All right, maybe the entourage hadn’t faded. Her lips quirked and she shook her head in amusement.
Emily seemed to be in true form by chatting non-stop with Ian, but he seemed thrilled by the attention and joined the discussion with animation.
He would gesture to the stage and point out different facts about the dance and Kenzie.
Again, Emily was visibly fascinated. Both by the dancers and Ian.
After the Highland Dancers finished and Kenzie had joined up with them, they all made their way over to the games where Ian and his brothers were set to compete.
They spent a good while watching several games being played. The “weight over the bar” event where men attempted to toss a fifty-six pound weight over a bar with just one hand. Or there was the fascinating “stone put” where the athletes threw a large stone as far as possible.
But what drew the biggest crowd was the caber toss. Women, men and children of all ages lined up to watch the event.
“Look at them all.” Kenzie gestured to the athletes set to compete. “You’d swear it was Christmas, they’re so excited.”
Sarah focused again on all the burly men lined up. Most with large upper bodies and thick calf muscles, no doubt from being constant participants in these types of games.
They were chatting and friendly, but obviously in competitive mode. Almost all wore kilts with some kind of T-shirt—some of the guys had even ripped the sleeves to show off more muscle.
And there was no lacking of muscles among them. But then, they’d have to be fairly muscular to lift a nearly twenty-foot pole that weighed close to two hundred pounds.
The three McLaughlin brothers stood together, wide grins on their faces as they chatted and watched the other contestants.
“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t kick any of those McLaughlin boys out of my bed for eating crackers.”
Kenzie snorted and Sarah turned to stare at the group of women passing by. One had to be close to seventy.
“I see they’ve still got their fan club,” she murmured.
Kenzie rolled her eyes and turned back to the field. “They always will. Not like it goes to their head or anything.”
Sarah didn’t miss the sarcasm and laughed softly. Maybe it did go to their head, but for the most part the McLaughlins were a down-to-earth bunch.
“What did those ladies mean by that, Mom?” Emily asked. “Toss them out of bed for eating crackers?”
Yikes, she’d heard that too, huh?
“It’s just a saying, dear. Oh, look, Ian’s about to compete next.”
“Oh, really?” Just like that her daughter’s attention was diverted. “Come on, Ian, you can do it!”
Ian glanced over at them, his grin expanding as he waved. He blew them a kiss and Emily squealed appropriately.
Sarah couldn’t help but shake her head, but when he met her gaze and winked, there were definitely butterflies in her stomach again.
And then Ian turned and went to take his position. Once the long log was hoisted upright, he squatted down and placed his hands low on the log.
Even though she’d seen this done in the handful of games she’d gone to when she was younger, it was different now. More intense and somewhat scarier when the man you loved was participating in the dangerous game.
That last unfiltered thought reverberated through her head and she blinked in dismay.
She loved Ian. Again.
Before she could fully angst over that realization, her attention returned to him as the crowd around them began to scream in encouragement.
Her breath caught as he lifted the long log off the ground.
Emily poked her in the side. “It’s like he’s carrying a telephone pole. He’s really going to throw it?”
“Aye,” Kenzie answered for her.
Good thing too, because Sarah couldn’t have spoken or looked away from Ian at this moment.
He took a moment to steady the caber against his shoulder, before moving forward quickly. With a roar he tossed it up and outward. The crowd burst into screams as he successfully flipped it end over end.
“That’s good, right?” Emily asked, bouncing up and down.
“That’s very good,” Kenzie agreed with a laugh. “I have very strong brothers.”
Instead of returning to the line of competitors, as most of the men before him had done, he strode toward where Sarah, Kenzie and Emily were.
Her heart skipped a beat and as he came closer she could see his eyes bright with excitement and pure male pride.
She wasn’t sure what she expected. Maybe a high five to them all, or a quick chat, but it wasn’t what he did next.
He leaned over the rope and caught the back of her neck, pulling her forward just enough for his mouth to claim hers.
Hot giddy pleasure rushed through her. That he was so blatantly claiming her as his. And then her eyes snapped open when she realized he’d done this in front of Emily. And Kenzie. And pretty much everyone at the Games.