Loki shook his head, then glanced at Roddy who also shook his head. “Not that I saw. Mayhap a boar?”
“Too loud for a boar.” Braden hurried over to the guards’ tower in the corner, climbing the stairs two at a time to look over the curtain wall to see what was causing the commotion. He glanced over the front of the wall toward the entrance, shocked at what he saw.
Loki shouted, “What the hell is it? ‘Tis not stopping at all.”
Roddy climbed the stairs to look over the wall with his cousin. He yelled back at Loki, “Shite, you wouldn’t believe it if we told you.”
“What is it?”
Roddy said, “A horse kicking the gate with its hind legs.”
Braden said, “Nay, not a horse. ‘Tis a pony.”
Loki chuckled. “Open the gate. I can handle a wee Highland pony. I wish to see what the hell the beast could want.”
Braden lifted the portcullis then raced back down the stairs and joined Cairstine to watch the pony together. Once the gates were lifted, the pony turned around and strolled through the gates as if he belonged inside.
Roddy’s eyes widened. “I’ve never seen aught like it. What do you suppose he wants?”
They stood back to see where the pony would go. He marched between the three of them, paused long enough to shake his head and lift it with a nicker, then moved past them.
Loki drawled, “I think he just thanked us, Braden.”
Braden couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d never seen an animal like it. The pony headed straight for the keep. “Loki, grab the reins and stop him. He’s headed for the keep with all the bairns.”
Loki went after him, but the animal turned around, bared its teeth at him, then lifted its hind legs as a warning. Then he snorted, turned around, and continued his trek toward the keep.
“What could he want?” Cairstine asked, keeping a safe distance from the wee beast.
Roddy looked at Loki who shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what he wants.”
Braden said, “Let him go. We’ll see what he’s after. He can’t break the door down. We don’t have a barrel full of apples there. What could he possibly be looking for?”
The pony lifted his head, nodded twice, and crossed the courtyard, click-clacking across the stones with purpose and pride.
The door flew open and Steenie charged out the door, raced across the courtyard, threw himself at the pony and cried, “Paddy!”
Braden stood there aghast, his hands on his hips. “Steenie? You know this pony?”
“Aye, ‘tis my special pet, Paddy the Pony. He found me in the middle of the night when I was lost. He brought me to Grant land. Do you not remember? Do you not love him, Mama?”
The pony leaned his head down to nuzzle Steenie who broke into a fit of giggles and threw his arms around the beast’s neck. “I love you, too, Paddy.”
Loki said, “I thought he looked familiar. I should have recognized him. He has a mind of his own, that one.”
His sire had followed Steenie out the door. Brodie Grant looked at his son and said, “Don’t question it, Braden. Take my advice and accept it as part of the unknown that you just have to trust.” Then he pointed to his other son, Loki, and said, “I did the same thing with him many years ago.”
Loki got a huge grin on his face. “The Highlands are indeed a magical place. ‘Tis the mountains.”
“So can we keep Paddy, Grandpapa?”
His sire glanced at him, quirking his brow, clearly passing the question over to him.
The animal took its time and looked at each man individually. Cairstine moved over to pet his neck, gingerly at first, but the animal allowed it. “Steenie, he’s a beautiful animal. Where did you find him?”
“I got lost one night and he found me. I told you. He brought me to Uncle Loki and Kenzie, and they brought me to Clan Grant. Can I keep him? Please?”
Roddy leaned toward Loki and whispered, “I’m not telling him nay.”
“Not me,” Loki said. “I love ponies.”
Braden couldn’t help but feel there was something quite special about Paddy the Pony. He’d been a friend to a wee lad when he’d needed it most. He glanced at his sire who stood there watching him with a grin on his face.
“Braden,” Cairstine said. “This is what we’ve been missing.” She reached out to run her fingers through the animal’s light-colored mane.
“Thank you, my wee friend,” she whispered as she rubbed her hand down his fur. “Paddy’s a bit of Highland magic, all by himself.” She spun around to look at her husband. “He’s just what we need. A pet for Steenie.”
