For Love or Loyalty: The MacGregor Legacy | Book 1 by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

body against the wall and crawled toward her. He grabbed her with his other arm and purposed in his heart that he wouldn’t let go.
    “Lauren, pray!” If God would hear anyone’s prayers, it would be hers. He had no right to expect anything from the Almighty. He kissed the top of Lauren’s wet head. “I am sorry, Lauren. Please forgive me.”
    He would never know if she heard his whispered plea.
The tidal wave crashed the ship, rolling it over. They tumbled. Seawater engulfed them, but Malcolm hung on to Lauren and the lad. Wedged between the quarterdeck railing and a couple of secured barrels, they gasped for air. When the ship bobbed
back up again, screams came from every direction. Malcolm dragged in a ragged breath, desperate for air. The child in his arms whimpered, flooding Malcolm with relief. He set the lad at the rail.
    “Hold on with both hands an’ do not let go no matter what,” Malcolm said. “I need to help Miss Campbell.”
    Gulping with fear, he lifted her limp body and adjusted her on his lap. He tilted her chin toward him, but she didn’t awaken. A bloody gash slashed across her scalp at the hairline. Tears blinded his eyes as he crushed her against him.
    “It should have been me an’ not ye.” He groaned against her ear, allowing the raw pain to etch deep into his soul. When had he come to care so much? The answer was simple. When he had seen her give so much of herself to everyone else with no expectations in return—even from him. It was her caring heart that had made her visit Inverawe and his family. And how had he repaid her? By betraying her kindness and using her as revenge.
    Malcolm tightened his arms around her. She sputtered and coughed. Relief filled him as he bent her over his arm and pounded her back. She choked and coughed up more water.
    “Thank ye.” Her words were a hoarse whisper but a blessed sound to his overjoyed heart.
    The ship tilted again. Taken off guard, Malcolm had no time to brace himself or grab anything to hold onto. Instead, he used his body to shield and hold onto her as the raging storm thrashed them about the deck. Blows slashed against his back, legs, and arms. Searing pain sliced through his head. His vision went black, and the last thing he heard was Lauren’s voice.
    “Malcolm?”

Chapter 6
    6

    L auren woke partially sheltered under Malcolm’s body. She glanced over his arm to see morning had come. They survived the stormy night. Lingering clouds cast a bleak fog around them. Water splashed up over her fingers as the ship swayed back and forth, now floating in the calm sea. It was cold with a bittersweet smell like seaweed. Water sloshed across the wooden deck.
    A few sailors stirred. Some tended to the wounded while others inspected the damage. Lauren shoved Malcolm’s arm off her shoulders, but it only flopped to the side like dead weight. Fear pierced her heart.
    “Malcolm?” No answer. She crawled up on her knees and shook him. No response. “Malcolm? Speak to me.”
    Lauren rolled him over and gasped at the bloody wound above his left temple. She pulled his jacket open and bent to listen to his chest. A faint heartbeat pressed against his ribs. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lauren tapped his cheek. “Malcolm, ye’re scaring me. Wake up.” Nothing. She shook his shoulders to no avail.
    She sat back on her heels, unsure what to do. Lauren glanced up at one of the sailors hammering the foremast where it split. Two other sailors retied a sail in place. Another poured excess water over the side.
    Malcolm was too heavy for her to lift, and she didn’t want him to fall facedown in the remaining water on deck. She moved behind him, gripped under the arms, and hauled him toward the wall, inch by inch. Her skirt caught under her foot. She tugged it free and kept going. “I knew ye to be a big mon, Malcolm MacGregor, but not so heavy,” she said against his ear, hoping he would wake. His chin continued to rest against his chest. “Mayhap, a