by R E Gauthier
Aisling had grown into a lovely woman with a heart even bigger than the thirteen-year-old had when last Nanna saw her. Nanna watched Aisling dance and snuggle with Nikki. The two women were, as made for each other, as Miranda and Kelsey were. Her prayers to the goddesses had been answered. She had always wanted her granddaughters to find their Anam Charaid, and they had. Both Seers would have the anchor for their souls to guide them through life.
Nanna watched Kelsey with Miranda and realized for the first time the power within her tall, beautiful granddaughter. Of all of the MacKenzie women, Kelsey had grown into her gift more and harnessed the gift’s powers to which they were meant to be used. To bring about happiness and peace around her. The aura radiating off of the two women at that moment could have lit up an entire city. She smiled; life was good.
Little Fiona snuggled closer. “Nanna, will I find someone to love me like Taunt Kelsee?”
Kissing the top of the little girl's head, Nanna said, “of course you will; the MacKenzie Clan women always find their loves. When the time comes, you will find the one person who makes you happy.”
“When I do, will you be there to dance with me?” Fiona asked in her more mature voice.
Nanna smiled down into the innocent face. “Yes, I will always be with my family, even when you cannot see me anymore.”
Fiona giggled. “Nanna, I’ll always be able to see you.”
Nanna knew from Fiona’s birth, that her youngest Great-granddaughter had the gift of Second Sight. “Yes, you will always be able to see me.”
***
Nikki held the woman in her arms and smiled at something Mack said to Miranda. The past few days had flown passed with lightning speed. She didn’t have time to think about all they had gone through. Mack needed to get home to marry Miranda. Nikki kept her promise to make sure that happened. As one of Mack’s Best Women, Nikki made herself available to help her best friend keep it together to make it to the ceremony. It had been Miranda who was the only one who could genuinely keep Mack in one piece. The two women were so much in love. It used to make her feel lonely when she was in their presence, but now she only felt blessed. Nikki felt Aisling stir in her arms, and she looked down into that beautiful face.
“I’m going to hold you to what you said earlier. So, don’t you forget it.” Aisling nuzzled Nikki’s neck and kissed her collarbone.
Nikki giggled. “I wouldn’t think of going back on that promise, even if I did say it under the influence of alcohol, and duress.”
Aisling giggled. “What duress?”
“Your entire family watched me catch Miranda’s bouquet. There’s a lot of pressure coming from them. You’re just not used to being around them. Nanna gave me that look, and then I saw tears in your mother’s eyes…I knew I was in trouble.”
Aisling smiled. “When Miranda and Kelsey come back from their honeymoon, we can make the announcement. We’ll let them have the limelight a little while longer; they deserve it. In any case, it will give you time to prepare a better proposal.”
“I…” The rest of the words caught in Nikki’s throat as Aisling undid another button.
***
Honeymoon Hotel Room, Pittsburgh, June 5, 2012
Kelsey pulled Miranda closer. The feeling of finally being able to breathe and relax overwhelmed her. Closing her eyes, Kelsey felt and saw Miranda’s passion. The little vixen wasn’t asleep, only playing possum. “My dear, we have a lifetime. There is no reason to rush.”
Miranda scoffed. “Why, Agent MacGregor, you wouldn’t be telling me you cannot keep up with your new wife’s needs, would you?”
Kelsey could see Miranda’s humor and decided to play along. “Why, I’ve been fighting jet lag and the time difference for a couple of days. All I ask is you give me just a few moments of rest. We do have a lifetime to love one another.” Pain tore through her heart. The pain radiated from the woman in her arms. “Miranda, what is wrong?”
Miranda sniffed.
Kelsey turned Miranda in her arms to look at her. “What is it? You’re blocking me. What is it that has you hurting so much?”
Miranda lowered her eyes. “After I thought I’d lost you forever, I wanted to die. This world wasn’t worth living in without you. Knowing you were only an ocean away but couldn’t come home killed me. Our nights in my dreams held me, but this is what I’ve waited for the most. Lying here and feeling you near me. I can’t imagine going through that ever again. When I met you, I knew you had a dangerous job, but I fell in love with you anyway.”
