Rane glanced at Savanah. She had given him more than she would ever know. She had restored his faith in himself, given him her love and her trust, literally saved his life. And in addition to all that, she had given him a daughter.
He was marveling at his daughter’s tiny perfect toes when Mara materialized beside him. She looked radiant, as always.
“I’ve been expecting you,” Rane said.
“Oh?”
“Sure. When Rafe and I were old enough to understand, our father told us that you named me and Rafe, and how you took our blood so you’d always know where we were.”
Mara lifted her brows. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No,” Rane said, grinning. “I warned Savanah you might show up.”
“Should I leave?” she asked imperiously.
“Of course not. Don’t you want to hold your new god-child?”
Mara smiled brightly as she took the baby from Rane’s arms. “Have you given her a name yet?”
“No. Savanah wants to name her Barbara Lynn after her mother.”
“And you don’t?”
He shrugged. “She doesn’t look like a Barbara to me.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Mara gazed into the baby’s eyes. “Her name will be Abbey. Abbey Marie.”
Rane repeated the name, and then he nodded. “It fits.”
With a nod, Mara used her thumbnail to make a shallow cut in the pad of the baby’s thumb, and then she licked the single drop of blood that oozed from the tiny cut. “There,” she murmured, licking the wound to seal it. “She’s beautiful, Rane. Cherish her.” Mara glanced at Savanah. “Cherish them both.”
Rane nodded. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Mara placed the baby in Rane’s arms and then, with a wave of her hand, she was gone.
Rane frowned as she vanished from his sight. There was something Mara wasn’t telling him, but he had no idea what it might be.
With a sigh, Rane pressed a kiss to his daughter’s silky-soft cheek. In a little while, he would take the baby out to show his family, but for now, for these few precious moments, his daughter was his and his alone.
And his life was again filled with magic.