“Good morning.”
She slowly blinked at him, stretching a little. “Thank you for healing me last night. I’m not nearly as sore as I should be.”
“You’re very welcome. I can’t have my wife broken after only a week of marriage.”
She laughed. “Where would you get your seven sons from?”
“The line would end, because you’re my destiny.”
She glanced over his shoulder at the clock. “Oh no! You should have been up hours ago!”
“Nope, because today is Lani’s first day working with Frank. She’s a full-time ranch employee now.”
“Seriously? No more late nights with the boys?”
He shook his head, grinning. “I can’t promise there won’t be times I’m called out to help with something, but for the most part, my job will now be running the ranch. I’m taking over Dad’s study as of Monday morning, and we’ll work together for a week or two. Then I’m on my own.”
“So what’s on the agenda for the weekend?” she asked, moving closer to him.
He grinned. “I thought maybe we could drive into San Antonio and explore the Riverwalk. It’s been years since I’ve had the chance to go.”
“No one will mind if you just take off?”
“It’s the weekend. We have everything in place for me to be able to take off. Dad isn’t planning to go anywhere this weekend, and Adam will be around. Next weekend, I’ll need to stick here, because Mom and Dad are going to go RV shopping on Saturday.”
“They’re really going to do it?” Brittany was surprised. She expected them to realize they couldn’t go anywhere.
“They’re really doing it.” He rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up. “Get your shower, and I’ll meet you downstairs. I’m going to rally the troops and make breakfast.”
“I can cook!”
“So can I. Shower.” He kissed her quickly and got dressed. He was excited about having a fun weekend so he could get to know Madison and Kaeden better, but more than anything, he was happy to have time off to spend with Brittany. It felt like he’d waited his entire life for them to be able to marry and be together. It was finally time for them.
Chapter Ten
On Monday, while the kids were at school and Gideon was working with his father, Brittany went up to the attic to explore. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the microfiche his grandmother had stored up there. She wanted to sit and read everything, learning as much as she could about the fascinating family she’d married into.
She found the box with the records, and she carried it down to the car. She knew that the Bagley library would be the perfect place to do some research and take notes. She might be too busy having babies and helping run the ranch to actually do any writing for the next thirty years or so, but she was going to be ready as soon as the time came.
Three hours later, she was still scrolling through document after document. She had no idea anyone had kept such good records of their family’s history. It helped that the McClains had started out as a clan in Scotland, before they were driven from the country because they were believed to be witches.
Brittany felt for Gideon’s ancestors as she read about the treacherous trip across the water—and the wife of the seventh son was pregnant with her third. Their small sons were still babies as they made the journey.
At first they’d settled in North Carolina, but they had relocated to Texas by 1800. From there the information was even better, and she was excited.
She took all the notes she could, with specific names and ages of family members. When she finished, she reloaded the microfiche into the box she’d found it in.
When she arrived home, she left the notes and microfiche in the car, and she immediately cooked lunch for both her husband and her father-in-law, her mind filled with the stories she’d read. She couldn’t wait to sit down at a computer and type as much as she could remember using her notes. The first story was already taking shape in her mind.
She couldn’t hide her excitement as the three of them ate lunch together, and Gideon kept looking at her curiously. “What is going on with you?”
She shrugged. “Nothing I’m ready to talk about.” She couldn’t let him know that she was taking on such a big task, because what if she couldn’t do it? What if she failed? She didn’t want to ruin his belief in her. No, she’d tell him when it was done.
As soon as the lunch dishes were done, she went upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms that she’d turned into an office, and she started writing. She hadn’t meant to start that day, but the stories were filling her head, and she couldn’t keep herself from putting the words down on the computer.
She set an alarm on her phone so she wouldn’t write too long, and she wanted to yell when it went off. It was time for her to make a huge batch of cookies for all of the people on the ranch. She sighed. Filling Lillian’s shoes was going to be even harder than she’d thought. If she couldn’t get this story out of her head, she was going to implode!
Every day for three weeks, she wrote and wrote and wrote. Every minute the kids were at school and Gideon was occupied, she was either thinking about her story or working on it. She did all the cooking she had to do. She didn’t exactly slack off, but she was absolutely obsessed, and she didn’t know how to go about her day if she wasn’t getting her story out.
On Friday of her third week writing, she wrote the magic words she’d been dreaming about since she’d started it. “The End.” Her hands hurt. Her back, shoulders, and neck ached. But the book was done, and that was the only thing that seemed to matter to her.
That evening after supper when the kids were in bed, Brittany joined Gideon in the living room where he was watching a movie. She snuggled close to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Every day she trusted him a little more. He seemed to be completely devoted to her, which was what she needed more than anything else in life.
“You seem very content this evening,” he said.
She grinned. “I finished today.”
“You finished what?” He’d noticed she kept disappearing upstairs, but he hadn’t questioned her about it, not wanting her to think he didn’t trust her. They were still too fragile for him to question her moves.
