table, Ciaran grabbed him by the waist and set him on the bench. His lips were at eye level, and Ciaran’s gaze was captured by those lips and the memory of their sweetness. He barely noticed Ian storming past Louisa to the kitchen.
Past Red’s shoulder, Fiona stomped down the table again, chanting, “Out with ye, ye blasted bogle.”
Red’s lips twitched, and he rested his hands on Ciaran’s shoulders. “She really is terrified of the ghost, you know.”
She obviously wasn’t the only one. “There is nae ghost, Red.”
Red’s eyebrows rose; he looked skeptical. “If you say so.”
“I do.” He leaned closer and whispered, “And if there is, it’s seen about all of ye it can see.”
Red turned as red as his hair. “Perhaps we should show it more tonight?” he whispered back.
Louisa cleared her throat.
Red glanced over at her and frowned, or perhaps that was a glare? Ciaran wasn’t sure which.
He grinned, remembering Angus’s assessment of the relationship. “Have ye given any more thought tae staying?” Damn, but Ciaran hadn’t meant to blurt that out. He’d intended to give Red more time, but standing here with him like this…. He didn’t want to give this up. This chaos that surrounded Red. Och, but he was as daft as Red, Fiona, and Ian. With the three of them in his life, he’d never have a moment’s peace again.
“I have.”
“And?”
Red grinned, then started nodding. “Yes. I’ll stay.”
“Ye will?”
Again he nodded. “I decided this mor—”
Clap!
Fiona screamed.
Red jumped.
Before Ciaran could even make sense of what had happened, Red had hopped down from the bench and was already on his way out the door. Much as he had last night.
Fiona followed, still screeching and trailing smoke behind her.
They both clambered through the kitchen door at the same time, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Ciaran spotted the bench on the other side of the table where Fiona had stood, tipped on its side. She must have made it fall with all her, er… purifying so heavily down the table. Turning, Ciaran met Louisa’s gaze. They stood there for a heartbeat, then burst out laughing. Seconds later, Red ran back through the door and right to Ciaran. He grabbed Ciaran’s hand and nearly jerked him off his feet. “Come on, before the blasted thing gets you!”
Still laughing and shaking his head, Ciaran followed.
As Red grabbed Louisa on their way out the door, Ciaran realized two things. One, even scared, Red had thought of him. And two… Red was staying! Och, but Ciaran was well on his way to falling in love with the wee bampot.
§ § § §
“Okay, let me get this straight. We’re going to steal some other clan’s cattle?” Bannon just couldn’t wrap his head around it. The moral compass in this land was… off. Murder, theft… what was next?
Timothy all but snorted in his head. You probably shouldn’t ask.
“’Tis our cattle. The MacLeans—” Ram and Angus spat at the mention of the MacLeans. “—stole them from us,” Ram said, riding up beside him. He’d seemed especially energized since they rode out of Lochwood Castle gates three hours ago. At least Bannon thought it was that long. Hard to tell with the moon behind the clouds. If he were on Regelence, he’d have used the moon to judge the time like his sire had taught him, but Skye seemed to have a perpetual cloud cover. Still… the weather was rather nice tonight.
“We dinna ken that fer sure,” Ciaran explained.
Bannon shrugged. He didn’t care for the MacLeans one bit, but…. “Don’t you have laws on Skye?”
“Ye are looking at this all wrong.” Ciaran grinned at him. “Even if the MacLeans—”
“Wait!” Bannon held up a hand and glared at the group of riders around him. “If any of you spit, I’m going to kick you. That is a disgusting habit.”
Laughing, Ciaran shook his head. “I’m nae gonna spit, though it’s true I dinna like the MacLeans.”
Ram and Angus must have gotten the message, because neither of them spit.
Ciaran shrugged. “Think of it as a tax. Even if they dinna steal our cattle, they stole someone’s cattle. It’s the circle of life.”
The circle of…? “I don’t think you are using that saying correctly.”
Ciaran ignored him, but the gleam in his eye, or rather the one Bannon imagined due to the tilt of his head, said he’d heard Bannon loud and clear and was amused. “Reaving is a rite of passage.”
“Again, not sure you are using that saying correctly. Rites of passage are things that fathers hand down to sons,