Highlander's Beloved 02 - A Highlander's Passion (24 page)

Kendric chuckled. “Good luck with telling
her
anything. I bet she was a hippie in her younger days.”

“That she was. She told me all about her experiences at Woodstock.” Earnan glanced at her with affection in his eyes. “I’ve never met anyone like her.”

A small group stood at the base of the steps of the castle-turned-lodge. Colleen jumped up and down and waved so hard, it was a wonder her wee arm didna drop off. Kendric set the bird down effortlessly on the lawn of the lodge and Paisley ran to the sliding door. “Welcome home, you two.” She hugged them both and helped Bryce make the leap to the ground. “She leaned in and yelled at Kendric. “Mind taking me along? I want to be with Gram when she has her tests. Creigh can bring me home afterward.” No sooner had she asked her question than she climbed into Bryce’s now vacant seat and buckled up.

Both he and Kenzie ducked under the spinning rotors and, once clear, he held out his arms fer his little girl. “Where’s Da’s sweetest luv?” She squealed and ran, leaping into his embrace.

“I’ll go talk to yer mum and fill her in while ye and Leena have some huggy time.” Kenzie strode to his mum, and their heads inclined toward each other.

“What’s this about ‘Leena’?” he teased his daughter, who had coiled herself around him like a boa constrictor.

“It’s me mum’s special name for her daughter. Our secret name.” She kissed his chin. “But I guess ye can hear it—we’re going to be a family soon. And maybe I’ll get a baby brother or sister. I been praying real hard on that one.” She nodded, the auburn curls he loved like crazy bouncing in the process. “I missed ye so much.”

“Och, me sweetest luv, I missed ye too. That hospital has stupid rules about children not coming to visit.” She glanced up at the sky, no doubt waiting fer him to growl at her about her tantrum yesterday. “I heard ye threw a bit of a temper fit over those rules.”

“Aye, but…but I promised Mummy I’d try real hard not to act that way again. I think I made her faint. I overheard Cook Edweena talking about it. I dinna like kenning I made me mum sick.”

“Well, here’s the thing. Both of us need a nap. The doctor gave us medicine that makes us sleepy. I havna had mine yet because I wanted to stay awake long enough to see ye and to get me special kisses. I’m thinking tonight would be a good movie night. Cartoons with no explosions or shootings. Kenzie still gets awful headaches from noises. Can ye pick two special ones?”

Her face brightened. “Trust me. I know just the cartoons. Will there be popcorn?”

“Aye, and apple juice.”

“Can we watch them in your sitting room…alone…just like a little family?”

“Aye, luv. After dinner. Now, Kenzie and I both need to get to bed. We’ll be sleeping together from now on.”

She slid down. “Okay.” Her arms went around his legs, and he winced. “I missed ye, Da. I’m going to pick out the movies now.” She charged fer the house.

He limped toward the steps, where the women were talking. “I need to lie down, and I ken ye do too, sweetheart. Mum, I just told Colleen that Kenzie will be sleeping with me from now on. Our little girl was fine with it. I willna be kept apart from Kenzie again.”

“I understand. Your da wasna one to wait either.” A faint blush crept across her cheeks.

He kissed his mum and reached fer Kenzie’s hand. “Ye’ve never seen me bedroom since I moved into a separate wing after Colleen was born. I’ve got a big bed and a shower large enough fer two and a lock on me door so powerful even a nosy urchin like me daughter canna pick it.”

They made slow progress up the steps. “Did ye ever ken ye’ve got a lock too, sweetheart. It requires a special key.” He gave her a saucy wink. “And I’ve got just the key it needs.” His voice lowered to a sexual purr. “Let’s take a hot shower before we crawl into bed.”

Her steps faltered. “I thought ye said ye needed sleep.”

His hand swept across her behind. “Aye. But first I need some of that special therapy ye talked about earlier on the helicopter.”

She lowered her voice too. “Och. And would that be a blow job or a quick round of sex?”

“Sweetheart, ye ken how sick I’ve been. I’m thinking both…”

June 23rd—A Midsummer’s Eve Wedding

Now that the threat of Fauste was gone, Kenzie tried to curtail some of the ancient protection preparations fer the wedding, but once the Matheson clan had their hearts set on something, there was no changing their plans. Everyone seemed so excited over every detail; she couldna hurt their feelings, even though the number of guests had somehow grown from forty to sixty.

