Page 61 of Her Accidental Highlander Husband

“I’ll make sure the men are ready. Whenever you give the word, we’ll take their clan by force and you’ll have your access to the sea.”

“We have time,” Lach said, resisting the need for war as always.

Cam knew well enough the laird wasn’t a coward. He’d gone off to fight for the French for years. Lach’s blade had certainly drawn more blood than Cam’s. But he didn’t want to take the clan from the McCurdy laird, despite the man running it into the dirt with lack of food and funds.

“Why do you not consider it?” Cam asked.

Lach looked up and blinked. “I have considered it. Many times. It’s simply too great a risk.” He brushed a lock of hair from his son’s forehead and smiled sadly.

Cam frowned. It wasn’t an issue of respect, but of caution.

“You may be war chief,” Lach said, seeing his reaction, “but you’re not the only one in danger of not returning if an attempt to bring down the McCurdy fails. When I was in France, I didn’t think too often of my death, but I find that now I want to be here to see these boys grow into good men. I want to love my wife until her hair turns white. I want those things more than fulfilling my father’s legacy. And I have to think if my da was here, he would want them more as well.”

Cam nodded. It was easy to understand, even if he didn’t agree. “As ye said, we have time.”

Though he wasn’t sure if his words were true. Not for Mari, at any rate. Even now, Ridley could be heading for Dunardry.

Cam had never wanted to take a wife or have a family for fear he’d leave them early if he was struck down in battle. In all that time, he’d not considered the opposite could be the case—that his wife could be taken from him.

He’d be alone again, but with a broken heart…just like Bryce.

He couldn’t ever let that happen.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mari came down to the hall in the morning to find four men asleep in chairs by the hearth. Well, two of them were not men yet, but they were on their way. Cam and Lachlan dozed, each with a twin sleeping in his arms.

Seeing Cam with Lachlan’s boy brought back the concerns and wishes she’d been feeling the night before. How she longed to see Cameron holding their own child while they slept peacefully.

But Mari didn’t think it could ever happen. She could be carrying his child this very moment, so that part of the dream was possible. What she doubted was her ability to give her family any kind of peace.

Safety and tranquility were the things she’d longed for over the years. But in securing her safety, she’d sentenced herself to being hunted down and put to death. Which in turn put her entire family in danger.

It seemed the worst kind of irony.

Cam’s eyes opened, and he smiled, scattering her worries for the time being. When he looked at her like that, she couldn’t think. Could barely breathe.

“Good morning, wife,” he said quietly, holding out a hand toward her. The other hand held the sleeping twin.

He pulled her closer, and she sat on his free knee.

“One can almost think them angels while they sleep,” he teased.

“They are angels.” She picked up the boy’s hand as Cam made a sound of disagreement. She laughed and relented. “Which means they are normal, active little boys.”

“Demons, in other words.” Cam brushed the black hair away from the child’s forehead and placed a kiss there. “I would give my life for them without a thought, and they are not even mine. I canna imagine what it would feel like, the bond with a child of our own.”

“I imagine it would be much the same. Maybe more intense. You would protect them body and soul from anything that threatened.”

Mari couldn’t help but think her presence was the biggest threat to these boys, her husband, and her clan. How much time did she have before she’d need to make a fateful decision?

Years? Days? Mere hours? Before a messenger delivered the grim news that Sir Ridley was there with orders from King Charles to take her back to England…

“You were smiling, and now it’s gone. What’s amiss?” Cam asked.

She shook her head and let out a breath. “Nothing. Nothing to worry about now.”

It was true they didn’t need to find a solution that instant. They could enjoy a quiet moment with their nephews.