“When a man loves a woman he has no problem admitting it.”
“I will not discuss this here and now,” Cree said sternly. “Return what is mine and I will let you live.”
“And what if she doesn’t want to go with you?” Kirk asked.
Cree shot Kirk such a lethal look that Dawn half expected to see him fall off the horse dead.
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Cree said, as if it were a decree.
“But she does,” Kirk insisted. “I have provided her with one. I will openly accept her as my daughter and I will provide well for her. I know someone who would wed her. It would be a lucrative marriage for her.”
Cree appeared ready to lunge at the man. His dark eyes cut into him like sharp daggers as he said, “Listen well, McClusky, Dawn is mine and always will be mine. And I will let no one, and I mean no one—not even the King himself—take her away from me. So you would do well to release her, for I long to run a sword through you and my patience wears thin.”
Dawn felt Torr’s arm tighten around her waist, though it was for only a moment. He did not like that Cree threatened his father, which was understandable. And if something wasn’t done fast, she feared there would be much bloodshed.
She took matters in hand to settle the volatile situation and began gesturing over and over that she wanted to go with Cree. It wasn’t a permanent choice, for she still had the babe to consider but it was a choice to end this standoff without blood being spilled. And it wasn’t a lie, at this moment she wanted to be with Cree.
“Your daughter has spoken,” Cree said and brought his horse next to Torr’s.
Dawn pushed Torr’s arm off her and reached out to Cree. He leaned over, slipped his arm around her waist and in one powerful lift he scooped her away from Torr and sat her in front of him on his stallion.
She could have sworn she felt a sigh of relief low in his chest as she rested against him.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded and her hand gripped his arm, as if letting him know that she was relieved to finally be returned to him.
Cree turned to Kirk and Torr. “You are no longer welcome on my land.”
Dawn squeezed his arm. She certainly had not agreed with Kirk’s plan but it had made her realize that he had done it out of love. And besides Cree had to be made aware of what Kirk had told her.
Cree raised a questioning brow when he looked at her. And she pointed to Kirk, then to her and then repeatedly patted her lips.
Cree looked to Kirk. “You have told her things that I should hear?”
“I have and it would be beneficial for you to know as well.”
“Follow me back to the village,” Cree instructed.
“I do not think that is a good idea,” Kirk said. “When you hear what I have to say you will understand my concern. There is a cottage where we can stop and talk, if that is agreeable to you.”
Cree nodded and before he turned his horse away, he looked to both men. “Know this, if you dare try to take Dawn from me again, I will kill you on the spot.”
Dawn shivered as they rode off, for she knew he meant it.
He wrapped his cloak more tightly around her and hugged her close. She snuggled against him drinking in and relishing his familiar scent. She was surprised that he remained quiet. She thought that he might question her about what had happened but he said nothing, though his hand squeezed at her waist now and then as if making sure she was really there with him.
After riding only a short distance the lull of the horse’s steady gait felt much like the rhythm of a cradle and Cree’s warmth was like being wrapped in a soft wool blanket. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. But then she hadn’t gotten much sleep and before she realized it sleep claimed her.
Cree felt the moment Dawn dozed off, her body going limp against his. He was glad she slept. He had worried upon seeing her, thinking she looked tired and pale. He wanted to get her home, tuck her in bed and circle the cottage with guards, so that no one could get near her ever again.
He was still trying to contain his rage upon hearing that Kirk intended to arrange a marriage for her. He had felt like lunging off his horse at the man and strangling the life from him. It took all his willpower to remain in control and not succumb to the overwhelming desire to hurt the man who had caused him such anguish.
But Kirk had answers and he was grateful that Dawn had made him aware of that. He wanted to know everything, for somewhere in it all he intended to find a way to make Dawn his wife.
Chapter Twenty
“Lucerne isn’t Gerwan’s daughter?” Cree asked wanting to make certain he had heard Kirk correctly, for it could be the very thing he needed to negate the marriage agreement.
They no soon as entered the cottage when Kirk began to explain everything. Cree had listened intently as the tale unfolded and with it the knowledge that there might be way out of this dilemma. He had kept a firm arm around Dawn the whole time tucking her close against his side. And the more he had listened the more he had liked what he heard.
“That’s correct. Gerwan has no heirs,” Kirk confirmed.
“Whose daughter is Lucerne?”
Kirk shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Ann Gerwan would.”
Kirk glared at Cree. “I’ll not have Ann placed in harm’s way.”
“That is why you don’t want to return to the keep. You don’t want to be there when Gerwan arrives.”
Kirk nodded. “It could be a problem not only for Ann, seeing me after all these years, but also seeing the daughter she had given away. I’m assuming that she doesn’t know that Dawn is here.”
“Regardless, she is the one person who could shed the most light on the situation.”
“And in the process condemn herself,” Kirk said shaking his head. “There is no telling what that bastard of a husband would do to her if he found out that he has no legitimate heirs and that he could very well be stripped of his title and lands.”
