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“S’bout time he convinced her to move back,” Rhona tuts. She eyes me curiously. “And how are you two getting on?”

“We’re…good,” I settle on, surprised to find that I mean it.

It’s taken a long time for me and my mother to find our way back to a relationship, but the return of my da has really paved the way of things. It’s been a hard road for her, I’ll admit; she lost a part of herself when he went into the loch so long ago, and I believe she might just now be finding it. We might never be what we were, but I have too much good in my life to complain about things that Idon’thave.

Rhona nods. “Good. Wouldn’t want to have to knock some sense into the auld gal.”

“Probably for the best,” I laugh.

Two identical blond heads peek around the doorway, both shoving at each other to try to fight for space. “Are we having the party in this empty room? We’ve got cake and stuffs waiting.”

“And B-E-E-R,” Rory whispers, glancing at Sorcha.

Key appears then, smacking him on the back of the head. “You did not bring alcohol to my daughter’ssecondbirthday.”

“It’s a special occasion!” he argues.

Key just glares at him, and Blair shoos him away, flashing Key an apologetic grin. “We’ll just save the, ah,refreshmentsfor after the wean goes to bed, aye?”

“I’d better go see to it that they don’t break something,” Rhona sighs as she passes Sorcha back to Key. “Finlay, go and fetch the presents from the car.”

I cock a brow. “Presents?”

“I’ll not hear a word on how many,” Rhona calls back, her voice disappearing back through the house.

Finlay leans in, lowering his voice. “She’ll be trying to blame the number on me, but believe you me—it was all your granny.”

“Finlay!”

He presses his fingers to his lips in ashhgesture, following Rhona back toward their car, leaving me alone with Key and Sorcha.

Key’s eyes sweep around the space, smiling. “It finally looks all done.”

“Aye, it does,” I answer. “I’ll be adding her furniture tomorrow.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to move her to her own bed.”

“Aye, love, I know,” I sigh, stepping closer to press a kiss to her forehead. “But that’s the way of weans, I fear. They always grow up when we aren’t looking.” I duck my head to give Sorcha a similar peck at her forehead, lingering for a moment more to once again breathe in the sweet scent of her. “But you’ll always be our wee princess, aye?”

“Can’t believe I letthathappen,” Key mutters.

A laugh tumbles out of me. “Now, darlin’. Don’t be jealous. You’re still the princess of my heart.”

“Mummy pwincess,” Sorcha announces. “I pwincess too.”

“Aye,” I tell her. “That’s right.”

“Tan I haff cake now?”

“Well, it’s not quite time…” Key starts, trailing off when we hear footsteps clodding inside behind us.

“Lachlan,” my father says with a slap on my shoulder. “Oh, och, that looks michty fine. Doesn’t it, love?”

My mother’s small frame appears beside him in the doorway; her features are still somewhat alien to me after having gone so long without seeing them. Her pale blonde hair is pulled up into a bun, her clear blue eyes that are just like mine sweeping over the room.

“Oh, aye, it looks wonderful, son.” She turns to me, a wariness to her eyes that hasn’t quite dissipated even in the years since we first started reconciling. Like she’s afraid I might reject her at any moment. “Was it terribly hard to remove from the auld castle?”

“A right pain in the arse,” my da snorts.