Chapter 33 #2
“But ye were gone for so long! And Faither left too, and I thought maybe neither of ye wanted me anymore.”
“Never.” Elijah crouched down beside them, his large hand settling on his son’s shoulder. “We both came back, just like I promised. And we’re nae going anywhere again.”
“Promise?” Codie looked between them with desperate hope. “Promise ye’ll both stay?”
“I promise,” Iris said firmly. “I promise I’ll never leave ye, Codie. Ye’re me son now, and I take care of what’s mine.”
“Really? I’m really yer son?”
“Really and truly.” She cupped his face in her hands. “Ye’re stuck with me now, lad. For better or worse.”
A brilliant smile broke across his face, transforming him from frightened child to joyful boy in an instant. “I’ve always wanted a maither. A real one who stays.”
“Well, now ye have one.” She pulled him close again, looking up to meet Elijah’s gaze over Codie’s head. Her husband was watching them with such open emotion on his face it made her chest ache. “We both have what we wanted, it seems.”
“Aye.” Elijah’s voice was rough. “We do.”
Henry appeared from the stable, grinning broadly. “Well, well. Look who finally decided to come home. And ye brought yer wife back with ye. I’m impressed, me laird.”
“Shut up, Henry,” Elijah said, but there was no heat in it.
“I’m just sayin’, it was about time ye pulled yer head out of yer arse and went after her.” Henry’s grin widened. “Welcome home, me lady. The castle’s been dreary without ye.”
“It’s good to be home.” Iris stood, keeping one hand on Codie’s shoulder. “Though I’m surprised ye all survived without me for three days.”
“Barely,” Henry said dramatically. “The Laird was insufferable, young Codie wouldnae eat properly, and the servants were all whisperin’ about curses and bad omens.”
“I wasnae insufferable,” Elijah protested.
“Ye almost threw a chair at me.”
“Ye deserved it.”
“See? Insufferable.” Henry winked at Iris. “But ye’re back now, so hopefully things will return to normal. Or whatever passes for normal around here.”
“Come on,” Elijah said, taking Iris’s free hand. “Let’s get inside. Ye must be exhausted from travelin’.”
They made their way into the castle, Codie pressed close to Iris’ side as if afraid she might disappear if he let go.
Servants called out greetings, clearly relieved to see their lady returned.
Aliana appeared with fresh bread and cheese, a maid from the kitchens promised a proper feast for supper, and everywhere Iris looked, she saw welcome and relief.
This was home. Not the cold castle where she’d grown up, always feeling like an outsider. Not the convent where Lydia had fled. But here, in this stone fortress in the Highlands with a complicated husband and a frightened son and servants who actually seemed to care whether she was there or not.
“Lady Iris?” Codie’s voice was small as they climbed the stairs toward the family chambers. “Can I stay with ye today? Just to make sure ye’re really here?”
“Of course, ye can, love.” She squeezed his hand. “We can spend the whole day together if ye like. Maybe work on those knife-throwin’ lessons I promised?”
His face lit up. “Really? Ye still want to teach me?”
“I promised, dinnae I? And I always keep me promises.”
“Unlike some people,” Elijah muttered though his eyes were warm as they rested on his son.
They reached their chambers, and Iris felt something settle in her chest. The familiar space, the shared bed, the tapestries and furniture she’d begun to think of as hers. Everything was exactly as she’d left it, and yet, somehow it felt different. More permanent. More real.
“Home,” she said again, mostly to herself.
“Aye.” Elijah came up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist as Codie darted off to examine the room as if making sure everything was in its proper place. “Home. Where ye belong. Where we both belong.”
She leaned back against him, watching Codie poke through her things with a child’s unabashed curiosity. “I’m sorry I left. Even for a few days. I should have stayed and made ye talk to me instead of runnin’ away.”
“Ye werenae runnin’ away. Ye were takin’ yer sister home.” His arms tightened. “And I should have gone after ye immediately instead of lettin’ me pride keep me frozen in place.”
“We’re both terrible at this, arenae we?”
“Absolutely terrible.” She felt him smile against her hair. “But we’re learnin’. Together.”
“Together,” she agreed. “That’s the important part.”
“Faither? Lady Iris?” Codie appeared beside them, looking up with those serious brown eyes. “Are we really a family now? All three of us?”
“Aye, lad,” Elijah said, pulling his son close with one arm while keeping the other around Iris. “We’re really a family. Messy and imperfect and probably goin’ to drive each other mad on occasion but a family nonetheless.”
“I like that,” Codie said, leaning into his father’s side. “I like havin’ a family.”
“So do I,” Iris admitted, her throat tight with emotion. “So do I.”
And standing there in their chambers with the afternoon sun streaming through the windows, wrapped in her husband’s arms with their son pressed close, Iris finally understood what home truly meant.
It wasn’t about the building or the lands or even the clan. It was about this. The three of them, together. Flawed and still learning how to be what each other needed.
But together, nonetheless. And that was enough, more than enough. It was everything.