Epilogue
“You got her?”
“Yeah, I got her. She sure is a lump these days.” I lifted Ava from the car capsule as carefully as I could so as not to wake her. Cradling my baby girl close, I walked toward where Rhett was waiting for me on the veranda, with Isabella in his arms.
The past several months had been a whirlwind of diapers, sleepless nights, and the kind of love that deepens with every shared challenge. But through it all, Rhett had been my rock, surprising himself with his ability to step up and be the kind of father our girls deserved. Not me, though. I knew exactly the quality of the man I was engaged to.
As we stepped inside, I noticed Rhett seemed a bit on edge, glancing around nervously.
Giving him a narrow-eyed look, I asked, “Everything okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Oh, I dunno. Maybe because it’s my birthday and I don’t believe that brunch with the girls is all you had planned for me, even though that’s all I said I wanted.”
“Well, Ms. Always Wright, how about you go check the pool? There might be a little something out there for you. You’ll want to put Ava in her bassinet first, though.”
I headed towards the back of the house, glancing at Rhett over my shoulder when I realized all the blinds leading to the backyard had been closed. During the day, we kept the girls’ bassinets downstairs, so we could easily look after them without traipsing up and down the stairs. I was never gladder for that arrangement than now. Laying Ava carefully in her bassinet, I waited while Rhett did the same with Isabella, then said, “I’m not sure I want to see what’s out there.”
“Sure, you do.”
I pulled back the blinds, squinting against the bright sunlight streaming into the room. My jaw dropped as I took in the scene outside. The tables were laden with trays of food - pastries, fruits, even a massive chocolate fountain. A colorful jumping castle was inflated in the corner of the yard. But what really made my heart skip a beat was the pony, casually grazing on the lush grass like this was an everyday occurrence.
“What on earth...” I murmured, shaking my head in disbelief. Leave it to Rhett to go completely over-the-top.
I slid open the glass door, the warm breeze carrying the scent of freshly mowed grass. As soon as I stepped outside, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a chorus of voices erupted from behind bushes and potted plants.
“Surprise!”
It took me a moment to take it all in. There was Laura, Ethan, and the kids. Becca and Diane, Ethan’s parents…Oh god, all the Parkers were here. There was Cassidy and her sister, Hannah. Wolfe, Esme and Esme’s siblings were standing with Stef and Grayson. Everyone was grinning at me and even though I really disliked being the center of attention, I loved that Rhett had done this for me.
Tears stung my eyes as I took in the smiling faces looking back at me. Rhett stepped up beside me, slipping an arm around my waist.
“Seems like you’re still Always Wright.” His deep voice rumbled with amusement, making me shiver.
I blinked rapidly, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love. “Rhett...you shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”
“Bullshit.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “You deserve to be celebrated, Scarlett. By everyone who loves you.”
Laura stepped forward first, wrapping her arms around me. “Happy birthday, honey,” she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. As she pulled back, I could see she had tears in her eyes. “I never imagined I would get to celebrate your birthday with you. I’m so happy to be here.” Then she turned to Rhett. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“Of course.”
Oh god, now Rhett was feeling emotional. I really was going to start balling. Yep, especially now that Ethan was there too, his voice thick when he pulled me close and said, “Happy birthday, darlin’.”
They’d missed so much of my life, but they were here now and that was all that mattered. “Thank you.” I stepped back, giving them both a shaky smile. The kids were lined up behind them, all smiling from ear to ear as they wished me a happy birthday. “The girls are in their bassinets inside, if you want to bring them out. I’m sure they’d love to hang out with you guys.”
“We’d love that!” Laura had barely finished the sentence when she was dragging Ethan inside, with the kids following close behind.
I turned to Rhett, laughing. “One thing’s for sure, we’ll never have to pay for childcare.” Nothing had given me more joy than seeing how Laura and Ethan doted on the girls. On more than one occasion, Rhett and I had arranged to go out for a few hours, just as an excuse to let them babysit. They’d always brought their kids with them, because, as they said, their aunties and uncle couldn’t get enough of the babies either. I damn well loved every second of it.
