The warm summer breeze hit Troy’s skin the moment that he stepped out of the door. He couldn’t help but smile; peace had settled over his clan like a bank of clouds in the winter. It had been peaceful for so long that Troy was confident they had many years left of it in front of them. The union with the Mackenzies had proven popular and was respected by many other clans. He could have never anticipated that making one truce, would inspire others to do the same.

The sounds of laughter and giggling erupted from the grass before he brought his thoughts back to the present. It was a sound that was music to his ears; the sound of his children. Lorraine was standing to the side, the gentle breeze tugged tugging at the ends of her hair. Troy always felt an immense wave of calm fall over him whenever his eyes found his wife. She had such a calming air about her, one that he couldn’t understand but simply accepted.

“Good of ye to come and join us,” Lorraine said as Troy stood at her side. One hand trailed down her arm while the other came to rest at her stomach.

“Well, how could I nae spend time with my four favorite people,” Troy said while shrugging his shoulders. Her stomach belly was growing by the day, and each day that passed let them be a day closer to meeting their third child.

“I felt kicking today,” Lorraine said absentmindedly. He focused on his hand that was pressed against her stomach, determined to feel it too. Troy could feel his heart fluttering at the thought of the baby kicking. They had already been through those emotions twice before, but his body was reacting as though it was his first child and he hadn’t even conceived the thought of being able to feel the baby yet.

“Does everything feel all right?” Troy asked carefully. He knew that he could sometimes ask too many questions. Lorraine let her eyes close for a moment before she nodded slowly.

“Aye, everything feels fine,” she smiled. “I already promised ye that I would tell ye if something does nae feel right.”

“Good,” Troy said while breathing out. He was at least a little more comforted with the notion that she was going to let him know if anything was going wrong. He couldn’t bear the thought of something going wrong., It would be devastating for them both.

But Troy chose to focus on the positives, two. Two of which were running toward him at that moment.

“Father!”

He broke out into a wide grin as two balls of red hair ran toward him. They were both barefoot, taking after their mother. It was something that he had been concerned about in the beginning; Troy had thought they could step on something sharp and hurt themselves, but Lorraine had argued it was exactly how she had grown up with her mother. Troy couldn’t imagine them being any other way now.

A boy and a girl. He couldn’t believe that they had been so blessed to have such beautiful children, and an heir to continue on the lairdship.

“My children,” Troy smiled at them both. “Go and play while I talk to yer mother.” He rested his hands on both of their heads, ruffling up the tufts of red hair as he went. He loved them unconditionally, even if they could be rather naughty at times.

Troy knew that they took after their mother in terms of not liking to listen to authority.

“They will nae be able to play out here in the winter when it arrives,” Troy said while straightening up to his full height.

“Oh really?” Lorraine smirked said while cocking an eyebrow.

Troy was trying to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t continue to say no to Lorraine, not when she was looking at him like that. She had such effortless beauty, and being pregnant seemed to cause her to glow.

“We’ll see,” Troy grumbled.

Lorraine’s chuckle tinkled in the air. He felt her move closer to him and placed his arm around her. Lorraine sunk against his chest, fitting against him as though they were two pieces that had been carved to fit together.

“I love ye,” he whispered in her ear. Lorraine breathed out heavily, her chest rising as she laughed lightly. “Ye make me the happiest man on earth and ye dinnae even have to do anything to make that happen.”

“Ye make me happier,” she smiled while turning to look up at him. “I love ye more, and I dinnae think ye ken how much ye have saved me.”

It was something that Lorraine said from time to time. He had saved her. Lorraine had been destined to marry someone who may not have accepted her ways of wanting to roam free. Troy loved her for who she was, and he knew that was more than she had ever anticipated.

He leaned in before she could say another word, deciding that the only appropriate response was to kiss her. His lips against hers felt right; she kissed him back with equal passion, her hands finding his and giving them a squeeze. Troy was careful to pull her close while not touching her bump. He was terrified of even the slightest thing causing her pain.

“Ew!”

A chorus of noise started up, noises of disgust. Troy and Lorraine turned to see their two children laughing and making noise while staring up at them. Lorraine scrunched her nose up and shook her head, Troy could only laugh at the way that his children were reacting.

“Get out of here. I need to kiss yer beautiful mother some more!” Troy declared, listening to their laughs as he turned back to his wife. “Now then, where were we?”

“I think ye were telling me that ye love me again,” Lorraine teased.

“I think ye could be right about that.”

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