“My first book.”
He used the remote to shut the television off and turned to her fully on the couch. “Excuse me?”
“I finished my book. Remember when I told you I wanted to write love stories for your ancestors?” Her whole face was lit up with excitement.
“Yeah?”
“Well, I wrote the first one. As far back as the research would take me.”
“Really? That fast?”
“I couldn’t stop the story. Every minute I wasn’t at my computer, I was obsessed with what would happen next. It was crazy!”
He blinked a few times. “When do I get to read it?”
She shrugged. “When do you want to read it?”
“Now!”
“You don’t have to. I know you’re not really interested in reading a romance, but I’m just so excited that I finished. And now I want to write about their seventh son.”
He laughed. “What are you going to do with these stories?”
“I have no idea! What does one do with a story after she finishes it?”
“We’ll research and figure it out. Mildred may have some connections. The godmothers know everyone.” He cupped her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. “You did it. You finished a book! I’m so proud of you.”
She grinned. “I’m pretty darn proud myself. I’ve started a lot of books, but this is the first time I was actually able to keep going until I finished. It was like there was something inside me, driving me to finish it. I can’t even explain it.”
“We may need to get a housekeeper so you can keep doing what you’re passionate about.” He loved seeing her as happy as she was at that moment. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her face lit up that way—not since they’d first date
d back in high school anyway.
“You’d do that? Would it be okay?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know why not. We can certainly afford a housekeeper, and you seem to need your time free to write. I had no idea it was this big of a deal to you.”
“It hasn’t always been, but the last few years, it’s been a huge part of my life. It was a way for me to escape my world…but now, it seems to be all-consuming. But I know I need to be a good wife to you.”
Gideon shook his head. “You are a good wife to me. How can you be a good wife or a good mother if you’re not happy and fulfilled? This is obviously what you need. I’ve never seen you look quite so excited about anything.”
She grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so excited. I know it’s a little bit crazy, but this is truly something I wasn’t sure I’d ever accomplish.”
“Then we need to start interviewing for housekeepers right away. You’re going to be able to pursue this. It means too much to you.”
“All right.” She felt a bit guilty about giving in, but it was what she wanted with everything inside her. “I can still do special days with the boys when they need them.”
He nodded. “And you’ll still need to. You’ll have to find the balance between being a writer and being my wife. Think you can do it?”
She nodded. “I do think so.” She looked down and her hands for a moment, and then up at him again. “I was unfair to you.”
“How so?” He couldn’t think of a single thing she’d done wrong in their entire relationship…well, maybe hitting him with the books, but he’d probably deserved it, though he really couldn’t remember now. It was funny how he could remember her hitting him that way, but he couldn’t remember what had led up to it.
“I should have trusted you from the very beginning. You’ve been nothing but kind and loving toward me and my family, and I’ve held something that happened a decade ago against you all this time.” Brittany frowned. “I love you, Gideon, and I trust you as well. You mean the world to me.”
His blue-gray eyes lit up excitedly. “I love you, too. So much I don’t think I could ever stop—not even if you wanted me to.” He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers softly. “You have no idea what it means to me to know that you’re now happy in our relationship.”
“I can’t believe I ever thought about not marrying you once you asked. I was an idiot. How could I ever be happy without Gideon McClain at my side?”
“Well, I think if you had a computer in front of you and a story in your head…”
She laughed. “I don’t think I ever would have been able to write someone else’s happily ever after until you gave me my own.”
“Just remember, it’s not a one-way street. You gave me my happily ever after as well.”
“Oh, there’s one more thing you might want to know…”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“I took a pregnancy test this morning.”
His smile grew wider, though he hadn’t been sure that was even possible. “And?”
“You’re going to be a father around the first of the February. I need to see a doctor. Or maybe a midwife. How would you feel if I saw a midwife?” she asked.
“Just fine. As long as you let Daniel or me in the room with you, I wouldn’t even worry.”
She laughed. “You think you’re going to heal me after the baby is born?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know why not!”
“What are we going to name our sons? Seven of them. I can’t go with alphabetical, because your mother did that. We need to think of something fun. Like all Gs. Are there even enough G names to make that work?”
“I have no idea. I think we’d have an easier time with B names. They should all be privileged to get the same first letter as their mother.”
“You’re really happy, aren’t you?” She hadn’t been sure if he’d really want a baby so early on in their marriage—not that there was anything she could really do about it. From what she’d been told, there was no birth control that would work if you were married to the seventh son.
He nodded. “I always knew I’d have children quickly in my marriage and a whole lot of them. You’re fulfilling my destiny…but you’re doing it in a way that makes me the happiest man on earth.” He stood up. “Come on. I’m going to read this book of yours, and I’m going to check on my baby. I don’t want to risk Madison or Kaeden coming down for a drink of water and seeing me holding your belly like some sort of circus freak.”
