Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
She walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. “I understand. Your mother wanted this for you.”
“Her legacy to me. How could I deny it?”
“Why didn’t you bring me here sooner?”
He stepped away from her. “I couldn’t. Not right away. Not until—”
“You believed I loved you.”
He nodded and walked over to her, taking her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing them gently. “This place was where I felt closest to my mother. To me it is a place of love and I wanted to share it with the woman who loves me.”
He kissed her then, a soft whispery kiss, and they drifted closer together, his arms circling her waist, her arms going around him, closing tight, protecting, sheltering, just like the willow branches that surrounded them.
“Much could have been avoided if you had been honest with me from the start,” Aliss said.
He stepped away from her and spread his arms. “An angry young boy planned his revenge here. It smoldered in his heart for years and nothing was going to stop him. Love threw him a curve and he didn’t know what to do. He was foolish and made a mistake, which he now regrets and probably will for the rest of his life.” He held his hand out to her. “But he doesn’t regret falling in love with the most beautiful, understanding woman in the world.”
Aliss smiled and took his hand. “There you go, wooing again.”
“I’m glad it works.” He tugged her into his arms. “Forgive me for being a fool and not telling you the truth from the start.”
“You have told me everything now?”
He rested his cheek to hers. He had abandoned the last of his plan. There was no need for anyone to know of it. It would do no good and serve no purpose. It would bring only pain and he had lived with the pain far too long. He wanted his past buried now, and his future to begin with Aliss.
“Everything,” he whispered in her ear.
They lingered, sharing stories of their youth, until they both grew hungry and hurried back to the village.
There was excitement in the air; everyone was running in the same direction.
Rogan spied Derek, Tara beside him and Daniel straddling his shoulders. He and Aliss caught up with the couple.
“What goes on here?” Rogan asked.
Derek laughed. “A fight over a woman.”
Rogan shook his head. The worst kind, since pride would allow neither man to surrender until one was left near lifeless.
“You must stop this,” Aliss insisted.
“It is between the men,” Derek said.
“What of the woman?” Aliss asked. “Does she have a say in it?”
“No,” Derek said. “When a man wants to fight, he’ll fight.”
Aliss looked to her husband. “Stop this senselessness or I will.” She marched off ahead of them.
Derek grinned. “I think I’d rather break up the fight than face my wife if I didn’t.”
“A wise choice,” Tara agreed.
“Thanks for the advice,” Rogan said, and marched forward. He would settle this to please his wife, and besides, he didn’t want her spending the rest of the day tending to avoidable wounds.
“Stop!” Rogan commanded, once on the scene. His voice reverberated across the field where the men fought, both bloody and bruised from a battle that looked to have gone on far too long.
The men were far too engrossed in beating the hell out of each other to hear their chieftain’s shout. The clan members surrounding them heard and parted when Rogan marched toward the circle.
Rogan shouted twice more to no avail. He’d had enough. He ran forward with a fierce growl, grabbed one man by the back of the shirt and tossed him aside to tumble in the dirt. He then reached for the other fool and gave him a good toss, sending him sprawling to the ground. He stood with hands on hips, his feet spread apart and his handsome face contorted by fury.
“This fight is over.”
Peter, tall and lanky, spat blood from his bleeding mouth before standing. “He stole my woman.”
“She’s my woman,” Robert said, his one eye nearly shut closed by bruising as he rose on shaky legs.
“She is not,” Peter shouted, and lunged for Robert.
Rogan’s hand shot out and caught the young man in the chest. He stumbled but remained on his feet. “I’ll not see another fist thrown or there’ll be hell to pay.”
“I have a right to fight for the woman I love,” Peter asserted, blood covering his chin.
“She doesn’t love you,” Robert spat, shaking a raised fist.
Rogan shot a warning glance at Robert and the man quickly lowered his clenched hand.
“A fight will settle it,” Peter claimed bravely.
The crowd agreed with a cheer.
While Rogan didn’t agree with their method of settling this dispute, he could not fault it either. Any man worth his honor would fight for the woman he loved, and most in the village would agree, except his wife. And he was much more concerned about pleasing her right now.