Highland Treasure - Historical Highlander Romance

By Kyra Johnston

At his birth, Gavin Loudain's parents were told he would be a great man with a terrible fate, courtesy of the old witches who lived out on the moors. "He will find his greatest treasure, and then succumb to death." Fearing for his life, his parents kept him secluded and under careful watch, and in doing so let a thirst for adventure take root and grow. With the death of his father, Gavin's life was able to begin in earnest. His first act as the new laird was to hold a hunt and games in his father's honor, inviting friends, family and famed hunters to come and join them. Amongst them was Reagan MacGregor, sister of the great hunter Isaac, and a capable rider herself. From the moment their eyes meet they are destined for one another, but a sinister fate awaits Gavin on the moors, and perhaps not even the strongest love can keep him from it. 

A Standalone Short Story with No Cliffhanger! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steamy Highland Romance Club
• Release date: Nov 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386446477

Book preview

Highland Treasure

Chapter 1

The news of the laird 's death spread quickly, and so it was that Gavin Loudain, only just turned twenty-seven, stepped up to take his late father's place. A second message was sent out of Alasdair's death across the highlands and moors; there were to be games and a great hunt held in the former laird's honor, and many were invited to stay in the manor during the festivities. For the first time in his life Gavin felt truly free, but it came at a terrible price. He could only hope that the funeral celebrations would do much to put his mind at ease.

He was no stranger to the house of which he was now the sole owner. His childhood had been spent inside its walls, finding every nook and cranny that the old wood and stones harbored. The world outside, however, still carried a mystery. He knew the words the witches on the moors had said to his parents, but the witches were long dead, or else gone somewhere far away, and now his parents were gone as well, and he had survived. With the hunt he had planned, he would make his name. No longer would he be the cursed child of the Loudain clan, fated to die almost before he had drawn his first breath. He would be a strong, fearless leader, his name known throughout the land. No longer would he be a prisoner inside his own home.

It would take some time for all of the messages to be sent, but it would not be time idly spent. For all his faults, of which Alasdair had many, he had been a good man, and was worthy of the highest burial honors he could be given. His body was placed in care of the kirk and its priests, who tended to it and placed it on display for his tenants from the nearby villages to come by and offer condolences and their own small stories of whatever kindness Alasdair had shown them and their families. Gavin bore it all with his head held high, even as the pain of having lost his second parent in an untimely manner bored a hole into his heart. The games would prove to be a considerate amount of work for everyone in his household, but Gavin knew that they would bring cheer to all his new renters and to himself.

The first to arrive were family, a good week or so ahead of when the other guests would likely show, to make time for the burial and a moderate amount of grieving. It was a somber affair, as all funerals were. Gavin wore his best and watched as the casket bearing his father's body was lowered into the ground next to his mother. Despite his grief, it was almost as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. With both of his parents gone, there was no one to warn him against doing the things he wanted to most. The