Page 77 of Highland Steel

“Did I just hear you say ye and bonnie?” she asked with a giggle.

“Aye,” said Blaine, looking down to the ground. Her face turned red. “I figured since this is our new home now, mayhap I should learn the language.” Blaine’s hand went to the wooden cross she wore around her neck and she rubbed it.

“You don’t have to worry,” said Rhoswen, putting her hand over her sister’s. “I think it’s nice.”

“So do I,” said Alana.

“And ye both look guid in the MacKeefe plaid,” added Phoebe. “Did ye ken yer brathair said he and Oliver are goin’ to be the next Madmen MacKeefes?”

“I heard that,” said Logan’s mother, Effie, walking into the hospice to join them. “However, I dinna think anyone will ever replace the original madmen. I ken because I’m married to one and every day is an experience like no other.”

The women all laughed, making Rhoswen feel at ease. “I must admit I’m nervous,” said Rhoswen.

“Why?” asked Effie, taking her hand in hers. “Are ye havin’ second thoughts about marryin’ my son?”

“Oh, nay. Never,” Rhoswen assured her. “I love Logan and can’t wait to give him a child.” She noticed Phoebe and Alana exchange glances. “Did I say something wrong?” asked Rhoswen, suddenly wondering if they’d really accepted her after all.

“Nay, no’ at all,” Alana told her. “It’s just that we were goin’ to wait until after yer weddin’ to tell people, because we didna want to take attention away from ye and Logan.

“What do you mean?” asked Rhoswen.

“We’re both carryin’ our husbands’ bairns,” Phoebe told her, putting her hand on her belly.

“I thought so!” Effie pulled them both into her embrace. “Didna ye tell Ethan and Hawke yet?”

“Nay, and please dinna let them ken until after the weddin’,” answered Phoebe. “We dinna want to ruin Logan and Rhoswen’s big day.”

“Congratulations,” said Rhoswen, giving them both hugs. “And you could never ruin my big day.”

“That’s excitin’,” said Blaine.

“The MacKeefe Clan has a lot to celebrate,” said Effie, smiling from ear to ear. “But right now, we have a weddin’ to go to. Are ye all ready?”

“I think so,” said Rhoswen. “I only wish my parents could be here for this special day.”

“Ye mean just mathair,” said Blaine.

“Nay, I mean our father, too,” said Rhoswen. “I know Papa made a lot of decisions that caused us a lot of pain, Sister, but I do forgive him.”

“Will you ever be goin’ back to yer home in England?” asked Phoebe.

“Unless we take the Sword of Triumph back to the English king, we no longer have a home,” answered Rhoswen. “But that is something I would never do, and I made sure Logan knows it. That sword means so much to him and the entire clan that I would never take it away. It is staying in Scotland from now on if I have anything to say about it.”

“My son has made a guid choice in marryin’ ye, Rhoswen.” Effie put her arm around Rhoswen’s shoulders. “And I want ye to ken that ye’ll always have a home with the MacKeefes. We will be yer family now. A family to no’ only ye but also to yer siblin’s and nephew.”

“Thank you,” said Rhoswen, giving Effie a hug, already feeling loved by her new family.

Logan’s eyes drank in Rhoswen’s beauty as soon as she stepped from the hospice with her sister, Blaine, leading the way. They were both dressed in the MacKeefe plaid and so was her brother, Newell, who seemed to have grown up immensely just since their encounter with the Drummonds. The boy’s bravery was admirable. With Logan’s training, he would someday be a Highland warrior now that he was part of the family. Blaine wasn’t crying nearly as much as she used to, but Logan saw her rubbing the wooden cross in worry a lot. It helped her to deal with her problems, and that is all that mattered.

Logan nodded at Ethan, standing next to him. Ethan started playing his bagpipes. Trapper barked at the music and Jack howled from under a bench. Rhoswen’s sister, Ailsa, cuddled little Lockie to her chest, rocking him gently, sitting on the back of Bug’s wagon. Bug sat next to her, slowly raising his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Logan had a feeling Bug’s days of being a traveling merchant were over.

Logan’s father, Aidan, escorted Logan’s mother, Effie, down the aisle and they took a seat on the front bench, next to Hawke and Caleb who had Slink on his lap and was feeding him something that Logan couldn’t identify.

Logan stood under a wooden archway he’d built for the wedding. In the center of it, he carved two hearts intertwined. And under the hearts, he’d burned Logan and Rhoswen right into the wood. The girls of the clan decorated it with colorful spring flowers and ribbons. The priest was next to Logan, holding his prayer book, tapping his finger atop it impatiently as Ethan continued to play his music.

Their chieftain, Storm, stepped out of the crowd, the Sword of Triumph dangling from his side. He extended his arm to Rhoswen and walked her up to the archway. He stopped and so did the music. But as soon as Storm opened his mouth, Ethan began to blow on the bagpipes again. Storm scowled.

“Ethan, that’s guid for now,” Logan told his friend and, finally, the man put down the bagpipes.