Excerpt copyright @ 2019 Kara Griffin
Grey
simmered with anger. The lass could try the patience of a saint, and yet, he
knew from experience James was no saint. Still, he didn’t deserve her reckless
spirit. After he returned Emlyn to the cottage, and bid her to stay there, he
sent a missive to Donal. On the morrow, he’d remove the lass from his land. His
steps hastened, and he entered the garrison. That was the only place he could
think of to find James. Near the back of the barracks where James and Sean made
somewhat of a home for themselves when they’d been his guard, he found him on
his cot.
He
stood in shock. “James…are you going mad?” Grey took in the sight, and his
heart rent and went out to his friend. Not only that, but his chest tightened
at seeing James distraught. “You look like cosh.”
He
chuckled. “Aye? Well, Laird, I feel like cosh. And, nay, I’m not going mad. I
am as sane as I’ve ever been. What brings you by?”
Grey
pulled a wooden chair nearby and set it next to his cot. James sat around
hundreds, if not thousands, of arrows carved to perfection. He frowned at the
sight, for his guardsman had been busy. “What are these for? Are you going to
wage war?”
James
glanced up from his carving. “Nay, I was bored and had nothing to do. Take them
and give them to the younger lads to practice with.”
“Nay,
I cannot. What is this?” Grey picked up a stack of parchments tied together to
make a tome. He thumbed through the pages and frowned at the images.
“Ah,
my sketches.” He glanced back at his whittling.
“Christ
Almighty, James, they’re horrible. Why’d you draw them?”
“They’re
wounds I’ve seen or tended. I don’t know, Grey, they’re descriptions I wanted
to remember. What do you want?”
“I
spoke with Emlyn.”
James
glanced at him before he returned his attention to the piece of wood he held.
“Aye, she’s still here? I would’ve thought she’d left and was halfway back to
Wales by now.”
Grey
sat astride the chair and leaned against the back. “Do I have to explain women
to you, James? I deem you might need aid.”
“Nay,
don’t bother, Laird.”
“Will
you cease doing that and look at me?”
James
set the wood aside and ran his hands over his face. “What is it you want?”
“She
insists I take her home, and I wanted to ensure it’s what you wanted. But I see
from your reaction… Never mind. She’ll be gone in the morn if you care to do
anything about it.”
“That
will suit me well, for the sooner she’s gone the sooner I can forget her. I’m
finished with her.” James retook the wood and set to whittle.
“Are
you certain? I haven’t seen a man this torn since Kenneth…”
James
nodded and shrugged his shoulder. He shuffled to the edge of the cot and leaned
on his knees. His face riddled with confusion and anger, and Grey never saw his
friend so full of woe.
“She’s
slain me. All I wanted was her, and I can’t have her. Aye, she wants to support
her father’s war. You should honor her request. We should’ve never aided her to
begin with. It was a wasted effort on our part.”
Grey
flinched at the anguish and hurt in his friend’s eyes. “You love her.”
James
scoffed. “Cosh, mayhap I did. But what have I to offer her now? I can no longer
be a guardsman for I can’t even walk ten feet without excruciating pain. Hell,
I can’t even be a bloody farmer as my da willed. I’m nothing, and even if she
wanted me, I wouldn’t put her in a position. As much as I love her, I won’t be
selfish. I need to let her go. It’s over and there’s no sense to lament over it.”
“What
a load of cosh. I’ve never heard you speak as passionately about a―”
James
didn’t let him finish. “It’s the truth, Grey. Now, leave me be.”
“Do
you plan to sit here for the rest of your days and whittle arrows, draw
gruesome images, and hide from everyone? You have a life, James, and can, and will
be a guardsman again.”
James
shuffled back to his position and glared. “I cannot. Look at me, Grey, I might
as well be a recluse. For God’s sake, I can’t stand for more than five minutes.
I won’t endanger you or your family.”
“I
vow your father was right. You are the most stubborn Gunn in our clan.”Don't miss In Love With A Warrior
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