Lion of Caledonia(110)

He’d still hoped for a brother then.

Now, he’d resigned himself to reality.

Three sisters. All impossible to ignore. All impossible to resist.

“Where are ye going, Rob?” His da came into view from the open doorway leading into the garden, holding his youngest. Emily was three and Rob hadn’t caught her climbing any trees yet, but he saw it in her eyes.

Another daredevil.

Poor Jen. She was surrounded by them.

“I’m going across the loch.” He assumed a casual slouch by the wheel. “Thought I might do some fishing.”

“Fishing. Hmm.” Emily got switched to another brawny arm as his da’s gaze narrowed. “Curious then, that ye don’t have any gear on the boat.”

He loved his father with a fierce, deep attachment. Yet sometimes, he hated how keen Cameron Steward’s eyes and attention were. Especially over the last year as he wrestled for more freedom. “I’m going, Da. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“I’m finding it hard to believe this trip is about fishing, when I had a chat with the Mackenzie last night at the pub.”

Rob’s heart sank. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of the want he felt for Megan. But it was special, and he wanted to wander around it a bit before all his family drilled him into the ground in their usual way.

“Leave him alone, Cam.” Jen poked her head out from the top of the boathouse’s stairs. She’d filled the simple place with cozy furniture and lots of games and books. The family spent half their time in the boathouse during the summer months. “Rob is old enough to know what he’s doing.”

“Thanks, Jen.” He threw her a grateful grin.

A few months after his da had found her and brought her home for good, he’d asked if she wanted to be called mum. In her typical gentle fashion, she’d said he could call her anything he liked. After quite a bit of thought, he’d told her the name Jen meant something more to him than mum. She’d wept, much to his horror.

“He’s going on his first date,” his da announced in a booming voice.

Rob winced. Hell, everyone in the surrounding county would hear.

“Shut up, Cameron.” She marched down the stairs and over to her husband, an unusually militant look on her face. Mostly, his da and Jen went along together with a certain glow of contentment shining from both their faces. It was what he hoped to find with Megan, if he got very lucky.

“But Jenny.” His father’s tawny brows frowned. “He hasn’t told us what he’s doing. I don’t like finding out about what’s going on with my boy from a neighbor.”

“He has a right to some privacy.” Lifting her hands, Jen took Emily into her arms, the flash of her ruby ring shining in the sunlight. “He’s growing up. You can’t stop him.”

“Och.” Cameron Steward handed over his youngest with a teasing tug on the fluff of blonde hair tied into a red bow. “And I suppose at some point, I’m going to have to let my wee Emmy go without a quibble or a question.”

“Yes. At some point.” Jen nuzzled her nose into her child’s neck and the little girl giggled. “What were you doing with Emily?”

“I was telling her a tale about a kelpie and his fair maiden.” Her husband swept a hand down his youngest daughter’s leg and tickled a tiny foot, making the child giggle again. “I’d just gotten to the good part where they lived happily ever after when I heard Rob’s engine roar.”

His six-year-old sister, Annie, peeked around the boathouse door, her gaze filled with worry. “Are ye going on the loch without your life jacket, Rob? Ye need to be careful.”

Annie took after her mother, down to her grey eyes and wheat-colored hair and need to be safe. “I’ll be careful. I won’t get hurt, I promise ye.”

“Well, I guess I’ll let ye go, then.” His father strode to the side of Rob’s sailboat, the one he’d been given a month ago when he’d turned sixteen. Unwrapping the ropes that tied him to the dock, he gave him a look.

“Da.” His throat clutched when he saw the love and trust shining from the two-toned eyes he shared. “Thanks.”

“I love ye. More than I can say. And like my Jenny reminded me just now, I trust ye to make good decisions.” Cam patted the teak hatch with affection and then gave it a push. “Off ye go, lad.”

The engine puttered as it pushed his boat onto the loch. When he’d gotten out far enough to catch the wind, Rob glanced back before lifting the first sail.

His family stood on the dock, Charlotte jumping up and down by his da’s side, Annie clutching one big hand while she waved. Jen waved too, a bright smile on her face as she held her youngest in her arms. Emily sucked on her thumb, her gaze never leaving him. As he watched, his father slid an arm around his wife and looked at her with a love he hoped he’d find on the other shore of the loch.