35 ALL I NEED
LIZA AND ALEC stood side-by-side upon the castle walls and watched Rae Maclean and his escort ride away from Moy Castle. As always, his collie ran at his side.
“Shaggy dog!” Craeg cried out, waving a hand. “Goodbye.”
“Is that the hound’s name then, lad?” Alec asked, his tone teasing as he hitched the bairn up on his left hip. Craeg had wanted to see their guests off too, and so Alec obliged.
“I don’t know,” Craeg replied. “But I call him ‘Shaggy’.”
“I think the dog’s called ‘Storm’,” Liza said, her mouth twitching. “But ye are right, love … he is a hairy hound.”
Her gaze traveled then to the two women riding with Rae and their combined escort.
Kylie and Makenna would ride with them as far as Craignure before taking a ferry back to the mainland. Kylie would need to organize to have her belongings taken to Dounarwyse and had promised to arrive there to begin her new position at mid-summer. Makenna would accompany her before returning to Meggernie Castle in Perthshire.
Liza’s eyes grew hot and prickly then, her throat tight.
She wasn’t sure when she’d see her sisters again, although once Kylie settled in at Dounarwyse, they could organize a visit with Rae and his sons to Moy—or she and Craeg could go to them.
“I miss them already,” she said then, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What … surely not Rae?” Alec replied with a laugh. “That curmudgeon.”
Liza glanced left to find her lover grinning. “Ye two got on well in the end, didn’t ye?”
“Aye.” Alec leaned in then, his breath tickling her ear as he whispered, “Although I thought he was going to try and geld me when I told him that I loved ye.”
Liza’s eyes snapped wide, and she turned to face him squarely, the guests she’d just seen off forgotten. Meanwhile, Craeg was too busy waving both hands now, singing, “Shaggy dog … shaggy dog!”
“Ye told him that ?”
“I did.” His brow furrowed then. “Shouldn’t I have?”
“Well … I didn’t say ye couldn’t,” she admitted, suddenly flustered. “I’m just surprised he didn’t challenge me over it.” Indeed, she’d have expected Rae to have been thunderous after such an admission, yet his mood hadn’t altered whenever she’d seen him over the past days. And indeed, he was taking a glowing report back to Loch.
“I asked him not to.”
Liza cocked an eyebrow. “What did ye say to the man?”
To her ire, he merely winked. “Never ye mind.”
Liza’s gaze narrowed. “And how did he react?”
Alec glanced east, at where the company had almost disappeared amongst the trees between the castle and the village. “Once he’d calmed down, he was almost … wistful.”
“Wistful?”
“Aye, I’m not sure his marriage was a happy one.”
Considering this, Liza stepped closer to him. And then, she reached out her hand and caught his. It was a bold move, for they weren’t in private. But Craeg wasn’t paying them any attention at present, and their bodies shielded their hands from view.
All the same, Liza’s pulse quickened as Alec interlaced his fingers through hers and squeezed gently.
“Ye have done well here, Liza.” He paused then as if considering his next words. “Ye had a mountain to climb when ye took over from Leod … but ye managed it.”
A smile tugged at her mouth. “I did.” She squeezed his hand back. “But I had some help. Ye could have sailed away … yet ye didn’t.”
“No,” he replied, his voice lowering. “That conversation with Loch was a turning point in my life … I just didn’t want to admit it to myself at the time.” He cleared his throat. “Meeting ye was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
They stared at each other, and Liza’s smile faded. The blend of tenderness and hunger in his eyes made her breathing quicken.
“God, woman, I want to kiss ye right now, right here,” he said roughly, “and for it not to matter who sees.”
Lord, how she wanted it too, more than she could express.
“And that day will come,” she whispered back.
“Aye, but not soon enough,” he replied, his gaze roaming over her face. “And I will fight anyone to the death who’s foolish enough to ever stand between us.”
“Are ye going to fight someone, Alec?” A young voice interrupted them then, and Liza blinked, emerging from the enchantment they’d spun around themselves. Now that Rae’s collie had disappeared, her son’s attention had shifted back to them.
“Aye, lad,” Alec replied, flashing Craeg a smile. “But I require a worthy opponent. Are ye willing to fetch yer wooden dirk and duel with me?”
Craeg squealed in delight before his gaze flicked to Liza, worry shadowing his eagerness. “Can I, Ma?”
Guilt stabbed at her as she recalled his stricken face when she’d yanked him off Alec and scared the wits out of the lad. She wasn’t proud of her behavior, although she’d forgiven herself for it. As Alec had pointed out, her marriage to Leod had left scars, and some would take time to heal. “Of course, ye can,” she replied. “Come … let’s find yer dirk.”
They turned from the wall and made their way back down to the barmkin below. There, Alec set Craeg down, letting the lad run indoors to fetch his wooden dagger. He then turned to Liza, his gaze searching. “Are ye sure about this, Liza?” he asked, his voice lowering. “Ye know I’d never harm Craeg, don’t ye?”
She smiled, grateful for his concern, yet at the same time embarrassed, for she didn’t like to be reminded of that incident. “I don’t doubt ye,” she admitted. “But the urge to protect him like a she-wolf still rears its head occasionally, that’s all.”
He flashed her a grin. “And so it should.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice as he added. “It’s what makes ye such a good mother.”
Craeg burst out of the tower house then, waving his toy dirk excitedly. “I’m ready!”
“Right then,” Alec motioned to one of the guards posted by the armory. “Fetch me a wooden sword, Hector. I have a challenge I must answer.”