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He stopped. “Alone?”
“Yeah.”
His nostrils flared. “Lass, we talked about this. Ye shouldna go out alone. ’Tis too dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine. Not that you’d want to go with me.” She turned to walk away and then threw a glare over her shoulder. “You’ve been behaving like a dick ever since we got here.”
The groom snorted, and Owen suppressed a growl. He knew his distance was hurting her, but he didn’t want to argue in front of others.
She wasn’t leaving him a choice now. “Ye’re nae going anywhere, lass.”
She snorted. “You have no right to command me, pal.”
What was happening to him? He was never this bossy with women. That was because he’d never cared about anyone like he did about her. “I do when ’tis in yer best interest.”
“My interests are none of your concern.”
He walked out of the stall and stared at her. “If ye insist on going alone, I’ll take ye over my shoulder and lock ye up. Ye can either come with me or stay here. Yer choice.”
She crossed her arms on her chest. “Go with you? I thought you’re avoiding me like a plague.”
Owen presses his lips tightly. “I was busy.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Right. Busy running in another direction when you see me.”
“Are ye coming or nae?”
“Only if you promise not to behave like a jerk.”
“A what?”
“I believe the lass means an arse,” the groom said. “Yer horse is ready, my lady.”
“Thanks.”
“Please wait with the horse outside while the lady and I talk,” Owen said as he glared at her. Once the groom left, he sighed. “Fine, I wilna behave like a jerk.”
“All right then.”
A moment later, they’d mounted and were heading out of the castle. With Amber riding by his side, he needed a distraction from this distraction. He urged his horse into a gallop, enjoying the whistle of the wind in his ears and the hard rhythm of the horse under him. The loch was to their left, stormy and gray under a sky the color of woodsmoke. There were woods and rocks to their right, where trees and bushes swayed in the wind.
The place wasn’t far, and they soon arrived. There was a small outlet that created an oval pool. The shore rose up steeply and there was a cave half hidden by bushes and undergrowth.
The view from here took his breath away. The loch spread in front of them to the left and to the right. On the shore across from the cove, there were green hills and mountains covered partly by purple fields of heather. Behind the cave, the shore rose steeply into a rocky cliff.
“Why did you want to come here?” Amber said.
Owen tied his horse to a tree and stood by the shore, allowing himself the first deep, cleansing breath and feeling the tension and anger in the pit of his stomach melt away.
“’Tis where I used to come as a lad when everyone seemed to have forgotten about me. And when even my pranks didna attract my da’s attention.” He chuckled softly to himself.
Amber walked to him and stood by his side, facing the loch. “This is a beautiful place to run away to.”
“I’d sometimes sleep in that cave.” He pointed up towards the cliff. “There’s a bit of magic there. I discovered it when my mother died. I was a lad of twelve years old. She became sick very quickly and died.”
“I’m so sorry, Owen. I lost my mother, too. Nothing comes close to that kind of loss.”
He sighed. Sadness crippled his heart, but knowing Amber had gone through the same thing somehow made him feel better.
