But the bump made it all real. Her body was growing her first child, and she could feel it happening. A wonderful, kind, clever child was inside her, and she could not wait to meet him or her.
“Are ye ready, me love?” Arran’s voice called from the doorway.
“Aye, I’m ready,” she called back, turning toward him with her hands still pressing the fabric of her skirt to her burgeoning pregnancy.
“Och, Skye,” he murmured, his eyes going directly to her stomach and instantly filling with love. “Me bonnie wife and bairn.”
He walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her gently.
“Ye look amazing.”
“Thank ye, Arran. Ye look pretty dashing yerself in yer uniform.”
Now Laird of two clans, Arran was dressed in a specially woven tartan, signifying both his success and the union of both clans that he and Skye had brought about.
“I saw Magnus heading for the kirk. He seemed nervous.” He laughed. “It is funny to see a man of his age nervous.”
“Well, he should be. He will be responsible for me maither’s happiness. It is a big role to fill,” Skye breathed.
She was nervous about the day too. She loved Magnus and knew the wonderful man he was. But marriage had brought her mother such pain in the past, and she was scared that the same thing would happen again.
Helena deserved happiness, peace, and love, and Skye hoped with all her might that her mother would get it.
Arran brushed her cheek with his knuckle, guessing her worry. “Do nae fret. Magnus will treat her well, Skye. Better than any other man I know. It hurt him full sore to look for the two of ye. I think that’s why he tasked me with the chore.” Arran reassured her.
Skye nodded and took her husband’s hand, “Happen ye might be right.” Together, they headed downstairs to the ceremony.
The kirk was filled with white roses and purple thistles—Helena’s favorites—as well as all of their family and friends. Music filled the air, and everyone came in their finest attire to celebrate the happy couple.
Skye had spent weeks embroidering a white gown for her mother, and it sparkled with tiny glass beads in the late autumn sun. Helena looked as radiant as any lass on her first wedding day.
“There ye are, me darlin’,” her mother said. “I was beginnin’ to fear ye an’ yer bonnie lad had gotten distracted when he went to fetch ye.”
Skye linked arms with her mother. “I would nae miss this day, Maither. Ye deserve all the happiness in the world.”
They strolled down he aisle together. Magnus waited at the altar, seeming awestruck by the vision before him. He smiled warmlyat Skye as she placed her mother’s hand in his, but his gaze was fixed upon Helena.
“Thank ye, Skye, for bringing yer maither to me,” he murmured. “It means so much that ye place this trust in me.”
“Ye are welcome, Magnus. Look after her.”
His eyes were bright with tears. “I will, lass. I always will.”
With a nod, Skye stepped to the side and let the new chapter in her mother’s life begin, as happy as it should have always been.
“I promise to make ye laugh even when yer face is trippin’ ye,” Helena swore.
“I promise to carry ye over hills and valleys when yer feet are hurtin’,” Magnus vowed.
Skye stood next to Arran, their hands clasped together, and she reflected on their own wedding. It had been rushed, and they had hardly known one another. It was filled with excitement but not much romance. And yet, she wouldn’t change it for the world.
They had jumped in to help each other and look where it had brought them.True love.
As if he was thinking the same thing, Arran leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Would ye do it any differently now?”
“Nay,” she responded instantly. “There isnae a thing I would change about our story.”
He kissed her cheek softly and squeezed her hand. “I would like to write the next chapter, though,” he whispered.
