Fraser was busy talking to Holly’s abdomen about adventures while Fergus merely shook his head. Faye was snacking on a pilfered scone next to Gina and Kaylee.
A sense of contentment settled over Ross. Between his daughter, his new family, and Lorna at his side, everything looked to be going well. For so long, Ross and Holly had been on their own. It was a nice change to have a dining room full of people.
Just as Lorna laid her head on Ross’s shoulder, Finlay Stewart, the leader of Clan Lochguard and Lorna’s nephew, entered the room with his heavily pregnant mate, Arabella. Everyone quieted down at Finn’s presence.
Finn’s gaze narrowed in on Ross and Lorna. Then he sighed. “Why does my family keep making my job so bloody difficult?”
Chapter Six
Lorna clicked her tongue at her nephew. “No one ever said being clan leader would be easy. It’s good to test your limits once in a while.”
Fraser chimed in. “Lorna and Ross getting together is old news. Guess what, cousin? You’re going to have twin nieces or nephews to play with your triplets. I know technically they’re you’re cousins, but we’re calling you uncle. That way, you can spoil them more.”
Arabella blinked. “Holly is having twins?”
Holly smiled. “Yes, we found out earlier today. The replacement ultrasound equipment finally came in, and I was the first patient.”
Finn put up an arm to stop Arabella from moving. “Hold on a second. Talking about Fraser’s twins can wait.” He waved toward Lorna and Ross. “When did this happen?”
Arabella shook her head and pushed Finn’s arm away. “It’s been happening for a while, Finn. You need to pay better attention.”
“But, Ara, I want to focus all of my attention on you.”
“I hit my third trimester last week, and I feel so much better. You should spend more time on the clan before the babies come,” she answered as she moved to Holly’s side.
Finn sighed again. “And here I was trying to be the devoted mate.”
Lorna jumped in. “Stop with the theatrics, Finlay. Ara says she’s feeling better, so there’s no need to hover. She’ll ask for help if she needs it. Isn’t that right, child?”
Arabella nodded. “I learned my lesson the hard way.”
Lorna looked back to Finn. “Right, that’s settled. So what’s your concern about Ross and me? He already has permission to stay on Lochguard indefinitely. There’s little else for you to do, except maybe get me a larger dining room table. With all the grand babies, we’re going to need the space.”
“What about if you wish to mate him, Aunt Lorna? Then what?” Finn asked.
Lorna’s dragon hummed at the word “mate,” but Lorna ignored her beast. “We’ll deal with that as it comes. Considering that Nikki lass mated her human, I imagine the new director of the Department of Dragon Affairs will want to have other special ceremonies. What better PR than having an older couple?”
Ross cleared his throat. “Do I get a say in this, love?”
“In real life, aye. In hypotheticals, no. I’m trying to make a point to Finlay,” Lorna answered.
Her human chuckled. “It doesn’t have to be a contest, love. Why don’t we talk about all this later, if and when it becomes relevant? We both just found out we’re going to have two new grandkids coming. I think we should celebrate that.”
Lorna’s dragon spoke up. He’s right. We haven’t even claimed him yet. Let’s do that first and then Ross will convince Finn to help us.
You’re moving a wee bit fast for my liking, dragon.
I know what I want, and that’s good enough for me. Hesitating is for the young.
I would argue, but I want to celebrate Fraser and Holly’s news.
Pushing her beast to the back of her mind, Lorna looked back to her nephew. “We’ll revisit the situation later, Finlay.”
Finn grinned as he moved to Ross’s side and gripped his shoulder. “I think I’m going to like having Ross around.”
Lorna rolled her eyes. “You just say that because you can weasel your way out of answering questions.”
Finn looked affronted. “And here I was trying to be supportive of my aunt.”