Lord of the Long Winter

Elspeth MacRae was taken from a burning croft because the laird of Dunhollow needed a hostage who could read. She was not told he needed one who would not flinch. Callan Rhu speaks to no one but his horse, keeps his grief in a locked tower room, and will not name a reason for anything. Elspeth organizes his ledgers, translates the garrison's dispatches, and unsettles the whole hall, one small kindness at a time. When the English march on the pass, the only person who sees the attack coming is the woman he locked in a tower. A grumpy sunshine captive Highland romance about a laird who has forgotten how to ask for anything and the woman who never needed to be asked.