After our nap, we ate and Maggie arranged for a guard to come and drive us. I had a quick shower and dressed in some clean clothes, and Ranger and I travelled to the hospital.

The guard guided us to the hospital room and stood back to let us enter. Colin looked so frail, and he was hooked up to a monitor and an IV. A nurse was in the room taking his vitals. I pulled over a chair, kissed his cheek, and sat down beside him. I held his hand and smoothed the skin on the back of it. He opened his eyes as joy flooded his face, and he smiled. "Lass", he said.

"Hey, Colin", I said, "we just arrived in Scotland a few hours ago. The girls loved their presents and are thrilled with their rooms."

"What did you think of the castle?"

"It's absolutely gorgeous, the decor is stunning, and despite it being enormous and, you know, a castle, it's a comfortable family home. It's incredible."

"Have you been to the company yet?"

"Not yet. We literally just flew in a few hours ago. I look forward to spending time at the company. We have done good work with them, and the merger has been smooth. I'm sure we will have hiccups along the way, but so far it has been good."

Colin smiled. "You'll be able to handle them. You're incredibly talented."

I smiled slightly. "Ranger and the Rangeman team are the only other ones that believe that."

"Other people are seeing what they want to see, rather than the actual." He smiled as he looked at me. "I swear, you look more like my Cami every day."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one. My Cami was the most beautiful person that I had ever met. Like you, she was beautiful in body and in spirit." Colin smiled. "Just remember, lass, that I have spent my life assessing people. You are a good person, a solid friend and family member. That doesn't mean that you have to take crap. It means that your adopted family knows that they can count on you. Your kids are also wonderful because you and Ranger are wonderful people. They have learned your love of others and your need to take care of people. You and Ranger are the best people I know. I love you and your whole family." He stopped to take a breath, and I could tell that he was struggling to talk to me. I lifted his hand and kissed it again in appreciation for the effort he was making. "I have to apologize. There is a woman on the warpath. Her name is Heather Buchanan. She says she is my daughter, which is untrue. The only person I ever had sex with was Cami, and Cami died fifty-three years ago. This woman is only forty-two. I left her ten pounds in my will so that she could not contest it. She, however, thinks that she deserves more. I think she is going to be a problem for you. I have talked to my sister and my nephew, and they are happy that I am so happy. They said they don't need the money, that I have given them a lot of money over the years. However, they said they had never seen me as happy as I was when I got back from America. They also hate Heather. She is a pest. She comes in here and wails and carries on, and I just want to smack her, and I'm mad because I'm too weak to do it." I grinned. By the sounds of her, I would do the smacking for him.

"I have done the genetic test to prove that she is not my daughter. She has refused to do the test, but the results of my test are on file. I have talked to my sister and told her the details in the will. She is, after all, my executor. I'll let you know as well. As you know, I already gave half my fortune and the castle to you, my security company to Ranger, my media company to my nephew, money to my nephew and my sister, the estate in the country to my sister, money to each of your kids and to Tracy and Joe, and I have told Maggie that she can stay in the cottage and I have put in place a sum to pay her each month to be a caretaker for the castle. I have done all that already so that no one will have to pay inheritance tax. There is only a hundred million left to distribute in my will, and I have left that to the hospital. And of course, ten pounds of it will go to Heather. I am also asking her to do the genetic test to claim her ten pounds. She is going to be furious, because the lawyer is going to tell her that she has to do the genetic test to claim her inheritance, and she won't be told how big her inheritance is going to be. The test actually costs more than the inheritance, and that is my way of giving her the finger."

I smiled. "I like it."

Colin smiled. "I'm a spy", he said in a whisper. "Spies are sneaky."

I giggled.

Colin smiled again. "That's the laugh I was waiting for. It sounds exactly like Cami's did, and it makes me happy listening to it. Lass? Can you sit here for a minute with me? I need to know you are here." Tears came to his eyes. "I don't want to die alone."

"Of course, I'll stay", I said. I lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles, held his hand to my cheek, and he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Tell me a joke?" he said.