So, here she sat, in Creighton and Paisley’s private quarters, having Effie and Mary Kate curl her hair with much prattling and fussing over each strand. Why couldna she wear her hair in its normal curly style instead of piled on the top and back of her head in a thick plaid knot? Along the hairline and above each ear, tendrils were curled with a curling iron. Effie called the wisps “sexy” as she sprayed a cloud of hairspray over each blasted curl. The spray tickled Kenzie’s nose and made her sneeze.

Aunt Una saw to everyone’s gowns. She was proud of her creations, so she was, and rightfully so. Both Mary Kate and Paisley wore navy, high-waisted gowns with off-the-shoulder short sleeves. Matheson navy and forest green plaid sashes covered the waistlines and tied in the back, which worked great fer Paisley’s growing pregnancy. The gowns ended mid-calf, and both attendants wore ballet slippers made of matching plaid leather. Una good-naturedly refused to tell how she’d dyed the leather that way. She was in high giggling spirits, and Kenzie feared her aunt had been nipping at her own private homemade brew of whisky, especially since her cheeks were especially ruddy.

Fiona had bathed Colleen and washed her hair before she burst into the sitting area, ready to be part of the dressing ritual. She was like the warm southern wind twirling and blowing from room to room, working herself into a state.

“Leena, could you come help Mumma?”

The five-year-old cyclone blew to her side. “What do ye need?”

Kenzie gathered a small black velvet bag from the table. “I need ye to hold me bridal earrings. Take good care of them, for one day ye’ll be wearing them at yer wedding.”

The child’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Aye. Open yer hands and hold them side by side and I’ll place them in your palms. These are all I have left of me mumma. They once belonged to her mum, my grandma. I never got to meet me grandma, like ye’ve had the honor of meeting yers.” She glanced at Fiona and smiled. “That makes these pearl and diamond drops extra special. They are very old and dear to me heart.” She shook the velvet bag into her new daughter’s hands. “Look at them. Arna they beautiful, Leena?”

“Aye, they are.” Colleen held one of the drops high to catch the waning sunlight. “They are the prettiest things I ever saw. I wish I had a pair.”

“You may wear them to yer wedding, if ye like. But for today”—Kenzie picked up a velvet box—“I bought these little earrings to match the amethyst necklace for ye because ye are me flower girl and me special, special Leena.”

The child very carefully dropped the heirlooms into the black bag, opened the lid to the box, and gasped. “These are for me? Truly? I…I never had earrings before. And there are sparkly stones around them.”

So much happiness and utter joy from a child.
ʼ
Tis why God kept giving people children, Kenzie was sure, for tender moments like this. “These are made for ladies whose ears arna pierced. They screw on and dinna hurt yer earlobes. Can I put them on ye and ye tell me when they start to pinch a little?” Once the earrings were attached, Kenzie tapped the matching amethyst necklace on her new daughter’s tiny neck. She held out a mirror. “What do ye think?”

Bless the child, she pursed her lips as she stared into the mirror, turning her head from side to side and gently touching her jewelry. Slowly she went from woman to woman to show off her new favorite things.

“Ye have a way with her.” Fiona nodded. “Ye calm her and make her feel so important.” She eased the child’s forest green dress, styled like that of the women’s gowns, over Colleen’s shining auburn curls, nodding and muttering “Aye, child” every time Colleen ordered her to be careful of her new jewelry. Fiona tied her Matheson plaid bow and Una presented her with her matching ballet slippers.

Kenzie took a few moments to use the bathroom. Her nerves had her bladder in high gear among other things. She returned with a handful of tissues to place on the dressing table.

Dusk approached and voices drifted upward through the open windows: Guests had arrived. Kenzie had expected jitters in her stomach, but, while she had some, the upcoming ceremony wasna the cause.

Because, in the middle of all this joyous anticipation, all Kenzie could do was stare at the Kleenex that held the stick. Effie motioned everyone over. “I can’t take this another minute. Pull back the top tissue so we can look at that pee stick.”

“What’s a pee stick? My pee doesna get stuck anywhere. Should it, Mummy?” Oh, sweet Lord, where did this child come up with all these questions? Kenzie was going to be sick. She was so high-strung, between the wedding and being so tired and Colleen’s constant chatter and the minute details of a wedding, she almost wished it was over. Why hadna they just eloped? Now this pee stick business that wouldna go away.

