Epilogue
Five Months Later
Thanksgiving smelled like butter, sage, and chaos.
Which meant Chloe was hosting.
Zoe was the first one to arrive—before Trenda and Simon or Maddie and Beau, before anyone sensible—and she was already sprawled on the loveseat like she owned the place, a plate balanced on her belly, fork moving with determination.
“I don’t think you’ve cooked enough food,” she whined.
I stared at her. Then at the kitchen. Then back at her.
The turkey was in the oven. There was a ham and a prime rib resting in warming trays.
The dining room table was already sagging under sides—mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potato casserole, rolls stacked like we were feeding an army.
The counters were full. The fridge was full.
The backup fridge in the garage was full.
I turned slowly to Chloe. “Please tell me she’s kidding.”
Chloe didn’t answer me.
She walked over to Zoe, smoothly removed the empty plate from her hands, and replaced it with a full one like she’d been doing this all day. Hell, maybe she had been.
“She’s not kidding, Zarek,” Chloe hissed under her breath. “Don’t tease her. Everyone in the family keeps commenting on how much she’s eating, and I think she’s starting to get sensitive.”
I lowered my voice. “Sensitive? She barely looks pregnant. She’s glowing. She looks fucking gorgeous.”
Zoe preened. Just a little. I guess I wasn’t whispering that quietly.
Chloe tugged at my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. “She’s five months along. Can you imagine what she’s going to be like at Christmas when she’s six months?”
I laughed despite myself. Yeah, we were going to need more food.
The doorbell rang.
That would be Trenda.
She came in with Simon, Bella bursting through the door like a mini-hurricane, and Drake toddling behind her with the determined wobble of a tiny man on a mission.
“Zoe,” Trenda announced, holding up a bag, “I brought Java Jolt muffins to tide you over.”
“Give them to me,” Zoe said with zero shame.
I did a double take when I realized her current plate was already empty.
She caught my look instantly.
“Don’t judge me,” she said. “It takes a lot of energy to grow a tiny human.”
I grinned.
We knew it was a boy now. The doctors said he was measuring a little big, despite the fact that Zoe still didn’t look all that pregnant. Leave it to her to make a whole human efficiently.
Now that the pregnancy was past five months, I’d started letting myself feel excited. Really excited. I couldn’t help it.
I looked up—and Chloe was watching me.
She knew exactly what I was thinking.
That happened to us a lot.
I slipped into the kitchen and wrapped an arm around her waist. “What can I do to help?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Keep Bella and Drake out of the kitchen. Especially the dining room. I’m worried about Drake touching the heat sources under the warming pans.”
“One firefighter,” I said solemnly, kissing the side of her neck, “reporting for duty.”
I grabbed two beers from the fridge and headed back to the living room, then handed one to Simon.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“Good,” I said. And meant it. “Really good. How’s business at Onyx?”
“Busier every month.”
Nice problem to have.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Drake start toward the dining room—and Bella immediately redirect him back to the living room like a bossy shepherd.
A hand settled on my lower back.
Zoe.
She really was glowing.
“How are you feeling?” I asked quietly. “For real. None of the ‘I’m fine’ bullshit.”
She snorted. “I keep forgetting you’re an EMT.”
“Yeah. So, answer me.”
“Hungry all the time,” she said. “And I can’t stand on my feet for ten hours straight like I used to. I had to give up and get a stool behind the counter at my shop. I’m such a wimp.”
“You’re not a wimp,” I said. “You’re pregnant. Weren’t you just saying it’s a lot of work growing a human?”
She scowled. “It’s not fair using my words against me.”
“Are you at least eating healthy stuff?”
“Your wife and our older sister are making sure I get plenty of fruits and vegetables.”
“Yeah, but are you eating them?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’d be offended, but you used to ask invasive questions like this even before I was pregnant with your child.”
“I always considered myself your big brother,” I said. “It’s my job to worry.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” she said softly. “In four more months, you and Chloe are going to have a happy, healthy, chunky baby boy to coo over.”
I swallowed.
“There’s only one wrong thing I see,” she added.
I frowned. “What’s that?”
“You need some blue in that damn nursery.”
I laughed.
Chloe—who had come over to scoop Drake up before he could make another break for the dining room—laughed too.
I looked around the room. At the people I loved. At the life we’d fought for. At the future that no longer felt fragile—just real.
Yeah.
All was well in my world.