Owen had suggested he could train the young warriors, and surprisingly his father had allowed that. Craig and Domhnall had watched as he taught two dozen men in the courtyard, showing them the movements he’d used in Stirling for fighting in close proximity. Some of the men were surprised, they’d never seen him take any kind of initiative.
While the men were taking a brief rest, Owen had asked his father if he could teach the men on a regular basis. Dougal had answered that was Craig and Domhnall’s task. He didn’t trust that Owen would stick to it. His refusal and distrust were like a hard slap across Owen’s face.
His first instinct was to rebel and to flee, just like he had so many times before, but his new, responsible self protested. He would stay and prove everyone wrong. Show that he’d changed. That he could take responsibility and be trusted.
His second instinct was to find Amber and kiss her. Talk to her. Make love to her. Let her distract him.
But that would be a mistake. He’d been so good during the past three days, avoiding her even though it felt like he were pulling his own teeth.
He marched towards a stall to take a horse and ride north to a little cove on the loch where he always escaped when he felt like he did now—like an outsider in his own clan.
When his eyes had adjusted to the semidarkness of the stables, he realized he wasn’t alone. Amber stood by a horse one of the grooms was saddling for her.
“Hi,” she said.
Owen’s stomach clenched at the beautiful sight of her. He’d seen her walking here and there, with Amy for the most part. Everything brightened and gained color when he saw her. He longed to come over to her and just stand near her, to bath in her presence like in sunlight.
There was nowhere to run now.
“Lass,” he said and nodded. He walked to another horse and began saddling it.
Stop thinking of her.
She came to stand by his horse. “Going somewhere?” she asked.
His jaw clenched. “Aye,” he said without looking at her. He put the saddle on the horse’s back and began fastening it. “Ye?”
“Yeah. I’m tired of sitting inside and doing nothing. I just want to go for a ride.”
He stopped. “Alone?”
“Yeah.”
His nostrils flared. “Lass, we talked about this. Ye shouldna go out alone. ’Tis too dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine. Not that you’d want to go with me.” She turned to walk away and then threw a glare over her shoulder. “You’ve been behaving like a dick ever since we got here.”
The groom snorted, and Owen suppressed a growl. He knew his distance was hurting her, but he didn’t want to argue in front of others.
She wasn’t leaving him a choice now. “Ye’re nae going anywhere, lass.”
She snorted. “You have no right to command me, pal.”
What was happening to him? He was never this bossy with women. That was because he’d never cared about anyone like he did about her. “I do when ’tis in yer best interest.”
“My interests are none of your concern.”
He walked out of the stall and stared at her. “If ye insist on going alone, I’ll take ye over my shoulder and lock ye up. Ye can either come with me or stay here. Yer choice.”
She crossed her arms on her chest. “Go with you? I thought you’re avoiding me like a plague.”
Owen presses his lips tightly. “I was busy.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Right. Busy running in another direction when you see me.”
“Are ye coming or nae?”
“Only if you promise not to behave like a jerk.”
“A what?”
“I believe the lass means an arse,” the groom said. “Yer horse is ready, my lady.”
“Thanks.”
“Please wait with the horse outside while the lady and I talk,” Owen said as he glared at her. Once the groom left, he sighed. “Fine, I wilna behave like a jerk.”
“All right then.”
A moment later, they’d mounted and were heading out of the castle. With Amber riding by his side, he needed a distraction from this distraction. He urged his horse into a gallop, enjoying the whistle of the wind in his ears and the hard rhythm of the horse under him. The loch was to their left, stormy and gray under a sky the color of woodsmoke. There were woods and rocks to their right, where trees and bushes swayed in the wind.
The place wasn’t far, and they soon arrived. There was a small outlet that created an oval pool. The shore rose up steeply and there was a cave half hidden by bushes and undergrowth.
The view from here took his breath away. The loch spread in front of them to the left and to the right. On the shore across from the cove, there were green hills and mountains covered partly by purple fields of heather. Behind the cave, the shore rose steeply into a rocky cliff.
“Why did you want to come here?” Amber said.
Owen tied his horse to a tree and stood by the shore, allowing himself the first deep, cleansing breath and feeling the tension and anger in the pit of his stomach melt away.
“’Tis where I used to come as a lad when everyone seemed to have forgotten about me. And when even my pranks didna attract my da’s attention.” He chuckled softly to himself.
Amber walked to him and stood by his side, facing the loch. “This is a beautiful place to run away to.”
“I’d sometimes sleep in that cave.” He pointed up towards the cliff. “There’s a bit of magic there. I discovered it when my mother died. I was a lad of twelve years old. She became sick very quickly and died.”
“I’m so sorry, Owen. I lost my mother, too. Nothing comes close to that kind of loss.”
He sighed. Sadness crippled his heart, but knowing Amber had gone through the same thing somehow made him feel better.
“My ma was Craig and Marjorie’s stepmother, but she treated us all the same. As though they were hers.”
Amber chuckled. “She sounds like an amazing woman.”
“Aye. I think she’s watching over me. I realized it first when I came here. ’Tis why I keep coming back.”
“Really? Why here?”
He studied her, contemplating if he should open up to her about it. This was the first woman he’d ever loved, his soul wanted to share with her everything that was dear to him. Among this windy gray weather, clouds spread across the sky, but the sun shone brightly between them. Yes, she was watching over him. That was a sign.
“Come, then. I’ll show ye.”
He took her by the hand and went up the slope with her. They passed the bushes and the undergrowth and entered the cave. It smelled like rotting leaves and something earthy, animallike even. The cave was rather small and deep, and although the sun was high in the sky, it was hard to see what was in the black depths of it.
The opening of the cave shone with the brilliance of crystal sparkling like a night full of stars. There was the same wonder in Amber’s big eyes that he felt in his heart. God almighty, even this divine creation of nature didn’t come close to the beauty of this woman.
Their eyes locked, and he forgot to guard his fascination. It was just like that night in the inn where they’d been naked in front of each other, sheltered from the world like nothing existed but them.