Her hand trembled as she lifted the top tissue and saw the blue plus sign. The feminine cheers and hand clapping were nearly deafening. Those doctors were wrong. Her lynx was right. There would be more bairns. She laid her head against Fiona’s blue gown and cried.

“Why is Mummy crying? Why isna she happy?”

Fiona extended her arm and drew the child into the embrace. “Your mummy
is
happy. She just found out she’s pregnant. That means she’s going to have a bairn. She didna think she could, but she got a special surprise today. The stick is something a woman pees on, and if a plus sign comes up, that means she’s going to have a bairn.”

“Oh, that. Guess you can blame me for this one. I’ve been praying for a baby brother or sister every night.” Her blue eyes opened wide. “I mean, I prayed really,
really
hard.”

“See there?” Effie blotted the tears from her face. “Prayer does answer things. Now for the unveiling of the bridal gown. Una has kept it a big secret and I’m dying to see it.”

Una set an old cardboard suitcase on the bed. Kenzie had gone to her aunt’s twice for measurements and neither time could she get the old snaggletooth witch to reveal one detail of the gown’s design. Time after time, call after call, Aunt Una wasna talking.

The thought had crossed Kenzie’s mind several times to simply go into town and buy a dress that she, the bride, had envisioned. But she owed her aunt fer all the years she’d taken care of her, shielded her, and looked after her mum when she had cancer. She couldna hurt the old woman.
ʼ
Twas only a dress, after all. What was important was the man she was marrying, the man she’d loved so many years, and who’d rescued her from Fauste.

“Open yer robe, child. The outfit is in several layers.” Aunt Una removed a tissue-wrapped parcel from a small, old suitcase. She slipped on cotton gloves. “Me hands are so rough, I havna touched the material for fear I’d snag it. Take yer bra off, but keep the lacy thongs on.”

Nearly naked, Kenzie unfolded the tissue, her heart pounding, and her eyes settled on an ivory satin slim slip, barely long enough to cover the essentials and edged in lace. At her aunt’s request, she stepped into it, shimmying to raise it to her waist. The cool material slithered over her body like cool water over fern leaves. “Me boobs will start to ache with no bra for so long. They’re so sensitive.”

“Tell me about it. Mine are too. It’s the baby.” Paisley’s hand covered her little baby bump.

Aunt Una held out a Matheson plaid skirt. “Slip this on next. Thank goodness yer not so far along the zipper willna go up all the way.” The soft light woolen material fit her hips as snugly as her future husband’s hands. The front hemline barely came mid-thigh, gradually growing longer until the back touched her heels, flaring out like a mermaid’s skirt.

“Och,
ʼ
tis very risqué, Aunt Una. What will people think?’

Effie patted Kenzie’s cheek. “Calm down. People will think you are gorgeous. Besides, we’ve yet to see the whole effect. What’s next, Una?”

She grinned as she pulled out a strapless bustier in the Matheson plaid. “This is why ye’ll need no bra. I’ll place this around you and tie up the back. We’ll want it tight enough to push your breasts up to catch yer husband’s eye, yet loose enough ye can catch yer breath.”

“Aye, being able to breathe while I take me wedding vows would be nice.”

Aunt Una pulled and yanked on the back strings of the bustier, stopping once to make sure Kenzie had her boobs all but toppling out. “Bryce’s eyes will most definitely be caught on the sight of ye.” The old witch cackled.

Kenzie stared in the mirror once Una was finished. The odd-looking combination of a strapless plaid bustier over a mermaid plaid skirt was pretty. “Did ye make me ballet slippers, too?”

“No, that was my contribution.” Effie handed her a shoe box. “Men love women in stilettos. They make her hips sway in a sexy way.” The old bawdy woman Kenzie had come to love gave her a saucy wink.

Kenzie looked at the box that had been thrust into her hands. “Tell me they arna pink.” She opened the box and pulled away the ivory tissue paper to find green satin strappy heels. “Sweet heavens, they’re perfect.” She sat to slip them on, and Effie pinned a wreath of flowers in her hair, made of white roses and daisies with the tips of their petals dyed blue.