"Okay." I paused. "A cat dies and goes to Heaven, and Saint Peter said, 'you've been a good cat all your life. You have kept your owner happy, kept away the mice and the rats, and that needs to be rewarded. How would you like to be rewarded?' The cat replied, 'I would like to sleep in the sun each day on a soft pillow. I would like to never have to chase mice again'. Saint Peter smiled and said, 'done'. A little later, a group of mice arrived in Heaven. Saint Peter said, 'you have been good mice, cleaning up the crumbs on the floor. What can I do to reward you for your service?' The mice thought about it for a moment and said, 'we'd like little roller skates. Cats are very fast, and we'd like to be able to escape them.' Saint Peter said, 'done'. A couple of weeks later", I said with a sniffle. I wasn't even sure he could hear me any longer. "A couple of weeks later, Saint Peter saw the cat and said, 'how are things going?' The cat replied, 'great! I have a nice pillow that is always in the sun to sleep on, and the Meals on Wheels program is fantastic!'" I kissed his hand again as he snorted, and held it to my cheek as he smiled and flatlined.

A nurse came in as tears dripped down my cheeks. "Can you do something?" I said.

The nurse smiled sympathetically. "He didn't want to be brought back to life. He was very clear about that." I shuddered in a deep breath. "He was in a lot of pain, and we all didn't know how he was hanging on as long as he did. I think, after seeing the smile on his face as he was talking to you, that he was waiting until he saw you again before he died. You made him happy. How were you related to him?"

"He was my adopted father. He was an incredible man, and I will miss him extensively."

The nurse smiled. "I talked to him a bit. He had just as much respect for you." She handed me a letter. "Colin asked for us to give you this letter after he passed. He had a volunteer write it this morning."

I smiled sadly and took the letter.

"Do you want to sit with him for a moment?"

"Yes, please", I said.

As the nurse left, I opened the letter. Dear Steph, I know that you are trying to get to Scotland as quickly as you can, but I am not sure how much longer I can hang on. I have to tell you something. There is a woman, Heather Buchanan, who says that she is my daughter. I'm not sure if she actually believes it or whether I am just a mark for a con artist. However, she is a menace, and she is going to cause you problems. I apologize for her behavior in advance. I tried to shut her down. Remember, you are a good person and you don't deserve to take crap.

"I have talked to my sister and my nephew. They are supporting me in the decisions I have made. As my sister said, I am happy, honestly happy in a way that I haven't been happy since Cami died, and that is worth every penny that I have been able to give you. And as my nephew said, money is money, but happiness is far more valuable." He detailed his nephew's and his sister's contact information. "Don't feel bad about relying on them. They are prepared to welcome you to the family as if you actually were my adopted daughter, and they are excited to meet the person that has brought me so much joy.

"Remember that I am rooting for you. I may be (hopefully!) in Heaven, but know that I am supporting you as best as I can. I love you like a daughter, love Ranger like a son-in-law, and love your kids like they were my grandkids. Thank you for bringing me more joy than I have felt in decades. I love you, Colin."

I shuddered in a breath. "I just met him six weeks ago", I said. "It doesn't seem fair."

"I know", said Ranger. "He brought you six weeks of pleasure."

"He was a good man."

"Yes, he was." He walked behind me and put his hands on my shoulders for support. I leaned back into his body. "Babe, you love deeply, and you connected with him from the first moment he walked into the room. He will be missed and he will be remembered. When you are finished in here, you will need to call Angus and Lindsay to let them know that Colin has passed on."

I sighed, leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then sat back and phoned his sister first. "Hi, may I please speak to Lindsay?" I said when a lady answered.

"Steph?" said Lindsay. I could hear her sniffling.

"I'm sorry", I said. "Colin has passed on." I sniffled as well, and I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"You brought him so much joy. When he left for the States, I didn't know if he would be coming back again. He was that ill. However, he came back with a new lease on life. Unfortunately, the cancer was too strong. But he was happy, Steph. He was smiling all the time and to tell you the truth, it was wonderful to see."

"I thought you would be angry at me."

"Because of the money?" she said. She snorted. "I am also a billionaire and, quite frankly, I could never spend all my money. I don't need more. From what Colin said, you value philanthropy. He was quite pleased to give that money to you. Steph, Colin had been happy enough through his life, but he had no joy. He lost his joy when Cami died and he didn't find it again until he met you. It was fantastic to see. He was in incredible pain, but he was joyous, and that joy helped him endure the last few weeks of his life. It was brilliant. Did the kids like their rooms?"

