Epilogue
Years later…
Roxanne pressed her hand against her forehead and swallowed, hoping this was the last of it.
It took her a few minutes to finally get up off the floor, flush the toilet, and brush her teeth.
Morning sickness. She’d been lucky with her first two pregnancies with the boys.
After a few weeks of nausea in the first trimester, it’d tapered off.
Not this one. Roxanne was eighteen weeks pregnant, and her morning sickness was still going strong.
The hypocrisy in the term had her rolling her eyes.
Morning, midday, and evening was more accurate. It was a relentless bitch.
Usually, she’d take it easy and rest. Today, that wasn’t an option.
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup was still intact, but her face was flushed.
“What was I thinking?”
Thanksgiving had always been a big deal growing up.
For the most part, she’d spent holidays with her dad and brothers.
But as everyone’s families expanded and kids grew up, traditions changed.
Except for this year. With everyone in town, family on both sides, she insisted on hosting.
They certainly had the space. The complete renovation of the entire house wrapped up a year after their first son was born.
It took some time to get used to not living in the construction. But I don’t miss it.
Roxanne took a final look in the mirror, shook out the wrinkles of her dress and walked out of the bedroom.
The house smelled amazing. It should. I’ve been cooking since four this morning.
Everyone was bringing the side dishes, but she was in charge of the turkey.
She’d gotten it in the oven on time and done other prep work before anyone else was up.
The short hallway from their bedroom opened into the huge dining room.
Originally, it had been two rooms with the den, but Jonah knocked down the wall to open it up to one large room.
She liked the idea of having a big enough space to host their entire family.
Cassie had been a tremendous help the day before, coming over and setting it up, complete with a kids' table, which was almost as big as the main one.
As it stood, the children outnumbered the adults.
Roxanne rounded the corner and stopped near the foyer.
“Well, traffic was a bitch.” Cord lifted a case of beer and a bottle of wine. “Need to get these in the cooler. Where do you want the wine?”
“I’ll take it,” Jonah said, and Cord handed it to him, leaving his date standing on her own.
Typical Cord. He’d matured over the years, but no one held out hope that he’d eventually settle down. A bachelor for life. They didn’t see him often since he moved to Dallas, but he made a point of visiting, especially when their sons were born.
“Come on in.” Jonah waved his hand, and Cord’s date took a few steps into the foyer.
“Jonah, right? Cord’s told me a lot about you.”
Roxanne flattened her lips watching her husband’s awkward smile. In fairness to Jonah, his brother had a constant revolving door of women. They never met the same girl twice, which meant that without a formal introduction, Jonah wouldn’t know her name.
Roxanne rushed forward and held out her hand. “Hi Becca, I’m Roxanne. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You too. Cord’s told me so much about you guys and the kids. Almost feel like I know you.”
Roxanne shared a look with Jonah. Interesting.
“Well welcome, we’re so glad you could join us.” She pointed toward the kitchen. “Drinks are in the back if you want to grab something.”
“Thanks.”
Her husband waited until she was out of earshot and turned to Roxanne. “How’d you know her name?”
“I texted Cord last night.”
He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his chest and resting his hand on her belly. “Smart woman I married.”
Roxanne went into the living room, greeting her brothers and her sisters-in-law. Her father and Pearl had shown up early to help. After Pearl’s first Christmas with her dad, she never left.
It took Roxanne a few minutes to get across the room. She’d been dodging children left and right when she finally made it to the corner near the kitchen. She gave T a hug, and he glanced down at her stomach.
“It’s a girl.” T sipped his beer, turning his attention back to the football game.
Roxanne steeled her features, trying to mask her expression.
Cassie chuckled, arching her brow. “He hasn’t been wrong yet.”
T had an uncanny way of predicting the sex of everyone’s babies, and he was right again. They hadn’t told anyone yet, but they found out they were having a girl at their last ultrasound. But for now, it was their little secret.
“Well, if this pregnancy is any indication, she’s gonna be a wild one.” Roxanne forced a smile and walked into the kitchen. Surprisingly, it was empty, but through the window, she saw Bogs and Kenzie talking with Cord and Becca while lots of kids ran through the yard.
“Hey Rox.”
She turned and immediately smiled, rounding the table and taking him in for a hug. She had a close bond with all the brothers, her own and Jonah’s. But this one was something special. Holden tightened his hold and then stepped back.
He’d lived with them for a few years after they got married.
Cord had already moved out, but Holden had stayed a bit longer after finishing college.
He worked to save up for a house instead of moving into an apartment.
It turned out to be the best move. He purchased a fixer-upper and, with help from Jonah, they rebuilt it.
He lived only about thirty minutes away, but there were times when she missed having him around.
“How are you feeling?”
She sighed, resting her hands on her belly. “Good. So glad you and Layla could be here.”
Holden and his longtime girlfriend, who they all adored, got engaged last year. In two months, Holden would be a married man. Of course, Roxanne was the event organizer, and even a holiday didn’t stop her from working.
“Do you have the list for me?”
He sighed, rolling his eyes. “It’s Thanksgiving.”
“And? Hold, the wedding is only two months away.” She held out her hand. “I promise not to look at it until Monday.”
He sighed, rolled his eyes and pulled out a folded stack of papers from his inside jacket pocket. As soon as the papers hit her hand, she opened them up, scanning the lists.
“You just said you wouldn’t look at it.”
Roxanne waved her hand and read through all the details.
For the most part, Holden and Layla just had to fill in the blanks, but she wanted to make sure they covered everything.
She flipped to the second page. It covered the traditional things like cutting the cake, garter toss, and a slew of others.
When she got to the bottom, she smiled when she saw the wedding song they’d chosen.
I love that song. There were a few other specifics.
They chose to play a few wedding songs from their friends with their names listed as dedications.
