Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

Marti Talbott’s
    Highlander Series
    Book 1
    (Anna, Rachel and Charlet)

    By Marti Talbott
    ~**~
    © All Rights Reserved

    ANNA

    CHAPTER I

    Laird Kevin MacGreagor couldn’ t seem to take his eyes off the woman in the glen below. A Highlander and a giant of a man with blond curls and blue-gray eyes, he stood beside his horse on a wooded hillside, with his legs apart and his hands clasped behind his back. A soft blue dominated the color of his kilt, a length of matching cloth over one shoulder covered half his white shirt, and his leather shoes were laced up to his knees.
    She was magnificent. Her long, black hair hung down to her waist and her soft golden skirt caught on the grass as she walked, released and then caught again. She wore a purple tunic with a woven leather belt and a medallion that hung low on one hip. On her shoulder, she carried a bow and a leather sheath filled with arrows.
    He heard it before he saw the huge black stallion breaking through the trees at a trot, but her back was turned and she didn’t seem to notice. The stallion was headed straight for her and Kevin had only just opened his mouth to shout a warning when the stallion slowed to a walk. Gently, the horse nudged her back. The woman grinned, but didn’t turn around and kept right on walking. Determined, the black followed and nudged her again. This time, she laughed and shook her head. Her laughter was wonderful and Kevin wanted to hear it again.
    He wasn’t at all prepared for what happened next. The stallion turned, raced around, got in front and headed straight for her. Kevin held his breath, but the horse didn’t slow and when she held out her hand, the stallion lowered his head as if t o charge her. Just as it shot past , the woman grabbed the horse’s mane and with ease and grace, swung up onto its bare back. Then she leaned down and hugged the horse’s neck until the stallion slowed to a trot and stopped.
    Kevin couldn’t hear what she was saying, but it was obvious she was urging the horse on. She lightly kicked his sides, but the horse didn’t move. Instead, it pawed the ground and shook its head. The woman roared with laughter and Kevin couldn’t help but laugh with her. He ’d never seen anything like it.
    As the horse began to move again, she carefully got to her knees and then to her feet. She balanced herself perfectly, held both of her arms straight out, and as the stallion brought her close to Kevin’s end of the glen, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin into the wind.
    She was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he believed nothing she did could astound him now. He was wrong. When the horse began to bring her near again, she reached for an arrow, loaded her bow , and before he could react, her arrow flew between his legs. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and glared at her.
    She shouted a word he didn’t understand, sat down , and in an instant, the horse and the woman sped into the trees on the opposite side of the meadow. He quickly mounted and followed, but after a full hour of searching, he had to admit he’d lost her. Disappointed, he turned his horse north and headed home.
    It was unwise, he knew, to go off alone the way he did. The capture and ransom of a laird put his entire clan at risk. Yet on this day, he commanded his guard to stay behind, and allow him the freedom he had not enjoyed since he suddenly became laird. Soon, his six-man guard surrounded him and he was not surprised. He might have been annoyed, but each man had taken a pledge to protect him and they were only honoring their word. Besides, he was consumed with thoughts of the woman, and he had neglected his responsibilities at home long enough. The ride through the dense forest that offered good hunting and ample timber, took less than a day , and when the path became a road wide enough for carts, he could finally see his village in the distance.
    On each side of the road, farmers working the land or tending livestock, paused to wave and watch their laird. He acknowledged each with a nod and a smile.
    The village was not unlike many others, save for one thing -- it was surrounded by a high wall and a moat that added extra layers of protection against enemies. Just outside the moat, a pleasant meadow offered a place for the warriors to practice their skills and for older children to play. A path leading in the opposite direction led to a warm-water loch fit for bathing.
    At last, Kevin and his