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    Forged with Trust
    Forged with Trust
    Forged with Trust
    Ebook53 pages42 minutes

    Forged with Trust

    By Gabriella Mahoney

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Book 3 of the Heart of the Highlands Series.

    Betrayed by his mother and left by his betrothed, Payton Reid has no reason to trust women. Especially the woman that broke into his forge to steal his tools... twice. He has every reason to turn the spirited lass in yet the information that she knows could stop the violent attacks on the broken MacKinloch clan. But will his clan be the only thing Payton ends up saving?

    This short novelette is approximately 11,300 words.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGabriella Mahoney
    Release dateFeb 5, 2014
    ISBN9781310757556
    Forged with Trust
    Author

    Gabriella Mahoney

    Gabriella Mahoney is a California girl that has been writing since grade school. As an incurable bookworm, she remembers when her best friend first introduced her to Georgette Heyer and the world of Regency romance like it was yesterday. Gabriella likes to write in a variety of genres but she is especially fond of short form fiction and exploring the new romantic possibilities it creates.

    Read more from Gabriella Mahoney

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      Book preview

      Forged with Trust - Gabriella Mahoney

      Forged with Trust

      By Gabriella Mahoney

      ***

      Published by Gabriella Mahoney at Smashwords

      Copyright 2014 Gabriella Mahoney

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ***

      Chapter 1

      The snow on the ground outside reached the height of a child’s knee. Winter had settled fully into the highlands. Despite the frigid temperatures outside, sweat trickled down Payton Reid’s back as he hammered a sword blade into submission. He was a sixth generation blacksmith. His father and grandfather had been legends in their own right but he, at seven and twenty, had already surpassed them all.

      Payton had no real explanation for how he could do the things that he did. He simply understood metal. The complexities of the molten element before him made more sense than most people. His weapons did not shatter in battle and sliced through wooden shields like they were made of nothing.

      There was nothing mythical about his process. The thing that made him unique was his willingness to experiment. Most blacksmiths stuck with what they knew. They forged their metal the same way it had been forged a hundred years ago. Payton held no such notions. Ever since he was a lad apprenticing with his father he had tested different ways to heat or add different compounds to help purify the metal even further.

      While the cursed Campbells had occupied MacKinloch lands he had been forced to conduct his research in secret. Ignoring an order of weapons for Cambell soldiers would have resulted in death. Payton often wondered in bemused reflection how many blows it took before his faulty weapons fell apart. It had been his own small way of fighting against the cruel tyranny of a power hungry laird. But Laird Campbell was dead and the late Laird MacKinloch’s son had taken charge. Payton didn’t envy his position for a moment. This clan was left in shambles after Campbell occupation.

      Payton dipped the sword blade into a nearby bucket of water, causing a hiss of steam to rise. He placed the blade back into the coals and bellowed air into the forge to increase the heat. At least he was now free to fully explore his craft. In just the short time since the end of the occupation rumors of his work had already reached neighboring clans. When allied lairds requested specialty designs he charged exorbitant prices, which seemed to have the same effect on his reputation as the bellows did to hot coals.

      Every so often he felt a slight pang of regret that all his knowledge and skill would not pass on to another Reid. He would take on apprentices but his family’s legend would die with him. It had been a woman who had betrayed his father. And, later on, his betrothed left him for another. Women were not to be trusted with anything more than a moment’s pleasure. And

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