It was a sweet idea. Below was Layla’s father-daughter dance and …
The knot in her throat thickened as she stared down at the bottom of the list.
Groom’s dance with Roxanne McMillian.
Her eyes welled, and when she glanced up, a tear slid down her cheek.
“Holden,” she whispered.
He shrugged with a grin. “Closest thing I got to a mother is you as my sister.”
She slowly walked to him, tears streaming down his face, and slapped the papers against his chest. “I can’t believe you’re pulling this shit on Thanksgiving while I’m pregnant. Now I have to redo my makeup.”
Holden laughed, pulling her in for a hug, kissing the crown of her head.
Jonah walked through the door and stilled, glancing between her and his brother. The corner of his mouth curled.
“I take it you told her?”
“Well, I didn’t frickin’ know she was going to cry.”
The room erupted in laughter, with even Roxanne joining in.
Family.
****
Jonah stretched his back, lifting his arms above his head.
It wasn’t the best time to be working on his current project.
It was a little after three in the morning, and he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep since the last guest had left after Thanksgiving dinner.
Still, if he wanted it done by Christmas, working on it in the middle of the night was necessary.
Life had changed a lot in the last few years since their oldest was born. Sawyer. They’d found out the sex of the baby and tossed around hundreds of names. It wasn’t until Roxanne had given birth that she suggested honoring his brother. And they did.
Jonah walked over to the mini fridge, grabbing a water and guzzling down half the bottle. He placed it on his desk, glancing over the pile of invoices. There were two stacks, and one was significantly smaller.
He’d cut back on bigger construction jobs and could be picky about the projects he worked on now.
The money was always good, but it took a lot of time away from the family.
It was something Jonah wasn’t willing to part with.
Ethan had hired him as a full-time consultant for all his new construction builds.
But as expected, his brother-in-law was always flexible and worked around Jonah’s schedule.
Most of their meetings consisted of a family dinner with the wives and kids at one of their homes.
The biggest change was his original side hustle.
It helped a lot that in the last five years his furniture business had taken off.
He was taking orders over six months in advance.
It was suggested that he expand his shop to a larger location, but he refused.
Once the kids were in school, he wanted to be at the house when they got home.
He hoped that in another few years, he could focus solely on his business.
But for now, he was still balancing, which meant getting up in the middle of the night wasn’t a choice.
He was halfway across the shop when he heard the door creak and footsteps.
Shit! He should’ve expected her eventually to make her way to the shop.
It was her thing. But considering the long day and her being exhausted from the pregnancy, Jonah figured it was the perfect time to sneak out of bed.
After all, Roxanne had passed out the second her head hit the pillow a few hours ago.
He quickened his steps, grabbing the large tarp off the floor, draping it over the piece he was working on. He turned to find his wife, hair in disarray, with her eyes barely open, standing five feet away.
“Why aren’t you in bed sleeping?”
She yawned, not even bothering to cover her mouth. “You weren’t there.”
Jonah smiled and walked over to the cabinet, grabbing the large pillow and an extra blanket.
Years ago, she’d bought them for her late nights hanging out in his shop.
The same chair she’d loved so much remained in its spot ten years later.
He had a few people who were interested, but Jonah couldn’t bring himself to sell it.
It had been a solidifying factor in their relationship.
It had a backstory and memories. He’d made similar designs in the past, but none quite like this chair.
It was Roxanne’s and meant to always be one-of-a-kind.
She took the pillow and blanket and ambled over to the chair. She settled in and yawned again.
“What are you working on?”
“A gift.”
That got her attention and seemed to wake her up. She straightened in her seat and widened her eyes.
“For me?”
Jonah chuckled. “Kind of.”
That had clearly piqued her interest. “Kind of? What does that mean?”
Jonah dragged his hand over his face, groaning. He’d said too much.
“It’s for Christmas.”
“Can I see it?”
Jonah snorted. “I just told you it’s for Christmas. If I show you, it’ll ruin the surprise.”
“But if you don’t, you’ll miss my reaction when I sneak in here when you’re gone and find it by myself.”
Jonah narrowed his gaze. “You could show some self-control and not do that.”
“But we both know that’s not going to happen.”
It wouldn’t. Roxanne was amazing at keeping secrets and surprises. The woman was a vault. However, she was almost impossible to surprise. She actually bribed Holden to tell her when her baby shower was years ago. She was too curious, or some might say, nosy.
“Please …” She pressed her hands together, pleading.
Jonah drew in a breath and exhaled loudly. His disapproval did nothing to deter her, and she stood, making her way to the tarp.
The framing was complete, and there’d be no way of hiding what it was. Roxanne would know the second he unveiled the piece. But she was right. He’d rather see her expression when she saw it for the first time. He leaned down and lifted the tarp, tossing it onto the floor.
She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Jonah,” she mumbled and dropped her arms to her sides, moving closer. It wasn’t often he saw his wife speechless, but she remained silent, circling the small piece of furniture. She rested her hand on her belly, and her eyes welled. “It’s a cradle.”
When the boys were born, they used the expensive, fancy bassinet Emory had gifted her for the baby shower.
Roxanne had loved it so much, and the color scheme worked for their second son too.
She planned on changing out the bedding to more feminine colors for their daughter. But Jonah had other ideas.
“I wanted to make her something special. Something that’s just hers that she could use if she has children of her own.”
“I love it.” Roxanne burst into tears and rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She hugged him so tight. “It’s perfect.”
Jonah curled her into his chest, and a million memories played over in his head. The good, the bad, and the painful.
Sometimes life handed people the hardest times so they could truly appreciate the good ones.
Roxanne shifted in his arms and looked up, her cheeks drenched from her tears, with the brightest smile he’d ever seen.
“I love you.”
“And I love you.”
Always.
The End