Marti Talbotts Highlander Series 1 - Anna Rachel u Charlet

know the reason why. She could sometimes smell them long before she could hear or feel their nearness.
    “Rachel.”
    She spun around, lost her balance and landed on her bottom at the base of the tree. Chagrinned, she flipped her long, dark curls behind her shoulders with both hands and looked up at the giant. She was caught. Rachel slowly closed her eyes and let the breath she’d been holding escape from her lips. Then she stood up, glared and folded her arms defiantly.
    “I will have a word with you.”
    “Of course , you will.” She sighed and followed Laird Kevin MacGreagor away from the loch to a big rock she sometimes hid behind. Then she sat down and waited for what she knew was coming.
    Kevin’s shoes had the long leather straps the men customarily laced up to their knees. She was grateful the women didn’t have to go to so much trouble to dress. They wore matching pleated plaids held in place by leather belts. The women spread one length over their hearts and one shoulder, just like the men, but their plaids hung down to their ankles and they didn’t have t o wear those cumbersome shoes.
    Rachel realized she wasn’t paying attention and finally looked up. Kevin had a pleasant face, blond hair, blue-gray eyes and he wasn’t frowning. He was, however, standing in front of her with his legs apart and his hands clasped behind his back. She rolled her eyes. “Well, get on with it.”
    “I have been meaning to thank you.”
    She was completely taken aback -- but not for long. She tilted her head to one side and looked at him suspiciously. Rachel was even more shocked when the giant sat down beside her on the r ock. “Thank me for what?”
    “When you first came to us, you were very little and you followed a cat around for hours, watching to see how the cat caught the mouse. When he succeeded, you were as happy and as proud as the cat. By the time you were five, you began to sneak up behind the men and pinch them right above the knee.”
    Rachel smiled. “I remember.”
    “The first time you did it, I feared Clymer would throttle you. You got him twice more and after that, he became aware of where you were at all times. Do you know what I did then?”
    “What?”
    “I let you keep doing it.”
    “Why?”
    “Because we were not as mindful as we should have been, and I had not found a way to sharpen our skills. You did that for us.”
    “But Kevin, you have been scolding me for years.”
    “Aye, but have I ever told you to stop?”
    Her eyes shifted from side to side. “I do not believe you have.”
    “I have not. Yesterday, two of our lads became aware that someone was watching them. They were able to avoid a possible attack because you taught them so well.”
    “An attack? From whom?” she asked.
    “I suspect the Clan Ferguson.”
    “Our neighbors to the east, but why? We have done them no harm.”
    “True. I was once friends with Laird Ferguson, but he has passed and his son is a greedy man. He wants our land.”
    “Did our lads search them out?”
    Kevin threaded his fingers through his wet hair. “Nay, they thought it wiser to see what would happen. It was the right decision and the Fergusons left without showing themselves.”
    “Will there be a war?”
    “I hope not. However, I want you to help the lasses sharpen their fighting skills just in case. The lads will begin to train more often as well. We must not be caught with our guard down.”
    “I will do it.”
    Kevin put an arm around her shoulder, kissed her forehead and then looked into her eyes. “You have been a precious gift sent to us from God. See that nothing happens to you.”
    “I will be very careful, Kevin.”
    He released her and finally frowned that frown she was used to seeing. “Your sister and mother do not think it proper for you to be this close when the lads bathe.”
    “Oh that, I wondered when you would get around to that. I do not watch, I swear it.”
    “Good. In the future , when the lads bathe , I expect to find you a good distance away.” He waited for her nod, stood up and walked away.
    Rachel sighed. “It seems I am not as clever as I thought.” It was near time for the evening meal and she was hungry , so she walked through the trees toward the large stone building the Highlanders called a keep. It was surrounded by a very high, three-foot wide stone wall that seemed to go on forever. Outside the wall was a moat with a drawbridge , which was lowered in the morning and raised at night.