Epilogue
T he dining room was full of cheerful voices as Corey ushered them into the space, one of their two-year-old twins in each of his arms, while Abby walked into it with Izzy’s little three-year-old hand in hers. Lisa tucked the blanket around their newest little bundle, smiling at the little shouts of joy from the rest of the family as they spied them. Their flight ran late, not getting them here until now compared to early this afternoon as intended.
“Oh, he’s getting so big already,” her mom gushed, peering down at Cayden’s little face.
“He’s not that much bigger,” she said with a laugh, as Meredith hurried to Josh and Trina to peek at their little boy who was a month older than Cayden was. Meredith lived in Chicago near her and Corey now, able to see all of their babies regularly so the twins didn’t mind her attention wasn’t on them for once.
“We haven’t seen him in a month. He’s grown so much since then,” her mom argued giving his sleeping little head a kiss before snatching Poppy from Corey as her dad took Libby from him. Izzy was already crawling into Gerald’s lap while Kirby gave Abby a hug hello, before Aunt Diane wrapped her up in one of her own.
“Do you need a bassinet for him?” Trina asked as they joined the table, settling in next to her old friend while Corey and Josh hugged in greeting.
“We’ll be okay. He’ll likely wake up anytime hungry after falling asleep on the last leg of the flight,” she mused resting her head on Corey’s shoulder when he sat down beside her, Abby slipping in next to Aunt Diane on their other side.
“I still can’t believe you had another, girl,” Trina said shaking her head at them. “One time in labor is plenty, thank you, so do not get it in your head to compete with your brother,” she warned her husband who was still working as a ski instructor at the resort. It’d amused both her and Corey when he said he was moving out to Colorado, and she’d laughed herself hoarse when Trina told her she was dating Josh two years ago. Now, they were married with little Jacob, while she and Corey had their four girls and new little boy.
David, Jackie, Jazz and their six-month-old Deidra would be joining them later in the week, but with the girls out of school for the holiday, they’d headed out the first second they could so everyone could have more time with the kids. Her mom was a bit jealous that Meredith got so much more time with them, especially as none of her brothers were even dating someone and so were unlikely to have any grandbabies that lived closer.
They all loved Chicago still, so much so that Abby and Jazz were both looking to attend Northwestern next year, which made her immensely happy to have her baby around still. She might be turning eighteen next year, but she was still her baby and would always be hers—well, hers and Corey’s since he officially adopted her shortly after they married.
“She still wanted a boy even after getting surprised with the twins so soon after Izzy, and I couldn’t tell her no,” Corey teased, making her grin because he’d been just as ready for another baby once the twins turned one. It hadn’t taken them long to be pregnant with Cayden and now having him here, was the best thing ever.
The twins adored him, Izzy wanted to dress him up like he was her babydoll, and Abby was an incredible big sister. Labor and delivery weren’t what had her hesitant to having another. That was generally the last few weeks of her pregnancy when moving was harder—particularly with the twins, but once they were here, that bit didn’t matter nearly as much as the love she got from them did.
“So is Cayden going to be the last then?” Trina asked and she shrugged a bit which made Corey’s eyes twinkle with enthusiasm that told her once she was cleared by her doctor, he wouldn’t argue in the least about trying for another—or at least practicing. Sleeping in his arms every night was incredible, but being with him, being loved by him, was even more so and she was so ready for it, just as soon as they could. If it led to another baby, she wouldn’t mind because Corey was the best daddy possible. The kind she’d longed for far before she was a teenager and the gulf between her and the rest of her family formed.
They might have mended most of it, but there were still some things, some instances where she much preferred Corey’s handling versus her father’s, but at least she now knew he loved her just as much as Corey loved their little girls. That he’d protect them the way Corey would, and it made it so much easier to come home for Christmas each year.
Even more so considering there was no mention of Benton Johnson around town. The school had removed every one of his photos and any award that had his name on it was destroyed. He was dead there long before he actually ended up dead in prison just over a year ago. There was a riot which had him locked down with the wrong unit. His eyes had apparently lingered on a teenage girl a little too long as the guards hurried the visitors out of the area while trying to lock everything down, and by the time they returned, he was dead on the ground.
She honestly didn’t know what happened to Marcus Shaw after his trial. His flippant attitude and defiance that he’d done nothing wrong even when confronted with the DNA proof of what he’d done to twenty-two twelve- to fourteen-year-old girls, had the judge sentencing him not just to life in prison without a chance of parole, but with the death penalty. Knowing he would never get out to get near Abby was all she needed to know.
They still had security around, but since she spent most of her time at home with the kids, it didn’t bother her. Plus having extra hands in the airport came in handy with all of the luggage, car seats, and strollers to get four kids three and under through it.
A smile slid across her face as she nursed Cayden when he woke, hoping for a lifetime more of Christmases like this. With her family and friends with her, Corey’s love wrapped around her. Him pushing for her to bring him with her to get her mom off her back seemed like forever ago, not just five years, but she’d take the last few over anything before them.
Becoming his forever…there’s nothing better than that. Not when it led to all of this joy already, and they still had fifty or so more years of it to go. She hoped they’d spend every one of them together, just like this—completely and utterly in love.