A Minx for the MacKenzie [Highlanders Love #2]

Chapter 19

So what is wrong with the blasted MacKenzie? Amhuinn grumbled internally to herself, as she pushed open the main doors of the Keep, relishing stepping into the warm rays of sun that was rare in the Highlands.

Almost immediately, she was greeted by her brother. Amhuinn was happy to see Tamhas looking less grouchy, and with more color in his face lately. "Ammi, ye off ter get yerself more herbs?"

"Aye, we're running low, and yer all getting yerselves injured faster then I can make my salves. Slow down, would ye not?" she teased. Tamhas started laughing, and Amhuinn grinned before she hesitantly asked. "Have ye... Have ye seen Hammond around?"

"Ye should have a better track of yer husband, sister." Tamhas teased this time, and then raised his brows when he saw the rather irritated look of his sister. He was not so dense as to not recognize his own sibling's moods. "What's the matter, Ammi? Have ye had yer first argument already?"

Amhuinn frowned, debating if she should tell her brother. "Nae matter, brother. I just woke up later then I thought I would today, is all." she finally decided against it, figuring Tamhas wouldn't see the problem. Bidding him goodbye, she walked off, wishing Evie was still around. Gillian was around, but the young MacKenzie was so wrapped up in her workshop that she was barely around. She wasn't kidding when she said she handed over the care of her brother to Amhuinn.

---

"Fer a newly wed, why are ye spending so much time here anyhow?" Isaac asked. 

The men were all gathered in the courtyard after a morning training session, drenched in their own sweat. From a corner, servant girls could be seen whispering to each other as they openly ogled the shirtless men. The cheekier ones could be seen teasing the servants, but Hammond kept to himself, with Tristan and Isaac next to him as they sloshed water on their bare chests.

"I dinna see why marriage would mean I would need ter spend all my time inside. I have a clan ter care fer, and I definitely canna miss my training." Hammond responds, but Tristan doesn't miss the way in which his laird averted gazes from both of them.

He raised his brows. "And what exactly are ye trying ter avoid, Hammond? Don't lie ter me. You, me and Connor grew up together, dinna think I wouldna know when yer avoiding something."

Hammond would've replied, had a female voice not piped up. "He's avoiding himself, of course." 

"Gilly!" Hammond cursed internally when he recognized the voice, and instantly turned to see his brash, headstrong sister casually strolling into the courtyard as if it did not consist of half a dozen half naked men for now. "There's a reason why I situated yer workshop on the other side of the Keep. I warned ye ter stay oot of this area!"

"This is my home as much as it is yers, big brother. I dinna see why I should stay oot of certain places." Gillian replied breezily, as the men hurriedly started to put on their still-damp clothes once they realized Gillian was around.

Sometimes, Hammond wonders how he had not died from an aneurysm, with how headstrong his sister was. He scowled, grabbing her arms to drag her a distance away before turning on her with a glare. "Tis oor training grounds, Gilly. It would do ye nae good ter go near there. Ye may get hurt!"

"They wouldn't harm a hair on my head, and ye know that Hammond." the redhead crossed her arms and raised a wry brow at her elder brother. "Now would ye mind telling me why ye have left Ammi ter spend everyday by herself o'er the past two weeks?"

"I..." Hammond searched wildly for the words. "We were busy." It sounded horrible, even to his ears, and sure enough Gillian didn't buy into the excuse.