Epilogue - Travis
Fourteen Years Later
“How did we end up with so many kids?” I look around the living room at the twelve pre-teens and teenagers lounging around, eating pizza. I don’t even want to think about the guest bedroom that's being used for the younger kids' nap time.
“It was our turn to watch all our nieces and nephews for the weekend, like it’s that big of a deal to watch a few more on top of our seven kids.” Grace snorts, holding Tessa’s youngest daughter to her chest as she sleeps. The sight makes me wish we had a baby that age again.
“Doesn’t it seem like we have their kids all the time?” I try to calculate all the weekends we’ve had a house full of kids while my brothers and sister are all off having adult alone time with their spouses. “Aren’t we due for a weekend of our own?”
“About that.” She snuggles little baby Chloe tighter to her chest. “In about seven months, we won't have much time to ourselves.”
It takes a moment for her words to sink in, “You’re pregnant?” I ask, confusion evident in my voice.
“I know I’m considered a geriatric mom at my age, but I’m grateful we have one more opportunity to raise a baby.” She glances down at the baby in her arms.
Grace has been an incredible mother and aunt. She still works part-time at the hospital to keep her nursing skills sharp, but she has never missed any of our kids' events or our nieces' and nephews' events.
I lift her chin to meet my eyes. “Grace, I couldn’t be happier.
To have another baby with you is truly a gift.
” I kiss her lips, making sure not to wake Chloe.
“Now, if you could just do something about all the kids we have to watch all the time, so we could have a little alone time before the new baby arrives, that would be amazing.”
“Me?” she raises an eyebrow. “You’re the one going around making all the crazy bets with your siblings. What do you think your punishment is?”
I shrug, “If it wasn’t for my crazy bets, we never would have gotten back together.”
She rolls her eyes at me, knowing full well that we would have gotten back together eventually—it just took a little help from Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Celine Dion.
-The End-