Braden moved closer and reached to pat Paddy’s head, but the small horse snorted and shook his head before glaring at him. He took a step back and said, “Steenie, I don’t see why not. We have plenty of room in the stables for your new pet.”
“Yay!” shouted Steenie as the two headed toward the stables.
His sire, Loki, and Roddy all chuckled before they headed toward the keep.
Braden wrapped his arm around Cairstine and she leaned her head on his shoulder, her gaze following her son and his new pet.
“Paddy and Steenie are perfect for each other.”
Braden looked into her eyes that were as green as the sprawling hills of the Highlands and saw his future in them. “Just as we are,” he said.
THE END
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading Highland Retribution! I hope you enjoyed reading about Braden, Cairstine, Steenie, and Paddy the Pony. You never know when a wee bit of magic will show up in my novels.
I have several more novels planned for The Band of Cousins, but I’m going to take a break to work on the novel in the trilogy I’m writing in a collaboration with Cecelia Mecca and Emma Prince. I’m so excited about this novel because it’s a time-travel story, something new for me, but I promise there will still be some strapping Highlanders for you to enjoy.
The next novel in this series will be Roddy’s story.
Happy reading, and I so appreciate you following me on this journey.
As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Sign up for my newsletter on my website at www.keiramontclair.com. I send newsletters out with each new release.
Another way to receive notices about my new releases is to follow me on BookBub. Click on the tab in the upper right-hand side of my profile page. You can also write a review on BookBub.
Keira Montclair
www.keiramontclair.com
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NOVELS BY KEIRA MONTCLAIR
THE BAND OF COUSINS
HIGHLAND VENGEANCE
HIGHLAND ABDUCTION
HIGHLAND RETRIBUTION
THE CLAN GRANT SERIES
#1- RESCUED BY A HIGHLANDER-Alex and Maddie
#2- HEALING A HIGHLANDER’S HEART-Brenna and Quade
#3- LOVE LETTERS FROM LARGS-Brodie and Celestina
#4-JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS-Robbie and Caralyn
#5-HIGHLAND SPARKS-Logan and Gwyneth
#6-MY DESPERATE HIGHLANDER-Micheil and Diana
#7-THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE HIGHLANDS-Jennie and Aedan
#8- HIGHLAND HARMONY-Avelina and Drew
THE HIGHLAND CLAN
LOKI-Book One
TORRIAN-Book Two
LILY-Book Three
JAKE-Book Four
ASHLYN-Book Five
MOLLY-Book Six
JAMIE AND GRACIE- Book Seven
SORCHA-Book Eight
KYLA-Book Nine
BETHIA-Book Ten
LOKI’S CHRISTMAS STORY-Book Eleven
THE SOULMATE CHRONICLES
#1 TRUSTING A HIGHLANDER
THE SUMMERHILL SERIES- CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
#1-ONE SUMMERHILL DAY
#2-A FRESH START FOR TWO
#3-THREE REASONS TO LOVE
REGENCY
THE DUKE AND THE DRESSMAKER
ABOU
T THE AUTHOR
Keira Montclair is the pen name of an author who lives in Florida with her husband. She loves to write fast-paced, emotional romance, especially with children as secondary characters in her stories.
She has worked as a registered nurse in pediatrics and recovery room nursing. Teaching is another of her loves, and she has taught both high school mathematics and practical nursing.
Now she loves to spend her time writing, but there isn’t enough time to write everything she wants! Her Highlander Clan Grant series, comprising of eight standalone novels, is a reader favorite. Her third series, The Highland Clan, set twenty years after the Clan Grant series, focuses on the Grant/Ramsay descendants. She also has a contemporary series set in The Finger Lakes of Western New York and a paranormal historical series, The Soulmate Chronicles.
Her latest series, The Band of Cousins, stems from The Highland Clan but is a stand-alone series.
Contact her through her website, www.keiramontclair.com.
Copyright © 2018 Keira Montclair
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
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