A Highland Wolf Christmas
Page 20
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When he didn’t comment, Calla sighed. “When I saw Cearnach again, I mentioned to him that I was dating Baird, and that’s when your brother went all Highland warrior on me and tried to convince me Baird was a bad person. But Baird had been sweet—”
Guthrie snorted.
She scowled at him. “He’d been great to me. We hiked, boated, ran as wolves, and swam—it didn’t matter what I wanted to do, he always took me.”
“He didn’t let you go with anyone else, did he? He tried to stop you from seeing Cearnach.”
“He thought Cearnach was an old boyfriend. Baird said he wasn’t comfortable with me seeing him. I told him we were just friends. Baird said others in his pack didn’t see it that way. He was having a hard time believing it too.”
Guthrie snorted again.
Looking crossly at Guthrie—which he thought made her appear wolfishly cute, though he was sure she wasn’t going for that look—she folded her arms.
Guthrie rose to his full height. “So when Cearnach learned of it, he tried to change your mind because he didn’t think Baird was a good match or the person you thought he was.”
Calla looked out at the dark gardens. “Aye. Oh, I knew Baird could be controlling, and not just about me not seeing Cearnach. He didn’t like it when I had work to do and he felt that I should be with him instead. But I thought if he cared enough about me, he’d change.”
“Even at your wedding, he proved otherwise when he had his brothers force Cearnach to leave. It didn’t matter that you wanted Cearnach there because he was your friend. Baird had to prove he was in charge and you had no say in the matter.”
Calla didn’t say anything. Guthrie was afraid he’d upset her too much, and she wouldn’t say anything more about the matter. They had to know—had Baird only targeted her because she was friends with Cearnach? Had he met up with her on purpose because of a darker intent, or was it just a coincidence? Guthrie didn’t believe it was.
“So, you had the whirlwind courtship with him and then…?”
“You’ve got to realize I’d been living among humans for years. It was refreshing to see members of a wolf pack working together and know that the leader, Baird, was fascinated with me. Cearnach remained a good friend, but we weren’t interested in each other in that way. Oh, sure, Baird has his faults, but who doesn’t? None of us are perfect. I just assumed that as much as he cared for me, I could live with it.”
Guthrie let out his breath. “You don’t need to put up with the kind of faults Baird has. The control issues. His constant badgering. His being so manipulative.”
Her eyes flickered a bit. “All right, aye. He tended not to care if others got hurt if he got what he wanted. But I didn’t see this until the wedding.”
“What about your business? Would he have left well enough alone?” Guthrie couldn’t see that he would. He suspected Baird would have controlled her business, determining who she saw while she was setting up her engagements, micromanaging her during the activities, and maybe even taking it over so she was working for him. Or maybe even making her quit.
“I told him I wasn’t about to give up my business or the way I handled things.”
“And?”
She let out her breath in a huff. “He knew where I stood on it. I wouldn’t have consented to marrying him otherwise.”
“But you suspected otherwise, didn’t you?”
“We were getting married. He kept asking me about my finances, my expenses, all about my engagements. But I figured it was because he was interested. That’s all. But I have to know. Why do Cearnach and Baird dislike each other? Cearnach would never tell me. He’d just say Baird wouldn’t be right for me.”
“Do you remember back in 1779 when Cearnach and the rest of us went to the port city of St. Andrews on a buying trip, right before you and your family moved out of the area?”
“Aye. Cearnach promised to buy me hair ribbons.”
“See why we thought the two of you were sweet on each other? We learned that the Hawthorn brothers were being hanged at the behest of Lord Whittington, who claimed they had stolen a couple of his merchant ships and murdered some of his men during the battle. We wanted to know if the Hawthorn brothers had any of our merchandise on board that they had stolen from us the previous year—then we saw Elaine.”
“The hanged men were Elaine’s uncles,” Calla whispered.
“Aye. And you recall that we chased after Elaine, though at the time we didn’t know her name. Cearnach had been the closest to reaching her when we became embroiled in a fight with men on the street. We discovered later that Baird and his brothers and their cousin were responsible for delaying us. Cearnach lost his hold on her, and she disappeared.”
“I remember seeing Cearnach after that. He wouldn’t talk about it. He felt something for her, more than just wanting to protect her. I knew it with all my heart. I felt terrible for him, but he didn’t wish to speak of it,” Calla said.
“Aye. He searched and searched for her. But he never could locate her, and then he discovered she’d returned to America, and he assumed she was safe back at home.”
“But she wasn’t.”
“Nay.”
