Page 16 of Redemption
Something has changed about his face. It’s softer. Fewer lines. More … at peace. The remaining cobwebs of sleep clear instantly as I remember the all-important reason he left Aurora and me in this safe house.
“Did you … did you … was it …” I whisper, trying to keep my voice low so I don’t wake Aurora. I don’t even know what to ask. The experience I find myself having is so far outside of our norm that I can’t even piece together the right words for a question. After all, they aren’t questions I ever thought I’d be asking. But such is life with Lachlan Mount.
Instead of replying, he stares intently at me and Aurora. His normally sharp features soften even further.
“I never knew what that was like before. I wondered my whole life what it must feel like.” His mouth curls ever so slightly, as if he’s remembering something beautiful.
My lips part to ask what he means, but Lachlan continues before I need to speak.
“I felt the love of my mother. It was indescribable. I truly never knew what that felt like until tonight.”
My lungs spontaneously suck in a deep breath that pierces my chest, straight to my heart. My hand flies to my mouth as my lower lip trembles and tears gather in my eyes. “You really …”
He nods, and his nearly black eyes glisten with emotion. “I did.” The words come out roughened with emotion I’ve only heard once before—on the day of Aurora’s birth.
“It was really her?” I ask on a whisper, as if afraid to shatter the moment.
“Yes,” he replies, lowering to the edge of the bed to sit beside us. “She’s …” He swallows and pauses before speaking. “She’s more than I ever dreamed she could be.”
“Oh, Lachlan.” My heart is full to bursting as I reach out to grasp his hand. His fingers curl around mine, gripping them like velvet over steel.
“She’s beautiful. She’s strong. She’s … soft and loving. Just like you. Everything a mother should be.” A tear tips over his lower lid and tracks down his face. “I don’t know how a man who has done what I’ve done could deserve such a gift. It doesn’t seem possible. It seems … like something out of a fairy tale.”
Instantly, the protective instincts I’ve had to adopt as Keira Mount rise. Are they playing him? Is this a scam or an elaborate scheme? If it is, I will end them for this cruelty. No one plays with my husband’s emotions like this and lives.
“Are you sure? Totally sure she’s really who she says she is?”
His lips curve with another soft smile—one I’d love to see on his lips forever. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“How do you know?”
He releases a breath. “There are some things you just know. Nothing about what I experienced tonight was a setup or a scam. I’ve been through plenty of those, Hellion. This was … this was something you can’t fake. Something so genuine, it brought me to my knees.”
I grip his strong hand even harder. “Are you okay?”
His smile turns bemused. “I don’t know what I am anymore, and clearly, I don’t know who I am either.”
“You’re the most formidable man I’ve ever met. You’re law unto yourself. You’re?—”
He interrupts me with his own reply. “A lost little boy who just met his mother for the first time. It rocked me, Keira. All the way to the core.” He bows his head over our hands. “She never stopped looking for me. She never stopped praying for me. She loves me like you love Rory.”
His head shakes from side to side, like he can’t believe what he’s saying. A hot tear lands on our joined fingers.
He’s crying. Lachlan Mount is crying.
If there’s one thing that could rock me to my core, it’s that. But this isn’t about me.
I squeeze his fingers tighter. “Oh, Lachlan. Of course she does. How could she not? You’re her son. Her baby. I know the pain of finding your child gone, but I can’t imagine the agony of having to endure it for over forty years.”
My heart breaks and reassembles in a single moment as I empathize with his mother’s suffering.
“And then the joy of meeting you—a beautiful man, who not only survived against all odds, but thrived. Reunited with her baby …” Tears spill down my cheeks as I attempt to envision it.
Lachlan looks up and meets my gaze. Glistening tracks wet his cheeks, and I’m awed at the depth of emotion he’s allowing to show. The vulnerability is unlike anything I’ve ever seen him express.
“It was the moment I’d waited for my entire life.” His chest shakes as he sucks in another breath. “It was worth the wait. Every second.”
Lachlan releases my hand and pulls me onto his lap. My arms wrap around him as his encircle me.
