Half an hour after walking, they came upon the area of the pasture where the men were all gathered, talking, laughing and spending man time together. When Marcus turned around and saw them, he waived towards them, letting the men know they were being set upon by the women folk. When they got closer, Marcus alerted Highlander to his wife’s look of distress. Both men took off running towards their wives with their father and brothers racing behind them.
“Lass, what is it? Everything ok?” Highlander asked, rushing towards his wife, pulling her into his arms.
“Is Ryleigh down here with you guys?” Pratt asked, rushed as she looked around her husband at the guys following him, panic in her voice.
“No, lass. She’s at the house with ye.” Highlander answered, confusion in his voice, looking between Pratt and Raso.
“No, she’s not. She threw a tantrum when you and the boys left to meet up with the others and she couldn’t come. She ran off to her room and slammed the door. I went to take care of Aurora and fell asleep while she was feeding…” Pratt rambled on, fidgeting with her hands, panic rising in her voice, looking pleadingly at Highlander.
“Lass, it’s ok. It’s not ye fault.” Highlander soothed his wife, holding her in his arms tightly.
“Yes, it is! I shouldn’t have fallen asleep like that.” Pratt cried, breaking out into hysterical sobs causing hiccups.
“Spread out, check the fields. Thomas, Willie, ye two check the barn and stables. Jack, take the boys back to the house, check the attic and the basement areas. Ye kids know all the nooks and crannies ye used to hide when ye mum and I wanted to tan ye hides. I’ll check the shed and surrounding areas. Ye two go with the lasses and check the fields, especially over by the old barn. Ye kids used to hide there plenty of times, especially when ye would sneak ye toys over after hours.”
“Shite! Told ye da knew about that!” Willie mumbled as he walked off.
“Of course, I did. How else ye think ye mum got knocked up with half ye arses. Ye all weren’t conceived in a bed ye know.”
“And I’ve lost my appetite.” Tommy groaned at their father’s latest announcement as he walked off with his brother.
“Can’t say you boys weren’t born in a barn anymore. But we can say some of you boys were definitely created in one.” Raso cracked, making Marcus, Willie and Tommy gag as Sr and Jack laughed.
SEVEN
Ryleigh sat on the side of the road, watching as the man on the motorcycle slowed down and pulled over. She watched the man with shoulder length hair, tattoos on his neck, upper chest and arms just sat there, staring at her for several moments.
“Are you gonna just sit on the bike staring at me all day mister?”
The man just sat there for a few more moments before getting off. When he spoke, he had a heavy Scottish accent.
“Are ye lost? Where’s ye mum and da?”
“I don’t know. My daddy left me at the house. Didn’t care that I wanted to go with him and my grandda and uncles to the shed thingie.”
“Ah, so ye ran away to teach them a lesson, did ye?”
“Yeah, I guess so. But now I’m lost, and I don’t know how to get back. My mommy and daddy are going to be so mad at me. I’m so gonna be grounded.” Ryleigh sighed deeply, picking up a rock and throwing it across the road.
“Who is ye da and grandda? Ye don’t sound like ye are from around here.”
“I’m not. I live with my mommy and daddy in California. My daddy was born here, so we came to visit his family here. I don’t know their first names. I’m Ryleigh. Ryleigh MacCleod. My grandma calls my daddy Joseph.” Ryleigh answered matter-of-factly.
“Ah, well, um, how about I take ye back to ye mum and da. I was heading that way myself. I guess I can let ye ride on the back of my motorcycle.”
“Who are you? I’m not supposed to take rides from strangers. Mommy and daddy would be very mad.” Ryleigh hesitatingly answered, looking between the man and the motorcycle.
“Ye parents are right. Ye are lucky it was me that came along. But since ye are still on MacLeod land, ye are safe. I’m Ash…well ye da calls me Jacob. Since Joe is ye da, then that makes me ye uncle.”
“You’re the one that hides in the hills. Sorry, I overheard daddy and uncle Willie talking about you. Something bad happened to you, so you stay alone. Were you hurt or something? I fell off my bike once. It really hurt, too.” Ryleigh said, ignoring the look that came over her newfound uncle’s eyes.
“Aye, that would be me. It’s better for everyone if I stay far away.” Ash answered, watching the little girl closely, feeling uncomfortable and unsure how to proceed.
“Well, since you are my uncle, I guess I can ride on the back of your big bike with you back to grandma’s.” Ryleigh got up and stared up at the man she now knew as her uncle.
Ash wasn’t sure what the hell he got himself into. Most people ran at the sight of him when he walked into the room. Standing at nearly six feet six inches, broad shoulders and solid muscle, he let his hair grow down to his shoulders. He was tatted up from the neck down to his knees. Both of his arms were covered in tattoos, as well as his hands and a couple of his fingers.
His tatts were his armor. His protection. They hid scars no one knew about. Unfortunately, they only hid the scars that were physical, not the nightmares he still dealt with, the mental scars, the emotional scars. He doubted those would ever ease. Hell, his own family handled him with kid gloves. But this little slip of a girl just talked to him like a long-lost friend.