“I’m not a fool, Kirk, this all can be handled quietly until we know exactly what we’re dealing with. Ann Gerwan may be more prone to confiding in you, if you approach her confidentially and ask for the truth. And don’t tell me that you don’t want to see her again. It’s obvious that you still love her.”
“He has a point, Da,” Torr said. “It might be wise to do as he suggests.”
“But don’t the villagers think I abducted her?” Kirk asked. “How do we explain that?”
“That’s easily explained,” Cree said. “You were worried for Dawn’s safety and decided to take her away from the village until my return. I met your courier on route to find Dawn and I was appreciative of you protecting her and we returned to the village together.”
“What of everyone in the village knowing that I claimed that Dawn is my daughter?”
“Long lost daughter,” Cree corrected, “which could work well for us. With so much attention called to her it just might be more difficult for those who wish her harm to get near her.”
“There is another problem that must be addressed,” Kirk said seriously. “As Dawn’s father I could not allow your liaison with her to blatantly continue.”
Dawn pressed closer to Cree and his arm tightened around her. She had listened to the exchange with interest, but once again she felt left out of it, as if these men alone would determine her fate. The thought did not sit well with her, nor did the thought that Cree and she would be kept apart.
“That’s not your choice,” Cree said.
“Yes it is my choice and you are fully aware of it,” Kirk said calmly. “What type of father would I be if I stood by and did nothing? You, yourself, would have no respect for me.”
“Dawn and I will not be parted,” Cree said vehemently.
Dawn had listened to enough. They discussed her fate right in front of her and yet never bothered to ask what she wanted. Colum had forced her on Cree to begin with and now the man claiming to
be her father insisted on taking her away from Cree. But no one ever gave her thought.
She stepped out of Cree’s arms and moved away from. He went to reach for her and she brushed his hand away. A deep scowl warned he wasn’t pleased with her action and she sent him a scowl back letting him know that she wasn’t pleased as well. His brow shot up as if he could not believe her reaction.
Dawn pointed to each one of them and then tapped her chest hard, then her ear and once again pointed at them letting them know that they better listen to her. The three men stared at her shocked or compliant it didn’t matter; she intended to have her say.
With tempered gestures so that they could understand her, she began, though it didn’t take long for those gestures to turn adamant and become obvious to all that she was angry. She let them know that she was tired of being dictated to and that she would be making her own decisions from this moment one. And if any of them didn’t like it, she didn’t care. She would do whatever she had to do to take care of herself. She had been doing so before they had come along and she would do so again.
Kirk was the first to speak when her hands turned silent. “I am proud that you are so courageous and have such an independent nature, but you are in danger and in need of protection.”
“Father’s right,” Torr joined in. “If someone wasn’t out to harm you I would agree with you and so would have Teressa. Her nature was much like yours. But you are in danger and must keep that in mind.”
Dawn felt a twinge of sorrow for never having gotten to know her sister. It would have been nice to have spent time with someone just like herself. They no doubt would have understood each other better than anyone could have.
“We cannot waste any more time here discussing this,” Cree said. “I want Dawn safely back home before Gerwan arrives. We can settle this there.”
Kirk and Torr agreed and before Dawn knew what was happening they mounted their horses and were on their way home.
Dawn knew Cree well and she could tell he was annoyed. While his scowl was not as deep, a slight scrunch between his brows had remained. And when she rested her hand on his arm that wrapped snugly around her waist, she felt the muscles there bunched tightly. She waited knowing any moment he would have something to say to her.
Sure enough, he leaned down and whispered, “Nice little speech, but it changes nothing. You are mine and will remain mine.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t like being his, after all she did love him, but annoyance stirred in her at being dismissed so easily. Didn’t he even give thought to what she had said? Did he not care what she wanted? Was his wants his only concern?
Agitated, she felt the need for a bit of distance from him and moved away from where she leaned against his chest and without realizing it removed her hand off his arm.
Cree yanked her back against him and rested his face next to hers as he whispered, “Do not pull away from me. I do what I do to keep you safe. If you are angry with me for that then so be it, but that will not change... not now, not ever.”
How could she stay made at him for wanting to keep her safe? His actions continued to prove how much he cared for her, though she wished he would pay more heed to her wants. Perhaps she hadn’t made herself heard enough.
She tapped his chest and turned to look at him.
“Don’t bother to argue with me; you won’t win.”
His words angered her. It sounded as if he delivered a final edict. She cocked a brow and jabbed him in the chest.
“Not here, not now,” he said with a snarl.
She gestured adamantly jabbing the space between them and shrugging wanting to know if not here and now, when?
“Later when we are alone, though there is little that you can say that will make a difference.”
Perhaps he was right. His word was law, though that didn’t mean she could not have her say, make herself heard and at least feel that she finally spoke up for herself. Not that it mattered all that much since little she said would probably be considered, but she strongly felt the need to do so. She might not have a voice but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make herself heard.
They arrived home late in the evening. Cree took her to her cottage and told her that he would return later. She did not argue with him and she did not care that the men might talk without her. In the end she would have her say.