“Hey, you!”
“Oh my god, Stefania! You brat.”
“What? Why?” Stef’s eyes were wide in fake surprise.
“Don’t pretend you weren’t in on this whole thing. It was you who suggested Rhett take me for brunch!”
Laughing, she pulled me in for a squeeze. “Well, he was getting a bit frazzled with all the planning, so I thought I’d give him a hand.”
“Well, thank you. It’s amazing.”
Grayson stepped forward, a rare smile on his usually gruff features. “Happy birthday, Scarlett.” He leaned in and pressed a formal kiss to my cheek.
“Thank you.”
Then he surprised the life out of me by saying, “You’ve been the best thing that’s ever happened to my brother.” He shot Rhett a pointed look. “Don’t screw this up.”
Rhett chuckled. “I don’t plan to.”
Esme came next, her blue eyes bright. “Happy birthday, Scarlett!” She enveloped me in a warm hug. “I’m so glad we get to spend the day with you.”
“Thanks, me too.”
Wolfe followed, giving me a friendly pat on the back. “Yeah, happy birthday! It’s good to see the old ball and chain finally tamed my brother a bit.” He grinned at Rhett.
“Well, if it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have had the chance to tame him.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
I grinned at Wolfe. “It so happens that we had dinner with your parents last week.”
“Fuck.”
“Hmm. It turns out that the threat of an all-out strike from all three of you was just what your father needed to agree to let the land go. He’s still holding a grudge, by the way.”
“Yeah, we, uh, we try not to bring it up. And let’s just say he won’t be eating frog’s legs anytime soon.”
I laughed at that, then said, “I just don’t know why you never mentioned it.”
Wolfe shrugged. “Rhett just figured you had enough to deal with and that you didn’t need the extra stress of the Rivers family dynamics.”
“I appreciate that from all of you, so I’ll take the opportunity now to say thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
After that, they moved off to mingle, leaving me still standing near the door with Rhett. There were two notable absences, and I forced myself to ask the question I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to. “So, um, Mom and Dad couldn’t make it?”
Rhett pressed a kiss into my hair. “They texted to say they were running late.”
“Oh.”
“Traffic works on the highway.”
“Oh,” I said again.
“I don’t think it’s a lie. I checked my maps. There is work being done on the exit from Goldsboro and if they hadn’t checked themselves, they wouldn’t know and would have got stuck.”
“Right. Okay. So, they could still be coming?”
“Yes, my girl, they could still be coming.”
Letting out a sigh, I dropped my head to Rhett’s shoulder, leaning into him. So grateful, as always, for the unfailing support he gave me.
Once Rhett and I had moved in together, which was about a week after the court case, he’d got a proper look at the Wright family dynamics. Let’s just say that what he saw didn’t meet with his approval. Which was putting it very fucking mildly. He’d made it clear that he was my family now and he wouldn’t tolerate any more of the bullshit favoritism, and if they couldn’t treat me with the love and respect I deserved, they wouldn’t be spending much time with me, or their grandbabies. Dad had blustered and bullshitted about how he didn’t know what Rhett was talking about, which sure got awkward. But then, to my everlasting surprise, Mom had shut him down very firmly. She’d said she would be devastated to lose me, and she would do whatever needed doing to make sure that didn’t happen. I suggested family therapy. Dad made a weird pshaw sound, but Mom agreed.
So, we’d gone to a few sessions, just the two of us, and it had been eye opening. Mom had talked about how she’d felt the day she got to hold me, and bring me home, and how special that was, which I definitely hadn’t expected. I was very open about the way I felt about the differences in their treatment of me and Tyler and how hurt I was by that. And on it went. We weren’t quite out of the woods yet, but I knew now that Mom loved me in her own way and that, for me, was enough. Of course, the only reason I could feel that way was because my life was now filled with so much love, I wasn’t starving for theirs anymore. Which was pretty much all down to Rhett. I felt stronger and more confident than ever. He’s shown me that I deserve to be loved and celebrated, not diminished.
