Kate Robbins - The Highland Chiefs Series 03 by Enemy of the Highlander Read Free Book Online Page B

about to be consumed in grief over the child’s death. But all is well, you see, a miracle has happened.”
    “Aye, Ronan,” Freya said from behind him, her voice washing over his skin and exciting him to his very core. He turned to see her smiling face and his heart ached at the sight. God how he wanted her! “I neglected to tell you that a wee lassie was born just before the laddie. He had not taken breath and so we thought the worst. Turns out he just needed his sister to lie near him and when his mother did just that, he screamed the house down.”
    Her eyes misted as she recounted the tale. “Fergus and Nessia have two new bairns to celebrate and the entire village is here to celebrate with them. Come,” she said taking his hand. “Let me show them to you.”
    Ronan thrilled at the heat stemming from where their hands made contact. He squeezed his fingers around hers and she responded by tossing a grin over her shoulder. His loins tightened. He must speak with Fergus to help figure out a way for them to be together. There was no way she could ever belong to another.
    When they arrived at the hearth, his heart constricted. Fergus, the great giant of a man, sat with a bairn on each arm and a smile from ear to ear.
    “Congratulations, Fergus,” Ronan said with genuine appreciation.
    Fergus’s gaze flicked to where Freya and Ronan’s hands connected, his brow furrowing. “Thank you, Ronan. ’Tis a good day.”
    “I am pleased all has turned out well.”
    Fergus laughed. “As am I, lad. It seems my bairns wanted their father around when they came into the world.”
    Ronan risked a glance at Freya who still held fast to his hand. Her gaze was fixed on the babes. She squeezed his hand and he did the same. It was as though this event could heal the terrible loss they had both endured.
    “Freya,” Fergus said. “Help me bring them back to their mother now. We don’t want to wear them out.”
    When Freya released his hand, the immediate loss of contact was measurable. She took the lassie in her arms and cooed to her. Ronan could easily envision this woman bearing their children. In that moment, he wanted nothing more.
    His gaze followed her out of the hall as she stopped to let villagers have a peek along the way. Fergus stopped beside him with his own squirming bundle.
    “I see it in your eyes, lad,” he said. “But she is promised to another.”
    Ronan locked gazes with Fergus, his biggest ally right now and the one person he could not betray or whose allegiance he could not jeopardize.
    “ I know that, Fergus,” he said. “I just—” He just what? What could he say? There was no solution he could think of that would not end in a damaged bond between two clans. He could kick himself in the backside a thousand times for letting her go. He raked a hand through his hair and looked at Fergus who eyed him curiously.
    “I know,” he said and left the great hall. He needed to figure a way out of this mess or else he had have to leave. He could not be here wanting her, but never having her.
    * * *
    Freya placed the babe near her sleeping mother and watched them both. Nessia’s pallor had improved greatly. When Freya had returned earlier to the house, the place had been in uproar. She raced to Nessia’s chamber to find her, Fergus, and Bridget, all crying tears of joy. She learned that after she had left, Nessia insisted on placing the babies together, and as soon as that happened, the wee laddie screamed his first breaths.
    No one had any idea how he would fare, but for now there would be no funeral, and for that she was very grateful.
    Nessia’s eyes fluttered open. She smiled when she spied her daughter nuzzled into her side. Her gaze rose to meet Freya’s. “Thank you so much, Freya, for everything you did here today.”
    “’Twas nothing on my part and you know it,” she said, wringing another cloth for Nessia’s forehead. “How do you fare now?”
    Nessia tried to shift and winced. “I am a