Highlander's Trials of Fire

Her confidence did not falter for a moment even as Matthew kept up easily with her as they charged out into the open field. On horseback, racing as they were, they would arrive within a matter of minutes. Minutes that would feel like seconds since she was focused so intently on making sure he did not pull out ahead. Temper appeared to be doing well—so far—but that was not enough to lessen her assurance. She had to win.

The sea of green stretched out at all sides passed in a blur. Nothing could be heard but the thuds of their horses’ feet on the earth, dirt flying into the air behind t

hem. Jonet’s braid beat heavily on her shoulder, her body bouncing up and down Fenella’s back as she pushed her horse to her limit. She knew she could see the sparkle of the loch’s surface soon and she prepared herself to jump off Fenella’s back, knowing that if she did not do it well, she could lose what little advantage she had.

“The loch!” came Matthew’s voice over the roar of the wind the moment she spotted it herself.

Jonet drew Fenella to a quick halt and hopped off her back, breaking into a run. She could not help the smile splitting across her face as the cool air bit into her skin and stung her eyes. Matthew pumped his legs next to her and though he was much taller, she did not let it discourage her. She kept running, her heart pumping with intoxicating adrenaline as the loch’s bank grew nearer.

As they came upon the end, she saw the moment Matthew broke out ahead. She tried to run harder, but she was at her limit and the ending was far too close for her to close the gap forming between them.

In those final moments, the race was decided, the winner pulling ahead to clear their victory. They both came a sliding halt as the winner bellowed, “I won!”

Chapter 8

Jonet collapsed to the ground, staring up at the blue sky with her arms spread wide. She was panting.

“Jonet?” Matthew called, rushing to her side worriedly. “Are ye all right?”

“All right?” she cried happily. “That was wonderful! I cannae remember when I last had so much fun!”

Matthew blinked in surprise and then huffed a laugh. He sank down next to her and, after a while, he lied down by her side. “That really was fun. I dinnae think ye would put up such a fight.”

“I almost had ye,” she panted. “Maybe if the loch was a little closer, I might have won. Or if me legs were a little longer.”

“I daenae doubt ye,” he laughed.

Jonet smiled too, feeling happier in that moment than she had in years. She watched a lazy cloud float through the sky as her body calmed, and she remembered who she was with and what she should be doing. She tried to put up the wall between them again, but it was difficult for some reason.

So, she sat up. “Ye won,” she returned to something more formal. “So ye say ye have questions.”

“Aye, I do.” Matthew sat up as well. When he did, Jonet was suddenly aware of how close they were. Their upper arms could touch if she only leaned over a few inches and so she kept herself incredibly still, even though she could not look away from him.

Oh. He’s… sweating.

It was as attractive as it had been in her imagination. Jonet swallowed harshly. She tried to focus on what he would say next, but it was difficult.

Matthew seemed unaware of her thoughts, thankfully. He leaned back onto his hands, stretching his long legs out before him.

“I said three questions, dinnae I? Let’s see then.”

Jonet tensed. He glanced at her and she prayed he assumed her flushed face was as a result of their race. “Why do ye dislike me so much?”

She blinked. Jonet had not been expecting such a direct question, but she supposed she should have. Anyone in his position would have wondered the same thing. Yet could she tell him the true reason?

Being so open with someone she had only just met made her so uncomfortable that she did not know what to do with herself. So, she went as close to the truth as possible. “I daenae dislike ye, Matthew,” she said. “I am only wary of ye.”

“Why are ye?”

She lifted a brow. “Is that yer second question?”

He thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. “I suppose I can always figure that out later. I daenae want to waste it. This is me next, then. What did I say yesterday during our walk that made ye so upset?”

That was much easier to answer and she did so without pause. “Ye were far too perfect. Yer words, yer intentions. It sounded so smooth, so… polished. I just couldnae find it within me to believe a word ye were sayin’. I thought ye were only sayin’ what ye needed to woo me so that I could agree to marryin’ ye and, I dinnae like that.”

Matthew was silent for a moment, staring at her. She mustered the courage to face his stare, her heart skipping a beat when he did not look away. There was something about the way he studied her that made her body do odd things, tensing and growing hot in places that had never done that before.

“Ye are right about that,” he said after a moment. “I suppose I was a little too nervous and was tryin’ so hard to impress ye that I started overdoin’ things. In the back of me mind, I ken it was too much and yet I couldnae stop meself.”