“So…that was the only reason he was angry with Baird? That he and his kin had started a fight and stopped Cearnach from reaching Elaine?” Calla asked.
Guthrie snorted.
She scowled at him. “He’d been great to me. We hiked, boated, ran as wolves, and swam—it didn’t matter what I wanted to do, he always took me.”
“He didn’t let you go with anyone else, did he? He tried to stop you from seeing Cearnach.”
“He thought Cearnach was an old boyfriend. Baird said he wasn’t comfortable with me seeing him. I told him we were just friends. Baird said others in his pack didn’t see it that way. He was having a hard time believing it too.”
Guthrie snorted again.
Looking crossly at Guthrie—which he thought made her appear wolfishly cute, though he was sure she wasn’t going for that look—she folded her arms.
Guthrie rose to his full height. “So when Cearnach learned of it, he tried to change your mind because he didn’t think Baird was a good match or the person you thought he was.”
Calla looked out at the dark gardens. “Aye. Oh, I knew Baird could be controlling, and not just about me not seeing Cearnach. He didn’t like it when I had work to do and he felt that I should be with him instead. But I thought if he cared enough about me, he’d change.”
“Even at your wedding, he proved otherwise when he had his brothers force Cearnach to leave. It didn’t matter that you wanted Cearnach there because he was your friend. Baird had to prove he was in charge and you had no say in the matter.”
Calla didn’t say anything. Guthrie was afraid he’d upset her too much, and she wouldn’t say anything more about the matter. They had to know—had Baird only targeted her because she was friends with Cearnach? Had he met up with her on purpose because of a darker intent, or was it just a coincidence? Guthrie didn’t believe it was.
“So, you had the whirlwind courtship with him and then…?”
“You’ve got to realize I’d been living among humans for years. It was refreshing to see members of a wolf pack working together and know that the leader, Baird, was fascinated with me. Cearnach remained a good friend, but we weren’t interested in each other in that way. Oh, sure, Baird has his faults, but who doesn’t? None of us are perfect. I just assumed that as much as he cared for me, I could live with it.”
Guthrie let out his breath. “You don’t need to put up with the kind of faults Baird has. The control issues. His constant badgering. His being so manipulative.”
Her eyes flickered a bit. “All right, aye. He tended not to care if others got hurt if he got what he wanted. But I didn’t see this until the wedding.”
“What about your business? Would he have left well enough alone?” Guthrie couldn’t see that he would. He suspected Baird would have controlled her business, determining who she saw while she was setting up her engagements, micromanaging her during the activities, and maybe even taking it over so she was working for him. Or maybe even making her quit.
“I told him I wasn’t about to give up my business or the way I handled things.”
“And?”
She let out her breath in a huff. “He knew where I stood on it. I wouldn’t have consented to marrying him otherwise.”
“But you suspected otherwise, didn’t you?”
“We were getting married. He kept asking me about my finances, my expenses, all about my engagements. But I figured it was because he was interested. That’s all. But I have to know. Why do Cearnach and Baird dislike each other? Cearnach would never tell me. He’d just say Baird wouldn’t be right for me.”
“Do you remember back in 1779 when Cearnach and the rest of us went to the port city of St. Andrews on a buying trip, right before you and your family moved out of the area?”
“Aye. Cearnach promised to buy me hair ribbons.”
“See why we thought the two of you were sweet on each other? We learned that the Hawthorn brothers were being hanged at the behest of Lord Whittington, who claimed they had stolen a couple of his merchant ships and murdered some of his men during the battle. We wanted to know if the Hawthorn brothers had any of our merchandise on board that they had stolen from us the previous year—then we saw Elaine.”
“The hanged men were Elaine’s uncles,” Calla whispered.
“Aye. And you recall that we chased after Elaine, though at the time we didn’t know her name. Cearnach had been the closest to reaching her when we became embroiled in a fight with men on the street. We discovered later that Baird and his brothers and their cousin were responsible for delaying us. Cearnach lost his hold on her, and she disappeared.”
“I remember seeing Cearnach after that. He wouldn’t talk about it. He felt something for her, more than just wanting to protect her. I knew it with all my heart. I felt terrible for him, but he didn’t wish to speak of it,” Calla said.
“Aye. He searched and searched for her. But he never could locate her, and then he discovered she’d returned to America, and he assumed she was safe back at home.”
“But she wasn’t.”
“Nay.”
“So…that was the only reason he was angry with Baird? That he and his kin had started a fight and stopped Cearnach from reaching Elaine?” Calla asked.
