Three Months Later…
“‘Tis yer last chance tae change yer mind,” Deidre said.
“And why would I dae that then?”
She shrugged. “Just thought I’d give ye the option.”
“That’s kind of ye,” Ronan replied.
She flashed him a mischievous grin. “If ye’re inclined, ye’d better take it now.”
“And what happens if I daenae take it?”
“Ye’ll nae get another chance.”
“Nay?”
She shook her head. “If ye daenae take it now and try tae leave later, I’ll cut yer legs off.”
Ronan laughed. “Huh. Mebbe I should think about it,” he said, “I dinnae ken I was marryin’ such a madwoman.”
“Oh, ye kent I was mad from the day we met.”
He screwed up his face and pretended to think about it. “Aye. I suppose that’s true. Ye’re nae wrong. Ye’ve been out of yer mind mad since we met.”
She laughed and slapped him playfully on the chest. They stood together in a small copse of trees on the southern grounds of the keep. The trees and bushes all around them were in bloom, filling the air with their aroma, the blossom a riot of color. It was a sunny day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was pleasantly warm. Deidre didn’t believe in omens, but she would have taken this as a good one if she did.
As she looked at him, her heart swelled. Nobody had ever affected her the way Ronan did. He made her heart and soul feel like they were on fire when she was with him, and when they weren’t together, she couldn’t wait to be back by his side. He was intoxicating. Addicting. He seemed to fill those missing pieces in her – parts she never knew were missing until she met him.
Learning that he was Kenneth Barclay’s son had been a shock. It had enraged her that he’d not told her. That he’d omitted that truth from her. Deidre had felt betrayed. She felt like she’d been lied to. But after he’d been thrown into the cells beneath the keep and she went back to the inn alone, she’d had time to think about it. To think about him. To think about what they’d shared.
And she realized that he might have shared a surname with the man who’d slaughtered her family, but he was nothing like him. Ronan was kind. Considerate. He was thoughtful, and he was gentle. Ronan had a good heart, and he was a good man. In other words, he was the complete opposite of his father. All they had in common was their surname.
That was what had turned her around on the road that day. The realization that she was holding his father’s crimes against him. The realization that she was throwing away something beautiful and something that had shaken her soul in the best way possible because of a man who was dead. A man Ronan himself had helped her to kill. If that didn’t prove his loyalty to her and the differences between him and his father, then she knew nothing else would.
“Are ye all right?” he asked.
“What? Oh, yes. I’m fine.”
“Are ye having second thoughts?”
She smiled at him. “Second? I’m on me third or fourth thoughts now.”
Ronan laughed softly. “Aye. I wouldnae blame ye if ye had,” he said, “But if ye try tae leave, mebbe it’ll be me cuttin’ yer legs off.”
She stepped closer and planted a gentle kiss upon his lips. “’Tis a good thing I ken ye’re tae gentle tae dae somethin’ like that.”
Deidre held his gaze, knowing she would be more than happy to stare into his eyes every day for the rest of her life. She trailed the tips of her fingers down his cheek, relishing the way his skin felt beneath her touch.
“Our guests will be gettin’ restless by now,” he said softly.
Deidre cut a glance over her shoulder, peeking through the screen of trees and bushes at the crowd gathered in the field to see them wed. Conall had commissioned that a special garden be erected in the southern fields specifically for their wedding. Deidre thought it was an incredibly sweet gesture, and he had built something truly beautiful.
It was special and made Deidre’s heart skip a beat. She’d never thought of herself getting married. Had never envisioned her wedding day like most women her age. She honestly never thought she would get married at all. But if she had been one of those who daydreamed of being married, she would have imagined something just like Conall had provided.
“They can sod off,” she replied with a grin, “This is our bleedin’ day. Nobody else’s but ours.”
“Ye’re so fierce. So fiery.”
“And that’s why ye fell in love with me.”
He shrugged. “’Tis one of the reasons. There were many reasons I fell in love with ye.”
She looked into Ronan’s eyes, knowing she had one final surprise for him. But the thought of it sent a current of fear washing through her. It was something they hadn’t talked about. Something she didn’t know how he felt about. She looked down, gnawing on her bottom lip, trying to master her fear. Ronan slipped his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“What is it?” he asked.
She opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it again. Deidre felt her pulse racing and her throat dry. She licked her lips, trying to moisten them as she tried to work up the nerve to speak. To tell him what she needed to say. Because he needed to know. He deserved to know.
“Deidre?”
She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “There’s somethin’ I need tae tell ye, Ronan.”
“All right. What is it?”
Her vision blurred as tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t know whether they were tears of joy or because she was terrified. Ronan made her feel safe. He made her feel loved. And she had no reason to think this would change anything. But at the moment, she felt weak. She wanted to feel strong and brave, but as she thought about what she had to say, her nerve fled, and she felt herself trembling.
“Talk tae me, love,” he said.
And then, without meaning to, Deidre opened her mouth, and she cringed as the words came pouring out, seemingly of their own volition.
“We’re goin’ tae be havin’ a baby, Ronan,” she said, and laid her hand over her belly protectively.
He looked at her as though he didn’t understand. For a long moment, he said nothing. He just stared at her, his eyes drifting between hers, then down to her belly, and back again. The longer he remained silent, the more fearful she became, the tension building until she felt ready to run away and never look back.
But then his expression changed, and the smile on his face grew as wide as she’d ever seen it before. His cheeks flushed, and his eyes started to shimmer with tears. He laid his hand over hers atop her belly and looked her in the eye.
“Aye? Truly? We’re goin’ tae have a baby?” he asked.
She nodded slowly. “Aye. I had a midwife confirm it for me yesterday.”
Ronan pulled her into a tight embrace, laughing as he was seemingly overwhelmed with excitement. But then he quickly stepped back and put both of his hands on her belly.
“Oi. I need tae be careful with our little one, eh?” he said, still beaming with the widest smile she’d ever seen.
“So, yer nae upset?”
“Upset? Mebbe ye really are mad,” he replied, “How could I be upset? How could I be anythin’ but the happiest man in the world?”
“Truly?”
“Aye. Truly.”
The relief that flooded through her was so powerful that it made her feel weak in the knees. He held her up, helping keep her on her feet. She felt a mix of emotions so thick, they nearly stole her breath. She looked at Ronan, scrutinizing him, and determined that he was sincere. It made her heart swell and start to beat wildly.
“Not only dae I feel like the happiest man, I also feel like the luckiest man in the world as well,” he added.
As Deidre started to recover and stand straight, she felt her strength and bravado return.
“‘Tis because ye are the luckiest man in the world,” she replied with a sly grin, “Now, take me out there and make an honest woman out of me, eh?”
“Gladly.”
The music started as they walked out of the copse of trees together, hand in hand. Everyone took their seats and turned to watch them with affection. Deidre smiled as she passed, not knowing what she’d done to have the good fortune to have a life that started so badly, with so much death, destruction, and grief, become a life filled with so much joy and love. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve a life that had become so perfect.
But she wasn’t going to question it. She was simply going to enjoy every last moment of it.
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