Highlander's Captive Read Free

some of his men begin work on the place, so a few of the buildings had seen some repair and would provide sufficient shelter for the night.
    Warmth greeted Cree when he entered the cottage and he went straight to the fireplace and held his cold hands out to the heat of the roaring flames. He gave a glance around as his hands warmed. Food and drink waited on the small table he had stepped around to get to the fireplace, while a make-shift pallet lay to the side. Sloan had seen well to his duties and was now seeing to the warriors, though when it had come to battles, Cree had been right there to help with the aftermath of death and destruction.
    The image of Dawn suddenly filled his thoughts and chased the horrific memories away. He found himself smiling, something he had been doing more of since Dawn had entered his life. He truly hoped this mission would not take long. He wanted to find his sister, return home to Dawn, and wed her so that she would be officially his. Then he would find a good husband for his sister.
    Wintra.
    She had been so angry when he had left her at the abbey ten years ago. But what choice had he had? After their mother had died, he had known all too well that he would not be staying to work the land. He wanted more than a small parcel of land that he worked for someone else. Someone who cared naught for him and his sister and would put them out at a moment’s notice without thought to their welfare.
    It hadn’t been an easy decision to take Wintra to the abbey, but it had been a wise one. He wanted her safe until he could provide a permanent home for her. It had taken longer than he had hoped and with the passing years Wintra had grown angrier with him. He wondered what she would do if she ever discovered the secret he and their mother had kept from her. That she was a child conceived of rape and that he was her half-brother. That day his mother had returned from the field, battered and bruised remained forever vivid in his mind. She had refused to tell Cree what had happened, and being just ten years, there hadn’t been much he could do about it. When she had begun to grow round with child, it had only proven what Cree had feared—that someone had raped his mother. But his mother would never speak about it. The only thing she would say to him was that it would be better if Wintra believed that she and Cree had the same father and so the lie began. As far as his sister would ever know, they shared the same father and he had died just before she had been born.
    He shook the disturbing thoughts away and shrugged out of his fur-lined cloak, tossing it over the only chair in the cottage. He was about to fill his tankard with ale from the pitcher on the table when raised voices outside his door caught his attention. His hand went to his sword that he had placed against the chair just as the door flew open.
    Cree stared for a moment at the figure in the open doorway. He was large, his hooded cloak covered with snow as was the bundle he cradled in his arm. He shook his head free of his hood and Cree was surprised and a bit annoyed to see Torr McClusky, Dawn’s half-brother. He had told the warrior that he hadn’t required his help and still the man had followed him.
    Sloan suddenly hurried in behind Torr. “What are you waiting for? We need to get her warm.”
    Cree felt his stomach clench, and he shoved the table out of his way to get to Torr and take the bundle from him, realizing it was Dawn.
    “Good God, she’s ice cold,” Cree said, taking Dawn from Torr and with two, long strides was in front of the fireplace. He sat on the chair Sloan had hurriedly placed there and pushed the plaid away from her face that had at least sheltered her from the snow, though not the bone-chilling cold.
    Torr appeared beside him, holding his hands out to the flames, the snow on his cloak rapidly melting and puddling at his feet.
    “Where? How?” Cree asked, placing his warm hand against her pale cheek, her lips