Page 38 of A Fine Scottish Spell (The Magical Matchmakers of Seven Cairns #2)
“He stole my heart,” Emily said, then pressed both hands to her stomach. “And gave me babies that he already loves and cherishes. I am so happy, Mama, and also so sorry for worrying you and Papa. Can you please forgive me? Can we put it all behind us?”
Mama’s eyes welled with tears that quickly overflowed, streaking her usually flawless makeup. “You’re giving Papa and me grandbabies to spoil. How could we not forgive you?”
“Walk with me, young man, so I can see if you’re worth your salt,” Emily’s father said to Gryffe with a gruffness that did not sound real.
“It would be my pleasure, Mr. Mithers,” Gryffe said, then turned to Emily. “As long as ye’ve no objections, my own?”
For some inexplicable reason, Emily got the impression that all this had somehow been rehearsed. Everything was too neat—too tidy. Her instincts tingled with the strange undercurrent of something in the room. “What’s going on here?”
Gryffe and her parents failed at assuming an air of innocence. “Yer father wishes to speak with me. ’Tis only natural he do so to put his worries about his daughter to rest.”
She folded her arms across her chest and eyed them. “You expect me to believe that?”
“Emily,” her father said in a gently scolding tone. He gave her the it’s time to straighten up and be serious look. “Your mother needs to speak with you. I have decided to be a coward and visit with your husband while she does so.”
“Be a coward?” Emily stared at him, unable to believe that of her father. “You’re not afraid of anything, Papa. What are you talking about?”
“The only thing I fear in this life is disappointing my little girl.” He kissed her forehead like he used to do when she was little, then hurried and left the room with Gryffe before she could say anything else.
She turned back to her mother and braced herself.
“Okay. What’s going on? You two aren’t getting a divorce, are you? ”
“Absolutely not,” her mother said. “I am entirely too old to start training another one, and I abhor living alone. Well…as alone as I could possibly be with your five brothers constantly running in and out whenever they’re in need of a home-cooked meal.
” She pointed at the chairs around the table.
“Sit. Your tea is getting cold, and you do remember you need to limit your intake of caffeine while pregnant and when breastfeeding—yes?”
“Yes.” Emily took a seat but didn’t pour any tea. She’d worry about that after she heard what her mother had to say. “What’s going on, Mama? Papa looked—strained.”
Her mother fidgeted with her bracelet of multi-colored beads, twisting and rolling the beads between her fingers. “When we thought we’d lost you, we realized that we’d not prepared you properly.”
“Prepared me properly?”
“Been honest with you so you would be aware and able to defend yourself.”
Emily slowly shook her head and leaned back in the spindle chair that was so worn, it cradled her like a hammock made just for her. “I have no idea what you’re trying to say. Can you just come out and say it?”
“Papa and I are not your biological parents.”
A spinning sensation crashed across Emily, threatening to make her vomit. She closed her eyes and pulled in deep, deliberate breaths. “Could you ask Lilias for a cool cloth, please?”
“Here ye are pet,” Lilias said. “I had one at the ready. Thought ye might need it. Shout out should ye need anything else.”
“Thank you,” Emily said, struggling not to throw up her dignity. She pressed the cool damp cloth to her face, then to the back of her neck. She swallowed hard, wincing at the bitter bile burning the back of her throat. “If I get through this without puking, it’ll be a miracle.”
“Breathe, Emily. Deep and slow. In through the nose and out your mouth. It’s the hormones—and the shock. I am sorry. We should’ve told you years ago.”
Closing her eyes, Emily bowed her head and held the washcloth to her throat. “How old was I when you got me?”
“Days.” Her mother released a heavy sigh, holding a hand to her chest as if she struggled to breathe. “Your birth mother left you there in the neonatal unit. You were such a tiny little thing. I held you in the palm of one hand.”
“How?” Emily couldn’t speak in full sentences. She could only manage single words.