She did not gesture a word to Cree, she simply turned and walked away from him and entered her cottage without looking back. She collapsed back against the door as soon as she closed it. She was exhausted. She had had little sleep and little food since this ordeal had begun. And there was no doubt that the dilemma would grow more difficult.
All she wanted to do was drop down on her bed and sleep and forgot all her problems for a while. She had barely moved away from the door and dropped her cloak on a chair when there was a knock. It couldn’t have been Cree returning so quickly, since he never announced his entrance.
Dawn opened the door reluctantly not wanting to bother with anyone at the moment.
Old Mary stood there. “Lila needs you; baby Thomas is sick.”
Dawn didn’t bother to grab her cloak. She was out of the cottage in a flash only to be stopped by a guard she was not familiar with.
“Cree has left strict orders that you are not to go anywhere.”
Old Mary explained the situation, but still the guard refused to let her pass.
“I have orders,” he said. “Back in your cottage, you go.”
That was it. Dawn could not take another minute of being told what to do and her anger finally exploded, not at all as she would expect. She made a fist and swung at the guard with all her strength and sent him stumbling to fall into a snow drift. It gave her enough time to run.
It was late and no one was about. Her booted feet flew across the snow-covered path. She feared for Lila and baby Thomas. Too often she had seen babes die before they reached their first year and she prayed that wouldn’t be the babe’s fate.
She was a few feet from Lila’s cottage when she suddenly and violently got hit from the side. The initial shock stunned her and tumbled her to the ground, but when she saw the dirk poised in the air ready to strike, all she could think about was protecting the babe inside her. Her mounting anger turned to pure rage and she fought like only a mother could to protect her child.
Her reaction caught her attacker off guard and she grabbed for the man’s wrist to keep the dirk at bay. They struggled and Dawn soon realized that his strength far surpassed hers and she wasn’t sure how long she could keep him from doing her harm. And with it being the evening hour there was no one about so she only had herself to rely on. With that thought, she turned into a wildcat, bucking and kicking as she fought to stop him from jabbing her with the dirk. She managed to dislodge him and scrambled to her feet and ran when she suddenly felt a jab to her side. Her hand pressed against the pain and she felt sticky warmth and knew she had been wounded.
She knew another blow could prove fatal and so she turned and stepped to the side abruptly. The culprit startled and stopped much too suddenly and trying to stop himself from falling proved unwise. He twisted in an attempt to save himself and fell on his own dirk, though scrambled to his feet and ran off faster than she thought his wound allowed.
The pain in her side was minor but when she looked down she was shocked to see blood covering her hand, her blouse and the upper portion of her skirt was also soaked with it. Her first thought was of the babe. She could not lose Cree’s child; their babe. She couldn’t.
The savage roar seemed to tremble the ground at her feet and when she looked up, she saw Cree running toward her. He appeared almost a wild beast on the rampage and for a moment she thought to step back away from him.
Then her mind cleared and she silently cried with relief. He would help her and their child. He would save their babe; he had to. She stretched her bloody hand out to him and took only a couple of steps when her legs turned too weak to hold her up. She went down, brac
ing for the hit to the hard ground, but it never came. Cree caught her, his arms going around her, holding her firm as he easily scooped her up in his arms and held her close.
He didn’t say a word to her. He rushed to her cottage; his shouts filling the cold air. People ran at his commands as he went. She heard him shout for Elsa and for his warriors to find the bastard who did this to her.
She felt his anger reverberate in his chest with ever command he bellowed and oddly enough it felt soothing. She was in his arms and safe and that was what mattered. She thought she heard Sloan’s anxious voice and Elwin’s as well. And was that Lila she heard? It couldn’t be, Thomas was ill and she would be with him. And that thought had her wondering how Thomas was doing. He was so small and vulnerable. Surely, Elsa had helped him as she would the babe that grew inside Dawn.
Dawn heard Cree kick her cottage door open and she hoped he hadn’t broken it. She was beginning to favor the cottage. After all it was where their babe was conceived.
The babe.
She had to tell Cree about their babe.
She was gently deposited on her bed and her only thought was to tell Cree that he would be a father come summer. Though the worried look in his eyes when he glanced at her wound made her think that perhaps it was too late to save her and the babe.
Dawn shook her head. She couldn’t die; she’d fight for herself and her child. Besides Cree would never let her go. She belonged to him; he’d never permit it. She stretched her hand out to him, needing to let him know.
Cree grabbed hold of it. “Elsa will be here any moment and all will—”
She shook her head and pressed his hand to her stomach while she raised her other hand and pointed to herself and then to him and then pressed his hand against her stomach.
Cree already wore a scowl and it deepened, and she worried that he didn’t understand her, and then his eyes turned wide, as if it had finally dawned on him.
“You carry our babe?”
She nodded and fought to stay conscious, but the darkness was closing in fast around her. She heard him shout her name but it was as if she was falling down a deep dark tunnel, further and further away from his pleas for her to stay with him, until darkness completely engulfed her.
Forbidden Highlander (Highlander Trilogy 2) Page 17
