Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
The five of us stand huddled together, all crying because of this beautiful moment. My sister didn’t have anyone but me and our dad when she found out about her first pregnancy. Despite all she went through, she loved her babies, and now, here we are, both married to incredible men, and she’s doing it again. This time with the father by her side, every step of the way.
Finally, we break our little huddle and go back to our seats. “Are you?” River asks, and I laugh.
“No, sweetie, I’m not having a baby.”
“We could,” Maddox whispers, and as always, my husband knows what to say to claim another broken piece of my heart as his.
“We’re married,” Maddox tells the girls.
“We knowed that, Uncle Maddox,” Rayne replies.
“Yeah, but this time, it’s different,” he says, trying to explain it to my nieces.
“How?” River asks.
“Well—” Maddox starts, and I jump in to save him.
“It’s not different,” I tell them. “It’s better. We’re just really happy, and we wanted to tell you all about that.” The adults in the room are able to read between the lines. The ladies smile with happy tears glistening in their eyes. Whether that’s from our announcement or Briar’s, I’m not sure. Probably both, and the guys, they’re all smiling and nodding, wearing smug expressions. Yeah, I know, I was late to the game, but I’m here now, and I’m ready to take in everything it entails.
The twins seem to accept my answer as they rush to the corner where we keep toys for them and start to play. Lilly chases after them while Kane sleeps peacefully in his daddy’s arms. Maddox wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder while Roman tells him about his client yesterday. Everyone is laughing and talking, and happy.
Me most of all.
I never knew I could have this. I’m so thankful for this life and what’s yet to come. I’d like to think our dad had a hand in guiding us here. Maybe it was Mom too. They’re together now, and I know they’d want nothing more than for Briar and me to be happy and settled.
We’ve found our tribe, our people, our family.
“Let’s eat,” Maddox says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
With a flurry of activity, we all find our way to the kitchen to make our plates, and I can’t help but think back to the day a little over a year ago when everyone was here for the twins’ fourth birthday. So much has changed since then, but I wouldn’t change a single second of any of it.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Maddox
It’s my wife’s birthday week. It’s a week of celebrating I can get behind with all that I am, because we get to celebrate her. Not just my wife, but my sister-in-law, Briar, too.
Forrest and I have been planning this celebration for weeks now. At first we talked about a kid-free night out with just the adults, but we immediately vetoed that idea. Briar and Brogan would want the girls there, and all the kids, actually. They’re all about family and being together and after all that they’ve lost, we understand that.
So, we enlisted the help of Legend, Roman, and Lachlan, and an idea was born. It was Roman who suggested we reach out to Royce Riggins, a long-time client. He and his family have a huge cabin in Gatlinburg that they let friends and family use if they’re not using it. One phone call and we were booked for this weekend, Thursday through Sunday.
“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” Brogan asks from the passenger seat of my truck.
“Nope,” I say, grinning. The guys and I decided this would be a surprise for not just Brogan and Briar, but for Monroe and Emerson too. We did tell Maggie but swore her to secrecy. We knew the ladies would want her there, and well, she doesn’t have a husband who can tell her to pack a bag and ask off work for a few days. Lachlan is picking her up, so she doesn’t have to drive by herself, and the rest of us, well, we’re taking our families on a trip, and our wives have no idea.
We had to say there’s a “no cell” phone rule for the weekend. It’s a lie. We’ll give them back to them as soon as we get to the cabin, but it was too risky that they would text each other and figure us out.
“Why do you get your phone, and I don’t get mine?” Brogan asks.
“Because I need it for the GPS.”
She pouts in the passenger seat, looking cute as hell. “I’m not good with surprises, Maddox.”
I reach over and place my hand on her thigh. “I know, baby, but I promise you this is going to be a good surprise. I just wanted to do something special for you for your birthday.”