“As a physician for some of the most powerful and influential in New Jersey, it wasn’t difficult to call in a few favors and arrange your adoption. That way, we could bring you straight home from the hospital as soon as you were strong enough. We wanted to keep you out of the foster system.”
“But my brothers?” It wasn’t like her parents had been childless. Had they cheated the system and bought them too?
“Your five brothers are not adopted.” Her mother huffed with a sad laugh.
“I love my wild boys, and they’ve done your father and me proud—and as far as they know, you are their biological sister.
With all of you so close in age, it was easy to help them remember what we wanted them to remember.
” She slowly shook her head while holding Emily’s gaze.
“But a year after your brother Henry was born, I had to have a hysterectomy to remove a large mass.” Another heavy sigh left her.
“Your father and I…well…mostly, me I guess, had always wanted a little girl to level out the playing field in our testosterone saturated home.” She sniffed before pulling a tissue out of her purse and pressing it to the end of her nose.
“I was so depressed after my surgery. Felt like I was not only less of a woman, but knew I had lost any hope of holding my very own little girl in my arms.” She blew her nose, then rummaged for another tissue.
“And then your father called me while doing his rounds at the hospital. About this sweet little girl that barely weighed a pound and needed someone to love her.”
Emily risked taking a sip of her tea, thankful that it had cooled to a tepid level. With her hand pressed to the base of her throat, she shook her head. “Of all the things you could have said to me today, I never expected this.”
“I am still your mama. Papa is still your papa, and Rob, Terrance, Jack, Miles, and Henry are still the greatest irritants and most loving brothers you could ever have. They would’ve come to Scotland with us, but we asked them not to this time.
” She pulled in another deep breath, blew it out, and sat taller in her chair.
“And Mairwen told me everything. I now know why you and Jessa can never return to New Jersey, and how all of us can only meet and visit here in Seven Cairns.”
“You’re not supposed to know all of it,” Emily whispered as a chill shot through her. They had made a vow, and Mairwen had broken it. “It’s so…dangerous. None of what you know can ever be repeated—and you definitely can’t tell the boys.”
“I know. But Mairwen took pity on me because she understood my pain of losing my daughter.”
Now, Emily understood. “Mairwen recently lost her son. He was murdered.”
Her mother gave her a sad nod. “I know. She told me as we shared tea and tears.” She reached for Emily’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Can you ever forgive me for lying all these years? Papa and I were so afraid to tell you. We were afraid we would lose you.”
“Lose me? Are you insane?” Emily dove into her mother’s arms, not caring that she nearly knocked her seat backwards.
“I love you, Mama, and I love Papa too—and that’s that.
” She pulled her chair closer and settled into it while still holding tightly to her mother’s arm.
“You and Papa need to retire and move here to Scotland. Buy a cottage from Mairwen. Right here in Seven Cairns.”
Her mother wrinkled her nose. “We’ll see. Your brothers may be scattered all over the East Coast, but they find their way back to Jersey on a regular basis.”
“They’ve all got good, solid jobs. Maybe they would finally learn to cook if you and Papa moved over here.”
Mama patted her hand and squeezed it. “Are you truly happy, Emily? Truly happy? Because that’s all I have ever wanted for you.”
“I am, Mama. I really am.”
“Then that’s all any mother can ask for.” Mama shared another sad smile. “You’ll understand when your babies reach their age of independence.”
Emily just smiled and nodded. Mairwen might’ve told Mama all their secrets, or maybe just the few instrumental ones, but either way, Mama had no idea about her grandchildren’s ancestry and what they might be capable of.
Even Emily struggled to wrap her head around it.
She pulled her mother into another hug. “I am so glad you’re here.
” She locked eyes with Mama. “But I really want you to buy a house and stay. I think you’d love it here, and I know Papa would. ”
“We’ll see,” Mama said, but her tone implied that the we’ll see was more of a we will.