Nine months later – Scotland
“Maggie, Reed, they’re here, they’re here,” shouted Duff, running into the cottage and banging the door open against the wall.
“Shhh,” said Maggie, “ye’ll wake the baby.”
Reed picked up his newborn daughter, Fia, named after one of Maggie’s late sisters. The baby started to cry.
“Reed, look what ye’ve done. She just fell asleep,” said Maggie.
“There’s no time for sleepin’. She has to meet her cousins.” He headed outside to greet the rest of his family. He hadn’t seen Rook or Rowen since he’d left England after the game of chess with Edward. He missed being around his brothers but realized with all the new babies; it kept everyone quite busy. He saw all three birds in the sky as he went to greet his brothers.
“Reed, we got your missive and came right away,” called out Rowen. “We can’t wait to see your new daughter.” He got off his horse and then helped his wife, Cordelia, out of the wagon. She held their baby. “I can’t wait for you to see our daughter, Mairi.”
“Thank the stars ye didna have a boy or ye would have named it Edward,” remarked Reed with a chuckle.
“Don’t worry; I already talked them out of that lame idea.” Rook got off his horse and helped Calliope out of the wagon. He took the baby from her and held his little boy high above his head. “Hail to my son, Blaise, the only boy born of the three of us. That must mean I’m the strongest.”
“Blaise is a fitting name since he’s the son of the Lord of the Underworld,” teased Reed.
“Reed, that’s no’ nice,” said Maggie.
“It’s all right, Maggie,” said Calliope with a giggle. “I think it’s kind of funny since Rook used to live in the catacombs.”
“Here comes Uncle Ross and Uncle Malcolm,” shouted Duff. Reed now lived with the Gordon Clan so Maggie could reunite with her uncle and her clansmembers and also be close to the graves of her parents and sisters. He missed living with Ross, but the Douglas Clan was so close they were neighbors and saw each other often.
“Where?” asked Reed, stretching his neck. “Oh, aye, I see them, and it looks like Annalyse and the girls came, too. Now I only wish Summer would be here and we’d all be back together.”
“I received a missive from Summer a few days ago,” Rowen told him.
“Is she happy?” asked Reed, wishing for the best.
“Nay, I can’t say that she is happy being married to the baron, but she is excited to be pregnant. She’s looking forward to being a mother.”
“Little Summer is pregnant,” said Reed, rocking his baby. “I often think about Spring and wonder what she looked like. Do ye think she had red hair like me?”
“Nay. Black hair like me,” said Rook.
“I’ll bet she was blond like me,” said Rowen. “Then again, even Ross and Annalyse don’t know that answer since the baby was stolen before she even had hair.”
“Will you three stop tryin’ to guess somethin’ that we’ll never ken the answer to?” asked Maggie. “Now stop all the chatterin’ and let’s eat before the haggis is cold.”
“You made him haggis?” asked Rowen.
“Aye. All the time,” answered Reed. “Maggie made a promise to keep me fed and I made a promise never to cook.”
“Ye dinna want to taste his version of haggis,” said Maggie, making a face. Laughter filled the air, and the feeling of family surrounded Reed. With the newborn babies in the family, Reed’s heart swelled with love. He wondered how he could have ever held so much vengeance and hatred in his heart. He never saw the vision of his mother again, but he felt her presence in his heart and often talked to her when things were troubling him. Even if Reed and his brothers had never been legitimized by Edward, he decided it didn’t matter. They were once a happy family when they thought Annalyse and Ross were their parents, and they would always consider them their parents for as long as they lived.
Reed now knew the true meaning of family and family wasn’t always blood-related. He would always be there for Rook, Rowen, Ross, and their families, as well as for Summer, Winter, and Autumn. And had Spring ever been found, he’d be there for her too. Because, like he told Edward, the legend of the Demon Thief had died, but a new legend of family had risen from the ashes. From now on, his heart would be filled with love instead of vengeance.
He’d learned so much from Maggie and from his talk with the spirit of his mother. He didn’t need to fight for what he wanted because he already had more than he could have ever hoped for. His love for Maggie and her love for him proved that even through horrific trials, they could learn to be happy and love and live again. Risen from the ashes was a new legend based on love. And gone were his days of being naught but a Reckless Highlander.