The Recruit (Highland Guard #6)(120)

“Nothing—”

Not waiting for the rest of Hawk’s answer, Kenneth jumped from bench to bench (or more accurately, wooden trunk to wooden trunk), closing the distance between them. Mary sobbed with relief, finding herself enfolded in her husband’s strong embrace.

It was going to be all right. He was here. She was safe. She wasn’t going to have to do this alone. She let go of some of the fear she’d been holding, knowing he would take it for her.

“What’s wrong?” he soothed gently. “Where are you hurt?”

“I’m not—”

“Mother?”

Mary pulled back in shock. She gazed to the rear of the boat, where her son had just boarded beside Magnus MacKay. “Davey?” she whispered.

Her heart swelled with joy.

She looked to Kenneth. “How?”

He smiled tenderly. “I will tell you everything later, but first tell me—”

He stopped when she cried out in pain again. Holding her stomach, she started to count. This time she counted to thirty.

Vaguely, she was aware of her frantic husband beside her. “What’s wrong with her, damn it? Why is she counting? Do something to help her!”

Mary didn’t know to whom he shouted the last order, but it was Magnus MacKay who responded.

“Congratulations, Recruit.”

Kenneth answered, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re about to become a father.”

Kenneth’s gaze shot to hers for confirmation. The pain had relaxed enough for her to nod.

His eyes widened for a fraction of an instant, and she saw the same fear and helplessness she’d seen in the other men’s faces. But then his expression changed into one of steely determination. “Not yet, I’m not. This babe is going to be born in Dunstaffnage, with my sister’s help.”

No one dared argue with him.

“How fast can you take us home, Hawk?” he asked.

Mary’s heart caught. Home. To Scotland. With her husband and her son. She’d never dared to dream of this.

“By tomorrow night. Maybe a little sooner if the winds are with us.”

“Tomorrow night!” she exclaimed. She couldn’t do this for a whole day. How long had it taken with Davey? Nearly that long, she realized glumly. It wasn’t something she liked to remember. “What if the baby comes before that?”

“He won’t,” Kenneth said with such conviction, she almost believed him.

He sat beside her and pulled her back against his chest into the protective circle of his arms, settling in for the long battle ahead. He held her like that for hours. Her volatile, hot-tempered, passionate husband had become her anchor in a stormy sea. He smoothed her hair, mopped her brow with a cool cloth, whispered gentle words of love in her ear, and helped her count as the contractions became more frequent, more intense, and longer. He calmed her with stories when the pain became too unbearable and she started to cry, telling him she couldn’t do this any longer.

“Yes, you can,” he said softly. “You can do this. You’re strong. I have you.”

His calm, steady voice kept the panic at bay. He told her of the life they would have together. The castle in the north of Scotland that he kept for his brother. The green of the grass, the white of the beaches, the impossible blue of the sea, the white foam of the waves crashing against the black rocks, the briny tang of the air. He told her of his family. Of the children they would have. He spoke of the quiet, peaceful years they would spend together.

It sounded like heaven. Even when she didn’t think she could bear it a moment longer, those stories kept her going. She wanted to live that life with him.

Mary had almost forgotten about the other men on the ship until she heard a cry go out, “Castle ahead, Captain!”

The relief around her was almost palpable.

“You did it, love.” The pains were only a minute apart, and another one hit. He held her, almost as if trying to absorb the pain for her. “Hold on just a little longer …”

But Mary couldn’t hold back anything. She was too weak. She screamed as the pain took hold and the urge to push became overwhelming.

“He’s coming,” she gasped, her voice racked with panic.

Their eyes met. His steely determination, his absolute confidence, his unwavering certainty that everything was going to be all right eased her fear.

“Someone get me some light!” he shouted at one of the men. Day had turned to night again without her noticing. A torch was handed back, and he handed it to one of the men seated nearby. Most of the men had given her a wide berth. Though at the time she didn’t care, she knew she would be glad later that her modesty was preserved when he moved her skirts up to see what was happening. She watched his face the entire time, but if he was concerned, he gave nothing away. “Hawk, you’d better make it quick.”

Twenty-seven

Kenneth had never been more scared in his life, seeing the top of his son’s head between his wife’s legs. But the brash confidence that had gotten him in trouble more than once proved a useful mask. The wife who calmed him needed him to calm her.

It had been the most harrowing twenty-four hours of his life. He felt as if he’d been chewed up by a great beast and spit out in ragged pieces. Every nerve ending in his body was raw and frayed. But this wasn’t over yet. If he had to deliver his son on this damned boat, he would do it.