The other women helped one another get their floral wreaths of daisies pinned to their hairdos. All these women were beautiful to Kenzie. Pretty, inside and out, and so precious to her soul. “I love ye all, ye know.” She reached for a tissue and dabbed her eyes. “Me eye makeup will be ruined.”

A knock sounded at the door and Colleen ran to answer it. “Uncle Creigh, look how beautiful I am in my flower girl dress.” She did a slow twirl. Och, her new daughter was such a girly-girl. Kenzie would have such fun taking her shopping fer school clothes. Dresses and frills and lots of pretty, sparkly things.

“Well now,
ʼ
tis a Highland beauty ye are fer sure. Will ye ask Paisley to come to the door, please?”

“Paisley!” The child shrieked as if the woman were ten miles away. Kenzie shook her head. If the child’s wee heart didna burst with excitement today, she’d be surprised.

Paisley hurried to Creighton, and his eyes lit up at seeing her in her wedding attire. He leaned to murmur something in her ear and she blushed with happiness. Then he glanced around the impromptu dressing room. “All the last-minute preparations are done. The flares have been lit to illuminate the guests’ walkway and Ronan has the bonfires going. Cook tells me the wedding feast is ready. I have a florist box from Bryce for his bride. Since ye are the matron of honor, would ye see she gets it, luv?” He handed it to Paisley. “And
ʼ
tis a good thing I’m not looking at her right now, for I’d have to tell me brother his eyes will pop out when he sees how lovely she looks in her finery.”

Kenzie went to him and he made a big show of covering his eyes so as not to see her. A giggle of happiness burst from her. What a gloriously happy day. A wedding, a new family, and a bairn. “Laird Creighton, thank ye again fer agreeing to escort me to me groom. I mean, since I have no da to do the honors.”

His large hand rose to cup her cheek. “Sister, ye are ours now.
ʼ
Tis bursting with pride I’ll be to walk ye between the bonfires toward Bryce. I’ll be thinking of me own da and how he kent years ago ye two were meant fer each other. A Highland prophecy, of sorts, coming true.”

“Uncle Creigh?” Colleen yanked on the hem of his kilt.

“Aye?” His fingers twirled one of her auburn curls.

“I’m still the cheery greeter here at the lodge, right?”

“Aye, child, ye will be for many years.”

“Then once I get to the front, after sprinkling me rose petals for me mum to walk on, shouldna I turn around and greet everyone?” Her little forehead wrinkled in question.

Bryce had told Kenzie during their long talks how seriously his little one took this job Creighton had given her a couple years ago. The laird, dressed in his full Highland regalia, glanced at Kenzie for her approval.

“I think our daughter should welcome everyone, since I hear she does such a fine job as the cheery greeter.”

He exhaled what appeared to be relief. “Well then,
ʼ
tis settled. I’ll inform the minister.” His smile was all charm as he aimed them at his wife. “And do I get a kiss before I leave?”

Colleen jammed her hands at her tiny waist. “There will be no kissing before the wedding. No one kisses before me da and mum. They kiss first and then ye may kiss.”

One thick, dark eyebrow cocked before he reached out and pulled his wife to him. He laid a lip-lock on her that heated up the dressing room a couple degrees. Then he glared at his niece. “Never tell a Scot when he can and canna kiss his beloved, lassie.” He spun on his heel and marched out.

“Uncle Creigh, ye are not the boss of me!” His reaction must not have been good, for Colleen slammed the door and leaned against it. “Whew! What put a bee under
his
kilt?”

Paisley laughed. “Men like to think they’re the boss of us.” She touched the tip of her niece’s nose. “And sometimes we let them think they are. When you grow up, you’ll know how to pick and choose the right times.” Paisley handed the square white box to Kenzie. “These are for you from your groom.”

She removed the lid on the florist box. The scent of roses caressed her nose as she placed her hands inside to remove her bridal bouquet: a dozen white roses with blue and green ribbons to match the Matheson tartan. In the middle were two white roses tipped with pink and blue dye. Thinking back to the day they’d placed white roses in the loch, she kent the secret meaning behind his choice. Her big, strong, future husband was a sentimental man, and she loved the combination.

Colleen was at the window. “Uncle Ronan sure did make big bonfires. All three of them are burning brightly. Come see. Och, and the bagpipe players are taking their place by the walkway Da and Ronan fixed up yesterday.”