Maddy’s stomach flipped. This was it.
“Then we’d better not keep said person waiting, had we?”
She stepped out of the house into early summer sunshine. It was a glorious day with the sun bright in a blue sky and a warm breeze bringing the smell of flowers.
Home,she thought, looking around.This is my home now.She was surprised at how right that felt. She held out her hand for Rory and smiled down at him as he took it. He was happier now that they’d returned to this century and he barely seemed to remember what had happened with Rodric. She doubted he fully understood his ability to open the portals through time and she felt a twinge of disquiet as she wondered how that would play out as he got older. There was so much for him to learn, to understand about his ability and his heritage.
Part Fae, she thought. She still wasn’t sure what to make of that. Except for his ability with the portals, he was exactly the same as any other little boy. There would be many conversations with Callum and the Order of the Osprey in the future to work through what it all meant.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and squeezed Rory’s hand. “Ready, sweetie?”
He nodded. “Ready!”
With a laugh, Maddy laid her hand on Craig’s arm and allowed him to escort her across the farmyard the short distance to the barn. Darla, Lily and Sean fell into step behind, the children jostling to hold Maddy’s bouquet until Darla shushed them with a word.
In a procession as though she was some grand lady, they went sweeping across the farmyard to the barn whose doors had been thrown wide open. The interior was unrecognizable, having been thoroughly swept and bedecked with ribbons and garlands of flowers. The animals had been turned out, except for Mara and Surly who were both wearing garlands around their necks—although Surly was busy eating his. Mara yipped excitedly at the sight of Maddy and Rory.
Craig paused on the threshold, perhaps wanting a dramatic entrance and announced, “The lady Madeline Green!”
Darla rolled her eyes at her husband’s theatrics but Maddy only smiled. At the sound of Craig’s booming voice, the five people standing at the far end of the barn turned. Callum and Cian Sutherland were standing by the makeshift altar with their wives, Sophie and Sienna, seated on a bench at the front. Seeing Maddy and her entourage, they all broke out into smiles and Sophie, Callum’s wife, clapped her hands together delightedly.
It had come as quite a surprise to learn that Sophie and Sienna were from the twenty-first century too but it had also come as a kind of relief. Both had been instrumental in helping Maddy adjust to her new circumstances over the last few weeks.
These thoughts passed through Maddy’s head in an instant before her eyes settled on the fifth member of the group.
Deryn Stewart. The man she loved with all her heart.
His gaze met hers and her heart fluttered. Her future stood there, waiting for her.
Rory suddenly pulled his hand from hers and he went haring down the aisle towards Deryn.
Deryn laughed, caught Rory around the waist, and hoisted him into his arms.
“Whoa! Easy there, lad! This isnae a skittle alley ye know!”
“Mama is here,” Rory said. “Are you going to get married now?”
“I most certainly hope so.”
“So do I,” said Craig. “Or I’ve got cleaned and scrubbed for no good reason.” He glanced at Maddy and winked. “Are ye ready, lass?”
Of course she was. “You bet,” she replied.
As she walked down the aisle towards him, Deryn put Rory down and watched her approach. She felt the weight of that powerful gaze drawing her like a lodestone. She wouldn’t have been able to resist its pull even if she wanted to—and she most definitely didn’t want to.
As they reached Deryn and his party, Craig took Maddy’s hand and very deliberately held it out to Deryn, handing her over to her husband-to-be.
Deryn’s fingers closed around hers, warm and strong, and Maddy’s heart swelled with sudden emotion. He was hers. Hers and Rory’s. After today they would be a family.
Laird Callum Sutherland stepped forward and cleared his throat. “If everyone is ready, shall we begin?”
“Please do,” Deryn said. “I find I’m impatient for this woman to be mine.”
The ceremony was short. Laird Callum led it, Maddy and Deryn spoke the words, and then suddenly, miraculously, it was done.
“Ye are husband and wife,” Callum pronounced to clapping and cheering from the guests.
Deryn pulled her close. “I love ye, Madeleine. Do ye know that?”
