Laird Kevin MacGreagor couldn't seem to take his eyes off the woman in the glen below. A Highlander and a giant of a man with blond curls and blue-gray eyes, he stood beside his horse on a wooded hillside, with his legs apart and his hands clasped behind his back. A soft blue dominated the color of his kilt, a length of matching cloth over one shoulder covered half his white shirt, and his leather shoes were laced up to his knees.
She was magnificent. Her long, black hair hung down to her waist and her soft golden skirt caught on the grass as she walked, released and then caught again. She wore a purple tunic with a woven leather belt and a medallion that hung low on one hip. On her shoulder, she carried a bow and a leather sheath filled with arrows.
He heard it before he saw the huge black stallion breaking through the trees at a trot, but her back was turned and she didn't seem to notice. The stallion was headed straight for her and Kevin had only just opened his mouth to shout a warning when the stallion slowed to a walk. Gently, the horse nudged her back. The woman grinned, but didn't turn around and kept right on walking. Determined, the black followed and nudged her again. This time, she laughed and shook her head. Her laughter was wonderful and Kevin wanted to hear it again.
He wasn't at all prepared for what happened next. The stallion turned, raced around, got in front and headed straight for her. Kevin held his breath, but the horse didn't slow and when she held out her hand, the stallion lowered his head as if to charge her. Just as it shot past, the woman grabbed the horse's mane and with ease and grace, swung up onto its bare back. Then she leaned down and hugged the horse's neck until the stallion slowed to a trot and stopped.
Kevin couldn't hear what she was saying, but it was obvious she was urging the horse on. She lightly kicked his sides, but the horse didn't move. Instead, it pawed the ground and shook its head. The woman roared with laughter and Kevin couldn't help but laugh with her. He'd never seen anything like it.
As the horse began to move again, she carefully got to her knees and then to her feet. She balanced herself perfectly, held both of her arms straight out, and as the stallion brought her close to Kevin's end of the glen, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin into the wind.