Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Book 1

"I will be very careful, Kevin."

He released her and finally frowned that frown she was used to seeing. "Your sister and mother do not think it proper for you to be this close when the lads bathe."

"Oh that, I wondered when you would get around to that. I do not watch, I swear it."

"Good. In the future, when the lads bathe, I expect to find you a good distance away." He waited for her nod, stood up and walked away.

Rachel sighed. "It seems I am not as clever as I thought." It was near time for the evening meal and she was hungry, so she walked through the trees toward the large stone building the Highlanders called a keep. It was surrounded by a very high, three-foot wide stonewall that seemed to go on forever. Outside the wall was a moat with a drawbridge, which was lowered in the morning and raised at night. Many families lived in cottages inside the wall, more lived outside and her brother-in-law, Kevin MacGreagor, was laird over them all. Her sister, Anna, was their mistress.

The loch was to the east of the hold and a wide meadow, surrounded on three sides by forest, was to the west. Beyond that, were the hills and the Clan Cameron's vast land. Rachel had never been any farther away than that -- not that she could remember.

Suddenly, she realized someone was watching her; she could feel it. It was probably just Connor. He was always trying to prove he was as sneaky as she was. Then again, Kevin just said two men were nearly attacked. She slipped behind a wide tree trunk, laid her back flat against it, pulled a dagger out of her sheath and listened. She stayed where she was for countless minutes trying to decide if she should attempt to catch whoever it was or just run home. It had to be Connor, she decided, no other man was as good at sneaking around as he was.

Someone moved. The noise came from behind her, so she quietly turned around to face the tree and peeked out. It was Connor and he was only a few feet away. Instead of smiling his success, he had a finger to his lips warning her to be quiet. She nodded.

With dark hair and dusty blue eyes, Connor was too big to hide behind just any tree. He had to move and the tree Rachel was behind was his best choice. Drawing his own dagger, he was careful not to make a sound as he crouched down, quietly moved toward her, slipped behind the tree and stood up.