Epilogue
MELODIE
Three Years Later
Why are my toes still in sausage mode? I thought this would go away. Okay, sure, I birthed Lily only yesterday, but I expected the pregnant body to leave me as soon as I wasn’t pregnant anymore. This is a bummer.
A knock on my hospital room door, and I release a sigh. There’s no way around it. I’ll probably look pregnant for a while, even when the baby is not inside me anymore. “Come in,” I call out, wiggling my toes.
Rhett opens the door, and his entire face lights up when he looks at me. This is still my favorite thing. He’s handsome and big and burly and sexy, but his smile melts me into a puddle every single time.
Katie bursts into the room, and she races to me with a wide grin, huge eyes searching my face.
“Ma!” And she hops on the bed and flings her arms around me.
I let out an ‘oof,’ and I won’t lie—I am sore all over, but this girl isn’t refusing hugs.
Even more when they come accompanied by her calling me ‘Ma,’ which she’s been doing for years and I still get teary-eyed over it.
“Careful, sweetheart,” Rhett says, picking Katie up under her armpits and making her sit on the mattress. “Be careful with your ma.”
“Sorry.” She grins, and her gaze lands on the cradle next to me. Her jaw drops. “Is that her?” Her voice comes out in a whisper.
I smile at Rhett. He reads my mind, something he’s got quite good at, and circles the bed to pick up our second daughter.
Lily sleeps heavily, and she merely whimpers when he places her in his arms. Rhett is impressive.
He’s so big but so gentle at the same time.
He rocks her a couple of times, that look of pure love on his face, then puts the baby in my arms.
“Lily,” I whisper, “meet your older sister, Katie.”
Katie leans in. “She’s so small.”
“You were small like this once,” I tell her. “And in some years, the two of you will be as big as I am.”
Katie swallows hard and nods once. My heart is just full as we sit in silence, admiring the tiny baby in my lap. I can’t believe she came out of me, crying her lungs out as Rhett held my hand through it all. I may have cursed him. It’s a blur. Labor is not easy.
“Can I hold her?” Katie asks.
We were waiting for it. Expecting, even.
I nod and Rhett picks her up and sits her down in an easy chair.
Carefully, he picks Lily up and places her in Katie’s arms, adjusting her hold so the baby is safe.
He pulls the chair closer to the bed and sits on the edge of the mattress, his knees positioned so Katie can’t exactly move.
My husband reaches out and captures my fingers in his. I blink away the tears as I watch my two girls, but it’s so hard to hold them back when my heart is so full. When I’m happier than I’ve ever expected to be.
Rhett leans closer and kisses the corner of my mouth. “I love you,” he says. “Thank you for giving me this family.”
I brush my fingertips down his jaw. “You had a family before.”
“It wouldn’t be complete without you.”
He kisses me again, and I soar. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted. And this is the happiest anyone could ever be.
THE END OF BOOK 4