Hearts of Highland Fire

Extended Epilogue

5 Years Later

Remy heard his wife long before he found her.

“Caden! Josef! Ye better be out of yer hiding place before I count tae ten or ye will be mucking stalls for a week!”

Remy chuckled as he rounded the corner, finding his wife with her hands on her hips and a frustrated look on her face. “Wot is wrong?”

“Wot is wrong is that it is bedtime and they are nowhere tae be found,” she huffed, blowing her hair off her forehead.

He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, a quick brush that still ignited his blood. “I will find them. Donna worry.”

“I’m not worried,” she grumbled as he strode away.

Remy knew that she truly wasn’t worried. Their twin sons were somewhere on the second landing, as they knew better than to navigate the stairs up or down. He had an inkling as to where they were hiding anyway.

Moving to the linen closet near their chambers, Remy opened it up and heard the first giggle. “Alright,” he stated firmly, suppressing his own grin. “Ye know that yer ma is looking for ye both.”

Another giggle, but this time Remy didn’t let them finish the sound, reaching in and grabbing them both quickly. Caden’s blonde hair was the first that he saw and he hauled the eldest by mere moments into his arms. “Och, there ye are.”

“Da!” Caden called out happily.

Remy reached in with his free hand and found Josef, brushing the cobweb from his hair. “Come now. Tis time for bed.”

Both young bairns made noises but he ignored them, carrying them to the chamber where Gretna waited. “There ye are,” she said as Remy handed them over. “I nearly sent yer uncle after ye. Now up on the bed, both of ye!”

The boys scrambled into the bed they shared and Remy covered them with the furs, pressing his hand to their foreheads before stepping back. Gretna bent down to kiss their sons and Remy’s heart wrenched in his chest, wondering for the thousandth time how the familiar scene could still affect him so. It had been a little over 5 years since their wedding day and Remy swore that he planted the seeds that very night. Now they had twins that had just turned five summers and they were the light of his life.

Of everyone’s really, even his wife’s.

His wife. There were times that he couldn’t believe that Gretna truly was his. Her ways about her had toned down since she had found she was with child, her attention was more on raising their boys than on counting her gowns. True to his word, Ian had allowed them to stay in the keep and though Remy had offered to find a place of their own, Ian wouldn’t hear of it.

Remy was still captain of the guard, a position that he took far more seriously than he had in the past. He now trained the others to become warriors that would keep their clan safe and while Remy went out on raids and battles sparingly, he still entertained the idea from time to time.

After all, his life with Gretna could make him a fat, happy Scot if he let it.

Gretna turned toward him and he reached for her hand, leading her out of the room and shutting the door softly. “Thank ye,” she said softly, pressing her free hand to his chest.

He brushed his lips over her temple. “Yer welcome. They like hiding from ye.”

“Donna I know it,” she muttered, leaning into him.

Remy laughed and tugged her toward their chamber, closing the door behind them.

“Well, I willna hide from ye, love.”

She eyed him. “Wot? Because ye canna stand tae be away from mah for more than a few moments? That’s wot Ian says.”

It was true. Even when he wasn’t with his family, Remy thought of them. They had become his sole purpose in life, even if he had to give up his captain position someday, Remy knew he would still be happy beyond measure. “Ian knows how I feel aboot ye,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “And how I canna stand to be separated from mah lovely wife.”

She snorted against his chest and Remy grinned, already starting to work on the laces at the back of her gown. “I want tae show ye just how much,” he continued, pushing the material aside to bare one creamy shoulder. “That is if ye will let mah.”

Gretna sighed as his lips moved over her skin and Remy could already feel her resolve starting to wane. “Well, if ye think it will work.”

Oh, he knew it would work and it would work well. It was one of his most entertaining things to do after these few years, to hear his wife moan his name and know that it was all that he cared to hear. He cared not about the other women that he had in his life before Gretna.

She was all that mattered.

“I will endeavor tae make it a pleasurable experience for ye, love,” he replied, helping her dress down just a little more. “And if I donna, ye can stab mah with yer dagger.”

Gretna laughed. “I haven’t attempted tae stab ye in a while.”

“Or threatened in at least a week,” he added, depriving his wife of her dress.

When she stepped back, his breath was robbed from his lungs.

“Ye are next,” she motioned, tugging on her bun until her hair fell about her shoulders. “Off with yer clothing, Remy.”

“Aye,” he said, pulling the tunic over his head. He knew what happened when he kept his wife waiting for what she wanted most.

She smirked as Remy reached for his breeks, his eyes on her. That was what he liked to see on Gretna’s face.

She was just as wanton as he was these days.

Thank you so much for reading my novel!