A Minx for the MacKenzie [Highlanders Love #2]

Chapter 16

Adair appeared thoughtful, his grip on his sheets loosening. The silence felt like forever, before he finally spoke. "I dinna think my fither likes me verra much. He always seems ter have other's."

"Do ye want ter play, Adair? Uncle Tristan told me ye seem ter spend all yer time in the room when ye are back here." By then, she was two steps away from the bed, and her voice turned coaxing as she spoke. "Ye dinna seem happy. I really dinna want ter see ye this way."

Adair was beginning to bite his lip by then, and the bottom lip had begun to quiver when Amhuinn's voice broke as she spoke. Glassy eyes made Amhuinn's chest ache as he spoke. "Fither says I shouldna be ootside. He says I cause him too much trouble. I... I dinna have anyone ter play with here. The servant's are scared of fither, and what he'll do if they... I..." As Adair trailed off, a tear slipped out of his clear blue eyes. No longer able to bear just standing by as she watched reality sink in to the young four-year old's mind, Amhuinn rushed forward and gathered Adair in her arms. "Nae, son. I willna let ye stay under this roof any longer. Come back with us, would ye? Uncle Tamhas almost risked his life getting ye oot fer me."

"I miss my friends. Cal and Ewan and..." Adair sobbed. A balm of joy wrapped around Amhuinn's heart when she felt his small arms go around her shoulders, burying his head in her neck. "Mrs. O'Leary baked the best scones, e'en if she always scolds us. But she always makes sure we're well. Tristan is always around us when we work, and-"

Suddenly, Adair's tirade was punctuated when a loud yell outside the door was followed by the clash of steel against steel, signifying the fight had been brought all the way up to the room. Finding herself worried for the MacKenzie's, Amhuinn pulled back and peered into Adair's tear-filled eyes, wiping the remaining tears and smiling reassuringly at the young blond. "Hush, let's return now shall we, lad? The MacKenzie's are all waiting fer us ootside. Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"

Adair nodded. With his consent, Amhuinn picked him up and tucked him against her hip, happy to feel the weight of her son close to her as she made her way to the door. Pressing her ear against the door, the tendrils of worry in her heart grew when she heard obvious sounds of fighting just outside of the door. Tightening her hold on Adair, who now gripped the front of her shirt, she turned to him with a determined face. "Tis dangerous oot there, but ye are a brave boy, are ye not? Laird MacKenzie is going ter need oor help in getting us all oot. Can ye do that?"

For a second, it appeared that Adair might be too scared. When he looked back at his room however, the young boy knew the alternative was staying, and after he had a taste of life in the MacKenzie Keep, life in Kincaid Castle was too bleak for him to want to continue staying. Besides, after his taste of the care one could get from the woman who was her mother, what Dougal MacCallan gave him was not something he still wanted. He wanted to leave, and Adair was willing to do whatever it takes to get out of the Castle.

"I can."  he replied, and a sense of joy he's never felt before sparked in his chest when he saw a proud smile on Amhuinn's face.

"Then let's go."

The moment she opened the door, Amhuinn had to duck as a sword came down and embedded itself in the wall behind her. The sound of steel against steel resounding throughout the hallway had Adair tightening his grip on her. The next thing she knew, Amhuinn found herself being snatched up and pushed behind a broad figure she quickly recognized as Hammond. "Great, I was aboot to come and get ye. Is the lad okay?"

"He's fine. Let's get oot of here." she responded.

"That's the best thing I've heard in days." Connor replied, as he moved to stand next to Hammond. Amhuinn watched as they fended off assailants as one. The human barrier around her and Adair grew wider as more and more of the MacKenzie men came to join them, moving as quick as they could down the stairwell. The whole time, Amhuinn couldn't help but wonder where was Dougal MacCallan.