"Are you kidding? My daughters told me that the rooms were the prettiest that they had ever seen, and my nephew told me his was a place to dream."

I could hear Lindsay smile. "That's good. Colin picked the color schemes, but I was the one that decorated the rooms. I had fun doing them, and Colin was so pleased with them when they were finished."

"Did you do the other rooms as well? Because they, too, are incredible."

Linsay smiled. "I did the rest of the castle about a year ago. Colin knew what he wanted. He didn't want traditional wallpaper and old-fashioned uncomfortable furniture. He wanted it to be modernized with a nod to the past. I had a lot of fun doing the castle. It took nine months of solid work. Colin had lived in the cottage during the redecorating but, when we completed the work, Colin found it too hard to climb the stairs. He stayed in the cottage and Maggie took care of him."

"The castle is gorgeous. It looks like a castle from the outside, but inside it looks like a comfortable family home. An enormous family home, but a comfortable one. To tell you the truth, I haven't investigated too much yet. We got in, had a nap, I had a shower and changed, shoved in some dinner, and came here. I look forward to investigating the castle tomorrow."

"I was wondering whether Angus and I could come to meet your family tomorrow?"

"I would love to meet you as well. Do you want to show up around eleven, and then we can make you lunch? I don't know what we are having, but I'm sure it will be something incredible. Ranger's parents own a restaurant, and he learned how to cook from them. I learned how to cook from Ranger, and let me tell you, he is a better chef than a trainer. You're safe though. Ranger will be cooking lunch tomorrow."

Lindsay laughed. "I'll be there."

"Then if you don't mind, I will hang up, call Angus, and see you tomorrow." I said goodbye and then called Angus. "Hi", I said. "May I please speak to Angus?"

The man sighed. "Steph?"

"How did you know?"

I could hear the man smile. "There aren't too many people around here with American accents."

I snorted. "That makes sense."

"Has he passed?" he said quietly.

I captured my breath. "Yes", I said.

There was a silence as Angus sniffled. "Did you get to see him in time?"

"I did", I said. "We flew in and arrived at noon, had a nap before I fell over, a shower and some dinner, and then came to the hospital. I was able to talk to Colin for about fifteen minutes before he was too exhausted to talk any longer. He died holding my hand."

"Good", said Angus. "I know you didn't know him long, but you made an incredible difference in his life. You brought him pleasure and joy at a time that was dictated by pain and sickness."

"I thought that you would be mad at me."

"Why!?" He paused. "Because of the money? Not at all. First of all, I have my own fortune. Second of all, Uncle Colin explained to me about your sister. If I had been there, I would have been the first person cheering Uncle Colin on while he wrote the check. I hate people like that. It is so dishonorable. Honestly? Uncle Colin told us all about you and you sound like an incredible person. I am happy to welcome you to the family."

I sniffled. "Thank you."

"Uncle Colin said that he had adopted you as his daughter. That means that you are my cousin. I would like to meet you."

"I don't know if it would be convenient for you, but we invited your mom for lunch tomorrow. We were thinking that an eleven o'clock start time would be good. Does that work for you?"

I could hear Angus smile. "Yes, it does."

"Will it just be you? Or are you bringing a spouse and kids? I just need to know so that we can figure out how much food to make."

Angus sighed. "It's just me. My wife left me ten years ago. Perhaps luckily, we didn't have kids."

"Hopefully you like kids, because we have one grown daughter and her boyfriend with us, our nephew and his parents with us, and our three little ones. Our nephew is seven, and one of our little ones is almost five and the other two are three-and-a-half."

"Sounds like they keep you hopping."

I snorted. "Sometimes too much."

"Let's see if I remember – Eli, Tia, Grace and Alix?"

"Very good. Eli is our nephew, Tia, Grace and Alix are our little ones, and Julie and her boyfriend Kai are our older ones."

"My mother is going to love this. She adores kids, and I can tell already that she is going to adopt your family just as much as Uncle Colin did."

"Oh boy", I said. "Then I hope the kids are well-behaved tomorrow."

Angus laughed.

A woman walked into the room, looked at Colin, and started to scream. "Daddy!"