Page 106 of Promises to Keep

“I ken, we dinna talk about it afore, we hae been busy about our lives.”

“And we have such full lives. Archie’s next in line for the throne; Isla’s regal enough to be a badass warrior queen, and so... they are enough, you know?”

His face softened into a warm smile. “Ye ken, Kaitlyn, we daena need another child, but winna it be wonderful tae hae another, anyway?”

I smiled back. “It really really would.” I took a deep breath. “So what I’m saying is you are probably mistaken, don’t be disappointed, now that we’ve decided that we would like to, we can start—”

“Mo reul-iuil, just take the stick from between yer legs and look at it.”

I said, “Yes, fine... but it has to sit for a bit I think...” I pulled the stick from between my legs, “Wait, what’s the plus mean?”

He teased, “I canna imagine.”

“The plus means pregnant, right? Is that what it means or does it mean you’re in the clear, maybe it means I’m not pregnant?”

He fished the box out of the trash. “The wee cross upon the stick means that God has given ye a bairn.”

“A baby? We’re having a baby?” I tossed the stick in the sink, pulled up my pants, and threw my arms around him. “We’re having a baby?”

“Aye, mo reul-iuil, I told ye, we are havin’ a bairn.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” We kissed. “We’re ready for this, another one?”

“Aye, we are ready.”

“It’s still very early, maybe we should wait to...?”

He laughed. “They are all waiting to hear!” He raised his voice, and boomed loud enough for the whole house to hear, “Did ye hear? Kaitlyn is pregnant!”

A cheer went up from the living room. “Told ye, mo reul-iuil. I am always right, ye ken.”

I teased, “I forgot about how you crow when you’ve gotten me pregnant, that cocky thing. I thought that this time, since you’re an old dad already, you’d be less cocky.”

He pulled me closer, my face against his neck, our voices quiet in the harsh light of the modern bathroom. “Och nae, I think I will be more cocky, mo reul-iuil. Ye ken, this time it was sheer prowess that got ye pregnant.”

I kissed his throat. “Sheer prowess?”

“Aye, twas m’cock that decided it, ye canna argue, ye hae tae allow me tae crow. If ye think on it, m’cock daena get nearly enough celebration.”

“You mean overall or day to day?”

“Day tae day. Tis frowned upon tae hold it up and hae others remark upon its talent. This is the one day when men can say, ‘Och aye, look what I hae accomplished!’”

“So here’s the thing, my love, this means we’ll have three kids, that’s useachwith one on our horse and then...? But I suppose Archie can ride alone now...”

He patted his chest over his heart like a beat. “Och, I love ye, mo reul-iuil. And Archie can ride on his own. Isla can ride with me, ye will carry the bairn, we will make it work, and ye forget I can drive now.”

“I almost did forget that. Okay, that was the only downside, the rest of it is just happy good news, except...”

He lifted my chin with the crook of his finger and looked down into my eyes. “I ken ye are worried, I am as well. We are rentin’ a compound tae hide and we hae a kingdom that has likely been lost, we hae an enemy, and our best asset, the Lady Mairead, is down for the count. Aye, there is a great deal tae worry on, but ye ken, we always hae some kind of drama—”

I chuckled, “Oy, do we have so much drama.”

“Now is the time for celebratin’ our new bairn.” He grabbed my ass and squeezed it with both hands and pulled my hips close and kissed my lips. “Twas a fine arse this morn out on the lawn greetin’ me when I returned from guard duty.”

I pulled away. “Let’s go out and let you properly crow.”

He pushed away from the bathroom counter, took my hand, and we left our rooms.

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