“You’re not a circus freak?” She shook her head. “I’m so disappointed! For some reason, I was sure you were. Think of the draw you’d have when you started healing people and growing plants before people’s eyes!” She stopped walking. “Oh! I just remembered, my mom’s African violet is dying again…”
“We can’t have that, can we?”
Brittany shook her head. “We certainly can’t! Let’s go fix it!”
Gideon grinned. “It’s a good thing it doesn’t hurt me to use my powers…you’d have broken me a dozen times over.”
“Why would I want to be married to a man with special powers if he didn’t use them for my amusement?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You are a mess, Brittany McClain. Is that why I love you so darn much?”
She shrugged. “I think it was something about destiny and me hitting you with books. I think. I might be wrong.”
He led her to the kitchen windowsill, and stuck his finger in the dirt of her African violet. As she watched it grow, she knew it was just like her love for him. It would never stop growing.
Epilogue
Brittany couldn’t quite contain her excitement. It was the annual fundraiser for the McClain Boys’ Ranch. “I want to buy a quilt. And tacos. I have to get some tacos. Tiffani promised there would be a taco truck this year, even though the other truck backed out.”
Gideon frowned at her. Her pregnancy had been an easy one so far, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. “Just let me scan you once to make sure you’re up for this.”
She rolled her eyes but sat down and let him run his hand over different parts of her. “How’s the baby?”
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the baby inside her, seeing him all curled up in a ball sucking on his big toe. “He’s sucking on his toe again. I swear that child is going to be a gymnast.”
She laughed. “And me? Am I still alive?”
“Yes, you’re still alive. Let’s go.”
Madison and Kaeden were waiting for them in the living room. “Do we have to stay with you guys? Or can we wander off on our own?” Madison asked.
Brittany frowned. “Make sure you stay in plain sight.” Madison had been dating Michael, the younger brother of Maria, Ephraim’s wife. “I don’t want to realize you’ve taken off somewhere.”
Madison sighed heavily. “I won’t.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Kaeden volunteered, his eyes filled with mischief. “She can’t get into any kind of trouble if I’m shadowing her.”
Gideon nodded emphatically. “Great idea! Don’t let her out of your sight, even for a minute.”
Kaeden saluted Gideon. “Yes, sir!”
After Madison left with Kaeden right on her heels, Brittany looked at Gideon. “That was just plain mean.”
Gideon shrugged. “I’m responsible for her. There will be no messing around on my watch.”
They stepped outside, and she sighed. “I got my cover for my fourth book today. I just wish being pregnant hadn’t slowed me down so much.” She shook her head. “I’ve finally reached the year 1200 in the books, but I want to go right through to the twentieth century. I’m really excited about it!”
“You’re growing a person inside you. Give yourself a break.” He made sure to walk slowly, certain she was going to fall over something. A rock, if nothing else.
There were people everywhere, and while Brittany had attended the fundraiser for fifteen years or more, she had never b
een there as a McClain. The pride she felt in all of the arrangements was fascinating to her. “Oh, I see the taco truck! And there’s Tiffani!” She broke into a half run as she hurried toward her friend and sister. “How’re the tacos?”
“Fabulous! They’re every bit as good as Taco Bueno’s.” Tiffani bit into a taco, sighing happily.
Adam looked at Gideon. “Check her out really quick, would you? I think she’s too pregnant to attend this thing, but she says she wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Gideon quickly scanned his sister-in-law under the guise of hugging her. “She’s fine.”
“Yeah, that’s what Daniel said, too…” Tiffani said, rolling her eyes. “I think every time we’re near either of you, he’s going to make you check me out. It’s not like I’m the first woman to ever have a baby.”
“You’re the first woman to ever have my baby, and I love you, so I’m concerned about you. Get used to it!”
Tiffani sighed, but even as she did, she grinned at Adam, making it clear to anyone that she really didn’t mind his overprotectiveness. Melissa joined them. She wasn’t yet pregnant, but they all knew it was a matter of time. No one had babies like the McClains did.
“How are the tacos?” Melissa asked.
Adam shook his head at Benjamin. “All of our wives are obsessed with tacos.”
“Who can blame them?” Lillian asked, going to order a taco of her own.
Maria wandered over, holding onto Ephraim’s arm. She was in her sixth month and having a hard time with it, her blood sugars fluctuating wildly. Ephraim nodded to his brother, who came and hugged her, healing her as much as he could. Each time he or Daniel saw her, they gave her just a bit of a heal. There was no way to heal the diabetes, but they could keep her as healthy as possible.
Ephraim looked over at Brittany. “How’s the baby machine doing today?”
Brittany wrinkled her nose at Ephraim. He’d taken to calling her that shortly after she’d married Gideon. Before she was even pregnant! “I’m fine.” She knew there was no way to make him stop, and he could call her worse.
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