Ferra settled against his chest, the warm water cooling their bodies. “Did ye ever think ye would be this happy?” she asked him.
“Nay, lass,” he answered. “I never thought I would get out of that bed alive until ye walked into mah chamber and forced me tae do so.” If she had never come, Kaiden wouldn’t be here right now. He would be cold in a grave somewhere, leaving his father alone and his clan to an uncertain future.
Ferra lifted her head and met his eyes, tears sparkling in them and taking his breath away. “Then I am glad I did.”
Kaiden put his hand at the back of her head and brought her lips up to his. “Aye, me tae, lass. Me tae.”
A week later, Kaiden was well enough to mount a horse, and after some arguing with his wife, she finally consented to allow him to ride out with Erik to the border of the McGregor land.
“She keeps ye on a tight leash,” Erik remarked as they rode away from the keep.
“Dinnae worry,” Kaiden said casually, glad to be back on a horse. “Yer day is coming.”
“Nay,” Erik stated, shaking his head. “I dinnae wish tae have a lass in mah life. Mah sword is mah lass, mah wife.”
Kaiden chuckled. “I used tae think the same thing, and then Ferra came along.” He couldn’t imagine his life without her. There was a moment that he could have cared less if he had a willing lass waiting for him after battles. His second-in-command would learn in time that there was nothing better than having a willing lass at his side. “In a month’s time, we will go to the clan,” he finally said after they rode a bit, “and find out the state of the clan.”
Erik clenched his jaw. “Aye. I dinnae expect it to be a good visit.”
“Neither do I,” Kaiden sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I dinnae think I want tae take Ferra.”
Erik exploded into laughter. “Ye havenae learned, have ye? I dinnae think she will listen tae anything ye have tae say.”
Perhaps not, but Kaiden would give it his best shot.
They reached the border before nightfall, and Kaiden breathed in the fresh air, looking out over the land that had belonged to his ancestors. Now that he was married to Ferra, they had future bairns to hope for, bairns that would carry on the traditions of the McGregors. They would inherit this land and all the others that he and his father accumulated.
Then, when the keep was quiet, he and Ferra would enjoy nothing more than the hot spring, the worries of their past no longer a concern.
“Come,” he told Erik, turning his horse away. “Let’s go home.”
For wherever his wife was, he would be as well. Whatever came upon them, Kaiden knew he would be able to handle it as long as Ferra was at his side. She was his balm when he needed it. She was his rational mind when he didn’t have it.
She was his everything, and now he understood what his father had gone through with his mother, and why he had never married again.
No one would ever compare to Ferra, and if he ever lost her, he would cease to live himself.
22
One month later
Ferra anxiously paced the great hall, earning a chuckle from her husband. “Wearing a path in the stone wilnae make it come any faster.”
Ferra stopped long enough to glare at him. “How can ye just sit there and pretend that nothing is aboot tae happen?”
Kaiden shrugged. “’Tis not mah sisters coming for a visit.”
He had a point. Ferra continued her muttering, thinking about all that she had done in preparation for both Garia and Breta’s arrival. The rooms were aired out in anticipation, and the kitchens were busy fixing a feast for the ages. Of course, it wasn’t just her sisters coming, but their husbands and bairns as well. Even her parents would be making the trek and were due to arrive in the morning, giving the sisters a night to catch up. They had been in conversation through letters, but with the visit to the new clan that she and Kaiden now oversaw, it was time for them to meet in person.
Ferra couldn’t wait.
After a month of being Kaiden’s wife, Ferra couldn’t be happier. Kaiden had healed nicely after her numerous treatments, and his arm was back at full strength. His leg still bothered him, especially when it rained, but she knew that he would only heal more the longer they went to the spring. It had become a nightly ritual for them, a way for his muscles to unknot after a long day. She was so proud of what Kaiden was doing as a laird, but secretly proud that he was her husband.
Ferra slowed her steps and glanced at Kaiden, who was still wearing his teasing grin. “I’m vera sorry.”
He pushed himself out of the chair and approached her, cupping her face with his large hands. “There is nothing tae be sorry aboot, lass. Ye’re nervous. I’m nervous.”
Ferra pressed her forehead to his, breathing in his scent. “Ye have a funny way of showing it, Kaiden.”