Kelsey lifted Miranda’s chin and looked deeply into her eyes. “I promised I’d be back, and I am.”
“Only until you go again and again. I’ve waited my whole life to find you. I knew you had to exist, but never dreamed I’d find you. Here we are, and I’m not strong enough to lose you.”
Kelsey saw the pain inside Miranda’s heart. The woman had lost her entire family over the years, leaving her an orphan. This independent, intelligent, and passionate woman sacrificed a lot to surrender to the love she felt for Kelsey. “I’ll never leave you, I promise. I promise to be right here, lying next to you when we leave this world together. We’re going to grow old, see our children have children, and they have children. We’ll die in our bed holding one another; I’ll promise you that right now.”
Miranda smiled and wiped away an errant tear. Sniffing, she said, “you cannot promise that. Anything can happen to us.”
“No, not anything. Remember I am a Seer, I have the gift of Second Sight, and in my visions, we go on a honeymoon of the ages. A trip around the world to all the places you haven’t been, and to places you want me to see, and I want to show you.”
“That may not be that fun for you. You do recall I hate to fly.” Miranda stuck out her chin and cocked her head.
“Not to worry, I’m stocking up on some good drugs, and these arms were meant to hold you. Nothing will happen while you’re here in my arms.”
Miranda gave Kelsey one of her megawatt smiles.
Kelsey’s heart fluttered. “Then, when we get back from our year-long honeymoon, we’re going to settle down and work on having all of those children I saw in my visions.”
Eyebrows rose, her head cocked, and Miranda smirked. “Have you been talking to Nanna?”
“Why, Nanna? What does Nanna have to do with us having children?”
Miranda giggled. “Only that while you were away, she made plans on how we’d have children. She said you might not want to take time off from the FBI to make babies so that I’d be the one having them. She thinks Rory or Kenny would be good fathers for our children. She said at least that way they’d still have MacGregor/MacKenzie blood.”
Kelsey opened her mouth and then closed it. Shaking her head, she said, “You and Nanna seem to have it all planned, when was I going to hear about it?”
Miranda drew back and pouted. “I just told you, and hey, I didn’t have anything to do with this plan. I don’t want to have your brother’s babies. I want to have yours.”
“That may be difficult; you do know I’m not equipped to get you pregnant?”
Miranda stuck out her tongue. “Yes, I do know that, but there are ways around such a problem. If you don’t want to have a baby yourself, I can be the surrogate for your eggs; then, the babies would be ours in the truest sense. Your eggs, my body, and we can pick a good donor who would complement your genes.”
“Why does everyone think I wouldn’t want to carry and give birth to my child? Do I not look like good mother-to-be material?”
Miranda shrugged. “It’s not that, we all know how much your job means to you. You’re driven, and taking time off to have children isn’t what we see you doing.”
“Well, remember I said I’m a Seer, and I have had visions of our future? While in the UK, away from you and away from the FBI, I have come to learn what is important in life. You and my family mean more to me than anything. The FBI was a means to an end. I wanted to find justice for Aisling, Aunt Cat, and
Uncle Stephen. This became a driving force in my life. Joining the FBI was to be the way I got that justice; in the end, it was my gift, not the FBI that led me to get that justice. Now, you and my family are what I’m left with. I’m not about to risk losing you or the future I saw for us, running around putting myself in danger.”
Miranda opened her mouth and then closed it. Nibbling on her lower lip, she smiled. “Does this mean you’re not going back to the FBI?”
Kelsey nodded. “This means that I am free to take you on a year-long honeymoon, and then when we come back, we’re both going to go daddy-shopping for a suitable sperm donor for our babies.”
“Both? Do you mean you want to get pregnant as well?”
Kelsey felt Miranda’s excitement and anticipation awaiting her response. “Yes, we need to get cracking on having children if we’re going to have the four little ones I saw in my visions.”
“Four?” Miranda squeaked.
