Epilogue #3
“Thank you, Mrs. Kowalski,” I said. “We’ll round them up.”
As she turned to go, a small blur of motion shot past her—Eoin, with Maggie toddling determinedly after him. Mrs. Kowalski scooped up Maggie with practiced ease, barely breaking stride.
“I’ll take this one,” she said over her shoulder. “Mr. Eoin, kindly slow down before you break something irreplaceable.”
Patrick chuckled as they disappeared toward the garden. “She’s mellowed, hasn’t she?”
“Remarkably so,” I agreed. “Though I think having a proper staff to command here has helped. She gets to be the general without having to do all the work herself.”
“Delegating suits her,” Patrick said. He shifted Xander to his other arm and wrapped his free arm around my waist, pulling me and Sean against his side. “Happy, Mrs. McCrae?”
“Deliriously.”
We made our way through the castle and out to the gardens, where tables had been set up on the lawn. The older kids were already gathered, filling plates with sandwiches and fruit while Mrs. Kowalski supervised.
After lunch, Patrick gathered them for what had become a daily ritual during our stay. “Who wants to explore the battlements?” he asked.
A chorus of excited voices answered him. Even Alec, who had initially pretended to be too cool for such excursions, joined in eagerly.
“I’ll take the twins for their nap,” I offered. “Join you in a bit?”
Patrick nodded, leaning down to kiss me before leading his band of explorers toward the stone staircase that wound up to the top of the castle’s highest tower.
I settled the twins in the nursery that had been set up for them, singing softly until their eyes drifted closed. Then, leaving the baby monitor with Mrs. Kowalski, I made my way up to the battlements.
The view from the top was breathtaking. Rolling green hills stretched in every direction, dotted with sheep and bisected by a winding river that glittered in the afternoon sun. In the distance, purple mountains rose against the sky, their peaks shrouded in mist.
Patrick stood with the children gathered around him, pointing out various landmarks on the McCrae lands. “That forest there has belonged to our family for over three hundred years,” he was saying. “And beyond it, you can just see the old stone bridge where my grandfather used to take me fishing.”
“Will you take us fishing there?” Rome asked eagerly.
“Of course,” Patrick promised. “Tomorrow, if the weather holds.”
I stood back, watching them. Austin and Alec at the front, listening intently.
Rome and Paris asking questions. Brody making careful notes in the small notebook he carried everywhere.
The twins, Carson and Cory, peering through the crenellations at the sheep below.
Even Blaze and Fury were absorbed in Patrick’s stories.
This was it, I realized. This was the legacy that mattered most. Not CarideoTech, though I was proud of what we had built there. Not the McCrae fortune or lands. But this family—this large, loud, complicated, wonderful family we had created together.
I crossed the battlements to join them, slipping my arm around Patrick’s waist. He smiled down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners in the way I loved.
“And what do you think of your Scottish castle, Mrs. McCrae?” he asked, his voice teasing.
“It’s not bad,” I replied with a grin. “A bit drafty, perhaps. And definitely haunted, if Eoin is to be believed.”
Patrick laughed. “He’s convinced he saw the ghost of my great-grandfather in the library.”
“Did he?” Austin asked, his expression serious.
“Probably just the wind moving the curtains,” Patrick said. “Though there are plenty of stories about the ghosts of Eidheann.”
This launched a flurry of questions, and Patrick began another tale—this one about a ghostly piper who was said to walk the battlements on foggy nights.
I leaned my head against Patrick’s shoulder, contentment washing over me. In the courtyard below, I could see Michael and Shelly walking hand in hand. Mrs. Kowalski sat on a stone bench nearby, supervising Eoin and Aspen as they played with a ball.
Twelve kids. Two companies. Homes on two continents. It was a lot to manage, a constant juggling act that sometimes left us exhausted. But looking around at our family now—happy, thriving, together—I knew it was worth it.
Patrick finished his ghost story to a chorus of delighted squeals. Then he turned to me, his expression softening.
“The Carideo Legacy,” he said, “and the McCrae Legacy.” He waved his hand to encompass the castle and lands beyond. “I think we’re going to need a bigger castle.”
I laughed, stretching up to kiss him. “I think this one will do just fine.”
As our lips met, I heard Paris make a gagging sound, followed by Rome’s dramatic retching noises. They laughed, and even Alec cracked a smile.
Patrick pulled back, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion somewhere more private,” he murmured.
“Later,” I promised, squeezing his hand.
For now, I was content to stand here with him, looking out over the land that had shaped him and would now be part of our shared future.
The journey that had brought us here—from grief and loss to this new beginning—hadn’t been easy.
There had been moments when I’d thought I wouldn’t survive the pain of losing Marco, when the weight of single parenthood and running a company had seemed too much to bear.
But standing here now, with Patrick by my side and our family around us, I felt a sense of completion, of coming full circle. We had built something beautiful from the broken pieces of our previous lives.
“What are you thinking about?” Patrick asked softly, his lips close to my ear.
“Just how lucky I am,” I replied. “How lucky we all are.”
He nodded, his eyes taking in the horizon before returning to my face. “We are,” he agreed. “Against all odds, we found each other.”
“You and me against the world,” I whispered, repeating the words I had once written to Marco, words that had taken on new meaning in this new life.
Patrick smiled, understanding in his eyes. “You and me,” he confirmed. “And a crew of twelve.”
“A crew of twelve,” I agreed with a laugh.
As the sun began its slow descent toward the western hills, casting long shadows across the ancient stones of Eidheann Castle, I stood with my husband and our kids, watching the future unfold before us—bright, promising, and filled with love.
THE END