“Oh, honey.” Pratt crooned, sitting up slightly, she leaned in to kiss his lips softly. “We’re never apart! Even when you deploy, you’re always with me.”
“I thought that was my line, lass.” Highlander smiled down at Pratt.
“You’ve told me enough times that it’s true. It’s what keeps me going when you’re gone. I feel you at night, when I wear your shirts, lay on your pillows. When the kids crawl into bed with me because they are missing you too.”
“God, I love ye, lass.” Highlander kissed Pratt sweetly as he slowly entered her core, inch by sweet agonizing inch.
“Mmmm, it’s nice to have you home again.” Pratt whispered as she wrapped her arms and legs around Highlander. “When you’re inside me like this, that’s how I know you’re home.”
Highlander made slow, sweet love to Pratt, the both of them looking into each other’s eyes. Their eyes promising the other the future…love…forever.
Their orgasm blinded them both, slow, deep, earthshattering. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, Pratt’s head on Highlander’s chest, hearing his heartbeat, lulling her to sleep. Comforting, knowing she was safe in his arms once again.
Highlander was content, feeling his wife’s arms around him, her breathing slowing as she dozed off in his arms. He was truly home. He knew home was anywhere he chose it to be, but for him, it was in his wife’s arms, no matter what life threw his way. Highlander lulled off into dreamland, a smile on his face.
FOUR
Acouple of hours later, Pratt and Raso were in the kitchen helping Sylvia with the preparations for dinner with the family. Ryleigh at the table coloring while the men were with their father out at the barn looking in on the horses and other livestock, helping their father with what needed to be done. They had taken little Will, Cody and Ty with them, put them to work.
“I’m so glad ye lasses were able to come. I know how hard it is for ye to take a break from ye work. Joseph and Marcus have told me about what ye do. I’ve seen firsthand on my trips across the pond, as well. It’s good to see ye lasses take a break. Ye work entirely too hard. Those boys do as well. Too much like their da, the lot is.” Sylvia beamed over at the two women.
“Yes, they do. Granted I know Mr. MacLeod…” Raso started to say.
“None of that now, young lady. Ye are our daughters, so ye call him Will or da, or as ye Americans say, dad. None of this Mr. or Mrs. MacLeod. That’s for his parents, mind ye. Not us.” Sylvia ordered Pratt and Raso, wagging her finger at the two women.
“Yes, ma’am…I mean mom.” Raso corrected herself.
“Told you you’d get an ass chewing if you did that.” Pratt murmured to Raso, ducking when she threw a towel at her.
“Ye two have known each other for a long time?” Sylvia asked, watching the two women kneed the dough for the rolls she was going to make.
“Well, aside from the seven years on the task force, we worked together as deputies for the department. She was a huge help when I went through my divorce and then when she went through a bad break-up, as well as the custody battle for Ty, I made sure I was there for her.” Pratt answered, tilting her head to the side, memories taking over from the past.
“I don’t know how many calls we wound up responding to together.” Raso chuckled, looking over at Pratt. “You remember that one where we both responded, the woman was going bonkers because some dude broke into her house and he was laying in her bathtub, soaking in a bubble bath?”
“Oh my God!” Pratt laughed, her head going back. “She was madder than an old wet hen. He was using her most expensive bubble bath too. I don’t know why you would spend that amount of money on something and not use it. Didn’t even look worthy of a decoration either.”
When Sylvia just looked at the two women, a smile on her face, Raso went on to explain the situation. “We got a call, what was originally thought to be a breaking and entering, was actually a guy so drunk, he thought he lost his keys, and broke into the apartment he thought was his. He had a hankering for a bubble bath, which I don’t think either of us knew men did. So, he went into this woman’s bathroom, started the bathwater and poured himself a bubble bath. Grabbed a beer out of the fridge and was sitting back in the tub, relaxing and having a beer.”
“Oh goodness. What happened?” Sylvia asked, intrigued.
“We had to get this soaking wet dude up out of the bathtub. Took us several minutes to get him to realize he was indeed in the wrong apartment and the pissed off woman wasn’t actually his wife. We got him to his actual apartment, which was three buildings over, gave him a citation and made his wife promise to bring in him in to the station when he sobered up. He paid for the woman’s window. The wife is now good friends with the woman from what I understand. The couple stood up for her at her own wedding.”
“Oh, how funny. Do ye lasses have lots of those type of situations?” Sylvia asked, trying to get to know the girls better than she already did.
“I wish. I think with the task force, we see a side of humans we wished we didn’t. Granted in just normal law enforcement, working the jails or on the streets we see horrors that most don’t even think are possible or are made up by Hollywood…” Pratt said, breaking off as she looked over at her daughter, coloring at the table.
“When you have kids, it makes things harder to understand. Makes it hard to trust in society, humans in general. We see the depravity right here in our own back yard. I can’t even begin to imagine the shit the guys see overseas.” Raso finished, sighing deeply, lost in thought.
“Aye, I feel the same way. It took my Will a long time to get the horrors he’s seen out of his head. Between the IRA ops and the first war in Iraq…Will got out after that one. He originally wanted to make it a career, going up the rank, he was one rank away from never having to go on operations. Men like my Will, they don’t do good behind a desk, the things he’s seen and had to do, it played heavily on him.” Sylvia mused, looking off into the distance, memories also surfacing her for.
“And it was ye love and that of our wee ones that saved me, my bonnie lass. Just like these two lasses and their wee ones are doing for these two lads. One of these days the others will find their croie and have just what we have.” Will Sr said, coming into the house, heading to his wife.
“Aye, that is true da.” Marcus agreed, going to Raso as Highlander did the same for Pratt.
“I think I’m going to barf with all this lovey shite going on.” Willie cracked, faking a gagging sound, making Cody, Ty and little Will follow suit.
“You boys just wait, when it happens to you. I’m going to remind you of this. Cody, I have baby pictures of you, young man. I can torture you by showing them to your girlfriend one of these days.” Pratt warned her son, her eyes narrowed.
