Just Wait For Me (Highland Gardens Book 3) Read Free

ridge.” He pointed off to the left.
    While she glanced that way, the man snatched the blanket and
dashed into the woods.
    Jillian ran after him. He was fast, weaving between the
trees. She chased him, darting this way and that, dodging brambles and tree
limbs. When a branch slapped the side of her face hard, she gave up, bent over,
placed hands on thighs, and gasped for breath.
    “Damned little man.”
    She marched back to where her pack still lay on the ground
and grabbed it. Jerking the straps over tense shoulders, she glanced at the
tree. Strange. There were no face-like images embedded within gnarly wood, just
a face-sized cavity marring the bark.
    Engrossed in the conundrum of the tree, a sound coming from
behind froze her in place.
    * * *
    September, 1513
    The Caves of the Gray Women in the wilds of Scotland
     
    There wasn't a spot on Stephen's black and blue body that
didn't hurt. The battle had been a bloodbath. Although his wounds weren’t too
serious, he ached everywhere.
    And his leg—’twould be awhile before it healed. Would he
ever be able to walk again without aid? That was the question, wasn’t it?
    He huffed out a breath of frustration and leaned back
against the rock wall of the cave. His memory burned with the haunting sight of
his dead monarch. Stephen had never expected events to unfold as they had. King
James IV of Scotland, dead on the battlefield beside so many of the kingdom's
finest warriors.
    After lying unconscious among the dead, Stephen had managed
to escape the chaos of the field with the help of Munn, the MacLachlan Clan brownie,
and found shelter in the caves of the Gray Women. Or so he was told. Stephen
didn't remember how they'd managed the feat, how he’d traveled such a great
distance with a damaged leg, but here he was, hidden away from those who'd wish
him ill.
    He’d learned quite a while ago not to be shocked by events
involving the fae.
    Stifling a groan, he shifted the injured leg trying to find
a comfortable position. He stiffened at the sound of footsteps approaching and
clutched a dirk at his side. ’Twas only Munn. Stephen dropped the blade and
slumped back against the wall.
    “What have you there, wee man?” He reached for what Munn had
procured. His fingers skimmed over an unusual shiny cloth. “What the devil?
Where did you get this bewitched plaide ?”
    Munn quickly looked away. An uncomfortable dread ran through
Stephen. The brownie scraped a foot in the dirt. Stephen's teeth chattered so
he wrapped the strange cloth around his upper body. Whether from witch or fae,
he was cold and needed any warmth the strange plaide could provide.
    “Tell me, Munn? Where did you get this?”
    “Forest.”
    “Who did you steal it from?”
    “Borrowed.” Blue-green eyes flashed. “There be a lass in the
wood. Dressed as a lad.”
    “What were you thinking? We dinnae want to be discovered.”
Stephen swallowed uneasily. How long had it been since the battle? Had English
soldiers infiltrated north? He had no way of kenning. “Is the wench English?
Are English soldiers nearby?”
    “Nae Sassenachs.” Munn curled his body away and looked over
his shoulder at Stephen with pursed lips. “Lass foreign. Like Lady Laurie.”
    Stephen inhaled sharply. Like Lady Laurie? Was it
possible? “You best fetch her here.”
    “’Twould be a mistake.”
    “Why?”
    The brownie shrugged and stared at his feet.
    “Do as I say. Bring her here. But be careful. We dinnae want
the wrong sort to find us.”
    With a deep grumble, Munn scurried out of the cave.
    Stephen scrubbed the stubble on his chin. Could another time
traveler have appeared at the Sithichean Sluaigh , the faerie mound near
Castle Lachlan? If so, how would she have gotten here? ’Twas quite a distance
from Strathlachlan.
    Hmmm . Would the lass be as intriguing as Lady Laurie?

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Unnerved by the snap of a twig, Jillian spun around only to
stop short and gawk. Four pairs of eyes stared at her from little