Sacred Waters (31 page)
Authors: Lydia Michaels
They didn’t return to the rest of the family that night. Neither did they attend breakfast that following morning. It was the first time they could hold and openly love one another without shame or guilt and they reveled in the freedom of such gifts.
Aside from dozing a few moments between conversations, they had barely slept. By Sunday at noon Samantha’s stomach had begun to grumble. Colin insisted she stay in bed to get some sleep while he went downstairs to rustle up some food.
He didn’t have to go far. Someone, likely Maureen, had left a covered tray outside their door with muffins, orange juice, a jar of milk in ice, cereal, and even a pickle, which they assumed was intended for Sam in case she had some sort of clichéd craving.
They ate in bed and awoke sometime that evening long after the sun had set. “I need to call out of work tomorrow.”
Colin handed her the phone and waited as she left the message. It was wrong, taking off so close to her maternity leave, but there was no way she could make it back in time and be able to function in front of a class of thirty-five sixteen year olds.
After she hung up the phone Colin announced, “I’m driving you back. I want to meet your parents and ask your father’s permission to marry you.”
“What will you do if he says no?”
“Steal you away and make you my bride anyway, just like my father did with my mother.”
“Is this really what you want?”
“I’ve never wanted anything more, Sammy.”
She laughed. “Colin, do you have a name you always wanted if you ever had a son or a daughter?”
“I never thought I would have children, Samantha.”
“Oh, right.”
“Do you have names thought up?” he asked.
“Well, if it’s a boy, I think we should name him Colin. I never imagined naming him after you because I never imagined confessing who his father was, but now that the secret is out, I would really like to name him after you.”
“Never in my life had I imagined a son of my own blood bearing my name. I think that’s magnificent. Thank you.”
“And if it’s a girl…”
“If it’s a girl,” he prompted.
“I want to name her Tallulah Meghan and call her Lula for short.”
“Meghan for your sister?”
“Yes.”
“And where did you come up with Tallulah?”
“Well, I have this book that tells you the origin of names and their meanings. Tallulah’s Gaelic, which is fitting since she’ll be a McCullough, but I love it for what it means.”
He smiled at her sweetly. “And what does it mean, Sammy?”
“Water.”
She saw he too fell in love with the name as soon as he discovered its meaning. He kissed her softly and whispered, “I cannot imagine a more fitting name for my daughter. I love it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Samantha. And I’ll never stop.”
Epilogue
Tallulah Meghan McCullough was born at three thirty-five that following Wednesday. She had her father’s dark hair and piercing blue-green eyes, but her mother’s nose and mouth. The entire McCullough clan had come to town to meet the newest McCullough. The fact that the Dougherty’s owned a bed and breakfast worked out perfectly, because there was actually a place to put them all.
Although Sam had surprised her parents by returning home with the father of her child, they welcomed Colin with open arms. Sam tried to explain how their situation had come about as tactfully as possible and her parents had gotten quite a chuckle out of the scandalous affair.
The
Thorn Bird
references never ended. For the rest of the night they referred to Sam and Colin as Meggie and Ralph, but they each took the teasing in stride. She wasn’t anything like Meggie. She’d found her happily ever after and in the end, Colin had chosen her before all else.
Samuel, Samantha’s father, gave Colin his blessing and her mother was only slightly disappointed when they turned down her offer to have the wedding at the B&B. The property was beautiful, but Colin and Sam were already in agreement that there was only one place sacred enough to make their vows.
Labor had been terrifying, but in the end it was not as bad as she had assumed it would be. She was grateful Tallulah was a girl and not a ten-pound McCullough boy. They returned to the Dougherty home that Friday, mom and baby doing wonderfully well. Dad on the other hand was a bit of an old hen the way he clucked over the two of them, but Sam loved him all the more for it.
When they settled Lula into her bassinette and went to find the others, they walked right into a surprise shower, this time including the McCulloughs. The aunts doted over the newest female McCullough and Colin asked Sheilagh to be Lula’s Godmother, hoping it would soften the blow of losing her position as the female of the family holding the McCullough name. Braydon proudly accepted when they asked him to be Godfather.
A week later everyone traveled out to Saint Peter’s for the Christening. Colin’s dear friend Father Tucker performed the Mass and no one seemed to bat an eye that Lula’s parents still were not married. Everyone seemed to understand it was a result of the circumstances quite beyond their control.
The morning of the christening Colin did give Samantha her ring. It was a simple silver Claddagh with a diamond in the center of the crown. She loved it immediately.
Father Tucker accompanied the family back to Center County. Although Colin and Sam were not getting married in a church and therefore could not have a Catholic ceremony, it had been very important to Colin to have Father Tucker there to at least lead them in prayer.
On Tuesday morning Maureen and Karen, Sam’s mother, helped Sam dress in a gown that had belonged to Morai. It was stunning and Sam was flattered Colin’s grandmother had offered it. Once her hair was done and her last silk covered button was fastened, Sam slipped on a pair of warm white boots and a heavy white wool coat and followed the women out to the cars.
Thankfully it was only in the lower fifties that day and not overly blustery. The lake was calm and beautiful as always, but nothing looked as magnificent as Colin standing at its bank in his grandfather’s kilt and a formal tuxedo jacket.
Colin finally made his vows. They were not to an institution that would never love him back, but to a woman he knew would always care for him and hold his heart tighter than any other ever could.
His daughter looked almost as beautiful as his wife that day by the waters that had become so sacred to him and Samantha, those waters that taught them each how to love when, for their own different reasons, they thought they never would.
This was their lake. It held their secrets, their fears, and their most sacred memories of coming to know one another. It was a place of hope for them both, a place of peace, a place of escape. They were their waters and they were more sacred than any other place on earth.
*The End*
Expect to see more of the McCullough family soon.
About the Author
Award winning author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, and always centered on love.
Lydia Michaels loves to here from readers! She can be found of Facebook or contacted by email at
[email protected]
Other Books by Lydia Michaels
White Chocolate
All 4 You
To Catch a Wolfe
Chasing Feathers
Breaking Perfect
Simple Man
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
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