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Mairin roused herself and with Ewan holding her up, she gathered in her breath and bore down, her eyes closed in concentration.
The babe slipped into Keeley’s waiting hands, all gooey and warm and blessedly alive.
“ ’Tis a lass!” Keeley exclaimed. “You have a daughter, Mairin!”
Tears gathered in Mairin’s eyes, and even the laird’s were suspiciously wet as he gazed down at his wife.
“A daughter,” he said hoarsely.
Keeley set about cutting and securing the cord. Then she quickly cleaned the baby and its small cry echoed over the quiet room.
Both parents were mesmerized at that first sound. They stared in awe as Keeley carefully wrapped the babe in a warm blanket and then laid her at Mairin’s breast.
“She’s beautiful,” Ewan whispered. He kissed Mairin’s sweaty brow and smoothed her hair from her face. “As beautiful as her mother.”
Mairin eased the babe to her nipple and coaxed until the infant weakly latched on and began to suckle.
Tears burned Keeley’s eyes as she watched the utter reverence in Ewan’s eyes. He gathered both wife and daughter in his arms and held them as the babe fed. Neither parent could take their eyes from the delicate little girl in Mairin’s arms.
“You did good, lass,” Maddie whispered as she hugged Keeley. “I’ve never seen a birthing go so smoothly.”
Keeley smiled at her and then motioned for Maddie to help gather the bloodied linens. They worked in silence, loathe to disturb the tender moment between the laird and his family.
They eased their way toward the door when suddenly the laird turned and rose from the bed. He closed the distance between himself and Keeley and stood before her, his eyes bright with relief and joy.
“Thank you. My wife means everything to me. I could not have borne to lose her or our child. You have my everlasting gratitude and ’tis a debt I can never hope to repay.”
Keeley smiled. “I’ll come back to check in on her in just a while.”
Ewan nodded and quickly returned to his wife’s bedside.
When Keeley and Maddie entered the hallway, Caelen, Alaric, and Gannon all pushed away from the wall to face the women.
“ ’Tis done?” Caelen demanded.
Keeley nodded. “The laird has a daughter.”
Alaric smiled. “A daughter. ’Tis fitting, that. She’ll drive him as daft as her mother does.”
Gannon chuckled. “Not to mention the rest of us.”
“And Mairin? All is well with her?” Caelen asked.
Keeley raised an eyebrow. “Why, Caelen, I do believe you have a heart after all. Aye, Mairin is well. Ewan is with the both of them now, and I thought to give them a bit of privacy.”
Caelen scowled and muttered something under his breath, but Keeley could see the relief in his eyes.
“If you’ll excuse us, we must go belowstairs to clean up, and ’tis truth I could use a bit of fresh air,” Keeley said.
Without waiting a response, she walked by the men and went down the stairs, Maddie on her heels.
“Give me the linens,” Maddie directed when they entered the hall. “You go take your fresh air. It’s been an exhausting night for you.”
Keeley offered no argument and headed for the courtyard, eager to feel the coldness on her cheeks. She closed her eyes as soon as the chill hit her. Exhausted to her core, she sank onto the steps. Birthing always scared her. Too many women died while trying to birth a child, and Keeley was determined that it wouldn’t happen with Mairin. She needn’t have worried though. It was one of the easiest births she’d ever attended. Still, relief was so fierce within her that her knees were weak.
So she sat there breathing in deep, steadying breaths.
“Keeley, are you all right?”
She yanked her head around to see Alaric standing in the shadows. Her pulse beat more rapidly as she drank in his appearance. ’Twas funny since it hadn’t been overlong since she’d seen him at all, but still she soaked him in like a parched plant soaked in rain.
“Aye, I’m well,” she murmured.
He took a step forward but stopped a respectable distance from her. “Keeley, I …”
She rose, moved by the discomfort in his voice. She pressed in close and put a finger to his lips. “Nay, don’t say it,” she whispered. “I’ve always known of your destiny—and mine. Yours is a noble one. You should have no regrets. You will be great, Alaric. You’ll be a great laird. I am proud to have called you mine even for so short a time.”
Alaric touched her cheek and then leaned in slowly and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. So sweet and fleeting. Brief. But she felt it to her soul.
“You, too, are great, Keeley McCabe,” he whispered. “My clan is better for having you.”
She leaned into his kiss, tipping her forehead to his. She closed her eyes, savoring the sweet contact. She breathed, allowing him to wash away the fatigue and grief.
Then she pulled away and steeled herself against the pain in her heart. “I must go now. I must see to Mairin and the new babe’s needs.”
Alaric stroked her hair away from her cheek and then cupped the side of her face in his palm. “I love you. Remember it always.”
She covered his hand with hers and smiled achingly up at him. “Aye, I will.”
Slowly, he pulled away and then stepped back so she could walk by him back into the keep. She went without looking back but felt the wetness on her cheeks before she mounted the first step.
Chapter 32
Laird McCabe stood atop the stairs to the courtyard, the tiny bundle of his daughter cradled in his massive arms.
