Highland Dream (Book 1)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Aislinn was riding in front of Camdyn again, it had been days now that they had been trying to get through the trail which had turned into a boggy waist land. His arm back around her waist, holding her in place. The motion of the horse had lulled her into sleep earlier but with all of the sleep she had had over the past few days she was now wide awake and getting frustrated at how slow the journey was progressing. She was usually a patient person, but every few feet it seemed they were stopping to help with the wagons, whether they be stuck or something had broken. There was even an instance earlier where they had come across a landslide, with no way to turn around the men had to dig through. All this has set them back considerably and all together the mood of the men was dropping hourly. The only good piece of news was that it hadn’t started to rain again and from the look of it the clouds were lighter and breaking up in places letting some of the stars peek through.

She hadn’t really talked with Camdyn since that night in the clearing under the stormy clouds. Something had definitely changed between them. However, since Camdyn had not spoken of it she could not find the nerve to bring the subject up. They were not uncomfortable together though, in fact it was more the opposite. While they tried to ignore the difference in their relationship, they were extremely contented in each other’s presence. They would pass a few comments every now and then. Mostly they were silent but could always be found near each other.

Aislinn had not found herself on her own for days, except for when nature called, though even then there was someone close by keeping guard. If she was not near Camdyn then the twins or Hamish, who she had found she actually liked even though he didn’t talk much, were there in his place. She had found it reassuring at first, nonetheless, as her mood went down with the rest of the men’s, the constant protection was starting to grate. She knew she was being irrational, it was just beyond her at this point to care about that fact that she was still healing and had no way to defend herself.

Camdyn had told her that if they did not stop to make camp tonight they could reach his home by the midnight hour. The men had then decided that they would prefer to ride through but he had mentioned if she was against this idea he would sway them into making camp. Or as she really thought would happen, he would order them to stop, and as their superior they would have to obey, like it or not.

Night had fallen a few hours ago, and whilst Camdyn knew that it was more dangerous to travel at night, he wanted to be home. He had complete faith in the ability of his men, nevertheless, with the fall of night it made everything a little more complicated if they ended up in combat. As different situations ran through his mind, with different defensive positions needed for the dark, he was constantly aware of the woman in his arms. The twins and Hamish had helped him keep an eye on her over the past few days, and apart from ‘official’ healer time, Corey had not managed to get anywhere near her. It worried Camdyn with what he had heard of Corey doing before, but had complete faith that he and his most trusted men could keep Aislinn away.

She had become more irritable through the day, although she had voiced no complaints that he was aware of. Her body language had changed over the past few hours. There was more fidgety movement from her as if she couldn’t settle down. The more she moved the more uncomfortable he became, not that he would stop her, it just meant that he had to think of more defensive maneuvers to try and keep himself focused on other things.