew large, her eyes focused toward the beginning of the caravan. After a few silent moments, Duncan glanced over his shoulder then up again to the falcon flying. Duncan said something to Fin, who quickly rounded his horse and drew up beside Liz and Tara.

“How are ye faring?” he said in a voice loud enough for the surrounding men to hear them.

Tara took the lead and cradled an arm around Briac’s sleeping frame. “I need to change my son, Finlay. Can we stop for a short time so I can see to his needs?”

Liz jumped in to be sure they had more than a few minutes to assess what lay ahead. “I could use a break, seems the sun is wearing on me.” As if that were possible. The sun barely peeked beyond the clouds and the mist had hardly lifted from the land since they woke. Still, Fin understood and signaled for the caravan to stop.

Within seconds, Simon stood beside his horse, Ian drew up alongside him, and both spoke with their heads close together. Tara ducked into the wagon with the ruse of changing her son. Several knights took the opportunity to dismount and see to their needs.

“Someone is coming,” Simon told Ian.

“What color do you see on their flags?”

Simon shook his head. “I can’t tell.”

“How many men? Do you see women?” Fin asked.