“Yes, four, and they looked like they were close in ages too. So, we better get working on it as soon as we can.”
Miranda squealed and threw her arms around Kelsey’s neck. “Are you sure, I mean, did you see us with four children, or were Aisling and Nikki’s with ours?”
“Hold on; they’re not even married yet. They may not even want children.”
“Will they? Do they? You could know if you used your gift. I’m not wrong in guessing they’re in love, tell me I’m not wrong.”
Kelsey giggled. “You’re not wrong. If I had a guess, and it wouldn’t be a real guess, since I can see inside Aisling’s heart, Nikki is Aisling’s Anam Charaid. How coincidental is that?”
Miranda smiled dreamily, “but you don’t believe in coincidence. This is going to be epic having Aisling and Nikki together, we’re going to have so much fun with them, and our children will be best of friends.”
“Cousins and best friends.” Kelsey smiled down on her wife. Miranda had her eyes closed with a massive smile on her face. “Now, what was it that you wanted to do only moments ago?”
Miranda’s eyes popped open. Her pupils dilated. You know exactly what I wanted to do.
Kelsey’s heart rate tripped before it sped up. She saw the vision of the two of them entwined and crying out in ecstasy. “Why, my little author, you wouldn’t be trying to seduce me again, would you?”
“Agent MacGregor! What sort of woman do you take me for? I’d never try to seduce an upstanding FBI agent such as yourself. That would be scandalous.” Miranda batted her eyelashes and put a hand to her mouth.
Kelsey couldn’t help but smile at her wife’s playing her part well. “My dear, I am not an FBI agent any longer, so you don’t have to worry about sullying my reputation.” Kelsey wagged her eyebrows in a dastardly manner and smirked. “I’m just your wife.”
“Just my wife, you say. Well, then that changes everything. I’m going to seduce you mercilessly for the rest of your life. I hope you can handle that.”
Kelsey threw her head back and laughed. She grabbed Miranda around the waist and flipped over on her back with Miranda straddling her. “Oh, I can handle it and will hold you to it, Mrs. MacGregor.”
Miranda slowly rocked her hips to bring her core directly over Kelsey’s. “Good answer, Mrs. MacGregor, because seduction number one starts now. Fasten your seatbelt; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
Kelsey closed her eyes and slid her hands up to cup Miranda’s breasts. “All buckled up, my dear, let the ride commence.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
On a plane preparing to land in Glasgow, Scotland, June 6, 2012
Kelsey kept the first stop on their world tour a secret. The only thing she told Miranda was to pack light because they would buy some things they needed when they arrived. It hadn’t been easy, but with Miranda drowsy from the drugs and sleeping the majority of the flight, Kelsey didn’t have to do much to keep it a surprise. The flight attendants gave Miranda noise-canceling headphones, and they sat in first class on their flight to Glasgow. Colin and Estelle Brown were tickled pink when Kelsey called to say they would start their honeymoon in Glasgow, Scotland. Kelsey wanted Miranda to meet the sweet man and his wife and show her around. The next stop would be the Scottish Highlands, where they would stay near Eilean Donan Castle. Kelsey wanted Miranda to get a sense of where Kelsey’s family came from and what made Kelsey the person she was.
Miranda stirred before the plane began its descent for landing. “Mmmm, I was right that first day we met. You are definitely, cuddly and sexy.” Miranda smiled and drifted off to sleep.
Kelsey smiled as she recalled the day several months ago when Miranda mumbled that Kelsey was sexy and cuddly after she held Miranda on their first plane ride together. That day Kelsey’s world turned upside down by a little author, and Kelsey wouldn’t have had it any other way. She whispered, “I thought you were sexy and cuddly too, but too scared to say so.”
Miranda smiled. “I know,” she said sleepily.
Several minutes passed before the seat belt sign came on. The plane began to descend, and Miranda clutched Kelsey’s hand tightly.
“I have you,” Kelsey whispered against Miranda’s ear. “I won’t let anything happen to you. How did you ever travel to all those places on your blog?”
