I noticed Fyfe taking everything in, thoroughly entertained, and I was reminded he hadn’t had this growing up. These messy, chaotic, bantering, silly, loving scenes of a large family. Mum and I hadn’t either until moving here. Then we’d become honorary Adairs, especially when Lewis and I were dating. This family hada magic about them. Orphaned siblings whose bond was so strong, they lived on the same patch of land here in Caelmore, and even though they’d been blessed with wealth in a material sense, they’d always understood their true wealth was in each other. Those who were lucky enough to be loved by them were forever fixed within that bond too.
Lewis had asked me to move in with him a few weeks ago. The house, which was nowourhouse, had been cleared of the mess from the break-in. We’d ordered new furniture, some of which had arrived, some of which we had a few weeks to wait for.
Arro and Mac had been understanding when I broke the lease on the cottage, and they’d decided to sell it. It was snapped up in three days.
Now my home was with Lewis. I mean, it would always, always be with Mum too. But, aye, it was with Lewis. My attention turned to him as he laughed with Fyfe over a story they were telling about a new student in our tae kwon do class. I was still attending classes, so I’d witnessed the cocky wee shit who’d come in, total newbie, and challenged Lewis to a sparring match.
The kid was like a boxing bag. Every time Lewis defeated him (in two seconds, I might add), he bounced back, determined to take more. Lewis was being incredibly patient with him, but he was taking up class time, so Fyfe stepped in and floored the kid with a jump back kick. Like literally knocked him on his arse and the breath out of him.
I’d understood why Fyfe did what he did. People like that kid would get themselves or someone else hurt if they didn’t learn from the get-go not to treat martial arts like a joke or worse, a weapon. But it didn’t mean I didn’t love the fact that Lewis had the patience of a saint. I kind of already knew that about him, though. My gaze swept lovingly over his face as he talked and laughed. Sometimes it took my breath away that he was mine.
As if he sensed me staring, he looked at me. He reached out casually and caressed my cheek before turning back to his conversation with his family. I smiled to myself and looked away, only to lock eyes with Regan.
Hers glistened with warmth and tenderness, and I’d know why later when we were leaving and she drew me into a hug and whispered, “Thank you for loving him the way he deserves to be loved.”
Something about her words eased a bit of the guilt I still hung onto from our past.
Coming home to our beautiful house in the woods, it felt almost too quiet after our Sunday dinner with our families. I said as much to Lewis as we snuggled up on the sofa bed we’d borrowed from my parents until our new sofas arrived.
Lewis cuddled me into his side. “Wait until the baby is here. We’ll be pleading for silence.”
I chuckled, resting my head on his shoulder as he flicked through TV channels.
The last six weeks had been a mixed bag of emotions, but what was new? The police had reviewed CCTV but had no luck identifying the men who had broken into the cottage. We were pretty sure from their height and build it was the same men who broke into the house.
I might still be worried about a possible future burglary, but we were all pretty damn certain Nathan was behind it. Dad had reached out to his contact, and he’d been honest and up-front with me when he said that they’d paid someone on the inside to use force against Nathan. Despite my black belt, I wasn’t an advocate for violence. I just wanted to know how to defend myself against it, since it had been perpetrated on me and my mother.
But I felt no remorse that Dad had someone beat up Nathan as a warning. While that put me in a morally gray category, he was the one person in the world I had no compassion or sympathy for. He’d caused us too much pain.
Though he’d sworn to the “contact” that he had nothing to do with the break-ins, they coincidentally stopped after Nathan’s attack. No more men in black, no more watching over our shoulders. Nathan was scum of the earth, and I wished it hadn’t been him taking revenge for his parole hearing, but I wasn’t surprised by it.
Intimidation was his favorite game.
Evil arsehole.
I shuddered anytime I contemplated the fact we shared DNA and that my blue eyes came from him. “The only good thing he ever gave you,” Mum used to say.
Lewis loved my eyes too, but I was manifesting our kid inherited his shade of blue instead of mine.
“I missed Eilidh tonight,” I said as we settled on an action movie that I probably wouldn’t watch through to the end because I needed to be up early for work.
“She’s finished filming in Romania,” Lewis shared. I did not know that. “I think she’s avoiding us.”
“Why?” I sat up, frowning at him.
“I don’t know. I’m worried about her.”
“Like how you’re always worried about her, or do you think there’s something to be worried about?”
“I think there’s something to be worried about.”
“Then I’ll call her tomorrow,” I promised and cracked, “I’ll guilt her into coming home by pulling the ‘I’m pregnant with your niece or nephew’ card.”
“Aye?”
“Look at me already pulling the mum guilt card. How ready am I?”
He chuckled and tugged me back into his side. “Do what you have to do to bring her home.”
