"If you believed I was such a weakling, you shouldn't have married me."

He grinned. She jerked her hand away from his and backed up a space before he could catch hold of her again.

"I'm wagering she's about to get mean again," Lindsay said.

Father MacKechnie shook his head. "Not with our laird," he told the soldier. "She's partial to the MacBain."

"She doesn't look partial to him now," Bryan said. "Her scowl's every bit as set as his is."

Johanna wasn't paying any attention to the soldiers' mutterings. Her concentration was centered on her stubborn husband. "You're sorry you married me, aren't you?"

He didn't answer her fast enough. "You only married me to get the land, and after I'm dead and gone, you'll have to remember to marry a big giant of a woman, preferably one who can belch as loud as any of your men."

The look on his face gave her pause.

"You will not die."

He'd whispered his command in a harsh voice filled with anguish. She was stunned. Gabriel sounded terrified.

"I will not lose you."

"No, you will not lose me."

She walked forward and took hold of his hand. Tears filled her eyes as she stared up at the wonderful man trying to glare some sense into her.

He loved her. He hadn't given her the words yet, but the proof was there in his eyes. Johanna felt overwhelmed.

They went up the steps leading to the entrance together. She could feel him shaking. She didn't want him to worry any longer, and so she stopped at the foot of the stairs leading up to the bedchambers and turned to her husband.

The men were all craning their necks to see what was happening, but they were too far away to hear the conversation.

"Gabriel, do you remember my concern before we were married?"

"You had too many concerns for me to keep track of, wife. Don't push my hands away. I'm going to carry you upstairs. Don't you realize you could break your neck if you fainted while trying to climb these steep steps? You may not be worried about your welfare, but I sure as hell am."

He knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. He didn't like feeling this vulnerable. "What will your mother say when she arrives and finds her daughter dead?" he muttered.

She smiled. "Mama's going to like you, Gabriel."

Her husband looked exasperated. He lifted her into his arms. She immediately kissed him.

"You're still going to bed," he announced.

"On the night after we were married, I told you I was barren."

"No, you didn't. Nicholas told me."

She nodded. "On our wedding night, I'm certain I mentioned it."

He nodded. "Yes, you did," he said. "Several times in fact."

He started up the steps. She rested her head against his shoulder. Her fingers were fully occupied stroking the back of his neck.

She wondered if their baby would have her husband's coloring. She thought she might like to have a little girl, then decided she would be just as happy with a boy.

"I'm not," she whispered with a sigh.

She waited for him to understand. He didn't say anything until they reached their bedchamber.

"Did you hear what I just said? I'm not," she repeated.

"You're not what?"

"I'm not barren."

He opened the door but hesitated at the threshold. His gaze was fully directed on his wife. He slowly lowered her to the floor. "Do you honestly believe it matters to me? You and Alex are all the family I want. I don't need another child. Damn it, woman, haven't you realized yet how much I… you mean more to…"

Hell, he was rambling like an old woman. He motioned for her to go inside. "Warriors do not concern themselves with matters of love," he muttered.

He looked miserable. She didn't smile. She knew he didn't like telling her what he was feeling.

It was a trait they both shared, she realized.

"Gabriel…"

"I don't ever want you to bring up the fact that you're barren, Johanna. Now quit fretting."

She strolled into their chamber. "You may not need another child, m'lord, but I do declare in six or seven months you're going to be getting one."

He didn't understand. He shook his head. She nodded. "We're going to have a baby."

For the first time in his life, Gabriel MacBain was rendered speechless. His wife believed that was a most appropriate reaction.

They had, after all, just been given a miracle.

Chapter 16

"You're certain?"

Gabriel whispered his question so his son wouldn't wake up. Alex was sleeping on a mat across the chamber. Only the top of his head was visible above the mound of covers Johanna felt he needed to stay warm.

She and her husband were in bed. Gabriel held Johanna in his arms. She was so relieved he was finally reacting, she let out a little sigh. She'd given Gabriel her good news over an hour ago, then waited for him to tell her how happy she'd made him. He hadn't said a word until now.

"I have all the symptoms," she whispered back. "I was disbelieving at first, of course, because I thought I was barren for a very long while. Are you happy about the baby, Gabriel?"

"Yes."

She sighed again. It was too dark in the chamber to see his face, but she guessed he was smiling.

"Glynis told me a woman can be barren with one man and fertile with another. Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"Men can be barren, too."

He laughed. She hushed him so he wouldn't wake Alex. "Your first husband obviously was," he said.

"Why does that please you?"

"He was a bastard."

She couldn't fault his reasoning. "Why don't men acknowledge that they could be the barren ones in a marriage?"

"Such an admission would wound their pride, I suppose. It's easier to blame the women. It isn't right, just easier."

She let out a loud, lusty yawn. Gabriel was stroking her back. The caress made her sleepy. He asked her something, but she was too tired to answer him. She closed her eyes and was dead to the world a minute later.

Gabriel didn't fall asleep for another hour. He held Johanna close and thought about the baby. He should have wanted a boy as his first choice, for a man couldn't have enough sons to help with the building of an empire, but he really hoped for a baby girl. She would have blue eyes and yellow hair, like her mother, and if God was willing to recreate perfection, his daughter would be every bit as sassy.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Laird MacBain told his clan about the baby the following morning. Johanna stood next to her husband on the top step outside the doors. Alex stood next to her. Both the Maclaurins and the MacBains cheered the news. Johanna and Gabriel had already told Alex. The little boy didn't seem overly interested about a new brother or sister, and his lack of interest convinced his parents he was feeling secure.

He could barely stand still during the announcement. His father had promised to take him riding, and to a four-year-old, a minute of waiting seemed to feel as long as an hour.

After Gabriel dismissed the well-wishers, Johanna turned to Calum and Keith.

"I've come up with several names I'd like to…"

"Good God, lass, you can't tell us the baby's name," Keith blurted out.

The Maclaurin soldier was horrified by her ignorance. Didn't she realize the bairn's name should never, ever be told to another person before the baptism? As soon as he was able to stop sputtering, he asked her just that question. She told him she guessed she didn't realize.

"I was never concerned about the traditions regarding babies," she explained.

"What is that, m'lady?" Calum asked. "Most married women are careful to follow every tradition."

"I thought I was barren."

"You're not," Keith remarked.