Miranda smiled. “I flirted with some unsuspecting woman who helped me keep my mind off of being afraid.”
Kelsey chuckled. “I have no doubt.”
The plane finished its landing, and the aircraft taxied to the terminal gates.
Colin said he’d be waiting at the arrival doors.
After departing from the plane and going through customs, Kelsey and Miranda walked to the Arrivals Exit.
Miranda looked around and smiled. “You did a good job keeping this a secret. Why did you decide to start our honeymoon in Scotland?”
“It’s where my story began. My family’s history is here, and besides, I knew if I didn’t bring you here to meet Colin and Estelle, they’d be so angry with me.”
Miranda chuckled. “Well, I hope we can go freshen up at the hotel before we go see them. I must be a sight with dried drool and a wrinkled face from sleeping the entire flight.”
“I’m afraid not; Colin is driving us to our hotel.” Kelsey saw the grinning man approach. “As promised, Colin. A’d lik’ introduce ye tae mah guidwife, Miranda.”
Miranda held out her hand and said, “I’m so happy to meet you, finally. Kelsey has told me about the adventures you had together.”
Colin ignored Miranda’s hand and drew her in for a big hug. “Aye, Kelsey 'n' ah hud some grand journey. Weel done oan yer bridle. Mah guidwife is dying tae catch up wi` ye, sae ah better git ye tae yer change-hoose. We're expecting ye fur supper in twa hours.”
Kelsey smiled at Miranda’s perplexed expression. Colin and Estelle’s accents would be difficult for Miranda. “He wants to get us to the hotel so we can be ready to go to supper at their house in two hours.”
Colin nodded. “Sorry, ah will huv a go at mah best tae speak better so, ye kin understand.”
Miranda shook her head and smiled. “No worries. Kelsey will help me. You and Estelle don’t have to go to any extra trouble.”
“Tis no trouble, you’re our guests, and I can make an effort.” Colin took Kelsey and Miranda’s carry-on bags. “You always pack light?”
“Kelsey told me we’d never be able to pack for every place that we’re going, so we were only to pack what we needed for the plane, and the hotels.”
Kelsey raised her eyebrows.
Colin blushed only a little. “Estelle and I never left our honeymoon room for two weeks; ten months later, we had Michael.”
Kelsey stifled a snicker when it was Miranda’s turn to blush.
Colin drove his taxi through the late afternoon traffic to their beautiful hotel. Kelsey had asked Nikki to help her find every castle or the closest thing to a castle in every location of their trip. In Glasgow, it was Colin who said he knew the best place for them to stay. Kelsey glan
ced out the window of the taxi, trying to figure out where Colin could be taking them. Miranda sat in front with Colin, and they had a lively discussion about the countryside. Kelsey smiled. Her wife truly could charm anyone she met.
As the car began to slow, Colin said, “Ere we r. I hope you like this place. Kelsey asked if there were castle hotels in Glasgow, and the only one that came tae mind is the Sherbrooke.”
Kelsey smiled when she heard Miranda’s gasp. Colin had picked the right one. The greenery hid a large sandstone castle set upon a hill overlooking an area of Glasgow, Kelsey never saw before. “Colin, I never saw this area when I was here. Where are we?”
Colin turned and smiled. “We’re up in the South end of Glasgow. Do yae remember when we took the trip to Giffnock to that Retirement home?”
Kelsey nodded. “Aye, the area is like this, green and lovely.”
“Well, we’re just east of Giffnock. This place was built in 1896, and unfortunately, it was never a real castle. Many of the real castles in this area were small and not as grand. John Morrison built this to be his home. He was a contractor at the time and built many Victorian homes. This one is by far the most romantic and picturesque in these parts.”
Miranda’s eyes were round with wonder. “You surprise me, Colin. You’re nothing like the man with a Scottish brogue we met at the airport. You’re a very well-informed tourist guide.”
Kelsey chuckled. “I told you he was charming and knew his stuff. I never needed to tell him where to go or how to go; he always knew and had such great stories to go along with every location.”