Lindsay and Angus arrived the next morning at eleven on the dot. I'd had time to investigate the castle. It was beautiful, made of weathered gray granite over a hundred years before. A deep cherry-red door welcomed people to the building. Because it wasn't old – by Scottish standards – there were far more windows than was typical.

It was incredibly large, although Maggie assured me that it was a small castle. It had three stories, but the third story was made of staff bedrooms. There were twenty bedrooms, decorated nicely, with double beds and coordinating furniture, and although they were technically 'staff' bedrooms, I thought they would be useful if there was a large group visiting. Since they each had their own bathroom, the accommodations would be comfortable for whomever was staying there. The second story had fourteen suites – thirteen with queen beds and the Laird's with a king - and each suite had a sleeping area, a small sitting area, and a large bathroom. The second floor also had a balcony overlooking a two-story ballroom. I personally thought the large ballroom was more suited to a soccer game with the kids when it was raining. There was also a billiards room, a library, a smoking room that had been made into a playroom, his and hers studies, six receiving rooms, a conservatory, a large kitchen that had been updated with professional appliances, an enormous dining room, a morning room, a butler's pantry, a gym, a large laundry room, washrooms, and so on. Each room was spacious and, except for the washrooms, had at least one fireplace. The fireplaces were much larger than I had ever seen before - the kids could step into them and not have to bend over. The house had been decorated in neutrals and was a soothing place. Light sand, taupe, cream, white and gray were the main colors used. Lindsay had accented the rooms with pops of color. Furniture was comfortable and good quality, a mix of modern and vintage. The place was stunning, a fresh place that you could breathe in. I could hardly believe it was ours.

I opened the door to Lindsay and Angus. They were grinning and had a number of boxes and bags in their arms. I smiled and let them in. "I explored this morning", I said. "You are an incredibly talented decorator, Lindsay. The place is stunning."

Lindsay looked relieved. "I'm glad you liked it. Colin and I put a lot of ourselves into the redesign. We wanted it to be a comfortable family home, a place that you could breathe in."

I smiled. "You nailed it. It's absolutely perfect." I smiled at them. "Come and meet the gang." I walked with them to the family room and introduced everybody. Lindsay looked around the room. "I have to say that Angus and I were incredibly excited about meeting you today. Based on what Colin had said about you, we bought presents for you a couple of weeks ago. We'd like to give them to you now."

We opened up our presents, one at a time. Joe and Tracy, Julie and Kai, and Ranger and I, each got a different set of Glencairn crystal. It was a twelve-piece setting of both hi-ball and whisky tumblers that would be beautiful holding juices and waters. The cut designs on each set were different. Ranger's and mine had thistles cut into the glass. We were also given watercolors of the mountains around Inverness. When I exclaimed how pretty the picture was, Lindsay smiled shyly and said that she had done the watercolors herself. Finally, the men were given tasteful tweed ties and the women were given large scarves made from incredibly soft tweed. The fabric was beautiful, subtle, and done in a black plaid. The plaid was created of a lighter black and a darker black, and it was a gorgeous fabric. Angus explained that the fabric design was one that Colin had created for himself. He had called it Black Shadow. I smiled knowing that Colin had named it as a private joke based on what he did for a living.

For the children, they had brought each person the complete set of the collector's edition of the Harry Potter books, a highland cow children's jigsaw puzzle, a Loch Ness monster sticker book, and a Scottish version of 'I Spy' that they could play on the computer. The children were as thrilled with their presents as the adults were, and they thanked Lindsay and Angus with hugs. Lindsay glowed when they hugged her.

"So, I have to know", said Angus. "How did it go with Heather last night?"

"Okay", I said. "I told her that Colin was my adopted father, she told me I was lying, I told her that he had given most of his money away and that we had encouraged him to give the rest to the hospital, she scratched my face, stomped on my foot, and stormed out of the room. I think I heard some clapping from the nurses' station. They were certainly grinning when we left."

"I taped the whole thing if you are interested in hearing it", said Ranger.

"Absolutely", said Angus.

Ranger pulled out his phone, clicked into the recording, and played it. I sighed as I listened to it again.

When it finished, Joe said, "have you saved that on your computer? That recording would do a lot in a court of law."

"That's what I was thinking", said Ranger.

"Are you going to report her?" said Angus.

"Only if she comes back to me again. She is being a nuisance, but that's all it is. I've lived through much worse. My sister is just as bad."

"Has your sister come back at you after Uncle Colin met her?" said Angus.

I groaned. "Several times. She came back twice in the last month to beg me to drop the charges. When we came here, the timing worked out that we are missing the court hearing. We had it delayed. My sister phoned last night to tell me that I cannot delay it and that I am ruining her life. When I got off the phone, my mother called to tell me that she is family and I shouldn't be doing this to her. Ranger ended up hanging up on my mother. It was an all-around shitty day."

"I'm sorry", said Lindsay. "We tried to deal with Heather before you came."

"I know, and I appreciate that. However, now we can all deal with her, and hopefully she will get the message."

"Did Uncle Colin really die when you were there?" said Angus.

I smiled. "I got there, and he was sleeping. He woke up and smiled, and we talked for about fifteen minutes. However, it was very much tiring him out. He asked me to stay and he knew. He said he didn't want to die alone. So Ranger and I stayed, and I held his hand, and when he asked me to tell a joke, I did. And when I finished the joke, I held his hand up to my cheek and he snorted, smiled and died." I swiped the tears from my face. "He died with a smile on his face."

Lindsay and Angus wiped tears from their eyes. "Thank you for giving that to him."

"It sounds ridiculous to say, since I had only known him for six weeks. But I am going to miss him. I talked to him every day for the last six weeks, and he truly had become a second father and a mentor to me."

"What do you think about that, Ranger?" said Angus.

Ranger smiled. "I'm going to speak selfishly. I was grateful for the friendship. You talk about how the friendship was good for Colin, and I am glad about that. However, the friendship was also fantastic for Steph. At a time when her sister has been poking at her and trying to force her to fund her, and her mother is trying to force her to do whatever it takes to keep the peace, Steph has ended up feeling like her mother loves her sister more than her. Having someone she respected as much as she respected Colin recognize that she is valuable and a good person, someone to be cherished, has done wonders for Steph's confidence. I will be forever grateful for that." He paused. "As I said, I am speaking selfishly."

"You adopted Colin, Aunt Steph, just like you adopted me?" said Eli.

"Yes, Eli. Out of the millions of little boys and girls in the world, your mom and dad picked you. They decided that they wanted you for their son, so they adopted you and have been thrilled ever since. Just like me. I picked you, out of all the children in the world, to be my nephew. I didn't have to, but I met you, fell in love with you, and it was important to me that you became part of my family."

Eli glowed with pride.

"Did you pick me, Mommy?" said Grace.

"All three of you grew in my tummy. I didn't get a chance to pick you. However, if I'd had a chance I would have picked you. The three of you, like Eli, are incredible people that I am proud to be related to."

"Julie?" said Alix.

I smiled. "I also didn't get the chance to pick Julie but, like you, if I had I would have chosen her. Julie is a good person and not only is my daughter, but is one of my best friends, and I have always been grateful that she is part of my family."

"Aw, shucks, Steph", said Julie. "I choose you as well."

I grinned. "Good thing", I said.

Julie laughed.