Page 29 of The Highlander’s Gypsy Temptation

“I am so honored, Katarina, yet I am nae sure I deserve this,” Bran’s eyes filled with the tears he had been holding on to for too long. He was breaking, he knew it, and his emotions were threatening to crack the cold façade he had spent the last year creating. He reached down to carefully caress the cheek of the sleeping baby and wished he did not have to disappoint them as he had. Not after all of the warm welcomes, the gratitude and this little namesake.

He felt choked up suddenly as he pictured his daughter. He had not been given the opportunity to see her at this age. He had not been there to watch her grow, make her laugh and teach her new things. There were so many things he had not been there to show his daughter during her early life.

Bran missed her. Even when he had not been allowed to see her, it had filled him with contentment just to know she was in her tent and, at any moment, August might let him have a glimpse.

I need to save her. And I need to do it as soon as possible.

“What? What do you mean, you don’t deserve it?” Katarina looked up from the crib at him. “Of course, you deserve the honor. If it were not for you, I would not be alive to have a child to name.”

“We owe you everything we have built, Bran,” Dunn said, clapping him on the back. Bran studied the pair as he took in what they said and for the first time in a long time, he really allowed himself to feel something other than regret and disgust. He struggled to hold back the tears, but it was no use.

“Can I?” he asked Katarina, pointing at the still sleeping bairn.

“Please,” she responded with a huge smile as she picked up the child and gently placed him in Bran’s open hands. He looked at the beautiful baby in his arms whose tiny fingers wrapped around his own, and he suddenly felt a sense of peace he had never felt before.

I need to make things right, tae make this child proud to carry me name.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Idalia watched the interaction between Katarina and Bran from the edge of the cot. She focused on Bran’s shoulders and the way they relaxed when he picked up her nephew. She watched the smile that graced Bran’s face, lighting him up from the inside out when the child gripped his fingers.

Bran closed his eyes and moved gently in a swaying motion as if trying to lull the already sleeping child into even deeper sleep. It seemed as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders by simply being there, among his own people, people who cared for him and loved him, no matter what. Her heart broke when he was reduced to tears. She could not hear all that was spoken between him and Katarina, but she had come to understand him in the short time they had spent together and knew he must have thought about his family constantly.

Bran had missed so much while he was away, but Idalia was glad he was here now and they would all soon be a family, a community within itself. But first, they had to stop August Raymond and get Bran’s daughter back. For he would never be truly happy until he had her in his arms.

She smiled when he adjusted the bairn in his hands very gently, pulling him up in a careful manner as if scared to hurt him. He might not have been present while his daughter was still a baby, and he might not have been given the reunion he was hoping to have with her, but one thing was very clear to her; Bran was a good father.

She jumped when she felt hands on her. She had not realized how lost she was in her thoughts until she turned and saw Adamina and Leonor smiling at her. She returned their smiles sheepishly. She had forgotten about flouting Adamina’s decree to go off on her own, but now that she was gazing at her, it was all that filled her mind. She looked at the woman with shame and guilt, knowing that if it had been anyone but Bran that had been sent to abduct her, she would undoubtedly be August Raymond’s captive by now.

Idalia opened her mouth to apologize for her actions, but Adamina shook her head, smiling once again.

“Do not worry. I am simply glad you are all right. I understand you would never have been able to rest easy without getting the answers you sought.”

Idalia nodded gratefully and turned to her sister. Although Leonor had eagerly hugged her and had been happy to see her, she was certain her sister was angry with the choice she had made.

“I am also just relieved that you are all right. I know you are strong willed, Idalia. It is one of the things I have always admired about you, but please do not go off on your own again. I was worried about you. We all were,” her sister said, a look of pain etched on her face.

Idalia was now even more remorseful for what she had done. She had put them through a lot in her bid to find answers when all they wanted was to keep her safe. She knew the fears and uncertainty that came with not knowing; she had felt that way when Katarina had been taken away from them and they had not known whether she was alive or dead.

“I am sorry to have put you through all of that. I promise I will not do it again,” she said, meaning it.

“Why don’t we go to your room so you can clean up, and then we can talk about what happened? I am sure she would like to relax after the long journey she has had.” Idalia looked back to see Katarina standing behind her. She nodded her head and stretched her hand out to Leonor, allowing her to pull her towards her chambers.

Idalia discarded her dirty clothes, allowing the maid to take the garments with her and have them burned. Each piece was torn in various places and beyond redeeming. She made a mental note to replace the clothes of the stable boy as soon as possible and stepped into the hot bath awaiting her in the middle of the room, filling the space with steam.

With one satisfied groan, she settled deeper into the water as the warmth soothed her skin. She had missed the smell of essential oils and flowers after a long time of running around and wearing smelly clothes.

“So, tell us what happened,” Adamina said suddenly. Idalia sighed and sat up as she prepared to relay their adventure.

“I was taken. When I arrived at the location stipulated in the letter, I was met by the seer, and she welcomed me in after verifying I was the one who had been searching for her. And then she offered me tea but I passed out soon after that, and when I woke up, I realized I had been abducted. I was tied up and had my head in a sack. It was dreadful.”

Idalia was careful to leave out that it was Bran who had been assigned to kidnap her. When he was ready to talk about it, he would do it in his own time. She knew he was nervous about telling his brother about his daughter and all that he had been forced to do under August Raymond’s command. She would not bring him any more shame by telling them what he had done.

“It was August Raymond who was behind my kidnapping. He was trying to take me again and⁠—“

“I can’t believe he still hasn’t given up,” Katarina said angrily. Idalia turned to watch her and saw the look of fear mixed with rage in her eyes. It was the very same look she had been sporting when Bran confirmed that August Raymond was indeed responsible for her abduction.

“I know,” she shivered as she thought of what she might have faced if she had not been able to get away. She looked at the faces of her loved ones standing before her. She had been ready to die if that was the only way to stop him from getting her, but she was glad it had not ended that way.