Chapter Twenty-One
“Will ye attendmy daughter’s wedding?” Fraser asked Kai as he set out two cups and poured them equal measures of ale. “We’d hoped to have them wed by now, but the priest dinna arrive as planned. The snow storm delayed him.”
Feeling completely healed, it was the first day Kai had ventured out of bed. If forced to spend another day on his back, he would have gone mad. “I am honored, and will gladly witness their vows. How soon will the wedding take place?”
Fraser sipped his ale. “Tomorrow evening, for Master Kinnear is eager to see our families united.”
“I salute you, Fraser. And your wife. May Rossa and Craig find joy and have many sons and daughters.” He raised his drinking vessel and tapped it against Fraser’s cup.
The older man smiled and took a drink before he leaned close and whispered, “From what I’ve heard, yer own nuptials are no’ long off.”
“Tis true. I heeded your advice and let the lass come to me.”
“She stayed by yer side from the moment ye arrived here. At first, we all thought the worst, that ye would die.”
Kai frowned at the possibility of never getting a chance to live as husband and wife with Miran. To never get to know her heart and mind, to never bed her, or have children with her. To miss growing old together. He bowed his head and said a silent prayer. God had spared him for a reason, and he believed he knew why—to give Miran a second chance at happiness. He would be her family now. “The poison Cadha used was one your daughter had never seen before.”
“Aye—we had to wait and pray for God’s mercy.”
“Your prayers helped. Thank ye.” That and the fact that Kai was a besotted fool. He simply refused to die. While under the power of Cadha’s poison, he’d had vivid dreams. Miran ever-present but just out of reach. Her smile had pulled him back from the clutches of death many times. “I credit faith and fate.”
“Fate is a powerful force.”
“Aye,” Kai agreed.
“And now, if ye will excuse me, Captain, I wish to tell my wife and children the good news about the wedding.”
A few moments after Fraser departed, Miran joined him at the table. “Ye are looking well, Captain.” Her smile warmed his heart.
“My strength is restored. Do not spend any more time worrying about me.”
She rolled her eyes. “That is a request I canna satisfy. We will be back at Sands Airgid soon. I will feel more secure there. But I am sure I will spend the rest of my days wondering if ye will return to my arms each night. Tis the sacrifice I must make in order to be with the man I love.”
He laced his fingers through hers. “What changed your mind about me, Miran?”
Their gazes met. “There are many reasons.”
“Are you ashamed to tell me?”
She gave him a shy smile. “I told ye something changed inside me when we left Sands Airgid. I felt guilty for treating ye so poorly, for thinking of ye as an enemy instead of a loyal servant to my cousin.”
“Nothing more?”
“Ye are handsome and compassionate. And ye make me laugh.”
“There must be something else?” He wanted there to be a hundred reasons for her loving him. “Perhaps I can help you remember.”
He guided her off her chair and into his lap, capturing her mouth with his, not caring if anyone caught them. Whenever they were in each other’s arms, she was all he needed. He breathed in her soft scent, his body aching for her. “I cannot wait much longer to have you, Miran. Do you know what it’s like to see your beautiful face and body every day and not be able to touch you the way I want to? To run off together without anyone caring where we go, so we can share our secrets and dreams? Begin living the lives we were truly meant to have.”
“I feel the same,” she said. “After what we’ve been through. Ye almost dying. Me having to kill Cadha…”
“Aye,” Kai agreed. “We deserve peace and happiness together.” He hugged her close.
Someone cleared their throat, and Miran jumped off his lap, her cheeks red.
“Lass,” Mary said in a motherly tone, “I think ye should come with me to the kitchen. Captain Kai, perhaps a breath of fresh air would benefit ye greatly.”
He nodded, understanding why Mary was being so protective of Miran. He gulped the last of his ale down and stood. “I would like to visit my men. I will return as soon as I can.”
