Return to the Highlands Boxed Set by Julianne MacLean

Author:Julianne MacLean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Julianne MacLean Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-01-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-one

“We’ll stop here for the night,” Darach said, dropping the food sack on the ground and sinking to his knees on the forest floor.

“Dear Lord, are you all right?” Larena rushed to his side. “It’s nowhere near nightfall. You must be at death’s door if you want to stop now.”

“I’m fine. We just need to rest awhile.”

“But you’re white as a sheet,” Larena said with concern and a heated rush of dread. She may have been angry over what happened, but she didn’t want Darach to die. “Let me check your wound.”

Heaven help them both if it was festering.

She tugged at his shirt and pulled it out from under the belt at his kilt. Rolling it up, she found the bloody bandage, which was wrapped diagonally across his back, and gently lifted it. The wound was raw and had been sewn closed, but it did not appear to be blighted.

“My word, how did you ever survive such a shot? You should be dead, Darach—or at least in bed, not crossing half the Highlands on foot.”

“I didn’t see that we had much choice, lass. And the soft ground will serve just fine as a bed for this evening.”

She glanced up at the angry sky beyond the canopy of leaves overhead. “Normally I would agree with you, but it looks like rain. We need to find shelter for the night.” She lowered his shirt and patted him on the arm. “Stay here while I go and see what I can find for us.”

“Do not get lost,” he replied as she walked away. “And tread lightly. Keep your eyes and ears open for Redcoats.”

“I will say the same to you.” With that, she ventured out on her own.

o0o

When Larena returned a short time later, she found Darach asleep on the ground, lying on his side. Kneeling over him, she laid a hand on his shoulder. He startled awake, sat up with wild eyes, and grabbed her by the throat.

Searing adrenalin sparked in her blood as he glared at her with murderous eyes. Gasping for air, she slapped at his hand. Within seconds, he realized she was not his enemy and released her. Larena fell back onto her hands.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly said, sitting up and taking hold of her by the shoulders. “Are you all right? I was dreaming.”

“About what?”

“About Chatham coming after us. He had me in irons and was beating me to a pulp with a horsewhip while you watched.”

She shook her head at him. “It was just a dream.”

“I know that now, lass. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Larena rose to her feet. “I’m fine,” she said. “I found a place for us to set up camp for the night. We should go now, before the rain comes.”

Darach rose to his feet as well and followed her through a patch of trees and down a gradual slope to a wide, slow-moving river. “There’s a large weeping willow up ahead,” she said. “It’s not far. We can hide underneath it.”

A fat raindrop struck her nose, followed by a few more upon her cheeks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.