Page 49 of The Best of Brenna Grant

“And I would appreciate that, but they were bigger than you and me. And I was outnumbered. But what they didn’t realize is they did me a favor.”

“What favor?”

“They were so mean and I was so tired of their bullying that I wanted more than ever to be a Grant warrior.”

Ketill settled back on his lap sideways so he could watch him.

“Once I was able to get away, I ran to look for Missy Angel. But that particular day, she didn’t appear. I waited and waited, but I never saw her, so I walked around the entire castle to see if she’d gone to a new chamber. I waited a while, then circled again, looking for her. Sometimes she was late peeking out, but I had nowhere to go, so I waited. All was quiet. Then I heard her. She was at a side window trying to climb out. I yelled at her to stop because she’d fall, but she didn’t hear me.”

“How could she not hear you?”

“Because of all the ruckus the warhorses were making coming down the path. I turned around and saw the biggest black horse I’d ever seen coming straight for me, a score of horses behind him. I hid in the bushes as they approached, but one warrior stopped his mount because of the angel. He’d seen her trying to climb out.”

“Which one was Great-Grandda?”

“The one who stopped. Uncle Alex, on the black destrier, yelled at him to keep moving, but he refused. When the angel saw him, she dropped the furs and fell back inside. Your Great Grandda went up to the door and banged on it, but they wouldn’t let him in. I could see how upset he was and how angry he was with the man at the door. But he left and went on his way. That’s when I got my idea.”

“What idea?”

“How I could get some coin from the man who was so interested in Missy Angel. I returned to the burgh and found out that they were also Clan Grant warriors. It turned out this group was the Grant laird and his best warriors—fiercer and stronger than the first force I’d seen. And I found out over the next couple of days that one man kept sneaking into her manor, so I knew I could get coin from him.”

“How? Why would he give you a coin?”

There was that scrunched up face he loved again. Ketill was a joy to watch. But Loki forced himself to continue. “Because I knew he was searching for Missy Angel, and I knew her better than he did.”

“Did he give you a coin?”

“He did, but it took a while. One day, I was listening to him talk with his friend in the burgh and he caught me, threatened to get me in trouble until I told him what I knew about Missy Angel.”

“Then he liked you, because she’s Great-Grandmama. And you helped him find her.”

“Aye.”

“So what was the best part of the tale? I know you saved Grandmama and brought her to Grant land. And you got Grandda home after his leg was cut.”

“The best part. Hmmm. Two things stand out in my mind.”

“Tell me both!”

“The first one was the first meat pie that Da bought me—he wasn’t my da yet, of course. It was lamb and so juicy that it ran down my chin. I swear it was the best meat pie I’ve ever eaten.”

“Better than scraps?”

“Much better than scraps.”

“What are scraps?”

“Scraps? Mostly stale bread, moldy vegetables, and rows of fat cut from meat that people wouldn’t eat.”

“Och. I would not like that. What was the second one? Did the mean boys come after you and you punched them?”

Loki’s head fell back, a swift memory had popped into his head. “Lad, I forgot about that. My thanks for asking because now I recall. When Brodie put me up on his horse once, I looked over at the leader of the mean boys who harassed me. He’d appeared out of nowhere with his fist in the air.”

“He saw you with Great-Grandda?”

“He did.” How had he forgotten this part? The fool had cursed at him from a distance.

“What did you do?”