Mackenzie Family Christmas (The Perfect Gift)(13)

He couldn't do it. "We have to find her."

"Aye." Daniel's grip tightened. "We will."

Ruby, the hound who'd taken up residence with Ian and Beth, galloped by, followed by Ian himself, holding a lantern high.

"Where is Achilles?" Ian called to them.

Achilles was a setter, or at least, a partial one. He had jet black fur except for one white hind foot, which gave him his name. Cameron realized that he'd seen only four of the five dogs--Ruby, Fergus, and McNab running about, Ben waiting near the terrace--but he hadn't paid much attention.

"I don't know," Cameron snapped. "I'm more interested in finding my daughter."

Ian came to a halt and looked straight at Cameron--he'd become better at meeting his brothers' eyes in the last few years, even though he sometimes still found it difficult. At the moment, his gaze held Cameron's.

"We need to look for Achilles."

"Damn it, Ian . . ."

"No, wait," Daniel said. "I think Uncle Ian's got it. I haven't seen Achilles since we arrived home, and Gavina likes him. What's more, he likes her." Daniel's eyes sparkled with excitement, the lantern making his face sharp.

Cameron's breath came faster as he raised his lantern and flashed it around the stable yard. Achilles did follow Gavina with devotion, and the little girl might have felt safe going outside with him. Gavina might not be able to answer their calls, but Achilles would.

"Sorry, Ian," Cameron said. He found himself saying that to Ian quite a bit. "I didn't understand."

Ian gave him a faint nod but didn't answer. His look told Cameron that he knew his older brother was an idiot, but he'd learned to put up with it.

"Hart!" Cameron moved to catch up with the bulk of the duke and explain.

Soon men were bellowing into the night, Achilles! Where are you, lad? The other dogs, recognizing the name, started barking in earnest.

The trouble was, they now were making so damn much noise that Cameron couldn't hear a blasted thing. He broke away from the main group, Daniel close behind him.

Cameron went out into the dark, away from the teeming stable yard. The musty scent of horses came to him on the wind, the cold of the night stealing his breath.

The wind cut out on the leeward side of the stables, the relative warmth a waft of relief. Faint and faraway, Cameron heard the loud arf arf of the one dog that wasn't there.

He stopped, and Daniel almost ran into him, lantern swinging. They both froze, listening.

It came again, the frantic barking of a dog trying with all its might to get their attention.

Cameron walked swiftly toward the sound, down the length of the back of the stables, its long stone wall rising high beside him.

"There!" Daniel said, pointing.

At the end of the wall, boards had been nailed over a hole to protect the crumbling foundation. From behind it was the unmistakable barking of Achilles--starting low and ending high, in almost a squeak. The more excited Achilles became, the squeakier he sounded.

The high-pitched barking escalated, accompanied by the noise of paws scrabbling on wood. Cameron and Daniel dropped to their knees, lanterns clanking on the ground, both men reaching at the same time for the gray pieces of board. Two pairs of gloved hands, one huge, the other thinner and more wiry, yanked wood away from the hole.

Achilles' snuffling nose came into view, his body squirming as his tail wagged deep inside the hole. Daniel got his hands around the dog and started pulling him out. Cameron didn't let himself think about the fact that Achilles might have become stuck down here by himself, nothing to do with Gavina.

Daniel fell back, his arms full of the dark-furred Achilles. Achilles, panting in happiness, licked Daniel's face, then went right back into the hole.





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Chapter Five





"Damn you, dog!" Daniel shouted and grabbed for him again.

Achilles filled the hole for a brief instant, then he squeezed on inside, his hindquarters writhing with his wagging tail.

Cameron's lantern fell on a confusion of objects behind the dog, some small and squirming, little peeping noises issuing from the dark. Cameron saw the wide reflective eyes of a cat, and beyond that, a flash of pink.

Somewhere in the back of his whirling thoughts, Cameron remembered Angelo, his groom, friend, and valet, telling him that cats always instinctively sought the warmest places to sleep. If you seek warmth, find a cat.

Cameron yanked loose another board and started to put his head inside the hole. Daniel seized him by the shoulder.

"Let me, Dad. You'll get stuck."

Cameron, the largest Mackenzie, had to concede. He moved out of the way but stayed on his hands and knees while Daniel got himself on his stomach and slithered inside.

Cam heard a low miaow then Daniel's voice as he spoke to dog and cat. Daniel inched his way back, his kilt catching on the icy stones and exposing his thighs, but he didn't release the bundle he carried with him.