He’d also gottento witness the focus that she gave each of her paintings. She was correct that she wasn’t all that skilled, but Ryan didn’t care. If he could cover the entirety of Castle McGhee with her artwork, he would.
That wasto say nothing of her personality. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that they were meant to meet. He knew that no woman but Margaret would be able to make him laugh the way she did nor bring out the playful nature of his that he once considered buried.
“Ye’re aboutto be put onto the grass; brace yerself,” Ryan warned before slowly lowering Margaret to the ground. “And keep quiet, aye? Ye daenae want to scare them, do ye?”
“Scare who?”she asked, following his instructions and keeping her voice down. “Ryan, where are we?”
“How about yetake yer blindfold off and see?” Ryan said with a smirk, looking out over the clearing that he’d promised to take her to. The deer here were watching the two of them withinterest though they weren’t bothered by their appearance. “But daenae scream when ye see where we are.”
Slowly,Margaret brought her hands to the knot tied at the back of her head. Her fingers shook with excitement, so Ryan stepped behind her to help. As soon as the fabric was loose, he lowered it, waiting for her reaction.
She went still,but he could hear her sharp inhale when she realized where they were. Her head swiveled from left to right, taking in the herd of deer that had gathered in the clearing. Hesitantly, she took a step forward, her hands twitching at her sides, her desire to pet one obvious.
“There are so many of them,”she whispered, not taking her eyes off of the creatures. “This is the clearing you told me about, isn’t it?”
“Aye, it is,”Ryan said, unable to hide his amusement at her awe-struck face. “I told ye they liked to gather here.”
“There areat least six of them,” she said breathlessly, still surveying the group. Then, she nearly squealed as she said, “I think that’s the one that I met before! The smallest one over there!”
“Perhaps it is,”Ryan said, spotting the deer in question. It still had the remnants of youth in its coat though they were quickly fading. And it was looking directly at Margaret, its ears twitching as it studied her. “I think it kens ye from the way it’s lookin’ at ye.”
“You think?”she asked before taking another step toward it, her hand outstretched. Softly, she called out, “How are you, darling thing? Do you remember me?”
The fawn wrinkledits velvet nose as it slowly approached Margaret. After giving her hand a few curious sniffs, the animal leaned into her touch. She scratched its head, joy etched on her features.
“Ach, it does ken ye, see?”Ryan said as he kept his distance.
He didn’t fear runningthese animals off. They weren’t prone to that kind of behavior. Still, he wanted Margaret to get as much time with them as she could.
“It does,”she said, turning back to him for a beat, her features bright with excitement. “I can’t believe how calm the deer are. You said that the young ones are friendlier, but it doesn’t seem like the older ones care that we’re here, either.”
“Aye, they daenae,”he said, nodding at one that had come toward them while nosing along the grass. “Clan McGhee has always respected the deer. Protected them, too, if they needed protectin’. They havenae been hunted for generations, so they arenae bothered by humans.”
Margaret hummed,sliding her fingertips from between the fawn’s ears down its neck. The animal responded by getting even closer to her, leaning most of its weight against Margaret’s side. She giggled, continuing to give it the attention it was asking for.
“I’mglad to hear that the deer are used to people,” she said, now using both of her hands to pet the creature. “That means that I’ll be able to introduce our child to them once they’re old enough.”
“Our child, aye?”Ryan said, raising an eyebrow.
They hadn’t spokenabout children just yet. While he was sure Margaret knew that he’d one day need an heir, he wasn’t keen on pushing the matter with her. He knew the time would come. It was surprising to hear her speak so freely about the possibility of a bairn.
“Yes,”Margaret murmured with a playful smile on her lips as she looked out at the clearing, taking in the lush green grass and the strong trees along the edges. “I want him or her to see this view, to appreciate the beauty of nature, and meet these wonderful creatures, too, of course.”
“Ye speakas though ye’ve put quite a bit of thought into this,” Ryan observed, the corner of his mouth tugging upward.
“Well, I suppose I have,”she admitted as she dropped her hands from the deer. It looked her over once before it trotted back to the rest of the group. When Margaret turned to fully face Ryan, she said, “It’s about time that we both started thinking about it. It won’t be long before our little one arrives.”
The words repeatedin Ryan’s mind several times before he fully grasped their meaning. And when he did understand what his wife was trying to say, he still asked, “Are ye sayin’ ye’re with a bairn?”
“Cali and I believe so,”Margaret said, seemingly amused by Ryan’s confusion. “There’s no knowing for certain until my belly grows rounder, but all the signs are there. She couldn’t come up with another explanation for it. Neither could I.”
A beat passedas Ryan took everything in—the smile on Margaret’s face and the words that she’d uttered. Then, a grin of his own took over his features, and he wrapped his arms around her. She laughed as she returned the embrace.
“That’s wonderful,”he told her, holding her close. “Ye daenae ken how excitin’ it is to hear that.”
“I’m excited too,”she said against his chest. “You’ll be a wonderful father, Ryan.”
“And ye’ll be a wonderful mother.”