“Nae? And just what did ye mean by ye statement then,brother?” Ash taunted Willie, quirking an eyebrow at his brother.
“Ryleigh, I’m sorry I didn’t hear ye calling my name. Had I heard ye calling, I would have answered ye. I love ye lass. I’m so sorry.” Highlander said to his daughter, pulling her into his arms at the same time he pulled Pratt into his arms, holding both of them as tight as he could.
“It’s ok daddy. It wasn’t your fault, it was Uncle Willie’s. He hates girls, so that means he’s going to be alone for the rest of his life.” Ryleigh said, tongue in cheek.
“Nah, lassie, that just means he likes boys.” Tommy replied, wincing when his father smacked him in the back of the head.
“Mind ye manners boy!”
“It’s ok, da, the boys don’t like him either!” Jack fired back, standing near Ash, smirking when Willie flipped him the bird.
Ryleigh looked at her uncle, tilting her head. “Maybe he needs a snickers bar to help him feel better. Mommy says it always makes her feel better when daddy gets back from his work trips.”
Highlander and Pratt both coughed trying to hide their smirk, Pratt blushing hard core when her husband winked at her. “Aye lass, maybe Uncle Willie needs a snickers bar to appease his crankiness.” Highlander conceded, laughing when his wife elbowed him in the ribs.
“Snickers?” Ash asked, looking at Highlander and Pratt, making her smirk as the blush deepened.
“Kids! Gotta get creative when they hear certain things.” Pratt mumbled at Ash, flipping Willie off when he gagged towards her.
“God help us if mum and da come up with that term for their shite!” Willie groaned, shivering at the memories.
“Ah, yes, ye mum definitely likes snickers. I definitely love them too.” Will Sr smirked, chuckling as he walked off towards the house, whistling, ignoring the noises his children were making.
“This is your fault!” Willie pointed at Pratt, his face a green color around the mouth.
“Ah no, asshole, this is technically your fault since you didn’t tell your brother that his daughter was trying to get his attention. So, you can bite my lily-white ass with your bullshit, little boy!” Pratt snarked back, poking her finger into Willie’s chest.
“I’d be careful if I were ye, big brother. Ye don’t want to piss off a momma bear with your shite! That one bites.” Marcus told his brother, smacking him hard on the back, making him stumble.
“Aye that my wife does. While I love it, ye may not. She might draw blood where ye are concerned, arsehole.” Highlander replied, snaking an arm around his wife, watching Ryleigh going over to Ash and taking his hand, smiling up at him.
EIGHT
Highlander, Marcus, Tommy and Jack all exchanged looks as they saw what Ryleigh did and Ash’s response to the little girl. They were all worried about their brother. They knew he wasn’t in a good place and hadn’t been in a long time. They were worried about him since he had closed himself off from everyone on the far end of the family property.
Ash had a small home built on the far end of the family’s property, that put him well away from anyone and everyone. Highlander also knew that the property near the home was well guarded with security surveillance as well as the two huge dogs that were well trained by Ash himself. No one got near the property without some form of alarm going off warning his brother they were there.
Highlander knew what Ash was going through. That’s why he gave thanks to God everyday he had his wife and children to keep him from the dark shadows that fought to take him under. Pratt always seemed to know when those dark shadows were rearing their ugly heads and would do something that pulled him back to the now. She was his rock, just like he was hers. She was his croie, his goddess, his life, his love, his everything.
“Aye, let’s get inside so we can get ready for dinner. Mum will have it on the table here soon. Especially now that the golden boy has come home to visit for dinner!” Highlander laughed, smacking Ash on the back as they turned towards the house.
Pratt and Highlander watched as Ryleigh talked non-stop, walking beside Ash, holding his hand as they headed towards the house. Pratt looked at her husband who winked back at her, relief in his eyes as he watched his daughter perform a miracle.
Once inside the house, Ash hugged his mum as the men washed up and helped set the table for dinner, talking about friends they knew in town, things going on in America and anything else that came to mind. They made sure, for Ryleigh’s sake to include the women in their conversation.
It escaped no one’s attention when Ash had sat down, Ryleigh climbed up into his lap, focused solely on him, carrying on a conversation about his motorcycle, where he lived and about his dogs, Tank and Angus. When Willie tried to pull Ryleigh into a conversation, she would ignore him and continue to talk to Ash, who did nothing but smirk at the sad look in Willie’s eyes when he realized he messed up bad with the little girl.
“Are we doing the traditional Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow night mum?” Tommy asked, trying to keep his smile at bay, so he didn’t wind up on the little girls hit list.
“Aye, I think I will have the wee one’s help make the cookies while the lasses enjoy a night off with their husbands. Ye da and I can get the wee ones to do the baking and create the Christmas decorations tomorrow. It’s going to be a packed house for once. I do wish Michael, Bryson and Kaitielyne could have come home. One of these years before the good Lord calls me home it shall happen.”
Pratt looked from Raso to Marcus then to her husband with a smirk. She watched as Will Sr went to his wife and pulled her into a hug, holding her for a bit and whispering in her ear, making her smile. That’s what she wanted when she and Highlander got older. Him to hold her because she wished that all her kids would be home for a holiday. All of them under one roof. She knew it was going to be hard.
Cody was already talking about joining the police force like her, his aunties and his Uncle Dom. He was back and forth on whether he wanted to join the military or not, but he always talked to Highlander about his options. Will already said he was going to join the military like his daddy and Ryleigh was determined to be the first female Special Forces soldier in the US. Little did her daughter know there were already females in the field, they were just kept secret so no one could out them to the world.
“It’s ok lass. One of these days we will have them all under one roof. I promise ye that. Keep the faith, bonnie lass.” Will Sr told his wife, kissing her forehead tenderly.
“Ye ok lass?” Highlander asked Pratt.
