Devil of the Highlands Page 0,63
once that he was getting too old to be sitting up all night with ailing or birthing horses.
Much to Cullen's surprise, however, Loa didn't appear to be taking the new arrangement well at all. She'd been grim and stiff ever since he'd introduced Mac and explained his new position. Cullen would have expected the woman to be relieved to have someone remove the burden from her. Scatchy had been little help the last few years, and the task of managing the stables had fallen on her shoulders.
He glanced to the woman now to find her standing in the shadows of the stable doors, glaring out at them.
"Shell settle," Mac said.
Cullen turned back to see that Mac was watching her, too.
"She just needs a little handling," the stable master added mildly. When Cullen raised his eyebrows, he shrugged. "Women are like horses; keep them fed and watered, rub them down of a night, and whisper a sweet word or two in their ear, and they'll follow ye anywhere."
Cullen released a bark of laughter, but then tried to smother it as Scatchy came out of the stables. The old man walked toward them with a smile that turned into a perplexed expression as he glanced at something to his left.
"Is that not yer lady playing with Angus again, me laird?" the old man asked as he reached them.
Cullen glanced sharply toward the paddocks, his heart lodging itself in his throat when he saw Evelinde in her red gown, running willy-nilly around the field trying to outrun the bull, which was almost on top of her.
Cursing, he leapt onto his mount and spurred him into a dead run. Cullen knew he'd never make it even as he charged toward the enclosure. Evelinde didn't have a chance at outrunning the beast, he thought, but quickly realized he'd underestimated her. While she might not have been faster or stronger than the bull, she was definitely smarter. Just when Cullen thought she would be caught up in the bull's horns and tossed through the air, Evelinde suddenly dove to the side, throwing herself to the ground.
Unprepared for the action, Angus stamped past her a good distance before managing to bring himself to a halt and turn back. By that time, Evelinde had already rolled back to her feet and was again racing toward the nearest fence. Angus was immediately after her again, her red gown drawing him on.
Cullen leaned low over his mount's back and steered him straight at the fence. His horse was leaping the top rail when Evelinde next threw herself to the side to avoid being gored. Angus was more prepared this time, however, and managed to stop and turn much more quickly. But Evelinde had nearly reached the fence when she threw herself to the ground and rather than get up and race the last few steps and try to climb it as he feared—which would have seen her gored ere he could reach her—his clever wife simply rolled several times, rolling herself right under the fence to safety.
Angus came to a halt at once, furiously puffing air from his nostrils as he glared at the woman staring back at him from safety. Cullen's heart was just starting to slow with relief that she was safe when Angus suddenly swiveled his head to glare his way.
Realizing he was now the one in danger, Cullen immediately jerked his mount to the side, heading for the fence and safety as Angus started to charge him. Should the bull take out the horse before they got out of the paddock, Cullen knew they were both in trouble. He dug his heels into the animal's side, demanding more speed, but needn't have bothered.
The horse had no interest in being gored. His mount managed a speed Cullen had never seen from him before, seeming nearly to fly the short distance to the fence.
Even so, Cullen wasn't sure they would make it. The bull's huffing was loud in his ears, and he was sure the beast was about to impale his mount, when the animal suddenly made a leap for the fence. Cullen lowered himself to the beast's neck as they sailed through the air. In his fear, the animal had made the leap early and he suspected they barely cleared the fence, but barely was enough. They came down hard on the other side even as Angus crashed into it from inside with a fearsome force that made the fence shudder visibly. But the fence held, leaving