“What about Tyler?”
“Didn’t RSVP.”
“Fuckhead.”
“Yeah.”
And that was all there was to say on that subject.
Just as I was about to change the topic, the sound of the door sliding opening behind us caught my attention. My heart raced with a mix of anticipation and dread, knowing it could only be my parents. Sure enough, they came bustling through, looking flustered.
“We’re so sorry we’re late,” Mom gushed, giving me an awkward hug. The moment she pulled away, Rhett dragged me back against his side. Good, because that was exactly where I needed to be.
Dad offered a terse nod. “Traffic was a nightmare.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s fine, really. I’m just glad you could make it.”
“Of course, of course. We wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world. Is there a gift table somewhere?” She held up a gift-wrapped package.
“Sure, just over here.” I led them to the table that was overloaded with gifts.
“Actually, do you mind just opening it now? I don’t really want to leave it out here.”
“I’m going to get a beer.” With that blunt announcement, Dad just walked off.
What the fuck? I glanced at Rhett, but he just shrugged. “Sure, I guess I don’t mind opening it now.”
“Just be careful. It’s breakable.”
Doing as she asked, I carefully pulled back the wrapping and instantly had to swallow around the lump in my throat. “Is this…?”
“Your grandmother’s ceramic baking dishes, yes. She always wanted you to have them.”
“Oh, Mom, that’s amazing. I thought they’d gone missing years ago.”
“So did I. But your father was looking for some old vinyl records he’d given Tyler, and he, uh, he found these. Stuffed in the very top shelf of Tyler’s wardrobe.”
“I see.” Did I, though?
“He, uh, he brought them to me because he remembered how your Gran wanted you to have them. He also asked Tyler if he’d hidden them on purpose.”
Right, so we’d definitely stepped into Upside Down Land for my birthday. “To which Tyler replied…?”
“He said, probably, he didn’t remember, and why did it matter anyway?”
Jesus Christ, this was fascinating. “And then Dad said…?”
“He said that Tyler knew damn well Gran had wanted you to have the dishes, and it was low for him to take them and hide them like that. Then they had a fight and Tyler went to stay at Misty’s.”
“I see.” I glanced over at my dad, standing all by himself, peeling the label off his beer bottle. “This really means a lot to me, Mom. I guess I should go thank him.”
“No, don’t, dear. It’ll just make him uncomfortable. He’s not used to…all this, um, feelings and stuff.”
That barely made sense, but okay. “Will you tell him for me, then?”
“Yes.”
“And tell him I’ll make Gran’s blueberry pie for him the next time we come out to visit.”
Mom’s lip trembled just a bit as she nodded, then she scurried away, obviously worried that I might see her crying.
Then, just as I was about to start crying myself, Rhett said, “Fuck, your parents are weird.”
Laughing, I said, “They sure are, but so are yours, so we’re square. I’m just going to put this inside. Be right back.”
When I came back out, I took a moment to take in the party Rhett had arranged for me.
Grayson stood close to Stef; his usual gruff demeanor softened as he gazed down at her with pure adoration. Stef, ever the ball of energy, was chatting away, her hands gesturing wildly, but Grayson watched her with rapt attention, as if she were the only person in the entire world. I fucking loved that for her.
Wolfe and Esme were watching Belle have her turn on the pony, their arms around each other and Esme’s head on his shoulder.
My mom and Laura were now sitting together, with a baby girl each. Sure, it looked a little awkward, but they were getting better at this, too.
And there was the man who’d made it all happen, walking towards me with a light in his eyes that made my heart flip over.
“This means so much to me, Rhett. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble. It’s really amazing. Thank you.”
He raised a brow.
“Jackass,” I said softly as I slid my arms around his shoulders.
“There’s my girl.”
I raised my face to his, smiling when he brushed his lips against mine. “Man, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”