April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 01 Read Online Free

going to reach out and kiss her. She had never kissed a man before and the idea was both intimidating and intriguing.
    Interrupting her verbal banter to herself, she heard commotion from out her window, momentarily preoccupying her thoughts. She walked over to the window and watched Rory and his men while they trained in the courtyard. The way he wielded his sword was quite impressive. With only his kilt on, his upper body glistened in the sun as sweat rolled down his back and chest.
    She observed him and his men for a few more minutes after realizing that she seemed cowardly by hiding in her room. Going out riding was the only thing that was going to clear her head. She grabbed her bow and headed out to the stables.
    On her way down the hall, she passed Myra cleaning up one of the guest rooms.
    "Good day, my lady. I trust that ye slept well last night," Myra said.
    "Aye. Did ye enjoy yer evening with Laird MacKinnon?" Annella asked with an accusing tone.
    "My lady, I dinna ken what ye mean. I offered my company but he dismissed me. Normally men invite me into their bedchamber but when he dinna, I left."
    "Ye mean, ye dinna sleep with him?"
    "Nay, my lady," Myra replied looking a little confused because Annella had never shown an interest in who she had bedded down with before.
    That lying boar . "Thank ye, Myra."
    Annella continued her way down the stairs, her head loaded with questions. Why would he lie? Did he purposely try to anger her? And why does it matter if he had slept with Myra or not? Feeling overwhelmed, she quickened her pace to the stables to saddle her horse. The sooner she got out of there the better.
     
    The day was clear and beautiful, getting warmer with each passing hour. With her bow and arrows strapped to her back, she rode across the fields towards the loch on the other side of the forest. She needed to think, needed to be alone and needed to vent her anger.
    She found a small knot on a tree and used it as a target. Notching an arrow onto the bowstring she took aim and released. Hearing the swooshing sound through the air, her arrow hit its mark. She scanned the trees looking for other potential targets and released several more arrows all hitting their marks as well.
    "Ye are quite skilled, my lady."
    Startled by the absence of noise, she turned around with an arrow still notched in place and pointed it directly at his heart. How does he keep sneaking up on me?    
    “Why are ye following me?" she demanded looking Rory straight in the eyes.
    “Ye may want to lower that before ye accidently release yer weapon on me. For I do value my life, my lady.”
    Not realizing that she still held up her bow in his direction, she slowly lowered it.
    “I was no’ following ye, my lady; I was already heading in this direction.” He grabbed the reins of his horse and climbed down.
    “Oh. Well then, dinna let me distract ye." She turned back to her mark and released the arrow.
    Wanting to stay and learn more about this captivating lass he suggested, “I will make ye a deal. If I hit yer next target I stay, if no’ and I miss, I will leave."
    Wondering what game he was playing she agreed, but only because she was not going to make this easy on him. “Aye, I will agree to yer bet.”
    She looked up through the trees trying to find a mark that she knew would be tricky to achieve. Then she spotted it, a small knot on an Ash tree several yards away. “There, if ye hit that knot ye can stay, if no’ ye must leave me alone.”
    “Agreed.”
    Rory looked over to where she was pointing and grabbed the bow and arrow from her hand. Placing the arrow above his thumb to keep it in place, he carefully pulled back the string. Annella smiled at his awkward body position and stance.  He glanced over at her and let it fly. Missed.
    "Ha, ye missed," Annella said with a wide grin on her face.
    “Aye, perhaps I am no’ as good with a bow as I am wit my sword.”
    “That may be true, cause ye are terrible wit a bow,”