Page 36 of Desiring the Highland Laird
“A horseless carriage driven by a man who had too much ale murdered my parents with his vehicle. Do you understand?”
He remained silent. Perhaps he didn’t understand.
When she said this, she sucked in a breath and released the pent-up emotion she was holding in.
She hadn’t thought of the accident that took away her parents’ lives in years. Years since she allowed herself to remember what had happened. The raw emotion that took over her and Chloe as they wondered what to do next. Calling Brianna and telling her the news. The silence on the other end of the phone as their sister processed what it meant for her. For all of them.
It changed all their lives forever.
And now here she was in a time that she didn’t understand with a man who wouldn’t listen to her. A man who was sending her away to a clan she had never met, giving her away to them as if she were nothing more than a piece of discarded clothing.
Brianna had never listened to her or Chloe either. She was merely doing her duty as their legal guardian to make sure they made it to the age of eighteen. She couldn’t wait to get back to the Caribbean where she resumed her beach bum lifestyle, leaving her and Chloe to figure things out on their own. Evie had taken charge of most everything, allowing Chloe to focus on college.
“You still don’t believe me,” she said when she finally got her emotions in check.
“I—”
“It’s fine,” she snapped, cutting him off. The anger replaced her frustration as it burned through her. “Do as you will.”
Chapter Thirteen
They rode onin silence. If Evie didn’t feel like she was about to take a tumble off the horse, she would have refused to hold on to Callum. As it was, she needed to keep her arms around his waist for security purposes. And warmth. She didn’t want to freeze to death.
Her lips were pressed together in a thin line as the fury burned through her. As midday passed, they trotted up a path, approaching a castle that stood like a sentry on the cliff. In the distance, the azure sea. The castle was a strong structure made of weathered stone. The square building was three stories high with rectangular windows and two chimneys rising up on either side. Lazy, gray smoke curled upward from both of them.
The wind continued to whip through her, despite the wool cloak she wore around her shoulders. Her legs were cold. Her face was cold. Everything was cold.
Except her anger. It was scorching hot deep in the pit of her psyche.
She didn’t know what was going to happen to her now when Callum turned her over to the people he assumed were her clan. She had given up trying to explain to him. He didn’t want to listen.
If he wanted to continue to deny the truth about her, so be it. There was nothing she could do about it.
As they approached the gatehouse, her heart thundered in her chest at the idea of being left here. Not that she had anyallegiance to Callum. He was nothing but a cad and a lout for dumping her off on someone else. She would never forgive him.
He pulled the horse to a halt.
“What’s yer business here?” the guard asked, peering up at him with a squint. The sun was in his face.
“I’m Callum MacLeod. I’ve come to see Laird Sinclair.”
“For what purpose?” he demanded.
He nodded to her with a jerk of his head. “The lass here is a Sinclair.”
The guard leaned over to get a good look at her. She stared down at him with all the animosity she could muster. He flashed a grin when he looked at her.
“Aye, well, then. Come with me. I’ll fetch Angus.”
Callum dismounted, then turned to her holding up his arms. She had no choice but to swing her leg over and fall into his arms. She hated him even more than she did hours ago as he caught her, his strong hands on her waist. He held her there a long moment as the guard took the reins of the horse and led it inside the bailey.
“Why?” she said. It was the only word she could manage.
“’Tis the right thing to do,” he said, still so sure of himself.
He dropped his hands from her waist, then clasped her by the elbow and led her inside. The guard handed over his mount to what she assumed was a stable boy. They followed him into the great hall of the keep.
“Wait here,” he said.
